Comic Con corrals costumed fun

The Austin Convention Center was crawling with creatures and costumes from all sorts of cult classic comics, movies and TV shows Nov. 11-13 for Austin's second annual Wizard World Comic Con. The disguises alone were enough of a reason to regret missing out on this year's ultimate nerd gathering.

Over 80 exhibitors and retailers sold comics, costuming supplies, toys, autographed memorabilia and more. Several artists and celebrities were on hand at booths all over the convention center ready to sign autographs, take photos, present artwork and even draw custom requests.

Obsessed fans and enthusiasts attended Q-and-A sessions featuring actors, writers and artists from several shows and films such as Doctor Who, Walking Dead, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Wars and Stargate.

Lee Vanwallene, creator of webcomic Half Man Half Monkey All Hero (HMHMAH), hosted an artist booth at the Austin Comic Con for his second year.

"I'm a huge nerd, have a deep knowledge of anime and love comics and books," Vanwallene said, "I want to break into the industry."

After working on others' projects for a while, he started drawing HMHMAH in 2008 and has produced at least one comic a week for the past year and a half. Vanwallene said his comic is not affiliated with any major company, and its content is usually all over the map, ranging from internet memes to more serious topics like political and economic issues.

He described himself as an anarcho- capitalist, stating that in a true utopian society people wouldn't need government, and as an independent artist he likes having the freedom to express these ideas in his artwork.

"It's like [my comic] is on a little boat and goes where the internet goes," he said. "I [also] use it as a platform, and take advantage of it while I still can."

Vanwallene said brandishing artwork at Comic Con is a great way for artists to get exposure on a massive scale. Even if no artwork or merchandise is sold, the display garners a spike in artists' website traffic and popularity. A common source of short-lived traffic for him is the online forum reddit.com, but he said better quality, more loyal supporters are acquired by meeting face-to-face with potential fans.

Chris Calilung, Vanwallene's friend and fellow artist, drew parodies of Marvel and DC comic characters live at the HMHMAH booth, and took custom requests for his silly works including a drunken Iron Man drawing.

Calilung is a veteran of several Comic Cons all over the country, and recommended that attendees bring a backpack full of snacks and comfortable shoes. Also, he said it's wise to save big purchases until the last day of Comic Con because many artists and sellers will slash the prices of their merchandise to get a final push in sales and reduce the amount of stuff they pack up and take home.

Comic book creator and writer Jeffery Stevenson and his 10-year-old, artist daughter Astin Eschele Stevenson set up camp at an artist booth showcasing both of their work.

As a first-time seller at the Austin Comic Con, Jeffery has been drawing comics for about 10 years and said he hoped to draw more interest to his Norse mythology themed graphic novel and webcomic Brat- halla. Astin drew adorable creatures and characters at the table, and said she wanted to sell them to help her save for college. She wants to attend the Art Institute of New York.

Jeffery offered some advice to future Comic Con fans and sellers about the convention and networking. With three days of activities and a superabundance of art, comics, goods and memorabilia to peruse, time management can be difficult for an attendee.

"Pace yourself; there's a whole lot [of merchandise] and if you spend all of your money upfront, you're going to miss all this great stuff that's in the back," he said. "[Sellers should] always have something to leave behind [like] a business card, that way if [fans] are interested in your stuff, but they've run out of money, they can get in touch with you somehow."

Overall the convention brought together a fascinating collection of sci-fi and fantasy aficionados, geek icons old and new, astonishing and ingenious artwork, plenty of wacky photo opportunities and a multitude of trinkets, crafts and novelty toys that would satisfy anyone's nerd-culture cravings.