Comic Con X-cites SoCal

Comic-book fans and overall pop culture enthusiasts indulged in all things nerdy this past weekend at the Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con, held at the Anaheim Convention Center. The three-day convention offered a variety of programs, including sing-a-longs, tabletop tournaments (Magic: The Gathering, anyone?), and several meet-and-greets with popular actors, voice actors, artists, and other involved members of the comic book industry.

Not to mention the real stars themselves: the superheroes. Attendees paid homage by dressing up as their childhood favorites, purchasing original art from actual mainstream comic book artists and discussing current but complicated storylines with one another.

Several renowned artists were invited to attend, including artist of Marvel's "Marvel Zombies," Arthur Suydam. Suydam started his career almost 40 years ago, snagging a job at DC Comics fresh out of high school. Since then, Suydam has contributed to many publications. "There's more drawing that happens in comics than any other art form," Suydam said. "These guys are drawing 2000 pictures a month."

While fans and attendees get the chance to meet with their favorite artists, Suydam also pointed out the benefits of conventions to an artist's point of view: understanding and adapting to the several changes in the publishing industry. That, and the thousands of comics. "I love drawing," he said. "It's very relaxing. It's kind of what attracted me to start drawing in the first place."