FanExpo Boston Wrap-Up

This past weekend Chris Robinson and I attended FanExpo Boston, we were at Artist Alley table A602, and it was a nice weekend. As stated many times in this Newsletter, I grew up in Massachusetts, so I was thrilled to return to the state for a comic con, and it was as lovely as possible. First and foremost…the weather…coming back to the Baystate in August…you are asking to sit in disgusting humid weather. The weather this weekend was perfect for summer.

Everyone who came by our table and got stuff from us, bought multiple items, and often bought from both of us. So shout out to the kindness of the folks willing to roll the dice on two comic writers on their way up in the world and this business.

There were multiple creators I got to catch up with for the first time in a long time, or meet for the first time period, and remembering that Chris and I have been a part of this comic book community for a longtime was refreshing. Especially after being editors, it’s easy to think that your accomplishments and relationships in a previous career are going to be forgotten about or destroyed like a sandcastle meeting a wave…but…that was not the case.

AND I had a number of family and friends from the area who made the drive up to Boston to visit our table which was so supportive and loving. I never post pictures of myself, but here are pictures of me from the weekend I like. The first is one with my dear friend Casey Dion, one of the best guys I know. And the second is a shot of me with my mom and brother Josh.

Also not for nothing? Every dinner I had was pretty terrific which is excellent for a trip.

I think Chris and I will be able to say what convention we are going to next relatively soon? It’s coming up soon so the second I can tell you, I will be shouting it from the rooftops because I want to end the year on a thunderously great convention appearance.

Birthdays

FanExpo Boston gave me a great excuse to come home to Massachusetts for a while. One of the reasons I wanted to stay for a little bit after the show? My brother Josh’s birthday is today August 14th. I have mentioned Josh in various interviews and Newsletter posts, but I am going to tell you a story that encapsulates the type of person he is: kind, loving, pure of heart, and absolutely tenacious in what he wants out of life.

This past weekend there were two large comic book conventions in the New England area. FanExpo Boston was the one I attended. The other was Terrificon in Connecticut at the Mohegan Sun Casino, which was STACKED with legendary comic book creators, and that’s the show my brother attended for two days. And over the course of those two days he brought his collapsable wagon full of omnibuses, absolute editions, deluxe hardcovers, and some important single issues and he met every creator he wanted to, getting signatures and sketches from them. Some of those creators he was meeting for a second or third time.

On Friday and Saturday I was getting a constant flow of pictures from Josh at Terrifcon where he was meeting folks like Jonathan Hickman, Chris Claremont, Dan Jurgens, Tom King, Mitch Gerads, Howard Chaykin, Walt Simonson, Louise Simonson, Jerry Ordway, Humberto Ramos, and more folks. He even met Galactus!

Josh’s joy was palpable with each picture he sent, he was having a ball. However, it wasn’t enough that he was having a great time, he went out of his way to look out for me too. Months before the show Josh asked me to mail some of my books to him, he was going to get them signed on my behalf. Josh knows that since I have become a professional I do not get things signed anymore for the most part, but there was people attending Terrificon Josh knew I would want signatures from. Chiefly comic book writer Ann Nocenti and comic book artist John Romita JR. So I sent Josh the first Omnibus of the Daredevil run they did together, and then a Daredevil omnibus I have that contains the story Man Without Fear that John did with Frank Miller.

Now we have to take a brief detour and talk about Daredevil. Daredevil is my favorite Marvel Comics character of all-time. I have basically read every Daredevil comic from the Frank Miller and Klaus Janson era onward, and there’s certain days of the week where I might tell you Daredevil is my favorite comic character period. A lot of this stems from the fact that when I was very young one of the first comic books I ever got was Daredevil: The Man Without Fear #3 by Frank Miller, John Romita JR, Al Williamson, and Christie Scheele. Now even though I could not read the words at the time, I could follow John’s brilliant visual storytelling and I was enchanted by. It made me a life long fan of Daredevil and comics. When I would go back years later and read the full-story, words and all, I loved it even more. I read the Frank Miller and Klaus Janson run on Daredevil, and just a few years ago I finally read John’s original run on Daredevil with the brilliant aforementioned Ann Nocenti, which has also since become one of my favorite comics.

I am also going to put my cards on the table and tell you that John is just one of my favorite comic book artists. He’s easily in the top three. A brilliant storyteller with a legendary work ethic and artistic output who has drawn basically every Marvel character at some point in time, has co-created his own awesome super hero franchise in Kick-Ass with Mark Millar, and had a stint at DC where somehow, by some cosmic gift from the universe, I got to be the assistant editor who worked with John on his two Batman comics there. The Dark Knight Returns: The Last Crusade by Frank Miller, Brian Azzarello, John Romita Jr, and Peter Steigerwald and All-Star Batman by Scott Snyder, John Romita Jr, Danny Miki, and Dean White. Now getting to be a small footnote in John’s career was plenty for me, it was not enough for Josh.

Josh met John Romita Jr at Terrificon. He got both of my Daredevil hardcovers signed. And then he tells John the story of my life that I have told you here. John was very charmed and delighted by it, he remembered me, but I hadn’t told him how integral he was to my comic book journey and existence. Josh is a great brother for doing this, he’s a legendary brother for what he did next…which was buy John’s last Daredevil pencil piece he brought to the show. Which he gave to me as a gift earlier this week. He gave me this gift, the greatest gift I have ever gotten in my life, the week of his birthday. Because that’s the type of person my brother is. He has a mighty heart. He is incredibly kind. And he is a great man I am proud to have in my life.

Happy Birthday, Josh, thank you for being you. I love you. You are the greatest.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation #9

This Wednesday, August 20th, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation #9 comes out in comic book stores everywhere. It features a story that I co-wrote with my dear friend, and legendary editor Andy Khouri, and the art was done by Vitor Cafaggi, who I was fortunate enough to work with earlier this year on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation #6. And…you may see some things that connect in the two stories…IDW was kind enough to give me the green light to show you the first two pages of the story from Vitor. I am proud of this one, I hope you will check it out!

For the next few weeks I will be here in Massachusetts catching up with friends and family, recharging after the end of a few longterm projects, but also getting ready for the future. Mainly, writing and finishing up pitches to send out for the late summer/early fall. I do not have a writing assignment in front of me right now, but I know that will change. I did a lot of work this year, a lot of great work, and I know that work will lead to more. And that I am going to fight for more.

With that being said even though I don’t have anything in front of me to write, there are still two issues of the New History of the DC Universe coming out featuring the indexes I wrote with Mark Waid, the aforementioned Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nation #9 coming out next week, Cruel Universe 2 #2 with Riley Rossmo in early September (more on that in the weeks ahead), and the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Darkest Hour hardcover with Esdras Cristobal in late September, so I still have plenty on shelves until we hit the end of September.

That’s it for now. I’ll talk to you next week.

Stay safe! AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN, JOSH!

—Dave Wielgosz