I’ll be appearing at FallCon in St. Paul, Minnesota, this weekend. I owe the Midwest Comic Book Association an apology for not plugging this incessantly for the last month or two. I love FallCon. Attending other conventions is nothing but bother and expense, but the MCBA goes out of their way to treat every creator like a king (or queen). It doesn’t matter if you’re Gene Ha or just some guy who has a badly mimeographed mini-book about stick figures, they love all creators and treat them right.

(Unlike some conventions where Insane Clown Posse is a featured guest but the creator of Green Lantern has to buy his own table and isn’t allowed into the break room. Just saying.)

This year, the Batmobile is going to be there. Wow.

For me, it’s a chance to see buddies like Tom Nguyen (who this year has a lecture about getting getting gorgeous women to model for you, which probably boils down to “be a funny weight lifter”), Erik Burnham, Bob Lipski, Gordon Purcell and Professor James Kakalios. I get to sell some books, plug Metro Med (“I’m WORKING on it! Geez!”) and I’m considering selling really bad sketches. I mean, really bad.

I’m hoping to find the person who last year bought a piece of artwork by Erik Burnham from me and then lost it. (It was found on the road outside, complete with tire tread.)

I do wonder how packed it’s going to be. Last time I saw the guest list, it looked like there were about 150 people! I think it’s wonderful that the con continues to grow…so long as they can continue to find spaces to hold it in.

I also have to reign myself in on the charity auction. Last year I went a little overboard on the spending. That reminds me, I need to sell that super-rare poster and the Spawn artwork that I bought a year ago. Guess I’ll be hitting eBay soon. I need the cash.

I hope to see some Monitor Duty readers there. Be sure to stop on by if you can.

Now, my goal for 2007: Try to convince all the comic pros I have ties to (especially Chuck Dixon, Beau Smith and Scott Beatty) to attend FallCon next year. I know it’s a longer trip than usual, but FallCon’s like a vacation compared to the corporate conventions.

For the full announcement, including lectures, read on:

FALLCON COMIC BOOK CONVENTION

OCTOBER 7 & 8, 2006

MN State Fairgrounds – Education Building
1372 Cosgrove Ave – St. Paul, MN. 55108
10AM to 5PM Both Days – Tickets Available at the Door

THE GUEST LIST

If you get a chance check out the website! The guest list continues to grow! Who

knows how big it’ll be by con time but it’s going to be awesome!

THE DEALER LIST

Make sure that you bring your want lists! This year we have a great mix of dealers from

all over the USA. They will be buying, selling and trading a gigantic selection of comics (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Current, Hot, Variant, Exclusive, Etc.),graphic novels & trade paperbacks, Anime & Manga, Clothing, Statues, Action Figures, Supplies, Posters,

Pulps, Magazines, Original Art, Toys, Collectibles and metric tons of other stuff! If

there’s something special you’re looking for at FallCon, why not e-mail any

of the dealers listed on the web site and let them know what you

want? They’ll be happy to bring it with them to the show

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!

The rumors are true! The BATMOBILE will in fact be at FallCon 2006. You’re

invited to check out the coolest car in the galaxy! Rumor has it there’ll be some Super

Friends guarding it! It’ll all be happening in the Batcave at FallCon!

CREATOR GUEST PANELS

This year FallCon will be featuring a lot of really terrific guest creator panels! They

take place up in the TM Maple Edutorium (South side of the building – Up the stairs).

All panels are FREE and included with your admission price! Check it out! You’ll be

happy that you did!

Saturday
11AM to 12PM: UNCANNY PHYSICS OF SUPERHEROES! Back By Popular
Demand! Special FallCon Guest U of M Physics professor James Kakalios uses
concepts and characters from comic books to explore basic principles of physics,
chemistry, and biology in a course called “Everything I Know About Science I
Learned from Reading Comic Books,” & is the author of the bestselling book,
The Physics of Superheroes!

12PM to 1PM: SILVER STRIKE — LEGENDS OF THE SILVER AGE! The Place
to Be! FallCon is proud to present for the 1st time Silver Age Legends Alex Nino,
Tony DeZuniga, Ernie Chan & returning Legends Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, & Rich
Buckler. Interact with SA giants and see where their paths have taken them. Hosted
by Gordon Purcell.

1PM to 2PM: "ASK THE CARTOONISTS!"
Super Special FallCon Event! "What do you do? How did you get to do it? Can I
do it? And more!” The National Cartoonists Society North Central Chapter presents
a guest panel of epic proportions! Loaded with nationally renown Cartoonists making
their 1st appearance at FallCon!

2PM to 3PM: HOW TO SCORE HOT MODELS TO POSE FOR YOU!
Local celebrity artist and super model favorite, Tom Nguyen explains, in detail, the
secrets of achieving colossal success in the wide world of comic books and getting
Super Models to pose for you. Co-hosted by Super Models Lauren Hindi, Jenny Lam,
Angi Sullivan & Hannah Gudal.

3PM to 4PM: TAKE IT TO HART- STEVE ENGLEHART! Easily one of the most prolific writers in the history of comic books and responsible for some of the best stories ever published, Steve Engelhart makes his FallCon debut and lays it all on the line. Hosted by writer Len Strazewski, this Q&A panel offers you the opportunity to get up close and personal with Steve!

4PM to 5PM: YOUR MOTHER HATES THIS SHOW! Join the MCBA’s own Mike
Frigon and John Kentner as they record the latest epic episode of their soon to be hit podcast (www.ymhts.com). This time it’s all about the horrors of conventions! You can
be sure there’ll be plenty of angst, laughs, and maybe even the odd surprise guest.
Everyone welcome!

Sunday
9:15 to 9:45 AM: CHAPEL SERVICE Ask at the door to get in! Conducted by local
Christian Comics aficionado Carl Borg, the FallCon Chapel Service is open & welcome
to everyone!

11:00 to NOON: SPIRITUAL THEMES IN COMICS 2nd year at FallCon. Hosted by Carl Borg, this panel presents an engaging discussion with panelists and working comic book artists Sherwin Schwartzrock, Peter Gross, Patrick Gleason and Taki Soma.

12PM to 1PM: PHILOSOPHY OF COMICS WITH ANGEL MEDINA! Welcome back to
the mighty Angel Medina (Sensational Spider-Man) to the city of saints as he presents
the next in an ongoing series of convention panels. This one will focus on the Philosophy
of Comics and general fun featuring one of the most talented artist/creators in the business!

1PM to 2PM: LIVING ON THE EDGE! Hosted by local Writer Alex Ness(www.popthought.com) meet some of the hottest, edgiest and up and coming talent in the world of comic books. Including Joshua Hale Failkov (Elk’s Run), Paul Harmon (Sea of Red
& Mora), Taki Soma (Unusual Suspects) and Joel Orff (Waterwise). A great opportunity to see the future!

2:30PM: MCBA CHARITY ART & COLLECTIBLES AUCTION!
Considered by many to one of the premiere events at FallCon, the charity auction offers
a virtual embarrassment of comic book riches! Including original artwork, sketches, and unique collectibles. The auction is always a don’t miss event! 100% of all the proceeds
will be donated to the Minnesota Lupus Foundation and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Checks, Credit, debit and LexCorp cards will be accepted.

NOTES:

– Check out the Star Tribune Newspaper this Friday! Word has it that there’s going

to be an article about some of our favorite local comic book creators and maybe even a

mention or two about a certain comic book convention in town this week!

– Make sure you get entered in the MCBA Prize Drawings at the convention this year!

We’ve got an absolute embarrassment of riches and cool stuff to give away! The prize

entry station will in the Batcave this year! Don’t miss it!

– The art show is going to be way cool! All of the display cases are spoken for and wait

till you see the displays! The art show is located on the North wall of the Education Bldg.

– Remember to bring a canned food item to get your admission discount!

HELP!

Does anyone have a portable movie screen they’d be willing to let us use on Saturday? We

need it for a presentation in the early morning. If you can help, please e-mail us at MNCBA@aol.com and maybe we’ll bribe you with some cool stuff!

MORE INFO

Web Site – www.MNCBA.com

Joe’s MCBA Myspace – http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfmfuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=102936863

Our E-Mail – MNCBA@aol.com

FINAL MCBA ITEM!

Please help us spread the word about FallCon! We are an all volunteer, not for profit

group and any help any of our friends can provide in getting the word out via word of mouth, e-mails, blogging, web sites, smoke signals and Morse code would really be appreciated!

FallCon fans have always been and continue to be the best!