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COMIC CONNOISSEURS
Photo
Ed Szabo of Hermitage, Pa., dressed in a Superman smock, sells comic books at the 2013 Annual Americon show. Hundreds of people bought merchandise that included Marvel, DC and other vintage comic books, as well as video games, small action figures and more.
By Sean Barron
WARREN
Fans of “Adventure Time” didn’t exactly get to see Marshall Lee in person, but they came a bit closer if they encountered Kaitlyn Foley.
“It’s a cutesy, quick type of style,” the Hubbard woman said, referring to a series of small sketches she was selling for $1 apiece.
Foley was dressed as Marshall Lee, a character in “Adventure Time,” an animated TV series that premiered in 2010 on the Cartoon Network. The show follows the adventures of a boy and his close companion, a dog with powers to change shape, shrink and grow.
Foley also was among the illustrators who displayed their talents during Sunday’s fourth annual All Americon Comic & Toy show at the Roberta Graham SCOPE Senior Center, 220 W. Market St.
The six-hour gathering brought together an estimated 20 local and regional illustrators, comic-book aficionados, graphic artists and other vendors, noted Greg Bartholomew, a Warren councilman and the event’s promoter.
Hundreds of people of all ages bought merchandise that included Marvel, DC and other vintage comic books, as well as video games, small action figures, colored and black-and-white prints, coloring books, stickers, DVDs, key chains, charm bracelets, collectibles and a variety of toys.
Foley, who plans to major in digital arts at Bowling Green State University, also had a sketchpad handy in which she had numerous drawings of various TV characters.
“I plan to go into art, and I figured something like [Sunday’s show] will help me get some contacts and experience,” she explained.
Assisting Foley was her best friend, Sarah Juntunen, a Hubbard High School senior who hopes to etch a career in video-game design.
Digital and traditional art, along with using ink and colored pencils, appeals to Juntunen, who intends to major in computer design and attend Ohio State University or Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
During the gathering, Juntunen and Foley put together a series of “dollar doodles,” small drawings they made from reference photographs or illustrations and sold for $1 each.
Star Wars fans, nostalgic or not, who wanted to find memorabilia pertaining to any of the popular movies needed to do little more than zoom in on 38-year-old James Simkins of Boardman.
“There’s a lot of continued interest and a lot of kids getting into it because their parents grew up with it,” he said, referring to the original 1977 George Lucas epic up to “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” released in 2008.
The next such movie is scheduled to come out in 2015, with at least three to follow, noted Simkins, who had several tables of Star Wars toys and who started his collection around age 13.
Simkins also is a 13-year member of the Ohio Star Wars Collectors Club, an online organization with about 315 members statewide.
Attendees who desired something colorful, offbeat and unusual certainly weren’t short on options. One of those was a table that displayed some of John P. Hazen’s works.
A series of prints with colorful illustrations and sketches, including a booklet containing some of his artwork, greeted buyers and the mere curious.
Hazen, of Hubbard, said he enjoys dabbling in digital color, web design and drawings that include popular comic-book characters but has no specialty. He began drawing as a hobby with little formal training, Hazen continued.
“A few years ago, I decided to try to actually do something with it,” he said with a chuckle.
Hazen also is preparing to host his own game convention in September at Youngstown State University, he added.
Assisting Hazen was his wife, Bonnie Hazen, a local journalist.
Bartholomew said he hopes the number of attendees at Sunday’s event will surpass that of last year, which was around 500.
“The turnout’s been great,” he added.