2021 may still be another “weird” convention year — but one thing you can always count on is that artist Patrick Ballesteros is busy somewhere in San Diego making amazing art. Comic-Con@Home, the virtual version of San Diego Comic-Con, returns Friday, July 23 – Sunday, July 25, and Ballesteros has unsurprisingly already got big plans (and big reveals) for attendees.
So just what does Ballesteros have in store for SDCC 2021? More exclusives, debuts, and a few surprises as well. Even we aren’t sure how he’s going to top last year’s “The Great Hall” print, an homage to all the things and characters we love and celebrate at San Diego Comic-Con — but we’re very excited to watch him try.
Also, for you locals, be sure to stop by James Coffee in Little Italy on Saturday, July 24 from 10AM-4PM for a Pop-Up Shop.
[UPDATE July 22]
If you have been patiently waiting for the release schedule of Patrick Ballesteros’ San Diego Comic-Con exclusives this year… it’s here!
Canvas prints will go on sale on Friday, July 23 at 11AM PT, while hand-drawn, home brewed coffee bag commissions from James’ Coffee will launch on Saturday, July 24 at 11aM PT, and mini originals will go up on Sunday, July 25 at 11AM PT. Look for an additional, surprise exclusive on Sunday as well.
The rest of his regular exclusives and debuts will be launching on Friday, July 23 at 10AM PT.
[UPDATE July 20]
You are burdened with glorious purpose… to buy these Patrick Ballesteros Comic-Con@Home exclusives.
All your favorite variants can keep in touch with these “Loking Good” 4″x4″ prints, which are part of Ballesteros’ “Can You Hear Me Now Series?”. Each print features characters using the oldest communication method — a tin can — and can be interconnected, so you can decide who to “call”.
There’s plenty of fun easter eggs sprinkled throughout the prints, and we’re happy to report that both Throg and Mobius’ jet ski make an appearance.
The main five prints will be an open edition, available for $9 each.
However, if you don’t want to start a Nexus Event, you can also grab “The Mischief Pack“, which features all five regular open edition prints, as well as a bonus San Diego Comic-Con exclusive print which won’t be sold individually. There are only 100 full sets available for $50 each, with a limit of two per order, so be sure to grab one so you don’t need a Tempad later to retrieve it after it sells out.
Finally (for now), Ballesteros has journeyed into mystery to create “Here’s Loking at You Kid“, a new 25 Cent wonder. All your favorite Loki variants (and a Throg) ride atop Alligator Loki, while a multiverse of madness look in on them. This Comic-Con@Home exclusive 6″x8” print is printed on fine art pearl linen paper and will retail for $16.
It’s limited to just 150 pieces, and each comes signed and numbered.
[UPDATE July 16]
Nothing lasts forever — so ready your fighting poses and get ready to take on your fellow attendees in the Red Room, er, Ballesteros’ online webstore, to score his latest Comic-Con@Home exclusive. “What A Total…” is Ballesteros’ latest 6″x8″ addition to his popular 25 Cent Wonders collection, which sees your favorite pop culture characters riding atop coin-operated kiddie rides.
You can get the print, which is limited to 150 pieces, for $16 during Comic-Con@Home, and each comes signed and numbered by the artist.
[UPDATE July 14]
What is it about San Diego Comic-Con that makes the convention just so special to many of us? Maybe it’s the sprawling exhibit floor with every exclusive, piece of artwork artwork, toy, comic, t-shirt, and whoosit and whatsit you could ever want to purchase. Maybe it’s the amazing, inventive cosplay. Maybe it’s the offistes, the autographs, or even the lines.
More likely, though, it’s the shared experience of what for many of us is the most magical place on earth (sorry, Disney World, you’re a close second though). It’s reconnecting with friends we only see once a year and the little convention rituals that bring back a flood of memories yearly — even something as simple as crossing the train tracks or the sight of the convention center staircase. There’s just something different in the air there that makes our beloved convention feel like a place where anything can, and does, happen.
And with his latest exclusive, we think Patrick Ballesteros has managed to capture some of that magic.
“The Exhibit Halls Are Now Open” maps out much of what we love about San Diego Comic-Con, with all of your favorite pop culture characters in attendance.
There are more easter eggs on this 12.125″x18.125″ print than we could list — but some of our favorites include an X-Men themed X-Crossing, a “Slayer” sale booth, a pedicab that includes a built-shower (perhaps someone should steal this idea and form a new business venture), and an all-star cast of real-life Artists Alley superheroes.
The cartography-inspired print will be a limited edition of 350, with 200 available on Friday, July 23 through his website for Comic-Con@Home (time TBA). An additional 50 will be available during Ballesteros’ Pop-Up Shop on Saturday, July 24 (details below) — with the rest set to go on sale at a later date. There is a limit of 2 per person.
[UPDATE July 11]
For every kid and six-fingered man out there who believed in true love and inconceivable adventures — Ballesteros has a brand new set of Comic-Con@Home exclusives just for you. His “Princess Pack” features five brand new, exclusive prints that are part of his “Can You Hear Me Now” series, which features your favorite kid-ified characters in interconnect-able prints as they communicate via the oldest form of communication: tin cans.
These The Princess Bride 5″x5″ prints will be available during the convention for $9 each, or $40 for the set of five.
[UPDATE July 9]
We’re ending the week with some big news (for San Diego locals, at least). If you’ll be in the area the week of Comic-Con@Home, keep an eye out for a possible Pop-Up Shop for Ballesteros on either Friday, July 23 or Saturday, July 24. Details are still TBA, but if you’ve been paying attention the last few years, you can probably guess the location is probably a certain coffee shop in Little Italy that shares its namesake with our podcast host who isn’t Kerry. But yes, for those dying for a real Comic-Con offsite and the chance to purchase art from a real person rather than from a computer screen again — your time is coming!
Even if you aren’t in San Diego, though, we’ve still got something for you today. Ballesteros’ latest Comic-Con@Home exclusive is “Ramen Benders“, a 4″x10” tribute to both your favorite Avatar characters and a filling bowl of ramen. We’re hungry already. You can grab it for $15 the week of Comic-Con@Home.
[UPDATE July 7]
It’s never been more important to celebrate the rich cultures that make up our beautiful world. In Ballesteros’ latest Comic-Con@Home exclusive, “It’s Our Time“, he pays tribute to the vibrant Asian and Pacific Islanders throughout Disney’s animated classics.
The 6″x8” print is also an homage to the iconic Drew Struzan poster for The Goonies, which was directed by the late Richard Donner, who passed away this week. “Goonies was my favorite childhood movie and shaped my own sense of storytelling. So this was just going to be a shoutout to my favorite movie and homage to the great movie poster done by Drew Struzan with my own twist of course,” Ballesteros said. While he created the piece before this week’s news, the piece now “means a bit more to [Ballesteros].”
“It’s Our Time” is limited to 150 pieces and will be available for $16 each during Comic-Con@Home, with the exact schedule still to be announced. Each print is signed and numbered, and is printed on Fine Art Pearl Linen.
[UPDATE July 2]
Here’s to the hustle! In Ballesteros’ latest Comic-Con@Home exclusives, these three 5″x5″ prints (“Respect the Hustle“, “All The Good Ones Hustle“, and “It’s All About The Hustle“) are dedicated to one of the best martial arts cult classic films of the last 20 years, Kung Fu Hustle. Each print will be on sale during Comic-Con@Home for $10 each, and comes printed on Fine Art Pearl Linen.
[UPDATE June 30]
We’re halfway through the week, and one day closer to Comic-Con@Home — which means it’s time for a new round of exclusives from Ballesteros! Up first is a mind-“bending”ingly fun print, “Ap-Ap And Away“. Aang and the gang are all here and hitching a ride on an Appa in his latest Comic-Con exclusive, a new 6″x8” 25 Cent Wonder.
If you’re up to the challenge, you can score one of the limited edition of 150 Fine Art Pearl Linen exclusive prints for $16 during Comic-Con@Home, with the exact schedule still to be announced. Each print comes signed and numbered by the artist.
Then, it’s the “Revenge of the 6“, as some of the baddest baddies this side of the galaxy get ready to battle it out in this other Comic-Con@Home exclusive 25 Cent Wonder print. Like in all of Ballesteros’ prints, there are so many fun details throughout the print — with one of our favorites being that this childlike Count Dooku is already rocking a fake masked beard.
You can score this 6″x8” Fine Art Pearl Linen exclusive for $16 during Comic-Con@Home. Hopefully you don’t need to force choke anyone to get it.
It’s limited to 150 pieces, and each comes signed and numbered by the artist.
[UPDATE June 25]
These may not be the droids you’re looking for — but it is the San Diego Comic-Con exclusive you’re looking for. Ballesteros’ first Comic-Con@Home exclusive is “I Have A Bad Feeling About This“, the second part of his triptych which connects to his previous piece Snowfight.
All your favorite rebel scum and scruffy nerfherders are present in this 8″x10″ exclusive print, as they battle the dark side for the good of the galaxy. Like in all of Ballesteros’ work, there are so many hidden easter eggs and fun details throughout the print.
I Have A Bad Feeling About This will be available on Friday, July 23 during Comic-Con@Home for $20. It’s limited to 250 pieces, and each fine art pearl linen paper print comes signed by the artist.
[UPDATE June 18]
We think no man (or woman) in a century will suffer as greatly as you will… if you don’t pick up Ballesteros’ latest print, “Not to 50″. This 6″x8″ print is only $12 — inconceivable! You’ll be able to pick up this new 25 Cent Wonder during Comic-Con@Home on Friday, July 23, and end your ultimate suffering.
[UPDATE June 11]
Ballesteros’ latest series “Sweet Dreams” plays tribute to the beauty of napping — that special time when our minds can finally relax and just let our brains dream. And just what do your favorite pop culture characters dream of?
The first two pieces in this new series will be debuting during Comic-Con@Home for $18 each for an 8″x8″ Fine Art Pearl Linen Paper print. “Catching Some Miya-Zzzs” features many of your favorite Studio Ghibli characters taking a little snooze.
Naptime continues over at “Catnaps”, the Nap Stop for an assortment of feline characters caught up in their big dreams.
The exact release schedule for both prints will be released closer to Comic-Con@Home.
[UPDATE June 3]
For Ballesteros’ second San Diego Comic-Con debut, he’s going “Full Tilt” with this undead tribute. This 12″x12″ print on fine art Linen Paper is Ballesteros’ newest take on his 25 Cent Wonders collection, and sees several “vehicles” involved in an epic, sprawling, Hollywood-style brawl.
The print will be available during the week of Comic-Con@Home, but if you just can’t wait, you don’t have to go Alpha — instead, you can score one of the 30 prints that will be available for a special sneak peek preview on Thursday, June 3 at 10AM PT. As an added bonus, each preorder will come with a random original head sketch (which is ONLY available in these special preorders). Grab yours today on his site.
[UPDATE May 21]
Up first, break out your Zemo dance moves and get excited for “Super Smashers“, a new 9″x12” print (printed on Fine Art Pearl Linen) that’s all about your favorite super soldiers, power brokers, and smashers of flags. These kids don’t play by the rules, but you’ll be able to score yours for $20 the week of Comic-Con@Home, with more details to be released soon.
