Horror Stories of Creating Comics: How to Produce Tricky Books - A Curio & Co. panel at Comic-Con 2014

For the past 3 years we've been putting together panels at Comic-Con and this year is no different.

We love making books and we know that we aren't the only ones with that passion.  Given that we've gathered substantial experience making odd books and have accumulated some interesting and funny stories along the way; we thought of sharing some laughs (at least, I can laugh about it now) and in the process pass on some know-how for those of you who may want to make your own books.  Hence, Curio & Co is proud to present…

Horror Stories of Creating Comics: How to Produce Tricky Books

Thursday, 7/24/14, 8:00p.m. - 9:00p.m.

Room: 30CDE

Producing complicated and unusual books takes more than just ink and paper – sometimes it takes blood, sweat and tears. For anyone who’s ever been interested in making their own books, join Cesare Asaro (Creator, Finding Frank and His Friend, and Creative Director, Curio & Co.), Calista Brill (Senior Editor, First Second Books), Peter Maresca (Editor, Sunday Press Books), Dave Marshall (Editor, Dark Horse Comics) and Kirstie Shepherd (Author, Gadabout Time Machine User’s Manual, and Content Director, Curio & Co.) for a panel discussion on the red flags to watch out for on the long journey to get the details right, and to hear funny stories of where things went wrong.

Curio & Co. - Comic-Con Panel - U.S. Pop Culture Abroad

This year we'll be at booth #2102 at Comic-Con and in addition to the Genuine Fakes: Making the Artificial Real (Thursday, 7/18/13, 7:00p.m. - 8:00p.m., Room: 32AB) panel we've also organized this one:

U.S. Pop Culture Abroad

Putting the "international" in Comic-Con International, panelists Cesare Asaro(creator, Finding Frank and His Friend), Harold Buchholz (senior VP, publishing and operations, Archie Comic Publications, Inc.), Adam B. Finer (chair of industry outreach and professional development, New York Film Academy), Rich Johnston (Bleeding Cool), and Kirstie Shepherd (author, Gadabout Time Machine User's Manual) explore how American pop culture is perceived and consumed outside of the United States. They'll be looking at how U.S. pop culture (from classic comics to film and entertainment properties) find its way to foreign markets, what qualities make an American property successful overseas, and how U.S. pop culture influences -- and is influenced by -- artists abroad.

Friday July 19, 2013 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Room 29A

The Idea behind the panel is to have an open discussion on how specific projects which then turned into pop culture gained their footing outside the US, through influences, passing of time, their poultry thanks to their supporters.

In the years we've worked as Curio & Co. we've enriched our knowledge of brands, their IP's, and how they work in specific markets.  Because what we do is grounded in Pop Culture an most of in US pop culture we are constantly researching and analyzing this content in order to do our job well.  I would've liked to have gone to a panel on this subject when I first was thinking of getting in this field, so we though of passing on some of our experiences.  It's important to know as a creator what projects to pursue (I'm talking commercial projects, not personal artistic ones), if you are looking to make a living with them.  Unfortunately for the creative ones of us the business of creativity is very much tied to finances and the funding of a project, so the reality is can I pay the bill with this, or do I have alternative means to support this project.  Thinking of your target audience and where, what, and how you are going to reach out to them is key in taking a product into development.

See you at the panel.

Curio & Co. - Comic-Con Panel 2013 - Genuine Fakes: Making the Artificial Real

I finally managed to do the graphics for the panles...

Genuine Fakes: Making the Artificial Real

From comics to movie monsters and authenticity to alternate universes, how "real" does a fake need to be in order to be believable? Cesare Asaro (creator, Finding Frank and His Friend), Kim Hutsell (Steampunk designer and prop maker, founder of the annual Starburner Awards), Luke Khanlian (special effects creature creator, Alien Resurrection, Starship Troopers), Peter Maresca (editor, Sunday Press Books), and Kirstie Shepherd (author, Gadabout Time Machine User's Manual) discuss how to get the details right when creating a believable fake world. They'll be looking at what materials say about an object and how those materials can be manipulated to create the suspension of disbelief.

Thursday July 18, 2013 7:00pm - 8:00pm 

Room 32AB

Comic-Con Panel - "The Myth of Nostalgia"... enhanced!

Curio & Co. is proud to be at Comic-Con at P5 (just like last year), but wait, there's more.  This year we've also put together a little something else.

The panel we did back in March at Wonder-Con was well received, so with the help of Peter Maresca of Sunday Press we've augmented our panel and we'll be expanding on the subject of nostalgia with two more panelist: Grant Geissman, whom we met right after the panel in March.  Not only is he an author and avid collector, but he is first and formost an excellent musician.  Check out his material, really groovy.  Also I can happily say that we'll have a comic book legend on the panel: R.C. Harvey, creator of Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon, will be joining us on the stage.  He's also an author, and critic - let's just say that he knows his medium.  If you like comics and but don't know his work, you should! And, we are lucky to have Bob Foster, the Animation Guild Presiden, with 40+ years of experience in comics publishing, writing, and animation.  We have a heck of a line-up!

Stop by and see us at the Comic-Con in the San Diego Convention Center

Thursday July 12

7:00-8:00 PM. 

Room: 32AB 

The Myth of Nostalgia: Collecting and Memory.

Cesare Asaro (Creator, Finding Frank and His Friend), Bob Foster (Animation Guild President), Grant Geissman (Author, Foul Play! The Art and Artists of the Notorious 1950s E.C. Comics!), R.C. Harvey (Cartoonist, Critic and Comic Historian, Meanwhile... A Biography of Milton Caniff, Creator of Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon ), Peter Maresca (Editor, Sunday Press Books), and Kirstie Shepherd (Author, Gadabout Time Machine User’s Manual) have been collecting, creating and selling nostalgia for over forty years.  Join us for a panel discussion on how collecting allows us to revisit memories from the past – even a past that we might have been too young to have seen or may never have existed at all.  We’ll explore how nostalgia can be invented, whether it goes in and out of fashion, and what happens when the collector becomes the creator.