Meet the Press 3.0

Hello Revuers! It is with great pleasure that I announce that Deja.Revue will have a table at the upcoming Tri-Con. Tri-con will be this Saturday June the 3rd at the Big Sandy Superstore arena in Huntington West Virginia. If you live in the area or within driving distance I highly recommend that you try to attend. Friend of the blog and colorist extroadinaire Jason Lews will be attending as well as the great Rico Renzi! Other guests include Brian Level, Paul Allor, Bob Frantz, Drew Moss and many many more! On top of all that greatness, tickets are only $10!!! This will be one you definitely don’t want to miss. If you do attend keep a look out for our very own Andrew Horton who will be sharing a booth with writer Andy Eschenbach! He will have stickers to give away and some interactive activities.

 

If you would like more information be sure to check out Tri-Con’s website:

http://www.tristatecon.net/

 

You can also listen to the episode of Deja.Revue Review where we interview Bob Frantz, who talks lovingly of Tri-Con here:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/deja-revue-interview-bob-frantz/id1146317175?i=1000379206403&mt=2

 

Cincy Comic Con

On September 9-11th I had the pleasure of attending Cincy Comic Con located at the Northern KY Convention Center (don’t worry, it’s basically Cincinnati). This was my third con of the year and 6th con overall in the past three years. Having attended and enjoyed this con last year my expectations were very, very high. The guest list alone was enough to get any comic fan excited. Well, my hopes were fulfilled and then some. For ease of review the con will be rated on 3 separate categories and then given an overall rating at the end. Let’s jump right in.

Location

The Northern KY Convention Center is a beautiful facility nestled next to the river and the football stadium. The outside is impressive with beautiful views of both the city and the river. Located just 10 minutes away from downtown Cincy,  it’s also not as congested as downtown would have been so it is a superb location for the con. The buildings absolutely sparkle in the sunlight

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The inside of the convention center was just as nice, with plenty of floor space for all of the artists and vendors. Cincy Comic Con did a great job of straddling the line between having it in to small of a room and it feeling claustrophobic, and being in to big of a room and it feeling empty. The con never once felt either claustrophobic or empty, but rather a perfect blend of busy but not hectic. The convention center also offered very affordable parking as all day parking only cost $5. This was a very nice change of pace from other cons I have been to this year that charge an arm and a leg for parking, leaving you cash strapped for the actual artists you came to see. They also had a parking garage option if you wanted a covered option for your vehicle.

Rating: 5/5

 

Guest Creators

This years guest list read like a who’s who of the comic book world. It included Jason Latour, Rico Renzi, Robbi Rodriguez, Skottie Young, Kate Leth, Brian Azzarello, Brian Level and too many more to count. I could go on and on but for the sake of brevity I’ll stop (If you’d like the full guest list of this years con then click here). All of the creators that I interacted with were an absolute joy. Jason Latour took time while he was signing my copies of Southern Bastards and Spider-Gwen to have a discussion on religious fanaticism in the south. Rico Renzi remembered me from the interview that we did together back in March (if you would like to check out that interview then click here).

He and I spoke for awhile about the process of coloring comic books and he gave me some great advice. Brian Level was very kind and interactive as well, despite me not having any money left to spend. I commissioned a Starman (JSA era, not the steampunk version) from the spectacular Matt Horak and he certainly delivered a great sketch for an affordable rate.

The indie creators that were there were all very interactive as well. I spent quite a bit of time with Bob Frantz who writes Monty the Dinosaur (available from Action Lab comics, check it out here), who it turns out is as hilarious in person as his comic book is. Another great indie creator is Andy Eschenbach. He writes the anthology series Strange Crimes (available from Challenger comics, click here) and the new series Red Shoes! His comics are excellent and you really should check them out. In fact everything that comes from Challenger Comics is top notch. Overall the talent level of both the guests of honor and the indie comic guys was first rate. The commitment to comics and comics first is very evident in who they invite to the con and how the show is handled. That’s one of the things that sets Cincy Comic Con apart from other cons.

Rating: 5/5

Affordability

For a weekend pass Cincy Comic Con checked in at $50. This is a very competitive rate to other comic cons of it’s size, and for the creators that it draws (pun intended) rather cheap. The only other con in the Midwest that can really attract those big of names is perhaps C2E2 which goes for $65-$75. Granted it is a much larger con in a bigger city, but you really lose the chance to interact with the creators like you have at Cincy Comic Con. What’s more they had a deal with Cincy Savers where you could get a ticket for half price. I took advantage of this deal so I only paid $25 for a Saturday Sunday pass. This is astronomically low price for the value I got. Add in the cheap parking and you have a very very low cost for such a high quality con. None of the creators I got autographs from charged a fee so there was no added cost there. The price of a sketch ranged from $30 to $200 depending on who you commissioned it from. The food vendor on site were pretty expensive though. I paid $13 for a pop and a burger. This is to be expected from a convention center. The second day I went off campus for lunch and was able to save money that way. All told I spent maybe $150 and that includes gas and the sketch that I commissioned. This comes in much lower than the average all in price of many cons in the general area.

Rating: 5/5

 

Overall

Cincy Comic Con was an incredible experience. With first rate talent, that you could actually interact with more than just for the 10 seconds while they sign the comics you brought. It was apparent that everyone involved liked being there and loved comics. The location was beautiful with just the right size convention floor to where it felt large but not empty. There was plenty of parking options for a good rate. The price was very affordable, especially if you took advantage of the Cincy savers deal. This was the third comic con of the year for me and by far my favorite. If you live in the Midwest and love comics and the comic book community then going to Cincy Comic Con next year is an absolute must. Below I have included a picture of how Cincy Comic con made me feel.

 

Overall Rating: 5/5

 

Coloring Between the Lines: Rico Renzi

Hello Revuers. It’s time for another Coloring Between the Lines segment. This months guest is the one and only Rico Renzi. You probably recognize his work from such titles as Spider-Gwen, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, and Howard the Duck. Rico is a world class talent and we are grateful for his time. Now without further ado:

• How long have you been a colorist?

My first comics work was published in 2003. A Batman cover drawn by Chris Brunner
http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Batman:_Legends_of_the_Dark_Knight_Vol_1_172

• Was it what you wanted to be when you were a kid?

I don’t think I knew coloring comics was a real job when I was a kid.

• What’s the first comic book series you really got into?

Iron Man

• Do you prefer superhero comics or other genres?

I like anything with appealing art and a good story.

• Who is your favorite superhero?

Batgirl

• Who is your favorite non superhero character?

Maggie Chascarillo

• What’s your favorite series that’s not a superhero series?

Love and Rockets

• How do you choose a color palette?

I try to keep it simple and trust my instincts.

• What’s your favorite project you’ve ever worked on?

Whatever I’m working on right now (Radioactive Spider-Gwen & Unbeatable Squirrel Girl)

• Do you have anything coming out soon that we should keep an eye out for?

Doing some covers with Chris Brunner and finishing the 4th issue of Loose Ends.

• Who are some of your favorite colorists in the industry today?

Too many to list but here’s a few off the top of my head: Bettie Breitweiser, Matt Wilson, Jordie Bellaire, Megan Wilson, Tamra Bonvilllain, Kelly Fitzpatrick, Dave Stewart, Matt Madden, Laura Martin, Lauren Affe, Matt Hollingsworth, Brian Reber, Joseph Bergin III, Dave McCaig, Trish Mulvihill.

• Is there anyone you draw inspiration from?

Yeah, Brian Stelfreeze, Tomer Hanuka, Mark Chiarello, Mary Blair, Rian Hughes, pretty much everything I see.

• I’ve personally really enjoyed your work on FBP. How did you pick out the palette for that book?
  Hard to remember, I made a lot of stuff pink and tried not to use many earth tones.

 

• On that series you teamed up with artist Robbi Rodriguez, who you would later work with creating Spider-Gwen. What’s it like having a relationship built with an artist?

  I don’t work on many projects where I don’t know the artist. It’s just too hard. It’s so mercenary and difficult to make the work look like it comes from one pair of hands which is usually my goal.

 

• Speaking of Spider-gwen, one of the most iconic things for her is her costume and the color choices it makes. What was it like working on those?

  Those choices weren’t mine but I would have made similar ones. The superhero in primary colors things has been done a lot and done well. Gwen’s colors can be shown to someone familiar with the character without the costume and people will recognize them as her. I think that’s something people like about her suit.

 

• The bright color choices associated with Spider-gwen is really what ties her universe together, a constant if you will, what was the process like creating her world?

We drew inspiration for the Neo Tokyo of Akira for sure. Also, neons are just a personal preference of mine and probably the reason Robbi wanted me around for this.

• Burritos or coneys?

Sophie’s choice.

• Where’s your favorite place to pick up a burrito when you’re at cons

  Sabor in Charlotte, NC

 

• Where’s your favorite place to get a coney when you’re at cons?

JJ’s Red Hots in Charlotte, NC

• What’s your favorite convention?

Heroes Convention in Charlotte, NC

• What would be your dream collaboration?

I’d like to color Jaime Hernandez and Cory Walker sometime

• If you weren’t a comic book artist what would be your career?

Designer of t-shirts probably. http://nolongermint.tictail.com/

• What’s the biggest difference between working for the big two and indie titles?

I get paid more and faster at the big two.

• What unique challenges does working for a big publisher or an indie publisher provide?

Working for an indie publisher can present the unique challenge of eating.

• Who are some of your favorite artists to work with?

  Chris Brunner, Jason Latour, Erica Henderson, Robbi Rodriguez, Tradd Moore

 

• Who are some of your favorite writers to work with?

Jason Latour, Ryan North, Chip Zdarsky

• Who’s your favorite character to color?

Earth-65 Captain America

• Thank you for your time Rico, I’ve enjoyed talking to you. Looking forward to your great work in the future.

Thanks!

If you would like to check out some of Rico’s work you can check out his Facebook, Twitter, and his website

If you are interested in buying his work you can check out his comixology page here, or ask you LCS about ordering one of his many titles.