One of the best parts of attending a convention like Momo Con is you get the chance to meet some of your favorite comic book artist. Have you ever wondered why your favorite character made some crazy decision or that suicidal heroic gesture? At Momo Con, you get the chance to ask how that situation came about from the actual person that created it. You really have to appreciate the artistic and creative thinking that goes on behind many of these graphic novels and video games. Zombie parkour, girls not afraid of monsters and The Big Bad Wolf is actually one of the good guys…who thought up this stuff???

 CC and I hit the convention floor and found a couple of artists willing to give us their thoughts about their work, some of the benefits of being at Momo Con and what lies in their future.

First, we visited with fellow Atlanta resident Stephanie Gladden. Stephanie created a web series comic called Girls of Monster Island. It’s a unique take on the whole monster versus damsel in distress genre in which the the so called damsel doesn’t want to rescued from her so called villain. That’s a new one on me. You can find Stephanie’s individual interview here.

Next, we spoke with Dan Jolley. Dan wears many different hats in the comic industry. He writes for a video game called Dying Light in which you can battle against zombie hordes using a parkour combat system. You can also BE a zombie which sounds like a fantasy for many a zombie genre lover. Dan has writing his own series of comics as well, including Bloodhound. You can find more about Dan on his website The Jolleyverse and you can see his individual interview here.

Finally, we met up with Deon Brown, the creator of Battle For Ozellberg. Similar to Girls of Monster Island , it has a unique perspective on the traditional roles of hero and villain, this time it’s Little Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf. Attending his first Momo Con, Deon had a great time absorbing everything the convention had to offer and he’s already looking forward to coming back next year. You can see his one on one with CC here.

When I was younger, I tried drawing the Turtle or Bear that came on the “Draw Me” art school applications. I never actually submitted one but I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I’d made that leap of faith. The ability to create, draw and write these comic is a skill I hold in high regard and I’m glad that being a lover of comic books is no longer seen as taboo.

We’ll be back next week with some of our Momo Con administrative interviews. These guys are the ones that make it all happen for you so tune in next week!

Mike