MOCCA CON SKETCHES

I only got three sketches at this years Mocca Con in NYC. It was an unusual convention for me as I ended up getting a lot of books and only a few sketches. The Con was MUCH better than it has been in the past. There was truly a lot of great work there. Among the highlights are the artists who did the following sketches, but also it was great to meet new and returning creators. One creator who's work I really enjoy and was happy to see was Charles Soule. I had met Charles a while ago at a convention and he showed me his comic "Strongman". We chatted for a while and I gave him some advice on publishing (not that I know tons, lol). Little did I realize that years later, Charles would be writing his own Image comic book! Charles is the creator and writer of 27 from Image Comics. It's a great story about a rockstar who tries to survive his talent and live to make it to his 28th birthday. Many famous rockstars (Jimmy Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison) have all died at age 27, so it's a really great idea to use historical facts and tell an intriguing story. Congrats again to Charles! Follow Charles on twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/charlessoule .

Another interesting creator I met was Justin Madson who writes and draws the webcomic "Breathers". Justin was at the convention selling the first printed collection of Breathers. I really loved this book and how different it is. Basically, the air outside is not safe to breathe. A virus has been unleashed and is deadly to humans. The story follows different characters within this world including one of which can breathe the air and not die. The comic is hosted online at Mtv Geek (and Justin was even interviewed by Mtv while I was there!). After I chatted with Justin for a while he even did a FREE sketch of Harlette from SENTINELS for me in my sketch book. Cool, huh? Check out Breathers at http://www.justmadbooks.com/ .
Another awesome creator I met was Agent Agnes. Agent has a really soft style that caught my eye and I got her book "Disconnect". It's really a wild read and is about a man who creates a robot that looks human. He slowly gets programming that allows it to began feeling emotion and making its own choices. I think in this day and age, it's an interesting idea and executed very well and realistically. I also asked Agent to draw something in my sketch book and let her pick who she wanted to draw. She choose Gospel in her look from SENTINELS Book 3: Echoes. Yes, that means there is a little nudity here. Please be of age to look at larger version. Check out more of Agent's work at http://www.agentagnes.com/ .

Still another creator who's work I really liked at Mocca, was Annie Wu. Annie was working feverishly on a sketch and it was the way she was drawing that caught my eye. Upon looking at her work, I really loved her style. Especially the way she drew female characters and their eyes. Annie was kind enough to draw this sketch of Alanis Munroe from NEVERMINDS for me. Please check out Annie's work at http://www.anniewuart.com/ .

Since most of my time was spent chatting with creators, these are the only sketches I got at the 2011 Mocca Con. In addition to these talented folks, I also got to meet a cool group of artists who put together a joint book called the Anthology Project. The book was beautifully printed and the stories were all great. So far, they've done two hardcover books and I eager await the next. Also, I got to meet Spike again. Spike writes and draws the hit webcomic, "Templar Arizona". She had the latest collection of Templar, Arizona there. I know I'm forgetting people, but since it's been a few months now since the Con and I am getting old, I can't recall everyones name. I appologize for that. The 2011 Mocca show really turned out to be a great show. I can't wait for next year and to meet even more new creators and see their work!