Patrick Ballesteros, who you’ve maybe seen once or twice on this very site, does nostalgia like no one else — in a world that currently wants to sell you nostalgia at every corner (or every booth). His signature style involves turning your favorite pop culture characters into kid-ified versions of themselves, which gives a fresh spin full of childhood wonder.
This year at WonderCon Anaheim 2020, you can catch Ballesteros at Artist Alley A-07, where he’ll have exclusives, debuts (including a whole new series), vinyl(!), mini originals which you’ll have to make a dash to score, and of course his regular prints.
[UPDATE March 2]
Up first, Ballesteros is debuting a whole new series at WonderCon. Entitled “The Storybook Club”, the prints are an homage to famous (or infamous) books from some of your favorite pop culture — inspired by watching his own son learn to read.
The 4×10 prints resemble oversized bookmarks, and the first two in the set include “Ghost Writers” and “Tell Me A Story”. The first, “Ghost Writers”, features the Ghostbusters team reading Tobin’s Spirit Guide, with some extra help from Slimer, and maybe a reprimand or two from a library ghost, all while the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man tries to sneak a peek.
Next up in the series is “Tell Me a Story”, which pays homage to The Neverending Story. A young Bastian Balthazar Bux reads the title book with some friends and a sleeping Falkor. It’s got lots of fun details, like the childlike wooden Artax horse that Atreyu’s playing with.
Be sure to head to Artist Alley A-07 to pick yours up!
