Going back to the New Jersey Comic Expo is a lot like meeting up with an old friend; one can always feel welcomed and content for a weekend relishing conversations and getting their inner “nerd” on.
Personally, one of my favorite things to do there is getting to meet some of the local and independent artists more than willing to clue you in on some the cool projects they are working on that otherwise may have been off your radar. Here are a few of the creators I got to speak with there:
Kathryn Calamia On Her Book “Like Father Like Daughter”
Kat: “Like Father, Like Daughter is about a teenage girl whose father left her at a young age to become a full time superhero. She has to deal with seeing her father everywhere and the world loving him while she views him in his true colors as a man who abandoned his true responsibilities.”
Mark Holmes On Over 30 Years Longevity Of “Fem Force”
Mark: “An entire team of female super heroes was gathered back in World War 2 to help fight the Nazis at the request of Eleanor Roosevelt. The three main characters, through their super-powers, have been able to stay young and powerful over the decades, and they’ve rotated out members as the years have gone by.”
Meredith Finch On Her First Original Title “Rose”
Meredith: “Rose is a fantasy/fiction book. It’s about a young girl who is coming of age learning that she has magic and the power to save her kingdom which is being threatened by an evil queen who wants to strip the land and destroy all magic.”
David Gallaher On “The Only Living Boy”
David: “The Only Living Boy tells the story of 12-year old Erik Farrell, who runs away from home only to find himself without his memory, stranded on a patchwork planet with danger lurking around every corner. Every day is a struggle to survive. Erik quickly allies himself with Morgan, a mermaid warrior and Thea, a teenage princess from a mysterious insect race. He’ll need their help to escape the dreaded Lord Baalikar and the evil Doctor Once and maybe, one day, find his way back home.”
Angelo Panetta & Tom Deere On “Agent 1.22”
Angelo & Tom: “Agent 1.22 is a cyborg operative of Project: T.E.R.R.A. (Technologically Enhanced Regimented Reconnaissance Agent), run by the world-protecting Agency. Before every mission, she is thawed out and her next mission is downloaded into her brain. She is currently tasked with finding a cure for the insidious Tempest Virus that is ravaging the Outer Colonies. Every time she finishes an op, she is debriefed, mind-wiped, and frozen.”
New to NJCE This Year: Table-Top Gaming
Kevin Allen Jr. On “Trouble For Hire”
Kevin: “Trouble For Hire is a tabletop story-oriented role-playing game. You sit with your friends around a table, you each take a role, and you follow the rules to create a story that you wouldn’t have made on your own. However, Trouble For Hire works in reverse of what you might expect. There’s basically only one “player character” and everyone “else” is a game master. The hero of your story is a smuggler, courier, and wheelman named Ruben. A mold-broken loner in over his head and wholly unafraid, he races through a world gone mad with modernity. A world where he mavericks his way out of tight situations with raw wits, stunt driver bravado, and the judicious application of violence. Everyone who isn’t playing Ruben has their own specific role, from a villain in Ruben’s way to the road through his stylized world to strange supernatural forces… and more.
All in all, NJ Comic Expo continues to deliver a delightful experience each and every year. I would like to thank everyone I had a chance to sit down with and can only urge them help support the growing independent scene. Hope to see you all next year!
