Last Saturday, Javi & I went to the Baltimore Comicon. We hoped on Light Rail & rode down to Inner Harbor. It wasn’t nearly as large as I had imagined, but it was still a lot of fun. And Javi was a good sport.
I got to meet David Mack, one of my favorite artists. He’s one of those artists who pushes “comic books” far beyond their common stereotype. If you ever get a chance to pick up some of his work, do so. It’s a lot of mixed-media experimental design. And many of his stories are told w/ little (if any) linear text. Rather than move your eye from panel to panel, you’re forced to absorb the whole page. If you want to see what Mack can do in a relatively “familiar” form, pick up Daredevil: Echo. Echo is a deaf-mute Native American character who understands the world visually. You’ll see what I mean by how Mack elevates his work well beyond “mere comics” to high visual art.
But Mack is also a children’s book author! And I got him to sign Javi’s edition of The Shy Creatures (which first appeared as a story-w/in-a-story in an issue of Kabuki). It has a sort of Dr. Zeuss vibe, but w/ a contemporary twist.
We also met Andy Runton, who signed & sketched a dedication to Javi in Owly: A Time to Be Brave. The Owly books are great for little kids who don’t know how to read. The stories are entirely visual, w/ almost no text at all. While we waited for Runton, a very excited 4-year-old chatted away w/ Runton about her favorite Owly characters; he signed all four of her books, sketching in each of them. If you have a pre-schooler, I highly recommend these books. I’m sure Javi will enjoy them in about two years.
Finally, we also got to meet Darwyn Cooke, though we had to stand in line for a bit. Javi was a trooper, but soon after I knew that we had to head back home. Cooke signed two of my books, which was about all the time he had. If you’re interested in very beautiful “retro” comics that give a modern design aesthetic to Golden & Silver age comics, check his stuff out. He has a particularly good knack for color & composition. Two of my favorite stand-alone works of his are the 2-volume DC: The New Frontier (there’s also a DVD) & Selina’s Big Score (a Catwoman caper that’s not about Catwoman, but Selina Kyle). In particular, The New Frontier is not only a story of the transition from Golden Age (1940s) to Silver Age (1960s) superheroes, but it’s also a subtle but poignant critique of the early Cold War period (particularly racism & McCarthyism).
Anyhow, it was overall a great experience. I’ll post some pictures of Javi w/ some costumed participants later. Maybe when he’s a little older, we’ll do it again.