Back in Cali!
With Comics, Chaos, and a Dental Cleaning
This weekend, in three days—no, wait, this didn’t go out yesterday as planned—in two days, I’ll be at Comic Con Revolution in Ontario, California.
Back in California. Back with my people. Back to seeing friends I’ve genuinely missed.
Also… back to my dentist!
Look, I’m not saying I plan my travel around dental appointments, but I am saying that good dentists are hard to find, and when you find one, you hang on for dear life. If that means scheduling a cleaning during a comic convention weekend, so be it. Priorities.
But the real reason I’m there: Comic Con Revolution is in full swing, and if you’re anywhere near Southern California, this is one of those shows that wholeheartedly punches above its weight.
So if you’re local, here are a couple of stops I’d absolutely recommend—purely coincidentally involving books I edit. Imagine that…
🍬 Stop #1: Dave Johnson + Pop Kill: Big Candy
Dave Johnson is one of the special guests at the show, and if you know comics, you know Dave.
He’s not just the co-creator of Pop Kill—one of Mad Cave’s best-selling titles—he’s also one of the best cover artists in the industry. One of those names where you see the credit and immediately go, oh, okay, this is going to look incredible!
Because speaking of Pop Kill…
There’s a second Pop Kill series launching: Big Candy.
Somehow—and I say this as someone who has read both—it manages to be even more fun, more chaotic, and more delightfully unhinged than the original. Which feels mathematically impossible, but here we are.
If you’re at the show, go find Dave. Say hi. Pick up the first volume. Thank me later.
🐙 Stop #2: Christian Gossett + Cthulhutown
Also at the show: Christian Gossett, who is working on a Nakama Press book called Cthulhutown.
If that name rings a bell, it should.
Christian’s been building this world out in a really cool way through his Substack—diving deep into Lovecraft lore while also writing short prose stories that expand the Cthulhutown universe ahead of the full book release this fall.
It’s one of those projects where you can feel the world getting bigger in real time, which is always fun to watch (and even more fun to edit). Christian will have awesome swag at his table, including t-shirts, posters, and, for the first time ever, some of those prose stories collected and printed exclusively for this show!
🎤 Bonus Stop: The Superfan Podcast Panel
And because I apparently don’t know how to not stack my schedule…
We’re doing a Superfan Podcast panel at the show featuring Dave Johnson, Christian Gossett, and me.
Topic?
Dave’s all-time favorite movie: the gloriously 80s cult classic Fandango.
This is the part where I will take a small amount of credit, because yes, I absolutely made this happen. You’re welcome.
If you’ve ever listened to the podcast, you know the drill—deep fandom dives, unexpected takes, and at least one moment where we go slightly off the rails.
🗺️ Pro Tip (That I Wish I Could Take Credit For)
If you want to make your life easy:
Dave and Christian are seated next to each other in Artist’s Alley.
I would love to tell you this was a masterstroke of logistical genius on my part.
It was not.
But we’re all benefiting from it anyway.
🎟️ Final Thought
If you’re in SoCal and looking for a show that feels a little more personal, a little less overwhelming, and still packed with great creators—Comic Con Revolution should absolutely be on your radar.
I’ll be there, bouncing between panels, Artist’s Alley, and—yes—the dentist’s office.
Come say hi.
Season Two of the Superfan Podcast has wrapped! Jim Rugg kicked it off with his passion for wrestling. Then Maia Kobabe waxed on about K-pop! Johnnie Christmas bit deep into Midnight Mass, and Paul Pope took us back to his teenage years when he first discovered Rowland S. Howard. Then we saw Erica Henderson introducing our audience to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, and we wrapped up the season with Elsa Charretier and her passion for game-based dog training! Be sure to subscribe to the Superfan Signal Substack to get updates on Season 3! Each episode includes detailed show notes (with reference breakdowns) plus cocktail, mocktail, and dessert recipes inspired by our guests’ fandoms…because, of course, we did that.
If you haven’t caught Season One of the Superfan Podcast yet, now’s a great time to dive in. As a co-host, I had the absolute joy of talking fandom with Rodney Barnes, Marc Guggenheim, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Matt Kindt, Marjorie Liu, and Patrick McDonnell — all of whom superfanned out on the things they love most. It was smart, joyful, and honestly delightful.
If you listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and feel inclined, a 5-star review is always appreciated. It genuinely helps the show find new listeners and grow.
You can also find me on Instagram at @geekchic_promos, on Bluesky and Cara as @kris10simon, and over at the Editor Girl website.
See you next week!
Onward,
Kris
Thanks for the shout, Kris!