I just got back from my annual pilgrimage to comic con. DA sponsored artist alley this year and it seemed to give it a shot in the arm. There were people all over the entire alley. That was really great to see. The last 2 years I went, it seemed like there was little to no focus on the artists, which is a shame. I mean, without the artists, Comic Con wouldn't exist. Period. So my hats off to Deviant art.
There are so many cool people at CC. If you take the time to stop and talk to just about anyone, you could have a new friend. Most, if not all of the artists are super cool and accommodating which is weird for me. I grew up reading comics and making note of which artist did what title and their style ect. and I still do today. So for me they are celebrities and when you meet one of the people you've looked up to, and they are hella cool, it's extremely validating. It's Cathartic. Everything else at the con is just icing on the cake for me. It's a lot of icing.