2012 tricon program

June 9, 2012

FREEcoMics • cReatoRs • toys • gaMes

aMazing suPeRheRo

P R O G R A M

$ 7 . 0 0 a D M i s s i o n • K i D s U n D e r 1 0 e n t e r F r e eillustRationsand aRt Pg.9

cReatoRsPotlights Pg.4 costuMes Pg.6 advice Pg. 7

10 AM - 6 PM

HUNTINGTON, wv • JUNE 9, 2012 • 10AM - 6PM2 www.TRISTATECON.NET

A year ago, it was brought to our attention that Huntington hadn’t had a dedi-cated comics industry convention in nearly three decades. With James originally from the area, the idea to create a convention that would put comics back on the West Virginia map continued to gain momentum. Soon enough, he and Eric decided to take the plunge. Now, the time for opening the doors to the Big Sandy Super Arena draws near, and all the preparation has shown promise of a pay-off . Fa-cebook is blowing up with activity. Twitter is alight with comments, recommenda-tions and general promotion. Th e Tricon website (www.tristatecon.net) is continu-ously posting new and exciting information about the show and about comics. In the passing months, the guests have been coming to us in droves. Start-ing with Huntington native Beau Smith, we were lucky enough to follow up that announcement with amazing talents like Steve Scott (Batman Confi dential, Th e Creeper, Hulk: Broken Worlds), Dennis Calero (X-Men Noir, Cowboys Vs. Aliens), Billy Tucci (Shi, Sgt. Rock), and Jim Califi ore (Deadpool, Gotham Underground). [For a full listing of our invited guests, check out the “Guests” spread on pages 4 & 5.] Aside from the comic industry’s high-volume talents, Tricon is also extremely interested in setting a focus of independent press. Having an indy background with Broken Icon Comics, Tricon organizers James and Eric know the importance on what indy comic producers bring to a convention, not to mention to the comics industry in general (more on this topic on Pg. 8). Without them, a certain spirit in the industry would be lost, and the medium itself wouldn’t be half as engaging to fans. Knowing this, we wanted to provide an atmosphere where quality small press titles could thrive, and we’ve been lucky enough to scoop up some of the best independent producers the region has to off er. A small selection has been included on the opposite page, but the full list with bios and links can be found on the Tri-con website. Lastly, our vendors have done wonders to push some great deals on everything from comics to toys to even jewelry creations. You name it and someone probably has it at the show, so come for a visit and don’t be shy about treating yourself!

Enjoy!

James Maddox & Eric Watkins, Tricon Organizers

We couldn’t have pulled Tricon off without the help and generosity of a number of diff erent contributors. Extra-super special thanks go to:

Mary Maddox & Amanda Watkins- For incomparable support all across the board.

Beau Smith - For helping us get our footing and contributing to the project.

Vladimir Popov - For being the most talented and awesome person alive.

Steve Scott - For artistic excellence and teaching us to be independent.

Rob Dumo. - For giving us Larry (the Tricon mascot).

Tori Taylor - For expert design prowess.

Nick Anderson - For helping get the word out.

KJM - For being KJM.

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

TRIC

ON 2

012

$20 VIPpacKaGe• early admission •

• amazing Bonuses • Must buy before show.

Visit tristatecon.net to pruchase.

tricon creatorsJAMES MADDOX

James Maddox is a co-owner of Bro-ken Icon Comics and writer/creator for several diff erent series, including the highly acclaimed Nightmare Un-known. Find more from Maddox at jamesmaddox.net

VLAD POPOVVladimir Popov is an accomplished artist and digital colorist. His work has been fea-tured with Boom! Studios, Zenescope, and Broken Icon Comics.

eric WatKinsEric Watkins is co-owner of Broken Icon Comics. As the company’s Direc-tor of Operations, he fi nds new and interesting talent for the publisher. Eric is also the writer/creator of the series Chosen & Forsaken.

roB DUMoSee Rob Dumo.’s profi le on page 5.

Karissa JoHnsonKarissa Johnson is a go-getter who has con-tributed her talents to projects such as Tri-con, Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, Broken Icon Comics, and the Huntington-based

rock group Qiet.

pacKaGe• early admission •

www.tristatecon.net

TRICON AT BIG SANDY SUPERSTORE ARENA 3

EXHIBITOR SPOTLIGHT

Yuri Gypsy Hunter was created during the summer of 2010 by Todd Beistel and Doug Hufford. They have both observed the comic book industry as fans since they were young. While still in high school, Todd self published Eye of the Probe, a comic anthology. He then went on to study illustration and graduate from CCAD. While in college, Todd wrote and illustrated Lost Souls, a graphic short story. Lost Souls was published by Hunter Productions. As years passed, Todd’s interests evolved into fine art and graphic design. As a dedicated artist, he has been featured in venues throughout Ohio. On several occasions, he has contributed illustrations to accompany columnists such as Dave Barry and Click and Clack. Doug also studied art at CCAD, but strangely evolved into a writer as time passed. He became

known for his outlandish movie reviews during the late 90’s. He made his home at Bumscorner.com and was often featured in popular venues. Yuri Gypsy Hunter marks his first foray into the comic book industry.

Rusty shacklesAs Tricon attendees peruse the prints of Rusty Shackles, two things will happen: 1) They’ll get a chuckle from his particular brand of humor, and 2) they’ll be blown away by the caliber of artistic talent he controls. From his original run on the Great Comics That Never Happened to his creations for videogame sites to his music gig posters Shackles showcases himself as a producer of fantastic images. Still, Shackles sees his work with comics as more of a paying hobby. “It’s a hobby until you hit the bigs, but if you never do, it’s best to have your finger in as many pots as possible,” said Shackles. “I’ve been extremely fortunate to work with people in comics who, while not being able to get me comic work, routinely slide me other illustration projects such as art for a roller

derby league. Besides, comic illustration is the unique form it is due to the variety of subjects you come across, so working in other fields and doing other work will only serve to enhance your abilities.” When it comes down to it, Shackles considers himself an artist who works around comics more than in them. “It’s hard with a family and dayjob to crank out a full 22 pager and do smaller paid gigs,” he said. Shackles just came onboard with Action Lab to produce the cover for their Free Comic Book Day offerings and is looking forward to doing some more cover work with them in the future. He has also recently started an art tutorial blog to show the Rusty Shackles method of art using Photoshop and Manga Studio, but his constant means of output has been album covers and PaletteSwap, where artists repackage video games. For more on Shackles, check out rsatnt.tumblr.com or palette-swap.blogspot.com.

todd Beistel & doug huffoRd

Dustin Carson is an award winning writer and veteran on the comic convention circuit. He brings with him the ex-tremely impressive graphic novel No Gods. In this title, a 14 year old boy thinks he is the clone of Jesus Christ, and sees other superheroes existing in the world as false gods who must be destroyed. See more of this title and Dustin’s work at www.dustincarson.com.

victoR dandRidgeVictor Dandridge started Vantage:Inhouse Productions, which is a self-publishing experiment, grown in the future and sent back through time to jump start the small-press revolution. Victor also created the U-Cr8 comic line to pro-mote literacy and creative expressions in kids. You can check out Vantage’s website at vantageinhouse.blogspot.com/

Michael MayneMichael is an up-and-coming creator operating out of Portsmouth, OH, most notably having crafted Bonnie Lass, a swash-buckling adventure series published by Red 5 Comics. While plugging away at the second volume, he is also providing the artwork for the webcomics Possessed and For My Own Good. He has contributed covers and pinups to series such as Rain, Gold Digger, and Skullkickers. He also illustrated a VSS/Gearz oneshot, as well as the four-part mini-series Massively Effec-tive, teaming up with Atomic Rex Entertainment. Working mostly digitally these days, Michael can turn himself into a one-man comicking machine, though he equally enjoys working in tandem with others to turn out high calibre entertainment! Down time is exceedingly rare, but Michael makes sure he’s no stranger to the karaoke mic, and is admittedly more of a movie nerd than anything else. www.michaelmayne.com

Monica gallagheRMonica Gallagher is a graphic designer and comic book creator from Maryland, whose first work in comics was her webcomic Gods & Undergrads. Since then she has produced titles such as Boobage, Lipstick and Malice, and has con-tributed to Oni Press’s JAM! Tales

from the World of Roller Derby. “I’ve always thought a career in comics was possible,” said Gallagher. “It was only until later that I realized that a LOT of people struggle with doing comics for a living.” However, Gallagher has figured out how to make her want of producing comics and a livable income work. “A lot of the people I know do freelance work or work day jobs or part-time jobs. So I’m not the only one,” she said. “I’ve learned over the years that I want to be flexible. Comics are my love, but I’m realistic in expecting to have to generate other products, artwork, freelance gigs, etc. in order to eventually fully support myself.” With as much as Gallagher produces, it’s no surprise that she’s constantly influenced by the books that she reads. “I’m inspired by Wendy Pini and the precedent she set [at being a writer/artist for her books],” said Gallagher. “At the moment, I get a few titles in my box at the comic book store—Fables, The Unwritten, Buffy, Sweet Tooth—and then dabble in a lot of comics online by Kate Beaton, Erika Moen, Danielle Corsetto, Faith Erin Hicks, Dean Haspiel, Jim Rugg ... the list can go on and on.” Gallagher recently finished a new mini-comic called “Go For The Eyes”. The new title is her personal experience dealing with self-defense. She hopes the story will resonate with people who’ve been in fights, defended themselves, or likewise felt victimized in some way. In this way, she is a comic producer that provides wholly different takes on what kind of stories comics can deliver to its readers. “Honestly, all stories can be important,” said Gallagher. “I’d like to see more variety to reach more people. Every-one could be interested in comics, and more varied view-points would definitely help reel in more readers.” In December, a book Gallagher illustrated with the writ-er Adrianne Ambrose will be coming out from Oni Press. More of her work can be found at eatyourlipstick.com.

dustin caRson

Find more exhibitor

profiles at:www

tristateconnet

www.TRISTATECON.NET

Lora Innes started her career in comics the same as most other artists and writers in that profession: Reading them as a kid. She then spent her middle school and high school years drawing different characters and sketches. “X-Men was my gateway drug,” said Innes. “From that point there was no turning back.” Innes’s big push into full-time comic creation started with the online series The Dreamer in 2007. This romantic, time-travel adventure about the Revolutionary War was quick to gain a readership. By 2008, IDW Publishing got in touch with the artist/writer and let her know that they were interested in gathering the first six issues into a single volume. In November 2008, the first volume of The Dreamers was released to critical acclaim and was nominated for three Harvey Awards, a CYBILS Award, and was the recipient of the S.P.A.C.E. Prize. “My goal for doing The Dreamers online was to get it into print,” said Innes when asked

which she liked better, digital or print. “Now that it’s in print, I see many advantages of having it online. For instance, online series reach more diverse audiences.” The audience she brought with her to IDW has grown since the initial volume of the series. Now in it’s second printing, The Dreamers, Vol. 1 has been followed up by the second volume, and Innes says she’s already in the middle of completing the third. In addition to The Dreamer, Innes co-hosts the Paper Wings Podcast with Disney character designer Chris Oatley. Paper Wings has taken off with the agenda of helping hopeful comic creators “learn to make & monetize [their] creator-owned comics and graphic novels.” As for the future, Innes is writing and producing three graphic novel tie-ins for the upcoming Civil War television mini-series, To Appomattox, starring Rob Lowe, Will Patton, William Peterson, and Richard Dreyfuss. The first of Innes’s books will be released in conjunction with the show’s airing in July 2013. For more on Innes and her several projects, check out www.thedreamercomic.com, www.paperwingspodcast.com, and www.toappomattox.com.

loRa innesBeau sMith

steve scott Steve Scott is a comic artist whose work could fill volumes. From notable illustrations in nearly every large publishing house, Scott has made his living drawing some of the most iconic characters in the comic book industry. His ever-growing lists of credits span a range of different media, from comics to video game art to trading cards. Needless to say, Steve Scott is a very busy man. Many of Steve’s successes have come with his work on Batman (DC), Batman Confidential (DC), The Creeper (DC), Hulk: Broken Worlds (Marvel), She-Hulk (Marvel), JLA (DC) and Indiana Jones (Dark Horse). On top of that, Scott has branched out to do concept art for the video game The Bane of Yoto for Leviathan Games and completed two series of Marvel trading cards for Upperdeck, Avengers Assemble and The Beginning.

Beyond these accomplishments, Steve was the only artist hired to illustrate works that would appear in a special features segment of The Dark Knight film. Steve also had his artwork featured on the Justice League Doom DVD, where a digital copy of JLA #43 was a special feature.

dennis caleRo Dennis Calero has tak-en the comic industry by storm with his many tal-ents. He has used his skill in illustrating, inking, writing and coloring to their full advantage. In the mid 90’s, Calero had interior artwork fea-tured in multiple Dun-geons and Dragons titles,

including Faiths and Pantheons, Silver Marches, and Races of Faerun. Dennis has put his talents to work in titles such as X-Men Noir, Star Trek, 28 Days Later, Dark Tower and the recent blockbuster hit Cowboys & Aliens. Calero is credited as being one of the founders of one of the first computer-based coloring companies, Atomic Paintbrush. For more, check out www.denniscalero.com and follow him on Twitter.

Beau Smith can remember being on the third grade playground. There the teacher asked everybody “What are you going to do when you grow up?” “My answer was always ‘I’m going to write comic books,’” said Smith. In the late 70s, Beau start-ing writing letters to the

comics he was reading .These funny and insightful notes caused him to become acquaintances with some of the top editors of the time. These editors suggested that he switch gears from writing letters to actually writing comics, and when Eclipse comics lost their sales director, Smith went on an interview in Washington, DC and got the job. “Right after that, I started writing Beau Laduke for Scout and quickly had the best of both worlds,” said Smith. “Through letter writing and the old fashioned way of meeting someone face to face, that’s how my career happened. And I’ve been lucky enough to have it continue for twenty-six years.” In that time, Smith has produced titles such as The Dogs of Danger and The Swords of Texas, then jumped to DC to work on Green Lantern Quarterly #8 and following up with Guy Gardner. Beau’s career continued to grow as he worked on the titles Spawn, Batman vs. Wildcat, and Catwoman vs Wildcat. From there Beau worked on his created title, Wynonna Earp, which was recently released through IDW. But through all this comic work, Smith hasn’t lost his ability to provide commentary on the comics industry. His regular column for the Comics Bulletin—titled “Busted Knuckles”—mirrors back to what got him started in this business in the first place: letter writing. And thanks in part to his insightful views on the matter, the business of comics has never been more interesting or approachable.

Billy tucciFrom a Special Forces soldier in the US Military to a renowned comic book artist, Billy Tucci has brought a bit of fresh air to the comic industry. Billy’s created title Shi was started in his apartment in the early 90s and has boomed into one of the most successful books in recent comic history, even out-selling titles like Batman. Shi has been featured on numerous television shows like Fox, NBC and E!, while also receiving print publicity in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today. The popularity of Shi has also led to the main characters crossover into numerous iconic titles. Shi has also set records for his two year run atop the top ten list in Wizard Magazine. In 2008, Billy was able to produce a six part mini-series, Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion. Billy called his amazing work on the series a “labor of love”. Aside from his work on Shi and Sgt. Rock, Billy recently had a much publicized title, A Child is Born.

Tucci has also written, directed and produced a short film based on World War II Navy Cross recipient Richard W. DeMott. In 2002 it was named Best Short Film at the Long Island International Film Expo. Billy is also the founder of his own publishing company, Crusade Fine Arts.

G U e s t s

5

chad laMBeRt Chad Lambert is a five-time Howard E. Day Memorial Award finalist and two-time Champion City Award nominee for his work in small press comics, including Possum At Large, Kill the Revisionist, and Return to Point Pleasant. Ray Bradbury refers to Return to Point

Pleasant as “superb and frightening! Bravo!” Chad also appeared in the feature-length documen-tary Eyes of the Mothman, which explores the Appalachian folklore of paranormal activity in West Virginia. Chad is also one of the writers of the Megamind and Kung Fu Panda comics from Ape Entertainment and DreamWorks Animation, as well as BloodRayne for Dig-ital Webbing Press. He also recently completed a comic book biography of Saturday Night Live for Bluewater. Chad is also appearing in Dark Horse Presents #14, on sale July 18th.

RoB duMoRob Dumo, a New York native, always knew he’d be aprofessional artist—except for his earlier, el-ementary school years, in when he wanted to be a Mexican gardener. Being an artist wasn’t really a dream of Rob’s as much as it was an inevitability. “I haven’t always dreamed of being an artist, I knew I’d become one. Especially, when I figured out I couldn’t change my DNA to become a Mexican gardener,” joked Rob. For 13 years, Rob has been a professional caricature artist and has grown into one of the best sketch and commission artists on the convention circuit. Starting in 2006, Rob has put a larger focus on comics. While continuing his work as a caricature

artist, he began to work on the small press title Thoughtless. Three years into his comic adventure, he hooked up with inde-pendent publisher Broken Icon Comics. “Finding a professional publisher who would follow through and show the devotion to get my work out was important for me. Broken Icon was that publisher I was looking for,” said Rob. In 2009 he began work on Broken Icon’s Nightmare Unknown series with writer/creator James Maddox. After the suc-cessful three-issue run and with the trade paperback slated for a 2012 release, Rob has turned his focus to the issue #0 of Chosen & Forsaken. With many accomplishments under his belt, Rob is not taking it easy. Rob was recently hired as Broken Icon’s Art Direc-tor, and is also working on other projects that are sure to keep astonishing comic and art fans alike. If you haven’t seen Rob’s work, check his website at www.robdumoart.com, or his creator file on Broken Icon at www.brokeniconcomics.com.

toMMy PatteRson After honing his artistic talents, Tommy Patterson was noticed after completing two largely successful runs on Farscape on issues 1-4 and 9-12 for BOOM Studios. His artwork has also been front and center in numerous Zenescope titles, and he has amassed a great resume of

work via pinups and interiors on titles such as Tales from Wonderland White Knight, Red Rose, and Stingers. All the practice and credibility has earned him a great run with Dynamite Entertainment. This successful start to his career has culminated to a two year run on the hit series Game of Thrones. From hit novel to HBO series, Tommy has been living up to all the hype with his fantas-ticly detailed artwork. Aside from his artistic abilities, Tommy also writes to help educate young artists. His article, Draw Over!, is fea-tured on www.comixtribe.com, while www.30characters.com is home to his other column.

JaMes PatRickWhenever writer James Patrick was sick as a kid, his parents would bring him comic books to help pep him up. “I vaguely remember getting Flash and Star Wars,” said Patrick. “I remember cutting Han Solo and his enemies out of the books and

making collages. Something so colorful and cool about it all. But the first time I read and loved a comic was G.I. Joe #19.” Patrick grew as a writer to create the series Crackurz, his first published work. The series followed two birds that hate each other, but are forced to live together in a cage. “I knew something had been done right,” said Patrick. “I had 16 pages of two talking-head birds, and it was getting great reviews. That kind of feedback helps build confi-dence.” Patrick said his journey toward creating comics profes-sionally was really a series of steps. “My friend Chris Ryall gave me a job making comic strips at Kevin Smith’s Movie Poop Shoot. That was kind of my first professional gig. Christian Baranek read Lion-xor and liked it and that lead to Silent Devil publishing Death Comes to Dillinger,” said Patrick. The writer’s first licensed story came with a run in the comic Angel, which was soon followed by an issue of Star Trek. From that, Dan Didio read one of the Death Comes to Dillinger books, contacted Patrick, and facilitated an opportunity to write Batman. “That’s probably the biggest jump. But again, it’s not a cut and dry thing. All that had to happen before and all those wonderful people had to give me chances,” said Patrick.

G U e s t sJiM calafioRe

Jim Calafiore is a talented artist who has brought to life a variety of beloved characters in numerous titles for Marvel and DC. Jim started off his career in comics with Caliber in 1989. He then moved on to Valiant in early 1993 with credits on such characters as X-O Manowar and Magnus Robot Fighter. In 1994, Jim made the jump to the big leagues, working with legendary writer Peter David on his now classic run of Aquaman for DC, as well as a variety of Marvel projects, such as War Machine and X-Men 2099. Jim remained a mainstay in the Marvel and DC Universes work-ing on a variety of fan favorite titles, everything from Green Lantern and JLA to Iron Man and the X-Men. Jim is best known for his long and very successful run on The Exiles. During that run he not only penciled, but also claimed credits in writing. Jim’s other works include Aquaman,

Deadpool, and most recently Gotham Underground and Super Six for DC where he continues to hone his skills as an artist. Jim is credited with the creation of Nocturne, the daughter of Nightcrawler and Scarlet Witch in an alternate universe. You can check out more of his work on his website at www.jimcalafiore.com.

Max inkMax Ink has been writing and draw-ing his own style of comic books for over three decades. He’s cre-ated fantasy comics, science fiction comics and even a series featuring anthropomorphic super heroes. These days, Max works on a down-to-earth series called Blink, which is

set in Columbus, Ohio. The series features a mix of 20-something friends who live, work and basically just hang out and talk, living their lives to the best of their ability and enjoying themselves. Blink has been described as “real life on the printed page,” as well as “philosophical,” “wildly en-tertaining” and “a wonderful slice-of-what-I-wish-my-life-was-like” kind of comic. In 2011, Max published his first Blink graphic novel, which was a finalist for the SPACE Prize twice. He is currently in the process of writing and drawing his second Blink graphic novel, So It Goes, which will be over 400 pages long when it’s completed in 2016.


TriconKarissa Johnson

g e v i t a r r a n a o lo w x a p b n v m o i a eo o l h o s e m p o n v ad p p o i n i a l l i v ns i m a d b h b t l g i il e v o n c i h p a r g mz w r i t e r t h b i a ao i g e w i l c o d v c tm c k u a n o c i r t t ib s u p e r h e r o s i oi a r t i s t e h w e o ne c o m i c t m e a w n rr i o a r i t t o i t o i

Superhero Comic VillainVendor Narrative ExhibitorSketch West Virginia ZombieGuest Animation PanelGood Evil ActionBoom Splat TriconBam Pow Graphic NovelWord Balloon Writer ArtistComics

Wor

dsea

rch

AUTOGRAPHS

tRicon costuMe contest

1st Place: $2002nd Place: Bag of Comics

with so many artists at Tricon you’ll want to get to know them all. Stop by and grab a signature from each of our presenters.

presents


Q: Dear Capt. Lately my boss has been a real monster to deal with. I’ve tried to step up my game, but no mat-ter what I do, he never seems to be satisfied with my production levels. All I want is to stop being singled out among my co-work-ers as a troublesome employee. Can you give me any advice?Cubicle Christopher

A: Dear Cubicle,Whenever I have to fight with a monster, my first move is to get him into the open. Maybe that’s where your problem lies. Instead of fac-ing off in a cubicle, take the battle to the plaza. Once there, uproot a few trees or toss a few cars in his direction. After that exchange, he should be making some big changes to his daily plan-ner that will have you working in peace.

Q: Dear Capt. Amazing,I’ve been feeling kind of low lately. What are some of your weaknesses, and how do you recover from them?Your friend,John Anderson (definitely not Commandant Chaos)

A: Mr. Anderson,So far as I can tell, I have no weaknesses to bring me down, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to carry such an amazing name as Capt. Amazing. In-stead, I would be more like Capt. Not-So-Bad. I do, however, feel a deep sense of empathy for those of you who aren’t quite as amazing as I, and have found that the rest of the world seems to have their spirits lifted by watching me fly through the sky like a bird, hurl evil-doers (like Commandant Chaos) into brick buildings, and generally save the day in entertaining and spectacular ways. So keep a lookout for me and you’ll be happier in no time!

Q: Dear Captain,My girlfriend and I have recently lost our spark. This happened after a big fight about what the funniest Woody Allen movie was, but I think there was something deeper be-hind the conversation that I can’t identify. Any clues on how I can put the fire back into our relationship?Clueless in Pt. Pleasant

A: Clueless,Every time my girlfriend—Countess Cat-thief—and I get into an argument, it tends to be right after I’ve foiled one of her jewelry heists and thrown her in jail. Usually, she stays mad at me for a few weeks, but she eventually breaks free from captivity and is back to her old self. As for why your companion is mad, I can’t re-ally say. The woman’s mind is a deep and mys-terious maze. Go back and see what preceded the big fight. Maybe you did something that caused her to be thrown in prison? If so, my suggestion is to give her time. I hear it heals all wounds, but being invincible, I couldn’t really verify that statement.

Q: Oh, Captain, my Captain,How do I achieve a similar hair style to yours?Sincerely, Lifeless & Lackluster.

A: Well, Lifeless & Lackluster, due to me spend-ing copious amounts of time flying through the air I’m left with my hair in a perement wind blown position. I would suggest positioning a blow dryer or industrial sized fan in front of your hair for 3 to 4 hours a day, and in no time you’ll be left with amazing and beautiful locks.

#1) What character in the Marvel Universe was created by Jim Calafiore?#2) What book illustrated by Dennis Calero was a blockbustermovie?#3) What did Rob Dumo want to be as a child?#4) What is the name of Billy Tucci’s studio?#5) What was Beau Smith’s first professional comic?#6) What documentary was Chad Lambert featured in?#7) The Bane of Yoto is the video game that features whatguest’s art work?#8) What independent book earned James Patrick notoriety forhis writing?#9) Farscape and Game of Thrones are titles of what featuredartist?#10) What TV show is Lora Innes currently writing a tie ingraphic novel for?

TRICON TRIVIA

deaR caPtain

aMazing

the B.i.c. creators By Maddox, Watkins & popov


When reading comic books as a young kid you’re able to do it pretty easy. What’s that you ask? Suspend your belief. At that point, life hasn’t had time to pile on layers and layers of experience to make you stop and question everything. You haven’t yet lost that excitement of being drawn into a world of super-hero fiction where monsters, aliens and a clown with a fish handgun dwell without question. Sure, now and then as a kid, you’ll say to yourself “Hey, that can’t happen.” Then you realize that reading the comic book isn’t as much fun if you don’t “pretend” it could and you go on reading with pleasure. The problem comes as we do grow older and all those layers of experience and reality get piled on us. We find our tastes becoming more mature, and that change happens so gradually that we don’t even know it’s hap-pening. The complex part is that we find our-selves in a weird place where we still want part of our super-hero fiction to remain the same. That means incredible super powers that defy science. It also means flamboyant costumes that nobody seeking stealth and a secret iden-tity would ever get caught dead wearing. Yet, we want the stories to be ripped from today’s headlines, politically correct, relevant and adult enough to satisfy our so-called mature need for cussing, sex and gory violence. (And don’t forget zombies.) We whine about the fact that an almost-made Wonder Woman movie had put her in long spandex pants and not a bathing suit bottom. In reality that should have been the least of our cares getting Wonder Woman to the screen. We should spend more time won-dering why DC Comics hasn’t been able to make the charac-ter of Wonder Woman interesting enough for

Reality check: susPend youR Belief... noW!

us to buy it in the last 70 years. Get the char-acter on the screen and maybe, just maybe, the screenwriters can give her the personality where comic book writers haven’t . They did it with Iron Man and Thor. Why not Wonder Woman? When you buy a super-hero comic book to read, you really need to keep in a mindset of what you’re paying for and seriously suspendbelief for the time it takes to read it. Remem-ber that you’re willingly paying to walk in a world where a guy wears a skintight, bright red costume and calls himself The Flash. It’s a world where a man with no super powers at all is able to dress up like a bat, drive a car that a blind man could spot in a parking lot and never get killed from one trained sniper bullet. This is a world where you pay to enter, don’t waste your time saying “This couldn’t happen.” It does and it always will. Just be-cause you kinda grew up doesn’t mean your comic book fantasy world has adhere to your reality. Real life gives you enough cold hard facts to live with. Escape all that for a little while and enjoy the fiction. Do complain if that fic-tion isn’t written well and the characters aren’t likeable or have some emotional depth, but don’t complain that in real life they couldn’t turn invisible or fly to another planet with a power ring. Real life has TV shows like The Jersey Shore. Don’t you want to escape and complain about that? I do.

Originally published on ComicsBulletin.com

Courtesy of Flying Fist Ranch (www.fly-ingfistranch.com)

There’s a small percentage of those in the comics industry who can actually make a liv-able wage at this game. The rest of us are tell-ing ourselves that we’re working to get to that point, but the truth is more romantic than it is sacrificing: We love the comics. That’s not to say that Stan Lee or any other comics icon doesn’t feel the same way. Some have better luck making a go of comics than others, just like any other profession. Still, let’s not talk about the men and women in the industry who have worked hard to “make it”, and instead focus on those creators who hop in their cars, a trunk full of hand-stapled floppy books and the hope that the convention that they’ve spent money to attend won’t be filled with people looking for old back issues of Wol-verine or the Justice League. They hope that the people looking to spend time among the world of comic books are going to have an open mind to stories that feature unknown characters and stories that might step away from the main-stream from time to time. Call them independent press, call them work-ing-class comic book creators, these individuals

indePendent PRessMakes the coMic WoRld go aRound

are one of the main reasons the comics indus-try continues (and will continue) to be a fresh voice to creative storytelling. Unlike the writer who sits in his study and polishes that novel he’s been working on for the past five years, indy comic creators aren’t prone to hide away their creations. Sometimes these products may seem unfinished and maybe even rushed, but the forward progression can’t be denied—and if the creator keeps with it and fashions new stories as time moves forward, they’ll be stron-ger having put their work on the table, finished or not. The entrepreneurial spirit in the comic world is alive and well. And the stories are pretty amazing. So stop by and see Dustin Carson (No Gods) or Todd & Doug (Yuri: Gypsy Hunt-er), or check out publishers like Old World Comics, Hazzum Productions, or even Bro-ken Icon Comics (sorry for the shameless self-promotion) and see what the indy crowd has to offer. We’ll be happy to entertain you with stories that add volumes, character and style to a medium that is well-worth the effort.

PANEL INFOU-CRe8 12:00 PM The U Cre-8 Comics line is an innovative approach to combining comics and the class-room. With a mix of both literary and visual arts instruction, the U Cre-8 line builds an appreciation for creative expression as well as an interest in reading. The Character Crafter Workbook has students use an application process to make their own comic cre-ations from the ground up, much in the same characters are created in the comic book industry. Guest: Victor Dandridge Jr.

COMICS AnD tHe InteRnet 1:30 PM Panel of talented webcomic creators will talk about their work and give you pointers on how to begin creating your own. Guest: Lora Innes and Todd Beistel

MASS MeDIA & COMICS: Q&A SeSSIOn 3:00 PM Ever wonder what it is like to have your work put on the big screen? or to draw an established book at HBO series? Well, sit down, listen to and pick the brains of Dennis Calero and Tommy Patterson. They will be taking questions and talking about what its like drawing a comic that is a pop culture phenom plus much more. Guest: Dennis Calero and Tommy Patterson

InDePenDent PReSS 4:30 PM Meet some independent creators and find out what goes into being “indy” and why you should get some of their great stories. Guest: Eric Watkins, Max Ink and TBA

By James Maddox

By Beau smith


DRAW YOUR OWN COMIC CHARACTERRob dumo. Available for characters, commissions & sketches at Tr icon

Comic characters aren’t just superheroes anymore. we’re branching out and including all walks of life. See if you can create your own here!

www.TRISTATECON.NETHUNTINGTON, wv • JUNE 9, 2012 • 10AM - 6PM10

2012 tricon program

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