Mega-hype for upcoming B-movies! Appearances by genre TV show actors! Geeks wearing gaudy, scanty costumes! Steven Spielberg! Francis Ford Coppola! Vampires!
Now that that crap’s out of the way, here’s my real report on last week’s San Diego Comic-Con: a “top dozen or so” list, with respect to comics(!) and graphics.
All photos taken by yours truly. Above: Mr. Push Pin himself, accepting his SDCC Inkpot Award. Seymour’s comments ranged from “I’ve wanted an Inkpot Award all my life” to “What’s an Inkpot Award?”
This is the first of three conference reports. #2: Apple Censors Comix App! #3: How Comics Influence Graphic Designers!
Were you at Comic-Con? Add your own “best of” list in the comments section.
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– #1 –
Best SDCC newsbreakers for fans of Harvey Kurtzman, Wally Wood, Rick Griffin, and Victor Moscoso:
above right: Fantagraphics announces publication of an EC comics series, themed by artists, and the complete Zap comix.
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Best cover artist on SDCC’s Art of the Cover panel:Ashley Woodabove right: cover #2 in the nine-issue Automatic Kafka series, 2002.
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Best retro-post-feminist artist:Joëlle Jonesabove right: one of a series of Joëlle’s new prints for sale.
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Most romantic couple sharing a sales booth:Rick Geary and his wife Deborahabove right: Rick’s sketch for a page in The Lives of Sacco and Vanzetti, a new book about the couple most romanticized by red diaper babies.
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Most impressive presenter of artifacts least likely to be included in Mid-Century graphic design studies:Adriana Estrada, University of Houstonabove right: a comic book cover by Charles Biro, 1945.
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Publisher of books most worth risking a hernia to lug back from San Diego:Peter Marescaabove right: a page from Forgotten Fantasy: Sunday Comics 1900 – 1915, 8.5 lbs, 2011.
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Artist with the most diverse range of drawing skills, skillfully used to serve her narrative :Megan Rose Gedrisabove right: a spread from the most recent volume of the print edition of Yu + Me: Dream, a “surreal lesbian romance adventure Web comic.”
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Art of the Movie Poster panelist with the best anecdotes and career advice from Bob Peak:Bob’s son, Matthew.above right: oh, c’mon… you know.
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Editor most likely to pop off his pages:Craig Yoe, here with Justin Eisinger, his IDW editor, on the left.above right: a spread from Craig’s new Amazing 3-D Comics.
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Best creators of online photo “funnies”:Emily Horne and Joey Comeauabove right: two recent A Softer World strips.
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Best artist using shameless attention-getting ploys:I’m not even gonna mention his name, he’s that crass.
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Best talk about the very secret identities of superheroines:April Murphy, University of North Texasabove right: a summary board of April’s discussion, The Paradox of Super-Feminism, Super-Lesbianism, and the Secret Identity.
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– #13 –
Best new kid on the Graphic Novelist block:Seymour Chwastabove right: a slide of the cover of Seymour’s next GN from his Spotlight session, where he explained why he drew motorcycles instead of horses.
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Related posts:
How Comic Books Influence Graphic Design
Portraits of Comic Book Artists as Graphic Designers
Craig Yoe Talks ICON, Krazy Kat, and Whether Today’s Cartoonists Ever Get Laid
Sex! Nudity! Comix! iPhone App… Censored!
Trina Robbins on Comics Heroines, Feminism, and Lacy Underthings
A Helluva Dante (Seymour Chwast)