#tampabaycomiccon

Proof that I was at Tampa Bay Comic Con 2021, you can tell it’s me because of the cover on my art portfolio.

We were seated beside this lovely family, the father of which was an awesome artist who had been on the Mothman episode of Monster Quest. He let me grill him about it and happily talked monsters with me, then when I gave him one of my Mothman stickers, he gave me a whole entire print of his, a noir style Mothman movie poster, signed.

A lady-Kylo Ren came to peruse my Star Wars stickers and excitedly shouted, "I know you! I've bought all your Hux stuff!" I was thrilled to show her my newest Hux art and we chatted about the Phasma novel and the ending our boy should have gotten.

Three youths of the African-American persuasion ran to my table and shouted "We've been looking all over for you!" and proceeded to buy like all of my "mature" stickers while teasing each other for the ones they picked out.

A lady who might have been in her late forties but had clearly once been A Special Kind Of Dancer with gigantic breasts, was looking through my "mature" art and gave me an approving, "You naughty, naughty girl!"

Lots of good butts. Every time I said to my boyfriend, "Lookit those hams!" he would just lose it.

A young human in a clearly lovingly home-made Luca costume, halfway sea monster-ized, bought my sticker that said "Silenzio Bruno!"

A Black woman picked up my comic book and said, "Thanks for the representation."

Two sisters with matching beaded dreadlocks, maybe 14 and 6, headed straight for my comic book and listened intently as I told them about it. The youngest got a copy and the oldest got my art book but swore she would also swipe the comic from her sister. Watching young girls enjoy my work, work I do specifically for young people to enjoy and feel empowered, is so huge. If I'd made no other money that weekend, that would have been enough.

Just being with the boyfriend, helping each other, watching people admire his art, or catching the proud look on his face as he watched people admire my art, each of us boosting the other, was so wonderful. I wish I could do this all the time. When I compare my life to what it was five years ago, it's an entirely different world.

Tank Girl - TBCC 2019 // IG: @nebulousflower

https://www.instagram.com/nebulousflower/