Hiro Mashima Panel

I’ve been at Comic Con for the last few days and the highlight for me was not Tite Kubo, who was the big anime/manga related guest this year, but instead being able to meet Hiro Mashima.

Artists Alley and Fanart

I’m probably the only person in the world who can attend Comic Con for 6 years in a row and never, ever take a good look at Artists’ Alley. In my defense by the time a person makes it that far down the hall odds are they’ve become a gibbering idiot. If you’ve ever been to a large convention maybe you know what I’m talking about… 15 minutes in the main hall and a fully functioning human becomes a brainless organism that can only react to bright lights and the mention of the word “swag”. It’s sort of the same experience you get after marathoning Mai Otome.

Baccano stickers

But you shouldn’t make the same mistake I did. I discovered at Anime Expo that Artists’ Alley is a great place to buy fanart and, here’s the best part, commission artists. I had this One Piece pen drawing done: