A few weeks ago I made my second trip to the San Diego Comic-Con. It’s the largest American comics book/movie/tv/animation/anime/manga/toys/sexy women/etc. convention. It brought in over 70,000 people from July 22 to July 25.
I had the pleasure of visiting the con too not only showcase my own comic book, Beyond the Great Chimney, but to help out the Cartoon Art Museum as well. There are some fantastic panels available to the Convention audience. Sadly I never made it, except for one on Mark Hammell’s Comic Book the Movie. It was cool that the whole cast are cartoon voice actors.
There is so much stuff at Comic-Con to see that it makes my head spin to even think of it. But I thought I would lead you, dear friends, to some places I really like here on the Internet. Its almost like you where there, well…except without the Booth Babes, and free Swag.
ANIMATION STYLE
There are many independent comic books being created by the talented men and women who once worked in a thriving animation business at companies like: Disney and DreamWorks. But with Outsourcing and Computers, those numbers have sadly dropped. But that’s all the better for us. Now we can get comics with beautiful drawings, how right is that.
Boneville Jeff Smith is probably not the first animator to do a comic, and he won’t be the last either. But his wonderful comic, “Bone”, just finished up with a 55 issue run in 10+years. He now offers a soft cover collection of EVERY ISSUE. Jeff’s wonderful black and white ink drawings make some overly Photoshop mainstream images look drab.
Funny Pages Press from Animators like Tom Bancroft, Rob Corley, and Greg Hardin we get a whole lot of fun. Also check out Funny Pages Productions
What first introduced me to there company was ‘Opposite Forces’ by Tom Bancroft. It’s the story of neighbors Marty and Alexis. She’s a beautiful lawyer living with her roommate and pet dog. He’s the comic book, star trek, video game fan boy who has a crush on her. When their superhero neighbor looses his powers, they gain them, but they only work when they are near each other, something Marty is very happy about. Comedy, superpowers, and romance, what more can you ask for.
The Astonish Factory home of Hero Bear and the Kid, Spooner, and AwsomeMan to mention a few.
CARTOONY GOODNESS
Just like their Animator peers above, these folks are taking cartoons to new levels of fun.
Frank Cammuso and Night Owl Press Home of Maxx Hogg, Fairytale Detective. Make sure you try the interactive comic on the sight. Its fun!
The Art of Lynne Naylor lots of sexy gals.
There seemed to be lots of artist drawing sexy ladies at the con. And of course lots of guys where buying them.
The Dare Detectives home or artist Ben Caldwell who not only does some wonderful artwork, he also is published some great books on Drawing. Cartoony heroes rule!!
Ambition Studios(now Lexpress) Kid Beowulf by Alexis E. Fajardo and the Swamp Fox by Jonathan Myers. Fantastic fun for every age, with an emphasis on classic stories.
Taken from the website:
Created by Jonathan Myers, Swamp Fox follows the journey of Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion and his daring exploits against the British Empire.
Created by Alexis E. Fajardo, Kid Beowulf is the humorous retelling of a childhood gone heroic! Based on the epic poem Beowulf, Kid Beowulf pays homage to the original while poking fun at it too. Action and adventure combined with solid cartooning make Kid Beowulf a fun read for all ages!
Well there SOME of the fun stuff I saw at the Convention. I promise more in the next few days.
