Just six months after its second show, Suffolk Comic & Art Expo was back with a third show featuring an Artist Alley comprised of over 80 creators & 40 vendors for an epic day at the Suffolk County Community College in Brentwood, NY. On Saturday, October 26, special guests like Adam Kubert, Jim Steranko, Art Thibert, Barry Kitson, Norm Rapmund, Buzz, and so many others were in attendance signing for fans, selling art, and even taking some commissions!
This was their best venue to date with ample parking nearby as well as aisles & aisles of amazing things to shop around for & see. Keep reading to explore more from Suffolk Comic & Art Expo, and be sure to see the full photo gallery as well as the video recap at the end of this article!
On top of the many artists I was able to check out, I also saw some very unique vendors like Custom Comic Framez who designs wooden frames for comic books with art that matches the book you are framing. Everything can be customized to your preferences from colors to logos, and even phrases! Excelsior!
They also make frames that fit CGC cases for an added displayability!
And speaking of CGC, Flushing’s very own Royal Collectibles was back to offer CGC Signature Series witnessing services (where fans can have their autographed books witnessed & submitted for special grading & labeling) as well as their impressive inventory of wall books and slabs.
Through them I was able to submit several books signed at the show, as well as some sketch cover commissions from Kubert School grad Sarah Madura and current DC artist Sean Chen who just had his super hot issue of Batman Beyond #37 hit shelves earlier in the week. I had this issue signed by him and colorist Chris Sotomayor!
With the massive lineup at this Long Island comic book show, the possibilities for commissions were endless! Everywhere I turned I saw artists busy at work, whipping up sketch covers, trading cards, and so much more. Here’s artist Will Torres working on a Jean Grey sketch cover commission on the ever-popular House of X:
And I was able to commission Sid Venblu for a sketch card of one of my favorite Star Wars bounty hunters: Jango Fett!
Meanwhile, other artists got creative with their offerings this time around. Enrique Lopez of Studio MA-EN brought new canvas art pieces that debuted at this Suffolk Comic & Art Expo, including Link from Nintendo’s Zelda, Vampirella, Wonder Woman, and Ghost Rider:
It was also great to see a lot of familiar vendors selling go-to merchandise like action figures, Funko POPs, and movies. But a couple of standout vendors at the show included Shadow Rabbit Art with their custom polymer clay sculptures and Spook Bunny‘s paper crafts & illustrations:
I love seeing items like these because they’re usually one of a kind and harder to come by at large commercialized conventions.
And because Suffolk Comic & Art Expo has consistently been able to deliver big con guests with the heart of a local show, it feels like home.
Plus, it was fantastic being able to talk to a lot of up & coming artists about their indie or self-published books! Nick Justus is in the process of working on his crowd-funded book Serpent Handler, George Vega is already fulfilling rewards for his Kickstarter book World Of M, and Rob Powers’ first issue of Penguino’s Revenge was already on sale at the show!
And, of course, tons of comic book exhibitors like Mad Titan Comics (below) were selling key issues, first appearances, back issues, and almost everything you can think of!
Just as their other shows, Suffolk Comic & Art Expo stayed true to its name and focused on the comics & art, which meant no panels, celebrities, or the like. This allows attendees to really get done what they planned for the day, whether it was to claim one of the free Black Cat / Spider-Man prints by Stephanie Russertt, score a show exclusive Vampirella print by Buzz, or simply just hitting up all the artists on the incredible roster for sketches & signatures!
But definitely keep your eyes peeled because there’s always some cosplay to spot – either in the lobby with the Long Island Ghostbusters or just roaming around the show floor:
Whether you’re from the Long Island area or not, Suffolk Comic & Art Expo is a show you need to see for yourselves. Stay tuned for more info from the show on their official website, click through for additional photos, and check out the video recap of the event below!
LesDudis 