People go to comic cons for tons of reasons. There are celebrities, artists, nerd swag, comic books, and well, if you can imagine it, you’ll probably be able to find it somewhere among the hundreds of booths spread out around the hall. Personally? I love comic cons, but not for the celebrities or the swag. I love the environment, the camaraderie, and seeing people from all walks of life coming together and celebrating the love of all things nerd. I spent the majority of Saturday walking around and taking in the atmosphere. There are all kinds of cos-play characters to be seen. I saw everything from Tank Girl to Darth Vader there. There were art booths, comic booths, toy booths, and even a tattoo booth. After the initial walk-through, I focused on the second reason I go to these events, the art. You can find all types of artists at these things.  This particular event held a gold mine of indie and comic book artists alike. I took the time to talk to a few of my favorites. We will be posting interviews with a few of them as the week progresses, but I’ll take the time now to mention the ones that stood out to me.

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Jon David Guerra — www.NightmareProWrestling.com — Interview coming soon! Nicole Guerra — themintedmouse.wordpress.com — Interview coming soon! Jon and Nicole were two of the nicest people!  What Stood out to me even more  was that they were married and they work on their projects together.  Jon does NPW, a comic book based on a monster who wrestles.  His wife, Nicole, helps write it. At the table, he had printed comics, but every Monday he posts a new comic on his website. Nicole however, had her own swag at the table.  She wrote and illustrated a childrens’ book about a small monster girl who goes on a grand adventure.  The coolest thing about her book, is that the books are hand made.  The cover, the binding, all of it, she makes by hand by herself.  This impressed the hell out of me since I am such a believer in the DIY ethic.  You can read the book on her site and purchase it here. Best of luck to the both of you!  It was a pleasure meeting you!  

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Jaclyn Di Ann – www.jaclyndiann.com — Interview coming soon! Jaclyn’s art caught my attention immediately.  Ever since I’ve been a wee lass, I’ve had an affinity for monsters and ‘monster love’.  Jaclyn’s table was full of monsters and monster creations.  The prints she was selling  were amazing, with one of my favorites being Frankenstein and the bride of Frankenstein.  However, what really caught my attention was her jewelry.  She took her drawings and sketches and put them on bracelets and necklaces.  It was really awesome to see such a cool chick putting her stuff out there in such a creative way.  If you are interested in purchasing any of her cute jewelry, awesome prints, or other artsy endeavors, click here.

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Eliza Frye — www.elizafrye.com — Interview coming soon! Eliza’s art caught me by surprise and she did as well.  I wasn’t expecting such a gorgeous gal to be standing behind a booth! But her art, it spoke for itself.  Her use of color and negative space in her designs were impeccable.  As I was going through her book of original art (she only had a few prints for sale, the majority were original pieces), I found out she was going to be putting a book out soon called “Regalia” with 9 short stories and illustrations in December.  The pieces in the book she had there were almost all for that book and the majority of them were done with chalk.  I was quite impressed with this lovely lady.  If you’d like to purchase her book once it’s released, check it out here.

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Cody Schibi — www.codyschibi.com Cody’s art was different and I mean that in a good way. Tim and I ended upbuying his ‘The Thinking Demon Print’ which was hand splattered with demon blood (a very nice touch).  His prints though, were an awesome, very low brow, type of art.  He did very cool takes on quite a few well known characters including Link, the Ninja Turtles, and Wolverine and Mario.  The majority of his art was based on monsters, mutants, and demons, because well, everyone needs a little bit of chaos in their life.  I absolutely love the horrific detail he used in his art.  And his color use, when he used it, was amazing.  If you’re interested in purchasing one yourself, go here!        

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Sean Dietrich – www.industriacide.com — Interview coming soon! Sean’s art is something else.  There are things that just catch my eye.  Certain things that just draw me in and intrigue me.  There were probably hundreds of artists at this event but this guys art caught my attention immediately.  What did it was his Fear and Loathing art. But even so, I looked at the rest of his pieces and they were amazing.  Some were rather dark others were clever and funny, and all of them were very well done.  As I spoke to him about his pieces, he told me he was on tour and that almost all of his art was done ‘live’.  Confused?  It’s simple really.  He goes to a venue, sets up his paints, and a dj spins while he and a few others paint their art.  You can sit back, drink, and watch as the magic happens right before your eyes.  It’s a cool concept.  You can’t argue when art and music come together hand and hand.  If your interested in catching him while he’s on his tour, you can check out the dates here.

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Nigel Sade – www.nigelsade.com — Interview coming soon! Nigel was dressed as a pirate.  I liked this.  I also liked the fact that when I actually got up there to talk to him, he would answer any question, talk about his art with this passion that not many people could begin to understand.  His art, in itself, it’s beautiful.  He tends to have a dark approach to a lot of his pieces.  But what I liked best about them, is the fact that each of them have a meaning that isn’t necessarily easily decipherable.  Symbolism is one of my favorite things to play with and Nigel, well, his art is chock full of it.  As our conversation moved forward, he began talking about some of his newest pieces that are going to focus on the seven deadly sins.  However, the trite and overused ways to depict these sins is not the approach he is taking (thank god).  To keep up with his work, buy art, and more, be sure to visit his website.    

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There really were TONS of artists there and honestly, had I the time and the patience, I would have written a blog including all of them.  A few others that stood out that I didn’t get to talk to as much were Mark A. Nelson, Alain Viesca, and Miguel Aguilar. It was a pleasure meeting all of these wonderful artists! Until next time! See you in the bars! -Bitter Girl