Northwest Indiana Comic-Con

Save the date!

The History of Mystery

I will be a guest at the Mystery Mini Con at the Kenosha Public Museum, 5500 First Avenue, Kenosha Wisconsin. The con is part of a larger exhibit at the Museum entitled The History of Mystery.

Mystery Mini Con
October 19; 11am-4pm

Meet with special guests, presenters, authors and artists featuring David Saunders, Jeff Butler, Hilary Barta, Tim Seeley, George Hagenauer, Jeff Easley and Jeff Moy. Plus visit the artist alley where vendors will have works for sale.


The History of Mystery
October 19, 2019 – January 12, 2020

Today Mystery, Crime and Suspense fiction is one of the most popular entertainment genres in America. Millions read mystery novels and short stories – millions more know the genre only through TV, movies or comics. Quite often the genre is seen through one lens – novels, magazines, pulps, comics, movies or television, when many of the writers who created the stories often worked in multiple media. Major novelists also wrote radio scripts, movies and comics – often adaptations of their own characters. The various media and formats interacted in ways that synergistically grew the genre. The children reading the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew grew up to read mystery novels as adults.

The exhibit starts the story with how memoirs and casebooks by Francois Eugene Vidocq and Allan Pinkerton in 19th century inspired fiction writers to invent the genre in many forms. The exhibit details its growth from there to its current status as a major force in American culture. The story is told through original art from novels, magazines, comic books, comic strips, newspaper serials, pulps and paperbacks by major artists who illustrated the various types of mystery fiction created from 1820 to about 1970. The art is linked to major authors from Poe to Agatha Christie to Elmore Leonard and others from the first 150 years of the American mystery. The artists range from Saturday Evening Post Illustrators to pulp and paper back artists to major names in comic strips and books like Chester Gould, Alex Raymond and Jack Kirby.

Each of the over 50 displays include detailed text linking the art and writer to the larger context of the development of the mystery genre. In some cases, they spotlight largely ignored aspects of the field like newspaper serialization of novels which brought mysteries to a far larger audience than did their more visible book and magazine publication. It also explores how the graphics changed over time – and varied in how they promoted or augmented the stories- and sometimes misrepresented them!

Cartoon Cavalcade

I will be taking part in the Cartoon Cavalcade show in Elgin, Illinois. Lots of my original pages from SpongeBob Squarepants and Simpsons Comics will be for sale, as well as my licensing art for Betty Boop. Stop by and see me at the opening reception this Friday.

Patreon!

I have started a page on Patreon. Patreon is a platform where folks can support artists and other creatives in this ever changing world of ours. My Patreon page will be where I'll be posting most of my new art, including step-by-step demos of my process in creating comics and illustration, and where I'll give previews of upcoming projects. Come on by and take a look, here.

Don't start Revolution without me.

Comic Con Revolution is held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, June 1st & 2nd, 2019. Come see me in Artist Alley!

C2E2 2019

I'll be a guest at C2E2 2019, March 22-24. Stop by table Z-12 in Artist Alley. I'll be signing comics, drawing a few sketches, and selling original art.

I will also have a piece in the C2E2 charity auction to benefit St. Jude Childrens Hospital.

And on Saturday, March 23, I'll be signing A Little Help From Our Friends Volume 2, an exclusive C2E2 charity book for the Hero Initiative. Signing takes place at the Hero Initiative booth, 529. Limited to a mere 100 copies, this treasure will be available on Saturday only at the H I booth for a donation of $20. Here's a taste of my contribution to the book:

Northwest Indiana Comic Con

I will be a guest at the Northwest Indiana Comic Con, a terrific regional show. I will be selling original art and drawing a few sketches. Drop by if you're in the area.

Northwest Indiana Comic Con
Saturday, February 23, 2019 from 11 AM – 6 PM
Halls Of St George
905 E Joliet St, Schererville, Indiana 46375