Now that it’s been a few days since the end of the first annual Long Beach Comic-Con I’d thought I’d chirp in with some thoughts on the event. Firstly, it took place in the clean n’ cheery part of Long Beach as opposed to the “run, motherfucker, run!” areas which would have been not only an odd choice of locales, but potentially a complete disaster for us sensitive artistic types.

An entire afternoon passed in Long Beach and no one had to use their A-K. Today was a good day.

I was happy to see many independent publishers making a strong showing at the LBCC. Over at the Archaia Studios Press table Mouse Guard creator David Petersen was on hand to sign and sketch for fans. The tightly written, beautifully drawn and lushly colored Mouse Guard is one of the best ongoing titles out there. If you are among the many admirers of Bone and are not reading Petersen’s fantasy opus, you truly have no idea what you’re missing. Of course a comic convention means lots of event-exclusive goodies and Mouse Guard fans had the opportunity to snag this print, limited only to 75 copies.

Mouse Guard LBCC Exclusive Print/Edition Of 75

For those looking to break into the comic biz through the small presses, there is a lot of great advice from artists and writers to be found at cons. I really enjoyed chatting with Paskael Tyiska, writer of the upcoming graphic novel The Unforgivable by publisher Committed. His story of the hard work and dedication involved to see his comic dream become a published reality was really inspiring to hear. Keep an eye out for the very cool looking The Unforgivable when it hits stores in 2010.

Writer Paskael Tyiska (right) and Letterer Randeep Grewal of The Unforgiveable

Also on hand was the supremely talented Faust artist Tim Vigil. I am a huge fan of Vigil’s work and was thrilled to have him ink a drawing he had done for me of Faust villain M several years ago. I have photos of the piece before and after inking and was going to put it in this article, but now I find myself a bit hesitant. M is committing a really nasty, bloody, super XXX act in the piece and even on a site where there is no need for censorship whatsoever I think I’ll pass on the posting of it. However, if anyone is interested in seeing it, shoot me an email and I could send you a pic.

If you are a horror comic fan who likes stories that take place in unexpected, out of the norm settings check out Strangeways by Matt Maxwell. A werewolf in the old west tale, Strangeways is a highly entertaining read and definitely worth checking out.

Matt Maxwell: a man who truly hides behind his work.

Big name celebrities are always to be found at comic conventions and with Thomas Jane and Seth Green in attendance, the LBCC was no exception. However, the most unique sighting for me was Pierre Bernard of Conan O’Brien fame. Not only a graphic designer for Conan’s show, Pierre appears in on-camera bits as well, most famously “Pierre Bernard’s Recliner of Rage.” In these segments he proves himself a true comic book and sci-fi fan as he calmly, yet passionately, rants about those topics that hit us at the very core of our souls… like anime voice over artists and the Best Buy exclusive two disc edition of I Am Legend. Plus he seems like a really nice guy to boot.

Pierre Bernard's Long Beach Comic Con Of Rage

What would a convention be without women in tight and/or skimpy outfits? Here’s two notable entries: the ever-popular slave Princess Leia and popular Marvel vixen Black Cat.

We've seen this one a hundred times, but this getup will never, ever get old.

A Cosplayer who looks exactly like the character she's dressed as? Amazing!

Though the con overall was a hoot from start to finish, I have to say that hands down the highlight of my Saturday was getting to meet Pulitzer Prize winning Bloom County creator Berkeley Breathed in his first ever convention appearance.

The great man himself: Bloom County's Berkeley Breathed.

When I think of the 1980’s, Bloom County and its significance to me as I was growing up will always come to mind. The entirety of Breathed’s comic strip is being collected in a series of beautifully produced hardcovers by IDW (the first of which is available now) and they should be highly commended for their efforts. Look for a proper appreciation of the first volume in an upcoming installment of “Sequential Sunday.”

All in all I’d say that this inaugural year of the Long Beach Comic Con was a big success and I’m sure that it will only continue to grow in future years (and hopefully stay focused on comics). I’ll definitely come back next year and hopefully for more than just a single day.

John “run, motherfucker, run” Mueller
john@comicimpact.com