Stream of Babbling

by Tim O'Shea

In the past two years when I attended the ComiCon, I regaled folks with a minute by minute account (so much so I actually mentioned exiting a bathroom just as Mark Waid was entering in last year’s account…don’t believe me? Read here).

I’m getting too old for that and quite honestly I sincerely doubt many folks found the minutiae account of interest. So I’m going to be a little more general in my coverage this go around. I met with so many folks today at the con I fear I won’t mention them all. But stay tuned to my column and other writing in the next year, as with most cases hopefully I’ll find a way to mention them.

So a few weeks back as I was at the printer picking up a job for my company, my watch stem got bent as I loaded the car. I’ve been living without a watch for several weeks, but today (for the con and the varying panels and all) I knew I would need a watch. The only one available was my son’s (at nearly four years old he hasn’t quite mastered telling time, but he loves that Santa brought him a watch). By some stroke of luck, the band was long enough that it fit me (I have really small Reed Richards like wrists). And so that’s how I ended up wearing a Marvel Ultimate style Spider-Man watch to a convention. I kid you not.

Got to the con just after 10 AM. I’d missed all of the first day, due to my full-time job. One of the first people I ran into was Dave Cook of Splatter Comix, who is hard at work on the next issue. My conversation with Dave was a harbinger for the great experience to come throughout the day at the first day of the con. Dave was wearing a Johnny Cash shirt and we got to chatting about the man in black. Dave recounted for me how he saw Cash after the first Rick Rubin produced album, when Cash played the small local venue, The Roxy. It was a great show with Cash cutting loose, June Carter Cash coming out decked in high platform shoes, and the band just tearing through the set as only Cash and company could do prior to his recent series of health challenges. Dave recounted for me how the audience at the Cash show was a great cross-section, with even one Mohawk-haired man escorting an elderly woman in a wheelchair.

Later when I reflected on the anecdote, I realized that’s one of the great things about a con. People from all walks of life and all ages converge to share a love of comics.

The diversity was even stronger this year, as the ASIFA (International Animated Film Society) -Atlanta sponsored an entire room at the Atlanta Comicon Convention! They were quite a welcoming group as you can tell from the following text from the website: “Join us for a full weekend of animation panels and screenings with a special focus on comics. Featuring animators and artists from local studios and schools, special appearances by visiting guests, and a plethora of information about working in the animation and comics industries.”

One panel I was able to attend of theirs really impressed me, but more about that later. Let’s get back to the diversity of this con. The organizers really impressed me with the guests they had. Sure there were some big names (Hester, Kunkel, etc.), but this is the first time I ever met a poet that had a booth at a comic book con. Granted, Amy Lynn Hess is also interested in creating comics, but today she was selling copies of her self-published collection of poetry. Comic readers and creators come from all walks of life and interests, so while at first when I thought Amy might feel out of place, after further consideration, I realized at a con like this one, she fit right in (and that’s the great thing about the Atlanta ComiCon).

Another great moment was when I swung by the table for the creators of the new Image Manga miniseries, Heirs Of Eternity. Frequent readers of my columns know that I’m on a tight budget (with a family and all) and given the fact that I do reviews and all the coverage for free, I can’t always afford to buy new comics. I told the author, Jose Torres, that I would still like to help promote his work (as I told every creator I directly encountered at the con). And then I was about to leave, when a person handed me a copy of the comic, saying: “Now you can review it. I’ll pay for it.” I was dumbfounded. So dumbfounded, that while I was able to thank the guy, I never got his name. He explained that he was visiting the con from out of town, and that his son had already bought a copy. He wanted to just support a comic he enjoyed. So if you were the fellow who did this kind gesture for both me and the creators, here’s an official second thank you. He has my card (I thought at least that much to give him one in my stupor) and I told him to drop me a line any time he thinks I’m failing to cover a comic he thinks warrants attention.

The first panel I attended was the interview/discussion with Herobear & the Kid creator Mike Kunkel. Kunkel, who is again nominated for an Eisner (which he won last year), regaled folks with his tales of progress in terms of the development of the Herobear film for Universal. He also revealed that rather that the remaining installments of Herobear will be printed in 50 to 56-page installments, rather than the five-issue mini of the first arc. The movie will not be a note-for-note recreation of the comic. In fact, Kunkel hopes to make the around 80 minute traditionally animated film expound on certain elements of the stories (fyi, he’s co-writing the script with Jeph Loeb). Some scenes will be familiar to readers of the comic, but those moments will merely serve as touchstones for larger scenes. As usual, Kunkel’s enthusiasm for his work remained as infectious as ever. He also has three other non-Herobear comic projects he hopes to do in the long term.

When asked about his work on the X-Men Unlimited issue (with Kaare Andrews and others last year), he admitted that he and Paul Dini have casually discussed the prospect of working on a Spider-Man miniseries (Dini writing/Kunkel on art). Kunkel was quick to add that it was just something they wished to do and gave the impression that if it were ever to happen it was quite a long ways off (if ever). He also expressed a love of Giffen and Maguire’s Justice League run, and in particular said he had always wanted to do a Booster Gold/Blue Beetle project, jokingly called Blue & Gold: No Respect. Again the likelihood of that is nonexistent (I should stress), since Kunkel has never even discussed the project with anyone at DC. Still it’s enjoyable when a creator slips clearly into the role of fellow fan and expresses an eagerness to do something as interesting as these two ideas.

As for the movie, Kunkel clearly has high hopes, as this Universal’s first major animation project of this kind, and there’s a possibility if it is done right that Herobear could become the franchise’s “icon” so to speak. As for the really long-term future, Kunkel hopes to someday start a school or mentoring process for folks who want to pursue comics in the manner in which he has succeeded.

The next panel was with Green Arrow art team Phil Hester and Ande Parks. Hester and Parks are both interesting creators to talk to (and I got to talk to them a great deal, as I ended up the unofficial moderator of the panel [thanks to my big mouth and willingness to fire questions at them]). They discussed upcoming projects they both had (both Hester and Parks, in addition to being accomplished artists, are also talented writers) at Oni. I asked if they thought projects, such as Hester’s Firebreather (for Image’s Superhero line) came about because of their work on GA. Both were quick to point out that it was another Kevin Smith project (the Clerks miniseries for Oni) that opened many doors for the two creators. That being said, they acknowledged that GA also was greatly beneficial in elevating their overall profile.

It was interesting to hear that after working with Kevin Smith, Brad Meltzer and now Judd Winick on Green Arrow, it has only been in recent months that the artists have felt like they’ve hit their stride with the book. Hester and Parks were clearly enjoying the collaboration with Winick as much as they did the previous two writers. I asked if they might click communicate more with Winick, given that he is a fellow artist. Hester said that to some extent that may have been true, but also pointed to the fact that Winick writes the comics much in the Marvel way, as he does think in terms of thumbnails and how many panels will be required or will fit on a page. Hester also praised Winick’s ear for dialogue (while also heaping equal amounts of praise on the previous two writers of the book).

One thing I loved about cons, in general, is that comic book creators, are incredibly funny people. I was reminded of that fact when I attended ASIFA-Atlanta’s sponsored Animators As Comic Book Artists panel. The participants were Michel Gagné (who I interviewed recently at http://www.orcafresh.net/interview/in031703.html), Mike Kunkel, and Atlanta-based Stephanie Gladden (who currently works in Cartoon Network’s licensing department, but who is also known for Hopster's Tracks) and animation firm Dagnabit!'s Robert Pope. ASIFA-Atlanta said it best when they described the panel as covering the “ins and outs of doing double-duty in the fields of animation and comic book art. We'll cover many aspects of the comics industry such as self-publishing, self-promotion, work-for-hire comics based on pre-existing animated characters, and distribution. We'll also talk about the crossovers between doing animation and comics.”

That may have been the goal of the panel, but Gagné’s sense of humor made the discussion a tad more lively. Gagné is a passionate artist to say the least. For him (unlike some creators) his work must be aesthetically pleasing. After working on Osmosis Jones (a project that he admits was very rewarding), he quit Warner Brothers because he did not want to work on a Scooby-Doo project. Gagné, who was quite brave, blunt and honest in his storytelling (among other things he admitted that he suffers from obsessive/compulsive disorder) for the panel. It was a tossup for which line surprised folks the most, when he recounted defending his work on the credits for Osmosis Jones (executives wanted to tweak it, Gagné refused to have his work challenged, replying to their requests: “I am not a prostitute!”); when he admitted that he never thinks about money and “I never worry about what (project) I’ll do next.”; or when he realized other creators with children may worry about freelancing and where the next project may be, conceding he didn’t have to worry as much as he had a vasectomy and he and his wife were not going to have kids (that was the one that probably surprised, yet entertained folks the most).

While funny, Gagné was equally helpful in his candor, breaking down how he dipped his toe into the world of self-publishing before fully immersing himself. He also offered the wise advice that good things happen to those that that are proactive.

Don’t let my account make it seem like Gagné was the only one offering insight. Pope discussed the dynamics and reward of animation work versus comics, as well as lamenting the diminished presence of letter pages in comics. Both he and Gladden pointed to the fact of how she enjoyed reading letters from children who were inspired to create their own characters and stories after reading some of the Cartoon Network comics. But now with the letters not being published, the creators miss that feedback from the readers. Or as Pope put it, you may put the fire in the belly of someone and now not even know about it. Gladden also shared the unique experience of getting to work in your own style, while creating something that was someone else’s vision (such as her recent work on Peter Bagge’s project for DC, Sweatshop, which is soon to be released). Pope, who admitted that he enjoyed working on licensed characters and titles, also discussed the prospect of working on your own characters versus someone else’s.

The final panel of the day for me was one of the most enlightening. Tony Harris (co-creator with James Robinson of Starman) discussed their return to the character with an upcoming Starman miniseries. It details Jack’s trip to Japan (which was alluded to at one point in the original series, but was never followed up, until now). Harris was quite eager and willing to share his insight on the popular series, both while he was there and after he left. While he didn’t agree with all of James’ decisions after he had left the book, Harris admitted he was pleased that Robinson ended the series in the way that had been discussed at the outset by both of them.

I had not realized it, but Harris pointed out that he quit the series when Archie Goodwin died. (He mentioned this when I asked how he thought DC had changed since Archie’s death). He shared that when Robinson and he had gone to DC to propose Starman, the powers that be did not want to take on Harris as part of the project. But Goodwin fought for the project and also fought for Harris to be part of it. Later, Harris said, Goodwin admitted that while he had fought for him, he didn’t expect Harris to stay past three issues or so of the book. He also explained that DC planned to reprint the outstanding issues of Starman that had not been collected in trades, and that he would be providing new covers. While discussing covers, Harris also informed folks that DC initially had not wanted the painted covers and that turned out to be another victory that Goodwin gained for the creative team. He also offered details on a recent draft he read for the proposed (but not on schedule) pilot for a Starman TV series on ABC.

In talking to Harris about his Elseworlds work (The Liberty Files, etc), it was interesting to gain more context to the work (such as the fact DC convinced he and his fellow creators to capitalize on the JSA popularity and change a Bruce Wayne-themed Elseworlds into a JSA Elseworlds.). As is often the case, when I found out more about what Harris and the collaborators were trying to achieve, I found I appreciated the storytelling a great deal more. As a reviewer, context and circumstances are factors that cannot always be taken into account. Conversations like this serve as a reminder that I need to seek as much context to a story as I can when reviewing.

Finally before departing for the day, I got into a conversation with another creator and we discussed how he was trying to develop projects that appeal to younger audiences (while with another project completely appealing to an older audience). It seems when talking to successful creators, they concede that half of the success lies in effectively juggling projects/proposals and developing of creative leads.

Thus ends my scattershot day two summary.

Day Three opens on an interesting note, with the recovery of POW/MIAs in Iraq. I don’t know why, but it seems like the right note to start my day of hanging with creators of superheroes (and of course other non-superhero comics).

I had the pleasure of running in Laurie J. Anderson at the con on Sunday, early. I made her quite happy by telling her that folks like Tony Isabella had praised her interview with Julius Schwartz in this month’s Sequential Tart. Isabella is right to praise it (please check it out for yourself) and Atlanta ComiCon was lucky enough to have gotten her to moderate a panel Michael Kaluta at this year’s con as well. (More about that later).

Two major complaints I have about the layout of this year’s con. Both problems may have been something unavoidable due to logistics. The first concern was that I spent the whole day on Saturday looking for Michael Kaluta’s booth (granted I often got distracted by other booths and such) and never found it. I’ll take partial blame, as I never looked at the map (I prefer to wonder around and get a feel, I dislike maps.) But unfortunately, I mistook whole areas as retailer booths that turned out to be pockets of artists. It was not until Sunday that I found out where Ken Gale and Mercy Van Vlack were located. (Side note to WBAI, get ‘Nuff Said back on the air on a weekly basis, please). Secondly the screening room for films was smack dab next to the room for panels. I sincerely think the value and enjoyment of the panels were compromised because of the movies bleeding through the very thin convention walls interrupted the speaker’s trains of thought. That being said, if you come out of a con with only two complaints, I think the con staff is doing a very good job. End of whining.

The first panel I went to on Sunday was rather unique. The topic was The Most Important Comic Books of the Past 20 Years Moderated by Ken Gale (host of "Nuff Said" [out of New York]) and Chris Companik (host of "Giant Size Comic Book Show" [an Atlanta-based cable show]) (http://members.aol.com/chrisco57/). Companik’s associate (sorry, didn’t catch the fine fellow’s name but he had a cool Green Lantern shirt) was taping it for his show, while another person was filming it (and several other parts of the con) for a totally separate documentary. Not surprisingly I opened my mouth more than I should, but thankfully I shut it enough to learn from other folks. I was so busy listening and talking however, that I have no notes. It was a good panel and I really wish that I had the cable system (Atlanta has about 15 different cable systems) that carries Companik’s Giant Size Comic Book Show.

Another side note, is it just me, or does every con seem to feature a documentary crew? It’s only a matter of time before a con becomes an MTV show, I think. Not that this would be a bad thing, mind you.

Speaking of documentaries, Stephen and Suzie Lackey a husband and wife filmmaking team of the new documentary, Fans and Freaks: The Culture of Comics and Conventions, kindly showed and discussed the project. Find out the full scoop about the project at http://www.captain-pixel.com/.

The next panel was the aforementioned Anderson interview with Michael Kaluta. Keep check back at future issues of Sequential Tart for the interview, as Anderson taped the entire hour and then did an additional interview with Kaluta later in the afternoon. But for those who can’t wait, here’s some highlights. Kaluta is a soft-spoken fellow with a great deal of interesting things to say. He detailed his early artistic influences, and it may come as a surprise to some that horror (EC type comics) disturbed him as a child; but clearly it appears despite the terror, to some extent it would influence his later work. He attended Richmond Professional Institute, where he tried to get into the commercial art school, but it was full so he ended up in the fine art school. The school taught him to think visually.

I’ll be honest, I have never been a big fan of Kaluta, though I respected his talent. But after hearing him speak about his art, his influences and his career so far, I find myself wanting to devour everything he’s ever done. He so impressed me that I bought my first art piece ever. He had a rough sketch of a Batman and The Shadow cover concept. I was so awed by his passion and approach I had to have something of his to own myself. It’s panels like this that make me thankful that I get to go to cons at least once a year. Kaluta shared tales of being taught how to draw a solid comic story by his early editors at DC, such as Dick Giordano and Joe Orlando. He also credited Al Williamson for giving him his start in the industry.

Kaluta has a very dry, but rich wit. When asked how long for him to do page, he said when he first started it would take three days, and he quickly added that it took longer if he was drawing a beautiful woman. (Now he can do one or two pages a day, as long as he inks his work).

In the documentary panel earlier, I discussed the role of cities as a character in a comic. I assumed that Astro City or Opal City (in Robinson/Harris’s Starman) were among the first to do that. I was wrong, of course, and was reminded of that when the Kaluta panel got into the discussion of how the city was a character in his Shadow work.

After the Kaluta panel, I dashed over to Q&A with Michel Gagné. His panel was held in a room with a glass wall that looks over the convention floor. They were trying to get folks’ attention to come up to the panel, and so I tried to help. Sadly no one seemed to get my reference to Dustin Hoffman’s scene in The Graduate, as I mocked slamming my fists against the glass and screamed “Elaine!” Oh well.

I’m unsure how much animation played a role in the last two years of the con (I did not notice it as much). But the presence of the ASIFA-Atlanta folks and the value they added to the panels they sponsored were both invaluable. ASIFA-Atlanta’s Sarah Fay Krom led many of the panels and added a great deal of value to the discussion. In the Sunday Gagné presentation he showed and explained the chaotic process that led to him making the highly respected Prelude to Eden.

Gagné’s wife Nancy runs the business end of his studio. But it is clear in how he speaks about her, that she’s the anchor and inspiration for a person who describes him craft as a reflection and result of “artistic integrity and…insanity.” He’s working on many projects, including a new hardback The Towers of Numar, which will be released in June. To say Gagné’s life to date has been interesting is an understatement, to try to summarize half of what he revealed (even more than yesterday’s insight) would not do it justice. Thankfully he is also working on a partially autobiographical graphic novel (he’s inserting bits of fiction to diffuse the harshness of some of the horrible events that happened to him in his suffice to say rough childhood to say the least [when you’re shot in the eye at the age of 12 and lose that eye, rough doesn’t begin to describe his experience]) That being said, he acknowledged that the loss of the eye, while clearly negating any form of depth perception, did not become something he viewed as a handicap. He says (when speaking about his talents) that he has been given a gift and he does not want to waste his gift. He also shared a conversation he once had with his wife where he asked if she thought he could be the next Picasso. Wisely she said no, that he should in essence just take pride in being “the first Michel Gagné”

Gagné’s session was the last one I attended, and for my money, the best. All and all, the Atlanta ComiCon gets better every year and I hope 2004 continues the trend.


	Tim O'Shea

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