Contemporary Arts

This weekend is the end of the COMIX OK exhibit at the Oklahoma Contemporary Arts Center and they are celebrating with their very own comic convention.  ContempCon features the artists behind the comic book work that his been on display at the studio for the last two weeks.

Artist Johnnie Diacon speaking with a fan

I was able to attend yesterday to meet some of the artist, shoot some video and get some interviews for an upcoming project. Both the exhibit and the con highlighted the diverse types of art and artists that call the Sooner State home and featured how the comic book medium can include many different types of content.

 Interviewing Tulsa artist Melanie Gillman

The event included panels, demos, workshops, vendors, a cosplay fashion show and just about anything you could want from a comic convention but with a local focus.  Oklahoma has had (and continues to have) a large amount of comic book creators and cartoonists and it's about time they get their due.

Green Lantern from Tulsa's DC Marvel League cosplay group

The exhibit and the con are over this weekend but there will be plenty of chances to check out Oklahoma comic creators throughout the year.  I'm going to try to hit as many of those types of events as I can so stay tuned...

Comic Sighting at the Dallas Zoo

A recent trip to the Dallas Zoo led to another discovery of comics being used for educational purposes.  Inside the Insect House you'll find any number of creepy crawlies as well as this collection of insect inspired comic books:

Spider-Man, the Tick, Blue Beetle and even Ambush Bug are represented.  I'm not entirely sure of the educational merit of the display but anything that promotes comics to kids is a good thing.

The obligatory fanboy nitpick would be the inclusion of Doctor Octopus but maybe the animal experts at the zoo can make some genetic connection between octopi and bugs.  I'll leave that to the professionals.