Scary good event
Spooky comics are in the spotlight for Saturday’s Halloween ComicFest.
Spooky comics are in the spotlight for Saturday’s Halloween ComicFest, a national event promoted by Diamond Comic Distributors.
Characters featured this year include Hellboy, Spider-Man and more; multiple publishers have offered titles for this event.
“The comics available this year reflect a broad range of tastes,” Halloween ComicFest spokesperson Ashton Greenwood said in a news release. “The All-Ages Mini Comics feature popular characters like Rocky & Bullwinkle, Archie, and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, while the Full-Size Comics feature well-known properties like Hellblazer, Spider-Man, and Goosebumps!”
Fans who want to meet the more supernatural characters like Swamp Thing, Zatanna and John Constantine can check out New World Comics, 6219 N Meridian Ave., for Superhero School, starting at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Cosplayers dressed as the mystical heroes will explain the histories of the “Justice League Dark” line of characters, owner Brian “Buck” Berlin said.
Comic shops also will have Halloween ComicFest mini packs available to purchase for those who would like to give out comics to trick-ortreaters.
“It’s a good alternative to candy,” Berlin said.
Fans can find their nearest participating store by entering their ZIP code at www.HalloweenComicFest.com.
Locally, comic creators who have comic books with a spooky theme are getting in on the act, as well. Writer/artist Robert Henry and artist Joe Evans have created the comic book “Bad Candy” as an homage 1980s horror films. They’ll be signing their comic at 4 p.m. Saturday at New World Comics as part of the shop’s Halloween ComicFest activities.
Henry is a photographer, artist and Oklahoma native with comic-book credits that include the “Rough Cut” comic book series of the 1990s.
Henry originally created the concept of the pumpkinheaded Halloween character as an “Inktober” sketch in 2015. “Inktober” is a challenge where artists draw a sketch each day of October, often based on a specific prompt.
The series, set in 1982, features the farming family the Lewises, who provide an offering to a spirit known as Bad Candy each October. But when bank robbers on the run take over the Lewis house, the offering isn’t made, and trouble ensues.
Two issues of the regular series have been released as Henry and Evans work on the third.
The regular series is aimed at an adult audience, but for Halloween, the pair are releasing a special that will be more teen-friendly.
“We are going to have a short comic ... for the event called ‘Bad Candy: Tasty Treats,’” Henry said. “It’s more PG-13 horror than the regular series. It’s a small collection of short stories wrapped around a larger story with kids telling their Bad Candy encounters.”
You can see more from “Bad Candy” by searching for the “Bad Candy Comic” page on Facebook.