Posted in: Comics | Tagged: artist alley, Comics, lbcc, Long Beach Comic & Horror Con

Evan Spears At Long Beach Comic Con

Published Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:00:16 -0600

Chris Waterman writes for Bleeding Cool

I had the opportunity this last weekend to walk the Long Beach Comic & Horror Con. The past 3 years I have attended as a budding young (well old) artist and enjoyed my time in the Artist Alley. From the veteran creators of the comic industry to the new faces looking to tell their own stories, there is an overall drive of creativity, energy and passion for the comic medium. The diversity of styles, content, ages and viewpoints just show how much people love comics. I took this time walking the isle of the Artist Alley to interview a wide range of creators, all of whom are very driven, thoughtful and extremely passionate.

I'm 24, I live with my parents and our dog and three cats in the desert. I'm an art student, though I've recently taken a hiatus from school. I love going to the movies, even bad movies. And I love reading comics, even bad comics. And I play with and customize toys. I swear I'm a lot cooler than I sound.

My favorite part is being able to show people my work and seeing them actually excited about reading it. When that happens, I know I'm doing at least something right! My least favorite part is probably the tear-down at the end of conventions, especially at the end of multi-day cons. No matter how organized I try to be, the law of entropy prevails, and everything I brought to and accumulated at the convention just sort of spreads out and becomes this wretched mass of stuff I have to sort through.

My first comic project was a mini-comic called The Tiny Comix, of which there are now four issues. The first issue had three short stories, and the whole book only had twelve panels in total, but it still took me about a week to finish it, not including printing, cutting, folding, and stapling all those copies.

A lot of success with comics is just making them, I think, and then to keep making them. They're more time-consuming and challenging than a lot of people realize, and it's really easy to burn out on long projects like comics. Beyond just making them, success comes from continuing to make them, and to keep using new ideas. And the cherry-on-top of finding people to read and enjoy them feels pretty great, too.

I guess people should expect a lot of ink, humor, and fun. Even when it's dark, it's funny. I also draw a lot of brains because they're super cool. I like to make images and stories that I find interesting.

http://erspears.tumblr.com

http://erspears.deviantart.com

http://society6.com/erspears

Chris Waterman lives in Southern California. He is a life long comicbook fan and artist. You can check out some of his work at: http://radixrising.deviantart.com/

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