By Zack Quaintance — So, I had a chance to attend Baltimore Comic-Con this past weekend, which truth be told pre-pandemic was one of my favorite shows. Overall, it felt really good to be back out there and among comics folks, although there were a few hiccups. To start, I felt out of practice simply being around that many people. All my old con skills — stepping around crowds quickly, chatting with folks at tables, getting to panels at the exact right time — were just a bit rusty.

The show for the most part did a great job with COVID precautions, taking temperatures at the door and requiring either a negative virus test or proof of vaccination for entry. A few of the vendors — especially the second-hand comics folks — were too lax with their masks, leaving them off noses and in a few instances taking them down all together, but a few inconsiderate folks aside, it was a very good show. More than anything, I think I’m excited for Baltimore Comic-Con 2022, when even more folks feel comfortable going to the show.

Anyway! The highlight for me (aside from seeing old and new friends) was the panel on Friday evening with writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Cliff Chiang talking Paper Girls, the complete version of which is due out tomorrow, Wednesday, October 27, from Image Comics.

Check out some highlights from their chat below…

BALTIMORE COMIC-CON: Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang talk PAPER GIRLS

Truth be told, I’ve heard Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang taking a victory lap discussion around their 30-issue run on Paper Girls before, sitting in on a similar panel at NYCC 2019. That talk, however, was a very different one from the chat in Baltimore.

First of all, it was pre-pandemic, so the world was essentially different. Second, New York Comic-Con is the main comics event of the year and Baltimore is more of a follow-up. To me, the relationship between the two feels like the former is a wedding and the latter is a next-day brunch with closest friends and members of the family. It’s a relaxed atmosphere, and people I think are more candid (just ask BKV how he really feels about The Goonies).

As a result, there was more talk around the setting of the book, specifically the start being set in the 1980s, a decade the creators were both keen to take some of the nostalgic glow away from.

“I am from the ‘80s,” Vaughan said, “…and I really felt tortured and miserable for most of the ‘80s. I thought it would be interesting to write about that time that way.”

By taking that shine off, the hope was that this story would stand out from other genre entries that have looked back on the decade (from Stranger Things to…well, mostly Stranger Things).

“So much 80s nostalgia is like a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy,” Vaughan said.

Chiang’s artwork, of course was also a major topic of discussion. Chiang did something remarkable with this book, which was drawing 30 issues of young characters who never at any point looked weird (drawing kids has made fools of some of the industry’s best artists, it’s just not a thing deadline-based comics do well).

Chiang described a really dynamic design process for this book, one that he embraced based on deadlines, letting his subconscious and gut inclinations guide many of the decisions, which is interesting for the artist to look back on now that the series is coming out in one edition in full. Chiang didn’t only draw kids, noting the time travel content in this story gave him a chance to draw people as they aged, something he has long admired from Jaime Hernadez’s seminal work with his Locas stories in Love and Rockets.

The other main Chiang topic of discussion was his red-hot auteur work for DC Comics, Catwoman — Lonely City (the first issue of which scored our fourth perfect rating of the year). Chiang talked filling that book with subtle nods to Dark Knight Returns, New York City politics, and more. He also noted that he envisioned the character in this story as the Catwoman from Ed Brubaker and Darywn Cooke’s run, just 20 years later.

So yes, that was the nature of the discussion at the panel. One decision I left the room with was that I will now be buying Paper Girls: The Complete Story this week, experiencing the fragmented time travel romp in two sittings, rather than spread over years. Chances are I will write about that reading experience at some point soon…

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.