A look at San Diego Comic-Con 2023 by Chuck Todd Artist
Art, artists, inspiration & POP CULTURE fun at SDCC 2023
After the manic whirlwind that was San Diego Comic-Con 2023, I now have time to debrief and share my experience. As an illustrator, Comic-Con is an annual art pilgrimage, a place to catch up with friends, see amazing artwork and comics projects, network, be inspired and have some fan boy pop culture fun. This is my 10th SDCC. I’ve maintained my professional status, perhaps one day I’ll get a table. So untethered, I’m more of a free range artist when I attend.
Overall my impressions were that with Hollywood writers and actors on strike, there were fewer studios and celebrities in Hall H or elsewhere, which felt like a reset for Comic-Con to focus more on the true creatives that drive comics arts and storytelling. The floor at times was crowded, Artists Alley seemed to be busy the whole Con, and there were a lot of great panels to attend upstairs. In many ways the Con seemed closer to normal compared with 2022 SDCC coming out of the pandemic. I saw almost everyone I had hoped to see. I had a new batch of postcards of my recent work, and handed them out to a lot to folks, mostly to other artists, and got very positive feedback.
7/19/2023: My wife Anita and I got a late start and had a long drive from the San Francisco East Bay down to San Diego. Our daughter Sheridan couldn’t go this year since she started an internship at a wildlife preserve in Minnesota. My daughter Sienna was already in San Diego and checked in early to our room at Town and Country. Our hotel was very close to the Fashion Valley trolley stop, so we used the trolley this year to go to the convention center. Not free like the shuttles, but less crowded (mostly) and more direct to get to our Gas Lamp Quarter stop. As it was we barely made it in time to catch about the last hour of preview night.
Art Pilgrimage Stop #1, Bill Sienkiewicz on Preview Night
Our first stop was saying hello to illustrator Bill Sienkiewicz at his booth. If possible I try to see Bill on Wednesday Preview Night before the crowds descend, and before he is sold out of his sketchbooks. (The sketchbooks were not printed in time for Comic-Con this year, so I’ll have to order one this time around.) Bill had on display many newer original works and a few older pieces. Spider-Man, several Batmans, including an incredible promotional illustration for the most recent Batman film, Moon Knight and a dynamic portrait of Stan Lee. Seeing the work up close is a visual feast of color, drawing and mixed media techniques that is a masterclass in the possibilities of illustration and comics art. Bill and I had a nice chat, he introduced me to a couple of friends, and we caught up a bit. I was thrilled when Bill told me that I was “killing it” with my recent work. (I studied for a week with Bill at the Illustration Academy in 2017, so that affirmation means a great deal to me. Thanks Bill!) And yes, he got the first batch of my postcards!
We had about 35 minutes or so to scout out some of the exhibit hall to get our bearings for the rest of the Con. We took in the prints and originals of Alex Ross at his mega display.
A new publisher DSTLRY was there with their convention exclusive copies of “The Devil’s Cut,” a sci-fi horror magazine anthology that gives a sense of some of the exciting creative teams and stories they will soon be publishing. Some of the writers and artists in the issue include: James Tynion IV, Joelle Jones, Mirka Andolfo, Jock, Brian Azzarello, Eduardo Risso, Scott Snyder, Francesco Francavilla, Becky Cloonan, and Tula Lotay.
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After the hall closed, we got our traditional meal and brew at Union Kitchen and Tap. Then back to the hotel for prep, planning and rest for our Thursday SDCC 2023 plans.
Part of our hotel package included tickets for free grab and go breakfast burritos each morning. Massive, but good to get a big energy boost for the day. Anita usually fixed us up with lunch sandwiches to take with us to save on food costs and long lines. And pro tip, if you have a pro badge, find the pro lounge upstairs for free coffee, tea, lemonade and a refuge to take a break, charge a phone, eat lunch or plan your day.
A Whole Lotta Panels!
Thursday was my big day of panel sessions to attend and it did not disappoint!
On Thursday morning (7/20/2023) I made it to the floor before going up to hit the big slate of panels I planned to attend, the major one being the Spotlight on artist P. Craig Russell and his scheduled signing afterwards in Sails Pavilion. I hit the back issue comics area with the single purpose of getting the Killraven graphic novel, or something else with art by P. Craig Russell for him to sign later that day. I struck out in my limited time to find Killraven, but did find Marvel Graphic Novel #2, ELRIC by Russell and writer Roy Thomas. Sold! Before leaving the Exhibition Hall I found Ron Lemen at his LEMENAID (lemenaid.com) booth to say a quick hello as he was setting up for the day. After hugs and giving Ron some postcards, I was off to my first session upstairs. Seeing Ron and Vanessa Lemen at San Diego is a big highlight and treasure each year at Comic-Con. We are as inspired by their artwork as we are blessed with their friendship.
Thursday Panels at SDCC 2023:
Adapting Stories to Graphic Novels:
Outstanding panel with creators talking about how artists and writers adapt personal content/stories, historical content or collaborate with others to create graphic novels. Hosted by the amazing designer and publisher Chip Kidd! On the panel were Joel Christian Gill (Stamped from the Beginning), Briana Loewinshon (Ephemora: A Memoir), Carrie Vaughn (Wild Cards: Then and Now) and Mattie Lubchansky (Boys Weekend).
This was an incredible panel for me to start off Comic-Con 2023. Moderated by the legendary Chip Kidd, who asked fascinating questions of the creators about their work, approach and process. Learning about their projects and how they research, process personal stories, or adapt fantasy fiction to create their graphic novels was enlightening. The panelists had a great variety in the type of stories they were telling with their work, so it was both informative and inspiring. I asked a question along these lines: “Since graphic novels and comics are a very intimate way of communicating with readers, how do they factor in the audience they want to talk to when they approach their work?” Joel Christian Gill, who teaches sequential art and creates graphic novels, spoke about depicting racial tropes that his graphic novel tackles and who he is speaking to and for. I’m not sure if a video was made of this panel, but if so, it is well worth watching.
Spotlight on John Romita, Jr.
I caught only about half of this panel, but wow! John Romita, Jr. in answering a question about Daredevil told a story from when he was a little kid. His father, John Romita, Sr., was a long time artist on Spider-Man for Marvel and was Marvel’s bullpen art director for many years. John Sr. passed away earlier this year, so it was an extra emotional story. JR Jr. and his brother were into sports and such and didn’t really pay much attention to what their father did for a living. When John Romita, Jr. was about 6 years old, he had a nightmare, and was scared that there were monsters in the closet and he couldn’t go back to sleep. Living in NYC, his father had a studio in the attic loft, and you had a pull down ladder from the lower floor to go up to where is dad was working late. Crying the boy went up, and his dad, busy at his drawing board, motioned for the young boy to wait for a moment. Then, father had his son look at the Daredevil cover on the drawing board. Paraphrasing here, his dad says: “This is Daredevil, he is a superhero like Superman, and he defeats all the bad guys. And he is blind” The young boy’s mind was blown, and he stopped crying as he looked at the cover, and thought about the blind superhero. Then he sat on the floor in his dad’s studio and drew for 2 hours, while his dad worked, and he was hooked.
The DSTLRY Live Draw
A start up comic book label, with an anthology magazine I picked up, and new titles coming out this fall. Artists Jock, Tula Lotay and Mirka Andolpho doing a live draw.
Mirka did an beautiful drawing while the others talked about the upcoming comics projects. I’ve seen Jock draw before so knew he would kill it. The wonderful artist Tula Lotay had some technical issues on the tablet she was working on, ended up with a nice portrait, but no time for Jock. I didn’t feel too bad for Tula, since she won an Eisner award on Friday night. I’m excited to see the creative work coming from this publisher!
Spotlight on P. Craig Russell
This was a major highlight of Comic-Con for me. Since I first saw his work in Epic Illustrated and the Marvel Graphic Novel, KILLRAVEN, P. Craig Russell has been one of my favorite and most inspiring illustrators. His work continues to transcend and motivate me in its beauty, storytelling and craft. Artist, colorist and scholar Jose Villarrubia moderated the panel with Russell.
In an insightful discourse with Villarrubia, Russell presented examples of his work through the years that he revisited to reimagine and/or improve on. Examples were artwork from Spectre, Marvel Fanfare (Spider-Man and Scarlet Witch), Doctor Strange, Sandman and Norse Mythology. Hearing Russell talk about his work and why he decided to change and improve on certain aspects of his artwork was a real window into his vision and aesthetic as a master artist and storyteller.
To complete the circle of my illustration pilgrimage, I went to the autograph session following the panel to meet my art hero. I had picked up an Elric graphic novel he illustrated for Marvel for him to sign. I thanked him and gave him some postcards of my own artwork. “Oh, this is quite good!” (Yes!) I asked if I could take a photo of him and he offered to hold up my artwork. Wow. I told him it should be a photo focused on his work, so he held up Elric with my postcard sticking out. What a generous artist. Thrilling!
A big personal moment for me during SDCC 2023: The P. Craig Russell panel and then meeting the master! I’ve been inspired by his art since seeing the Killraven graphic novel years ago. And his current work is even more magical and awe-inspiring. He offered some kind words on my work. Thrilling art pilgrimage moment for me! (A kind gesture I didn’t ask for: P. Craig Russell is holding one of my postcards along with the signed copy of ELRIC. Wow!)
Drawing with Dustin Nguyen
My last panel for the day was the last half of Drawing with Dustin Nguyen. Dustin is one of the most talented artists working in comics today doing traditional pencils and inks, and amazing watercolor illustrations. He was creating quick sketches as he answered questions for the audience and moderator. He told a story about working for Stan Lee studios, and other anecdotes of his creative work, all while drawing. At the end they gave the original sketches to some of the kids in attendance and took a large group photo. Very cool! One of my last purchases at SDCC on Sunday was getting his sketchbook in Artists Alley. (Got it as he was closing down his table..whew!) What a gem!
Thursday evening after our exit from the confines of Comic-Con we departed for an out of this world experience. Our daughter Sienna made reservations at a sci-fi themed speakeasy MOTHERSHIP. So fun, great backstory and the decor looked like a crashed spaceship embedded in an alien cave environment. Even the bathrooms were sci-fi crazy!
Friday focus on panels and the Eisner Awards that evening
Friday 7/21/2023 was another busy day for panels, but I found more time to explore on the exhibit floor. One highlight was finding some very cool prints by the artist Alex Nino. He is getting older and wasn’t there at the booth. I love Nino’s work and talked with his son about his father’s artwork. I also got to say hello to my good friend, and absolutely amazing artist Tony Guaraldi-Brown. Always wonderful to see Tony and see what art and comics projects he is creating. I got another great print this year. (My family got some more prints, too!) Also, late Friday afternoon, I saw the fantastic illustrator David Mack in Artists Alley and got a print and a graphic novel. Mack is great to talk to about art, so it was fun to share my postcards with him.
Spotlight on Lee Weeks
Comics great, Dan Jurgens, hosted the spotlight on the prolific and outstanding illustrator Lee Weeks. He was honored with an Inkpot award, very well-deserved!
Great session. Dan asked insightful questions, and Weeks offered up some rich detail of his influences, and storytelling approaches in his career as a comics artist. He talked about his early years in Maine, a friend whose uncle was an illustrator, and his experience in art schools, almost giving up until he got paying gigs. He discussed early days at Marvel and his different approaches to characters such as Daredevil, Batman and Superman. And in a answer to my question on influences outside of comics talked about a teacher that gave him a word of encouragement at just the right moment and giving him a professional contact. Influences also included film and music, particularly Jazz.
Later I found him in Artists Alley and got a breathtaking Batman print that Lee signed (see below). We talked about art, music and jazz after I gave Lee a set of my postcards. I had on a Silver Surfer #4 shirt with a BW version of the famous John Buscema cover of Thor and the Silver Surfer. He asked me if I liked Buscema. ( Hell yes…LOVE Big John!!!) He told me a story about the Marvel bullpen calling in the young artist in the 90s, and they attended a John Buscema workshop, basically drawing the Marvel Way! One tip, when drawing superheroes running, don’t reference athletes running, look at hockey players, because their movements to move on the ice are more dramatic, and makes for more dynamic poses in your drawings. And the Thor on my shirt – Lee said that basically John Buscema was drawing Mickey Mantle taking a big swing of the bat. The way Thor’s body twists ready to strike the Surfer with Mjolnir is basically the twisted posture of Mickey Mantle taking a big swing. I gave him some of my music postcards, and then we talked about jazz and Pat Metheny. He gave me some kind comments on my work. So great to meet Lee Weeks, wow!
Panel with Gene Luen Yang and Thien Pham
Graphic novel creators Gene Luen Yang and Thien Pham talked about their long time friendship, collaborations and creative support. They also discussed their recent work.
Gene talked about Disney adapting his graphic novel AMERICAN BORN CHINESE, and his many new projects. Thien talked about their friendship and discussed his recent work FAMILY STYLE, his graphic novel memoir. I saw Thien and Yang both recently at a special event signing at Flying Colors Comics in Concord, CA. (http://www.flyingcolorscomics.com/ ) If you don’t have it, you have to pickup Family Style. It is a charming, heartbreaking, funny and poignant story of a journey Thien takes with his family from Vietnam when he is a very small child on a refugee boat, to a camp and then to America, where he tries to fit in. Also I highly recommend watching American Born Chinese on Disney+ and reading the graphic novel. With a television series based on his original graphic novel, Gene talked about the changes, differences and story choices for the show.
The star of the panel, besides the comics work, was their friendship on full display. Their presentation was full of jokes, teasing each other, and sharing their support and love for each other as friends and as comics creators. This was without a doubt the most fun panel I went to. Their humor and enthusiasm was infectious!
The room was packed for the session, and on the exhibit floor the next day, Thien had a very long line at his signing at First Second Books. Great stuff!
Painting Quality Quick Portraits lesson and demo by Ron Lemen
Ron had three art instruction/demo panels at Comic-Con 2023. (Wow!) This was the one I went to. Sienna and Anita attended all three. Ron is an incredible artist and a wonderful teacher. He has the ability to give really important, valuable information to artists of all levels, making it fun and accessible. And he followed through by incorporating all of the approaches he discussed in a portrait drawing and into a 5-minute video of a head drawing that ties in all of the concepts he discussed. Ron’s sessions at Comic-Con are always some of the best each year. And for artists looking to find out what it takes or are looking to up their game, these are MUST attend sessions for all levels of artistic skill. Find out more at LEMENAID.com.
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When I was on the exhibition floor I did see some cool stuff:
35th Annual Eisner Awards
We attended the Eisner Awards, sitting in the back, and enjoyed seeing all of the nominees and winners. The presentation was stripped down a bit this year with fewer celebrity presenters. With the writers and actors on strike that was not a surprise. Unlike previous years, the Hall of Fame inductees were announced earlier in the day at a separate event. That is one part of the Eisners I really enjoy, seeing some of the top folks in the comics field get honored after distinguished careers. (I’ll have to catch a replay of the separate session they did.) The length of the main show didn’t feel much shorter, so I hope they reconsider this next year. So many deserving projects and creators were nominated and it was great to see all of those who won well-deserved awards. A big congrats to Zoe Thorogood who was awarded the Russ Manning Best Newcomer Award. One winner addressed some recent controversy that they said made their honor bittersweet. I’m no expert on the specifics, but hopefully this is can be a growing moment for the comics community.
My daughter Sienna and wife Anita were tired, so they left me to attend the after party. Rookie move on my part. I had a beer and a table at a good spot with hopes of meeting some folks and networking, but my phone was at 8%. D’oh! No way home if my phone is dead and no transit ticket! I found a plug on the side wall, away from most folks, but near a photo backdrop. So standing there leaned up against the wall, charging my phone I became the “Hey, would you take our Picture” Guy! With my phone charged up enough so I could access my trolley pass, I made my retreat. This Clark Kent vows to have his phone fully charged next year!
Here is a link to a list of Eisner winners: https://www.comic-con.org/awards/eisner-awards-current-info
SDCC 2023 Saturday 7/22/2023: A Series of Very Interesting Events
Shaping Comics
This panel with Comic-Con special guests was assembled to compare how comics were created and shaped in the past with how they are created today, and what the future holds. Unfortunately, P. Craig Russell was not on the panel as billed. He and the amazing letterer Janice Chiang were the two panelists who could really compare approach and process from the past to how it is done currently. Chiang shared some wonderfully detailed stories about how she started, how it was working early in her career, and what her process is now – going from all hand drawn letters, to using her letter forms to make custom fonts. Her approach to storytelling and how she relied on others in the process was the best part of the panel. Writers Barbara Friedlander (Romance Comics for DC) and Merrie Spaeth (Horror and Mystery titles for Gold Key, and also a journalist) had really entertaining stories of how they worked in the past, but couldn’t really speak to how things are done now. Although the panel was very interesting, missing the artist part of the equation to contrast the art process today vs. in the past was unfortunate.
Later in that afternoon my family assembled to catch the Dave McKean presentation. I joined them in the room and caught the last part of the Mike Mignola panel, and saw the passing of the room baton between McKean and Mignola. Very cool.
The handoff between panels: Exit Mike Mignola and enter Dave McKean.
Dave McKean: Thalamus
This was a total powerhouse, blow your mind, inspire you and make you think session with the master himself, Dave McKean! In about 45-50 minutes of slides and his narration on his artwork, his projects and approaches, he took the audience through his whole career.
At the end, McKean had very prescient and thoughtful things to say about the impact, craziness and disruption of AI. (The upshot is that it is not intelligent and it has no soul.) And he previewed his upcoming retrospective art book: THALAMUS. This session and the P. Craig Russell spotlight were definitely the highlight panels for me at Comic-Con this year. My wife, daughter Sienna, and I all attended the Dave McKean presentation. As we left, Sienna said that her brain was tingling from processing all of the inspirational and in depth art input! I’ve had the opportunity to see McKean on few panels before, usually talking about a specific project and taking some questions about his career. This one was transcendent!
Later in the afternoon, I found Dave McKean signing on the exhibit floor and got to talk with him more about his work, and on the disruption of AI. Got a couple of things signed, looked at a bunch of originals and saw an amazing limited edition set of silkscreen prints (8 individual prints) that were spectacular. We talked about his process of creating the art and separations for the silkscreen prints. Really wonderful to pick his brain and see the originals and prints. I really wish I had extra funds available for those prints.
Frazetta Legacy and the Future of the Frazettaverse
Another great panel that included the granddaughter of the late, legendary fantasy artist Frank Frazetta.
Sara Frazetta, and artists Bill Sienkiewicz and William Stout discussed his influence and impact on them and beyond.
They were joined later in the panel by the Dynamic Comics folks that are publishing Frazetta inspired comics, and also joined by a filmmaker, who has begun a documentary on Frazetta. They previewed about 5 minutes of the doc. That will probably be finished in a couple of years. Really excellent panel. Bill Sienkiewicz passionately talked about Frazetta’s work and influence on him and others. Bill Stout told a great story from his childhood about seeing a Conan paperback cover from across a drugstore that hit him like a laser. He was hooked and credited Frazetta for being the reason he became an artist. With the large number of panelists each had a limited amount of time. I would have loved to hear Stout talk at more length on Frazetta. I imagine he could do a whole session by himself on the topic. They packed a lot into an hour, so it was a great session to attend.
Saturday SDCC Exhibit Hall fun:
Some highlights of the fun I had on the floor on Saturday 7/22/2023.
One of my early stops was going to Keith Knight’s table in the small press area. Keith is funny and brilliant as a cartoonist, writer, artist and satirist, and is one of the best we have creating work today. His work was recently turned into the live action comedy series on Hulu “Woke.” I told him that by far he had the funniest line at the Eisner Awards on Friday night. I’m paraphrasing with Hollywood on strike, “the Exhibit Hall at Comic-Con has been so busy this year, that by Thursday the bathrooms already smelled like Saturday night!” I’ve been a big fan of Keith’s for many years and it is so great to see the success he is having. I picked up some of his (th)ink series of posters to go with others we have. This year I got four: James Baldwin, Muhammad Ali, John Lewis and Maya Angelou. I told him how much I love the series, and he said it is so rewarding for him to research and learn more about the important figures he depicts with portraits and quotes. I also picked up his latest book. His kids were there and he introduced me to his wife. Thanks Keith! You can get your own prints from Keith at www.kchronicles.com
Somehow I must have melted under fan boy pressure and didn’t get a photo of Keith.
I stopped by and said hello to my friend and comics artist Matt Harding, working at the ONI booth. Great to see Matt. I got him to sign a comic he colored and he pointed me to a new Sci-Fi Anthology Comic ONI is publishing and I got the artist to sign the comics. Thanks Matt!
I also stopped by Red 5 Comics to congratulate Jim Ousley on the Eisner nomination for the series he wrote Atonement Bell. It didn’t win, but the graphic novel collecting the series was selling briskly. I picked up a copy so I can read the whole story. It was also great to catch up with Alex De Luca. His Dragon Whisperer series for Red 5 is going well. In fact all of the copies he had of it were sold out by Saturday. Well done!
After the Exhibit Hall closed, we walked outside in hopes of having some brews on the Voodoo Ranger Pirate Ship, but it was closed. So we walked all the way back around to the other side of the convention center and ran into Ron and Vanessa Lemen at the crosswalk. We went back to the sidewalk and visited with them for a while. Saturday Night we were in the audience for the Masquerade (Cosplay) on-stage competition. There were 30 competitors with some crazy and amazing cosplay designs. Many of them had full on stage acts or routines they did along with showing off their creations. When the 30 finished, the judges needed time to deliberate. So to fill in the time (about an hour) there was a Jedi Light Saber troupe that did a whole staged Jedi battle story and then a Zelda storyline Dance Troupe that performed. Then the awards were handed out. Fun, but long evening. Below was the view as we waited in line to enter the show at dusk.
Sunday finale at San Diego Comic-Con
7/23/2023: For the final day of Comic-Con I reserve for as much time soaking in original art, and catching as many folks as I can in Artists Alley. The one panel I thought about going to had a really long line so it was a no go! Sunday is a no time to waste day!
I came across the great Jae Lee. He was busy working on commissions, and also signing prints. Who could pass up signed prints from Jae Lee? I got a set of 3, 1 for me and one for each of my daughters. Great way to start Sunday!
Comics great Adam Hughes was very busy at his table. I looked at some of his originals and picked up a Captain Marvel comic with his cover art that he signed. I told him how much I appreciated his stories and remembrances in the Dave Stevens documentary. He said he appreciated that. If you love Dave Stevens artwork, you need to stream the documentary. I also stopped by Keron Grant’s booth, killer work! I picked up a few things. A new discovery for me was the poster work of illustrator Kevin Tong. WOW! The MIles Davis poster in the gallery below was spectacular! 18×24 was just a little bigger than I could handle. Shoulda got it!
I had noticed on Facebook that the amazing Comics Super Couple Matt and Sara Harding were having an anniversary. They were both working at the ONI display, so I cruised by as they were both helping customers and yelled, “Happy Anniversary, Matt and Sara!” I guess I didn’t take a photo. Hopefully there is not on security camera footage somewhere that will haunt me someday.
William Stout and the Blues
At William Stout’s table I picked up a Comics Journal Special Edition (from 2003) that has an impressive 43 pages of content looking at Stout’s career. I have quite a few art books and prints of Stout’s, but this looked like it covered portions of his early work I’m less familiar with. So I was happy to get him to sign that for me. In talking with him, you guessed it I showed him my postcards. Bill is a music historian, especially on the Blues. So we talked about my music portraits and about his work. He thanked me for the postcards and then he gave me a copy of magazine with an illustrated article he also wrote entitled “The Godfathers and Godmothers of the British Blues.” So cool! Wow!
The Magic of Barron Storey
I stopped by Eidolon Fine Arts to see Barron and to look again at some of his originals. Barron was completely engaged and in the moment, sketching people standing in line near the booth. I decided not to break his magic trance. I had talked with Barron, and Ryan Graff, on Friday evening at the booth and picked up one of his graphic journals “Trumped” that he signed for me. I had also spent time with the master at his art opening early in the month at Ryan Graff Contemporary Gallery in San Francisco. (www.ryangraffcontemporary.com) So, it was much more inspiring to stay with the moment as it was, look at Barron’s art, and enjoy watching him create. I also snuck a couple of photos. Without interrupting Baron, I did pick up a beautiful sketchbook featuring the art of Joao Ruas.
Since returning from Comic-Con it was announced that Barron was inducted into the Society of Illustrators all of Fame. Well-deserved and overdue. Congratulations Barron!
What an amazing moment to observe. Another big highlight from SDCC 2023 for me.
More art and artists
I circled back to Allen Spiegel Fine Arts booth to have the influential and prolific illustrator and fine artist Kent Williams sign the art book I had picked up the day before. We talked art for a bit and I shared some of my postcards with him. He had a few questions about my work and he really liked my Joshua Redman Muse piece. Thanks Kent! One of the great things about having access to artists at SDCC 2023 is to be able to not just see their work, but have chance to pick their brain.
One regret this year: I should have spent more time looking at original art. Soaking in original pieces and seeing artist story notes in the margins, the faint pencil and blue line left under the ink, or studying the paint and technique is where the magic happens. With limited time on Sunday I only skimmed the surface of what I could have seen. Here are some examples in the galleries of some of the work I happened upon.
Illustration Greats. Also, savoring the originals of illustration giants at the Taraba Illustration booth is a special treat on Sunday! I didn’t take a picture of everything, but among the work I saw included studies by Leyendecker and several drawings and studies by Dean Cornwell.
And more original comics work…I think at Heritage Auctions booth, with auction estimates.
Then for the quick wrap up on the floor to say goodbye, when Anita and Sienna met Chewie. Family vacations are now being planned!
Sienna in the above photo has in hand her freshly purchased Peter Kuper print. Sweet!
In Artists Alley we bid farewell to the amazing artist and our fabulous friend Tony Guaraldi-Brown!
Thanks to Sara Wilkinson for snapping the crazy photo of Tony and my gang! During the Con we stopped by Tony’s booth a few times to catch up. There seemed to be a lot of folks stopping by his booth and he seemed busy. I got one of his great prints to join my Tony collection at home. (Check out his work at tgbart.com ) His next door art neighbor Sarah Wilkinson (www.SarahWilkinsonArt.com) looked like she was having a great Con as well. Somehow I didn’t get a photo of her, but I did get one of her Star Wars prints.
Earlier during SDCC 2023, on Thursday or Friday, I stopped by the great Peter Kuper’s table. I talked art with him and his recent projects and upcoming graphic novel. The recent library installation and project he worked on in NYC is leading into his next graphic novel. So exciting. LOVE his work and and I got a couple of posters from him. Sienna had also picked up a print. He had some kind things to say about my art. Unfortunately, I whiffed and didn’t get a photo with Peter this year, but I did snap the photo below in Artists Alley on Sunday.
Ron and Vanessa Lemen: My Art Pilgrimage is Complete @ SDCC 2023
And no trip to Comic-Con is complete without spending some time with Ron and Vanessa Lemen. We had been able to chat with Ron a few times and had attended some of his presentations. We did bump into them both on Saturday evening outside the convention center. Vanessa is busy painting for upcoming exhibitions, so was she limited with the time she was at SDCC this year. On Sunday, Ron and Vanessa took time during the busy final hours of Comic-Con to look at some of the originals that I brought with me. I had a few finished pieces, and also some of the sketches and quick pieces I have created as part of the Drawing Hive community. That was extremely generous and amazing. I really appreciated the feedback, questions and comments. They are such talented artists and such caring friends. Thanks Ron and Vanessa!
That’s a wrap. It was five days full of art and enrichment. My hope of sharing this here is that you’ll find inspiration, or something to explore or to research further. Thanks! ‘Nuff Said!
Chuck Todd, July 2023
Feel free to email me if you have any questions or want to talk about my artwork. chucktoddartist@gmail.com
For more of my illustrations and artwork go to: www.chucktodd.net
A Post Conference Postcard Post
I started with an image of me holding the postcards. So for a post credits postcard scene, here they are:
Chuck Todd Artist 