Comix Connection Cartoonist Cookout a smash success!

The day was beautiful, with rather warm, clear skies. I had arrived early to set things up and everything was running smoothly. Joe ran to get the ice and some weird form of Cheese Food Product to put on the burgers, and a few other last-minute items. We were all set and ready for the hungry throngs. Counter Monkey Tony arrived before noon, while he was walking past me the wind picked up and lifted my carefully constructed canopy (GO Gators!) up in the air and tried to dump it on the hot grill. Fine. Tony and I wrestled it to the ground and threw it back in the van. OK, no canopy. No big deal. We'll move the grill closer to the store to get it out of the wind, and rearrange everything else, including the artist's table. Speaking of which, where are the artists? The phone rings. It's Mike Hawthorne. He's just leaving York due to an unforeseen problem and he'll be here ASAP. No biggie. Except Mike has the hamburgers and the kebabs! Better get the hot dogs cooking, the hungry wolves are starting to circle the campfire...
And then, Mike Oeming and Taki Soma appear and everything's cool. Mike Hawthorne and Paul Azaceta arrive shortly thereafter, so it's all good. Burgers fry, marinated pork kebabs sizzle, and the soda pop flows! A great time is had by all. A reporter from the Harrisburg Patriot-News appears to do a story on comic books and interviews the Boyces and the Yothers and the artists and Joe and I ... CLICK HERE to read the full details!

Anyway, we all had a blast... it was cool hanging out with everyone on a fine Fall afternoon, shooting the breeze and grubbing out! Kudos to Mike Hawthorne for the brilliant idea of throwing an artist's cookout! We should do this again, don't you think?

And last but not least, we raised over $150.00 for the Hero Initiative, a charity that helps freelance artists who have no insurance, and more! Thanks everyone who came out and had a tasty grilled treat, and thanks for your generous donations!

Without further ado, here's some pics:

Olivia, Megan and Tom Hayes chat with artist Paul Azaceta, while in the foreground Mike Hawthorne works his magic!

Behold the culinary delights, the subtle flavors of which you can only get from grilling meat in a parking lot!

Counter Monkey Tony Magni, who saved my life by selflessly flinging himself between me and the runaway canopy. He's pretty super, man.

Wonder Woman fan Annelene Wahl, ready for Halloween.

Mike Oeming, Taki Soma and Mike Hawthorne chatting in the foyer of Comix Connection - Mechanicsburg, while a youth with a proper haircut looks on in awe.

Three parts of The Four Wahls!

You gotta make the next Comix Connection Cookout!

(Oh, and Counter Monkey Linnen was there too, doing whatever it is that Linnen does. You got me.)