Recently, I attended Planet Comicon, a pop culture event that takes place in Kansas City, Missouri every year. I haven’t been to a convention in two years for obvious reasons, but once upon a time, I’d do around twenty or more shows a year as an indie author. That’s what brought me to Planet Comicon, but in addition to having a booth full of my self-published work, I was excited for the opportunity to check out the work of other creatives in artist alley. It’s honestly one of my favorite things about going to these events—in fact, several of the artists I hired for my own book series were found in artist alley.
Since artist alley is a space I’m so fond of, I thought I’d share what I ended up bringing home with me. I’ll also include all of the artists’ information so you can check out their work.
Afua Richardson
You may recognize Richardson’s work from series like World of Wakanda and Lovecraft Country, where she did the artwork for Dee’s comic book. She’s also referenced in the show itself by Hippolyta. Full disclosure: I may have fangirled a whole lot when I saw her, and I just had to take home the collection of postcards she had along with that Gambit sketch because, well, he’s an early fictional crush of mine.
Where to find her work: You can check out Richardson’s work on her website which also has links to all of her social media at the top of her page.
Terry Huddleston
I’ve seen Huddleston’s work at conventions before and know him for his huge selection of pop culture art. He’s got the kind of booth where you can’t decide which character print to get because they’re all so vibrant. At the end of the day, I had to grab something from his Affinity series. The tarot artwork is absolutely stunning, and with it being printed on textured paper (several of his prints are), this Empress print just feels unreal.
Where to find his work: You can check out Huddleston’s work over on his website. He’s also on Instagram.
Melissa Capriglione
Capriglione had a booth full of queer merchandise ranging from prints to stickers, to comics. One thing that caught my eye was her upcoming graphic novel being released by Dark Horse Comics. Capriglione described the book to me as “Harry Potter meets The Great British Bake Off,” complete with food puns, cute girls, and an animal friend that I’ll probably want a plush of someday.
Porta Bella Magiculinary Academy is the finest school for the art of cooking with magic, and Basil Eyres is determined to be the top student. On the first day of her senior year, Arabella Oregano, the daughter of a renowned chef, joins the academy for her senior year as well. The two are instantly smitten with each other, but Basil senses there’s something Arabella is hiding from her. Still, the two work together to stand out from the class as the end of year culinary festival approaches. But when Arabella’s secret is reveled, Basil is faced with the hardest decision of her life, which has the potential to throw her future aspirations in jeopardy.
Where to find her work: Capriglione has a carrd with all of her information right here. Also, Basil and Oregano is scheduled to be released this September.
Alex Phanthavong
Going by 3rd Degree Hearts online, Phanthavong offers a variety of fanart through prints, stickers, and these cool little cards for those of us who are running out of wall space. I ended up grabbing these two because of my undying love for Breath of the Wild and my “late to the party” appreciation of Hollow Knight.
Where to find his work: You can check out Phanthavong on Instagram, which also has links to his Facebook and Twitch.
Cat Nerd Creations
Continuing my fandom grabs is Cat Nerd Creations, a booth that offered a lot of adorable acrylic charms and standees. Deciding what to grab from SK8 the Infinity was a difficult task, but in the end, my wife and I decided that Shadow being his cute, flower shop self in his regular Hiromi outfit was a must. Along with that is the charm for Tokyo Revenger’s Mikey showing pure happiness over his kid’s meal, and a standee from The Millionaire Detective Balance: UNLIMITED—a series I did NOT expect to see merch for.
Where to find their work: Cat Nerd Creations has a carrd with all of their information right here.
The Legging Lass
While technically on the vendor side of things, as someone who is always on the hunt for cute geek clothing that goes up to my size, I immediately had to stop at The Legging Lass when I found out they offered skirts and leggings in enough X’s to fit me. I ended up grabbing their Studio Ghibli skirt and, of course, the pink Sailor Moon leggings. Meanwhile, my wife grabbed a horror-themed skirt because that’s the aesthetic she lives in.
I wasn’t expecting to find a clothing vendor at a con with comfortable plus-sized clothes, but I’m so glad I did.
Where to find their work: You can check out The Legging Lass on Instagram, which has a link to their website.
(Featured image: Afua Richardson/Alex Phanthavong/Terry Huddleston)
