upcoming comic book convention: national stars shine a light on the Seacoast’s indie scene

In 1984, at a Howard Johnson hotel off the Route 1 traffic circle in Portsmouth, a comic book show marked the debut of one of the biggest independent comic hits in history: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” What started as a light-hearted satire launched a franchise that lasts to this day and minted the careers of two area comic creators, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. 

This Sunday, Portsmouth will host another comic book show, and the local scene couldn’t be more different. The area now boasts a handful of dedicated comic stores and a growing entourage of independent creators who print their work by hand or through small publishers, or post their stories on the Internet. These creators and local fans will congregate at the Best Western, which occupies the spot that used to be Howard Johnson, on Sunday, Nov. 16. From vets Rich Woodall and Matt Talbot of “Johnny Raygun,” to the up-and-coming Severed Head Comics group, to Web comics like Fatsquad and Squarecat Comics, area creators will rub shoulders with nationally-known talents like David Petersen and Joe Hill. The Seacoast comic scene has arguably never been stronger. 

At the same time, the comic book industry is struggling. Thanks to Hollywood, properties like “Iron Man” and “Batman” are scorching hot, but the comics that spawned them are a cult entertainment. Small-town artists who have never set foot in the offices of Marvel and D.C. can still reach their fans, but the overall audience is dwindling. This makes comic book conventions even more vital, as a way to bring fans face to face with creators, put young artists a table away from the legends who inspired them, and give everyone a chance to scout that eye-popping new style or fresh take on storytelling that keeps the struggling field going.

Ralph DiBernardo organized the Portsmouth show in 1984, and he’s also responsible for the one coming up on Sunday. The proprietor of Jetpack Comics in downtown Rochester, DiBernado grew up in Portsmouth. He bought comics the way most people did back in the 1970s—at a newsstand. He started selling comics himself in high school, taking up a spot at a flea market in Newington. At the time, comic collectors had few options and DiBernardo sold “hundreds and hundreds of comic books on a weekend.

“In fact, I have customers at my store today that used to buy comic books at the flea market in 1978,” he says.

Around 1982, DiBernardo opened his own store in Portsmouth, during one of the comic business’ boom times. He sold the store in ’85, moving on to sell collectibles on the “Star Trek” convention circuit and, later, getting into the restaurant business. But, in 2000, after falling out of reading comics for years, he was hooked again, this time by “Ultimate Spiderman,” which he picked up at the Paperback Bazaar in Somersworth. He later worked at and ultimately managed the Paperback Bazaar and, when it closed in 2006, opened Jetpack.

On top of selling books, DiBernardo has always been a booster for local artists. He was one of the first people to lay eyes on “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” which he calls a “fun spoof” of other comics, such as Frank Miller’s work on “Daredevil.” He was impressed that Eastman and Laird printed it themselves. “In this area, they were the first guys to self-publish a comic book, and it was such big news,” DiBernardo said.

DiBernardo purchased 500 copies and helped promote the book. That’s a habit he’s kept up today. At the Paperback Bazaar, DiBernardo met and, eventually, started publishing creators like Rich Woodall and Matt Talbot of “Johnny Raygun.” (Full disclosure: I work at a local business with Woodall and have spent hours talking with him about our favorite books.) Jetpack Press, DiBernardo’s imprint, has also published collections by Jennifer Omand (“Squarecat Comics”) and Rich Brunelle and Josh Belanger (“Fatsquad”).

“It just came down to, what can I give back to the comic industry? … I can’t draw, I can’t write, I had nothing else to offer. But, in my years of experience in comic books, I knew how to publish a comic book.”

DiBernado also knows about comic book conventions. He caught his first one in Boston in the early 1970s. “It was just amazing, because it wasn’t just about going and buying comic books. I got to meet creators and get their autographs, and it was just the neatest feeling,” he says.  

For both new and veteran comic book creators, attending a convention can mean cash, exposure, and the chance to network with publishers or hang out with fellow fanboys-turned artists. Well-known artists push merchandise, draw sketches and sell high-priced original art. Up-and-comers can hand out books, make connections with other artists and get their portfolios in front of editors and publishers.

Rich Woodall has gotten several breaks at conventions. After moving to New Hampshire from Kentucky, he went to a comic convention in Boston and spotted an editor. “I shoved my portfolio in the dude’s face,” he says. Woodall wound up meeting and working with Said Dabinga of Red Mercenary. On top of publishing some of Woodall’s work, Dabinga brought him to more conventions: Woodall had the car and Dabinga paid their way.

Woodall created the character Johnny Raygun, an intergalactic cop and slacker drawn in a style inspired by the great Jack Kirby. He later teamed up with Matt Talbot to turn it into a series. They promoted it at conventions and it sold well, sometimes because DiBernardo was sending people over to buy it. “He definitely sent one dude over to buy 10 copies. That’s how he is,” Woodall says.

“When I first started doing shows, during the first two issues of ‘Raygun,’ it was all about exposure,” he adds. Nowadays, he also sells comic books and original art, and takes requests for custom sketches. “It’s one of the few places I get to make a little extra cash.” 

The crew behind Severed Head Comics, which will soon print its fourth issue, has attended a handful of conventions to talk up their work. Their main book, “Severed Head Presents,” crosses genres from horror and fantasy to crime and humor. Dan Drew’s lip-licking vampires, converted straight from a Catholic girl’s school, share a book with Cara Judd’s demon/vampire character Monster Girl and gothic fantasy “Death Wears a Top Hat.” Anthony Morini’s short stories star babyish monsters that look like they just hatched from the cute end of hell. Meanwhile, J. T. Falkenburg, a graphic designer by training, manipulates photographs and gritty backdrops in stories such as the crime noir “Thicker than Blood.”

Falkenburg and Drew have used conventions to promote their book and recruit new artists. Falkenburg says the primary goal is to sell books. “If you don’t get picked up by the distributors, one of the only venues (to sell books) is the conventions,” he says. “But a lot of times, at the smaller conventions, you won’t make enough money even to pay for the table.” But they also go to have a good time. “It’s fun to meet other guys that are in the trenches, doing the exact same thing, making enough money to go to the next comic.”

Rich Brunelle and Josh Belanger of “Fatsquad” have also had good luck at conventions, especially compared to some of the other promotions they’ve tried. “Fatsquad” is a long-running comedy strip that was born at a lunch room table in Brunelle and Belanger’s high school and has spent most of its life on the Web. After they published their first trade paperback last year, Brunelle and Belanger undertook a nationwide road trip to promote the book—which meant, as Brunelle puts it, “being out in Ohio or something and showing up to a comic book store at two in the afternoon and just trying to talk to somebody about your stuff.” They didn’t always get a friendly reaction or a sale. By contrast, “At a convention, people are always open to new things.” 

The Fatsquad guys have been promoting their comic for years, selling merchandise and handing out ashcan editions (a type of minicomic). Two years ago, at the New York ComicCon, they couldn’t score a table. So, as Brunelle recalls, “all I did for eight hours a day was go around and meet as many people as possible.”

Jennifer Omand, writer and artist of “Squarecat Comics,” started her strip in 2003 as a daily diary project, and it has evolved into a slice-of-life comic with a sweet but dry wit. She once drew a comic about the trials of attending a convention and having an attendee hand back her comic—even though it was free. But, by and large, her experiences have been positive.

“Some comic conventions draw the kind of crowd who tend to be interested in indie comics and other cons tend to draw a crowd that’s more interested in the major big-name comics like ‘Spiderman’ or ‘X-Men.’ Either way, though, I’ve noticed that I’ve still met at least a few like-minded people who are interested in my comics, so I would say it’s a good way to get exposure, even if it’s just one person at a time,” she says.

Conventions also provide a market for material that can’t be found anywhere else. Omand recalls, “One of the best experiences I had was at the Baltimore SPX (Small Press Expo). The entire room was full of self-published artists and indie comic book creators who’d worked really hard making these great little beautifully designed works of art. Some of the covers had been individually die-cut so you could see through to the design on the next page. There was a lot of really striking work there. It was fun selling my stuff and talking to people, but, I have to say, the best part was walking around the room myself and meeting the creators, who were all really nice and genuinely enthusiastic.”

And, as Dan Drew says, half the fun is giving comic creators a chance to act like fans. “I love talking to the other artists who are there. ‘Holy crap, I’ve been reading your stuff my whole life!’ You feel like wetting your pants.”

The biggest convention in the business takes place every year in San Diego. But Comic-Con International has expanded far beyond comics. Fans and Hollywood-types spark huge interest in comic-related films like “Watchmen,” while the books themselves settle into a niche.  Blockbusters like this summer’s “Iron Man” or “The Dark Knight” make great box office, but they don’t necessarily translate into a boost in comic sales. As DiBernardo explains, the basic stories in, the “Spiderman” films, for example, have nothing to do with the tangled storylines and multiple continuities found in the comics. “If you’re a person on the outside coming into it, it’s just mass confusion,” DiBernardo said. “People understand the characters and enjoy them, but when you try to jump them into the comic book world, they just don’t get it.”

Like many comic book stores, Jetpack doesn’t just sell comics. Board games, collectibles and a few DVDs round out the shop. But the point of the store is to sell comics and to do a better job of it than, say, the local Barnes & Noble, where a few shelves of trade paperbacks might not include the hardcover edition of “Mouse Guard” or one of the 20 trade paperbacks of “Ultimate Spiderman.” 

The Seacoast’s other comic stores, including Nellie Woe’s in Dover, Jumpgate in Portsmouth, and Chris’s Cards and Comics in Seabrook, are also largely labors of love. (Nellie Woe’s is closing at the end of the month.)

“The unfortunate thing is that we are all trying to pull from the same pie. And there’s no doubt that that pie is shrinking every year,” DiBernardo said. When the economy plummeted this year, he said, he and the other storeowners he’s spoken with felt it immediately. “Right now is the lowest point sales-wise that I have faced.”

If blockbuster summer features, a steady stream of comic-related video games and even television shows like the once-popular “Heroes” can’t revive the comics business, what can?  DiBernardo has his eye on teachers and educators, who can use comics to hook kids on reading.  “I really believe that educators are going to be the saving grace of the comic book industry,” he said.

For the creators, working in New Hampshire doesn’t make it any easier. With no major studios and fewer conventions than even Boston, the Seacoast isn’t as fertile ground as New York City or the West Coast. At the same time, there’s a clear comic scene, and it has cross-pollinated with other pieces of the local arts scene. The Severed Heads group recruits everyone from fledgling creators to tattoo artists, and Dan Drew’s illustrations for the musical “Gay Bride of Frankenstein” will help fund future publications.

As the owner of a small press, DiBernardo says he isn’t scouting new projects. All of the creators he’s published are people he knows and personally believes in, which takes the edge off the fact that none of them have hit big. “They have to do it for the love of the comic,” he said. “You can’t be involved and think of it as a potential paycheck, because it is not a paycheck for any of us.” 

The Portsmouth Comic Book Show will take place on Sunday, Nov. 16, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Best Western Wynwood Hotel and Suites, 580 Route 1 By-pass, 603-436-7600. Regular admission is $3, free for children under 10. Premium admission, which includes a free comic and early entrance at 9:30 a.m., is $6, or $4 for children under 10. 

special guests at the Portsmouth Comic Book Show:

• David Petersen, creator of “Mouse Guard”
• Steve Bissette, illustrator for “Saga of the Swamp Thing”
• Christopher Golden, writer for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Hellboy”
• Joe Hill, creator of “Lock and Key” and author of “Heart Shaped Box”
• Craig Rousseau, co-creator of “Perhapanauts” and illustrator for “Spiderman Loves Mary Jane”
• Scott Wegener, illustrator for “Atomic Robo”
• Jay Piscopo, creator of “The Undersea Adventures of Capt’n Eli”
• Ron Fortier, writer for “Green Hornet,” “Terminator” and “Mr. Jigsaw”
• creators of “The Fat Squad”
• Rich Woodall, creator of “Johnny Raygun”
• creators of “Severed Head Comics”
• Jennifer Omand, creator of “Squarecat Comics”
• Matt Talbot, co-writer and illustrator of “Johnny Raygun”