From Long Beach to Stan Lee's Comikaze: Lemonade Day

. I'm taking the opportunity of this unplanned time off to share stories of the many artists and creators in this wonderful city that I love. Come with me on my 100-day odyssey of art and creativity in Long Beach. I call it .

Today was a very busy day.  The family attended Stan Lee's Comikaze event at the LA Convention Center.  I thought... do I really want to go?  I was persuaded by Bujinkomix and emerged from my Fortress of Solitude (such is the life of a blogger).  OMG!  I should totally do this more often!  I met so many people!  It's hard to distill an event like this into a single post.  I hope it's ok with you if I do it over a few days.

For those of you who are wondering about the Long Beach pertinence of this post, the Long Beach Comicon is coming up on November 4th, and I was curious to see which of the artists would be there!  Also, Comikaze is sponsored by Stan Lee's Pow! Entertainment, which has donated to the Lowell Elementary School Spring Auction.

September 16th was Day 77.  I visited with the Neal Adams family at Stan Lee's Comikaze.

I met Neal Adams today.  My husband, Bujinkomix's, hero.  Neal was at the booth with sons Joel and Josh, signing autographs, doing drawings and taking photos.  I found out a little bit about the family, and about Neal Adams' recent pursuits. 

Neal was in from New York.  It seems that he spends a fair amount of time on the road.  When you're a comic book artist, hitting the "Cons" (and the kazes) is a very important part of promoting your art and ultimately yourself!  Neal joined sons Joel and Josh at the Adams booth.

Neal Adams

Neal invited us to view some of the videos from the "Neal Adams Science Project" playlist.  These are videos that present to us alternative views on bodies in our solar system while at the same time providing the artist with the opportunity to explore and demonstrate some very cool techniques in video and art.  As Neal put it:  "Grab a cup of coffee, sit down, and enjoy a few of the videos."

Bujinkomix first heard about the Hero Initiative from Neal Adams.  This is a national non-profit dedicated to helping comic book creators in need.  It provides a financial source for those comic book creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for the basics of life and a way to get back into paying work.

On the way up to Comikaze, Bujinkomix and I had been discussing the fact that being the original creator of a comic book character does not necessarily mean that you receive royalties on current comic book sales.  Far from it. The evidence?  The experiences of Superman creators, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.  Rather than repeat the Wikipedia entry, please read the Early Years section if you wish to understand.  Perhaps the outcome would be different today.

I'd had a very similar conversation with Karen Reside of the Cultural Alliance of Long Beach.  Artist Law is one of the topics of CALB's Artist Boot Camp (October 27).

The Neal Adams Family

There are five creative children in the family: Jason, Joel, Josh, Kris and Zeea.  All are artists... creators... makers of one flavor or another.  As Vito in the "Battle of the Robins" debate today would say... "DNA!". 

Jason Adams is a sculptor.  A graduate of New York's School of Visual Arts, Jason goes by the creative name "Spyda".  His specialty is the creation of models for resin kits and painted sculpture, and he has to his credit a book in techniques of sculpting - "Spyda's Creations.  A Study of Sculptural Methods".

Joel Adams' work varies from pin-ups of Super Heroines to his Lilz line which has a Mangaesque quality.  The evolution of the Lilz began when Joel worked on some drawings of Betty Boop many, many years ago.  The look was well received, and Joel experimented with other characters.  Since then, there have been Lilz versions of comic book heroines, devils, angels, pirates, mermaids and faeries.  Joel has done character design work for King of the Hill,  NASCAR Racers, Hulk (animated series) as well as licensing art for Harry Potter, Power Rangers and more!  There's a good chance that Joel and the Lilz will be in Long Beach on November 4th!

Josh Adams works in pencil, charcoal, ink, paint (acrylic, watercolor and oil) as well as digital mediums Photoshop, Illustrator and In Design.  Coimc book illustration, art and on-set prop work for film and TV, character design, artwork for flash and classical animation, teaching and public appearances.  Josh has worked on many well-known productions.  Batman, Dr. Who, the Astonishing X-Men Motion Comic are just a few of his recent projects.

Kris Stone works in comic book publishing in New York company Continuity Studios.

Zeea Moss is a freelance motion graphic artist and video editor.  Zeea has been published in comic books, and was an integral part of the Barnes & Noble "Nook" product launches.  Zeea makes her living as a Green Screen Key Editor and Videographer.  She describes her education as being from the "School of Actually Working".  Zeea takes pride in finding new techniques for onscreen work through company Untitled Project Productions.

Want more lemonade?               

If you would like to contact me, please email me at  info@handmadepenguin.com

Trish Tsoiasue writes about creative and maker topics for and as Handmade Penguin for the Handmade Penguin Blog.  She is currently playing .