Kickstarter: Comic Book People 2: Photographs from the 1990s

Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman, Bill Sienkiewicz, Bernie Wrightson, and Dave Gibbons at the 1991 San Diego Comic-Con.

Jackie Estrada is a Comic-Con legend. She knows everybody. And she’s photographed everybody. Her work has appeared everywhere, including the recent PBS program on superheroes. She’s been a supporter of Comic-Con from the very beginning and administrator of its Eisner Awards since 1990. She has vivid recollections and has documented them in her first book, Comic Book People, which covered the ’70s and ’80s. Now comes Comic Book People 2 which covers the ’90s. It’s a perfect next step in seeing the history and behind-the-scenes fun that is Comic-Con International in San Diego as well as the Chicago Comic-Con, WonderCon, the Small Press Expo, and APE. And you can make this new book a reality by joining in support of the Kickstarter campaign going on now through March 13. Join in your support and visit the campaign right here.

Press release follows:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE contact: jackiee@mindspring.com

Jackie Estrada’s Kickstarter-Funded Comic Book People 2 Provides Unique Peek at Comics History

As a follow-up to last year’s well-received Comic Book People: Photographs from the 1970s and 1980s, longtime comics industry insider Jackie Estrada is running a Kickstarter campaign to fund Comic Book People 2: Photographs from the 1990s.

Both books offer a unique peek at the early days of comics conventions before they were big pop culture events, when the giants of the industry mingled casually with their peers and fans.

The high-quality hardcover coffeetable book will feature some 600 candid photos taken at comic conventions in the 1990s, along with commentary and anecdotes about each person. The book will be 176 pages, with mostly black-and-white images but a 16-page color section. Estrada’s goal is to raise $23,000 to cover the costs of design, production, and printing of 2,000 copies, along with shipping, distribution, and backer rewards.

“While the first book focused primarily on the San Diego Cons of the 1970s and 1980s, this one gives a glimpse into comics industry in the transitional era of the 1990s,” says Estrada. “This was the period when Image emerged, lots of new publishers got into the mix, and the self-publishing and indie comics movements really took off.” She notes that a number of Golden and Silver Age creators were still with us, and she includes photos of folks like Frank Frazetta, Carmine Infantino, Gene Colan, Al Williamson, Sheldon Moldoff, and Nick Cardy, to name a few. But it was also a time for new faces that are now familiar fixtures, such as Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Jeff Smith, Terry Moore, Colleen Doran, David Lapham, and Paul Pope.

It was during the 1990s that Estrada and her husband Batton Lash formed Exhibit A Press to produce his comics series Wolff & Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre (aka Supernatural Law). Many of the photos in Comic Book People 2 were taken at shows where they exhibited, from the Chicago Comic-Con and WonderCon to the Small Press Expo and APE, as well as from the San Diego Comic-Con.

Jackie has been both a comics fan and a photographer since the 1960s, and she has been to every San Diego Comic-Con. Her involvement in comics has included editing publications for Comic-Con, serving as the administrator of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards since 1990, serving as president of Friends of Lulu, and being the co-publisher of Exhibit A Press, which will publish Comic Book People 2. Her photos of comics creators have appeared in numerous books and publications, from Paul Levitz’s 75 Years of DC Comics and Julius Schwartz’s autobiography Man of Two Worlds to Alter Ego and Comics Buyer’s Guide. Most prominently, dozens of her photos were used in Dark Horse’s Comics: Between the Panels and in Comic-Con: 40 Years of Artists, Writers, Fans, and Friends. Most recently, her photos could be seen in the PBS special on the history of superheroes.

The Kickstarter campaign can be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1472315988/comic-book-people-2-photographs-from-the-1990s

Here are just a few of the comments about the first book:

“This is the way it used to be . . . comic creators were accessible and willing to share the love we all had for their craft. Anyone with a serious, or even casual, interest in the history of comic books needs a copy of Jackie’s book on their reference shelf.”–Steven Freidt

“Jackie captured us all and in a candid way while we were at our best. It was a heady time for creators and this was the show where we all met, celebrated and gave each other encouragement. If you were there, this will be a great memento of a time we will never see again. If you never made it to the show it will give you a guest seat amongst the movers and shakers, as well as us smalltime Indies struggling along with the others. Jackie has captured in pictures and words (how appropriate) a very special time in the history of comic books and put together for all of us to enjoy.”–Deni Loubert

“Having read Comic Book People and returned to it every couple days since because its images are so compelling, I can’t imagine this volume not being part of every serious comics fan and historian’s library. I give it my highest recommendation.”–Tony Isabella

“If you like comics, you must… MUST get this book. It is so great. The history in these pages is incredible. All that lost time from my youth could have been spent being a part of so much of this craziness, in a good way. You will not waste a penny by purchasing this book. Get this. Enjoy this. Get a taste of the history that is comics.”–Aaron C.

“If you love comics, and the people who have created your favorite issues, then you will love this book!! This is a must-have book for any serious student of comics and I mean all genres. Jackie Estrada, like no other person could, has brought everything together through her photographs and her insights.”–Robert W. Cox

“As soon as I heard about this book, I made sure I was going to get a copy. Not only is it an important document about the history of comic books and a time capsule of the times, it is a fun romp showing the more things change … the more things stay the same. This is a loving tribute. Thanks to Jackie Estrada. I will treasure this book and say a little prayer that you’ll get to do more.”–Dave Olbrich

“Comic Book People 2: Photographs from the 1990s” is the perfect item for fans of comics and pop culture. Join the campaign now before it ends on March 13. Visit the campaign right here.