January 24th through 25th
Richardson Civic Center
Richardson, TX
Once again, the guys who bring you the Dallas Comic Cons and Sci-Fi Expos have put on an absolutely great event that I’m sure thrilled comic book fans of all ages. I know I was satisfied. At first, I was a bit concerned at the slimming down of the movie guests, but that fear went away very quickly as I sat through a couple of the panels that featured some of the veterans and rising new talent in the comic industry. After all, that is what this con was meant to be about anyway – comic books and their creators and artists.
I really don’t know how the organizers do it, but they somehow provide an atmosphere where you can get next to the actors, creators, artists, and other media guests on a personal level where you can actually talk to them and hear what they have to say. It’s just amazing to me that there can be upwards of 1,000 people at an event and you still walk away as if you’ve had personal time with almost anyone there you would want to meet. Anyone who walked away from this show and didn’t meet the person they came to see didn’t try hard enough.
Of course, you had your folks who came dressed up as their favorite super heroes and villains. There was a Joker, Nightwing, Green Lantern, Catwoman, and even a couple of Doctor Whos. This is a tradition of comic fans that make the con-going even that much more fun. Just seeing the kind of costumes people come up with. Of course, you’ve always got the overweight Darth Vader or guy that has a beer belly in a Superman shirt. I’m one of them.
Bernie Wrightson and William StoutThere were three panels during the weekend. There was the Comic Legends panel that featured DCC12 Guest of Honor William Stout (Poster artist of Life of Brian, Wizards, and more; Comic artist of Alien Worlds and Alien Pig Farm 3000; Renowned dinosaur illustrator and inspiration for Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park; and Production Designer for Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Living Dead, etc), Howard Chaykin (artist of original movie adaptations of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Wolverine, Punisher War Journal, and creator of American Flagg), Bernie Wrightson (Co-creator of Swamp Thing, artist of Frankenstein, and Dead She Said), Herb Trimpe (co-creator of Wolverine, original G.I.Joe artist, artist of Incredible Hulk, and The Defenders), and Joe Jusko (original Marvel Masterpieces artist, artist of Vampirella, cover painter for Tomb Raider, Conan, Punisher, and more). Listening to these guys talk amongst themselves for an hour was definitely a highlight. There was so much talent on that stage that had not only worked in the comic world, but also the movie industry. I have the audio that I’ll be posting on my YouTube Channel later this week. You will not want to miss this.
Michael Lark, John Lucas, and Jon BogdanoveThe next panel was The Art of Superman, which featured Jon Bogdanove (artist of 80+ issues of Superman Man of Steel, Power Pack, Will Triumph Fights Alone, and Creator of Steel), Kerry Gammill (artist of Superman, Indiana Jones, Power Man and Iron Fist, and Fallen Angels), Michael Lark (artist of Superman: War of the Worlds, Daredevil, Captain America, Gotham Central, The Pulse, and more), and John Lucas (artist/inker of Exterminators, Superman The Man of Steel, Fear Agent, and Civil War: Frontline). This panel was entertaining because of the vocal sparring between Jon Bogdanove, Michael Lark, and John Lucas. Bogdanove is basically a Superman fan who happened upon working on one of his favorite character’s titles. He appeared very passionate about the character and took his role as artist of the book very seriously. Lucas kept haggling with him over the mullet that Superman had during that time and whether Bogdanove was to blame for it. Bogdanove kept insisting that the mullet was not his doing and he hated it, too. Then they were arguing over Christopher Reeve being the main vision of Superman in people’s heads. Bogdanove disagreed with Lark, Lucas, and Gammill who all thought that when people think of Superman they think of Reeve’s adaptation of him. Things really were getting a little out awkward. Lark and Lucas were basically making faces and joking with each other about his remarks and answers to the audience’s questions. I just sat there wishing I had gotten the whole thing on video.
Tom JaneThe last panel was the RAW Entertainment Q & A with Thomas Jane (Creator/writer of Bad Planet comics, founder of RAW Entertainment, Star of The Mist, The Punisher, Deep Blue Sea, and the upcoming Mutant Chronicles), Todd Farmer (writer of my Bloody Valentine 3-D and Jason X, and The Messengers, Comic writer of Alien Pig Farm 3000, and actor in My Bloody Valentine and Jason X), Tim Bradstreet (cover artist of The Punisher, Hellblazer, Scalped, and Wolverine X-Mas), and Jim Daly (artist of Bad Planet, cover artist of X-Files, Rest, and Bionic Commando). They discussed their upcoming projects through RAW, which include a werewolf series. Jane discussed his directorial debut a bit, which is entitled Dark Country. Bradstreet and him both shed a little light on why he didn’t do the second Punisher film.
Todd FarmerTodd Farmer talked about his upcoming projects and his role in My Bloody Valentine and the state of the movie industry. I’ll be posting the video of this panel as soon as I can.
Cal Slayton (artist of Shades of Blue and Dead@17 Rough Cut)After doing some quick interviews with some comic writers and artists (which you’ll be able to listen to on our YouTube channel), I took some time to myself to check out the Vendor Room. All the comic writers and artists I spoke to were very candid, polite, and professional.
Dirk Strangely (Gothic author and illustrator of Darkened Bedtime Stories for Children)It seemed like there were a lot of new vendor faces and booths. There seemed to be a lot of people who sat this show out. Maybe it was my imagination. Don’t get me wrong, the room was chock full of vendors and collectibles, but it seemed like they were first timers or not regulars. The recession we are currently dealing with may have had some effect on the attendance to this show, but it didn’t seem like it. There were a ton of people and it looked to me like they were buying for the most part. I look forward to the Sci-Fi Expo on April 18th through the 19th.
(Article and photos by Eric Shirey)
More Photos:
Speed Pass Line
Herb Trimpe, Howard Chaykin, and Joe Jusko
Kerry Gammill
Nightwing
