Meet the artists, writers who bring characters to life
Chris Allen has been to tons of comic book conventions in his 30 years as an artist. But if there’s one that makes the Marvel Comics illustrator feel right at home, it’s Comic Arts — San Antonio. And not just because he calls San Antonio home, too.
“This is the purest form of what you want in a comic convention, if you’re a fan of comic arts,” he said.
Comic Arts — San Antonio returns to Wonderland of the Americas mall Saturday. The free event runs 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Now in its second year, Comic Arts focuses on the writers, artists and other talents who bring your favorite superheroes to life on the page before Hollywood brings them to life on the screen. Those talents include Allen and other San Antonio-based creators who have worked for bigname publishers such as Marvel and DC Comics as well as indie companies such as San Antonio-based Antarctic Press.
And unlike so-called comic cons that focus more on celebrities
selling autographs and photo ops, Comic Arts sticks to the medium that gave those stars their roles in the first place.
“There’s not really this type of just comics-focused event anymore,” said Comic Arts founder Nasser Rodriguez. “Everything has become pop culture conventions where you
might have an artist alley, but even those seem to be dwindling and getting smaller and smaller.”
Nasser said San Antonio is lucky to have such pop culture conventions, and he enjoys them, too. He just feels comic books and their creators also deserve the spotlight, much like they had decades ago before comic book movies became so mainstream.
“All the focus is going to be on the people that create comics,” Rodriguez said.
Here are a few of the many comic book talents to look for Saturday.
Chris Allen: The Marvel artist recently was announced as the new penciller for “Black Panther,” featuring the ongoing adventures of the Wakanda monarch Chadwick Boseman made famous in Marvel movies. “Black Panther” No. 1 debuts in June. Allen’s other credits include “Miles Morales: Spider-man” and a couple of Marvel movie tie-ins.
Monica Gallagher: The Austin-based writer and illustrator has spent more than 15 years making what she describes on her website as “comics with a positive, feminist spin.” Publishers of her work include Comixology, Dark Horse Comics, Oni Press and Valiant. Her creatorowned Web comics include “Assassin Roommate” and “BOO! It’s Sex.”
Val Mayerik: The veteran Marvel and DC Comics illustrator is most famous for helping hatch Howard the Duck, the daffy anthropomorphic drake he co-created with writer Steve Gerber that first appeared in Marvel Comics in the 1970s and cameoed in a few Marvel films. Mayerik is currently working on an original graphic novel about Little Big Horn called “Of Dust and Blood.”
Sean Mckeever: A winner of an Eisner Award, the Oscar of comics, the Austin-based writer has penned comics for Marvel and DC as well as Skybound Entertainment, the original home of “The Walking Dead,” plus television and video games.
Anthony Tollin: The veteran colorist worked on just about everything DC in the 1980s, including “Superman,” “Green Lantern” and the critically acclaimed “Crisis on Infinite Earths.” The San Antonio-based Tollin also is an expert on pulp heroes such as Doc Savage and The Shadow and has written more than 70 history books about old-time radio for the Smithsonian Institution and Radio Spirits.