I was only able to attend BENTcon 2 at the Bonaventure Hotel in downtown LA on Sunday December 4th. It was, I’m told in full swing from Friday night, and I’m sure I missed some good events and panels but what can one do? I am rather kicking myself that I misread the time of the Women in Gay Comics panel and missed it. Oh well, I got to talk to lots of cool artists and exhibitors on my one afternoon at BENTcon 2.
So here’s who I talked to that day: Continue reading
Lore and Dysorder: The Hell’s Detective Mysteries
By Patrick Thomas
Padwolf Publishing 2011
Book purchased by Reviewer
Review by Ida Vega-Landow
Sure, and if it isn’t another fine book by that fine Irish laddie, Patrick Thomas! This one is about another of the regulars at Bullfinch’s Bar, a forgotten Sumerian fire god who goes by the name Negral. He’s the chief of Hell’s secret police, 666th Precinct, who channels Humphrey Bogart. I kid you not; Negral is such a big Bogie fan that he manifests himself as a tall, dark man in a suit wearing a trench coat and a fedora. He talks tough like Bogie too, and doesn’t bother to tell his suspects their Miranda Rights. That’s because most of them are the damned souls who inhabit Hell, or the demons who own them. Satan thinks so highly of him that he gave him the right to investigate and interrogate any resident of Hell, answering only to His Satanic Majesty.
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With Strings Attached, or The Big Pink Job
By Deborah Aviva Rothschild
Published by: Deborah Aviva Rothschild, 2009
Available for purchase at www.rationalmagic.com
Review copy purchased by reviewer
Review by Ida Vega-Landow
While wandering through the dealers’ room at this year’s Fest for Beatles Fans at the Parsippany Hilton in March, I met a charming lady named Aviva Rothschild. She was selling copies of a book she had written, a privately published fanfic about the Beatles, along with homemade soap. I got two pieces of soap, shaped like a cat and an octopus, for free by buying the book, which was a big, pink tome. I wasn’t expecting anything other than your average piece of fanfic about my favorite British rock group, stretched to epic size. What I got was a lively romp that made “Magical Mystery Tour” look like an Afterschool Special. The author started this magnum opus 29 years ago and finally published it last year. I found it poignant that the story begins on April 11, 1980, eight months before John Lennon’s death in the real world. In this alternate universe of Ms. Rothschild’s, the Beatles are reunited on an alien world by a group of alien Beatle fans, who enjoy their music so much they want to thank them by giving them the gift of an adventure.
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And didn’t tell anyone. Well, anyway, good luck to wildgate.com because they’ll need it.
Our new contact number is 323-201-7147 Yeah. If you have J LHLS business cards, please make a note when you hand them out. I’ll be generating new cards soon-ish.
Kumoricon moved to Vancouver, Washington and expanded to occupy two hotels: the Vancouver Hilton and the Vancouver Red Lion on the Quay. In contrast to the previous two years in downtown Portland, where the space sometimes felt cramped and inconvenient, the new location was a treat. Having a huge park with a farmers’ market directly across the street from the hotel gave people an obvious place to go for food, photo shoots, and relaxation. It made Kumoricon feel kind of like a temporary small town of its own, with about 4,000 attendees roaming the area.
Note: These are all in separate posts, so there were some edits to them while I was posting. There are links to the individual posts at the bottom of this one. If you are so inclined to comment, please comment there.
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So, the links below are my Comic Con San Diego 2011 reportage. I didn’t have a Smart Phone, so I missed out on a few things. Like these ninjas. This is their front side:
Thien Pham was more into talking about the other artists at his table than his own work.
So, I met Maddox! and his lovely companion, Marie the Lumberjack, this year.
I am a big fan of Sze Jones! Anyone who can draw an octopus girl like that has my worship.
I talked to Bryan “Kaiser” Tillman last year (CCSD 2010 scroll down) and was a total idiot because I know nothing about gaming of any kind except you use these cute dice and cards and everything is so elegant and organized. Thank God Wendy Lee was there taking pictures for me (my camera battery was locked in my luggage at the train station [total idiot that day, really]) to smooth things over by laughing her ass off at me.
Bryan is not laughing at me in the 2010 picture, he’s too nice for that. By the way, that’s my hand holding a tape recorder, not some unspeakable horror. Anyway. As you can see Bryan, like Shannon Wheeler, changed his look since the last time I saw him. He’s wearing the same shirt though. Continue reading
Cat Staggs has been doing CCSD Artists’ Alley for seven years. She has a comic in the upcoming Womanthology from IDW in December. She started out in comics doing trading cards. She’s been drawing her whole life and has a bachelors degree in art from University of Texas as San Antonio.
Oh my God, can Katie Cook ever draw! I got a copy of “F*ck you Box,” a mini-comic about her cat’s inner dialog and, um, challenging approach to his environment and I was laughing my ass off reading it on the train back to Los Angeles.
Sho Murase has been working in animation as a freelance character designer and storyboarder for the past ten years. At this year’s Comic Con, she’s showing and selling her personal work. She was raised in Spain and went to art school in Canada. She’s been exhibiting at CCSD, APE and WonderCon for the past five years. I got a copy of her comic book, “Sheila,” volume 1.
One of the best deals anywhere. (PromoCode HKB669)
