Humble Opinions: Evansville Museum Geek & Comicon

Last Saturday, August 26^th, was the first annual Geek & Comicon hosted by the Evansville Museum in Indiana. Organized by Evansville librarian Karen Malone (with advice and help from my friend Ted Haycraft), this first show was well attended and had some excellent panels.

Early on, Ted asked Ye Author to be part of a panel called “The Ins and Outs of Comic Book Collecting." Since I have collected since before I could read and have more comics than any sane person should have, it was probably a good match. My friend Matt and I set out early Saturday morning for Evansville. Here are some highlights of the con.

Ted Haycraft on left

Here Ted warms up for the first panel of the day, “Attending Cons 101.” No one was sure how many folks would come, to the con or to the panel. Turns out a few folks wandered in and soon the Planetarium where most panels were held had a good crowd gathered.

Ted and Kyle Starks

Here Ted interviews comics creator Kyle Starks about his independent comics work, especially his work on the Rick & Morty comic. His graphic novel Kill Them All comes out later this year.

This gentleman did a wonderful job on a panel entitled “Captain America as a Propaganda Tool During World War II.” He adapted his Master’s Thesis into an hour-long talk filled with little-known facts about Cap and comic book WWII propaganda. It was incredibly interesting. He really got into it, with his helmet and shield.

Ins and Outs of Collecting Comics panel

Ye Author (middle) gets a word in

Above are a few shots from my panel on collecting comics. I had two knowledgeable comic book dealers on either side of me, so it was tough to get a word in edgewise. I did manage to mention my life-long love of telling stories with words and pictures, and how modern comics are too expensive. But whatcha gonna do?

Ted's Jack Kirby Tribute Panel

The last panel of the day was a Jack Kirby tribute from Ted “The Man” Haycraft himself. Although it was a challenge to squeeze even an overview of King Kirby into 60 minutes, Ted did a brilliant job, enthusiastically expounding on the man and his works. He opened many young eyes up to Kirby’s legacy—I hope those kids will seek out his stories and enjoy them half as much as we do.

With all modern comic conventions, cosplayers are along for the ride. Here are a few from the show.