Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jun 13, 2014 10:59:15 GMT -6
www.lohud.com/story/entertainment/2014/06/11/new-york-comic-fest-westchester-county-center/10345587/
The New York Comic Fest opens Saturday at Westchester County Center. The festival includes vendors, writers and artists well as panel discussions, costume and trivia contests and the 1966 Batmobile.
The New York Comic Fest opens Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Westchester County Center
The one-day celebration unites 50 plus comics writers and artists who will sign and sell their work
Scott Snyder, one of the biggest names in comics, will talk about the 75th anniversary of Batman
Is Westchester ready for some Pow! Bam! Zap!!!? The organizers of the New York Comic Fest think so.
The one-day celebration of all things comics at the Westchester County Center on Saturday will unite more than 60 vendors and 50 writers and artists who will sign and sell autographs and drawings, attend panels, judge trivia and costume contests.
The festival, a first for the area, is the brainchild of comic book artist Cliff Galbraith and Dan Greenfield, a journalist and White Plains resident. A few years ago, Galbraith co-founded the Asbury Park Comic Con in New Jersey.
Westchester, home to many in the comic book industry, was next on the list.
“I have probably passed the Westchester County Center hundreds if not thousands of times,” said Greenfield, 47, a former Journal News staffer who writes about comics at 13thdimension.com. “It never made sense to me. Why don’t they have a comic book show?”
Galbraith, speaking by phone from his studio in Red Bank, N.J., described Comic Fest as a throwback to the classic comic conventions of yore: a chance for fans to browse back issues, memorabilia and collectibleswhile connecting with comics creators in a small-scale setting.
He compared it to Comic-Con International, the Woodstock-sized celebration of geek culture, TV, video games and movies that began as a humble comic-book convention in San Diego in 1970. Many fans gripe Hollywood has taken over the event, Lex Luthor-style, and turned it into a marketing platform.
“So many comic conventions have turned into celebrity cons,” said Galbraith, 55, who is perhaps best known as the author of the series “Rat Bastard.” “They’re more concerned about Captain Kirk and ‘Walking Dead’ cast members than any actual comic creators.”
Notables at the festival include include Mark Waid, the writer behind “Daredevil” and “The Indestructible Hulk,” and Jim Steranko, a legendary artist for Marvel who penciled “Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Other well-known names making appearances include Basil Gogos, illustrator for the cult fanzine Famous Monsters of Filmland.
J.J. Sedelmaier, a White Plains native and co-creator of the animated Ambiguously Gay Duo on “Saturday Night Live,” will discuss the the art of animation with Bob Camp, the co-creator of “The Ren and Stimpy Show.”
Panels will delve into topics as varied as Archie, the history of Marvel Comics, the legacy of pulp illustrator Wally Wood (Strange Worlds, Weird Science) and a discussion of the role of gender in comics moderated by Christy Blanch, a comics scholar.
The festival will celebrate Batman’s 75th anniversary with a costume and trivia contest and, if that’s not a big enough draw, a replica of the Batmobile from the 1966 TV series “Batman.”
A Who’s Who of comics creators in the Lower Hudson Valley are participating in a panel discussion on the Caped Crusader. They include Denny O’Neil, a Nyack resident and editor credited with re-imagining both the “Batman” and “The Green Lantern” story lines; Paul Levitz, a Chappaqua resident and the former president and publisher of DC Comics; and Scott Snyder, the current writer of the “Batman” title and one of the biggest names in comics.
Snyder, 38, who teaches a class on comic book writing at Sarah Lawrence College, said in a phone interview: “Batman is one of the few human characters. He has no special powers. There’s a lesson of tremendous inspiration in that.”
Robert Bruce, of the AMC television show “Comic Book Men,” will judge a costume contest. A crew from “Comic Book Men” will be doing a casting call for the show’s fourth season.
Superhero enthusiasts are also expected to dress up like their favorite characters, everyone from Spider-Man, Wolverine and Iron Man to the cast of Disney’s movie musical “Frozen.”
“I’ve seen Darth Vader in a ‘Hello Kitty’ theme,” Galbraith said, chuckling. “That was probably the best one I’ve ever seen. My other favorite was a black-and-white Superman from the old TV show. The imagination of some of these people is just incredible.”
For years, the stereotypical comic convention attendees were male obsessives debating the intricacies of intergalactic superheroes in Klingon. But women are increasingly getting into the hobby.
“They used to be a very, very boys’ club type of thing,” Galbraith said. “But more women got involved. Now it’s almost equal. I see whole families come in and they’re all dressed up like the Avengers. People are really into this stuff.”
Twitter:
@alextailored
If you go
What: The New York Comic Fest
Where: Westchester County Center, 198 Central Ave., White Plains
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday
Ticket cost $20 in advance; $25 day of show. Children under 12 free accompanied by a ticket-holding adult. For more information or a full list of speakers, visit www.nycomicfest.com.
The New York Comic Fest opens Saturday at Westchester County Center. The festival includes vendors, writers and artists well as panel discussions, costume and trivia contests and the 1966 Batmobile.
The New York Comic Fest opens Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Westchester County Center
The one-day celebration unites 50 plus comics writers and artists who will sign and sell their work
Scott Snyder, one of the biggest names in comics, will talk about the 75th anniversary of Batman
Is Westchester ready for some Pow! Bam! Zap!!!? The organizers of the New York Comic Fest think so.
The one-day celebration of all things comics at the Westchester County Center on Saturday will unite more than 60 vendors and 50 writers and artists who will sign and sell autographs and drawings, attend panels, judge trivia and costume contests.
The festival, a first for the area, is the brainchild of comic book artist Cliff Galbraith and Dan Greenfield, a journalist and White Plains resident. A few years ago, Galbraith co-founded the Asbury Park Comic Con in New Jersey.
Westchester, home to many in the comic book industry, was next on the list.
“I have probably passed the Westchester County Center hundreds if not thousands of times,” said Greenfield, 47, a former Journal News staffer who writes about comics at 13thdimension.com. “It never made sense to me. Why don’t they have a comic book show?”
Galbraith, speaking by phone from his studio in Red Bank, N.J., described Comic Fest as a throwback to the classic comic conventions of yore: a chance for fans to browse back issues, memorabilia and collectibleswhile connecting with comics creators in a small-scale setting.
He compared it to Comic-Con International, the Woodstock-sized celebration of geek culture, TV, video games and movies that began as a humble comic-book convention in San Diego in 1970. Many fans gripe Hollywood has taken over the event, Lex Luthor-style, and turned it into a marketing platform.
“So many comic conventions have turned into celebrity cons,” said Galbraith, 55, who is perhaps best known as the author of the series “Rat Bastard.” “They’re more concerned about Captain Kirk and ‘Walking Dead’ cast members than any actual comic creators.”
Notables at the festival include include Mark Waid, the writer behind “Daredevil” and “The Indestructible Hulk,” and Jim Steranko, a legendary artist for Marvel who penciled “Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Other well-known names making appearances include Basil Gogos, illustrator for the cult fanzine Famous Monsters of Filmland.
J.J. Sedelmaier, a White Plains native and co-creator of the animated Ambiguously Gay Duo on “Saturday Night Live,” will discuss the the art of animation with Bob Camp, the co-creator of “The Ren and Stimpy Show.”
Panels will delve into topics as varied as Archie, the history of Marvel Comics, the legacy of pulp illustrator Wally Wood (Strange Worlds, Weird Science) and a discussion of the role of gender in comics moderated by Christy Blanch, a comics scholar.
The festival will celebrate Batman’s 75th anniversary with a costume and trivia contest and, if that’s not a big enough draw, a replica of the Batmobile from the 1966 TV series “Batman.”
A Who’s Who of comics creators in the Lower Hudson Valley are participating in a panel discussion on the Caped Crusader. They include Denny O’Neil, a Nyack resident and editor credited with re-imagining both the “Batman” and “The Green Lantern” story lines; Paul Levitz, a Chappaqua resident and the former president and publisher of DC Comics; and Scott Snyder, the current writer of the “Batman” title and one of the biggest names in comics.
Snyder, 38, who teaches a class on comic book writing at Sarah Lawrence College, said in a phone interview: “Batman is one of the few human characters. He has no special powers. There’s a lesson of tremendous inspiration in that.”
Robert Bruce, of the AMC television show “Comic Book Men,” will judge a costume contest. A crew from “Comic Book Men” will be doing a casting call for the show’s fourth season.
Superhero enthusiasts are also expected to dress up like their favorite characters, everyone from Spider-Man, Wolverine and Iron Man to the cast of Disney’s movie musical “Frozen.”
“I’ve seen Darth Vader in a ‘Hello Kitty’ theme,” Galbraith said, chuckling. “That was probably the best one I’ve ever seen. My other favorite was a black-and-white Superman from the old TV show. The imagination of some of these people is just incredible.”
For years, the stereotypical comic convention attendees were male obsessives debating the intricacies of intergalactic superheroes in Klingon. But women are increasingly getting into the hobby.
“They used to be a very, very boys’ club type of thing,” Galbraith said. “But more women got involved. Now it’s almost equal. I see whole families come in and they’re all dressed up like the Avengers. People are really into this stuff.”
Twitter:
@alextailored
If you go
What: The New York Comic Fest
Where: Westchester County Center, 198 Central Ave., White Plains
When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday
Ticket cost $20 in advance; $25 day of show. Children under 12 free accompanied by a ticket-holding adult. For more information or a full list of speakers, visit www.nycomicfest.com.