This weekend is the 3rd Annual Electric City Comic Con hosted by the Schenectady Public Library.

This is a great show for the whole family and it is free…

This is one of my favorite local shows and one that I serve on the planning committee of. Everyone should attend if you or your kids are a fan of comic books or just looking for something to do on Saturday.

This is a great chance to met some local creators but also see that the there are many kid-friendly comic books out there aside from what the major publishers offer, which tend to be more towards older readers.

ECCC Con Schedule: ARTIST’S ALLEY

Time: 10:00 AM-4:00 PM

Location: Artists Alley (inside the library)

Meet real comic book artists, buy their books, and have them signed! Visit all the artists tables and have them stamp your program map then turn it in at the official comic con table for a prize! COMICS COMMONS

Time: 10:00 AM-4:00 PM

Location: Outdoors just outside the main entrance on the corner of Liberty and Clinton St

Artists, comic book dealers, toys, podcasting, crafts groups and more! KID’S ARTS & CRAFTS

Time: All Day

Location: Slater Room

Pop on over to the children’s room all day long to make a fun and wearable piece of art! While you are there register for our popular Summer Reading Program! STORYTELLING SHOWDOWN!

Time: 10:30-11:30 AM

Location: McChesney Room

Three cartoonists…..

Three judges…..

Only one can rule them all…..

Audience participation (and prizes), Mad Libs, tons of drawing… what’s not to love?

Emcee: Gregg Schigiel

Artists: Alisa Harris, Crispin Wood, Shane Moore

TOM EATON: CREATING YOUR OWN ANIMATION

Time: 12:00-1:00 PM

Location: McChesney Room

Tom Eaton will show his animated short “Bug Zapper: The Birthday Bug” and demonstrate the “tradigital” animation techniques behind it. Great for anyone who wants to know how animation is made! PANEL PARTY!

Time: 1:30-2:30 PM

Location: Slater Room

You are cordially invited you to the Panel Party, where your imagination, storytelling ability, and art skills will be welcomed and celebrated. Simply put, we are going to have a blast making comics together! Warning: attending this party may result in you throwing your own Panel Party at home!

Hosted by Mark Mariano THE COSTUMER COSPLAY CONTEST

Time: 3:00-4:00 PM

Location: McChesney Room

Come dressed as your favorite comic, manga, superhero or other fun character. Winners will be awarded $50 Visa Gift cards made possible by The Costumer in different age categories including children, teens and even adults!

This year there are many first time creators and some returning from the past two years.

I am looking forward to catching up with those I met in previous years and gettting to meet the first timers.

First-time Creators:

Tom Eaton

Matt Lesniewski

Russell Brettholtz

Douglas Arthur

Eric Craddock.

Bill Anderson

Ryan Butt

Mitra Farmand

Alisa Harris

Crispin Wood

Returning Creators:

Gregg Schigiel

Shane Moore

Marcus Anderson

Jen Wojtowicz

T.J. Kirsch

Mark Mariano

The podcasters from the Brotherhood of Evil Geeks will also be there and local comic shop Electric City Comics will be at the show selling comics.

The following are some brief interviews I had with some of the new and returning creators who are going to be at the show… Enjoy!

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Tom Eaton: The Bug Zapper

As a new creator to the Electric City Comic Con, what about the Electric City Comic Con appealed to you?

I’m drawn to it being a fun, all-ages comic con. My graphic novel, The Bug Zapper, is geared to kids ages 5-8, which I think is an age group underserved by traditional superhero comics publishers (their characters seem more and more tailored for grown-ups.) And since the Bug Zapper has electrical zapping powers — the Electric City Comic Con is a natural fit!

What will you be doing or have for attendees to look at/purchase?

I’ll have my superhero graphic novel for kids available. It’s the story of a town full of bug supervillains and the one superhero who keeps them all in line. The Bug Zapper’s helped by school reporters Robert and Amber, and faces off against the likes of Mean Mosquito, Bumblebeezy, and more.

Also, at 12 pm I’ll be presenting Bug Zapper animation (including a 360 cartoon) and demonstrating how to make animation. I originally created the Bug Zapper as a series of ebooks and animated an extra scene to go with each story.

What was it about comics that got you hooked and what is it about the medium of comics that lends itself to encouraging kids to read?

I loved reading comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes in the newspaper as a kid — the funny writing and art together in a daily strip is so powerfully immersive. With strips happening every day of the week, you really get to know the characters in a way unique to the medium. The straightforward layout and sensibility of comic strips are a big influence on my approach to The Bug Zapper. Overall, I’d say the medium of comics possesses a unique, seamless blend of writing and art that draws in kids.

What is the biggest obstacle the comic industry faces in appealing to the younger / newer generation of readers and what do think is the best approach to appeal to these new readers?

Sometimes when you go into a comic shop, it can seem overwhelming — there are multiple titles for individual characters, and you might not feel like you can just jump in on the latest issue. Comics should be welcoming to new readers, full of good stories and fun art, which is what I hope The Bug Zapper offers kids.

In the last year, has the industry become more kid/young reader friendly, what steps can everyone do to promote the industry?

I think there’s definitely been a push to connect with younger readers, which is exciting. Great library comic cons like this one are the best way I can think of to promote comics! And it’s very cool that libraries carry graphic novels and comics now, and they have their own sections — that’s an excellent way for readers to try new titles.

Website: goodeaton.com/bugzapper

Facebook: Bug Zapper Comics

Twitter: @goodeaton

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Matt Lesniewski

As a new creator to the Electric City Comic Con, what about the Electric City Comic Con appealed to you?

Mostly the fact that it was local to me. TJ Kirsch, who attended the convention last year, mentioned that he was going and it made me aware of it. I had no idea there was a comic convention 20 minutes from me.

What will you be doing or have for attendees to look at/purchase?

I’ll be selling my creator owned comics and doing commissions. If anyone wants a unique drawing of their favorite character, they can come to me.

What was it about comics that got you hooked and what is it about the medium of comics that lends itself to encouraging kids to read?

I started reading comics when I was a kid. I’m not sure the age, probably 3 or 4, before I could actually read words. So for me, it was the art that first drew me in and hooked me. I’d read the stories sequentially by following along with the panels but couldn’t read. Shortly after, I learned how to read and I was really hooked. I think the same thing is what can hook kids into comics. Not only that, but comics are a storytelling medium and not a genre. So many people have that confused and I think once that confusion is cleared up, a lot more people will start reading comics and realize there’s so much more to them. Comics are just like movies, music, poetry, etc.

What is the biggest obstacle the comic industry faces in appealing to the younger / newer generation of readers and what do think is the best approach to appeal to these new readers?

I could go on for days about this. There are a number of things keeping kids from reading comics or making it so that they don’t even bother trying. For one, there aren’t that many comics being made that are intended for kids to read.

Let’s face it, most comics are made for adults or at least teenagers. Not really new readers. So one of the biggest hurdles is that kids might not have as much to read. Also, a lot of kids are attached to their phones/tablets and are addicted to apps or the internet. You could make the argument that they can use something like Comixology, but even if they were to put in the “effort” of downloading the app and getting some comics on it, their attention span has already diverted them back to Facebook. A lot of kids don’t have the patience for reading. I’m not sure how this could be fixed. Maybe parents can go to their local comic shop and get some comics they want to read for them. Then they can pick what they want and you’d get them reading. I’m just not sure.

In the last year, has the industry become more kid/young reader friendly, what steps can everyone do to promote the industry?

Honestly, no. Or at least not that I can tell. Comics right now isn’t really about new or younger readers, which is sad. Apps like Comixology help, I think, but I really don’t have the answer as to how to get more people reading comics. Comics are so niche at this point that I’m pretty sure people aren’t aware that new ones are even being made. It’s like you have to know somebody who reads them or, even rarer, someone who makes them, to be aware of them. Getting people into them is an even bigger hurdle. Sometimes it’s hard to convince someone the Netflix series you like is worth watching. Imagine trying to get someone into an entirely different medium they already probably have a judgment on. It’s tough. Maybe if comics were taken seriously as an actual piece of literature. Maybe they could read a comic series as opposed to a novel and write an essay on that instead. I know I would have loved that as a kid.

For more on Matt, check out my interview with him from earlier this year: Indie Creator Profile: Matt Lesniewski

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Russell Brettholtz: Sidekicks

As a new creator to the Electric City Comic Con, what about the Electric City Comic Con appealed to you?

I like that it is a free convention, completely open to the public. And I love that it’s at a library. Libraries are so important to a community, and for the library to host a comic book convention further expands the reach of comic books to that community.

What will you be doing or have for attendees to look at/purchase?

Available for purchase will be copies of my comic book Sidekicks. Sidekicks is a four issue mini-series about super-hero sidekicks who get sick and tired of being disrespected by the heroes that they work for and go on strike.

The comic book will be available as four individual issues, or as a collected trade paperback.

I will also have pages of original penciled art for the series available.

What was it about comics that got you hooked and what is it about the medium of comics that lends itself to encouraging kids to read?

I first got into comics when I was eight years old, and my grandmother gave me an Archie during a visit. I really liked how the words and pictures came together to tell a story in a slightly different way than books, television or film.

Comic books are great for encouraging young readers because of the artwork. It’s too easy for a kid to grow impatient with a novel. But the visual medium of a comic book, along with the slender balance of words in the form of dialogue and captions, keeps the book dynamic in a way they prose can not.

What is the biggest obstacle the comic industry faces in appealing to the younger / newer generation of readers and what do think is the best approach to appeal to these new readers?

The comic industry’s biggest obstacle is competition. Comic books are competing with video games, apps, and the Internet for the attention of younger customers. The best way to appeal to these potential customers is to do exactly what the game apps are doing: give them away for free. Free digital comic books are the best way to encourage new, young readers.

In the last year, has the industry become more kid/young reader friendly, what steps can everyone do to promote the industry?

I think the comic book industry has become more young reader friendly in the past year. More and more books (particularly among independent creators, but also at the larger publishers) are aimed at an All Ages audience.

As far as promoting the industry, I think conventions like the Electric City Comic Con are exactly what is needed. Free conventions at prominent community locations are a great way to encourage new readers to the industry.

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Douglas Arthur: Tales From the Dougside

As a new creator to the Electric City Comic Con, what about the Electric City Comic Con appealed to you?

Since I started publishing again back in 2013, I have been looking for more local shows to try to build my fan base here in my hometown. My comic strip Tales From the Dougside is more well known in the Buffalo area where it originated in 1988 while I was a student at UB. Last year I wound up doing another show in Lake George that was the same weekend as ECCC. It turned out to be a bit of a disappointment, but I kept hearing from people how great Electric City was. When I researched the show and saw it was solely focussed on comics (and not media guests) and was set in a public library, I knew this was a show I wanted to do. I am a big proponent of public libraries.

In fact, my mom worked at the Voorheesville Library for years. So the combination of it being a small comics-based show that was also helping a library was very appealing.

What will you be doing or have for attendees to look at/purchase?

I will have a variety of things between books, art prints, and original art. I have small quantities of most of my books left, which are priced between $5 for a 32-page sampler, to $25 for a behemoth 392-page compendium. I just published my 13th book, Pocketful of Crime, in May, so I’ll have plenty of copies of that, and I recently published a full-color 48-page book, We All Travel Time, with my brother Rick Arthur, who worked on the Ninja Turtles back in the day!

It’s a great throwback to the old Lee/Ditko sci-fi/horror comics from the 50’s and 60’s with some twists, of course!

I will also have about 5 different color prints of some of my favorite comic strips from Tales From the Dougside‘s archives, as well as original artwork starting as low as $5 for a postcard size cartoon up to $75 for a full-page of comic book style art. If I have enough room on the table, I will also have copies of some of my band’s CDs.

What was it about comics that got you hooked and what is it about the medium of comics that lends itself to encouraging kids to read?

I think this question would be hard to answer briefly, but I will try!

I can only really speak to my experience, but my first love was the newspaper comic strips. I was learning to read in the early 70’s and newspapers were an easy source of reading material in my house. I come from a big family ( I have six siblings), so my parents would gather us and read everything from Dr. Seuss to C.S. Lewis to Ogden Nash. I became a voracious reader at an early age with many trips to the local library to reload on picture books. Newspapers afforded new material on a daily basis. I was initially attracted to the comics page because of the drawings, but I was also scouring the rest of the paper for articles of interest. The most interesting stories were never on the front page! Soon I discovered that the library had books of comic strips, mostly Charlie Brown and Beetle Bailey, but I also found a few books that were histories of comic strips, so I started reading those as well.

My older brother brought home Hulk and Spiderman comics from a birthday party around the time I was 7 or 8 years old, and that was my introduction to comic books. I was hooked right away by the color and the extended stories. The newspaper strips at that time rarely, if ever told extended stories, unless they were drama strips like Mark Trail or Rex Morgan. Then in third grade, I stumbled across Tintin reprints in the school library, and I was attracted to the adventure and mystery of those stories as well.

I think smaller children are probably attracted to the colorful artwork at first, but a great story will always hook you, no matter what the age. Give a reader a great story, and they will finish it and want more. Harry Potter is a great example of this.

What is the biggest obstacle the comic industry faces in appealing to the younger / newer generation of readers and what do think is the best approach to appeal to these new readers?

As parents, I think we have an obligation to show our kids good reading habits. If we are reading for fun, they’ll be more likely to read for fun, too.

My daughter is 13 and I did all the things my parents did. I read to her every night, I took her to the library regularly, but these days she is much more attached to her phone, iPad, and laptop. She mostly reads just for school. So it is difficult. I will say, that I have taken her to Free Comic Book Day every year, and she enjoys that. She tends to like the original Archie comics, but those can be harder to find sometimes.

Comics used to be sold in grocery stores and pharmacies, and now you pretty much have to go to a comic shop to get them. I think the direct market and the monopoly that Diamond has on distribution has hurt comics in the long run. I think if someone can figure out how to get comics displayed at the supermarket checkout instead of the gossip mags, it would help the culture immensely and save the industry.

I do think, however, the very biggest hurdle is technological competition. There is much more choice when it comes to entertainment between video games and the internet and television. It is so much more diverse now. There are entire channels that show cartoons 24 hours a day, or you can watch shows on demand whenever you like. When I was growing up, cartoons were pretty much only shown on Saturday mornings on one of the “Big 3” networks. The ubiquity of smart phones and tablets makes these things more portable, so a comic book or comic strip has to really try harder to gain any kind of audience. I’m not really sure what can be done. Digital comics seem to be the way, but again, the competition from other forms of entertainment is immense. I’ve seen some comics that have added sound or motion, but I think at a certain point it ceases to be a comic strip or comic book and becomes more like a cartoon.

In the last year, has the industry become more kid/young reader friendly, what steps can everyone do to promote the industry?

I am not as much on the pulse of modern comics as I was in the 80’s when I was subscribed to the Comics Buyers Guide and The Comics Journal, amongst others, so I am not sure I can speak to how the industry is trending, but from what I am seeing first hand at conventions, there does seem to be an effort, at least at that level, to try to involve more of the family. I think the popularity of the current crop of movies and TV shows helps with that. I am seeing a lot more families including mothers and daughters, which is great! I remember when I started in comics fandom back in the 70’s and 80’s, it was pretty much the domain of boys and men. There wasn’t a lot of diversity in the crowds either, but that has all changed. Conventions today still skew toward the male demographic, but the ratio has changed dramatically from what I have seen, and that is a very encouraging aspect. I am also seeing a lot more people of color now, which, again, is great!

I think the promotion of comics as a family friendly form of entertainment, can only help the future. Kids who are exposed to reading for fun at an early age are more likely to continue that habit as they age.

I think another thing people can do is promote diversity in comics as well. Not just demographic diversity, but diversity of content as well. Superheroes almost always get the lion share of attention, but there are so many other types and styles of comics out there. When I was growing up, I was lucky enough to have a great local shop in FantaCo which stocked a lot of independent comics along with the Marvel and DC books. After a while, I started being more interested in those books. They offered me horror, science fiction, historical drama, comedy, autobiographical, and sometimes just plain bizarre and surreal. I became fascinated by all the different ways that comics can be used to tell stories. I think if the industry wants to survive and reach more people it has to give up on the myth that everyone loves superheroes and start promoting other styles of comics as well. Don’t get me wrong, I like superheroes, but they have a limited appeal to me now as I approach the age of 50. Diversity…it’s not just for demographics!

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Eric Craddock

As a new creator to the Electric City Comic Con, what about the Electric City Comic Con appealed to you?

Probably the close proximity to where I live, as I’m currently living on top of a mountain in the heart of the Catskill Mountain Region, and it’s a bit difficult for me to go convention-hopping nowadays. All the same, I’ve heard a lot of good things about Schenectady, and after getting the invite from the Head Librarian, I thought it would be worth the trip.

That, and it’s been several years since my last public appearance, and since I’m publishing regularly once again, I thought it best to start attending conventions. So this will be my first convention appearance in roughly 5 years (and possibly longer than that).

What will you be doing or have for attendees to look at/purchase?

Well, first and foremost, both I and Golden Bell Games hope to have a working prototype of a game that’s currently under development.

The game is called “Stone Rabbit: Duel Your Worst”, and it’s essentially a card battling game that’s based on the universe of my old children’s graphic novel series, Stone Rabbit.

Second, we’ll hopefully have Issue 3 of The Sunday Comics available for sale, which features my new comic strip series “Dinosaur Pirates From Galactic Outer Space”. Basically, the series is a fun comic romp, and a bit of a throwback to some of the comics and cartoons that I grew up with in the mid-to-late eighties, like Calvin and Hobbes, and Muppet Babies.

What was it about comics that got you hooked and what is it about the medium of comics that lends itself to encouraging kids to read?

Obviously, the visuals are what first drew me to the form, and later, the narrative structure once I went professional. The reason being is because there are some things you can do in a comic that you just can’t do in any other media or mediums.

As for how this encourages children to read, while comics are not exclusively a child-oriented medium, I do find that some of the content that’s geared towards children does help them tremendously in their early years as readers.

The visuals make the work far less intimidating to take on. As opposed to a prose book, which is page-after-page of wall-to-wall text. Second, the topics discussed are humorous or exciting, and because of that, it engages them much faster.

Bear in mind that adults already have a whole library of experiences and memories behind them, and because of that, we can find interest and excitement in reading material that a child (who lacks that experience, memory, or context) would find absolutely boring. Not to mention, children have far shorter attention spans than adults, so comics are a better medium for them as it offers more instant gratification than reading a novel whose spine can double as an instrument of measure or an impromptu door jam.

What is the biggest obstacle the comic industry faces in appealing to the younger / newer generation of readers and what do you think is the best approach to appeal to these new readers?

The biggest obstacle this industry faces is Fear, and I’ll explain my reasoning behind this.

Keep in mind that publishing (on a corporate/global level) is not about selling what’s on the page. Rather, it’s about how many bundles of papers are being sold. More to the point, physical units moved and digital units purchased. It is a business and one that has quarterly earnings, investor/shareholder interests, and overhead costs just like any other. The only difference is that this involves (mostly) artists and writers as its key employee base.

Now why did I say Fear, earlier? This is why.

There has been a standard working business model in place that has spanned for nearly a hundred years, as well as several generations. This model has remained a steady revenue stream for these companies, and because of this, they are able to continue operations and continue to publish books. The same goes for standard book publishers, except instead of superheroes or indie sci-fi, their model is that of “evergreen” books. Books that (regardless of economic conditions and/or fluctuations in market tastes) continue to earn money quarter-after-quarter, and year-after-year. So, given as how these models have created a constant source of business and a steady stream of revenue for nearly a century, why then would they choose to deviate from it?

Answer: They deviate from it when it’s no longer working for them.

Power Fantasy/Adventure has almost been completely taken over by video games, which offer more grit, horror, and action than any comic ever could. The typical children’s book has been replaced by computer-driven animation that offers their favorite characters in believable, life-like (or even cartoon-like) settings. Because of these leaner and meaner competitors now vying for their market share, the old model has become obsolete.

So (boiled down), the game has changed, and they need to change with it if they wish to continue playing.

“What do you think is the best approach to appeal to these new readers?” I think the real question being asked is, “how do they (corporate publishers) keep getting people to keep spending money on their books/bundles of paper?” And while I could write an entire book on that subject (and I may very well do so in the future) for now, I will say what it obvious:

They can give people stories that they actually want to read/spend money on.

Now, this does not mean excluding superheroes nor the Cat in the Hat. But what it does mean is to get rid of tired, formulaic writing, recycled themes, and plots, as well as the practice of beating a dead horse as if it’s a piñata filled with million dollar bills. Because if the last fifteen years have shown us anything, it’s that doing this has proven to be a very, very bad idea.

Instead, focus on writing stories worth reading. Compelling narratives that speak to our human side, and show characters that are not bulletproof (after all, that’s why Superman has kryptonite). Or, if not that, then entertain! Make content that makes people laugh-out-loud, or cheer for the good guy (or even for the bad guy). But make people interested, make them want to be interested, and give them a solid reason to follow these stories, as well as collect and purchase them.

Or, they can ignore all of this free advice and be taken over by their competitors in 15 years or less. Whichever works better for them.

In the last year, has the industry become more kid/young reader friendly, what steps can everyone do to promote the industry?

Although they still need to take many more steps, this is definitely a step in the right direction. Making the comicsverse more democratic and diverse (especially for kids) will only help to increase the overall readership (both now and in the future), as well as help strip the medium of its current stigma: that of being a “nerd” item (which, personally speaking, is absolute nonsense.)

If you look to Europe and Japan, you will see whole stores that sell nothing but graphic novels. The materials contained within stretch across all strata of subjects, audiences, and narratives. Some are historical, others are humorous, some are romantic, or action-oriented, or educational, or even serious political dramas. Thematically, it is just like a normal, ordinary book store, only its content is made entirely of Graphic Literature.

Cut to America, and there are stores that sell Graphic Literature here as well. Except 80% are pamphlet comics, and 20% are graphic novels. Further, most are back-issues and are from the Big 2 (Marvel or DC). Sure, there are other publishers that fill out the ranks, like Image, Darkhorse, Oni, and BOOM. However, their comics (for the most part) fall in line with the current models of action, suspense, or thriller material. And yes, there is the occasional licensed property that deviates from these norms. However, there are very few books beyond those properties that are original content creations, let alone follow in their creative footsteps/direction.

To put this into perspective, imagine walking into a bookstore if it was structured like a comic book shop today:

There would be no Kafka, Poe, Tolstoy, Cooper, Doyle, or any other forms of classic literature, and if there was, it would be shoved somewhere in the back and considered an “indie” book. Philosophy books would be non-existent, as would books on health, religion, history, and artistic poetry. There would also be no educational books, cook books, and very few humor books, except the collected works of writers from newspaper publications and a few from the internet. The children’s section would maybe span all of half of a bookshelf (if the store even felt like having a children’s section), and most of it would be licensed from works that are either in movies or on TV.

Beyond that, the remaining store space would be filled with books that are produced only by 10 publishers, 2 of which make up more than half of the store’s inventory and specialize in stories that feature muscle-bound heroes and heroines battling the forces of evil into perpetuity.

On top of this, most of the books there would not be available to read and review in-store, and instead, would be sealed away in Mylar bags. Also, the length of these books would not extend beyond 22-30 pages in length, and if they did, then they’d be considered “deluxe” editions. Only books above 80 pages would be considered novels, and they’d probably fit on one or two shelves in the back. Also, if a book went beyond 300 pages, then they’d just make another volume instead of making one grand tome.

However, there would be toys and action figures, but they’d mostly be from the 2 big publishers that specialize in musclebound men and women getting into never-ending fisticuffs for justice.

So “what steps can everyone do to promote the industry?” Answer: they can vote with their wallets.

Remember what I said earlier about selling bundles of paper? That extends to bundles of paper that are kid-oriented. So the more people there are that want to buy kid-oriented books, the more publishers will want to make and sell those kinds of work. Because, at the end of the day, it’s all about supply and demand. So if there’s a demand, then there will eventually be a supply, either by the established companies of the present, or the established companies of the future (which oftentimes are not the established companies of the present).

So (to summarize and conclude), where are things now, where are they going, and how will we get there? My answer to those three questions comes from Ancient Greece, and the Weeping Philosopher, Heraclitus of Ephesus.

“Change is the only constant.”

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Bill Anderson: The Trust: Silent Scream

As a new creator to the Electric City Comic Con, what about the Electric City Comic Con appealed to you?

The library setting, which I hope means that there will be plenty of readers. Also, friends that have attended the show in the past have spoken highly of it.

What will you be doing or have for attendees to look at/purchase?

I’ll be selling the first issue of my new comic The Trust: Silent Scream, and previewing work for the second issue, along with other upcoming projects. Also, I’ll have a variety of character prints available, as well as back issues of comics I’ve worked on over the years.

What was it about comics that got you hooked and what is it about the medium of comics that lends itself to encouraging kids to read?

When comics are done well, they have a vibrancy and a clarity that draws you right in, no matter what your age.

What is the biggest obstacle the comic industry faces in appealing to the younger / newer generation of readers and what do think is the best approach to appeal to these new readers?

Publishers not really having any idea how to connect with those potential new readers. A wider variety of subject matter.

For an in-depth interview with Bill check out the link about his Kickstarter campaign – Kickstarter: The Trust Book One: Silent Scream

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Golden Bell Studios

Hi, everyone! I’m Robert Gross from Golden Bell Studios. I’m the Chief Content Officer here. I work with all of our creators and directly with Marc Goldner, the C.E.O., and Rachel Korsen, the president of Golden Bell and our in-house illustrator and designer. Thanks for having us!

As a new creator to the Electric City Comic Con, what about the Electric City Comic Con appealed to you?

Being familiar with New York conventions, we were always looking to do Electric City, even last year. Marc, Rachel, and I are all creators ourselves. We first started out writing stories together, so any convention where we can meet people and experience the community. Personally, I’ve never been to Schenectady so just having the opportunity to see this beautiful city was motivation enough for me to come!

Outside of that, we’ll be seeing both new friends and old. We’re looking forward to having a great show!

What will you be doing or have for attendees to look at/purchase?

We’re excited to be showing Stone Rabbit: Duel Your Worst for the first time since Erik Craddock had pitched it to us so many months ago. I can’t say enough about the game. It’s an original card game where players can look forward to totally decimating their opponents, destroying their walls of defense built out of the heroes and villains of the wonderful Stone Rabbit universe he created.

The work Erik has put into the game has left us utterly speechless. It plays fast and fun, while also maintaining great depth with the variety of ways players can combo their attacks and keep up their defenses.

We’ll be promoting his other works, Corporately Mandated Space Adventure and Ultra School, too. We’ll have some of the children’s books we’re publishing here with us along with our freshman plush line too.

Mark Mariano will be here and we’re thrilled to be showing off his remastered version of Flabbergast and his children’s comic storybook, Claire Lost Her Bear at the World’s Fair.

Last, but certainly not least, we’ll have another issue of the Sunday Comics with a cover by Erik Craddock. Dinosaur Pirates From Galactic Outer Space is another story he’s publishing with us through Polar Press. It’s a terrific strip and I know readers of any age are going to love it. Let’s just say if you’ve ever had a troubling experience with finding a spider, then this is the story for you!

What was it about comics that got you hooked and what is it about the medium of comics that lends itself to encouraging kids to read?

Marc, Rachel, and I have talked about this together for a long time, especially since we wanted to do a full-color broadsheet newspaper! Marc collected comics and would even take me along with him to the comic shop. We’d trade issues and talk about our favorite writers. I don’t say it often enough, but Marc rekindled my love for this medium year back. And Rachel, well, she has the largest passion for Manga I’ve ever seen. It’s really infectious and she’s turned us onto so many stories we’ve never heard of. I’m really happy to see her everyday and just feed off that kind of energy. She draws from a really a joyful place, and I think part of that comes from the medium that initially inspired her.

Growing up, I’d go to the comic book shops with my cousin and go after the essentials. I first fell in love with vibrant art in the old 60s back issues. There would be trades of Amazing Spider-man with John Romita’s artwork and I was simply amazed every time I came across a cover or a splash page. But as I grew older, I was more interested in the creative process, and learning how these works of art came to life.

What’s so great about this medium is that kids can really fly through a book and feel like they’re inside the story, leaping from panel to panel in their mind’s eye. I know I loved reading even young graphic books published by the big publishers. It fostered me to read all sorts of other comics and books, so I’m a big proponent for children’s comics. I’ll also note that I think originality needs to be fostered as well. The big brands are going nowhere it seems, and sometimes they appeal to much to older readers rather than new ones.

With Polar Press and our upcoming children’s comics, we’re still very much hoping to continue our mission statement of growing and inspiring creative young readers with stories that help inspire kids to read regularly. And maybe they’ll even go on to write and draw stories of their own.

High-quality children’s content is not only important, it’s an absolute necessity.

What is the biggest obstacle the comic industry faces in appealing to the younger / newer generation of readers and what do think is the best approach to appeal to these new readers?

The largest obstacle? I think it relates to my previous thought. There’s a lot of congestion and saturation in the market. These barriers to entry, so to speak, have not only hindered prospective creators in the field but even new customers. Not to openly criticize the big brands out there, but the comic shop isn’t the only place where consumers can buy their entertainment. There are so many options for people. They can stay at home and tune into Netflix, or wait for a new book on their Kindle they’ve purchased well in advance.

Not only that, so many kids are consuming their entertainment from outlets like Facebook or YouTube. Send them into a comic shop it’s almost like entering the Twilight Zone from their perspective. There are some exceptions to this rule, but we want to think outside of the box that’s bordered this industry for decades now. I’ll always stand up and say that the audience out there craves good stories. I believe it’s been a part of the human experience since the first cave drawings. We want to make our stories as easily accessible for the generation growing up now and, hopefully, future generations to come.

The best approach we can take is to evolve with the market, and trust in a team and vision dedicated to uncovering the underlying truth to creative storytelling: that we are ultimately searching for ways to come together, not apart. The world comes at all of us with pressures and anxieties we face in our daily personal lives and that of the collective we’ve built as a society. Fiction, and plenty of written nonfiction helps us cope and understand the conflicts of our interior and exterior environments. It’s a two-fold approach. We will be there for the new generation as we march onwards into the 21st century, and we will dedicate ourselves to telling great stories with the brands we create.

In the last year, has the industry become more kid/young reader friendly, what steps can everyone do to promote the industry?

I will admit. I haven’t been too involved in following everything coming out of the industry outside of overseeing all the content we’re producing here at Golden Bell. But from what I can tell? It’s getting there, but it still isn’t good enough.

It sometimes feels like the kids/young reader market comes in third or fourth place in regards to the attention paid to it. You have Young Adult, Fiction, fantasy and science fiction, and plenty of products marketed toward millennials. Children are being underserved because of a conventional wisdom that they’ll fall in line with the rest of the crowd at some point. This doesn’t just apply to the comic scene, but it’s true even for film, television, and video games. Outside of a few exceptions, children’s content is repurposed and outfitted by the same companies around the clock; while new players are silently pushed out, in fear that they might lose their vice grip on the industry.

Steps everyone can take is to be more aware and to listen. Every convention we do we meet kids who come to our booth and we ask them what they’re reading or watching. The new readers are looking at everything from a much different perspective than we did.

They want something new and different. They’re going to find it. It’s about being in the right mindset, not only as a company but as creators and storytellers. People need to be able to adapt and change with the market.

I would walk into a few comic shops and find myself disappointed by the missed opportunities. So much more could be done to help kids grow and engage with each other in a community that encourages and supports them, rather than talk down to them and insinuate there’s only one path they can walk.

It’s going to take more than one year. It’s not going to be easy, but hopefully, we can walk down some new roads together. It’s an ideal dream, but one I know that rings true.

RETURNING CREATORS

Gregg Schigiel: PIX, Spongebob Square Pants

What was it about your experience at the Con last year(s) made you want to come back?

The set-up is always really great, Leah and the team at the library treat everyone wonderfully, and I enjoy the energy, enthusiasm, and openness of everyone who attends the con.

As a returning creator to the Electric City Comic Con, what have you been working on since last year?

Last year I’d only finished penciling my second PIX book, and now that book is out in the world, published by Image Comics (it was previous self-published)…and I’m still working on SPONGEBOB COMICS as well.

What will you be doing or have for attendees to look at/purchase?

I’ll have both volumes of my PIX series (the new Image edition of book 1, ONE WEIRDEST WEEKEND, and volume 2, TOO SUPER FOR SCHOOL), a new 11×17 print featuring Pix and a bevy of “graphic novel girls”, some original sketches…and I’ll be hosting the “Storytelling Showdown” challenge/game at 10:30 am, which should be a lot of fun.

In the last year, has the industry become more kid/young reader friendly, what steps can everyone do to promote the industry?

I don’t know if the INDUSTRY has become more kid/young-reader friendly, but libraries and schools have absolutely become more and more supportive of comics and graphic novels, and quite frankly, that’s where kids are and it’s where parents can see the value of comics as reading material. And now there are more and more library “mini-cons” popping up, which are great spaces for people interested in learning more about comics and graphic novels, and by extension great spaces for cartoonists making comics for kids and younger readers.

And the best thing people can do to support and promote those kinds of comics is to read what they enjoy and share that with others. And keep checking out comics and graphic novels from your local library. When libraries see those circulation numbers rising, they’ll get more of those kinds of books on the shelves!

What are you currently reading and what would you recommend that would be great for kids to read?

I’m at this very moment about halfway through THE INQUISITOR’S TALE, and I’m enjoying that, but that’s not comics, so comics-wise, I recently really liked SPACE BATTLE LUNCHTIME by Natalie Riess…I think Maris Wicks’ HUMAN BODY THEATER is a terrific book and a great use of the medium of comics…Becca Hillburn is a cartoonist who’s very passionate about comics for kids and does a full painted comic called 7” KARA that you can read online…and THE MIGHTY SKULLBOY ARMY by Jacob Chabot is worth a look; it’s very funny stuff.

You can see ECCC from 2016 with Gregg here: Gregg Schigiel 2016

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Shane Moore: Omens, creator of ECCC mascot Voltage

What was it about your experience at the Con last year(s) made you want to come back?

I had a great time both years. I really like getting the opportunity to meet so many new creators as well as the fans. ECCC is one of the most interactive conventions that I have been to. I love that it is free to the public, and will come back when ever they ask me to.

As a returning creator to the Electric City Comic Con, what have you been working on since last year?

I have recently finished issue three of my book THE OMENS. It will be premiering it at ECCC. I am currently finishing 12-page story featuring Voltage. It will be printed in an anthology later this year, but i will have a copy for any one interested in seeing.

What will you be doing or have for attendees to look at/purchase?

All three issues of THE OMENS as well as THE BELIEVER will be there. I will also have prints available.

In the last year, has the industry become more kid/young reader friendly, what steps can everyone do to promote the industry?

I hope that the industry understands that kids that read comics grow up to be adults that read comics. The best thing anyone can do to build up the industry is to buy the comics that they like. As a creator and a father of two, I try my best to make comics that speak to all ages,

What are you currently reading and what would you recommend that would be great for kids to read?

I’ve been reading WONDER WOMAN since I saw the movie. (the library has a great deal with HOOPLA for getting free digital comics of all ages. I would recommend looking around ECCC for all the kid-friendly comics for sale. I’m looking forward to buying the second volume of PIX by Greg Schigiel.

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Marcus Anderson: Cash and Carrie Book One and Snow Daze

What was it about your experience at the Con last year(s) made you want to come back?

We had a great experience at the con last year, as always. It’s a truly family friendly Con and the atmosphere is so positive.

As a returning creator to the Electric City Comic Con, what have you been working on since last year?

Two books that I contributed to in 2016 were published. I illustrated Saturday Detention, a 20-page story in Cash and Carrie Book One. Cash and Carrie is an all ages comic starting middle school detectives. It’s a lot of fun and I really enjoyed working on it. I also illustrated Coming in From the Cold, which is a story appearing in Forwarding Comix’s Gwen Anthology. I’ve been hard at work on completing the illustration for issue 2 of Snow Daze, the series that I co-created with Leo Faierman.

What will you be doing or have for attendees to look at/purchase?

I’ll have copies of all of the comics which I mentioned above, as well as a bunch of prints and original artwork. Stop by!

What are you currently reading and what would you recommend that would be great for kids to read?

I’m reading a wide variety of books when I’m not creating. I’ve been reading Deadly Class, Romulus, Chew, Kamikaze, and Mosaic. I’m really excited about the new publisher, Lion Forge’s brand new Catalyst Prime universe. Noble and Accel are two books that they’ve put out which I’ve been enjoying. I would recommend that kids check out Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Princeless, Lumberjanes, Heroes of Homeroom C, Malice in Ovenland, and Cash and Carrie Book One, which I contributed to.

You can see ECCC from 2016 with Marcus here: Marcus A. 2016 ECCC

Jen Wojtowicz will also be at the as a returning creator, her interview from last year is at the same link

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T.J. Kirsch

What was it about your experience at the Con last year(s) made you want to come back?

My experience was pretty positive last year. I was treated very well by the organizers and in general, a library is a pretty friendly place.

As a returning creator to the Electric City Comic Con, what have you been working on since last year?

I’ve since finished my graphic novel PRIDE OF THE DECENT MAN and wrapped up production for the book itself. It will be released in September and I’ll have a few local signings after its release.

I am working on a few short term comics assignments as well as a proposal for my next book, which will be nonfiction.

What will you be doing or have for attendees to look at/purchase?

I’ll have copies of all my recent books, and some original art and prints as well.

In the last year, has the industry become more kid/young reader friendly, what steps can everyone do to promote the industry?

The “comics industry” is slowly making some positive strides towards making material available to young people.

The larger comics publishers are trying to follow what librarians have been succeeding at for years – promoting good books young people can like and relate to.

But mostly they are interested in being in the movie business since that’s where the money is.

Smaller comics publishers are in it for the right reasons – to make art that makes people feel things. There are larger publishing houses like Scholastic Graphix and First Second which are the exception to the rule. They want to make great books and don’t try to compete with old tired methods. They treat their authors with respect and pay them accordingly.

The graphic novel imprints of major publishers – the ones I mentioned – reward creativity, whereas the mainstream comic publishers stifle it and make creators feel dispensable.

What are you currently reading and what would you recommend that would be great for kids to read?

Jessica Abel’s Trish Trash is a great YA graphic novel series.

T.J.’s 2016 ECCC Interview: ECCC 2016

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For more details check out the Facebook page: 2017 Electric City Comic Con or follow on Twitter at @SCPL_NY

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!