SDCC - Different is Cool!

For the first time in a while, I looked at the whole upcoming SDCC program, and that reminded me how big the show is. There's a lot going on there. Of course there are loads of TV and movies useless bullshit that drag thousands of people every year to gigantic pitiful lines, but you can find many panels with comics creators and publishers with experience and knowledge to share, with lessons about the craft and great advices to the young artists and writers.
There’s a pattern to be recognised on the panels that jump to my eyes while reading the whole program. First, let’s see a list that I find very interesting, and that I might even go to.

On Thursday there’s a panel called "breaking into comics right now" at 12pm on room 28DE and "Breaking into Comics the Marvel way" at 1pm on room 7AB. At 11am, a "Writing Workshop with Kelly Sue DeConnick" on room 2, and at 3pm, "Writing 101: what to think about before you start writing" with Marv Wolfman on room 30CDE. On the same room, it's followed by "Comic Book Art: making a living doing it", talking about how to price and sell your art, exploit and merchandise it and try to squeeze those dollars out of it. 

At 4pm, on room 28DE, there's the "Delcourt panel", with the French publisher's founder Guy Delcourt. Decades of experience and millions of comics sold every year, it'll be good to learn that there's more to comics than American super-heroes. And while you're discovering new cultures, at 5pm, "Making a living in Manga: Japan creators and editors talk" on room 29AB.

Fábio and I will be on two panels on Thursday. At 1pm on room 2, we'll join "DeConnick and Fraction: Milkfed Criminal Masterminds at work" to talk about all the projects this crazy couple is working on, including Casanova. And at 3pm we'll be at room 23ABC on "Dark Horse Originals: The New Mainstream", talking about our new graphic novel, Two Brothers. 

Wow, and that was just Thursday. 

On Friday at 11am, "Publishers Weekly: The French Comics Invasion" on room 29AB. 

If you want to create comics for kids, you should go to two panels. On Friday at 12:30pm, "GRAPHIX: Beginning, Present and Beyond" on room 24ABC, and on Saturday at 3pm, "Kid's Comics" on room 23 ABC, and 

Friday at 3pm, "Breaking into Comics and Staying in" on room 30ABC and on Saturday at 4pm, "IDW: So, You want to be in comics" on room 4. 

On Sunday, if you still have energy for panels and want to learn a little bit more about digital comics, “Comixology Submit: The Future of Self-Publishing” at 3pm on room 29AB. 

And almost every day there's a cool IMAGE COMICS panel with creators and editors talking about how awesome comics are.

You might have caught the pattern on the panels I’ve picked. They’re all about creating Comics, getting into Comics, different approaches and mind sets. Well, that was my way to prepare you to our panel on Sunday, “Different is Cool”, at 11:15am on room 6DE. 

In the last 20 years, we’ve self-published Comics and we’ve worked with small and big publishers, on tiny to gigantic projects, and we have been living exclusively out of comics for the last eight years. We have been to conventions all around the world (we’re open for invitations for show on Japan and Australia, by the way). The first thing we learn on our first trip to San Diego Comic Con in 1997 just proved to be one of the most valuable once we started going to Comics Conventions and Festivals in other countries. Diversity is the most precious quality the Comics global industry has to offer. Yes, Global Industry, because good creators can come from anywhere in the world, and a good story breaks barriers and travels to distant countries and gets translated to the most exotic languages. 

So I invite you to enjoy the whole show, go to all the panels you can, go to the Eisners ceremony, learn all the things you can, talk to all the people you can, and then come meet us on Sunday on room 6DE, at 11:15am, and let’s talk about how the best way to break into comics and build a career may not be by doing what everyone wants, but by doing what only you can do. And let’s find out what that means.