Sliders, Slabs, And Texas Toothpicks – Brendan’s SoldierCon 2024 Swag Brag

I always love to see the things that spark joy in my fellow convention goers. I want to know what it is that lights them up and makes them pull the trigger on big ticket items at cons. I usually end up with a few things at each convention I attend, but SoldierCon 2024 was kind of a different animal for me since I spent most of the time on stage, and very little time actually shopping the different vendors. 

For a little background, SoldierCon has been around for a while at different military installations, but this was the very first time it was held off post. The move off post made it available not only to active duty servicemembers, but also to the community of El Paso. Not that it was exactly off limits before, but getting civilian passes to enter a military post isn’t the easiest thing in the world, and the extra effort and time it takes to sign in often discourages civilians from even trying. 

I chose to attend SoldierCon this year over Rose City Comic Con, which took place the same weekend in Portland, for a couple reasons. First was the newness of the thing, and promoter Carlos Molina’s passion for the event. If you’ve ever heard Molina speak about SoldierCon, even in passing, you know exactly what I mean. The man is deeply committed to the success of this con. 

The other main factor is that I, myself, am a veteran, and my eldest son is as well. I know firsthand how easy it is to get into trouble while surviving on an enlisted soldier’s pay and living in the barracks. (Allegedly.)

SoldierCon gives these young men and women a place to exist in their geeky fandoms at a low cost. It brings a little bit of normalcy to their lives, grounding them in something that isn’t their MOS, their rank, or their current position in their squad.

I firmly believe that these types of events are essential to the mental health and wellbeing of this demographic, and the communities in which they serve.

I saw quite a few very interesting items for sale last weekend, but purchased exactly one for myself. I grabbed a couple little trinkets for my kids, and some fun skin care stuff for my wife at the airport, but my self-care purchase this weekend was one eleven year old print. We’ll get to that in a moment.

First, I want to talk about the gifts I received. As a token of appreciation for managing the stage and moderating the weekend’s panels, I was presented with an engraved Bowie knife. I have always been fascinated with Texas toothpicks, and this one is a beaut.

The Highlander Bowie from United Cutlery’s Hibben Knives Custom Design Series features a wire wrapped handle and an 8 ¾” clip point blade, with a total length of 13 ½”. The blade has been laser engraved with SoldierCon’s logo. 

On my getaway day, Carlos wanted to get together for breakfast, and unbeknownst to me, present me with a couple more gifts. The first is pretty self explanatory.

Carlos is a huge Spawn fan. He’s been reading and collecting Spawn for years, and even had the opportunity to work with Todd McFarlane himself on five different Spawn-themed custom automobile builds. When Carlos gives you a Spawn comic, know that it means something special to him. This one is a Spawn #1, signed by McFarlane, slabbed with a 9.6 grade.

For the second book, I’m going to give a little backstory. I have a complicated relationship with the work of Rob Liefeld. I fully recognize the guy’s contributions to the industry, but I have issues with some of the ways he treats people, and pretty much his entire online persona. I would not have chosen this book for myself, but when Carlos told me his reasons for picking this one, I couldn’t be more thrilled with it. 

Also, I was informed it’s not for me anyway. Carlos picked out a signed, slabbed 9.6 Cable #1 for my youngest child, Devland. Here’s why. Dev has complex medical issues. Carlos and I have talked about Devland’s treatment and the hope for a cure for his cystic fibrosis in the near future. We are well on that path already in the CF community, with the development of a drug trio called Trikafta and several other treatments that are currently in the drug pipeline. There are even talks about gene therapy/modification.

Carlos equates my son’s personal story to Cable’s origin. If you didn’t know, Cyclops sent Cable to the future to find the cure for the deadly techno-organic virus that Mr. Sinister injected him with as an infant. All trained up and equipped with futuristic treatments and containment abilities, Cable returned to the present to kick some ass. Substitute a rare genetic disorder from a broken CFTR gene and thick sticky mucus for nanobots, and we’re cooking.  

It’s not a perfect analogy, but I can see where Carlos is coming from. Dev is an incredible kid. He has been involved in so many programs that raise funds and awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Make-A-Wish, and many other charities and respite programs. The things that he is doing now, at age (almost) 9, are very much affecting outcomes and progress for the CF community. He is a fierce advocate for himself and his community, and he is making huge waves in the future, just… without the guns or bionic arm.

And that leaves my one big purchase on the weekend. If you’ve ever seen me at a con, or at the grocery store, or pretty much anywhere really, I was probably wearing a San Francisco Giants hat. I’m from the North Bay. I love baseball, and the Giants are my guys.

My friends Steve Johnston and Johnny Jimenez of Vegas Toy Shack were guests on a panel I hosted on Sunday. We talked about toys and the business of collectibles. Johnny is more of an emotional collector, who finds bits and pieces of his childhood through the memories attached to toys and collectibles that come through the shop. Steve has more of a cut and dry, transactional attachment to most of the items that come through. Both mindsets have served them well, and their business partnership is balanced between their individual perspectives. 

I chipped in with my own philosophy for my personal collection, and that is simply this:

Buy things that make you happy. If they stop making you happy, sell them, trade them, or give them away. 

As I walked off the stage to find some food, Deryl Skelton waved me over to his artist table. He had been watching the panel, and saw my hat. Correctly deducing that I’m a Giants fan, and probably making some (also correct) assumptions about my age, he slyly said “I have something to show you.” 

In 2013, Mr. Skelton was commissioned by the SF Giants to draw a portrait of Giants pitcher Sergio Romo for Stan Lee Day at AT&T Park (now renamed Oracle Park). This is what he wanted to show me, and this thing is absolutely gorgeous.

It features a caricatured image of Romo on the mound, delivering a pitch in the most Bugs Bunny, yet clearly Sergio Romo, way possible. There’s an image of Stan Lee in the upper left corner, and it’s signed. Not only by Skelton himself, right in front of me and witnessed by Steve, but also by Romo, and STAN LEE himself. 

I have a small collection of signed baseballs. I mostly stick to the 2010, 2012, and 2014 rosters, because I have a strong emotional attachment to the mostly homegrown rosters that made those magical championship seasons happen. They make me happy. One of those balls smartly sports a clean Romo signature.

This man just made the smoothest cold read I’ve ever seen, and there wasn’t even a moment’s hesitation in pulling out my wallet. 

The piece draws together so many of the things that I absolutely love, all in one 11/17” piece of printed paper. It is my new favorite piece, and I’m having separation anxiety while it’s off at the framers. Now I have to make some hard choices for which of my original comics pages it will displace on the wall that forms the backdrop to most of my comics interviews and shows.