Issues Solved: Magic City Comic Con

PHOTO CREDIT: CHRISTINA RIVERO

BY CHRISTINA RIVERO

A true feeling of excitement was running through me as I approached the entry hall to the Miami Airport Convention Center. As people in cosplay and others with stacks of comics in their hands made their way into line, the energy started to form into something with great power.

Upon entry into the main hall, I automatically noticed the many guests lined up down one walkway. The guests of the convention were a mixture of actors, writers, and wrestlers. A few steps over was part of the Artist Alley as well as some comic book guests. Upstairs, there were panels and a continuation of the Alley.

After about an hour in, guests began to arrive and, finally, the attendees were let into the convention. The convention itself was large and had enough room to walk through, except in the cases of lines to meet writers such as Dan Slott (The Amazing Spider-Man,Marvel Now!) and illustrators like Francis Manapul (The Flash, Detective Comics, DC Comics; New 52).

Another guest at the convention was Greg Weisman who wrote many shows, such as Young Justice, the second season of W.I.T.C.H.,and, currently, Star Wars Rebels. I was able to sit with him and ask him a few questions pertaining to his writing.

“When I was 19, I was in college, and started writing freelance for DC Comics [professionally],” Weisman said. “They didn’t publish anything I wrote, at first; it took years for them to actually publish me.”

This is was not my first encounter with an esteemed writer or artist within this community that had to work at their skill for years before they ever saw their work published or on screen. Francis Manapul began working professionally at 19, as well, and experienced this circumstance first hand.

“The first thing I worked on was this book called Love in Tights,” Manapul said. “It was a mythology book [that I worked on] with another Canadian writer, who was a friend of mine, and that’s kind of how it started. That was my first published work, but it was for free.”

Even though starting out within the writing business may be a tricky trek, both Manapul and Weisman gave me the same advice as to how to approach it if you are truly passionate.

“What you can do if you’re serious about writing is write everyday,” Weisman said, “even if all you have time for is to write a few paragraphs. The second thing you need to do is go back and read things that have stood the test of time like Dickens and Shakespeare.You [also] want to proofread and train yourself.”

When speaking with both Weisman and Manapul about writing, they did exhibit their passion for it through their words. It showed that if you truly do love something that you need to be willing to do whatever it may take to achieve the goals you want to achieve.

“If you want to write, keep writing and reading a lot,” Manapul said. “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time for writing.”

Manapul even stated, for artists, that it correlates with writing. Manapul illustrated and wrote The Flash for DC Comics’ New 52 run, and explained that they both take hard work and dedication to accomplish.

“It’s similar advice for both [writing and art]. For art, it’s really about repetition, and the same goes for writing,” Manapul said.

Being able to receive advice from such admired individuals in the comic and TV media was a true honor, as well as being able to experience first-hand their fans meeting them, and being able to enjoy what they have produced.

The convention allowed for more exciting things to be displayed throughout. From the giant ballrooms featuring Q&A’s to the invited guests, there was much to explore, including cosplayers of young and old. From superheroes to anime, cosplayers from all around Florida (and even out of state) came to attend the event.

I really enjoyed seeing cosplayers display their hard work in an area where everyone enjoys some geek company. Needless to say, it was a bit refreshing having conversations with people who knew, in depth, what I was discussing. I even got a laugh out of Slott when I went to his table to have my Spider-Man variant signed.

The line waiting for him to sign their comics even laughed along with us. Slott was a good sport and even took a photo with me doing the famous-Spidey-shooting-webs pose.

Other guests included voice actors such as Tom Kane, Kevin Conroy, and Jeremy Shada. I got to speak with Shada about his experience of working on Adventure Time as one of the main protagonists, Finn.

Approaching Shada was very refreshing. He constantly smiled, and his personality was warm. Being able to speak with him about voicing acting gave me some insight as to what it is like to do it professionally, and for a show like Adventure Time.

“We’ve done over 200 episodes at this point,” Shada said, “it’s really fun recording with the cast. It’s hard to pick your favorite [episode] since there’s so many.”

His enthusiasm for the show, and being at the convention were clear. Anyone he spoke with tended to leave with that same happiness Shada was able to give. In fact, everyone at the convention seemed to be having a good time.

The guests were all enjoyable and the atmosphere was buzzing with an overdose of excitement that poured into every nook and cranny of the place. Anywhere you went, there was always something in store. Magic City Comic Con was a true pleasure to attend, and I cannot wait for next year.