VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

Comicpalooza 2012 will take place May 25-27 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Comicpalooza is known for bringing together a host of industry heavy-hitters, including comic-book creators, artists, actors and more.

One of the fastest-growing art shows in Houston is not set along picturesque bayous, in historic Heights spaces, or in fancy performance halls. It does not have wine and cheese openings, art critics, or abstract explanations for artwork. Saturday, May 26th, 2012, it's the Comicpalooza 2012: Live Art & Auction Charity Event!

Saturday night, watch the artists in action as they create one-of-a-kind works at the Live Art event, sponsored by Texas Art Supply. At the end of the evening, you can bid on your favorite pieces in the silent auction. Proceeds benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities. The Live Art begins at 7:00 PM on Saturday evening after the Dealer Room closes. Art will be displayed for bidding as soon as each piece is completed. Be sure to come back throughout the evening to see new pieces as they're available! The silent auction will end at 10:30 PM.

“It’s about storytelling,” says John Simons, founder and chairman of Comicpalooza, “Telling stories across many media, whether that means pictures, words, animation, film, games, theater or something else.”

The buzzword for an event like Comicpalooza is sequential art, which usually refers to comic books, although Comicpalooza is unwilling to be pinned down to any single term, even one that refers to comics.

Participating artists include Chris Beaver, Bob Eggleton, Jon Hughes, Mark Nasso, Vo Nguyen, Tommy Phillips, Juan Carlos Ramos, Andrew Robinson, Dirk Strangely, Chris Summers, Marcio Takara and Ben Templesmith.

“It’s also about entertainmen and education,” explains Simons, “We start with comics, but follow people’s interests, and people also want to learn about the things they like and have fun at the same time.”

This principle has lead Comicpalooza to sprawl across boundaries much like Houston. Now branded as the Texas International Comic Con, Comicpalooza features three days of programming that include workshops with industry-leading artists and writers, presentations by organizations like the Art Institute and greater Houston’s own top game developer TimeGate Studios, as well as activities like concerts, celebrity lasertag, video games, and even some sports like roller derby and Muggle Quidditch.

Says Simons, “The toughest part will be fitting everything into three days.”

Sponsors for this year include the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, McDonalds, TimeGate Studios, Best Buy, Hewlett-Packard, Bedrock City Comic Company, and Skirmisher Games. Startling Events, LLC is the organizing-events company for Comicpalooza.

For more information, including a complete list of events, guests, admission prices and schedules, visit www.comicpalooza.com.  

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Pictured: Images from a previous Live Art Auction — these images are courtesy of Alan Stoddard.