Tag: Comic Art

Pop Culture Squad > Comic Art
Spotlight Interview with Comic Artist and Colorist, Christopher Sotomayor

Spotlight Interview with Comic Artist and Colorist, Christopher Sotomayor

Posted on by Bob Harrison
Art by Cowan, Sienkiewicz, and Sotomayor

Earlier this year, we were lucky enough to sit down and talk comic with comic artist and colorist Chris Sotomayor. You have been seeing his “Soto” signature on comics from many different publishers for a couple of decades now. He is a native New Yorker who has made his mark in the field that fuels his passion.

He has worked for Marvel and DC quite a bit. Most recently he was doing the colors on Batman Beyond, Supergirl, and The Wailing Blade among other things.

He is also currently doing the colors on the recently release DC Black Label mini-series The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage. It is written by Jeff Lemire with art by Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz. Issue #1 comes out today, so go get it after you read this interview.

Chris is part of the faculty of Comics Experience and teaches online courses in comic coloring, for beginners and pros.

In this interview, we talk about how he got his start, his process, and his heroes.

Pop Culture Squad: Did you always know you wanted to work in comics?

Chris Sotomayor: Oh yeah! Since I was about five years old and watching the old 1966 Batman reruns on Channel 11. I just used to watch that all the time, and I loved Robin. I thought he was badass because he was younger like me. So, I really got into it.

Since that show, I used to draw Batman, and my parents used to buy me a comic book every once in awhile. I knew I wanted to be comics, and I was hoping to draw them especially when I found out that people drew them. Then, I found out that people drew them and made a living. I was like, “Wow! That is the awesomest thing ever.” Continue reading “Spotlight Interview with Comic Artist and Colorist, Christopher Sotomayor” →

Pop Culture Squad was at Baltimore Comic-Con 2019 and it was a BLAST!

Pop Culture Squad was at Baltimore Comic-Con 2019 and it was a BLAST!

Posted on by Bob Harrison

The weekend of October 18 – 20, 2019 was the twentieth anniversary celebration of Baltimore Comic-Con. It is consistently one of our favorite conventions of the year. That is a sentiment that is shared by visitors, invited guests, and exhibitors alike.

A consistent refrain you will hear is that it is a “comic book convention that is about comics”. The vendors and guests are heavily weighted toward the comics side of fandom. The show is sponsored by Cards, Comics and Collectibles in Reisterstown, Maryland, and there is a very family-like atmosphere to the event. It is not easy to pull off an event of this magnitude as an independent convention. Marc and Shelly Nathan, the showrunners, put their heart and soul into this weekend, as do all the people who work on planning, logistics, and making sure everyone has a blast.

This is the sixth time that I have attended this convention, and it never disappoints.

Location

The convention was held at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, MD. It is located across the street from Oriole Park at Camden Yards in the heart of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. There is a light rail station across from the Convention Center, and there is also a ton of parking garages in easy walking distance to the event.  The convention partners with Parking Panda to provide easy access to pre-paid parking from its website.

The convention floor was an easy escalator ride down from the main entrance, and the programming panel rooms were one flight up. Continue reading “Pop Culture Squad was at Baltimore Comic-Con 2019 and it was a BLAST!” →

Continued After the Next Page 007: On George Perez’s Retirement…

Continued After the Next Page 007: On George Perez’s Retirement…

Posted on by Bob Harrison

If you have read the previous posts in this column, you will know that I am a child of the 80’s. I began my love for comics when the two biggest selling series were Uncanny X-Men and New Teen Titans. The New Teen Titans was the most influential comic series on me as a child. Hell, my best friend, and current tattoo artist, painted the Titans Tower portraits for my Bar Mitzvah party.

With that bit of background, it is easy to understand why George Perez is the first comic book artist that I fell in love with. My sister, who I am betting has read maybe two comic books in her life (only because I forced her), even knows who George Perez is. There are so many fantastic artists in the medium. Too many to name. But George tops them all for me. He is my paragon. In adulthood, I have gained appreciation for those who came before him. As a youngster, I didn’t understand Kirby or Ditko the way that I did Perez. Adams was too melodramatic for me. George Perez’s tight lines and dynamic action scenes where what I expected comics to be.

Recently, Mr. Perez announced that 2019 will be his last year on the comic convention circuit, and he will essentially retire from making new comics. These decisions are due to the toll that health issues have taken on him. We are terribly sad to hear that he has come to this place at such a young age. Mike Gold has become the de facto eulogizer around Pop Culture Squad headquarters. Thankfully, George is still with us, and therefore, I will take a shot a living tribute in this post.

Continue reading “Continued After the Next Page 007: On George Perez’s Retirement…” →