Entry tags:

char: cosmic boy/rokk krinn, char: cypher/doug ramsey, char: robin/nightwing/dick grayson, char: warlock, creator: george perez, creator: jamal igle, creator: phil jimenez, genre: commission, title: nightwing

The London Super Comics Convention was the first comic convention I've attended in many, many years, and aside from the Stan Lee panel appearance (Where he proved he can still work a room like few others, even if the less than ideal acoustics meant that every question had to be repeated to him by the chap sitting next to him) Artists Alley was the place I'd be found.



A side note before continuing, the place the Convention was being held at was not only having a "Mother and Baby" exhibition in the hall opposite (which led to a lot of very strange mutual glances conveying multiple levels of social communication), but one of the other halls had a "Zumba Instructors" conference, which involved more dayglo (in both Lycra and something akin to parachute pants) than I have ever seen in one place in one time. When people cosplaying as Superheroes (and all praise to those who did, you were awesome!) are NOT the most garishly dressed people in the conference centre, the worlds has gone MAD!)

And what a rich assortment of talent there was, from Bernie Wrightson, to Simon Bigley, from Brian Bolland to Paul Cornell (Who discovered that his dedication to enhancing female contribution to panels was sort of short-circuited when he was dropped from a panel he had been going to attend)

And so, on with the show!

Jackademus is a UK based professional artist and animator who cheerfully professes that Robin is his favourite character... and based on this piece, I'll be doing business with him again! :)



George Perez

What more can be said about George Perez, the man, the legend, the sketching bloody MACHINE! This was my first chance to actually meet Mr Perez and he was as warm and charming as every story you've ever heard about him says he is.

Not my most imaginative request perhaps, but I was lucky to get into his sketch list at all and this is now MY Geroge Perez convention sketch. :)

His sketch list was long... very, very long, but the queue was longer, and he was producing quality sketch work every single time. It was an astonishing experience to watch the creative process in action.



Phil Jimenez

It's impossible to express what a trouper Mr Jimenez was. He was sketching and signing every moment he wasn't on a panel, or being interviewed, and though his queue was long, not a single person who got a sketch begrudged a moment of the time taken, because the quality is breathtaking. (Honestly, classing this as a "Convention Sketch" whilst literally accurate, feels disrespectful somehow)


Grant Perkins has a wonderful unique style that caught my eye as soon as I saw it, I keep thinking "It's a bit like..." some artist or other, but it's not quite, so it's definitely his own.

He earned my respect by referring to "the best Batman movie ever" in conversation and assuming that everyone would know he meant the Adam West/Burt Ward one from 1967! That's my kind of mindset!

This is his take on the Boy Wonder!



And he also earned my respect by not even asking "Who?" when I mentioned Warlock and Cypher, but instantly expounding on how such a subtle power as Cypher's had had such potential.

And he jumped at the chance to draw a headshot of them. Wasn't sure how that was going to work, but this is wonderful! (My scanner does not do this true justice!)



Dave Stokes - is a terrific artist, with a serious love of the Legion, so how could I resist!...



And then AFTER that I found out that Nightcrawler was his favourite EVER character, so I think it's safe to say that we'll be doing a little more business in the future too!

I confess I'd forgotten the sheer cameraderie inherent in geeks in a non-hostile (or non-apathetic) environment, chats with strangers in queues where you DON'T need to explain your references, or justify your weird interests, because they are probably only slightly different from themselves. It was most refreshing!

And love my other pieces though I do, and you KNOW I love my art, I think I might just give the edge of "Most fun piece" to this piece by Jamal Igle, a delightfully cheerful chap, which is just so damned perfect. Nightwing, in a little light tying up.



Look at that expression, it's like he's DARING you to take advantage, and quite confident that he will be able to take down anyone who even tries with BOTH hands tied behind his back. And the bound wrists just pull your vision down to that ass! What criminal could resist? :D

So thank you to all the artists who contributed to my collection (and there's at least one more to come from a creator who's inks ran dry before his commission list did)

And for legality, a Nightwing cover that I now also have a nice signed print of.