JEFFERSONVILLE —
What becomes of the teenage superhero sidekick after they grow up? Do they themselves become heroes? Or do their plans for adulthood exceptionality fall through?
Jeffersonville author and artist Steve Bowman, 36, postulates the latter in a series of comic books he’s published called Astounding Tales. Bowman admits the idea of checking up on sidekicks that are now in their 30s is a bit depressing, but said there’s also a lot of humor and a lot of reality to be explored in the premise.
“Even though it’s set with superheroes — I wanted to deal with real situations,” he said. “Sometimes you have a plan in life, but things don’t work out.”
Blue Badger, one such character, finds himself in his 30s and still working for the same superhero.
“It’s an idea I’ve had for a few years,” he said. “A couple of years ago I decided to really get back into drawing.”
Bowman drew up the first four editions of the series in the last year or so, promoting them through Facebook.com, Twitter.com and local stores like Comic Book World and Great Escape. The fifth edition of the series will be available for the first time this weekend, during the Derby City Comic Con.
The inaugural convention, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Kentucky International Convention Center is a new venue for local artists like Bowman. He will have a table at the convention and be available to talk about his work. In addition to having the new edition of Astounding Tales for sale, he said he will have buttons, sketch cards and other items to show.
“We had some conventions in Louisville when I was a kid,” he said, noting it was usually a couple of comic book dealers renting space at a hotel to trade and display their wares.
Organizers of Saturday’s event have their ambitions set higher, with more than 100 artists from around the region displaying their work. Even a few artists from Marvel — one of the big publishers — are expected to be on hand.
“It’s going to be really good for Louisville,” Bowman said.
“There is a real arts community in the region and they don’t really have a big showcase,” said Eric Banister, convention director.
Banister said he decided to organize the convention because there’s not really a gallery for artists who do comic book style work. Additionally, he noted that the Louisville region, including Southern Indiana, boasts a large comic book fan base, which he said is evident by the seven comic book stores in the region.
Comic book conventions in other cities, notably San Diego, have become huge events and served as launching points for promoting movies, TV shows, video games and other media that have little or nothing to do with comics.
Banister said, at least for now, the Louisville convention is going to stay narrowly focused on comic books.
“Being the first year, we really wanted to build that identity,” he said.
Tickets can be purchased at the door and are $7. Admission is free for kids younger than 12 years old. For more information about the event, including a list of exhibitors, check out derbycitycomiccon.com.
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Jeffersonville author and artist Steve Bowman publishes a line of comics called “Astounding Tales.” Submitted photo
Discussion
Jeffersonville man among artists at comic convention
Derby City Comic Con takes place Saturday
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