Posted in: Comics | Tagged: comic con, Comics, entertainment, south carolina

Comics Professionals Talk Geek Revolution at South Carolina Comicon

By Jonathan Rich

Whether you loved or hated Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, the big-screen showdown between two of DC Comics' main protagonists broke box office records and subsequent blockbusters Captain America: Civil War and Suicide Squad will no doubt dominate the multiplexes in the coming months.

Without preaching too much to the already converted, comic book properties which were once looked down upon as the pastimes of nerds, geeks, weirdos, and freaks are now championed by the masses and the people who help create the source material for these products are glad to see their kind finally getting some respect and even street cred.

"We are taking over the world," joked veteran comic book artist Neal Adams as he was setting up his booth at the TD Convention Center Saturday. "I think that's how people in the business like to put it. It's a peaceful takeover, because no one dies, but we're internationally communicating with Russia, China, South America, Africa, and Australia. Conventions are cropping up everywhere these days and everyone has a good time. If politics would follow the comic books, we would have peace in the world tomorrow."

Adams, who at age 74 is responsible for some of the most iconic comic book covers in the medium, says the geek revolution is not one to be feared, but instead embraced in all its forms.

"There are more and more comic book properties happening everywhere, every day. There are more comic book movies, comic book TV shows, video games, more and more products," he said. "I see more people with my drawings on their T-shirts than ever before. If you go to Wall-Mart, they have peg boards with Superman breaking chains across his chest. It's like rock'n'roll; it just never goes away. For those who say it's just a fad or comic books will go away, well they went away, but then they came back bigger than ever and stronger than ever. They never really went away. They are too much fun."

The artist even compared the current comic book art renaissance to an important period of art history, even if that period is not one of which he is particularly fond because to him comic art is far superior.

"I like the Impressionists. I sincerely do, but some of the classic artists were boring," Adams explained. "They had to have models pose for their paintings and sculptures for hour after hour and that's boring. Comic books are not boring. It's the new modern art form and anybody can do it. Painters, cartoonists, 3-D sculptors and video games.. there is no area of art that cannot be entered into through comic books and the proliferation now is like never before and there's just nothing else like it. It's great for the younger community because people are growing up wanting to be involved in the world. They are not hiding away in their basements doing some 'geeky thing' because if they can't draw they can put on a costume and do some of the terrific stuff I see the cosplayers doing."

South Carolina native Sanford Greene agrees. As the current artist on Marvel's Power Man and Iron Fist, he knows the chance to draw some of his favorite childhood characters also contains the opportunity to share those same superheroes with fans of Netflix's online audience who may be exposed to them through Marvel's development of those properties as Jessica Jones, Iron Fist and Luke Cage shows continue to form the street-level super team The Defenders.

However, before noting he will have some contributions to Marvel's upcoming Civil War slate of tie ins, Greene skillfully noted how the House of Ideas already has an upper hand in terms of working with an expanded universe of comic book characters unlike the Distinguished Competition trying to do justice to their league of heroes.

"I saw that movie last week and it was great for what it was," Greene politely and respectfully responded when asked his thoughts on BvS. "I thought it was really cool, but it was one of those things where I wish they would bring the TV and movie universes together more."

On the independent side of the aisle, North Carolina comic creator Gregory Dickens said he thinks the end result of superhero stuff becoming more mainstream is good for all involved, and hopes one day his "Heroes of Sinclair" universe of characters may jump off the page into other avenues of entertainment.

"Now you have TV shows just about every day of the week which draw inspiration from a comic book," Dickens said. "You can almost set your calendar by it because it's all throughout the week now. It's great for fandom, but it is also brining in people who otherwise wouldn't even go to a comic shop. Maybe it gets them to go to a Barnes and Noble to pick up an issue or a trade, or maybe it gets them to come to an event like this and meet some of the actors involved and they get an idea of just how big this goes beyond the TV shows and movies. You have people like me sharing and selling their art, collectibles, even earrings inspired by the fandom."

Dickens was doing sketch commissions of any superhero or sci-fi character at SC Comicon, but admits he hopes one day to see his creations reach a wider part of the growing geek-based fanbase.

"I would love to one day work for a major publishing company with some of the characters I grew up on, Being able to sit down, plan out the story and make it happen day by day is something everyone in artist's alley is working toward, but sure, I would cash that check."

But, if you read this on Bleeding Cool, you probably already own a comic book T-shirt, DVD, figure, statue, and at least a partial run of your favorite character in what was once called "the funny books" by those who did not take the medium seriously.

These musings come at a time when DC's TV superheroes had a crossover just a week ago and most of Marvel's heavy hitters prepare to do battle in a few weeks when Captain America: Civil War erupts at the box office.

The multiverse of comic book influence is even more vast than ever before, so it makes sense that the original movie Supergirl Helen Slater would be at the same place just a few feet away from Marvel's Frank Cho who was talking about taking the Hulk in a new direction, and just a few feet away from them modern age artist George Perez was in anything but a crisis as fans lined up to get him to sign their cherished back issues of Teen Titans and the Avengers.

South Carolina may not be the most progressive state in the union due for any number of reasons, but at least at their comic book convention the freaks and geeks have taken down the confederate flag and replaced it with one of their own.

Jonathan Rich is a freelance journalist, high school educator, and self-professed comic book nerd working in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. He writes about entertainment and pop culture for various print and web publications, including Bleeding Cool.

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