Indie Creators, Veterans, And Living Legends Alike Flooded The Artist Alley At C2E2 2025
For anyone who has never traversed the aisles of Artist Alley at C2E2, it’s a lot like going to a Black Friday sale at any large corporate retailer around the country as soon as Thanksgiving dinner ends, along with trying to maneuver their parking lots. The difference is that most of the people crammed shoulder to shoulder in the former aren’t buying anything as they clog the congested lanes for one of the most sinister versions of Red Light, Green Light ever concocted, and nobody is pointing barrels at each other over the last Funko Pop.
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This mere section of the showroom at McCormick Place comprises 26 lanes marked A to Z, and runs the length of several yards, but feels much longer when you’re actually in them. On both sides are rows of 6-foot tables with 6 feet of empty space separating them, and if there’s more than one popular artist in that particular aisle, it’s a devil of a time trying to get out of it. It is not for those who harbor little patience in their hearts, or who have low tolerance for absentminded lumps who slowly shamble through a throng of living folk while scanning everything with a blank stare that resembles a lost zombie that’s catching faint echoes of its former life everywhere it looks.
Cynical critiques aside, there’s a reason they all gather together and choose to endure the draining, sardine-like experience. It gives them a chance to stand in the presence of comic book artists and writers whose skillful hands continue to shake the world of imagination to its core. They are the courageous souls who have tossed away the safety raft of the 9-to-5 world and sail the treacherous seas of consequences. Whether it’s a talented newcomer or a legend who belongs on a couple of Mt. Rushmores, walk down the right artist alley in C2E2, and you’ll find just about anything.
The first table brings the steamy artwork of the supremely talented Sorah Suhng. She entered the crazy world of comic book creating in 2007 as a contributing artist and has been working as a penciller and illustrator since 2016. Aside from drawing characters the hottest way possible, Sorah has worked on Archie “Holiday” Special, Lady Death, Hellwitch, and La Muerta through Coffin Comics, and Void Trip (Image Comics), to name a few. Along with inking, design, and title designs for Marvel with Iron Man: The End, Iron Man: Legacy of Doom, and Hercules: Twilight of a God.
Corin Howell is a self-proclaimed “writer for anything spooky, scary, and sexy,” along with being one helluvan artist who has demonstrated her illustrating prowess with books like Transformers: Distant Stars (IDW), Ghostbusters: Answer The Call (also IDW), Dark Red (Aftershock) and the eternally obnoxious fifth dimensional imp, Bat-Mite (DC) with Dan Jurgens in 2015. She is also the creator of the sexy demonic man-eater turned model, Lilith, from Vault Comics.
Both artists can be found on all social media platforms, along with cruising the nationwide convention circuit, but the link to Sorah’s professional website is here, and the way to Corin’s dark realm is right there.
The rabbit hole only goes deeper while roaming the crowded corridor. Tim Seeley is a local writer/artist who has been hacking/slashing his way through comics for over two decades on mainstream titles such as Nightwing, Batman Eternal, and G.I. Joe. He’s also the words guy on the amazing indie horror books Revival, and that other Image title starring my girlfriend, Cassie and her companion Vlad.
Moving on completely… Cuban illustrator Vanesa Del Rey has brought her gritty, atmospheric style to Marvel through Scarlet Witch, Spider-Women Alpha, and Daredevil Annual (2016). She’s also co-creator with Jordie Bellaire on the book Redlands, from Image Comics. Like many others who weave dark tales with haunting images, Del Rey is one of the more approachable, down-to-earth artists on the scene.
Then there’s acclaimed cover artist (and incredibly extroverted) John Giang. This man has run the gauntlet of Marvel, DC Comics, Paramount, Disney, Lucasfilm, and Hasbro. His works include Red Hulk, Batman vs Robin, and Transformers, but it doesn’t stop at comics with him. Giang was also a concept artist for films like Iron Man 2, The Avengers, Pacific Rim, and Rogue One. It’s enough to make any common nerd a little starstruck, but it pales in comparison to what awaits in the next aisle.
The great Klaus Janson has graced the comic world with his presence since the 1970s, and was at the penciller/inker seat for classics from Detective Comics Annual (with the immortal Bat-Scribe, Denny O’Neil) to Punisher, Wolverine, and World War Hulk. However, most lifers recognize Janson from his collaborations with fellow legend Frank Miller. Their first team-up was on Daredevil from 1975-1983, which many (myself included) consider to be one of the greatest runs in comic book history, and the other is the four-issue groundbreaking masterpiece, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986).
If there’s anything that can make a person freak out more after that brief exchange, it’s coming across Chris Claremont’s table without expecting it. This is a name that rings deep throughout the childhood of any comic book reader born in the last century, and the few who were born into this current one with responsible parents. The storytelling master has composed unforgettable tales in WildC.A.T.s: Covert Action Teams (Image), Iron Fist (Marvel), and one of my personal favorites from back in the early days, Aliens/Predator: Deadliest of the Species (Dark Horse Comics), but most remember him from his legendary sixteen year run on Uncanny X-Men (1975-1991) that dwarfs Klaus and Frank’s tenure with the Devil Of Hell’s Kitchen, and it led Marvel through their most creatively affluent period of the 1980s with Jim Shooter as top editor.
As friendly as the last two people were, they have nothing on the warm air of welcome that drifted from Wendy and Richard Pini’s table. The husband-and-wife team first met when Richard read one of Wendy’s letters that had been published (along with her address) in a 1969 issue of Silver Surfer. They started corresponding, fell in love, maintained a four-year relationship that was mostly phone-based, but with one IRL visit a year that led to them eventually getting married, and that’s adorable, even if people try denying it!
It is also half the story. The newlyweds would go on to create the amazing Fantasy epic, Elfquest, in 1978. The book was published through their own company, WaRP Graphics, and it still continues to this day, along with being one of the most beloved comic book series of the genre.
It can be a little overwhelming to stand before those whose names reach back to a time when reading was still a new thing. To actually hear the words of someone who has helped shape the imagination of generations with their actions, and to interact with them. It’s something that can elevate a person, or at least until the best parts of their adolescence pull up, and bring them back down to earth with a simple hand gesture.
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