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On any given spring weekend in New York the city comes alive with street fairs and conventions. Last weekend (April 28-29), Graphic Universe was right smack in the middle of one such festival. The annual Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art (MoCCA) fest, taking place at the historic 69th Regiment Armory on Lexington Avenue, was center stage for aspiring and seasoned comic book artists alike to show off their wares and expand networking. It was also a perfect place for comic book aficionados just to take in a festive atmosphere.
Carol Burrell with GU authors Lars Jakobsen and Colleen AF Venable.
This year Graphic Universe had prime real estate at the event as well some notable GU authors and illustrators on hand. A continual stream of interest surrounded our booth with special guests like Lars Jakobsen who came all the way from Denmark. He was there to promote his much anticipated, upcoming time-traveling-detective series Mortensen’s Escapades, which is expected to be released this September. Lars also demonstrated his impressive drawing chops by offering free sketches to convention goers. And then there was the always effervescent Colleen AF Venable of Guinea PIg fame—one of Graphic Universe’s favorite and bestselling authors. And to round off the booth was the much admired GU illustrator Alitha Martinez, whose My Boyfriend Bites (from My Boyfriend is a Monster series) was one of the most requested titles there. Other well-received books were The Girl Who Owned A City: The Graphic Novel, and series Lou!, The ElseWhere Chronicles, Nola’s Worlds, and Miss Annie.
Although tiny compared to the New York Comic Con, this fun little convention packs a punch when it comes to artistry and earnestness in comics and graphic novels. Graphic Universe is always proud to be part of it.
Last Wednesday morning, I hopped on the subway from Brooklyn and headed to the Graphic Universe office at the Empire State Building in Manhattan. But on that day, the GU office was just a temporary stop to grab a box of books and then to continue my way uptown to an elementary school. By uptown I mean way uptown, to the northernmost tip of the island, in a neighborhood called Inwood at 10th Avenue and Dyckman Street. This is where P.S. 5 sits and where the talented Graphic Universe illustrator Alitha Martinez’s son attends school. But this was no ordinary day–it was career day and great anticipation was in the air. Today Alitha was on hand to share her impressive career as a comic book artist—both with DC Comics and, yes, with Graphic Universe and its critically acclaimed series Twisted Journeys and My Boyfriend is a Monster.
The day proved to be a huge success–not only for Alitha, who marvelously inspired the students with her artistic gifts and career accomplishments–but also a winner for Graphic Universe. I was told that kids at this school just love Graphic Universe books. Indeed, the process of teaching rather mundane subjects comes alive through comic books. Utilizing graphic illustrations to convey ordinary topics in ways that kids can truly appreciate and understand is a remarkable feat. And Graphic Universe books shine bright in that department.
I now have proof of this.
After her presentation the jubilant Alitha wrote to me with this: “It really strikes a chord with the kids when they can see books as more than something that’s forced on them. In the play yard on a beautiful day children were huddled around reading. The manga math book and the tricky journeys, WOW!! Teachers were in love. Kids wanted more to take for their siblings….I only had 30. Kids wanted a book that taught math?? You really had them properly tricked into learning with that one.”
Wouldn’t it be great if Alitha continued the career day tradition next year at P.S. 5! (In fact, she was present the past couple years with equally memorable experiences.) Come to think about it, imagine spreading this idea to having career day participation with dozens of GU authors and illustrations in schools across the country. There could be quite a lot of eager people and it would certainly help spread the word to kids, parents, and teachers about the wonderful line of GU books.
Alitha further espoused the benefits of GU and its stellar line of educational and entertaining titles by declaring that “they remembered every book by name that was brought over the years.”
How can you beat that? Great news for children’s book publishing!
The following blog post and photos come to you from Danny Lerner, who just experienced his first Comic Con (and lived to tell the tale!)
Wow! What an event! This year’s New York Comic Con was a juggernaut of a show. It is the biggest of its kind on the east coast and in America it is second only to its archrival–the annual San Diego affair. The extravaganza, held at the Javits Center every year (now in October), was a rousing success to many, a frustrating logistical mess to a few, but overall an entirely worthwhile and memorable happening.
For four days, countless authors and Illustrators, novices and pros, agents and managers, publishers and videogame producers descend on the west side of Manhattan, survey the landscape, canvas the miles of territory, and set-up shop to broaden their business plans and expand their personal careers. And to many it was mission accomplished.
New York Comic Con, in turns, is exhilarating and exhausting. Now, in its sixth year, it is the epicenter of an extraordinary variety of activity—from the individual illustrator stationed in Artist Alley showcasing her wares, to the monolithic television screens of blasting videogames—the event has become a must-see if you like anything comic.
But let’s not forget what makes NY Comic Con the NY Comic Con: the sea of incredible and often hilarious costumes that envelope the landscape. Watching tens of thousands of diehard fans transform into their favorite comic book personas is truly a sight to behold.
And at the center of the comic world (for a number of people, at least) was the Graphic Universe booth. From far and wide came some of GU’s best authors and illustrators. Book-signing highlights included Bannister, the talented French cartoonist, who drew pictures and signed copies of his extraordinary series The Elsewhere Chronicles; artist Tintin Pantoja, who traversed the globe (all the way from the Philippines) to promote her fantastic Manga Math Mysteries; authors Chris Schweizer and Alaya Dawn Johnson and artist Yuko Ota on hand to sign their extraordinary Tricky Journeys™ and Twisted Journeys® books; and artists Alitha Martinez and Hyeondo Park and author Evonne Tsang pleasing autograph seekers with their much-loved My Boyfriend is a Monster titles. And let’s not forget author Colleen AF Venable and artist Stephanie Yue occupying seats at the fair’s coveted autograph area to sign their latest and greatest Fish You Were Here, book 4 in the popular Guinea PIg: Pet Shop Private Eye series.
Other special guests associated with Graphic Universe visited the booth as well, including Spanish agent Eduardo Alpuente accompanied by several of his artists, and Andrés Vera Martínez, author and illustrator of the upcoming GU title Little White Duck. Many, many prospective GU illustrators and colorists from as far afield as India and Greece also stopped by.
In New York, it’s widely accepted that bigger is better. That sentiment is certainly not always the case, but when it comes to the world of comics, most would agree that New York Comic Con takes first prize. And for that, New Yorkers deserve to be very proud.
