Monday, August 3, 2015

Boston Comic Con In Review & Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez Commission


Last weekend was the Boston Comic Con, the main con of my season, and as always it was an absolute blast. In particular, this convention had some new wrinkles to it that made it stand out a little bit more than others.

The convention itself was really busy, especially Saturday where there were so many people it was hard to navigate the aisles. This con has grown by leaps and bounds over the last several years so I am always happy to see it packed.

One of my primary goals at cons like this is to try to grab commission sketches and I have to say that I was successful this time around. But between getting sketches and signatures, as usual, I was so busy that I only had some time to shop on the last day. Also, based on my schedule, I couldn't make it to any panels. So even though I had a great time I don't know if I took advantage of the con as much as I could have.


I'll be posting my commissions over the course of the next several weeks. So we'll start off with Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, praised be his name.

I have been a fan of Garcia-Lopez since a kid and love his work. So I was thrilled to see him on the list of guests. Garcia-Lopez basically does a handful of head sketches/busts each day so I was wise to head to his table early on Friday. While the Matrix costume is my favorite, I have decided to branch out a bit and felt the 70s costume would be the best choice.

This commission is absolutely stunning. I am soooooo happy with this piece, a great Supergirl picture from a legend in the field. This is just gorgeous.

Garcia-Lopez also had a lot of great process art and style guide art on sale as well, and for very reasonable prices.


I'm not the only fan of JLGL. I was luck enough to find a copy of DCCP #17 at the show and get it signed for Shag of Firestorm Fan and the Fire and Water podcasts. Shag is also a huge fan.

As for creator conversations, I made my way around the floor and was able to have some brief conversations with a bunch of creators. But the place was so mobbed and lines so long that I couldn't talk at length with folks. I will say that my brief interactions with Brian Azzarello, Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, Joelle Jones, and Annie Wu stood out.


As I said, this convention stood out for a couple of reasons.

Last year, the youngest supergirl joined me at the Boston Comic Con. This year, the younger two supergirls decided to join me on Saturday. And both of them decided to really immerse themselves in the experience.

The middle supergirl decided to cosplay and went as Squirrel Girl (the current incarnation). She was thrilled to meet Erica Henderson, got a Squirrel Girl commission, and was surprised at how many people congratulated her on the costume and took a picture. She also met celebrity guest Hayley Atwell and was thrilled.

The youngest also decide to get a commission as well, her first, and went for a dancing Groot by Craig Rousseau. She loves this picture.


The other big thing about this con was I was able to meet a couple of fans of this site there.

A sincere thanks to long time blog friend Firebird and AnimeGirlParnaz who sought me out. They even came bearing gifts ... a Supergirl swag bag from SDCC 15! I had a great time on Sunday sitting down and talking with them about Supergirl, comparing commissions (Firebird has a great collection including Darwyn Cooke and Bruce Timm!), and hearing about SDCC this year. They met the cast of the upcoming show. And when they asked Dan Didio about a Supergirl book, Didio seemed perplexed and said they were waiting to see how the show does. It was really really great to meet these friends in person and talk!

I also got to briefly run into Count Drunkula on Sunday. Count runs the Flowers and Fishnets blog and podcast devoted to Black Canary. He also runs the Secret Origins podcast which looks at the 1980s DC Secret Origins podcast.

So overall a great convention and a great time. And that Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (praised be his name) is sweet!

6 comments:

Firebird said...

As of this typing we are getting ready to fly back home. What a wonderful experience this trip has been for the both of us. Boston Comic Con was every bit worth the trek and we hope to be able to come back to it someday. Thank you sooo much for the kind words Anj. It was a pleasure meeting you and we're very glad that we got to sit and chat for a moment. Being able to bring you a little piece of SDCC made the moment that much sweeter. Till we meet again! ;)

Count Drunkula said...

That's a terrific Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (Praised Be His Name) sketch, Anj! Very Chaykin-esque, I think.

Sounds like you had a terrific weekend all around. I wish I could have gone more than one day--also wish I would have planned better in advance to secure a few commissions for myself.

It was great meeting you, and thanks again for getting the poster signed! I'll give you a well-deserved shout out on the next episode of Flowers & Fishnets.

Martin Gray said...

Sounds like a wonderful weekend, you must be so proud of those Supergirls. And what great pics. The Seventies puffy sleeve outfit is my fave, so good to see that.

Dan DiDio's answer sounds bonkers - just get a book out there!

Nobile said...

Since the first time ever I saw in comics Kara wearing that 70s' outfit was in a Garcia-Lopez drawn story (Italian edition of Superman #307), I totally agree with you, Anj. Great choice, great artist.

Diabolu Frank said...

A JLGL is a universal grail piece, so congratulations!

I've been skimming your con prep posts, which are fun. A lot of stuff in there I learned through trial and error where a handy reference article would have been less painful. For me, I can usually rely on access to water fountains at cons, because Texas, and they're large enough venues for them to be spread out and plentiful. I'd hate to schlep around with a water bottle among all my other carries. I'm also seriously considering not carrying a tablet or laptop any more, since I never have time to use them at cons and temp wi-fi costs are insane.

Unknown said...

Great piece. I live overseas so I don’t get to catch most creators during a con. Is there any way to contact JLGL for an off-con commission?