2013 Detroit Fanfare recap

This last weekend I was an artist exhibitor at the 2013 Detroit Fanfare Comic Book convention.  I shall try to summarize the experience, though there is too much to tell and I’m likely to forget many things worth mentioning.

 First I must complement the organizers of this event.  Detroit Fanfare isn’t the largest Comicon around, but it’s just about the perfect size in the eyes of many exhibitors and attendees.  The small number of media stars present allows for more emphasis for the artists and more interaction between artists and individual attendees.  The attendance at the event was large enough to create a steady flow of people in the aisle all weekend without getting clogged, which I think allowed people to stop and look and talk as they wished.  I talked with many attendees who said Detroit Fanfare is their favorite convention!  One person in particular said that at other, bigger cons they felt like they were getting pushed around and yelled at all day, while everyone at Fanfare, including workers and volunteers, were very nice.

Personally, I did very well with sales and had a great time talking with attendees and other creators.  I bought a couple odd back issues I found plus some great priced trade collections. I also got some art and comics from other creators.  I’d like to say how nice the other artists around me were and how much they added to my enjoyment of the weekend. I’d also like to thank everyone who came by a talked to me at my table, whether you purchased anything.  If you did buy something from me I hope you are satisfied with your purchase!  I try my best to produce some nice products, and I’m still awed that there are people out there who want to own stuff that I make.

Finally, I must add how much fun all the kids at the con were!  Fanfare does a great job with children’s activities, including the Trick-or-Treating on Sunday. It’s great fun! Well, I hope everyone else’s weekend was as good as mine.  And I can’t wait until Detroit Fanfare 2014!

Statues- pre Detroit Fanfare

I thought I'd post some pics of statue art I've made recently in prep for http://detroitfanfare.com/

Thor, Cap, Iron Man

 

Mario, Yoshi, Link

 

Loki and Cthulhus

Some Halloween statues with glow-in-the-dark elements

Review: Astro City #4

Let me start by saying a few things in general about Kurt Busiek’s Astro City.  Astro city is a special comic series to me because it affected the way I thought about Super-hero comics.  Many years ago I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do artistically.  I realized I wasn’t going to jump into a job at a large comic book company.  But that was okay, because I really enjoy teaching and I’m proud that education is my profession.  But I still wanted to do something artistic, if only for fun.  I wanted to make a comic book of my own.  So I had to figure out what to do a comic about.  I thought about comedy, sci-fi, and fantasy ideas.  Anything but superheroes.  Superheroes just seemed like an idea that had been destroyed by the bad decisions of the major comic companies.  I didn’t think there was any way to do a superhero book that wasn’t a retread or a parody.  But then I read some superhero comics that were original creations, not parts of the major comics companies.  And these comics renewed my faith in superheroes as a genre.  The comic that affected me the most in this way was Astro City.  Astro City proves that superheroes are interesting and cool.  There’s nothing lame, condescending, or apologetic about the characters and situations that Kurt Busiek and company create in their world.  Superheroes in the Astro City universe are the most perfectly normal occurrence.  I’d even say Astro City proves that if super-powers existed in the real world, we would have costumed heroes fighting for truth and justice.  The idea doesn’t seem goofy, it seems…right.

Astro City’s current run has reached issue #4, and it’s a good point for me to write a review.  Issue four, titled “On the Sidelines” tells the tale of Martha Sullivan, a telekinetic who lives in Astro City among all the costumed super-folk but has no desire to become a crime-fighter.  She uses her powers to earn an honest living working in film.  There have been other comics I’ve read of super-powered people with no desire to use their powers (The magnetically powered character in New Teen Titans comes to mind.) but Kurt makes the best case for someone not wanting to be involved I’ve ever seen.  The flashbacks to her early use of her powers and her path to her current status are excellent.  But this is standard fare for Astro City.  Kurt doesn’t just tell about someone with powers, he lets you really get to know the character so you understand and care about her.  Martha isn’t perfect, but she’s competent.  I should add that I loved that she doesn’t have the “super hero physique”.  She looks and acts like a real person….who is a telekinetic.  I worried for her and I felt joy and sadness when things went well or badly for her.  The cameo by The Samaritan was very well done, also, showcasing the differences yet sameness of the two characters.  One last comment: the art is top-notch.  Perfect mood and action inside and an excellent cover.  And I love the pink thing.

I eagerly await for more!

Review: Dark Legacy of Shannara

A while ago I posted a review of the first book in the Dark Legacy of Shannara trilogy.  Now, having just finished reading the second and third installments of the story, I thought it time to comment in a completely full-of-spoilers way.  So be warned: you should really really read the books before reading this.  Not just the most recent trilogy, but all of Terry Brooks’ books.  If you like them half as much as I do, you’ll be very happy.

The biggest thing I kept thinking while reading the trilogy was how hard the plot was to figure out.  Brooks set up certain things in a way that made me think he was going down familiar paths.  For instance I was sure finding the missing Elfstones was going to be critical to defeating the Demons. But in the end, it was rather inconsequential.  Which begs the question of why Allanon thought the quest was so important to undertake.  I’m sure Brooks has a reason why it was so important.  Perhaps because it was the only time the Elfstones could be retrieved, it was important to get them now.  But why was it important to get them?  And was retrieving the crimson stones enough?  It seems like there must be purpose in all of this.  It also seems that the demons and the forbidding are going to be important in the future.

I also enjoyed the philosophical quandary of the demons all being imprisoned due to their race and not their individual deeds.  We have seen a lot of evil humans and elves and other races in the four lands, and we have now seen that some of the demons, like Tesla, are not totally evil.  Therefore, shouldn’t there be a way to free demons who don’t do bad things?

 

The final thing I’ll discuss today is the return of the Ilse Witch.  She didn’t really accomplish much to stop the demon except for defeating their leader.  But he would have been stopped by the reestablishment of the forbidding anyway.  But now he’s not inside the forbidding planning revenge.  The quest to free Grianne was about as useless as the quest for the missing elfstones.  And I was surprised in the final use of the magic ring.

Terry Brooks is my all-time favorite author, and this series shows he’s getting better and better!  I await his next creation with great anticipation!

Statues- custom made

I recently completed this statue made to the specifications of a customer.  I also wanted to take a chance to let anyone out there know that I make all kinds of clay statues.  If you have any particular interest, let me know and I'll be sure to try my best to fulfill your wishes!

Review: Captain Midnight

“Captain Midnight, Ovaltine, and The Whip at the County Fair”

From The Statler Brothers’ song “Do You Remember These”

The above song, by one of my all-time favorite groups, was the first I ever heard of Captain Midnight.  When I saw that Dark Horse Comics was doing a Captain Midnight series, I wondered if it was the same Captain from the song.  It turns out is is.  And in a way it isn’t.

Captain Midnight, written by Joshua Williamson and drawn by Fernando Dagnino, is a new version of the classic serial character. So I’d classify the series as a reboot, I suppose.  But since I know nothing of the original version of the character, I can’t really judge the news series based on comparisons to any old series.  Instead, I’ll just have to tell you how good it is.

Captain Midnight is the tale of a World War II superhero that is transported in time to the present during a battle in 1944.  The Captain is a genius inventor named Jim Albright who’s major accomplishment seems to be a flying suit, but it looks like he’s created lots of very interesting gadgets.  He’s currently on the run in the present as he isn’t sitting still waiting for the government to decide what to do with him.  Also, there seems to be a surviving, perhaps immortal Nazi running a criminal empire in our present day world.

And that should be plenty of story points to get you interested.  I will add that the book is very very well done.  The writing is engaging and the story keeps moving while the mysteries keep you thinking.  The art is top-notch also.  It has a retro but not dated feel. Dagino’s action sequences are exciting and clear.  His quieter moments are interesting and his architecture and technology is well crafted.  Also, every character has a clear look and distinctive voice.

It seems I’ve been on a WWII kick lately (see here and here) but Captain Midnight is both a great tribute to WWII comics and a great new modern idea.  Kudos to all those involved for putting out a great super hero comic!

Mutant Elf- the continuing saga

I would like to spend some time here talking about my webcomic, Mutant Elf.  I think this is a good time because this week marks the debut of the 5^th and latest storyline in the weekly series.  The storyline that ran the summer was first published online and in print in the 2013 SPACE Anthology, so this marks a “return” somewhat of new Mutant Elf stories.  Mutant Elf is the story of Tom Tyler, an author of youth fantasy novels who meets a real-life Elf.  This elf, named Myzla, is a special kind of elf—a mutant – who travels between our world and the world of the Fairy.  Her job is to round up other fairy creatures that have crossed to our world and send them back to the land of fairy.  Along the way, Tom assists in ways both clever and lucky.  The series also features Tom’s girlfriend Teri, a librarian with a very scientific mind.  Due to her low tolerance for fantasy Tom and Myzla keep their Mutant Elf adventures secret from her, as well as from the rest of the world.

And somewhere along the way, hilarity ensues.

At least I hope so.  When I worked out the concept for Mutant Elf I wanted to do a comic that I could have all kinds of fun with.  And I am having fun.  One thing I thought would be fun would be to start each storyline (except the two 8-page stories done for the SPACE anthology) with very similar scenes, which I have reproduced below.  The full stories are available here, and print mini-comics are available for order from me via my e-mail.  You can also send me comments and questions about the series if you'd like!