Fan crafts draw crowd at comic convention
Star Wars-inspired chip-and-dip bowl among the big hits
Just as the Millennium Falcon took Luke Skywalker away from his desert home of Tatooine, it also provided Deric Peveto passage out of his career as a trauma nurse. Admittedly, Peveto’s escape didn’t involve blasting his way out of Mos Eisley, but the Falcon still changed his life dramatically when he envisioned the Corellian freighter as a chip-and-dip bowl hand carved out of a mix of domestic and exotic wood.
Hurricane Rita turned Peveto into a woodworker when it cleaved his Beaumont home in half. “There were a lot of repairs and no one to do them,” he said. “So I learned to do the repairs myself.”
Peveto, now a Nacogdoches resident, saw his hobby grow into his Wood By Hand company, which was selling Falcon chip/ dip vessels and other carved pieces at Comicpalooza this weekend.
“The Falcon really started it all,” he said. “Somebody took a picture of it, and I didn’t think anything of it. Then a friend told me it was on the front page
of Reddit. I asked, ‘Is that a bad thing?’ ”
Orders for the bowls began to pour in. Peveto’s Comicpalooza booth has some Falcons, and other pieces like a triangular wooden door stop for “Game of Thrones” fans that reads “Hodor.”
Peveto’s story isn’t terribly uncommon at events like Comicpalooza. While mass-produced shirts and toys are readily available, there remains demand for creative, handmade items by people whose hobbies sometimes reveal a professional second act.
“I never envisioned myself being in this pop culture world,” Peveto says. “But I really love being part of it.”
Comicpalooza kicked off quietly Friday, as it often does with fans old and young at work or in school. Saturday brings the true wave of costume-clad fans.
Once on site at the George R. Brown Convention Center, they’re faced with all manner of stimuli: artists and vendors selling wares; actors and writers discussing their work; and beloved stars from all corners of the fantasy, superhero, sciencefiction, speculative fiction worlds doing photo ops and signing autographs.
The very tall Peter Mayhew — Chewbacca from “Star Wars” — pulled a consistently robust crowd, as always. And Orlando Jones from “American Gods” appeared genuinely thrilled to meet and greet fans at his booth, offering laughs and high fives to early arrivals.
Young talent from the Marvel world pulled particularly well. The line for a Q&A with “Jessica Jones” star Krysten Ritter filled a large conference room. Once it cleared, it filled again instantly with teenagers lined up for “Spider-Man” star Tom Holland — three hours before his Q&A.
A popular draw among the artists was Joel Adams, whose booth bore the title “The Sexy, the Cute and the Ugly Art of Joel Adams.” Adams is a secondgeneration artist. His father Neal is a beloved comic book veteran whose 1970s Batman work was influential. The younger Adams has a strong following in Texas thanks to his character development for TV’s “King of the Hill.”
“Texas really treats me well,” Adams said. “In five years of doing these shows, this was my best Friday.”
The convention center space was alive with art and new permutations on old ideas. Nate Jones’ prints were particularly eye-catching. Like Peveto, Jones’ prototype was an accidental success. He created a tribute to his father, a representation of his dad that focused on his prominent mustache, with other facial features eliminated in favor of a prominent quote.
“I tried to turn it into a commission-based business, but it really didn’t go anywhere,” he said. “Then I did one after David Bowie died … .” Suddenly Jones had a thing. Other things evolve over time. The McDougal Sewing Center has operated in the region since 1940; these days, it is based in JOANN Fabric and Craft Store. It has a cosplay session scheduled in August.
Cheryl Sleboda of McDougal had various costume materials available. “We do costume triage for people in need,” she said.
“That’s one of my favorite things about this convention. Anybody can go out and buy a costume, but you don’t see many of those. This place is just full of creative people who have created their own costumes.”
Some of Comicpalooza’s nerdier undertakings are its most enjoyable. Like “The Empire Striketh Back,” during which six actors from the Classical Theatre Company read a Shakespeare-inflected reinterpretation of “Star Wars: Episode V,” the series’ most Shakespearean entry.
With lines like “I trust not Lando” and “Chewie, fear thou not,” along with narration and sound effects, it was a charming exercise in fan culture.