Don’t let the guy standing outside Cornerstone Church in Cottonwood with the ray gun and fishbowl space helmet this past weekend worry you.
He was just drawing attention to the first Cottonwood Comic Book Show, organized by the Northern Arizona Cartoonist Association.
While comic books were once long ago seen as something for children, it’s a big business with plenty of artists and writers who make quality work in the medium.
One just has to look at the box office to see that comic book heroes have transitioned from a box mom threw out to something that’s become mainstream.
“We wanted to do something locally,” said Jan Marc Quisumbing, aka The Janimal, a cartoonist that lives in Sedona who helped bring the show together.
Several writers and artists were on the scene, creators noted for their own original work and for working on projects like DC Comic’s Batman and the Flash.
Tables lined the entrance of the church, where creators were selling and signing their work.
In the main chapel, visitors could watch clips of shows like the acclaimed “Batman: The Animated Series” in between panel discussions about everything from the direction the comics industry is headed to the details of Easter eggs in the background of superhero shows.
Also, was Michael Keaton the best movie Batman? And why did some action figures not really resemble the characters as they were portrayed in the movies? Why does Kal-El even want to use his Kryptonian powers for good instead of just taking over the world and heat-visioning anyone who stands in his way?
Another question, why is the new Daredevil show so dimly lit?
“I understand Matt Murdock is blind but do I have to be?” joked comic writer Daniel Franks.
If a church seems like a strange place to hold a comic book show, it’s really not, said Dave Beaty, a Prescott Valley-based artist who has credits like the Justice League and the Green Lantern under his belt.
Beaty also helped come up with the idea for the comic show.
“Back in the day we would meet and get together in places like churches all the time,” Beaty said.
While a lot of times people may associate comic shows with large convention rooms or a space at a random hotel on the Interstate, Beaty said this Cottonwood effort was a way to bring something accessible to people in this part of the state.
It also brought artists and writers from all over the state, including those like Brian Augustyn, who has been an editor for DC Comics as well as the writer for stories like “Gotham by Gaslight,” a well-regarded work that reimagines how Batman would have dealt with Jack the Ripper in a Victorian-era Gotham City.
Augustyn came up to the show from the Phoenix area and said he welcomed the opportunity.
“We’re mainly here to promote our work,” Beaty said.
The show also benefited the church as a fundraiser for some regional youth programs.
Trevor Elliott, youth pastor at Cornerstone Church, was collecting the show’s $5 entry fee, a little less with a canned food donation.
“This money is going to help send kids to Winterfest and summer camp,” Elliott said. “It works out great for us.”
Elliott said that the event had drawn around a dozen artists and creators from all over; the show might become a recurring event.
