Image Comics Expo
It was 1992 when a group of Marvel Comics’ best-selling artists — fed up with the lack of creative license and financial returns afforded to them by their work for the corporate comic-book publisher — made the decision to start Image Comics, a publishing company revolutionary both for encouraging quirky publications (like an illustrated anthology of Belle and Sebastian songs) and for having a creator-owned model that allowed artists ownership of the works they created. It’s that credo that gave Robert Kirkman the chance to write a comic book in what was then an unpopular genre — zombies — and, later, the autonomy to adapt what becameThe Walking Dead to television. “It was really kind of a grand experiment to create a company founded on the idea of creative ownership and creative freedom,” said Kirkman, who today is one of five partners in the company. “All other entertainment companies take stabs in the dark until something catches on. And then they latch onto it and milk it for all it’s worth.” Kirkman’s just one of a dream team of Image partners, founders, and affiliates appearing at the Image Expo, a three-day celebration of the company’s twenty years, at the Oakland Convention Center (1001 Broadway) on Friday through Sunday, February 24-26. The exhaustive weekend-long event includes panel discussions on topics like women in comics, Image’s conception, and adapting comic books to television; plus small artists’ workshops led by established illustrators like Spawn creator Todd McFarlane; and the requisite Q&A and autograph sessions. Guests can also patronize comic-book vendors and pick up special products only available at the expo. “Those are hot items on eBay,” Kirkman quipped. “So I recommend people come early and come every day.” Fri. 3-8 p.m.; Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Sun. 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; $20-$150. 510-451-4000 or ImageComicExpo.com. — Cassie Harwood
Grave Digger, looking not a day over 29 Seriously. Grave Digger, not looking a day over 29 Seriously.
While some steer clear of monster-truck rallies and their raucous, beer-guzzling crowds and exorbitant displays of high-powered car-crushing, others may argue that such qualities are precisely what make the events so epic. The latter crowd is in luck on Saturday, Feb. 25, when Monster Jam, the widely traveled and well-known monster-truck tour, makes a pit stop at the O.co Coliseum (7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland). This round of the tour features sixteen 10,000-pound trucks, including the legendary Grave Digger, which turns thirty this year. Find out what middle-age looks like for a vehicle that’s spent its days bashing into and jumping off of things at ridiculous speeds. 7 p.m., $12.50-$125. 800-745-3000 or MonsterJam.com. — Cassie Harwood
