I'm very pleased to be planning to attend the second Rose City Comic Con this year, as part of a longer trip to the comics Mecca of Portland, OR.
Held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon, the two-day show is a mix of comics and media, with guests ranging from the legendary Kurt Busiek to the voices of Bender and Fry, John DiMaggio and Billy West.
Held from 10-7 on Saturday and 10-5 on Sunday, the show costs $30 for a weekend pass, $20 for Satuday, and $15 for Sunday.
While I normally wouldn't attend a show that's mixed so heavily between media and comics (I prefer comics-centric shows like Heroes or Baltimore), there's plenty of comics content and the media guests are all folks who have a strong connection to properties that comics fans love (Futurama, Adventure Time, Star Trek, Flash Gordon, and so on).
Highlights from the comics guest list include:
- Damn near everyone from Periscope Studios will be there. I'm a huge fan of these guys, ranging from Erika Moen to Jeff Parker to Steve Lieber, and they're all incredibly talented people with projects for just about everyone from indie work to superheroes. Besides those three, there's also Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover of Bandette, Karl Kesel of just about everything, and many, many more. Meeting as many of these guys as I can will be the show highlight for me.
- Kurt Busiek is a gem of the superhero comics genre, bringing his class and knowledge to any project. He's working on Astro City again, and that's just the tip of his creative iceberg.
- Katie Cook is a very funny woman, and also the writing half of My Little Pony, among other projects. She also runs the cute-as-hell webcomic Gronk.
- Kelly Sue Deconnick is one of Marvel's rising stars, taking a C-list heroine and making her a force to be reckoned with in Captain Marvel. She's also going to do a story in Cartozia Tales!
- Rachel Deering lettered more of Womanthology than anyone should have had to do. She's also the writer of Anathema, a great horror series, has an upcoming romance book for Monkeybrain, and is working on editing a horror anthology. She's also a great person, so be sure to check her out when you're there.
- Matt Fraction is Matt Fraction. 'Nuff said.
- Greg Rucka is amazing when writing his own creations. If you aren't reading Lazarus right now, you're missing out. Sadly, his co-creator on that book can't make the show, but be sure to see Greg and encourage him to write more Whiteout books.
- Tim Sale is the man behind multiple projects with Jeff Loeb, such as The Long Halloween, Daredevil: Yellow, and many more. See his creepy and cool work in person at the show.
- Tim Seeley just wrapped up work on Witchblade, writing it as it spun out of Top Cow: Rebirth. He also is the brains behind Hack/Slash, a highly underrated horror book and is a very strong artist in his own right.
The list of folks exhibiting and in Artist's Alley are mostly new to me, because I've never done a West Coast show. That's part of what I'm looking forward to the most--getting to meet new folks and try their comics. A few names stuck out, though, and should not be missed:
- Dark Horse Comics is one of the best mainstream independent publishers out there. I'm always doing Best Shots on their books, seemingly every week. Go see what they have for sale at the show, and pick up great horror, sci-fi, and fantasy books, both original an licensed.
- I haven't had the pleasure of talking to the Oni Comics folks in person since several SPXs ago, so I'm not going to miss the chance now. Once the King of the relationship comic, the home of Scott Pilgrim has branched out, doing works like 6th Gun, Mermin, and others that are now the standard-bearers.
- Top Shelf will be there, too. I've extolled their virtues a lot lately, so I'll just mention they're one of the best in the indie comix biz.
- Jason Copland will be on hand with Kill All Monsters, which I just grabbed at Baltimore and can't wait to read. Giant creatures smashing things!
- Geek in the City is my friend Aaron's comics, so you should definitely look him up. He's not only a talented reviewer, but a solid comics creator as well.
- Super Ugly does great work with comics that take extraordinary things and mash them up with ordinary items. A great cartoonist, he'll be on hand and is one of the Action Lab team.
For a newer show, the panels for Rose City are really impressive. There are spotlights on the media guests as well as the comics artists, running both Saturday and Sunday. Other panels focus on publishers and their upcoming work (Marvel, Image, Dark Horse, Monkeybrain, Oni, and others) or aspects of comics, like diversity. There are some how-to panels and of course just a bit on Dr. Who. You can find a complete list here.
Rose City Comic Con looks to be a great time. I hope, if you're in the area, to see you there!
