Big Lick NOVA 2026: Part II - Joe Rubenstein, Alex Saviuk, And Patrick Olliffe

My day continued at Big Lick NOVA 2026 where last week's post ended off. I was making my way down the row of artist alley, getting books signed, meeting with folks, and in general having a blast. What shocked me was just how relatively empty the majority of their tables were. People would come in waves of three to five every few minutes, but in general, it was relatively easy to walk up to a table and immediately meet with your creator of choice.

As I noted yesterday, the order in which these are posted isn't actually the order that I went from table to table, but rather how each person was seated, left to right. Mind you, while the folks I showed last week, and am showing today, are the ones I got several books signed by, there were also a couple others I met with. Those will pop up next Monday when I wrap up my Big Lick posts.

Kicking things off for today was Joe Rubenstein. At $15.00 per signature, Joe has historically been one of the more expensive creators to obtain a signature from. It's because of this that I had to severely edit myself. Things could have easily gotten out of hand at his table had I allowed myself to do what I initially wanted, which was get all the Official Marvel Handbooks he worked on signed. That would have easily cost over $700.00.

Joe Rubenstein signing my stack of books

While I could have done this within my budget, it would have certainly killed how things ultimately played out, and frankly, I'm much happier with how things ended up versus getting a bunch of books signed that ultimately would have sat in a comic box. I ended up limiting myself to just twelve books, which in and of itself is quite a few, considering the price.

Also signed by Jim Shooter at
Big Lick NOVA 2023, and
purchased off of ebay pre-signed
by Charles Vess

While I initially got the above book signed by Jim Shooter at Big Lick NOVA 2023, the above copy was my second which I bought off of ebay, pre-signed by Charles Vess. I did end up meeting Mr. Vess at Baltimore Comic Con 2025, and getting my original copy signed by him as well.

Also signed by Jim Shooter at
Big Lick NOVA 2023

Also signed by Mark Bagley at
Awesome Con 2024, and
Jim Salicrup at the same show

Also signed by Jim Shooter at
Big Lick NOVA 2025

Also signed by Jim Starlin at
Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Also signed by Jim Starlin at
Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Also signed by Jim Starlin at
Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Also signed by Jim Starlin at
Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Also signed by Jim Starlin at
Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Also signed by Jim Starlin at
Baltimore Comic Con 2023

Also signed by Alex Saviuk and
Keith Williams at
Baltimore Comic Con 2024

Also signed by Alex Saviuk at
Baltimore Comic Con 2023
(but I forgot to post the book at that time)

And speaking of Alex Saviuk, he too was there, and another artist I had to severely handicap myself with on getting books signed. Basically, if there was a book of Web of Spider-Man that Keith Williams inked, chances were high that Alex penciled them. The problem is that at $10.00 per signature, he's not as affordable as Mr. Williams.

Alex signing my edited stack of books

With that said, prior to Rubinstein being announced as a guest, I did have several more books picked out for him to sign. Still, I got quite a few good ones. In lieu of this, I ended up having him on my list as a possibility to get a commission piece from. However, much like Mike DeCarlo, this was going to come down to whether or not he was doing them that day, what they cost, and how long it would take.

Also signed by Jim Shooter at
Big Lick NOVA 2023, and
Al Milgrom at
Baltimore Comic Con 2025

I bought this copy of The Amazing Spider-Man: Riot At Robotworld! specifically to take with me and get signed. Mr. Saviuk was happy to see it, and it spawned quite a long conversation with him about how he came to be the penciler on the book. Flipping it open and seeing the promotional poster, he then told me about how he came to draw that, how a fan brought him one to keep at a show, and then proceeded to look them up on ebay, showing me the multiple sellers who had them after I expressed an interest in owning one myself.

Since I had Keith Williams do a remark on Web of Spider-Man 63, I thought it would be fun to have Mr. Saviuk also do one. No offense to Mr. Williams, but man that black suit Spidey turned out hot!

The last artist I actively brought books for was Patrick Olliffe.

As I was getting things situated with Mr. Saviuk, Pat actually got up to walk away from his empty table. I turned to him and said, "No, please don't go. I have stuff for you to sign as well." He smiled and sat back down. Admittedly, he was the person I brought the least for, but I was glad that he stayed around for me.

Also signed by Renee Witterstaetter
at Big Lick NOVA 2023, and
Mark Bagley at
Galaxy Con Richmond 2023

From there, I did make my way to two other tables in the same row to get my convention book signed. From there, I walked the showroom floor, intent on finding the things I had on my want list, but I'll go into all of that in next week's post, which will also wrap up my time at Big Lick NOVA 2026.

Until then, here's a few select photos from the show, starting out with a selection of cosplayers who killed it on their costumes.

There were also some cool props and cars in the showroom.

All of that was just the tip of the iceberg once you add the illustrious volume of vendor tables. Comics, toys, games, cards, unique foods, and tchotchkes of every kind could be found. If there wasn't something in this building that appealed to you, there's something wrong with you.

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