Thursday, September 10, 2020

PR: Baltimore Comic-Con 2020 Live Announcement - 9/10/2020

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

Baltimore Comic-Con 2020 Live Announcement - 9/10/2020

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - September 10, 2020 - The Baltimore Comic-Con is excited to make a number of announcements regarding our 2020 event. Launching in cooperation with our friends at Mainframe Comic-Con, our 2020 show will be held as an online live event, replicating the comic convention you've come to love for these past 20 years but in a virtual environment! The Baltimore Convention Center has now confirmed that they will not be hosting any gatherings for the remainder of the calendar year while they continue services as a COVID testing center, as well as maintaining a COVID field hospital facility capability, housing hospital beds to support another surge should that occur. Since we cannot get together physically in 2020, our exhibitors, retailers, Artists Alley, guests, the Ringo Awards, and programming will transition to our online live event, enabling fans the world over to experience the Baltimore Comic-Con!

We will be making announcements on our mailing list (available at baltimorecomiccon.com) and social media, so please sign up and follow! If you're a regular attendee, you'll find yourself in a familiar environment. If you've never been able to attend (especially since geography and budget are no longer considerations), this is a great opportunity to come and get a taste of the show!

TICKETS

All tickets purchased for the 2020 event will automatically transfer to our October 22-24, 2021 show. Frank Miller Tickets will transfer as well -- Frank has already confirmed his plan to attend in 2021. Additionally, our friends at AfterShock Comics, Source Point Press, and Valiant Entertainment have each donated $10 vouchers for ticket holders to purchase merchandise at their booths in 2021. Ticket holders will also receive comics and trade paperback/graphic novels electronically this year -- Dark Ark Volume 1 and Animosity Volume 1 from AfterShock Comics, The Damnation of Charlie Wormwood TPB and DEK Volume 2 #1 from Source Point Press, and Bloodshot Book One TPB and X-O Manowar #1 from Valiant Entertainment. Additionally, BOOM! Studios will be providing PDFs of The Woods Volume 1 and Wynd issue #1, both by James Tynion IV and Michael Dialynas.

Funds received from ticket (as well as from exhibitor booth sales) enable the continuity of our show, paying for real costs such as the rental of the Baltimore Convention Center, ongoing operations expenses, and costs associated with marketing activities as examples. If you are suffering from a financial hardship due to the pandemic and simply cannot justify the wait until next year, we will do our best to issue refunds on a case-by-case basis, which may take us time to do (we hope you don't choose that option, as we want to see everyone in 2021!). We appreciate your understanding and patience.

2021 GUESTS

While guests' availability changes from year to year, we are hoping to re-book most (if not all) of our previously announced 2020 guests again, as well as complete some pretty amazing plans that were afoot when the world changed, both guest-wise and overall with respect to events at the show! While we are still in the process of working with confirmed guests, as of the writing of this Press Release, we have re-confirmed Marty Baumann, John Beatty, Brett Breeding, Howard Chaykin, Frank Cho, Becky Cloonan, Steve Conley, Katie Cook, Kristina Deak-Linsner, Garth Ennis, Mitch Gerads, Joe Giella, Gene Ha, Dean Haspiel, Greg Hildebrandt, Jamal Igle, Tom King, Joseph Michael Linsner, Bob McLeod, Carla Speed McNeil, Frank Miller, Terry Moore, James Pascoe, Andrew Pepoy, David Petersen, Brandon Peterson, Tom Raney, Afua Richardson, Louise Simonson, Walter Simonson, John K. Snyder III, Jill Thompson, Robert Venditti, Mark Waid, Gene Luen Yang, and Thom Zahler. We can't wait to see you October 22-24, 2021! In the meantime, please subscribe to our mailing list, available at baltimorecomiccon.com, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, SnapChat, and YouTube, and please stay safe, healthy, and plan those masks for 2021 (who knew cosplaying could have health benefits!)!

In the coming weeks, look for more announcements from the Baltimore Comic-Con. We are looking forward to highlighting our guests, the Ringo Awards, industry exclusives, and programming. The latest developments can always be found on our website, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube pages, and follow us on Snapchat.

Contact Information

Please use the following e-mail addresses to contact the Baltimore Comic-Con:

press@baltimorecomiccon.com - for any general press inquiries or to be added to our PR distribution

promoter@baltimorecomiccon.com - for requesting exhibitor, publisher, and Artist Alley applications

registrar@baltimorecomiccon.com - for inquiries about submitted registrations

general@baltimorecomiccon.com- for general Baltimore Comic-Con inquiries

About The Baltimore Comic-Con

The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 21st year of bringing the comic book industry to the mid-Atlantic area. For more information, please visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com.

The Lily's latest comic

I've survived working from home in a studio apartment for 6 months. Here's how.

My boyfriend and I had some misadventures along the way

(Margaret Flatley)

Margaret Flatley

September 6 2020

https://www.thelily.com/ive-survived-working-from-home-in-a-studio-apartment-for-6-months-heres-how/

Josh Kramer's 2120 series wraps up

More details here - https://mailchi.mp/730dc/takecareofyourself-734944?e=333e547b87

Fantom Comics newsletter excerpt

THE LAST FREE COMIC BOOK SUMMER SATURDAY COMES SEPTEMBER 12TH AT FANTOM:
FCBS Books Available This Saturday, September 12th:

Viz Media - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Splatoon: Squid Kids Comedy Show

Humaniods - Enter the Incal
Kodansha Comics - Sue & Tai Chan Preview

**We also have ALL previously released FCBS titles in stock - check out freecomicbookday.com to view them and all can be picked up in store (open for Phase Two) or via fantomcomics.com!**

For further details on FCBSummer: https://www.facebook.com/events/306700033813025?active_tab=about

This year has caused a great deal of hardship, so we're suggesting that anyone who'd like to grab some free books to donate to DC non-profits like Bread For The City (breadforthecity.org), Casa Ruby (casaruby.org), So Others Might Eat (https://www.some.org/), Capital Area Food Bank (https://www.capitalareafoodbank.org/), or HIPS (https://www.hips.org). You can donate in store at checkout or through www.fantomcomics.com by searching "FCBS" at the top of the page, with minimum starting at $5 and no max threshold.

- SEPTEMBER IS LATINX HERITAGE MONTH:
We're kicking off with another monthly theme, Latinx Heritage Month! Just like we did with Pride Month, Independent Publishers Month, and Back to School Month, we are highlighting great reads that represent or touch upon these subjects! To start off, we have a hot new release set in Miami! Dry Foot is a brand new series out THIS WEEK by Jarred Lujan & Orlando Caicedo Add the series via customer.comichub.com or email fantomhq@fantomcomics.com to request it to be added to your pull!

Isabel Samaras goes MAD

Arlington Native Illustrates Cover Of MAD Magazine

Joseph Ramos September 10, 2020

https://www.arlnow.com/2020/09/10/arlington-native-illustrates-cover-of-mad-magazine/

PR: Tom King returns to Batman and Catwoman

Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle's 80-Year Romance Continues
in 'Batman/Catwoman' by Tom King, Clay Mann and Tomeu Morey…
…and Phantasm Debuts in Batman/Catwoman #1 on December 1!
Gotham City. Today. Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle have rekindled their long-running, on-again, off-again relationship. Believing all obstacles are removed from their path, they once again begin operating as a duo in their secret lives: Batman and Catwoman working together to fight crime. InBatman/Catwoman,a crime story told across three separate timelines,Tom King, Clay Mann and Tomeu Morey return to the romantic saga of Batman and Catwoman, continuing the story they began in the pages of Batman!
There's the past, when The Bat and The Cat first fell in love. Did they meet on the street? Or was it on a boat? Rooftops, ramparts and gargoyles, and over 80 years of fans that have read their comics, are their only witnesses.
There's the distant future, where after a long and happy marriage Bruce Wayne has passed away. Selina Kyle decides to settle an old score without having to worry about the Batman objecting. Catwoman is serving a very cold dish: Revenge.
And in the present, Bruce and Selina's union is threatened by the arrival of one of Batman's past flings, Andrea Beaumont,a.k.a. Phantasm. Beaumont's return calls into question how each character chooses to operate in their costumed, and personal, lives, and any move by Phantasm could change the fate of Bruce and Selina's future.
The only other person besides Bruce and Selina to have been along for the whole ride has been the Joker, and what he did in the past is going to have direct consequences on today and tomorrow. Batman's greatest foe will intervene any time Batman and Catwoman try to take steps towards peace—he already robbed fans of a Bat/Cat wedding celebration! Any change in the Caped Crusader's life will be matched with the chaos of the Clown Prince of Crime…
…and the Joker's not leaving any witnesses. Not even a gargoyle. Will Selina make good on her final kill?
Batman/Catwoman, by Tom King, Clay Mann, Tomeu Morey and Clayton Cowles, edited by Jamie S. Rich and Brittany Holzherr, will launch a 12-issue run on December 1, 2020, with a cover by Mann and Morey and a variant cover by Jim Lee, Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair. New issues will ship monthly with a skip month planned for aBatman/Catwoman Specialin June 2021, and the series will carry DC's Black Label content descriptor, indicating content appropriate for readers ages 17+.

Wednesday, September 09, 2020

The Post obituary for animator Joe Ruby finally appears in print

Joe Ruby, TV writer and producer who co-created Scooby-Doo, dies at 87 [in print as Co-created Scooby-Doo, who solved mysteries with meddling kids]

Harrison Smith

Washington Post (September 9 2020) B6

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/joe-ruby-scooby-doo-dead/2020/08/30/273f4e8a-eacb-11ea-b4bc-3a2098fc73d4_story.html

The Post on Christian Cooper's new comic story

Christian Cooper has written a comic book partly inspired by his viral Central Park moment

David Betancourt

September 9, 2020

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/09/09/christian-cooper-comic-central-park-birding/

The comic is free on multiple platforms.

Tuesday, September 08, 2020

Flugennock's Latest'n'Greatest: "You're Helping Trump!"

By Mike Flugennock, DC's anarchist cartoonist -

"You're Helping Trump!"
http://sinkers.org/stage/?p=3062

OK, just so we're clear on this: if I ask the Democratic Party what plans they have to deal with any of the major issues of this Presidential campaign — or question their previous record on any of these issues — I'm helping Trump, and I'm a Russian asset.

Is that more or less where we're at, here?

Editorial Cartoon by Steven G Artley

Recent Cartoon (click on Image for larger view)

"One Good Turn"

PR: Small Press Expo Announces 2020 Virtual Programming Slate

For Immediate Release

Contact Rob Clough

rob.clough@smallpressexpo.com

Bethesda, Maryland -- In addition to the previously announced live-streamed Ignatz Award ceremony, the Small Press Expo is pleased to announce that there will be a full slate of programming on Saturday, September 12th and Sunday, September 13th.

Beginning at 11:00 AM each day, the panels will stream on the SPX YouTube channel. The programming includes a spotlight on Bianca Xunise, a thought-provoking presentation by Keith Knight, a workshop on comics and contracts, a behind-the-scenes look at Diskette Press, and much more.

New talks and panels are being announced daily — check the SPX 2020 Program Schedule for an up-to-date list of everything that has been announced so far, and follow SPX on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram for announcements as they happen.

All the action begins on Saturday September 12th. Please join us as we celebrate comics from home!

SPX 2020 Programming Announced So Far

(Including debut times and duration — all times Eastern)

SATURDAY

PARENTING AND ART IN A TIME OF CRISIS

11AM-11:50AM

Balancing parenting with creating art can be difficult under the best of circumstances. In a time when parents also have to cope with a global pandemic, economic turmoil, injustice and oppression, and naked racism, how are cartoonists who are parents coping with this? How is it affecting not only their output, but the content of their work? Moderator Rob Clough (High-Low, SOLRAD) will discuss these questions and more with Keiler Roberts (Chlorine Gardens), Tyler Cohen (Primahood: Magenta), Whit Taylor (Fizzle, The Nib), and Luke Howard (Our Mother).

DISKETTE PRESS: ANN ARBOR TRANS PRINTING CLUB

1:30PM-2:20PM

Take a tour and listen to the behind-the-scenes workings of Ann Arbor's Diskette Press! Publisher Carta Monir will lead a discussion with two of the artists she publishes, Emma Jayne (Trans Girls Hit The Town) and Casey Nowak (Girl Town, Duh Ha Ha). Diskette's ace employee and Risograph tech whiz Renée Cymry will also provide details on the nuts and bolts of running a self-contained publishing house.

RED, WHITE, BLACK, & BLUE: HIGHLIGHTING AMERICA'S RACIAL ILLITERACY

3PM-4PM

Combining comics, storytelling, statistics, and facts, Knight makes the case that America's biggest problem is its inability to have a frank and honest discussion about race. Knight's presentation is designed to provoke constructive dialogue amongst people young and old, left and right, of all colors and orientations. The presentation has been a hit at schools, churches, and workplaces across the United States and beyond. Keith will also be answering questions about Woke, the new Hulu series inspired by Knight's life and comics. All episodes of the first season drop 9/9/20.

THE FUTURE WITHOUT YOU

6:45PM-8PM

A seamless tapestry of comics, radio play, and live theatrical performance, The Future Without You is a collection of six short pieces from Tulsa Artist Fellow and Ignatz-award winning comics creator Sophie Goldstein and Tulsa Artist Fellow Carl Antonowicz, starring actors Kara Bellavia and Javier Sagel. Moderator Rob Clough will have a brief discussion with Goldstein and Antonowicz after the performance airs.

SUNDAY

COMICS AND CONTRACTS

11AM-11:50AM

One thing lacking in many art school curriculums is how to approach signing a book contract. What considerations should an artist consider in negotiating a contract? How do factors like copyrights, media rights, licensing, reversion rights figure into a contract? Join moderator Rob Clough and the interim Executive Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Jeff Trexler, as they answer these and other frequently asked questions. Trexler will also discuss how he sees the CBLDF providing resources for these issues in the future.

HOW DRAWINGS RESONATE: EMPATHY AND IDENTITY IN GRAPHIC MEMOIR

12:15PM-1:05PM

Cartoonists GB Tran (Vietnamerica) and Erin Williams (Commute) join this roundtable with moderator Qiana Whitted and other scholars from the International Comic Arts Forum (ICAF) to discuss the ways that audience, reception, and "relatability" affect how comics are created, particularly those by women and people of color. How do these artists render hidden on painful experiences on the page in a manner that resonates with readers, while also realizing their own vision for the stories they want to tell? Co-sponsored by the International Comic Arts Forum

THE BODY LAID WASTE: THE NEW BODY HORROR IN COMICS

1:30PM-2:20PM

While comics have always provided a space for the provocative modification of the human body, in recent years cartoonists have returned to the horror genre to twist it with their new visions of terrifying human figures. Grounding their approach to horror in the body itself, these artists excavate intimacy, desire, fantasy, and community care as they explore the human body in all its wonder and grotesqueness. At the intersection of the body, horror, and comics, they conjure alien lifeforms, create impossible anatomies, and pillage historical plagues and contemporary blights, all the while transforming the language of comics and pushing towards new heights of horror storytelling. Join moderator Dr. Rachel Miller as she explores these ideas with Kate Lacour (Vivisectionary), Ezra Claytan Daniels (Upgrade Soul, BTTM FDRS), Julia Gfrörer (Vision), and Sloane Leong (Prism Stalker).

SO GOTH SHE WAS BORN BLACK: A SPOTLIGHT ON BIANCA XUNISE

3PM-3:40PM

Moderator J.A. Micheline will engage in conversation with Ignatz-award winning cartoonist Bianca Xunise (Six Chix, Say Her Name) about punk rock, goth, and her comics career.

More panels are being announced daily at smallpressexpo.com.

The 2020 Ignatz Awards, Sponsored by Politics and Prose

At the conclusion of Saturday's SPX 2020 program, join us for the live streaming of our annual Ignatz Awards, recognizing excellence in independent comics. View the 2020 nominees right here.

Politics and Prose is a D.C. based independent bookstore devoted to cultivating community and strengthening the common good through books, programs, and a respectful exchange of ideas.

Small Press Expo (SPX) is the preeminent showcase for the exhibition of independent comics, graphic novels, and alternative political cartoons. SPX is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit that brings together more than 650 artists and publishers to meet their readers, booksellers, and distributors each year. Graphic novels, mini comics, and alternative comics will all be on display and for sale by their authors and illustrators. The expo includes a series of panel discussions and interviews with this year's guests.

The Ignatz Award is a festival prize held every year at SPX recognizing outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning.

Small Press Expo

P.O. Box 5704

Bethesda, Maryland

20824

www.smallpressexpo.com

press@smallpressexpo.com

STAY CONNECTED

Book Review: Beneath the Moon: Fairy Tales, Myths, and Divine Stories from Around the World

reviewed by Cathy Hunter

Beneath the Moon: Fairy Tales, Myths, and Divine Stories from Around the World

by Yoshi Yoshitani.

(Ten Speed Press, $18; hardcover)

The 78 stories gathered in Beneath the Moon show the universality of themes that frequently appear no matter what the culture—searching for love, searching for riches, and overcoming evil. For readers who grew up reading fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen or the Brothers Grimm, there are old favorites represented here along with stories not as widely-known. One I particularly enjoyed meeting for the first time was “Matsuo’s Sake,” explaining how sake became the preferred drink of the kami in Shintoism, and that dragons covet sake.

The artist, Yoshi Yoshitani, has created rich, crystalline illustrations presented alongside each one-page retelling. The colors are jewel-like: amethyst, ruby-red, and particularly lovely shades of blues and greens that are especially striking in “Yemoja,” a Nigerian tale of a Yoruba deity, and “Rainbow Crow,” a Native American story. (I don’t know what medium she used for this art, but Ten Speed Press did a good job reproducing the saturated colors.) Beneath the Moon is a lovely compilation for anyone who enjoys stories from all four corners of the world.

From the press release -

YOSHI YOSHITANI is an illustrator based in California who has done work for The Walt Disney Company, Image Comics, Valiant Comics, IDW Publishing, DreamWorks Animation, and Rebellion Publishing. Illustrator of the graphic novel Zatanna and the House of Secrets, Yoshi is currently working on a young adult graphic novel for DC Comics. Yoshi regularly appears on panels at comic book conventions such as Emerald City Comic Con, New York Comic Con, C2E2, HeroesCon, LightBox Expo, WonderCon, DesignerCon, Thought Bubble, and Dragon Con.

Cavna talks to Knight about Woke

Keith Knight's show 'Woke' feels right on time. But he's been drawing about police brutality for decades.

By Michael Cavna

Washington Post September 8, 2020

https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/09/08/woke-hulu-keith-knight/

The Post continues Mulan articles

Less singing, more fighting: How Disney's live-action 'Mulan' differs from the classic animated film

Sonia Rao

Washington Post September 8, 2020 : C1-2

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/09/05/mulan-live-action-animated-differences/

Why Disney's new 'Mulan' is a scandal

Opinion by

Isaac Stone Fish

Contributor, Global Opinions

Washington Post September 8, 2020 p A23

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/09/07/why-disneys-new-mulan-is-scandal/

Free Virtual Orientation to the LoC's Prints & Photographs Division on Tuesday, Sept 15 at noon EDT

Sara Duke, one of the curators of the original comic art, will be presenting.

The Prints & Photographs Division, after 6 months of being closed to the public, is offering a virtual tour of our digitized collections, finding aids, and guides on Tuesday, September 15 at noon EDT. Register for free through Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/prints-photographs-division-virtual-orientation-tickets-119513390769 . The platform will be via WebEx Events. The orientation won't be recorded.