Baltimore Comic Con‘s 22nd year marked its return to an in-person event back at the Baltimore Convention Center from October 22-24! As always, it boasted an amazing exhibit hall, media guests Susan Backlinie (Jaws) & Noah Hathaway (The NeverEnding Story), and an impressive artist alley that welcomed featured creators & on-the-rise artists alike!
If you’ve never attended Baltimore Comic Con, feast your eyes on the best art in the industry! Art is the biggest draw at this convention and not only are you guaranteed to meet some of the biggest names in comics but you might even find yourself discovering the next big artist or series! We’re talking about hundreds of artists here! And as far as featured creators go, this year some of the guests included Joe Quesada, Brian K. Vaughan, Frank Cho, Tom King, Chris Bachalo, Brian Stelfreeze, Trish Forstner… to name a few!
Headliners Joe Quesada and Brian K. Vaughan had bundle packages that gave fans the opportunity to obtain their autographs in private signings, in addition to other perks like early entry, exclusive prints, and preferred seating at the guests’ spotlight panels. These passes, along with the convention’s VIP packages are a great way to get more out of your comic con experience!
And with additional programming on top of the fantastic show floor, Baltimore Comic Con was tons of fun all weekend long! There were dozens of other panels to be a part of, with some even holding Q&A’s. Above, attendees got to enjoy a stellar costume contest sponsored by Hard Rock Cafe Baltimore… with plenty more cosplayers roaming the convention!
Everybody was in good spirits over the weekend and super excited to be back at cons. And knowing that a health check & masks was required for entry made the whole thing feel that much safer while interacting with vendors, artists, and fellow fans! At Baltimore Comic Con you’ll find all the collectibles you’re looking for. The latest fully-articulated action figures? Yes! Hard to find Funko Pops? You bet! Comics? You know it!
With so many comic book vendors, you’ll need to bring a spare bag just to carry all your new books: Victory Comics, Capt. Chuck’s Comics, and Anthony’s Comic Book Art were all fan-favorites this year, offering great deals and rare finds. Anthony’s also brought along a plethora of original published comic book art, if that’s more up your alley. And speaking of alleys…
Baltimore’s Artist Alley is truly one of the best! Between the endless amounts of fine art prints and original art available for purchase, there’s bound to be something for every kind of fan! Above, Topps-licensed artist Brad Hudson shows off a commissioned sketch card of X-23 done at the show. In fact, many artists are able to create custom art for you on the spot. So come ready with some ideas and if you’ve got a sketch book or two, they might come in handy too!
Feel free to bring published works, as well! Artist & illustrator George Vega (above) has his creator-owned comic book The World Of M, but has also worked on a number of licensed trading card series, including a limited run of holofoil cards for Bam Box featuring art from The Office.
If you decide to bring comics to be signed by creators, artists, and writers, CGC Facilitator Captured Collectibles was on-site to provide witnessing so that you can slab your signed books with the yellow Signature Series label. And with publishers AfterShock Comics & AWA Studios tabling, along with a full-on kids programming schedule everyday, it really felt like Baltimore Comic Con never skipped a beat!
But one of the coolest highlights of this year’s Baltimore Comic Con was definitely the Hake’s Auctions booth that was displaying an authentic screen-used (and Chris Evans-held) “hero-prop” Captain America shield from Avengers: Endgame! Fans were able to get a close-up look, as well as participate in giveaways and learn about all of their premium auctions.
For even more from Baltimore Comic Con 2021, check out the full photo gallery as well as a video recap below. Next year’s dates have already been announced for October 28-30 so be sure to follow their website & Facebook posts for more updates!
LesDudis 