§ Matt Madden reports on the recent Napoli Comicon, which is held in a castle.
§ The North Jersey Media Group report on this weekend’s Nawthorne comicon, held in a high school gymnasium.
“Everybody in here is so nice, so genuine,” said 80-year-old comic book artist legend Gene Colan, who drew several popular series including the “Tomb of Dracula,” “Daredevil” and “Howard the Duck” Marvel series from the 1960s and 1970s.
They talked about the allure of comics.
“(They’re) as emotional as any novel and as visually exciting as any movie,” said Ken Wong, who manned a table as a volunteer from the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art in Manhattan.
“It’s kind of like a pocket film,” said Jordan Barel, 22, of Wayne. “The precursor to the video iPod,” said his brother, Jared Barel, 26.
“We’re really goofing up genre,” said Chris Moreno, 27, from southern Pennsylvania, whose comic book is called “Dracula vs. King Arthur.”
Then, they talked about being nerds.
While it was a bit of a trek (subway, train, then a 20minute walk with the worst street signage), it was a fun con. The raffle, 4 tickets for a dollar, was full of great stuff, and I won a rare sketch done by letterer extraordinaire John Workman! Got to talk with him, too! Bought some Don Rosa Uncle Scrooge, and other goodies cheap. The ride back was spent chatting with the Legion artist, whose name I barely remember, but who is a smart and likeable guy.
That night, I met Peter Sanderson at the Mocca opening. He’s working on a book showcasing New York locations which have been featured in Marvel Comics.
Next con: BookExpo!