Months Late, Dollars Short

A bit behind the times, but here's a few pix from The Charlotte Heroescon.




It's Kevin Huizenga, of Or Else and Ganges comics! His blend of Cheeveresque suburban mythologising and Nintendorobic monster faceoffs has made him one of the rising stars of my generation... okay, my brother's generation of cartoonists. Here you can see him drawing me a sketch. Thanks, Kevin!



















Here I am with Tom Spurgeon, the Comics Reporter. Ever since he was editor of The Comics Journal he's been shaping my sense of how to grapple with art in a personal, even-keeled but incisive fashion.






Jaime Hernandez, one of the greatest living cartoonists, period! If you're not familiar with Jaime, go find the Love & Rockets comic book and get acquainted with his and his brothers' cast of characters. He was a joy to speak with; we discussed his roots in punk culture and how that shaped his DIY approach to comic storytelling. He answered my question about how he views Strangers in Paradise, a popular comic that I regard as little more that a tepid emo pastiche of Jaime's work (He sees the resemblance, acknowledges that SiP creator Terry Moore denies imitating Jaime, and shrugs). And...



he drew us a picture of Maggie, his main character!











And here's how I felt about that.

Photos courtesy of Laurie.