The Art of Comic-Con at the San Diego Central Library Downtown Debuts This Saturday!
Our first ever gallery exhibition, The Art of Comic-Con, debuts this Saturday, June 20 in the Art Gallery on the 9th Floor of the San Diego Central Library @ Joan Λ Irwin Jacobs Common at 330 Park Blvd. in downtown San Diego. A reception is planned on opening day from 12:00 to 2:00 PM. The exhibition and reception are open to the public and admission is free.
If you can’t make the opening day reception on Saturday, June 20, don’t worry … the exhibition will run during through Sunday, August 30, including during Comic-Con, July 7–12. What will you see at The Art of Comic-Con? Some incredible pieces of original comic book art from more than 60 artists, all of which were created exclusively for Comic-Con over the last 45 years. The exhibition includes a number of “process” pieces, which showcase the process of creating a finished piece of art, including original sketches, thumbnails, pencil and ink art, and final color art.
Sergio Aragonés joins us for this Saturday's Opening Reception ... click for details!
THE SPIRIT and WILL EISNER are Registered Trademarks of Will Eisner Studios, Inc. Used with Permission.
This week’s sneak peek offers a look at Michael Cho’s incredible Comic-Con 2015 Souvenir Book cover, one of the above-mentioned process pieces appearing in the exhibition. This cover celebrates the 75th anniversary of Will Eisner’s The Spirit, which was created by the legendary creator in 1940 as a Sunday newspaper supplement comic book. At its peak, The Spirit was seen by over 5 million readers before it ended in 1952. Eisner went on to an amazing career as a writer/artist and helped pioneer the graphic novel format with his debut book, A Contract with God in 1976. He created numerous graphic novels until his death in 2005. The namesake of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards (the Oscars of comics) held at Comic-Con each year, Eisner is one of the most influential comics creators in the history of the artform. Both a savvy businessman and a stellar storyteller, Eisner was a mentor, teacher, and inspiration to countless cartoonists, and very early on realized that comics were a legitimate artform. Artist Michael Cho, who created our 2015 Souvenir Book cover, is a Toronto-based illustrator known in comics for his work on titles such as Batman: Black and White and variant covers for Before Watchmen. His first graphic novel, Shoplifter, premiered on the New York Times bestseller list in the fall of 2014. He’s a special guest at Comic-Con 2015. Cho’s piece goes from thumbnail (1) to pencils (2) to inks (3) to final color cover (4) in the progression above.
The Art Gallery at the San Diego Central Library @ Joan Λ Irwin Jacobs Common is open:
Regular gallery hours (June 20–July 7, July 13–August 30): Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 12:00–5:00; Thursday: 2:00–7:00; Saturday and Sunday: 12:00–4:00.
Extended hours during Comic-Con: Wednesday & Thursday (July 8 & 9): 10:00–7:00; Friday, Saturday and Sunday (July 10–12): 12:00–6:00
Admission is free. The Gallery is located on the 9th floor of the Central Library, 330 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA 92101