A colleague of mine sent me this message, seeking suggestions:

When I sought clarification, he said they wanted a well-known comic book artist or creator to go down to Colombia (South America) for this arts festival as a special guest. They thought of Stan Lee, but figured he might be too old to travel. Everyone I could think of was active 20 years ago, e.g. John Romita Jr., and may not be as famous or festival-friendly as they were then. I asked a comic book fan among our other colleagues and he suggested:

Ivan Reis (whom I'd never heard of)
Jim Lee

My own knowledge of the field is mostly Golden and Silver Age, so I have no idea who would be a suitable suggestion today for such an event, esp. since I've had no contact with the organizers and no idea what the concept of the festival is and little idea what they're looking for other than what I was given.

Any suggestions, off the top of your head, of a prominent and successful comic book artist who's known to travel and dazzle crowds at "arts festivals" and would enjoy a trip to Colombia?

Thanks.

Send Liefield and maybe he won't come back.

Try and contact Alan Moore, just to see what happens.

Neal Adams has been doing a lot of conventions and store appearances the last few years.

http://www.nealadams.com/index.php/contact

Neal Adams. Jim Lee. Scott Snyder. Currently very popular and are doing the convention rounds.
Just grab a "New 52" comic and look at the names on the front. Anyone currently doing Batman comics should be willing as well.

It's too bad Al Williamson has passed away -- his father was Colombian and he grew up in Bogota.

But generally, most big name creators go all over the world for conventions. So the trick is just finding someone with a few days free on his schedule and an interest in checking out Colombia.

Ivan Reis is Brazilian; that's probably why he was suggested. He's done a lot of work for DC, notably on Green Lantern.

Mike Deodato is also Brazilian and he's done some high profile stuff for Marvel lately, including their current crossover -- Original Sin. Eddy Barrows is another Brazilian. Not to lump all South American creators together, but the geography might make things more tempting for them.

Otherwise, if you're looking for a big name, look at what's currently selling and see if you can get a creator from that book -- Spider-Man, Batman, Justice League, Superman. John Romita Jr. is actually pretty hot these days -- he just made the leap to DC to do a Superman book.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I have passed them on to my colleague. I'll let you know what happens.