My Summer Lair Chapter #31: How Is the Comic Book Section of Fan Expo Avengers Assembled?
I first met Kevin A. Boyd when I was working on an Ed the Sock comic book…as editor slash publisher. (Book came out fairly decent). Or maybe I met him attending cons…I’ve been faithfully attending Fan Expo for years and even in the winter I’d put on pants and Egyptian cotton long-johns to attend the Toronto Comic Con which he helped to organize typically every March/April.
He is an influential fixture on the Toronto comic book scene…between his numerous comic book friends, he ran a comic book store (The Comic Book Lounge + Gallery formerly in Little Italy), he is the director and one of the founders of the Joe Shuster Awards (which recognizes Canadian comic book talents) and he is Fan Expo‘s lead Comics Coordinator (and the reason why I asked him to join me).
Over adult beverages we get into all manner of nerdery…from how Fan Expo (and other conventions) guests are selected, who is coming to Fan Expo 2016 and what kinds of surprises fans can expect (expect surprises…).
Just some of the many comics we discuss…all highly recommended reading:
* Scott Snyder’s New 52 Batman run (with stunning art by Greg Capullo a Fan Expo guest!)
* Francis Manapul’s New 52 Flash run (first 25 issues…look for Toronto Easter Eggs!)
* Guardian Devil written by Kevin Smith and arted by Joe Quesada (Fan Expo guest!)
* Frank Miller’s Daredevil (especially Born Again!), Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns
* Invincible (written by the Walking Dead guy…artist Cory Walker will be at Fan Expo!)
* Jonathan Hickman (dude is an outstanding writer): East of West, Fantastic Four, Avengers
* Wonder Woman by Brian Azzarello! It took 75 years before she finally had a fascinating story…
* Peter David’s Aquaman run
And so much more.
This was a delight…not just to catch up with Kevin (who I appreciate taking the time to do this as Fan Expo inches ever closer) but to learn how Fan Expo this classic Toronto institution is constructed (i.e. now I know why guests put on pants and come to Toronto instead of sitting at home playing video games and collecting royalties!).
1 High Five For:
120 comic book guests for this year’s Fan Expo!
Kevin A. Boyd @ W • T • F
Host & Photography Sammy Younan
Recorded: Thursday August 11, 2016 at 8:00 pm (at Girth Radio)
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