Somehow, at San Diego I hardly spent any time on the convention floor at all from Thursday through Saturday. I was always running from one event to another, and spent maybe half an hour in the main hall at a time. So on Sunday, I made a point of walking the entire hall until I couldn’t stand it anymore.*

Among the things I’d been meaning to do at the con was to get my copies of The Flash #1-3 signed by Geoff Johns and Francis Manapul, and if possible to get a sketch by the artist. I never managed to make it to a Geoff Johns signing this time around, but I did catch up with Francis Manapul at his Artists’ Alley table.

There were five or six fans ahead of me in line who asked for sketches of various characters including Sinestro, Hal Jordan, Batman and the Flash. After a while I was beginning to wonder whether I’d make it to the front before he had to leave for a signing at the DC Comics booth, but I made it to the head of the line with plenty of time to spare.

In a revelation that I’m sure will surprise no one, I asked him to draw the Flash.

While he sketched, I asked him about the TV series he was on, Beast Legends, in which a team traces the origins of various mythical creatures. It’s airing in Canada now on History Television, and will hit the US on SyFy in September. It sounds like fun, and in some cases they actually traced legends to surprising sources — like tracking griffins to Mongolia!

Check out the finished sketch:

Cool, isn’t it!

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*This was a real issue, since with no events in the gigantic Hall H to warehouse 6,000 people plus more waiting in line, the main floor was actually more crowded on Sunday.

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