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Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner Sailed Out On Comic-Con: The Cruise

Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner sailed out on Comic-Con: The Cruise, and gave us the view from Artists' Alley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D0mtlsPjdc

Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, with everything from Marvel Knights to The Pro to Harley Quinn to PaperFilms on their collective CV, currently working on a Harley Quinn/Elvira crossover, were guests on the maiden voyage of the Comic-Con: The Cruise. And Jimmy Palmiotti is here to tell us everything that went down. He writes;

"Sold as the ultimate Comic-Con® fan experience, it actually lived up to that title and more. We were among the guests invited onboard from February 5th to 9th, with a stopover for the day in Cozumel, Mexico. The Talent list was made up of Movie and TV stars and licensed partners and featured an actual Artists' Alley with us and Adam Hughes, Alison Shon, Afua Richardson, Kip Rasmussen, Sarah Myer, Joe Wos and Marcus Williams.

"Also on the ship were celebrity DJs, Dueling Piano players, a party band that kicked major ass called Funky Bonez, and so much more. The people behind the cruise made it their business to make sure each and every person coming on board had stuff to do if they liked and a relaxing fun time in the process.

"Even before the cruise took off, we knew there were going to be some major event parties each night because they had asked Amanda to illustrate some visuals for them. There were four different parties with cosplay themes if anyone wanted to dress up, and they did. The first night saw a tropical vacation theme, the second night a celebration of all things Sci-fi , the third night a colossal cosplay celebration and the last night a pajama party. Our favorites were the cosplay night and Pajama one, for sure. Thank God the pajama theme was the last night, because we were exhausted and it just saved us some time.

"Our schedule started right away as we took off from the port of Tampa, Florida. All of the invited Talent, artists and partners got together for an orientation meeting to get to know the hosts and other information that would help us along for the following days. After a lunch break all the comic crew got together at the mainstage for an introduction and interview where we spoke about who we are, what we have done and then took questions. We noticed a few familiar faces in the crowd as well and spoke to some after. We were done for the night as we participated in some of the other things happening around the ship. Our favorite was a Hollywood Squares game show with Mary McDonald, Ernie Hudson, Felicia Day, Jonah Rey, Melody Anderson and our favorite Ted Lange. It was so well done, and was a blast. The audience was howling at some of the wrong answers to movie and TV trivia. All this going on while they had Karaoke, a talent showcase and live music from 9-midnight. There was also a DJ party going on till 2:30 am, but we had a big day ahead, so we crashed after a late-night drink at the casino bar.

"Day two was our first full day in Artists' Alley, which also shared space with the store selling t-shirts and other things convention-. related, and we got in after breakfast and worked the full day minus a lunch break and at 1:30, an hour-long panel with Amanda and I talking and taking questions. The Artists' Alley was busy with fans bringing their own books and some looking at what we did for the first time. A lot of new people came by and we instantly sold out of the pile of Deadly takes of the Gunslinger copies I brought. For me, the extra thrill was sitting next to Adam Hughes and watching him draw sketch after sketch for people. I was jealous of every single person that got one. We finished for the day, grabbed dinner in the beautiful dining room and then Amanda went and changed into her Leela suit for science fiction night, and we were out for God knows how late, having a blast and mixing it up with everyone on board. At one point of the evening, we all wound up on the main deck under the stars and listened to Melody Anderson introduce the movie Flash Gordon on the big screen, and since Amanda had not seen it yet, we grabbed a few drinks and settled in for the night watching Sam Jones chew up the scenery. It was a blast, and yes, we were exhausted once again.

"The next day, we had off as we pulled into Cozumel, Mexico and went to a resort where you pay one price for all the food and drinks you can eat and drink, and it was a bargain by the sea. The water and temperature of 81 degrees was just perfect. We got back before 5, worked in Artists Alley for a few hours, and then had dinner and partied. That night was the big cosplay costume celebration, and Amanda dressed up as usual, and we spent a lot of time on the dance floor, having a great time listening to the crew from Funky Bonez.

"We had a full day in Artists' Alley, selling prints, and Amanda took on some more commissions. It was our last day working as people came in and were in a buying mood. It was fun meeting so many people from all over the place all with big smiles on their faces. Sam Jones came by asking all of us to sign a movie poster he had and it continued like that, a lot of the actors stopping by to say hi and pick up a few things. It was a relaxing day highlighted by its theme of dressing in Pajamas which a ton of people did. That night we spent time in the casino watching Adam Hughes robbing the place with his winnings and we also spent time on the deck enjoying the night air and the stars above.

"I will say, without the stress of hotels, transportation and crowds, this was one hell of a way to experience a comic convention. What they did right in every way was to give the comic book convention experience to everyone onboard and stuff so many events going on all over the ship that you never felt like you were bored for a second or interacting with the guests, something most people do not get from a convention very often. For such a big ship, it also had a certain intimacy about it.

"Would I recommend this to people in the future? Hell yeah…mainly because even on our end, this was a ton of fun that normally feels like a lot of work mixed with exhaustion. They understood our timing and our need to eat and rest when needed and were respectful of our time. It turned out to be a fantastic time for us, and from what we saw, everyone came along for the voyage. I would highly recommend this event, and if you want to attend in 2026? Head to comicconthecruise.com for more info!

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