"If I had any doubts about interest in creator-owned books, they are now annihilated thanks to Trickster."
This was definitely a different year down in San Diego. Not just over at Tr!ckster –which I’ll talk a lot about shortly- but also in the convention center. There was a good vibe all around for SDCC 2011, a real enthusiasm for not just movies, and costumes but for actual COMIC BOOKS.
I spent all of my SDCC time at the IDW booth and if the crowds there were any indication of what the rest of the con was like, then it was a great SDCC. It didn’t matter if they were talking about the DC reboot (and there was A LOT of that) or talking about creator-owned comics, the enthusiasm was tangible.
One highlight for me was actually a mishap. We had scheduled a last minute signing for Lance Henriksen at the IDW booth. Because of a miscommunication (totally my fault) we had Lance Henriksen, Ashley Wood and George RR Martin signing all at once. The mix-up was taken care of and then I got to meet Martin and discovered he and Lance had worked together on Beauty and the Beast years ago. Then Ashley, who illustrated Lance’s bio met up. I kind of just stood back and watched.
Only at Comic Con could this happen.
I spent most of my time at TR!CKSTER. Scott Morse and Ted Mathot did what they set out to do. They created a store for and by creators.
The selection of books was incredible, and the range of subjects was what I always imagined a comic store would be. There was original art by guys like Mike Mignola on display and for sale, amazing art T-Shirts, logo glasses and a wide array of prints. Of course there was the bar, which was very popular and the sushi was my main food source for the week.
But what made Trickster work was the people, creators and fans alike in one space talking and hanging out in a casual atmosphere. I cannot say enough about how friendly and excited everyone was on both sides.
Here’s a short list from the Tr!ckster site of the creators who participated…
Jason Shawn Alexander, Mike Allred, Laura Allred, Marc Andreyko, Jamie Baker, Ivan Brandon, Scott Campbell, Enrico Casarosa, Emma Coats, Josh Cochran, Amanda Conner, Jennifer Chang, Dave Crosland, Jim Demonakos, Francesco Francavilla, Jose Garibaldi, Robert Goodin, John Hoffman, Mike Huddleston, Chhuy-Ing Ia, Joelle Jones, Matt Jones, J.P. Kalonji, Kazu Kibuishi, Sam Kieth, Andy Kuhn, Brian Larsen, David Mack, Austin Madison, Jim Mahfood, Ted Mathot, Mike Mignola, Fabio Moon, Scott Morse, Sho Murase, Steve Niles, Mike Norton, Jimmy Palmiotti, Jeff Pidgeon, Paul Pope, Bill Presing, Steve Purcell, Jamie S. Rich, Justin Ridge, Bobby Rubio, Greg Rucka, Jim Rugg, Greg Ruth, Yuko Shimizu, Bill Sienkiewicz, Eric Skillman, Dave Stewart, Doug Tennapel, Craig Thompson, Derek Thompson, Jill Thompson, Matt Wagner, Nate Wragg, Bernie Wrightson, Craig Yoe, Skottie Young
To name a few.
Andy Kuhn!
I hear the symposiums all went off great. The one I did with Scott, a live comic from scratch, went really well, I thought. We had microphones clipped to us so every mumble about panel placement or dialogue could be heard. I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to really show how Scott and I go about creating Crime & Terror stories, but once we got into it, it just flowed.
By the end, we had created an 8 page short called ‘The Promise’ that will appear in an issue of Crime & Terror. I was sweatin’ bullets when it started, but by the end, Scott and I were just making a comic in front of 30 some odd people.
Only at Tr!ckster could THIS happen.
Trickster got some great press too. It really was the talk of the show.
BuzzFocus: http://www.buzzfocus.com/2011/07/22/trickster-emphasizing-comic-in-comic-con-sdcc-2011/
Fast Company: http://www.fastcompany.com/1768497/trickster-scott-morse-ted-mathot-san-diego-comic-con?partner=gnews
And EW.com came by to shoot Scott, Ted, Anita and Lance!
Okay, more soon with updates about all the announcements coming from IDW! I still need to decompress and get back to work!
To everybody who came by and supported Tr!ckster, THANK YOU!
-Steve
PS: I just grabbed pics off the web and some were sent, some I took. If I pissed you off or just want credit let me know and I’ll update, okay?