Mark Bult Design: San Francisco, CA, Established 1988

Wondercon

On Saturday I went to Wondercon, the huge comics convention at Moscone. I know all of you are rolling your eyes at this point (except Ynnej), but I swear it's not all about dorks waiting in line to see the sneak peak of Spider-Man 3, and dorks enthusiastically clutching that long-sought-after early edition Superman comic they've been looking for since they were eleven, and dorks dressing up as Wolverine and Sailor Moon.

Well, okay, it's a lot about that for a lot of the people who attend.

But I don't go for any of that stuff. I'm pretty selective in my comics reading. I've never been into any of that super hero crap, so about half the offerings at Wondercon are totally lost on me. I'm more into newer talent and small alternative publishers. Plus there are hundreds of booths with everything from T-shirts to graphic novels of the sort I like.

And then there's the Artists Alley, where dozens of illustrators sit at tables and greet people, sketch, sign autographs, schmooze, and whatnot. And we're talking about famous comics artists like Sergio Aragones (Mad) sitting next to up-and-comers you've never heard of. And some of the newer talent — in fact, a lot of it — is just phenomenal.

I didn't spend very much time at all in panels this year, since I was alone (Ynnej, how dare you move to Seattle!) and it's not nearly as much fun to watch a panel or the Star Wars Fan Films by oneself. And without, y'know, a fifth of Jack Daniels.

Anyway, I spent most of my time on the exhibitor floor and found some really awesome finds, such as four 1941 pulp science fiction magazines with original Robert A. Heinlein stories in them. I also picked up a few new things by Oni Press, one of my favorite alternative comics publishers, and a few other new finds.

I also met Joshua Ellingson, whose work I was familiar with because I'd actually bought one of his prints at a seasonal local artisan's store around the corner last year.

Other cool stuff seen:
pmbq.com
ImaginismStudios.com
piximix.com
ClubNamco.com
NamcoGames.com
IDWpublishing.com and AshleyWoodArtist.com
BabyTattoo.com

Next up, I can't wait for the Alternative Press Expo on April 21 and 22, because some of my favorite artists will be there; Bryan Lee O'Malley (Scott Pilgrim) and Art Spiegelman (Maus) for example.

Labels: art, comics, illustrators

Posted by espd at 10:36 PM | 
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