Bronx, New York was very good to my brother Chris and I earlier this year. We took Happyloo, The O>Matics in Comic, and all our other merch to two fun filled Comic Conventions. The My Pal Mark Team started our convention season in April at the Kids Comic Con. KCC is always a blast. The kids and their families really admire all the cartoonists and creators. I always enjoy answering the questions of young artists and readers. It was nice being set up across the way from Buzzboy creator, John Gallagher. His comics feature top notch art and plenty of eye-popping action. Learn more about John Gallagher and his awesome comics at buzzboy.com Below is my version of his character, Roboy Red.

My favorite Art Card commission from KCC was this Dragon:

In May, we returned to the Bronx for our first visit to the Bronx Heroes Con. As with every convention, we didn’t know what to expect. The show was a ton of fun and to our surprise, our shirts were a big hit! I had the chance to talk with a lot of great creators and fans in my own backyard, We’ll definitely be back in the Bronx for the conventions next year!

As Chris and I travel doing these conventions we search for the best wings out there! Currently the best wings we have ever had are from Moriarty’s in Philadelphia.

When we were in Pittsburgh we tried the wings at Quaker Steak and Lube. Quaker Steak is a chain that has locations in about 13 states so far. The menu looked to be packed with goodies, but their claim to fame is “Best Wings USA.”

Sorry to say, but they do not have the best wings in the USA. When we try the wings in these places, we try the standard with a few sauces on the side. Quaker’s standard wings were WAY too buttery. It seems they may have reversed the amounts of Frank’s Red Hot and butter when making them. The other sauces we had on the side were quite tastey. I don’t remember what sauces we had, but I remember we liked them better than the standard. I’ll have to take “eating notes” from now on for future posts. 

While the wings weren’t the best, Quaker Steak and Lube is a pretty cool restaurant. It’s got a classic racecar/gas station/ pitt crew atmosphere. I would definitely revist a Quaker for the wacky dish I saw called the “Ontenna.” It’s onion rings and pretzels served on an antenna with a bunch of other stuff. 
Here’s the description straight from Quaker’s website:
Ontenna® of onion rings and baked soft pretzels stacked high on a baby moon hubcap. The fun doesn’t stop here! Choose from Cajun Bleu Cheese Chips, loaded Magna Fries, Chicken Fenders, Mozzarella Stick Shifters or Pick-up Pickles.
Now that can’t be bad!

visit www.quakersteakandlube.com to find a location near you.

I’ve always heard great things about North Carolina’s Heroes Con and this year I had the privilege to exhibit at it. Heroes is a fantastic comic convention for creators. I felt bad leaving Chris to man the table alone, but I had to check out Indie Island. The level of talent at this show blew me away, and as always all the creators are so nice. Our location was perfect. We had our own little “All Ages Island.” Set up behind me were my pals Dave McDonald (Hamster Sam),  John Gallagher (Buzzboy), and Rich Faber (Roboy Red). It was really cool being set up next to comics legend Don Rosa. Don is an Eisner Award winner and the mastermind behind “The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck” which as you guessed it, tells the life story of Scrooge and how he made all that money!

This was the first convention where I tried out “Custom Paperbag Puppets” The Batman puppet pictured above was my first super-quick attempt at paperbag puppet making. By the end of the show, the puppets really improved. I’ll be displaying all the puppets and art cards from these shows in the near future so stay tooned!

As you know, when doing these conventions, Chris and I are always on the look out for cool places to visit. My Pal Dave McDonald is a local creator who showed us around. We enjoyed gigantic burritos, and went for ice cream. I was thrilled to get a vanilla milkshake with the EXTRA SILVER CUP. The diners I frequent in NJ no longer give you the extra silver cup. Anyhoo, Chris and I had a great time talking comics and video production with Dave. He’s a cool guy and his comics are just as good as those milkshakes! Check em out at davemcdonald.com