Baltimore’s Comics-Focused Convention
An often heard complaint is that, despite the name, many comic conventions are dominated by personalities from movies and TV (or wrestling, gaming, podcasting, and so on). No such claim can be made about Baltimore Comic-Con, where comic books are squarely the show’s focus.
As in previous years, there were a few media celebrities in attendance, including Chris Sarandon and Ken Page (who both appeared in The Nightmare Before Christmas), Star Wars series actress Samantha Alleyne, and Harry Potter actor Matthew Lewis. But the show’s focus is clearly on comics creators. The exhibition hall is filled with noted artists and writers and the programming sessions are similarly dominated by comic book topics.
Some of the noteworthy programming sessions included the following.
[Click the thumbnail image to see additional photos.]
The “Geoff Johns Spotlight” featured the comics, TV, and movie writer in conversation with Christina Blanch.
In the “Steve Rude Spotlight” the Dude narrated a slideshow of his influences and the evolution of his artwork. Also in the session were his daughter, Jessica Rude, and First Comics publisher and editor Mike Gold, who published Rude’s Nexus comic.
The “Crafting Fictional Worlds” panel included writers Katie Cook, Trevor Mueller, Brian Michael Bendis, and Phillip Kennedy Johnson along with moderator Christina Blanch discussing the process of world building in their works.
In the “Mark Waid Spotlight” the writer discussed both his writing and the state of comics as a medium in discussion with Robert Greenberger.
Waid was back an hour later joining other “Merry Marchin’ Mutant Makers” Brian Michael Bendis, Walt Simonson, Louise Simonson and moderator Robert Greenberger to discuss their work on Marvel’s mutant superheroes. Near the end of the session, a cosplayer attired as Walt Simonson’s creation Beta Ray Bill entered the room. Afterward Walt and Louise Simonson posed with the character.
In “Star Trek – Boldly Going for More than 50 Years” Sean Von Gorman, Andy Price, Robert Greenberger, and Chris Claremont explored why the science fiction franchise has endured more than five decades.
In “An Hour with Garth Ennis” the writer talked about his upcoming projects with Dynamite Entertainment Editorial Director Joseph Rybandt.
“E-Man’s 50th” featured the Charleton charcter’s co-creator Joe Staton speaking with editor Mike Gold and moderator Robert Greenberger.
As mentioned, one of the few celebrity sessions included The Nightmare Before Christmas actors Chris Sarandon (Jack Skellington) and Ken Page (Oogie Boogie) in conversation with Christina Blanch.
Baltimore Comic-Con remains one of the best shows for fans of comic books and those, like me, who enjoy photographing comics creators.
For a full gallery of over 300 photos from the event, see the Flickr album Baltimore Comic-Con 2023:
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