Big Lick Comic Con returns with a bang

By David Slifer

The weekend of October 3 and 4, Big Lick Comic Con returned for its second year in Greensboro. The event was hosted at the Greensboro Coliseum and was filled with some amazing artists, authors, vendors and celebrity guests.

Steve Cardenas (right) autographed a photo for David Slifer (left) (Photo courtesy of David Slifer)

Last year, the event had a great turnout with it being its first year in the Triad. This year it definitely increased in attendance. For its Triad inception, much of the advertising was done through comic book stores and other local businesses. They were able to continue that strategy along with now renting out billboards. The strategies have worked and the numbers increased.

The guests this year were pretty big, with members of the 90’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” cast arriving. The guests were Brian Tochi (who was Leonardo), Robbie Rist (Michelangelo), Ernie Reyes Jr (Donatello), Judith Hoag (April O’Neil) and Francois Chau (Shredder).

A nice surprise was seeing Brett Breeding at the convention. Breeding is best known for his work on “The Death Of Superman.”

Some members of “The Walking Dead” also graced the convention with their presence. They consisted of Chandler Riggs (Carl Grimes,) Michael Cudlitz (Abraham Ford), Khary Payton
(King Ezekiel) and Steven Ogg (Simon). Although there with their Walking Dead brethren, Ogg is best known for his portrayal as Trevor Phillips in “Grand Theft Auto V” and Payton is also known for his wide variety of voice acting work with most fans knowing him best as Cyborg in “Teen Titans Go.”

David Slifer was able to meet Comic Com attendees Chandler Riggs (left), Michael Cudlitz (top right), Khary Payton (bottom right), Steven Ogg (bottom) (Photos courtesy of David Slifer)

The big celebrity guest this year was the man of many voices and a part of so many people’s childhood and they may not even know it, Jim Cummings. He is best known for his voice as Winnie the Pooh.

David Slifer meeting Jim Cummings (Photo courtesy of David Slifer)

A big push this year was the convention’s AI policy. They pushed the message far, wide and
hard. The policy stated, “At Big Lick Comic Con, we are extremely proud to support the incredible artists, writers, creators and makers who make our community so special! In an effort to help protect and CELEBRATE original creativity, the sale of AI-generated artwork, prints, or other AI-created merchandise is NOT permitted at our event. Again, NO AI-created merchandise may be sold at Big Lick Comic Con.”

With the recent surge in the use of AI and controversy surrounding it, the support for human
made materials and artwork made the event feel a lot more authentic. Many vendors were very enthusiastic about the works they had created. You could find just about anything. The variety ranged from books, keychains, comics, art pieces, collectibles and so much more.

With how well these two years have gone for this convention, it makes many excited for what they will have to offer in the years to come. Many new guests are definitely in line to appear along with more and new vendors and creatives coming back to advertise and sell their personal works.