The Blot Says...: MondoCon is Back and Bigger Than Ever! MondoCon 2 Convention Report

Mike Mitchell

The Blot had the privilege to cover MondoCon 2, the world’s preeminent art and print convention, last weekend in Austin, Texas. The Blot’s been covering Mondo and their releases for years now, but it’s hard to understand the brand’s popularity until you’ve attended MondoCon. Yes most of their releases sell out within seconds, but seeing collectors camp out for days just so they can get first shot at a super limited edition release really drives home the fact that Mondo and its acclaimed stable of artists have become an integral part of these fans’ lives.

Mike Mitchell

Everyone I spoke with throughout the two days of MondoCon were truly passionate about art and prints. They spoke for hours in line each day about gallery shows, movies and art styles. It’s really amazing to see collectors from all walks of life and who have traveled from all around the globe be united in their love of pop culture and design. Although the convention itself would be considered small by today’s standards of comic cons, MondoCon makes up for it with content.

The Vacvvm

For two days straight Mondo hosted a variety of panels on everything from movie soundtracks, toys and collectibles, to artist spotlights and Mondo prints that could have been. They even hosted six different screenings, which spotlighted the variety of different properties Mondo works with. There was definitely a little something for everyone at MondoCon 2015. One of The Blot’s favorite events was visiting the Adventures in Design Podcast room to see AiD tape live shows for two days straight with MondoCon’s featured guests. If you love screen prints and gig posters then you definitely should be listening to the Adventures in Design podcast.

Daniel Danger

What’s really great about this event is that Mondo listens to its fans. It was my understanding that attendees had some constructive criticism for Mondo’s first ever convention last year. The Austin based company definitely took that feedback to heart and it shows! In just its second year, the show has clearly grown for the better as it branched out into a second venue. All attendees could say is how much better and well organized MondoCon 2 was over the year before. With Mondo’s dedicated staff working to continue to make MC better, the sky truly is the limit!

Daniel Danger

The real reason to attend MondoCon, at least for The Blot, is to meet all of the amazing artists in attendance – many of whom have traveled long distances to be there – and all of the fantastic art they brought with them. Unless you live in LA or NYC, MondoCon is one of the few places you can go to meet all of your favorite artists. Each had their own booth (or shared a booth) and many brought rare old prints, originals, sketches and t-shirts for fans to drool over and buy. While I didn’t personally buy much, I spent hours walking the convention floor talking to artists and looking through their art. It was such a treat to see so many pieces in person that I’ve only ever seen on a computer screen. If you plan to travel for one convention next year The Blot highly recommends MondoCon!

Jason Edmiston

Below are my personal photos from MondoCon. I did my best to take pictures of everyone booth at the convention. Sadly, my photos don’t do all of the amazing artwork on display justice. If you see something you like though, be sure to visit the artist’s personal website and buy some art directly from them!!!