
This weekend marks the first-ever King Con, a mid-sized gathering of some of New York’s finest cartooning talents, based in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood. I’d recommend everyone in the New York and surrounding areas check out the event occurring at the Brooklyn Lyceum, if only to help support a fledgling community comics event, but of course my interests run a bit deeper, this time out: I’ll be moderating three panels throughout the weekend.
The first, set for 1PM on Sunday, is an examining of Smith Magazine’s Pekar Project, featuring the four primary artists, and, of course, our man, Harvey Pekar. Here’s the official synopsis:
AN AMERICAN SPLENDOR ONLINE: MEET HARVEY & THE PEKAR PROJECT: SATURDAY 1PM-1:50PM
Harvey Pekar’s been mining the mundane for magic for more than 30 years in his autobiographical American Splendor comics. Now he has teamed with SMITH and four remarkable artists – Tara Seibel, Joseph Remnant, Rick Parker, and Sean Pryor – to create his first ongoing webcomic series. SMITH comics editor Jeff Newelt and The Daily Crosshatch’s Brian Heater talk with Harvey & the artists about what its like for a legendary Luddite to go digital and the artists will each share their favorite working-with-Harvey stories. We’ll also be discussing Pekar’s recent graphic novel adaptation of Studs Terkel’s Working with Harvey and artist Joan Reilly.
On Sunday, I’ll be heading up a discussion about the state of comics for kids.
KIDS COMICS: SUNDAY 11AM-11:50AM
Remember that old cliche, “comics aren’t just for kids anymore?” In the era of grownup graphic novels and gritty anti-heroes, are comics for kids at all anymore? Join a new generation of cartoonist creating work with a youth-centric focus as they discuss the past, present, and future of comics for kids. Moderated by Brian Heater the panel will feature Matt Loux, Raina Telgemeier, Dave Roman Sara Varon, and more!
And last, but certainly not least, I’ll be chatting up the great Bob Fingerman on Sunday night.
SPOTLIGHT ON BOB FINGERMAN: SUNDAY 5PM-5:50PM
Alternative cartoonist Bob Fingerman has had a long and *ahem* colorful career. We’ll trace the artist’s career from his early days working for magazines like Screw and Penthouse, to his new illustrated novel, Connective Tissue and comic, From The Ashes. Along the way, we’ll visit Fingerman’s seminal book, Minimum Wage, his early sci-fi graphic novel, White Like She, and, if he let’s us, his stint as a writer for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics. Moderated by Brian Heater.
So there you go, something for everyone, right? Come out and say “hi.” Or, if there’s nothing appealing above, you’ll likely find me hanging around that 8-bit Gaming Tournament for the remainder of the weekend.
–BH