Flesk at Comic-Con International in San Diego Part 1 – Pictures!

I have a few blog postings partially written about our time exhibiting at Comic-Con International in San Diego. Since I am working to wrap up a few books by the end of this month, they are on hold. For now I have some pictures to share with a promise of more detailed writing coming soon. Captions fall below the pictures.

We were graced by the Black Widow at our Flesk booth. The costumes are a familiar scene throughout the show.

Gary Gianni, Daren Bader, John Fleskes and Mark Schultz. This is just after the show ended on Sunday. We all had a chance to enjoy a few minutes of conversation before tearing down our respective booths. The Flesk booth compacted into two dolly loads and we were out of there by 7:00 p.m.

Gary Gianni at his booth. The banner behind him is promoting the “A Game of Thrones” 2014 calendar that he is providing the paintings for. This picture is a grab shot. He was talking with someone and not aware that I took his picture. It came out better than if I had posed him.

Mark Schultz, James Walker II and John Fleskes at the Flesk Booth.

Frank Cho signing his new 2013 calendar.

Frank Cho is a huge Justice League fan and gets excited whenever he sees any imagery relating to the team.

Mary, from our neighbors at Stuart Ng Books, and me hanging at the Flesk booth just before closing time on the final day.

I took this picture from Gary Gianni’s booth. This was two hours before the show closed on Sunday and you can see how busy the show remains all the way until the end. You can see the Flesk logo and our booth in the middle area.

Mark Schultz and Clayburn Moore were posing for a picture. I saw an opportunity and took this grab shot. For some reason, even though they are posing, this angle makes them look more natural.

Here, I’m talking to James Walker II about the Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! event book.

William Stout signing his card belonging to the seven postcard set celebrating ten years of Flesk. We handed out roughly four hundred of these sets to those who stopped by our Flesk booth as a thank you for their support and helping us to get to the ten year mark. We ran out by mid-Saturday.

William Stout at his booth at Comic-Con. Bill’s booth is an original art gallery. Walking inside is like stepping into a museum.

The Baby Tattoo mascot at their booth. The publisher, Bob Self, has created one of the most impressive looking booths at the show.

James Walker II and me at the Flesk Publications booth. James and I have been working shows for almost twenty years together. We used to assist with Bud Plant Illustrated Books and Lee’s Comics in the mid-nineties.

Mark Schultz signing a copy of his Xenozoic collection at the Flesk Publications booth.

Gary Gianni at the Gianni/Madefire booth. These guys deserve the award for “Most Improved” booth. It was amazing how simple, yet amazing their booth looked this year.

Thomas Yeates and Mark Schultz, the new artist and writer team of Prince Valiant. Thomas has taken over the drawing chores from the recently retired (from the strip) Gary Gianni.

James Walker II holding the fort. I was away from the Flesk booth for much of the show. James, Jonathan Leveck, Laura West and Tony Villador did a remarkable job taking care of things.

Mark Schultz was a special guest at Comic-Con this year. One of the benefits is that he had a handler assigned to him. Maeve escorted Mark to all of his panels and she helped in other various ways. At 6’3” she had an impressive stature combined with a calm approach that parted the seas of people to get us where we needed to go in quick fashion. (Mark’s “only” 6’1″)

Craig Elliott drawing at this booth. The portrait at the left is the result of a live painting demonstration at his booth.

This is what it looks like to peer over the shoulder of Craig Elliott while he is drawing. Craig is working on a show commission at his booth.

Craig Elliott’s palette used during his live painting from a model at his booth.

Mark Schultz talking with a fan at the Flesk booth.

This was taken inside the Botanical Building at Balboa Park in San Diego. This location is one of my yearly visits as I decompress and relax before the five day show begins.

Another picture taken in the Botanical Building at Balboa Park.

Botanical Building at Balboa Park.

Enjoy,

John