I’ve covered a few cosplay teams over the years at Baltimore Comic-Con, but I especially love it when the team allows family to bond over a shared interest. Check out this Father-Daughter duo who cosplayed as Jean Grey and Professor X. https://youtu.be/mFggtXfcze8
Continuing with cosplay of characters I don’t often see at Baltimore Comic-Con was this person cosplaying as Kate Kane from the DC Bombshells Universe. We discuss her inspiration for choosing the character as well as how she put the costume together. https://youtu.be/LTFSigd3WsI
I’m always on the lookout for cosplay that goes beyond the usual mainstays, so when I saw someone dressed as Ryuk, a shinigami from Death Note, I had to speak with the cosplayer to find out why they chose to cosplay from that manga/anime. She caught the eyes of the judges, too, because she won 2nd place in the Amateur category. https://youtu.be/PGkF1tQYUjc
There’s definitely something that draws a convention attendee to a booth with a poster of a guitar-playing humanoid with a taco for a head. Put that together with the name Punk Taco and it’s intriguing. Add a win for 2019’s Ringo for the Best Kid’s Comic or Graphic Novel and it’s downright impossible not to want to figure out how this thing was made! So that’s just what I did, chatting with co-creator Adam Wallenta about the origins of Punk Taco and what it was like to share a Ringo with his elementary-aged co-creator. ...
After attending Laura Lee’s panel, I wanted to delve deeper into the mind that processed creating comics the way she did. So I found her table and proceeded to have a conversation that I never wanted to end: https://youtu.be/tpEc4V30eKY You can find out more about Laura Lee at her website: http://www.whoislauralee.com.
Often it seems intimidating to make a comic. There’s so much involved! Before you even begin, there’s your world-building, your characters, and the plot. But Laura Lee explains her process in a way that makes it seem so much more doable. Additionally, at the end, she talks about doing a 6-panel comic and I think just the feeling of accomplishment there can be the inspiration needed to continue! Plus, as she mentions, it could just be the first chapter of a longer story. If you find the idea of making a comic overwhelming, watch this panel and see if it helps change your mind. ...
Very few comic creators are talented in both story-telling and art, so they need to work with other creatives who will help push their vision forward. This relationship can lead to even better results, but it can also contain pitfalls. Bob Salley and Shawn Daley discuss their writer-artist relationship while Travis McIntire talks about it from his point of view as their editor. Christy Blanch will also be collaborating on story-telling with Bob Salley on a new project and there’s a bit of discussion about that relationship as well. ...
If an author wishes to create a realistic world for his or her stories, it’s important to pay attention to the essentials of worldbuilding. If done well, it creates a more believable, lived-in world that sucks the reader in. But, as Terry Mancour explores in this panel, there is a lot involved in worldbuilding. In fact, the effects of the world on the people you populate it with starts with geography and then continues out from there. This is a very informative talk for anyone getting read to create a world for their comics, books, or video games. ...
While at Baltimore Comic-Con this year I came across Shea Fontana’s booth and was drawn in by super hero show that my daughters have watched and rewatched: DC Super Hero Girls. It turns out that she developed the series and also was a writer on all the episodes and movies. (She’s actually pretty busy - there’s a long list of her credits on her site) While there I noticed that Ms. Fontana also has a non-fiction book coming out this fall, DC: Women of Action. I had to speak to her about the intersection of these projects. ...
Tara Strong is right up there with Rob Paulsen as being a key voice of my childhood. She was in lots and lots of cartoons that I saw growing up. And she continues to work and is in lots of cartoons that my kids are watching. I don’t have as much experience with Greg Cipes, but I have enjoyed him when I’ve been at my parents’ house and Teen Titans Go has been on. ...