MidOhioCon Breaks Records

This year’s MidOhioCon broke records. By mid-day on Saturday, the show’s organizers had run out of one-day wristbands, showing the number of attendees wildly exceeding expectations. The Fund was placed at the convention’s front gate and met nearly every attendee who entered the room. The steady flow of comics fans and free speech enthusiasts we met cumulatively donated a generous $4,420 to the Fund during the weekend, setting a new record for fundraising at the show.

Over the weekend, attendees had the opportunity to meet Fund supporters including Jeff Smith, Sergio Aragones, Mark Millar, P. Craig Russell, Greg Horn, Don Simpson, Rich Koslowski, and dozens of other top creators. The dealer’s room was a comic fan’s heaven, with books ranging from the Golden Age to the present, along with tons of cool toys, graphic novels, movie posters, and anime memorabilia that would be welcome in anyone’s holiday stocking.

Over the two days, P. Craig Russell, Jeff Smith, Greg Horn, and Sergio Aragones were accepting donations for the Fund in exchange for sketches and signatures. Russell raised a whopping $500 for the Fund over the two days, making him the winter season’s convention sketch fundraising champ!

On Sunday, Mile High's Chuck Rozanski donated his time and 10 extremely cool signed and numbered hardcover books to the Fund’s MidOhioCon auction. Chuck’s deft auctioneering skills raised $2,200 for the Fund in just over an hour! Art highlights included a Jughead page by Rich Koslowski, a Daredevil and Black Widow sketch by Don Simpson, and an enormous airbrushed Conan cover by Paul Mounts, donated by Bob Cook. The Laughing Ogre donated an extremely rare signed copy of Batman #608 created exclusively for DC’s RRP as well as a copy of 30 Days of Night, which store owner Gib Bickel will be getting signed by the entire IDW crew.

By the end of the show, MidOhioCon proved to be a blast that raised great funds for the CBLDF and ushered in the holiday season for comics fans with a generous abundance of goodwill and cheer.