ART BEATS: New York Comic Con Turns 20: 10 Artist Sketches From Over the Years
Raymond Tyler celebrates New York Comic Con’s 20th anniversary with 10 sketches from his personal collection and memories of meeting the stars and creators who brought his favorite stories to life.
NEW YORK– Today (Thursday, October 8, 2026) is the start of the 20th annual New York Comic Con.
I still recall catching the bus to NYC with Atlantic City Focus publisher Mark Tyler and contributing writer Shawn Wright. It was the coldest day of the year...(they have since moved the date from the dead of winter to fall.) I must thank the people in PR for getting us in and showing us great hospitality.
Over the years, I have seen The New York Comic Con grow into the biggest entertainment/comics event on the East Coast.
Some memories I will always cherish include meeting and speaking with Jack Larson (Jimmy Olson) and Noel Neil (Lois Lane) from the original Adventures of Superman TV show. The list of people I met from shows I grew up with is long.
New York Comic Con was and is the dream of a sci-fi fan of any age.
You can attend panels with comic creators and casts from TV shows. And there are tons of free, one-of-a-kind stuff.
I have not been able to go in the last 5 years but I still believe that every true fan of comics, sci-fi, fantasy and cartoons should attend once. Whether you want the scoop on current hit shows like Rick and Morty or classic sci-fi...it's all there.
IN CELEBRATION OF THE 20TH NEW YORK COMIC CON!
HERE ARE 10 PIECES OF ART I HAVE ACQUIRED FROM NEW YORK COMIC CON through the years!
A pen sketch of The Black Panther from artist Kyle Baker.
In 2004, Baker wrote and illustrated what by many is consider the definitive Plastic Man series. Taking the obscure hero and making him more popular than ever.
This rendering of Power Girl is by Aaron Lopresti. I bought his "sketch book" of illustrations and he was kind enough to draw this for me.
Jim Starlin, is considered a legend in comics. Starlin created Thanos and has created several popular characters. He's a person both Marvel and DC tap to write and sometimes illustrate space sagas.
He graciously did this quick sketch for me because he said "No one has ever asked me to draw Magus, before." I always like Magus because of his back story and afro.
On the left we have The Destroyer and on the right The Enchantress both drawn by Walter Simonson. Mr. Simonson has written and illustrated my all-time favorite series of The Mighty Thor comics. His art and writing made for a jaw dropping and fun time.
This is a Supergirl sketch by Janet Hetherington, a wonderfully talented artist and genuinely nice person from Canada.
This Supergirl is from Jamal Igle. Igle was the primary Supergirl artist at the time circa 2007. I met Igle at The East Coast Black Age Of Comics in Philly and have been a fan of Jamal Igle the artist and admired Jamal Igle the man.
Left we have Master Splinter and on the right K.C Jones by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle c0-creator Kevin Eastman.
One of the things I have loved about comic cons is hanging out, laughing and discussing sci-fi with the people who created it. I really enjoyed my talks with Kevin Eastman. Eastman did the sketch on the right (like Jim Starlin did) because he said...no one ever asks for KC Jones sketches. In our discussion we discovered we both really like The KC Jones character.
The other creator of The Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles, Peter Laird blessed me with this sketch. I am so glad to have art in my collection by both TMNT creators.
Note: Many artists that you will find at New York Comic Con or any con, do need contributions for sketches and commissioned art. All of the pieces I have shared were at times when the artists were at a table without a crowd and in some cases looking for someone to chat with. Please be respectful and polite and do not behave "entitled." If they are kind enough to sketch for free, please offer them something or try and buy something from them. I am okay with haggling sometimes...it's part of the fun and the story.
Thanks for reading the whole story!
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