SDCC11 _ My BEST OF

(photo by Pat Loika)

Without getting too romantic about it, Comic Con at its best is all about the porous divide between fan and celebrity and creator and creation.  Fans are inspired to become the creations they admire, aspiring creators learn can directly from the pros, and pros get to see the immediate reaction of their work on the face of a fan. For me, the experience that best summed it up was first seeing fans appreciate Mike Mignola and his work at the Tr!ckster Con and then seeing him back across the street poring over the linework of Toby Cypress, commenting that he'd like to bring the same elasticity to his own interiors.

Below are a few pics of my experiences of the Con as fan and novice professional.

FEEDING GROUND at SDCC

FEEDING GROUND Pins by The Angry Robot and Bookmarks by Scott Newman.

The Archaia booth is like a bookstore in the middle of a convention floor.  Thanks to their staff and awesome interns for doing so much for a small company.  Their fans and creators really appreciate it.

A FEEDING frenzy! Honestly, talking with and meeting strangers is one of my favorite things. T-Shirt by Fast Custom Shirts.

OH NOES!  ISSUE 6 available at the Con, still not sure when they are in stores.  Also, the floppies are the only way to get FG as an English/Spanish flip book.

FEEDING GROUND co-creator and hotel buddy (Out Demons!) Chris Mangun working Archaia's Satellite Booth.

FOODIE HAVEN

Among the many great meals I had in San Diego (Burgers at HODAD's, Fish Tacos at TIN FISH, Steak at MORTON's) one of the best was the Frozen Mojito and Pulled Pork Taco lunch at LA PUERTA.

RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN wins an Eisner!

(photo by Pat Loika)

I had the great pleasure of meeting Jim McCann at a Con when he was still working PR for Marvel and we discussed Dazzler's crotch-burst costume.  Since then, we have both published books through Archaia and seeing him, artist Janet Lee, and his husband Michael is always a Con plus.  Even better, their book RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN won an Eisner (The Oscars for comics) for Best Graphic Novel! It is an utterly unique tale and package, a modern fable illustrated in decoupage on wood, that is a great example of the best comics have to offer.

My SDCC Haul

WOLVES by Becky Cloonan - The book I most eagerly sought out.  Becky's inking has become a story in itself.

CORA by Ted Mathot - I discovered this at the Tr!ckster Con as a book of great space and pause.

RODD RACER by Toby Cypress - The book I mentioned in the opening paragraph and possibly the best comic car chase ever.

BLUE ESTATE by Viktor Kalvachev, Andrew Osborne, and various - The lynchpin of my current comic tastes, this crime book features art by Toby Cypress, Nathan Fox, and others.  Viktor is a massive talent and one of my major Con discoveries.

Postcards by Nathan Fox - One goal of mine is to create art and comics that feel as spontaneous and outrageous as a song.  With his line and palette, Nathan does just that.

HULK by Jeff Parker and Patrick Zircher - This was a black and white ashcan given away by Marvel.  As such, the inks show off an artist doing the work of his career and a writer tapping the potential in a character (Red Hulk) that at first seemed like a gimmick.

International Cities Playing Cards by Bill Presing and Josh Cooley - Another Tr!ckster discovery and a gift for a friend. I worked with Bill at my first job at Jumbo Pictures.  Since then he's gone on to work for Pixar and, on the side, has spent years drawing some of the most accomplished and charming pin-ups.

TR!CKSTER Artist Workshop

If one goal of the TR!CKSTER counter-Con was to bring attention back to comics and comic artists, this artist workshop, in which attendants gathered around a table as asked questions as several professionals (Thompson, Moon, Crosland, Francavilla) was a chill, direct, way to do that.  Coincidentally, Francisco Francavilla (above) was doing layouts for the IMMORTALS book for Archaia.

Last Bit...

San Diego, where even the municipal buildings are comic book-themed.

SDCC11 _ ARCHAIA Bookmarks

Our publisher, ARCHAIA ENTERTAINMENT, is a young company with an already sizable, diverse, and distinguished catalogue of books.  They publish licensed properties like those based on PLANET OF THE APES and the works of Jim Henson (FRAGGLE ROCK, THE DARK CRYSTAL with original designer Brian Froud, and, incredibly, A TALE OF SAND, a graphic novel adaptation of an unpublished screenplay by Jim), all-ages fiction like Eisner Award-winning RETURN OF THE DAPPER MEN and MOUSE GUARD, adult fiction like THE KILLER and OLD CITY BLUES, and unique horror fiction like AWAKENING and, our book, FEEDING GROUND.


You can find many of these titles online at Comixology and Graphic. ly, on Amazon, and at your Local Comic Shop.


Indicative of their ability to do so much with a small team, the Archaia booth at San Diego Comic Con featured 72 (!) different bookmarks based on their entire library. Designed by Archaia designer Scott Newman, and his brother Brian, they are a feat of execution (fitting  different content in the same format AND packing the back with text info) and endurance.


I thought I was going to include these in my SDCC Wrap-Up but they are so cool and there are so many of them (only a dozen of the 72 below) that they deserve their own post.

San Diego COMIC CON 2010 _ The Big Wrap-up

Although FEEDING GROUND doesn't come out until September, writer Swifty Lang and I were invited out to San Diego Comic Con by Archaia to sign posters at their booth, participate in the Archaia: All-Access panel, and enjoy the big show.

There was much to get my inner fanboy excited (the Walking Dead booth, TOYS!, all things Thor) but it was a great occasion to meet the extended Archaia family and talk with some of my favorite creators. Everyone could not have been nicer or more down to earth.






Some other highlights below:

- The Silkscreen Poster Art of Gary Musgrave and Jordan Crane. If anyone is ever looking to get me a gift, simply add all of them to your shopping cart. Such a vibrant aesthetic and powerful images that inspired me to push my FEEDING GROUND work even further. There is always something out there to remind you that you can always do more.



- The "Quickie" postcard and order slip art of David Palumbo. Dave's a meticulously talented fantasy painter but his looser ink work and figure studies have real life to them and show off how much he just "gets it."


- Constructive criticism from artist Steve Lieber (Whiteout, Underground). Swift and I were honored to start our Con by chatting with Steve and receiving a critique of our work. A student of The Kubert School and great comics in general (check out Alberto Breccia) he is the consummate comic storyteller with a full command of the devices of the medium. Whether the frozen wasteland of Whiteout or the flooding cave system of Underground, his site-specific environments were a major influence on how I approached rendering the desert of FEEDING GROUND.

Some of his feedback:

1) Always draw each figure in a pose that creates a clean and interesting silhouette with clear information. For example, although I wanted the man below to be hiding the fact that he is removing bullets from the gun, I should have rotated the figure or camera so that the gun was free from his body and created a distinct outline.


2) Be wary of placing figures with different horizon lines and creating a tilted stage. Staging figures in a believable space is definitely a craft I am trying to work on.

3) Feel free to occasionally drop background information from the panel. Although I have been diligent about rendering and establishing a real space around the figures, removing it also allows breathing room and encourages the reader to complete the scene in their mind.

In the end, much appreciated and Steve was also cool to give us a shout out on Twitter calling FEEDING GROUND an impressive debut.

All said, what an incredible professional and fan-lovin' experience that few media can foster.

And, Thor helmets!