Comics Creators Take Center Stage at Baltimore
Baltimore Comic-Con is distinguished by two characteristics: its comic book focus and its “just right” scale.
While, much to the annoyance of comics fans, movie and TV celebrities often dominate other cons, at Baltimore the true stars are the artists and writers who create comic books.
Baltimore’s scale is also an asset — large enough to fill a busy three-day weekend, yet small enough to be intimate and comfortable, with the chaos of larger cons nowhere in evidence. The vibe of the comics creators in attendance is that of a friendly reunion. That sense of congeniality is shared with the fans.
Comics Panels
Comics related panels this year, included the following: [Click on the images to display full photo albums of each panel]
“Jack Kirby: Beyond Square Fingers” included Mark Buckingham, Karl Kesel, Walt Simonson, and moderator Adam Philips discussing the work of the man many believe to be comics greatest artist. During the panel, Simonson explained how, as a college student, he wrote to Marvel asking if he could buy a back issue of Thor he needed to complete a story arc. He subsequently received an envelope with a free copy, accompanied by a note card signed by “Stan and the Gang” (which he later realized was the penned by Marvel assistant Flo Steinberg). After the panel I showed Walt my similar note card, which I shared with Ms. Steinberg at New York Comic Con 2014.
“Happy Hour with Comic Book Couples” was a rollicking session moderated by Emily S. Whitten with four comics couples: Walter and Louise Simonson, Terry and Robyn Moore, Billy and Deborah Tucci, and Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner.
In the “Ben Edlund Spotlight” the creator of The Tick spoke with John Trumbull about the creation of the character as well as his long career in screenwriting.
The jam-packed “Comics Noir” session included an eclectic group of comics creators discussing the style and meaning of noirish comics: Shawn Martinbrough, John K. Snyder III, Joëlle Jones, Klaus Janson, Alex Segura, Steve Epting, and Howard Chaykin.
In the “Jim Lee Spotlight” session the highly-regarded artist and DC’s Chief Creative Officer and Publisher answered fans’ questions as he sketched a portrait of Batman. At the end of the session, the drawing was awarded to an attendee.
The “Batman at 85” panel included Tom King, Dan Jurgens, Klaus Janson, and moderator Bob Greenberger discussing the enduring legacy of the Dark Knight.
The evolving roles of female creators were discussed in the “Celebrating Women in Comics” session with Amy Chu, Sam Maggs, Afua Richardson, Louise Simonson, Amy Reeder, and moderator Martha Thomases.
In “Worldbuilding 101” panelists Mark Wheatley, Tim Probert, Walter Simonson, and Katie Cook spoke with moderator Emily S. Whitten about constructing worlds of fantasy and science fiction in comics and popular fiction.
The conversation shifted from worldbuilding to character development in the “Getting Into Character” session with Alex Segura, Ron Marz, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, and moderator Roger Ash.
The theme of character development continued with the “What Becomes a Hero Most: Character Design in Comics” panel with Cully Hamner, Amy Reeder, Mark Brooks, Richard Case, Amanda Conner, and moderator Bob Harrison.
“Mutant Mayhem: 60 Years of the X-Men” featured two of the franchise’s famed editors, Tom Brevoort and Louise Simonson, in conversation with John Trumbull.
Another jam-packed panel, “Collections in Black” hosted by Phillip “Big Phil” Thompson, discussed the history of contributions by black creators with Thompson joined by Keith Williams, Sanford Greene, Stephanie Williams, Joshua “Sway” Swaby, Brian Stelfreeze, and Afua Richardson.
Media Celebrities
Despite the comics focus, media celebrities were not completely absent from Baltimore Comic-Con, with three celebrity programming sessions.
Sam J. Jones, star of 1980’s Flash Gordon, spoke with John Trumbull.
“Aliens United” brought together three actors from James Cameron’s 1986 sci-fi thriller: Jenette Goldstein (Vasquez), Daniel Kash (Spunkmeyer), and Mark Rolston (Drake).
John Trumbull also moderated the session with John Wesley Shipp, star of the 1990s Flash television show.
Artists Alley, Cosplay, and Sunday Excitement
With the show’s comics focus, the expansive Artists Alley hosted a large assortment of comic book artists and writers.
Although cosplay isn’t as prevalent at Baltimore as at many other cons, there were plenty of attendees wearing costumes of their favorite characters. It’s particularly impressive when comics creators engage in cosplay, as does illustrator Afua Richardson, who sported a different costume each day.
The morning of the final day of Baltimore Comic-Con began with a bit of excitement when a major fire broke out across the street from the Marriott hotel in which many con guests and attendees stayed. Fortunately, no one was injured in the five-alarm blaze which involved 200 responding fire fighters. There was no impact on the hotel other than preventing people from driving out of the hotel parking facility that morning.
For a gallery of photos from the event, see the Flickr photo album Baltimore Comic-Con 2024:
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