Comic Art Collection 7: The Exhilarating Emeralda

The Exhilarating Emeralda by Ryan Fisher from the Monsters and Dames
book, 11 x 17

While I've been to five major comic cons, they've only been in two cities - New York and Seattle. New York Comic Con is a....thing. It's expanded massively since my first one in 2008. Back then, about 85,000 attended over three and a half days. In 2021, when renovations are finished at the Javtis Center I won't be surprised if that surges past 200,000. Its focus can be as much on celebrities, video games and tv/movies as it is on comics. But it's still one of the major events on the comic con calendar and artists desperately try to get a booth there because even with the expense of being in New York, you can make serious money there. It's also one of the best networking opportunities going.

But I have a huge soft spot for Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle. I first went in 2017 and returned in 2019. The con is in the middle of downtown Seattle which means you're surrounded by hotels and restaurants. The con is spread over six floors, with lots of family friendly programming. There's a huge number of artists on the west coast who never bother to go east. There are some celebrities, but the focus is on comics. The artist alley takes up the entire 6th floor and the show organizers are committed to bringing in diverse artists. So it's not just white dudes. Everybody is there. It's perhaps my favourite artist alley.

Funko's headquarters is also nearby, for good or ill. Depends on how you feel about those little figures.

So it broke my heart a bit to see ECCC have to be postponed on Friday. Seattle is in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak. And as that's gotten worse, there was increased pressure on the show organizers, ReedPop, to cancel or delay the event. Artists were cancelling and vendors were pulling out. The event was to start this Thursday, so they cut it close.

It was the right call. If I was going this year instead of last year, I would have cancelled. ECCC is one of the four largest cons in North America. Take 100,000+ geeks flying in from around the world, throw them in a convention centre and, I say this love, some of my fellow geeks do not have the best hygiene habits, and it was a disaster waiting to happen. The last thing I needed was to bring that flu back to Nunavut.

Still, there's an element of fandom outraged at the cancellation as it's "only a flu". Honestly, the American reaction to this flu is going to lead to a lot of people dying needlessly. Some already have.

It's the right call, but still a hard one. Even with show organizers rescheduling and offering refunds (they can handle the hit. ReedPop is the largest con organizer in the business), a lot of artist and vendors are out money. I hope the con and all the artists bounce back quickly.

All of which is a long lead in to the piece above. If you don't recognize the character, don't worry about it.....this is her only appearance.

Cover of 2019 Monsters and Dames

One of the absolutely fun things ECCC does every year is create a book called Monsters and Dames. It's a limited edition (my copy from 2019 is 306 of 750) and proceeds from the book's sale go to a local children's hospital. Competition to get into the book is fierce. What I've done, and many other do, is take the book and walk around Artist Alley and get each page signed. There was about 90 pieces in the book, so it can take awhile.

But it's fun. You get to talk to artists you might ordinarily walk by. Sometimes I picked up a little something, but it's not expected. And a kind word about how much you liked their art is appreciated, I think.

In this case, Ryan was one of the last tables I got to. It was Saturday morning and I was desperately trying to finish getting my book signed because trying to do that during Saturday madness is a bad idea.

When I got to his table he was a nice guy. I was chatting with him when I noticed that the original piece of art that was reprinted in the book was on his table. The conversation went something like this.

What the page looks like coloured. Likely
scanned and done digitally.

Me: Oh cool, it's the piece from the book.
Ryan: Yeah, it's for sale if you're interested.
Me: (Preparing the "It's really nice but out of my budget" line, because by Saturday I'm normally deep into my reserves). How much are you asking?
Ryan: $60.
Me: (blinks). No. Seriously.
Ryan: Seriously. It's $60 if you want it.
Me: Sold. How the hell did no one get this before me?
Ryan: It's been there since Thursday. I'm just glad someone wanted it.

Pricing art, when you're starting out, is hard. You want people to buy your stuff, but you should also get value for the amount of work you put into it. Getting your art in the Monsters and Dames book is a big deal for ECCC. It's 11x17 so it's not small. He put a lot of hours into that piece, especially when you consider he probably coloured it as well. Later that evening, at the charity art auction, I saw other pieces from the book, not as nice as his if I'm being honest, go for north of $200.

So yeah, I got a great deal, which is hanging on my wall. I hope he did well the rest of the con...and I notice from his website he's supposed to have a new book coming out, which I'll have to give a look.

As for why I like it, well, I always have a soft spot for magicians in fishnets (see Zatanna). And I really do like the concept of the piece. Finally, Ryan's a solid artist. I think the monster is a touch murky and could have been better done, but I might be nitpicking.

Last Five
1. Killer Queen - Queen
2. 24 Frames (live) - Jason Isbell and the 40 Unit*
3. New York State of Mind - Billy Joel
4. Doing it- Charli XCX
5. Porchlight - Neko Case