Denver Comic Con – Colorado Grown Artists Interview

Taking on an interview with the Co-Director of Denver Comic Con Charlie LaGreca could be a daunting assignment, but adding to that session several of Colorado’s most creative and successful artists, Steve Seagle, the creator of Ben 10 and Generator Rex, a writer whose work has been on display in House of Mystery, X-Men, Superman, and Sandman Mystery Theater, and a partner at Man of Action studio, Denver illustrator and graphic artist Scorpio Steele, Blammo creator and Mad Magazine cartoonist Noah Van Sciver, took it to a whole other level. In a fairly relaxed environment located in the Daily Planet media center, smack dab in the middle of the Comic Con event floor, these Colorado grown artists described their convention experience, their influences, and their love for high school marching bands. Halfway through the interview, we brought in some girl power to the group when Amy Reeder, the lead artist for DC’s Madame Xanadu, Batgirl, and Superwoman, joined in. And as with any gathering of geeks, the conversation did get a little strange.

Steve Seagle DCC 2013

Project-Nerd: Well, how is everything going for you guys today? Is everything working the way it should be going?

Charlie LaGreca: Well, the Com is in its second year. It’s going very well. We have lines wrapped around the block. We’ve had to put out a lot of fires, but the right lines have over 16,000 people around the block.

About 1 o’clock, I walked around the building and the line literally went to the other end of the corner around the building (The Denver Convention Center is approximately 9 square city blocks).

Steve Seagle: And about 3 o’clock the line was down in Pueblo.

Differences from last year to this year’s convention?

Scorpio Steele: I’ve only been into two aisles so far. I haven’t had the chance to get around yet. I don’t know what this means but I’ve already made money before we even opened.

CL: Guess the staff is shopping.

Noah Van Sciver: The indie presence is much better this year.

CL: I worked hard on that.

NVS: There’s a lot a great indie artists here this year, definitely more independent.

Scorpio Steele DCC 2013

PN: Artists Alley is enormous.

CL: 250 artists. I really made a choice. I wanted a huge number of independent comics, but I knew we couldn’t base the Com solely on comics alone. We had a successful year last year. So I really had to step up, so I asked my friends to help me out to get people who are really great.

NVS:The whole show last year we thought would be small and it turned out to be huge. This year turned out that everything just doubled – twice as many cool artists, twice as many cool booths, and twice as much floor space. Probably twice as many people showing up.

SS: Yeah, the news has defiantly gotten out about how successful last years convention was, and obviously we’re seeing it right now with the lines being as enormous as they are.

CL: Our website crashed last night – 1.6 million views.

Amy Reeder arrives and joins us, sitting in the Perry White chair at the head of the group

Amy Reeder DCC 2013

PN: So who are your influences?

Amy Reeder: I’ve been told I have a sort of manga influence. I don’t know who said that I imitated him but I’m a big fan of Ross Campbell. There might be some of that in there. I hope I can convey that influence.

CL: Ross Campbell is sort of an unsung hero. He’s great.

SS: Jim Sorrento. I got really excited to meet him .David Lynch, Nicolas Rose. I will leave it at that for now.

NVS: Robert Crumb, Dan Clowes – those are the big ones.

CL: My influences? There’s a children book, Frances and “something”, those were a big influence on me. Calvin and Hobbes, that was a big influence.

SS: I just try to bring weird shit into comics. I like drum and bugle corps, and Denver is the home of the Blue Knights and they did a really cool show last year. I’d love to put that into a comic. Not sure how to turn that into a comic book. I go to museums all the time.

CL: Yeah it’s really cool through sitting with here with people from Colorado who have gone on to do really great things. What high schools did everyone go to?

AR: Northglenn High School.

SS: Ahhh, you are my marching band adversary.

AR: Yeah. We won the World Championship. Yeah, the theme was Waterworld that year, like the movie Waterworld.

CL: Skyview and Highland. Wolverines!

SS: Coronado in the Springs.

CL: So what you do in marching band.

SS: Drum major.

CL: You wore the outfit didn’t you?

SS: I still have it.

CL: I have a band jacket here with me right now.

SS: Mine’s in L.A.

CL: I’ll wear mine tomorrow.

Noah Van Sciver DCC 2013

PN: Any final words? Anything you have planned in the future?

SS: I am co-writing and drawing a comic called The Adventures of Mr. Tompkins. The original writer is the son of George Gamma, who was a theoretical physicist back in 1966. He created a character, Tompkins, kind of an everyman character. That’s what I’ve been working on. Also, I have been working on my own stuff at www.scorpiosteel.com. And am working on a graphic novel that will come out someday.

AR: Yeah, I got something to say: I got a Kickstarter going on, which ends about next week that’s important. I’m working on a series called Rocket Girl and that’s about cop in the future that goes back to 1980 with a rocket pack. That comes out in the fall, but the stick Kickstarter a currently going on. It’s an ongoing series. It’ll be hard, but it’ll be fun. I’m really excited, the process is awesome

NVS: I’m doing a book called Punks Versus Lizards. It’s all about punk rockers fighting giant lizards. That’s it, that’s the whole thing.

CL: I haven’t done any comic books lately because been working on something else but I have been doing illustrations for other projects.

SS: My group “Men of Action” does cartoons, so we have Ben 10, we have Marvel’s Avengers Assembled, Marvel’s Ultimate Spiderman. We have a new show called Seven Seas going into production. It’s about kids trapped in the Bermuda Triangle trying to get out. We got her reprint of a comic I did in Colorado called Kafka, and then a book called Geniuses.

CL: I’m coming out with a book called Lizards versus Punk Rockers.

NVS: I have a book coming out called Charlie Versus Noah.

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