The Valentines State’s first comic con of the year wrapped up over the romantic weekend. Jimmy Jay, Amazing Arizona Comic Con organizer, didn’t let a hallmark holiday get in the way of putting on his three-day annual comic book convention on Friday, Feb. 13 through Sunday, Feb. 15. The event kicked off with an intimate panel with Spawn Creator Todd McFarlane and the New York Times best selling Batman artist, Greg Capullo. They signed someone’s baby.
Capullo was a selfie machine and gave the fans what they wanted. God bless him.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to attend the event until the last day because I was under the weather. Sunday was not uneventful to say the least. The line of eager con goers to buy their tickets around noon on the last day is always a good sign. The con was located at the south Phoenix Convention Center building.
Flash, Superman, and Captain Marvel. Photo by Henry Barajas.
The event hosted approximately 89 exhibitors and 144 creatives in artist alley. Jay expects that he beat last year’s attendance record of 25,000, but didn’t have the final numbers.There was a laundry list of legends like Steve McNiven, George Perez, Adam Kubert, Mark Bagley, Kevin Eastman, Herb Trimpe, and Steve Epting. Sadly, there weren’t any female guests of honor except Nei Raffino. I hope there’s a little more diversity in next year’s line-up. All the guests seemed to have done well and appreciated the hospitality. One of the guests said he was amazed by the talent that were invited, and the response from the fans was overwhelming. The only “Hollywood” characters that had a big presence were the Power Ranger actors, but they seemed like real sweethearts and approachable folks. None of them seemed like cold-blooded-killers.
Deadpool aka Rob Liefeld Panel. Photo by Henry Barajas.
With recent Deadpool news, you could have nicknamed his con “Deadpool Con” with all the prints and cosplayers at AACC. Deadpool creator, Rob Liefeld, was on cloud nine and loving all the support from the fans. His Sunday panel was standing room only. Liefeld jumped off the stage, broke the fourth wall, and started taking questions from the audience by handing them the microphone individually. This is Rob’s fifth AACC appearance and doesn’t intend on missing a single show as long as it doesn’t land on a government holiday.
Wasp. Photo by Henry Barajas.
Some of the lower level, lesser known comic book creators might have been a little overshadowed, according to some of the folks behind their booths. A majority of the unknown creators I spoke with didn’t make the profit they were hoping for, but networking with some of their favorite creators made up for the loss. Some of the creators that exhibited at the Phoenix Comicon Fan Fest that that took place in December were glad they did both shows. It seems that Fan Fest was strategically planned to compete with the AACC, but Jay says it didn’t affect him. There’s a silent con war going on and both sides are pretty classy about it.
Another complaint that I heard from the artists was how loud the announcements were echoing through the intercom. It was hard to have a conversation while panel reminders were being announced.
Harley Quinn. Photo by Henry Barajas.
Still, there were a few bumps at the event. I have never had a negative experience at this show until now. Mike Olivares, Tucson Comic –Con director, was assisting Travis Hanson at his booth, so I went over to talk to Olivares about the upcoming Tucson Con and small press expo he’s organizing in the spring. While we were discussing the good old days, I noticed a large canvas with Bruce Timm’s artwork on it; obviously, it was not an original, and there was a $200 price tag.
Bruce Timm art printed on a canvas with a $200 price tag.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Instead of going the traditional route, take some pictures and post it on Bleeding Cool, I decided to question the people at the booth about this canvas. There were four guys sitting at the table selling prints that featured everyone’s favorite super heroes (Batman, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America, ect.) by various artists in the Philippines, according to Aaron Luevanos. The table was labeled HeroicFineArt.com #816. I asked them if that Timm piece was an original. One of them said no. The next logical question was: Does Bruce Timm know you’re printing his art on a canvas and charging $200? Luevanos and the group said that it was taken from a Timm original (apparently, they owned the original art) that was back in Texas. I asked how does that give them the right to print his art on a canvas and sell it for $200 just because they have the original. I couldn’t get a clear answer, so I had to walk away because I didn’t want to cause a scene.
Here’s some fan art that was for sale at the HeroicFineArt.com #816 booth.
Eventually, I came back (after letting off some steam) to get some names. Luevanos handed me his phone so I can talk to his attorney, Cesar Garcia, read on the iPhone screen, about the matter. The counselor asked me what was going on so I told him I was merely asking his client why is he selling art at his table that isn’t his, the lawyer said he had nothing to say, so I handed the phone back to Luevanos.
Yes. The same Aaron Luevanos that owns Capital City Comic Con. The same Capital City Comic Con that had that “Everything’s bigger in Austin!” Powergirl campaign everyone loved so much. Not.
Luevanos said he wasn’t selling the piece and it was his friend, Mark William. William took the blame and said he owned the art. Apparently, Luevanos had no idea it was there because he left his booth for five hours. I was baffled because I now know this guy runs a con and he was all of a sudden unaware the piece was at HIS booth. Some spectators said I was too hard on the guy and I was being a “hard ass.” I disagreed and pointed out that an artist the next row over caught a colorist that swiped his art and was selling the piece —recolored— in the same row when the con started, according to Olivares and Jay. Luevanos decided to remove Timm’s artwork from display to shut me up, and to avoid getting his lawyer involved.
We shook hands, eventually.
I left to thank Jay for the press pass and explain what happened. Jay asked one of his managers to escort me to the booth and point out where this happened so they can take care of it. Luevanos was more upset at this point and said I was harassing him. But I was just trying to make sure I did my due diligence so this wasn’t a complete shock to Jay and his con staff. I couldn’t take much more of Luevanos, so I left the con and headed back to Tucson. I’m confident that Jay and his staff resolved the matter, and I’m sure I’ll be hearing from Luevanos’ “legal counsel.”
I won’t let this altercation define my AACC experience. Phoenix is a big city and could use the con war/competition. Gives everyone another reason to cosplay visit Phoenix in the winter. The high was 85 degrees for crying out loud.
Anyone who has ever worked with Fernando Ruiz or benefitted from his teaching skills knows what a seriously impressive contributor he is to the future of comics. From his personal work as writer and artist on ARCHIE comics and a range of other freelancing projects to the intense mileage he puts in as an instructor at The Kubert School training young artists, Ruiz is all about comics. His own passion for the medium bleeds through every aspect of his life and erupts into casual conversation, whether he’s flipping through large format reproductions of the art of Wally Wood or he’s reflecting on the life of one of his personal heroes, the much-missed Joe Kubert whose presence is still felt daily at the school he founded.
[Fernando Ruiz in front of some of his ARCHIE work at the Kubert School]
I had the good fortune to make Ruiz’s acquaintance when I enrolled in some evening classes at the Kubert School and got to witness his virtuosity as a teacher first-hand. From the solid instruction in basic art techniques to student-prodded asides into the vastnesses of comics history, Ruiz displayed his trademark versatility in all aspects of the medium. Delving into his portfolio, particularly, is bound to prompt stunned silence as his sketches vault between styles and genres with a flexibility that seems almost impossible. If it weren’t for his engaging demeanor and unassuming attitude, his students would probably slink away quietly, intimidated by his abilities as an artist. The two sides of his life, private work and public teaching, are clearly driven by an overwhelming commitment to comics, matched only by his work ethic. I knew it wouldn’t be the easiest thing to get Ruiz to talk about his life and work, since he’s a modest person, but thankfully he agreed to field a few questions for us at The Beat.
Hannah Means-Shannon: I know that you attended the Kubert School and now teach there. What courses do you teach and how long have you been teaching?
Fernando Ruiz: I was invited to teach at the Kubert school in August of 1995. I’d graduated from the school a year earlier in 1994. I started by teaching the school’s Saturday Morning Sketch class, which is largely teaching cartooning to little kids. In 1996, I joined the full time faculty teaching during the week. Over the years, I’ve taught many different classes including Story Adaptation, Design, and Human Figure Drawing. Currently, I’m teaching Narrative Art to all of the First Year students and Basic Drawing to the Second Year students. In addition, I’m also teaching the school’s evening Basic Drawing class and after all these years, I’m still teaching that same Saturday morning class.
HM-S: What do you think are the most essential qualities for someone teaching aspiring comics artists?
FR: Obviously a certain amount of proficiency and knowledge in the area you are teaching is required. Beyond that, a teacher needs patience, flexibility and imagination in order to deal with the particular situation each student might present. Communication skills are also important. It’s not enough to be able to do what you are teaching. You have to be able to clearly explain what you are doing and verbalize it in such a way that your explanation is understandable to a beginner.
HM-S: What’s the most challenging thing about teaching aspiring comics artists?
FR: Each student is an individual and can represent a unique situation. It can be a challenge to gauge a class’ proficiency and tailor my curriculum to my students’ needs.
HM-S: What projects are you working on as an artist currently? What projects are you most excited about right now?
FR: Currently, I am penciling the LIFE WITH ARCHIE magazine for Archie Comics. This is a fun project in which Archie and his friends are adults and Archie is married to Veronica. The stories are serialized in a soap opera-like style and written on a more sophisticated level than your average ARCHIE story with more mature themes and sometimes very shocking twists. In recent issues, we’ve seen Archie’s gay friend, Kevin Keller, get married, his partner get shot, and Archie and Veronica very nearly get divorced! It’s a very crazy ride.
Recently, I took over as regular penciler for the U.S. Army’s PS Magazine. This is a magazine that has been worked on by Will Eisner, Murphy Anderson, and Joe Kubert. I’m very honored to follow them with this assignment.
In addition, I’m currently penciling a story for Image Comics’ HOAX HUNTERS. This is a short back-up story that will appear in their next trade paperback. It’s a different type of story than I usually work on so it’s a lot of fun and exciting.
[Ruiz draws The Avengers]
HM-S: How did you decide to become an artist? What influenced you to attend the Kubert School?
FR: I’ve always enjoyed drawing, comic books, and cartoons. I read comics from a very early age and almost immediately made my own with crayons and notebook paper! As I grew older, I knew I wanted to try for a career in comics but I wasn’t sure how practical or feasible that was. I attended Caldwell College in Caldwell, NJ where I became a Fine Arts major. After graduating, though, I was still attracted to the world of comics. I really wanted to give it a shot. I learned a lot about the fundamentals of art at Caldwell, but I didn’t feel I knew enough about the technical aspect of producing commercial art suitable for reproduction. This led me to enroll at the Kubert School, the best learning institution around for comic book art.
[Ruiz draws The Ultimates]
HM-S: What comics have you found inspirational in your work? What creators have influenced you the most?
FR: You can’t be an artist for Archie Comics without studying the work of all the great artists who came before you. I looked at guys whose work I enjoyed as a kid. Even before I cared to look for their names in the credits, I was studying and copying the art of guys like Dan DeCarlo, Samm Schwartz, and Harry Lucey. When I first started at Archie Comics, I was very fortunate to live close enough to their offices that I could deliver my work in person. Victor Gorelick, Archie’s Editor-In-Chief and the guy who hired me right out of the Kubert School, would ask Dan DeCarlo to sit with me and go over my pages, and give me pointers on how I could improve. Dan was a kind, generous guy and I can’t state enough what a helpful experience that was.
I also learned a lot from other guys who’s work I was reading and copying from as a kid. Among these guys were Steve Ditko, George Perez, Alan Davis, Kurt Schaffenberger, and the great Curt Swan, whose Superman remains my favorite comic book character.
[Ruiz draws Nova]
HM-S: What motivates you to commit your life to so many aspects of comics creation?
FR: I love comics. They’re the perfect storytelling fusion of writing and art. I’ve enjoyed comics ever since I was a kid and nothing makes me happier than being able to make a living creating them. I not only get to draw comics all day but I also get to spread my passion for the medium in my classes.
[Ruiz's work on EPICS]
HM-S: Are there any upcoming projects you want to spread the word about?
FR: In addition to my work on LIFE WITH ARCHIE and PS Magazine, I’m working on a self-published project called EPICS. This is an anthology comic I started with three of my fellow instructors at the Kubert School: Anthony Marques, Bob Hardin, and Fabio Redivo. We each wrote and illustrated our own original six-page story. The first issue was published in September 2012 and we will be publishing our second issue later this year. Working on a completely original story like this where it’s my own creation and I’m handling both the writing and the art makes it extremely satisfying and personal for me. I’m having a great time working on it. We got a lot of praise and attention for our first issue and we can’t wait to put out our second!
[Ruiz's work on EPICS]
HM-S: Where can comics fans find your work?
FR: Folks can check out my work at my website.
[Ruiz's work on EPICS]
HM-S: How can readers find out more about your classes?
FR: Visit the Kubert School’s website to keep up with upcoming courses and events!
HM-S: Do you have any advice for new artists who wants to work professionally in comics?
FR: Be versatile. Learn how to draw everything in every possible way. Don’t just learn how to draw Batman because you’re a Batman fan. If those very few Batman jobs out there are taken, you’re going to have to know how to draw something else. The more you can draw, the more employable you become!
HM-S: Ruiz is a tough act to follow, but he inspires his students to approach comics with respect and a certain amount of grit when it comes to pursuing personal success. He’s an asset of the highest caliber in the classroom, and I wasn’t surprised to learn, asking around, how many comics artists I know who have studied with him and gone on to influence the direction of comics. We wish the best of luck to him on his upcoming projects, hopefully showing off that range of style that makes such an impression on students. If you happen to see him at The Kubert School open house coming up on April 20th, feel free to embarrass him by praising his work and contribution to teaching!
Hannah Means-Shannon writes and blogs about comics for TRIP CITY and Sequart.org and is currently working on books about Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore for Sequart. She is @hannahmenzies on Twitter and hannahmenziesblog on WordPress.
If someone says ‘off the record’ you should not quote them, even if you leave off their name. off the record means… off the record, as in NOT TO BE IN THE ARTICLE. Poorly written.
JS: Using the “according to an unnamed source” is way better. This link discusses what off the record is.
The real problem: Henry became part of the story…
http://www.prnewswire.com/blog/what-does-off-the-record-really-mean-7093.html
Wayne thank you for the link, as a person who is often interviewed by Press this is my understanding when I tell them off the record (straight from the article you linked!):
Shirley Skeel, a journalist for more than 20 years who reported finance news for papers such as the Daily Mail and The Telegraph in London, explains how this term was similarly understood by journalists in London. “’Off the record’ meant you could not use the information given to you in print,” she said. “However, it might lead you to other sources or a better understanding.”
Yeah this ‘article’ feels much more like a personal blog post, while the story is interesting it really isnt written as a news blog just a personal story.
The Wasp cosplayer featured in this article is Sara Moni, https://www.facebook.com/SaraMoniCosplay
The Harley Quinn Cosplay featured in this article is Icy, https://www.facebook.com/IcyPrincessCosplay
js ….shaddap
I don’t understand what is the big deal of reprinting art and selling it. I mean we pirate movies and television shows. I say it’s the same thing. Those artist just work for those blood sucking corporations. Forget those losers they already got there stinking money.
[…] Amazing Arizona Con 2015: Deadpool ruled & art crooks were called out The Valentines State's first comic con of the year wrapped up over the romantic weekend. Jimmy Jay, Amazing Arizona Comic Con organizer, didn't let a hallmark holiday get in the way of putting on his three-day annual comic book convention on Friday, Feb. Read more on Comics Beat […]
Jerry Marks – so you feel its ok to profit off someone else because you pirate movies and music?
Something you had no involvement in, something that you didn’t create and, if anything, copied if not completely reprinted… just ‘cus they “made their money”? No, they didn’t. If you pirate a movie, you didn’t pay for it which means they didn’t make that money.
SOME “of us” pirate. I also feel this is just a troll comment you make to spark this kind of response.
Maybe the artist in the article painted that piece with his/her own brushes and paints, but it’s clearly Bruce Timm which means, although probably referenced, the “artist” didn’t do anything more than “trace” and color-match the original just to make an easy $200. Although he may or may not “own the original” or a print, that doesn’t give him the right, or a transfer of copyright, without Bruce Timm’s permission.
This “artist” would need a signed document, from Timm, saying he can use the piece as he would like, including selling or reproducing.
But, I’m probably wasting my time ‘cus you feel it’s all fair game.
I am not surprised to read about Luevanos on this article. He was quite a rude person to us at his con when we had a table there last year. He was making excuses to not give contest winners their prize money after winning the kevin eastman art contest. He was absolutely unprofessional and rude to his staff and volunteers right in front us, yelling and cussing them out over something he himself had done. We said we’d never go back to his show…but art thievery did surprise me. And people commenting that its ok to steal someone else’s work to sell it is even worse to me.buying an art piece is just that..buying an art piece. To sell it you must have a signed document where the original artist has signed and agreed that it can be used for reprint and disbursement…if no document is available then it is illegal to sell in any reprinted manor. You can only sell ,if it is the owner of the pieces choice, the original piece bought.
[…] Conventions | Henry Barajas files a thorough report on the Amazing Arizona Comic Con, with lots of photos and an account of his encounters with a dealer who was apparently selling unauthorized reproductions. [The Beat] […]
I must say that I don’t ‘get’ how someone can think it’s okay to reproduce someone else’s art and sell it. Nor can I get how someone can sell prints of their sketches of Batman or other characters at cons. Is there a ‘turn a blind eye’ clause?
Dear Henry,
I just want to make it perfectly clear the MY company (HEROIC FINE ART) was NOT IN ATTENDANCE at this convention. I am the owner and the only one authorized to speak for the company. I think you did a great job at naming the individuals involved in selling this type of unlicensed product. I just want to make sure that everyone knows that I wasn’t in attendance and I don’t even know these people!
I was originally going to try to do this show, but my health (recent knee surgery) prevented me from attending. Apparently these guys took my booth space and didn’t bother to take MY company name down. I have been in business since 1999 and have always taken pride in selling amazing licensed products, as well as working DIRECTLY with amazing artists.
I would like my website name taken off at your convenience, or add a note stating that it was NOT me or my company present, so people don’t associate my reputable business with these jerk-offs.
Thank you for your consideration, and for your work exposing these losers.
Best,
James Fletcher
[email protected]
Kudos to Henry Barajas for writing this. Swipers should be exposed. Piracy is wrong, illegal, and unethical. Additionally, Luevanos sounds uncooperative and unethical as well. I respect other fellow content creators. I’ll proudly put my money into products and providers that I believe in. Thieves and freeloaders ruin the market for everyone. Artists don’t need a corporation to distribute private commissions at cons or wherever. You are taking opportunities directly from these artists when you overpay for pirated work.