Lovers of comic book lore, underground comix, computer animation, graffiti, and all the other media attached to the subculture (such as film, video games, anime, cosplay, and music) should mark their calendars for next Saturday and Sunday, 21 and 22 in January, 2012. Over those two days, the old Costa Rican customs warehouse (La Aduana) will be transformed into Boom Con, the first ever celebration of popular culture in Costa Rica.

Special Guests

The special guest list for Boom Con is impressive. There’s Tim Townsend from Marvel Comics, a man who has worked on X-Men and Spider Man. Tom Bancroft is an experienced animator who spent 11 years at Disney, working on classic films such as The Lion King, Mulan and Aladdin. If you have any Marvel Comics or Walt Disney items or memorabilia that you’d like autographed, this is your chance.

Two actors who appeared in George Lucas’ Star Wars prequel films will also be on hand to meet, greet and sign autographs. Dean Mitchell played the part of Senator Cellheim Anujo in Episode III: Return of the Sith, while Christian J Simpson was the daring Gavyn Sykes, Fighter Pilot Bravo 6, in The Phantom Menace.

Local Artists

A major focus of Boom Con will be centered on Costa Rica’s underground comix scene, as well as the nascent computer animation industry. Two former illustrators of the groundbreaking Neozaga national comix zine will be available to chat with fans. Fran Delgado has made a name for herself in the United States, where she has worked on Tony and Cleo, a very innovative title that posits the ancient Egyptian queen in a modern urban setting and all the troubles of the 21st century. Another Tico comix artist at Boom Com will be Carlitos Salazar, another veteran of Neozaga. Both Fran and Carlitos are part of the Bocetos project, an ongoing challenge to all Tico artists and designers to quickly come up with their best work based on a topic posted on Facebook.

History of Tico Comix

Comix culture in Costa Rica dates back to the 1970s, when local graphic artists were fed up with the tired old comics like Mafalda, TinTin, Condorito, and Tarzan. Political satire cartoons are a staple of Latin American culture, and those had also gotten pretty old for the vivid imagination of many Ticos. Cartoonists took to the national newspapers and came up with their own Tico characters like Carlos Pincel, an unlikely secret agent who used to race the potholed streets of San JosÈ in a shiny Ferrari. Pincel was a cloak-and-dagger Cold War fighter who could have easily been a character out of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. He appeared on the pages of Diario Excelsior, a mostly anti-communist news daily that was a mixture of La Extra and Costa Rica Hoy, and just like the latter it was accused of being a propaganda vehicle for Partido LiberaciÛn Nacional. Those early efforts prompted local illustrators to publish TricolÌn magazine, a delight for Tico children that sadly did not make it past the 1970s, although it survives these days on the Internet.

In the 1980s, the domestic production of comic book illustration was evident in many newspapers and magazines, but the themes were once again leaning towards political satire and working class humor, leaving fantasy behind. The 1990s and the Internet brought an interest among Ticos in video games, underground comix and Japanese popular culture. The Neozaga magazine was born around this time, featuring Mangaticowork, a mix of Tico and Japanese illustration techniques and very original stories. Manga and anime have come to enjoy niche places among young Ticos who flock to stores like Ciudad Mangaat the Mall San Pedro.

The Tico comix and graphic novel scene these days is alive and well thanks to projects like El Zarpe, a magazine illustrated and written by some of the finest illustrators in Costa Rica. For the last two years, El Zarpe has been mixing science fiction with adult humor, satire and current events. It is not recommended for young children, and it is available as a premium digital content title that can be downloaded from TitÌ Online.

Computer Animation

Costa Rica’s graphical talent isn’t limited to static pictures on the printed page or computer screens. The intricate disciplines of computer graphic imaging (CGI) and special effects are also areas that Ticos are making a splash in. Companies such as Fair Play Labs and Morpho Animation Studio are putting Costa Rica in the map in terms of high-tech CGI production. Morpho has done CGI work for clients such as Kimberly-Clark, Coca Cola and Sony; while Fair Play Labs is notable for production of high-quality casual games like WackyLands and CubeHead for the iPhone and ecovolution for the Nintendo DS.

Cosplay and Music at Boom Con 2012

Performing live at Boom Con will be DRTY LVRS, a musical duo from South Florida that plays in as style self-described as ìdark-electronic.î DRTY LVRS’ hit R3D is currently enjoying a fair amount of airplay on local radio station 104.7 Hit. The duo’s music has been adopted by the fetish and Cosplay communities, and thus will be a suitable soundtrack for Tico Cosplayers in attendance at Boom Con. Cosplay involves dressing up as comic book and video game characters, a hobbie that many Ticos are warming up to, and which invariably calls for revealing sexy attire.