DALLAS COMIC CON--JANUARY 2008

The Dallas Comic Con is two-day, event usually held twice-a-year, and focuses on various comic book artists, writers, and publishers, as well as celebrities from film and television. 

The show was held on January 12-13, 2008, at the Richardson Civic Center. Guests included Shawnee Smith, the actress who played "Amanda Young" in the first four Saw movies; Ray Park, the actor who played "Darth Maul" in Phantom Menace and "Toad" in X-Men, actress Missi Pyle of Galaxy Quest, Dodgeball, and Heroes, Tony DeZuniga, co-creator of Jonah Hex and Black Orchid for DC Comics, Scott Kurtz, creator and artist of PvP (Player vs. Player), Terry Moore, creator and artist of "Strangers in Paradise"; Steve Niles, creator of "30 Days of Night" and "Criminal Macabre"; Cully Hamner, artist of "Blue Beetle" and the upcoming "Black Lightning"; Tim Bradstreet, cover artist of "The Punisher"; Brian Denham, artist of "Nova" and "Iron Man: Hypervelocity"; Sarah Wilkinson, sketch card artist for Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Spider-Man 3; David Hopkins, writer of "Astronaut Dad", "Emily Edison", "Dead@17: Rough Cut" and  Jaime Mendoza, inker of "Ultimate Fantastic Four" and "X-Men".

Even though the turn-out was much less than anticipated (unfortunately, that weekend was also the date of the Dallas Cowboy's playoff game with the New York Giants), the staff and attendees were extremely polite and a good time was had by all.  I had an opportunity to make some new friends (Like Terry Moore, Scott Kurtz, Brian Denham, Shawnee Smith, Ray Park and Tim Bradstreet) and even spend a little time with some of my fans after the show (see this month's letters page for more about my Korean dining experience with the Dallas fans), something that a rarity for me.

There was an excellent turn-out for my Iron Man:Then and Now panel discussion (see this month's Video Blog) with Iron Man: Hypervelocity artist Brian Denham sharing the stage with me.  Everyone seemed very excited about the two, new Iron Man projects that David Michelinie and I are currently working on for Marvel and I wasted no opportunity to throw in a shameless plug whenever the moment presented itself.

Speaking of plugs, a local entertainment newspaper in Dallas ran a small interview with me prior to the show. 

You can read it in its entirety by clicking this link:

CLICK TO ENLARGE

I'd like to thank Con promoter Mark Waters and his thoughtful staff for showing me (and my hard-working assistant, the Fabulous Sorah Suhng) a good time during our stay in  the Lone Star State.

Bob with Ray (Darth Maul) Park

Bob chats with Becker and Saw star--Shawnee Smith

Artist Cully Hamner flaunts it at Gene Simmons