E-MAN CO-CREATOR NICOLA CUTI RECEIVED AN INKPOT AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AT COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL THURSDAY.
(Photo by Andrew Wahl)
SAN DIEGO — Random notes and observations from your Comics Bronze Age editor’s first day of Comic-Con International 2009:
• First panel of the day was with Chris Huntley of Dramatica, a software program for writers. Huntley was talking about “Heroes, Villains, and Dramatica Archetypes.” The most interesting bit from Huntley: Darth Vader was NOT the antagonist of Star Wars, and Leia was the voice of reason. (Download a PDF of his PowerPoint notes from Dramatica.com.)
• Traffic flow at Comic-Con seemed much better this year. People seem to have gotten used to both the one-way hallways and red-shirted traffic enforcers.
• Covered the “Spotlight on Nicola Cuti” panel for Comic Book Resources. Cuti is a pretty important figure in Bronze Age history. Beyond his own notable creative contributions (e.g., E-Man), he gave artists including Mike Zeck, John Byrne and Don Newton their big breaks at Charlton. The Bronze Age would have been a very different era without him.
• Missed J. Michael Straczynski’s panel on being a professional writer because of my deadline for the Nicola Cuti piece. Kind of ironic, that.
• Picked up the Comics Bronze Age postcard from the Feebie Table. Turned out pretty well, I must say.
• Next up was a panel with Jimmy Gownley, creator of Amelia Rules! While a good speaker, he didn’t really offer much in the way of practical advice. As with Terry Moore and Jeff Smith, one of the keys to Gownley’s success seems to have been marrying well, with a wife who handles a good deal of the business end. (My wife is more interested in her job as a real-life crime fighter, so no help there!)
• A bit of advice from Gownley: The purpose of art is to communicate — which means you have to consider the audience.
• One last Gownley note: His gateway drug to comics was the issue of Cerebus in which Pope Cerebus tosses the baby. That comic was taken away from him by a nun at Catholic school — an event that changed his life forever.
• On my way between panels, I passed a line that must have been 300 miles long. Apparently, the line was for the Dexter panel. For a line like that, Jesus better have been the guest in Ballroom 20.
• Covered the “TwoMorrows Publishing Today” panel for Comic Book Resources. I’ll post a link here when it goes live. *** UPDATE: The TwoMorrows panel story is live at CBR.
• Final panel of the day was “Happy Hour With Jeff Smith and Terry Moore.” Great panel with two funny, talented guys. Big news out of this one: New Bone adventures on the way, as well as an Echo movie.
That’s a wrap for Day 1. Need to jump in the shower and head back down to the show. On tap for Day 2: “Spotlight on Gene Colan,” followed by “That ’70s Panel.”
