path2hope: Convention

Showing posts with label Convention. Show all posts

San Diego Comic Con 1974

Hey, there's this convention going on in San Diego! Let's see what's happening in the Wayback Machine, OK? OK! Setting the dials to 1974 . . . .

Here's Charles Schulz, who's been doing that PEANUTS strip for two deozen years. This is his first convention! BROOM HILD's Russell Myers and DOOLEY'S WORLD's Roger Bradfield are in attendance as well.

And "the highlight o the 1974 San Diego Comic-Con was MILTON CANIFF's chalk talk. ... The audience was thoroughly charmed and entertained by Milt's skilled hand at the drawing board and his leprechaun humor." And there's the first movie SUPERMAN Kirk Alyn and the one and only Frank Capra! Now, how could you top this galaxy of greats, huh?

And don't forget about ORLANDOCON '75 with Hal Foster and Roy Crane! (A back cover ad from CARTOONEWS.)

2011 Maine Comics Arts Festival

Above: Rick Parker's assemblage of drawing materials, plus his cool sunglasses, on his MECAF table.

The third annual Maine Comics Arts Festival was held this past weekend in Portland, ME. Like every year, I was there, along with many other comics creators in the Seacoast area -- and beyond!

Rick Lowell of Casablanca Comics put this together, and thanks to his publicity prowess, the place was humming with fans and families visiting. Admission was only $5, but if you were a kid, you got in free. I shared a table with my pal John Klossner.

Here are a few photos.

Sorry to say I didn't get her name. She's from comicaddicts.com and wrote a nice blog entry about the event (and about being the only person in costume) here: http://www.comicaddicts.com/2011/05/maine-comic-arts-festival-2011.html

My friend John Klossner and his lovely family. Why the parent are looking down at their feet and the kids are looking at the camera I don't know.

The famous guys at the table next to me and John: Lincoln Peirce and BIG NATE, one of the featured guests.

Rick Parker (of Paperkutz' DIARY OF A STINKY DEAD KID) draws for a fan.

Corbett Features: the team of Brain Codagnone and Barry Corbett.

Cara Bean and Matt Smith.

Matt's BARBARIAN LORD comics and prints. Gorgeous work.

Marek Bennett and Colin Tedford's table. Busy, busy, busy!

Glassblower and cartoonist David Jacobson of David Jacobson Glass! Check out his hand-blown "conversation pieces" word balloons!

This is a busy, friendly convention, designed for the independent creators in the Seacoast area. My thanks to Rick Lowell for running a very smooth event. I had a great time.

A few related Links:

MECAF Facebook page

The BEAT

Brain Lint

Ellen Crenshaw

David Jacobson

kristilyn

Jeff Pert Cartoons

Platt Stuff

Zhe shi wo ying er

Video: Comic Book Artist Peter Gross and MIX

For a short video (about 3 minutes, plus a damn 30 second advertisement in the beginning), this Star Tribune profile of Peter Gross (LUCIFER, CHOSEN, BOOKS OF MAGIC) packs a lot of information about who he is, what he does, and how he draws.

The article then focuses on the cartoonists in the Twin Cities area, with the prediction that most will be female in the coming years. Well worth a read, and it makes me consider dropping in for the next Minneapolis Indie Xpo.

Below: a fun & informative short video from the gang behind MIX about the 2011 Xpo, to be held November 5-6, 2011 at The Soap Factory in Minneapolis, MN:

1968 Phil Seuling International Convention of Comic Art Progress Report #2

Above: the cover of the Report. Looks like Kirby pencils for a Fantastic Four comic book.

Here is a blast from the past: a 1968 International Convention of Comic Art Progress Report for "all members, and only to members of the International Convention of Comic Art, which will be held at the Statler Hilton Hotel, Thirty-third street and Eighth Avenue, New York City from July 4th through July 7th, 1968, under the auspices of the Society for Comic Art Research and Preservation, Incorporated." The Report is copyright 1968 by John Benson. The front cover is copyright Marvel Comics Group 1968.

Highlights include a 1 pager by Seuling and Steranko starring for the first (and last) time Dick Tracy and Nick Fury, "The Conventioneers."

And a centerfold finished pencil drawing of Marvel's greatest heroes by ... one of the Buscemas is my guess. It's unsigned.

This is a pre-Convention report written by convention organizer Phil Seuling. Phil Seuling is, not to overstate it, the guy who invented comics conventions.

The list of comics legends, in order of appearance in the booklet, who were scheduled to be part of this are stunning:

Stan Lee
Dick Giordano
Al Williamson
Archie Goodwin
Steranko
Neal Adams
Nelson Bridwell
Joe Orlando
Jerry Robinson
Sal Trapani
Lee Falk
Milton Caniff
Will Eisner
Burne Hogarth
Mike Kaluta (I think)

The Statler-Hilton's rate was $11 single; $16 for a double.
In addition to the the presence of Marvel and DC, the back section showcases ads for from Wally Wood (for his self-published "Witzend"), Alter Ego magazine, Kaluta & Hickman's "Graphic Showcase" mag, and dealers like the Passaic Book Center, Howard Rogofsky, and Mr. Seuling himself.

Here's the rest of the booklet, in its entirety:

Big hat tip to Don Orehek for this rare find! Thanks, Don!

Maine Comics Arts Festival 2010

Above: CCS Student Jen Vaughn draws a caricature of a little girl at the 2010 Maine Comics Arts Festival.

A grand time was had at the second annual Maine Comics Arts Festival, which was held this past weekend. Hundreds of families walked through the Ocean Gateway in Portland, ME. The above ins NOT the Gateway, but a view from the building toward some tugs. Fog sat on the Portland bay for most of the day. About mid-day, it began to lift.

I shared a table with my inky pal Mark Anderson, who flew in from Chicago. (EDIT: Mark has posted some photos at his Andertoons blog here.) We each sold some of our cartoon books and chatted with the people who came to see the cartoonists. There were a lot of families, and a lot of people who were just curious to see what this was all about!

David Jacobson and Jeff Pert shared the table next to us. David, the only professional glassblower/cartoonist I have ever met (or am likely to) has a series of these glass word balloons with different words on them. Each one was hand-created and they are tough and durable and easy to mount on a wall. Everyone in NE knows Jeff Pert's iconic cartoons about lobsters and moose! He was doing brisk business with cartoon postcards, magnets and posters.

Local graphic novelist Ben Bishop with a big, Hollywood smile!

One of the sponsors of the show: Cap'n Eli's Soda! Locally made and smilingly poured by the above team. All day long there were free samples of their root beer and other flavors.

While I was talking to Jennifer and Matt, we all found out we live within 20 minutes of each other! Small frakkin' cartoony world! Jennifer draws Squarecat Comics. Matt works for a design firm in the Seacoast area.

Above: the one and only Chris Mills, a writer extraordinaire, I love his Space 1970 blog, which focuses on Sc Fi TV of the 1970s. Chris has a number of other blogs as well!

You get a good feel for the room in the above shot. There are a large bank of windows looking out onto the bay, so you feel connected to the sea and sky.

Henniker, NH cartoonist Marek Bennett strikes a thoughtful pose. Whatever he's thinking about, you can bet it's something having to do with comics! I own one of those shirts behind Marek!

And, coming in from Queens, New Yawk, is the dynamic duo of Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman, making their first appearance at MECAF.

Brian Codagnone and Barry Corbett with their books. They came up from the Boston area. They were at the table next to us.

Oh, and as for me and Mark Anderson ...

I had a table there, with my pal Mark Anderson. Here he is during an afternoon lull, checking his voicemail or something with his iPhone. Mark also had his iPad with him and showed me some cartoons he had drawn on it. Yes, the iPad is cool. Even cooler when he showed me some Batman cartoons on it.

We had a great time and while I can't speak for anyone else, I did many times the business I did the year before. It was great to meet so many kids and adults who love cartooning. It was terrific to meet a couple of people who make read this and make this here cartoon blog a regular stop. Very kind of you to say hello. And it was great to see Colin Tedford (thanks for your mini!) , Jeff Lok, John Platt (ditto), Lenny Boudreau, and other people -- I am sorry there were a lot and I know I'm forgetting names!

Maine Comics Arts Festival

Less than 3 weeks until the Maine Comics Arts Festival in Portland, ME on Sunday, May 23, 2010!

I'll be there, sharing a table with my inky pal Mark Anderson.

2010 Festival of Cartoon Art

Registration opens on June 1st for the Festival of Cartoon Art. , which is put together by the OSU Cartoon Library and Museum. This highly anticipated, thrice-yearly event occurs October 14-17, 2010. Professionals, academics and fans of comics and cartoon art attend from around the world.

Here's a press release:

The tenth triennial Festival of Cartoon Art will take place at The Ohio State University in Columbus, OH October 14-17, 2010. The Festival is a unique celebration of cartoons and comics and their creators.

Featured participants include:

Steve Breen
Brendan Burford
Roz Chast
Tony Cochran
Jan Eliot
Tom Gammill
Matt Groening
Bill Griffith
Dave Kellett
Paul Levitz
Patrick McDonnell
Dan Piraro
Jen Sorensen
Art Spiegelman
James Sturm
Michael Tisserand
Gene Luen Yang

Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival

Charles Burns great poster for the event.

This Saturday, December 5, 2009 is the Brooklyn Comics and Graphics Festival in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.

The site has a list of exhibitors and speakers. An amazing group! There will be music at night. And there's good places to eat all over the place in Williamsburg.

The nice thing will be, if you are do inclined, to actually go up to some of these cartoonists whose work you enjoyed and tell them so. Some of them will have original art to buy. Please consider spending some money, if you are able, to help support the creators you like.

To borrow Tom Spurgeon's phrase, If I was in Brooklyn, I would be there.

Bangor Daily News: Bangpop Profile

Above: detail from a photo by John Clarke Russ.

The past weekend, cartoonists and fans got together for the annual Bangpop convention, held in Bangor, ME. Bangor Daily News reporter Judy Harrison was there and submits this report.

Bangor, ME: Bangpop! Convention September 19 & 20, 2009

From the press release:

BangPop! Comic & Pop Culture Convention is held in Bangor, Maine at the Bangor Civic Center on September 19 & 20. Flying into its second year with programming to include panel discussions, educator workshops, gaming, cosplay, and anime & movie screenings, BangPop! will host a great display of creative talent with professional authors and artists. Our Artist Alley will showcase amazing work by creators from Maine, as well as the rest of New England and the Canadian Maritimes, and Sunday the 20th will feature special Kids' Day programming.

And come see my friends Raina Telgemeier & Dave Roman, and Ron Fortier, Christopher Mills, and Mark Ricketts.

I'm not sure if I can make it due to workload, but let me know if you are going to be there, OK? OK!

And here's Raina's details about what she and Dave are up to!

International Society of Caricature Artists 2009 Annual Caricature Convention and Competition

The International Society of Caricature Artists 2009 Annual Caricature Convention and Competition is coming up this November in Sandusky, OH. It's a massive week-long event featuring some MAD Magazine greats. The deadline for discounted early registration is September 15th. This is a great chance to meet and talks with some wonderful guys who are great caricaturists. Tom Richmond has all the details.

"Ordinary these conventions are only open to members of the organization. For the first time this year there will be a special fee of $99 for anyone who is not a member but wants to attend just the MAD speaker presentations. I warn you, though, if you are a caricaturist or cartoonist and attend just for the speakers you will be so blown away by the creative power of the event you will likely apply for membership on the spot and end up drawing away like the other 150 plus attending artists."

This is going to be a huge event.

Sergio Aragones on 40 Years of Comic-Con

The Hawthorne High School Comic Convention RETURNS!

Saturday, May 9th, in Hawthorne, NJ, the Hawthorne High School has its Hawthorne High School Comic Convention. This is a terrific convention with a lot of great comic book artists attending. Plus: your admission fee helps the art department.

Below is the press release:

New Jersey’s greatest comic book convention is back this May 9^th. Hawthorne High School is proud to announce it’s 2009 comic convention. Featuring New Jersey’s greatest gathering of comic book creators the Hawthorne High School Cartooning Club will hold it’s 5^th great convention. With great events like comic creating lessons by comic pros, an auction of original comic art, comic books and comic collectibles and one of the best line ups of comic creators at any convention in the country the Hawthorne High Comic Convention is one of the great events in the world of comic fandom.

The convention is a spin off of the Ramapo High School Comic Con, one of the now legendary conventions of the 1980’s & 90’s. Run by Hawthorne High art teachers Allan Rosenberg and Danielle Russo, and the wonderful students of the Cartooning Club, the convention is held as a fundraiser to supplement the art department’s budget, thus making it possible do even greater things for the art students of the high school.

This year’s convention is expanding the cartooning and art lessons to provide some great programming. Besides the usual cartooning and comic art lessons (examples: anatomy and page layout) there will also be programming in sculpting the heroic figure and creating your own comic.

As usual we are looking for a few good vendors. If you are interested in vendor tables at the show contact Allan Rosenberg at alllal@aol.com.

The convention is a great family friendly event and a true bargain with a $4.00 entrance fee. The convention takes place Saturday May 9^th from 10am – 4pm at Hawthorne High School, 160 Parmelee Avenue, Hawthorne, New Jersey 07506. It’s easily accessible by car or train.

Oh, we forgot to mention one last thing, our incredible line up of comic creators. This is the line up as of March 22, 2009 with more to come.

James Sherman
Dennis O’Neill
Dennis Colero
Jim Salicrup
Hannibal King
Steve Mannion
Tom Raney
Bob Wiacek
Danny Fingeroth
Joe Sinnott
Michael Golden
Mark Texiera
Irwin Hasen
Mark Romanowski
Ken Gale
Mercy Van Vlack
Steve Walker
Michael Lilly
Scott Roberts
Glen Whitmore
Dick Ayers
Rich Ayers
John Workman
Billy Tucci
Joe Staton
Eric Battle
Tommy Castillo
Ian Dorian
Joe Giella
Tom Palmer
Bob Schreck (tent.)
Mark Schultz
Dan Reed
Rodney RamosJim Calafiore

And more great comic creators to come!

Further information will be available on the Big Apple Conventions website (bigapplecon.com) who most generously are donating the web page for our updates and their invaluable assistance! Thanks guys!

A big thank you to the Hawthorne Board of Education for making the convention possible each year.

Hope to see you here at Hawthorne High School on May 9^th for this great day celebrating the world of comic & cartoon arts.

2009 Toon Award & Exhibition

The first Toon Award & Exhibition will begin later this month in Okoboji, Iowa. Students 18 years of age or older may submit their work for exhibition and award consideration. The deadline is next Wednesay, April 15, 2009. There will be a series of awards in these distinct cartooning disciplies:

Magazine Cartoons
Greeting Cards
Comic Books
Political Cartoons
Illustrations
Manga & Anime
Comic Strips
Animation

From April 24, 2009 until June 27, 2009, there will be a display of amateur and professional cartoon work at the Pearson Lakes Art Center.

There will be a 2 day conference, April 24 - 25th, 2009, beginning with a reception on Friday evening. Scheuled for Saturday: cartooning workshops and a cartoon raffle. Saturday night isthe awards ceremony.

My thanks to Ken Alvine, the man who is organizing all this, for keeping me informed. Thanks, Ken!

Maine Comics Arts Festival: Who's There?

We're eight weeks away from the Maine Comics Arts Festival, which will be held in Portland, Maine on Sunday, May 17, 2009. It's been described at Northern New England's answer to SPX or MoCCA Fest or APE or SPACE.

This will be an opportunity for many local creators to show their comics, books, and other items. If you're into literary comics, graphic novels, mini comics or Web comics, then you've heard of some of these people. You'll get to meet these cartoonists, meet them, and, if you like, buy some of their work directly from them. There will be no comic book dealers at the day-long event.

I was glad to see Joe Staton on the list. Joe is a journeyman comic book artist whose work spans many superhero books through the years. I still have my copy of E-MAN that I bought at my local 7-11 store back when I was a kid in Lawrence, KS.

Anyway, I was reading Rick Lowell's excellent MECAF blog. Rick is the man who has put this together, and he runs the local Casablanca Comics shop. I cut & pasted & alphabetized the names from the his blog entries, creating a one-stop master list of the 48 cartoonists and studios.

The list below includes both featured guests, as well as cartoonists who paid for a table. I've checked and double-checked it for accuracy, but if you see something wrong, please tell me.