GREENFIELD — Bam! Pow! Whack! The Western Massachusetts Comic Book Show is back!
The event, gearing up for its eighth iteration, will make its first appearance at the Franklin County Fairgrounds on Saturday, Sept. 13, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. inside Halberg Hall, the facility’s grandstand building. Nearly all of the shows have previously been held at the Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center, and they typically bring in 300 to 500 attendees.
The show is the brainchild of Turners Falls resident and part-time comic book vendor Kit Henry, who drove to shows across the Northeast and noticed a lack of them locally.
“I love the show. It’s nice to have a local show — a lot of times I travel to do conventions,” said Shelburne Falls artist Casey Coller. “There is a lot of really good local talent. It’s just got a good vibe to it.”
The event will feature at least a dozen vendors.
“There’s a lot to see. There’s a lot to interact with — artists, vendors,” Coller said. “You can get some classic comics and also find some people who are just trying to break in … create their own comics and stuff like that.”
Coller, a Transformers comic book artist at IDW Publishing, mentioned he will share a table with his 20-year-old daughter, Rose, who is an artist in her own right.
“On a personal level, it’s really cool to be able to share the experience with her,” he said.
Henry said the Franklin County Fairgrounds was recommended to him by several people and the space allows for an additional 30 tables, bringing the total to 70.
“We’re going to give it a shot and see how it goes this year,” he said of the new location. “It’s always a great time.”
The promotional poster for this year’s event, featuring The Thing from “Fantastic Four” reading a comic book, was designed by artists Gary Smith, of South Deerfield, and Mark Masztal, of Springfield.
Smith, a 1991 graduate of the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in New Jersey, said he will bring his comic books, oil paintings, prints and postcards to sell.
“It’s more of a labor of love, to do a comic. But I’ve always loved storytelling,” he said.
Smith moved to New York City to work for Valiant Comics and returned home to this area “when that fizzled out.” The creator of “The Doe-Nild” and “Tales of J’lleen” comic books, he said he uses the show to try to help young people aspiring to enter the industry.
“It’s a soap opera,” he said of comic books. “You hurt your characters as best you can and that’s drama and tension, as least as far as I read it.”
Masztal explained that he added the color to the linework Smith provided him for the promotional poster.
“I’m very happy with it,” he said.
Masztal said the Western Massachusetts Comic Book Show is always a great opportunity for artists to sell their work and make new fans.
“They’ve been great. I believe that Kit does a fantastic job,” he said. “But the good thing is that it is a real community-type thing.”
Tickets are $7 and available at tinyurl.com/WMCBShow. Children ages 12 and under will be admitted for free with paid adult admission. The Western Massachusetts Comic Book Show maintains a Facebook page with more information.
