Comic-Con International 2018

Posted on by luxshine

Best Moment EVER So, Comic-Con International, also known as San Diego Comic-Con. Which is, as you may remember, my favorite convention of all times. And well, I say that every year, and every year it gets so much better.

What I adore about the convention is that it has experiences for everyone: For the professional, the fan, the collector, the struggling artist, the one who is starting to figure out what they want to do with their career, the autograph hunter.  In my case, the very first time I went there was In 2004, as press and was tasked by the magazine I worked for back then to cover the WHOLE convention. Deer in the headlights doesn’t start describing how I felt back then.

International Movie Making Panel with Frank Rodriguez, Victor Osuna, Mitch Hyman and Seb. M. Finck

Of course, things have changed.  Since that first convention, I learned how to get my professional badge, how to get a table in the Artist Alley (No, I haven’t personally had a table yet, but I have done the paperwork for at least four authors to get theirs), organize a panel, participate in the Souvenir Book  with my art, sat at portfolios reviews, was part of the Friends of Lulu Board for a while, gotten two actual jobs that I adore,  and talk at three panels now (the third one a surprise, as I was invited by the panelists literally two seconds before the panel started).  In many ways, the Comic-Con International helps me focus, re-plan my goals, and gives me the strength and the confidence to actually fight for said goals. That is not counting the amazing and wonderful people I meet every year, who are now great friends (Especial shot out to Anthony, Mark, Felipe, Alessandro and Jessica at the Asti’s and everyone at Chocolat Cremerie and the USA Hostels).

I’ve met my heroes, like Todd Nauck, Terry Moore, Chris Sanders, Baton Lash, Gail Simone, Adam Warren, Phil Jimenez, the always wonderful Lea Hernandez, Max Brooks and Art Adams, all of whom have given me advice on how to keep on going.

And of course, have seen amazing cosplayers, of all characters, and body shapes that have helped me see how body positive IS a good thing that is not at odds with wanting to be healthy or fit. Despite it’s issues, Comic-Con still is the place where you can get ALL the positivity of fandom, where you can forget for a little bit that every fandom has their bad seeds and controversies because we’re all friends, we’re all geeks, and we’re all standing on a line that we’re not quite sure it’s going to where we want to go but we’ve already spend so much time on it that we might as well see where it ends.

I can assure you that when I was 17 and made the Image on the left, I never dreamed that it would end up as part of a panel that I would give in San Diego Comic-Con about… 23 years later!

I can’t deny I’ve had some of the best experiences in San Diego every year, and to be honest, I want to share it with more and more people. I have already done so a bit in Mexico, opening Ada tours to help people get to San Diego (Visas, passports paperwork, and getting three computers to participate in the lottery when it happens at work hours for them) but today I am opening it to everyone in the world with a monthly FREE newsletter where you will get tips, important dates and everything I can think of to help you have the best Comic-Con every year… just as I have.

So, Sign up for Ada Tours right here!

And now, some Cosplay:

Art Summary 2017

Posted on by luxshine

So… we’re in the final post of the year. First year I told myself I was going to be constant with my posting on social media, and I re-started my own site and brand as Calico Chimera. It’s been a bumpy ride, to be honest, but I am happy with the results, especially as well, it’s the first time I am able to fill one of these Art Summaries with one image per month (and choosing some months was HARD), and I’m really happy with the results.

(BTW, the blank template is from DustBunnyThumper at Deviantart. Credit where Credit is due)

I did notice that I forgot to post some of the images here. Sure, I decided that Deviant Art would be mostly for fanart, and everywhere else for everything, but I never posted the Horsemen and Squires in Art Noveau borders here! That was a big overlook! (So I guess I will post them in 2018, just for competition sake). Also, I have to balance more my finished color original pieces and the fanart since this year it looks as I did more fanart (But of course, that doesn’t count comic pages, or sketches)

Most of this comes, of course, thanks to the amazing support I’ve had this year. And since this is the last post of the year, I can’t let it go without thanking Mandi Gordon, Writer’s Block writer and Dream Keeper Robin’s editor. Half of the illustrations here wouldn’t exist if she hadn’t supported me, pushed me to my limits, and kept pushing me from under my drawing table.

In any case, thank you for reading this, thank you for being with me and supporting me through 2017. Here’s to 2018 where I hope we all have a much better year!

Batgirl through the Ages

Posted on by luxshine

I love Batgirl. She and Wonder Woman were the very first superheroes I ever saw in my life, and both taught me that girls can be heroes too and don’t need to be damsels in disgrace.

First it was Barbara Fierro (Mexican Dubs back then changed all the names, so the Gordons became the Fierros), and her ballet dancing style. Her secret hideout behind her vanity, the fact that she could fight with a long wig… I loved her so much that I was devastated when I started reading comics and found out that I was a bit too late to read Batgirl’s adventures as she had been crippled by the Joker (Later on, I found the glorious pre-crisis stories where she fought, among other things, snake women and teamed up with Supergirl).

But as I read more and more comics, and time passed on, she became Oracle, and kicked ass. She was better than any superhero in my book, because she used her own smarts and not powers granted by biology or luck.

A new Batgirl arrived. And I have to say, I liked Cassandra Cain (not portrayed here) but she wasn’t completely my Batgirl. As much as I love Oracle, I missed Barbara.

Then came Nu52. And while I am not very happy about the way Barbara was magically cured (We do also need heroes in wheelchairs), I can’t deny I was thrilled at seeing her take the cape again, and written by the amazing Gail Simone.

But it wasn’t until Batgirl of Burnside when I got to have FUN with Barbara’s adventures again. I know it’s controversial to say this, but I adored the original run. It was everything I’d have loved in a comic when I was a teen and more.

Which is why, when San Diego Comic Con announced that they were having an anniversary special for Batgirl in their Souvenir Book, I had to participate. And I couldn’t just pick one version of Batgirl, as they all are important to me. So this piece was born.

Comic-Con International: San Diego

Posted on by luxshine

This is, by far, my favorite convention. Sure, it’s the only one I’ve gone to in the USA and I have never been there as a seller, but there’s some special kind of magic to Line-con (as some people call it… with good reason. This year I witnessed a Line-inception: A line to get into a line to get into a raffle to get a ticket to get into a line… to get into a line) that so far I haven’t seen anywhere else.

Sure, it has it’s bad sides (you can find those complains somewhere else in the net) but for me, the good sides overcome all. Sure, I still have to manage to get to any offsite besides the one that is on front of the Tin-fish (This year it was Midnight Texas, with an amazing haunted house set up that made me want to see the show despite not having been a big fan of True Blood), and the line to the Netflix experience makes sure I will never get that swag (I have a rule: No line longer than 15 minutes will see my feet unless the other end has Muppets), but at the same time people in San Diego are AMAZING (Shout out to the staff at Asti’s and Chocolate, as well as the USA Hostel’s great people both staff and guests) and what I could go to in the con was… well, magical.

Every year since, I think, 2011, I’ve sent a pic to the Souvenir Book. Except for 2013 where my Turtles homage didn’t get in, I’ve always been lucky to be chosen. This year was Batgirl… one day I’ll tell you about the creation of this image:

Last year I was a translator at the Conque: Walls or Bridges conference. That was great as holy shit, we had a surprise appearance by none other than Stan “The man” Lee, but I was still not really part of that panel. I was just there to parrot back words in a language everyone understood. THIS year I was the organizer and part of the conference team in the Small Press beyond the Border panel, together with Fers from Fixia Studio (Soulkeepers), Gina Chacon, Adriana de la Torre and Alejandra Zuñiga (from Studio XIII), and moderated by Martin Arceo (Santos Comics), and it was INCREDIBLE. People were very interested to hear about the challenges and problems to publish comics in Mexico, under the shadow of the huge american industry, as well as the whole way in which our industry has evolved. We started with about half the room full, finished to a full house. I still CAN’T believe it, but can’t wait to organize more round tables like this. Maybe one with an american small press publisher to compare experiences!

(I am also wearing a dress. It’s the first dress I’ve worn in about… 20 years or so)

Cosplay was great too. I love hunting Doctors (I started with Doctor Who, then expanded. If you are wearing a character with a doctorate Cosplay, I want a picture of you!), but this year I also loved getting shots of Moanas, Mauis and Ruffios (I will update the pictures as soon as I get my Ipad to cooperate!)

All in all, I can’t wait to go back… maybe this time as an exhibitor and not just as attendee!