The summer is my big convention season. I am lucky to have four local cons worth attending bunched up between August and November. Boston Fan Expo, Terrificon, Granite Con, and Rhode Island Comic Con all are close enough to drive to.
The problem is that around February, when the cold, dark winter has finished gnawing at my soul, I begin to get con hungry. The conventions can't come fast enough and I end up prepping for August's conventions in early March.
As if answering my prayers, the North East Com!c Con Colletibles Extravaganza happened earlier this month.
This really is a small con with a small roster of celebrities and comic pros as well as a diverse exhibition floor of comics, toys, and other collectibles. There were only a few comic dealers, mostly with bargain bins. But sometimes those are the best place to find gems.
At a time when I needed a little diversion, it was a welcome respite.
The big comic creator at the show that I wanted to run into was Paul Pelletier.
I'm a fan of Pelletier's work, specifically his time on Flash and She-Hulk.
I have run into him at prior cons and he has always been on my list of potential commissions but it just has never come to fruition. I was going to get one at last year's Terrificon but by the time I got my sketch book back it was too late.
So I decided that perhaps my best chance of grabbing a sketch was at this small con. And it happened!
As usual, I arrived at the con early and headed to Pelletier's table.
Check out the fantastic commission sketch! I love this happy, flying Supergirl. Just gorgeous. I have always love the way Pelletier draws faces and this beaming Kara is perfect.
This was definitely worth the wait. Just a fantastic addition to my collection.
Amazingly, my first sketch book is almost filled.
I brought some issues to get signed by Pelletier as well. That included Action Comics #51, the one issue he has done where he actually drew Supergirl (he wondered if I had brought it for a signature since I was asking for a commission of her). And my beloved Legion of Super-Pets Super Sons Annual #1.
I thumbed through a ton of cheap bins and bought a lot of nonsense. But I was thrilled to fill a couple of actual holes for relatively cheap. I got these 4 issues and Hercules Unbound #1 together for $20. Not bad. I have been searching for that Mister Miracle in the wild for years. I love getting key Legion historical issues. And I didn't even know about that post-Crisis Amazing Heroes book.
So the con itch is temporarily scratched. And a great commission was obtained too!
Gorgeous commission. Definitely worth of the prize.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading Batgirl's current post-Burnside run and I'm loving Pelletier's art. I'd love seeing him drawing Kara more often.
The world needs more Legion of Super-Pets.
Happy that you found rare but important stuff. That Legion comic is definitely a seminal issue. Funny how back then, important moments with long-lasting repercusions weren't advertised months in advance or reserved for "big number" issues. They just happened.
Smaller cons are sometimes the best for reader issues and bargain bins, the price per table is lower to its possible to sell more marginal stuff on volume...
ReplyDeleteJF
The Pelletier sketch is absolutely breathtaking. It's fantastic to see Supergirl joyously zooming skyward like that. Congratulations on the snaring the trial of Star Boy and the Adult Legion story-both classics. Great buys.
ReplyDeleteI got lucky myself a couple of years ago and picked up a copy of Superman vol. 1 #147 at a reasonable price from my local comic book dealer when he was trying to reduce inventory. 1st adult Legion, 1st Legion of Super Villains, and 1st lightning beasts of Korbal. Also a Titano vs. Krypto story. Silver Age heaven.
That's a nice commission, and got me to look back at Action #51 - a critical story that is the only place I know of that bridges and explains what was going on with Supergirl during the one year gap between the New 52 and Rebirth titles. And Paul Pelletier drew a great Supergirl here.
ReplyDeleteI know Pelletier has a long history of great work, but wasn't too aware of the specifics of his CV. And I was curious, because I too am reading Batgirl these days and my opinion doesn't match the consensus as expressed by Anonymous above and everyone else. Everyone does really like his work with Batgirl, but so far it hasn't gelled for me.
It generally seems workmanlike, but then sometimes the faces seem off, like when he draws Babs as a 40-year-old. (Which isn't really an improvement vs. the earliest Burnside Babs Tarr era when she was portrayed as a social-media-obsessed 16 year old.)
So I've had mixed feelings - I know he's considered top drawer and keep hoping I'll see it click with Batgirl; but meanwhile, there have been several other artists during the Rebirth run whose work I preferred, such as Inakari Miranda, Elena Casagrande, Minkyu Jung, Sami Basri, and Rafael Albuquerque.
I'll keep reading, of course. Batgirl has some of the best variant cover artists, at least. A recent run of outstanding work by Middleton, Artgerm, and Derrick Chew, and this week's stunner by Yasmine Putri.
T.N.
That's just gorgeous. I always feel PP is underrated.
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