It’s that time of year, again. Comic-Con 2012 took place during the third weekend of July. I attended some amazing panels featuring talented artists, writers, and entertainers…like Allison Bechdel, Sid and Marty Kroft, the cast of Mythbusters, Jamie Kennedy, Shaquille O’Neal, and N.K. Jemison.

Comic-Con describes itself as a celebration of the “popular arts,” including science fiction, horror, and fantasy novels, movies, video games, television series, and (of course) comic books. The annual event attracts fans, geeks, comic-collectors, film buffs, gamers, and nerds of all ages, genders, and ethnicities. One of my favorite things about the Comic-Con is the sheer number of Black people in attendance, many in costume.

Over the next several days I will post the drawings from my 2012 Comic-Con sketchbook. I took my pen and pad to every panel, every film screening, and even to the masquerade ball. In order to honor the spirit of the event I have created some of my Comic-Con drawings in the style of a comic book cover.

The man in this drawing was dressed in a blazer that I believe was supposed to suggest one of the earlier incarnations of Doctor Who. He was standing in one of the vendor booths in the exhibition hall, and he was eyeing this replica of a battle sword whose name I didn’t recognize. For the bottom part of this figure I used a section from the famous Bayeaux Tapestry, created in England in 1070.  I added this element as a nod to this fan’s unabashed enthusiasm for medieval war games and weaponry.

Posted by Ajuan Mance