If you’re a fan of Mondo you’ve undoubtedly heard about MondoCon. If you haven’t, you’ve probably been living under a flat file. This past weekend, MondoCon returned to Austin, Texas for its third consecutive year. The two-day event manages to squeeze in hours of panels, a handful of screenings, and three exhibit halls of pure talent. They even threw a live music event and record release featuring the duoLe Matos.
In its short three years, this convention has become a staple for fellow collectors and fans. Exhibitors and attendees come in from all over the world to share their love of art and buy up some of their favorite pieces. In short, there’s something for everybody. In fact there is so much great stuff you really have to pick and choose what you going for because you can only be in one place at time. But in the end you can’t really go wrong. Every booth, every artist, every original piece of art is something special. I was fortunate to attend the event for the second time and in no particular order here are some of my top highlights.
Mondo Live Draw Panel
What do you get when you take three of Mondo’s brightest artists and put them on the same stage and all working on the same idea? Fans found out when they walked through the doors of the Mondo Live Draw panel on Sunday afternoon. Featuring artistsOlly Moss,Jock, andJay Shaw, this panel gave fans an inside look into the creative process of creating a Mondo poster. The panel started with the audience tossing out a handful of films for the artists to choose. After some serious suggestions, and some not so serious, the final vote came down toGoldfingerandThe Wicker Man. With a little input from the creative forces, the final decision was on the James Bond classic,Goldfinger.
The process starts with a concept, this one devised byOlly Moss. A fingerprint that turns into the infamous and recognizable barrel of the gun where 007 will appear. Jock was tasked with obtaining reference photos and drawing the main character. Meanwhile Jay Shaw worked on the layout and the strikingly bold fonts. By the end of the short hour the trio had turned in a surprisingly solid piece of work. Jay even had high hopes that someday we might see an actual print of it.
Laurent Durieux Sketches
One of the hottest items of the weekend was an original concept sketch by Belgian artistLaurent Durieux. With only 15 available per day, getting one requires waiting in line pretty much overnight. The artist asked each customer to come up with five film choices that he can pick from for their sketch. Jack, Laurent’s twin brother takes down the list, asks some questions, then passes it down the line to be brought to life. Laurent works throughout the day producing sketches for blockbusters likeLord of the RingsandJurassic Park, as well as classic films likeSeven SamuraiandThe Great Escape. The results of the sketches are simply amazing. A dose of Laurent’s signature style mixed with a simple color palette give the customer just enough to wet their whistle and imagine what a printed poster could have been. Laurent also premiered a brand new print forNorth by Northwest, the next entry in the ongoingAlfred Hitchcockseries.
The Mondo Store
The biggest space of the entire event belongs to the Mondo Store. Stacked with thousands of posters, the Mondo Store is a mandatory stop for anyone who is attending. This year Mondo really catered to pretty much everybody, making it hard to walk out of there with only one or even two prints. Fans could choose fromMatt Taylor’s take onEscape From New York,Rory Kurtz’s primal depiction ofThe Graduate, orTom Whalen’s long awaitedWall-E. These three were just a small sampling of the plethora of breathtaking work Mondo had on display. Fans were also treated to some sneak peeks of Mondo’s upcoming collectibles line including Mike Mitchell’s Treehugger featuring lovable versions of Rocket and Groot.
‘The Fountain’ Screening
Kicking off a trilogy of screenings on Saturday was the 2006Darren Aronofskyfilm,The Fountain. The film was introduced by composerClint Manselland concluded with a very heartfelt Q&A. Clint spoke about the process of working with Aronofsky as well as fellow musiciansKronos QuartetandMogwai. The composer also discussed his own personal tragedies and how this body of work helped him and others. Many of the Mondo screenings come with a poster, but this time fans were rewarded with the very first printing of the soundtrack on vinyl. The very limited MondoCon exclusive edition of 500 featured artwork by the incredibly talentedNicole Gustafsson.
Mondo Talk
One of the most popular and engaging panels of the convention the past few years has been Mondo Talk. Led by Mondo Creative DirectorRob Jones, this panel gives fans a peek of some of the great artwork that almost was and could have been. One of the biggest gasps came when Mondo unveiled progress pics for theGame of Thronessteelbooks. Mondo heavy hittersMartin Ansin,Ken Taylor, andFrancesco Francavillaall turned in exceptional work but ultimately none of it was used in the final artwork.
The audience was also shown multiple progress pics for Ken’s work on theMission: Impossibleseries. The work looked great but they couldn’t get approval on likeness rights and the project was eventually shelved.
The Mondo creative team went on to talk about how studio and director involvement often affect the outcome of a project. The next portion of the panel was an audience vote where attendees could decide on which version of a print they wanted to see completed. The subject was the next installment ofJock’sStar Warsseries forThe Empire Strikes Back. The audience was given two choices and in the end voted on the piece that focused on the infamous Battle of Hoth. The panel concluded with an engaging and hilarious Q&A led by Rob Jones. Fans picked the panelists brains getting Mitch Putnam to list some dream artists as well as Jay Shaw gushing on some dream film projects. The closing segment even allowed one celebrity fan to promote their dreamTyler StoutSimpsonsproject.
To some people waiting in line for 24 hours sounds like a nightmare. To others it’s a party. The Holiday Inn line started sometimes early Thursday morning. The doors didn’t open til 10am on Saturday. If you’re one of those fans waiting outside overnight you’ll probably recognize some familiar faces, and chances are you’ve even done it before. Add in some famous Texas barbecue, some great conversation, and plenty of beer and the time just passes by. It’s a great way to make new friends as well as visit with ones you may only get to see once a year. Just don’t forget to bring a chair.
Daniel Danger and Aaron Horkey Collaboration
I can’t even imagine the amount of man hours that are going into the collaboration piece “The Archivist”. Veteran Mondo artistsDaniel DangerandAaron Horkeyhave teamed up to put together an incredibly detailed collaboration showcasing both of the artists familiar styles brought together into one spectacular image. The duo has been working on the piece back and forth but at MondoCon they were able to sit side by side and make some progress. The black and white piece features one of Aaron’s winged creatures atop one of Daniel’s dilapidated houses. In addition to seeing the piece drawn live up close and personal, 100 lucky fans were able to pre order the key line variant of the print which was exclusive to MondoCon.
Mondo Mystery Movie 12
Speculation and rumors are out of control and running wild. Tickets are being traded, favors being called in, bets are being placed. All this can only mean one thing, it’s time for the Mondo Mystery Movie. Closing out Saturday was the hottest ticket of the event and leading up to start, it was pretty much exactly what it’s called, a mystery. No one truly knows until the lights go down and the film starts. For its twelfth iteration, fans were treated to a screening of theThe Witch. The horror film was a very warranted installment into the MMM series. Mondo employeesJustin BrookhartandEric Garzastated that they wanted to go back to a more simpler formula for this year’s Mystery Movie. Just a theatre full of fans, a quality film, and a really good poster. And just like they envisioned fans were treated to a spectacular poster by the unreal talent of Aaron Horkey. A variant version of the poster was also available Sunday morning at the Vacvvm booth.
This was only a small portion of what MondoCon truly is. It wouldn’t be possible without the hard work of the Mondo staff and volunteers, the tireless efforts put forth by the artists, and the dedications of the fans. Here’s hoping MondoCon returns for another year next October.
