Posted in: Comics | Tagged: comic con, Comics, Danny Fingeroth, entertainment, oregon, portland, wizard world, Wizard World Pittsburgh

Learn About Comics From The Pros At Wizard World Pittsburgh

Published Thu, 10 Sep 2015 19:30:38 -0500

by Hannah Means Shannon

Last updated Mon, 22 Feb 2016 15:36:19 -0600

Comments

This weekend, there are several pop culture conventions going on throughout the country, but it marks the first ever Wizard World Pittsburgh as well. As we've done here on Bleeding Cool in the past, we'd like to suggest some panels to you that will be particularly educative and inspiring to the comics fan who wants to know more about the medium and be part of some truly interesting discussions. You can't walk away from these panels without an even better understanding of how comics have developed and what factors affect them now. Get to know comics professionals and hear them talk about their work.

Here's a selection of some smart panels this Friday through Sunday at Wizard World Pittsburgh:

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 11:

5:30-6:15 PM

TITANIC TEAMMATES: SPIDER-MAN'S, SPIDER-GIRL'S AND THOR'S TOM DeFALCO AND RON FRENZ (ROOM 301)

Perhaps the longest-lasting creative team in comics history, Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz have worked together to create exciting, intelligent and moving stories in comics including The Amazing Spider-Man, Spider-Girl, Thor, and Thunderstrike. Join them as they discuss how and why they've kept working together over more than three decades, the highlights of their careers together and separately, and what's coming up for them in the future. The panel is moderated by Danny Fingeroth (Superman on the Couch), the editor who originally teamed up Tom and Ron on Amazing Spider-Man.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 12th:

1:00-1:45 PM

SPOTLIGHT ON ROB LIEFELD (ROOM 301)

Rob Liefeld is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher, a prominent artist in the 1990s. In the early '90s, self-taught artist Liefeld became prominent due to his work on Marvel Comics' The New Mutants and later X-Force. In 1992, he and several other popular Marvel illustrators left the company to found Image Comics, which started a wave of comic books owned by their creators rather than by publishers. The first book published by Image Comics was Rob's Youngblood #1. His creations Deadpool, Cable, Youngblood and X-Force helped change the comic book landscape and remain staples of both Marvel and Image comics. Danny Fingeroth (Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us About Ourselves and Our Society) moderates.

5:00-5:45 PM

1940: WORLD WAR II AND COMICS: THE JOKER, ROBIN, THE FLASH, CAPTAIN AMERICA, CAPTAIN MARVEL, AND THE SPIRIT! With FINGEROTH, WISE, HASTINGS, MAVERICK & GAVALER (ROOM 301)

75 years ago, in 1940, as the Nazi conquest of Europe continued and the Battle of Britain raged, the United States watched from the sidelines while instituting the first peacetime draft. At the same time, the world of comics was experiencing an incredible sustained period of invention, as The Joker, Robin, Green Lantern, the Flash, Hawkman, the Spirit, Catwoman, and Captains America and Marvel all debuted! (Not to mention the debuts of pop culture icons Bugs Bunny, and Brenda Starr, and classic movies Fantasia and The Great Dictator!) Showing and discussing historical and cultural factors that made that year so important is a panel including moderator Danny Fingeroth (Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics and the Creation of the Superhero) as well as an array of history and pop culture experts, including Wayne Wise (Chatam University), Waller Hastings (West Liberty University), Christopher Maverick (Duquense University) and Chris Gavaler (Washington & Lee University).

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 13th:

1:00-1:45 PM

SUPERSTAR ARTISTS TELL (AND SHOW) ALL! With JUSTICE LEAGUE'S MIKE McKONE, BATMAN'S SCOTT McDANIEL, UNCLE SCROOGE'S THOM PRATT, MEGATON MAN'S DON SIMPSON & GOOD CHARLOTTE'S BILLY MARTIN (ROOM 301)

Five top comics artists talk about their careers, their craft, the comics business and whatever else might come up—and may even show you some of their top-secret techniques! Join peerless pencilers Mike McKone (Justice League Unlimited; Astonishing X-Men), Scott McDaniel (Batman; Nightwing), Don Simpson (Megaton Man; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Thom Pratt (Uncle Scrooge; Donald Duck) and Billy Martin (Good Charlotte; artist on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) for this eye-popping panel. Danny Fingeroth (How to Create Comics from Script to Print) moderates.

2:00-2:45 PM

TALKIN' SPIDER-MAN (& SPIDER-GIRL) WITH TOM DeFALCO, RON FRENZ, PATRICK OLLIFFE & DANNY FINGEROTH (ROOM 301)

With a total of more than a century between them of working on Spider-Man comics, there are few who stride the face of the Earth with more knowledge of, and experience with, the ol' webslinger than this panel's members. Tom DeFalco was the longtime Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics and the chronicler of many of Spidey's most memorable adventures, including the introduction of the symbiote black costume. Ron Frenz was the artist on Amazing Spider-Man and Marvel Team-Up, and co-created (with DeFalco) the Amazing Spider-Girl. Patrick Olliffe was the penciler on Untold Tales of Spider-Man and Spider-Girl. Danny Fingeroth was the Group Editor of the Spider-Man line and story consultant on the 1990s Spider-Man animated series, as well as the writer of The Deadly Foes of Spider-Man limited series. These four talk Spidey as only they can, and will answer your questions about the iconic superhero.