Here’s our final wrap up on the 2011 Free State Comicon featuring photos, photos, and more photos. It’s been a week now since the event, and here at Kansas City Comics we’ve enjoyed following up with a number of the guests. We’re planning several future features and interviews that started with conversations in Lawrence.
Who did you meet at the show? What treasures did you buy from a dealer or creator? What made this event better than before? What would have made it even greater? Leave a comment at the end of this article to share your thoughts and memories of the 2011 Free State Comicon.
More photos and commentary after the jump.
There were a number of talented regional and small press creators at the show. It was great to see brothers Ed Bickford and Kelly Bickford sketching away. Kim Cotterell is the creator of Mr. Right, a small press take on superheroics.
Tara Avery is a Lawrence native who came in from her current home in California for the show. Tara’s alternative comic strip Gooch focuses on the humor and drama of sexuality from a bisexual, trans-gender point-of-view.
Kelsey Wroten is a talented young cartoonist who is currently a finalist for the ACP Cartooning Award for Best Comic Panel/Strip. She had paper copies of her newest zine, Jukebox #4 “APARTMENT.” The issue, which deals frankly with the raw emotion after a romantic breakup, is also available for free download. Details are available on Kelsey’s website.
Artists Buster Moody and Brian Koschak had a lot of work on display at the show. Buster is the colorist of the hit Image Comics series Screamland, which is co-written by former local Harold Sipe and illustrated by Kansas City’s Lee Leslie. Brian is a comics artist from Springfield, Missouri, who has illustrated Narcoleptic Sunday (Oni Press) and several Star Wars comics for Dark Horse.
Erik Lundy and Greg Smallwood are two creators who you’ll be hearing a lot more about in the future. Erik has returned to the area after a stint working as a producer in Hollywood. Greg is a talented illustrator who is currently drawing a project written by Ande Parks.
Hey, there’s John A. Clark in Green Lantern gear!
Damont Jordan and Arie Monroe were set up at the Elite Comics booth. Damont is a advertising illustrator and Arie is a prolific sketch card artist.
There were several representatives of Foxy by Proxy Revue burlesque troop on hand for the show. Racheal Major specializes in vintage style pin-up photography.
In addition to her work on Foxy by Proxy stage, Liberty Hollis is a painter. She specializes in oil and acrylic work, and her subjects tend toward fantasy and gothic themes.
Amber Stone is from Joplin, but that doesn’t prevent her from being a regular fixture at Kansas City area events. You may have seen her work as a colorist in Image’s Comic Book Tattoo, “Jackie’s Strength.” You should also check out her artistic contributions to Zombies vs. Cheerleaders #3 (Moonstone).
Bill Hook is an illustrator from Topeka. His work has appeared in the Kansas City Star and Scary Monsters Magazine. Look for more about Bill, Amber, the Foxy by Proxy folks, and many of the others above in upcoming posts.
To recap, Free State Comicon 2011 rocked!
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