FantaCon 2013

*UPDATE!!!* Added my few photos and updated some links and spelling errors!

I had the distinct pleasure and honor of tabling this year at the first FantaCon in Albany, NY since 1990 with the legendary ink-slinger Stephen Bissette and a bunch of my Cartoon Studies buddies! We were hosted by colorist extraordinaires Tom Vincent and Kurt Mausert Thanks so much to Tom and Kurt for being our sponsors!

Here’s some pictures from our setting up!

Steve introduces Mark Martin to current CCS student Allison Bannister!

Here’s Steve’s side of the tables, immediately next to him were Ian Richardson and Denis St. John, both great up-and-coming horror illustrators and cartoonists!

Allison, Chris “Radical” Warren, Jesse DuRona and Carl Antonowicz getting ready for action!

Ack! It’s blurry, but here’s my set up with Jesse!

FantaCon is mainly a horror-themed convention, with a smattering of Fantasy and heaps of nostalgia piled on top! I wasn’t expecting as many cartoonists as at other shows, but I was pleasantly surprised by the strong showing of both current and veteran talent! FantaCon has a horror angle and there was so much in the way of movie stars, toy vendors, creepy illustrators, and monster masks to go around! Despite the slightly adult feel to the show, there were plenty of kids about, and sales of my kid-friendly sketch cards and prints were good! I even managed to put a few copies of Citadel into people’s hands, always a good feeling!

The show floor was busy and bustling and there was a lot of room between each aisle. I feel like the spread of talent was very well laid out and there were reasons to go

I only took a few pictures this time around, but I have a full collection of business cards and art I gathered from many talented people, which I will talk about right now! Read on!

I did manage to see one familiar face at the show, and she wasn’t even a local! (I’m from the Albany area originally.) The lovely and hauntingly good cute horror illustrator Kristilyn was there! I’ve met her at several MeCaf’s of years past and her work continues to be bright and cute and just a wee tad horrifying! Hope she did well at the show! You can find her work at her website!

I spent an enormous amount of time drooling over Christian N. St. Pierre’s table. He’s a superb fantasy illustrator who’s worked in comics, as an illustrator for several game companies (tabletop and card games) as well as creator owned endeavors! I bought a print and original pencil piece and I look forward to being inspired by them for years to come!

Katie Lawter had some fantastic painting prints for sale, a mided media affair with some digital finishing, they were very original in style and set a real dark vaudeville mood. She also had hand crafted charms and masks! Definitely worth checking out!

Sturdy Steve Bissette put me on the path of the brush while I was studying at CCS, and is a prime example of why brush is so worth sticking with! His immense attention to detail and use of it’s weight and fluidity is decades in the making and it was a real pleasure to talk with him about a tool I hope to one day master, even partially! Jason’s been on hiatus for a time, but he’s coming back to comics in a big way soon!

Eric Talbot was right across from us in our aisle and I couldn’t help but stare at his table in moments of quiet. His work on TMNT of course is amazing but the new focus on Skullfactory is just plain great! He’s a master of creeping shapes in the shadows and skulls skulls skulls! His boys are also budding artists and I wanna shout out to WT! Thanks for the awesome sketch!

Finally, I spent some time talking to Matthew Dow Smith. I knew he was going to be at the show via fellow Vermont cartoonist Blair Shedd. Like Blair, Matt is a Dr.Who artist for IDW and his dramatic, bold style both opens so much space into a page of comics, then just as easilly closes in on you for an emotional, claustrophobic confrontation. He was super energetic and friendly and I’m very glad to know another fine artist who gets to put The Doctor through so many adventures!

Okay, that about wraps it up for FantaCon 2013! I did this update from my phone, believe it or not, *hand cramps* so if I missed anybody or screwed up a link, I’ll try to fix em’ later in the week! Photos and sketch cards also to come from FantaCon new every Thursday, including some very special creepy ones for all of October!

Thanks again everyone!

-RD

3 thoughts on “FantaCon 2013

  1. The “someone” that Steve is introducing to Allison is Mark Martin, creator of the 100th Anniversary FantaCon Program. I’d recognize that shirt anywhere.

    1. Thanks for letting me know! *updates post*

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