ComicCon

It’s a big draw

By Amy Kepferle · Wednesday, October 21, 2009

If you’re of a certain age, you may have spent your formative teen years wondering if a certain redheaded fellow named Archie would settle down with the good girl, blond Betty, or the enormously wealthy, dark-haired vixen, Veronica.

Your questions have now been answered, and you have people like Bob Smith to thank for it. Smith, a WWU graduate and the main “inker” for Archie Comics, is currently working on a storyline dubbed “Archie Gets Married,” and it looks like the scheming Veronica has bagged her main man.

If you’re on Team Betty, you may want to ask Smith about the choices that have been made regarding the romantic proclivities of the fictional characters. You can do so when he returns to Bellingham to join a roster of other comic book luminaries at the first-ever ComicCon happening Sat., Oct. 24, at the Hampton Inn.

In addition to Smith, artist and inker Randy Emberlin (Star Wars, Spider Man, etc.), Bellingham’s Michel Gagne (creator of Zed and a contributor to animation flicks such as Ratatouille and The Iron Giant), Concrete creator Paul Chadwick, Battlestar Galactica and G.I. Joe writer Brandon Jerwa are on the lineup, among others.

“The guests don’t get paid,” says organizer Eric Burris. “They come, basically, for the fans. “All Smith is getting out of the deal is a night’s stay at the Hampton Inn and a steak dinner. He’s doing it for the love of the hobby, and because I think Bellingham holds a special place in his heart.”

Burris, who decided to pick up the comic book reins since BellCon creators left town, runs Bronze Rocket Comics, and will sell his “bronze age” offerings at the event alongside a bevy of other comic book retailers from the northwest.

Comic book stores depend mainly on newer releases to keep their businesses going, Burris says, and points out that fans come to events like ComicCon to find rare offerings from times past, including out of print comics and hard-to-find collectibles. This year, there will even be “pulps”—a predecessor to comic books that, from the late 1800s to the 1950s, often featured illustrated, novel-length stories of heroic characters—on hand.

Since he’s been involved with comic conventions in one form or another for the past 20 years, Burris says he’s seen the camaraderie that is part and parcel of events such as this. Young artists who want to have their work seen can get advice from the pros, men who’ve been collecting comics since their childhood bring along the next generation of fans, and those who simply love the pastime can see what’s out there.

“It’s sort of a kickback to a wholesome, childhood-type hobby,” Burris, who rediscovered his own love of the genre after running into the friend who’d given him his first comic book at the age of 11, says. “When I was 23, we both ended up living in Kirkland and hanging out together, and I got interested again.”

But back to Archie, Betty, and Veronica. If Veronica got the guy, then what happened to Betty? Did she end up with Jughead? Is she devastated? Will she and Archie have an adulterous affair? If Bob Smith won’t tell you, you’ll have to read it for yourself.