Fans of this column may detect a pattern. Certainly when I’ve spoken about Dragon Con before. But what can I say? The show itself has become an anchor convention for my teeny studio. Would I prefer it be C2E2 — the Chicago-based comic expo? Sure! But that’s really hard to do when C2E2 hasn’t accepted us back as artists-of-the-alley since 2023, and 2019 before that. But I digress. This column isn’t meant to be a whine-and-moan about Reed Exhibitions. Nay. It is a celebration of a comic convention that has always been amazing to table at.
Dragon Con once again green-lit Unshaven Comics’ application for an Artist Alley table here in the Antimonitor’s year of 2025. And so, we unshaven lads traversed Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, and a good lil chunk of Georgia to reach AmericasMart, Building 2, Floor 4, table 526. From 10am until 7pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday… then 10 am until 5pm on Labor Day… we hocked, shilled, and jazz-hand-waved our way through tabling the only way Unshaven Comics knows how to do: part Harold Hill, part Richard Roma, and part Willy Loman. Kudos if any of those references hit.
This long weekend was long overdue for Matt Wright (penciler/inker/painter/amazing-art-maker), Kyle Gnepper (writer/Sell-o-matic 5000), and myself (The Mike Gold dubbed Multi-Hypenate™). For what few of you new here should understand is that Unshaven Comics is a nineteen-year-old studio founded by 32 year old friends (who are all 43 years old for context). Still here? Good. Simply put, it’s rough when you don’t really hang out with your best friends of three-decades until you’re shoulder to shoulder behind a six foot table 500+ miles from home. So you learn to savor these times for the gift they truly are.
Dragon Con this year was in full force — with likely 70K+ in attendance all filling downtown Atlanta to the gills with every manor of nerd in pop culture. More so than perhaps any other fan convention in America, Dragon Con really is a Nerdy Mardi Gras where every sect of fantasy, comics, sci-fi, and anime all converge for a long weekend of prime programming, sensational shopping, and cosplay predilection.
For me and my crew, this was a sojourn not only to reconnect, but to refill company coffers. For those who followed our Las Vegas Adventures, you know that we smashed the piggy bank in order to see what would happen if. And while the ramifications of that gamble are still very much in media res, it doesn’t remove the fact that Unshaven Comics has a desire to continue to produce independent comic book material. And in order to do that? We need money. In order to get money? We need to sell books. You can see why a show like Dragon Con then becomes a perfect storm of camaraderie and commerce.
This year, we tabled at Fan Expo New Orleans, Baltimore Comic Con, Heroes Con in Charlotte, and now Dragon Con. Where we respectfully hit goals at these other fine conventions… Dragon Con saw us crush our sales goals with room to coast a bit by Monday. The crowds were in our favor, and through the power of our original “Can I tell you about my comic book?” sign and Kyle’s unwavering pitch, we ultimately sold out of every last copy of The Samurnauts: Curse of the Dreadnuts we brought (over 100 copies), the last copies of Kyle’s Blooms: Heist on the Magical Girl’s Vault, and all our remaining copies of The Samurnauts: Genesis floppy-copy comic. We also sold a nice smattering of The Samuranuts: To the Max! and Toolbox. In terms of our closing ratio (how many pitches we performed to how many actually purchased) clocked in at 39%. Add to this my PokeMashups netting plenty of profit, and Matt’s donated Galactus painting earning over $150 towards the charity art auction fund (for the National Alliance on Mental Illness). Victory, thy name is Hotlanta!
Of equal importance, Matt, Kyle, and I also enjoyed some fine meals out, and even one back at our hotel — where we opted to dine on some superhero themed “Savage Pizza” in Kennesaw, and watch John Wick 3: Shooty Shootings Full of Gun Boom Booms. We traded stories about being husbands and dads. We lamented about day jobs and freelance contracts. We played Tony Soprano’s most hated game of “remember when.” And for four con days and two driving days, the smiles never left our faces.
So, what is it specifically about Dragon Con that makes it so special? From top-shelf staff to a wide breadth of assembled artists and vendors… the four floors filled in the AmericasMart brought together an energized crowd with well-worn purveyors. It’s one of the remaining independently-owned fan-based conventions that truly is here for the love of the game, more than the bang of the buck. Because of this, everyone comes to party. And it’s more often than not a positive celebration that showcases why it’s so Rao-damned fun to be a nerd in the modern era. This is a show that was founded on fandom, and never lost sight of that being the overarching goal. Baltimore Comic Con (in my humble opinion) tends to amass the best working talent of the comic book industry as its primary prize. Charlotte’s Heroes Con puts forth the largest artist alley (amassed from a truly balanced pot of up-and-comers and known-names). Dragon Con really feels like it has honed the fan-forward experience as its calling card — boasting a cosplay parade, multiple group-photo zones, a phonebook’s worth of panels, and too many events to mention. It’s an exhausting cavalcade piqued by a smartly placed hall for fans to commit to some retail therapy.
To no one’s surprise? I’ve already emailed the show-runners for an application for 2026.
Post-Credits Scene: I’d be remiss to not denote a bit of the drama that befell the Artist Alley this year. It seems a would-be artist-of-the-alley was outed as an AI-Artist. Upon this discovery, the team at Dragon Con politely asked them to leave (as was their power and desire). This was met with a scoff, and led to an eventual dismissal by way of police assistance. A few choice social media screeds later, and everyone (me included) is forced to acknowledge the goblin in the room. While Dragon Con didn’t post any lengthy anti-AI messaging for folks applying for a table, they also made clear that admittance to the show required sharing of one’s work. The vendor-in-question did not share the AI-generated materials he brought for sale on said application (as it was eventually brought to light). The con had every right to deny them their booth upon this discovery, and it’s highly likely this will lead to a more concrete set of rules being issued in 2026 and beyond. It’s a sticky wicket though, kiddos, and I intend to unspool it in the coming weeks. Per our normal agreement: if you don’t see that article from me in the next two weeks? I owe you a Coke.
