Saturday, March 04, 2017

PR: April 9: Baltimore Comic-Con Throws a Spring Fling








Baltimore Comic-Con Throws a Spring Fling
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - March 3, 2017 - The Baltimore Comic-Con will be back again this year in the Inner Harbor's Baltimore Convention Center on September 22-24, 2017, but as a special thank you to our fans, we're throwing a Spring Fling.
What is a Spring Fling? If you were with us for our first show back in 2000, you'll have a pretty good idea of what to expect. This will be a good old fashioned comic book show: rows and rows of comic book dealers from 6-8 states around the country with comics and collectibles from the ancient to the very modern...and we're bringing in a few guests as well!
Frank Cho photo
Totally Awesome Hulk by Frank Cho
Harvey and Eisner award nominee Frank Cho launched his career as a comic strip artist at the University of Maryland-College Park student newspaper, penning University2, which was the predecessor of his creator-owned syndicated strip and comic series, Liberty Meadows. His body of work also includes Marvel Comics' New Avengers, Mighty Avengers, Shanna the She-Devil, New Ultimates, and X-Men: Schism, as well as Jungle Girl for Dynamite Entertainment. His recent work can be seen in BOOM! Studios' Skybourne, and on covers from DC Comics' Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman.
Steve Conley photo
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers by Steve Conley
Long-time friend of the show, Harvey and Eisner Award nominee, and guest since our inception in 2000 (!), artist and writer Steve Conley has contributed to numerous comic titles, both printed and on-line. His Astounding Space Thrills was self-published, published by Image Comics, and collected as a trade paperback by IDW. He has been featured in titles such as JLA-Z from DC Comics, Star Trek: Year Four from IDW, and Michael Chabon's Amazing Adventures of the Escapist from Dark Horse Comics. His creator-owned Bloop, is available through his online store in print or soft copy editions, and you can read his webcomic, The Middle Age, on his website.
John Gallagher photo
Buzzboy Go Digital Monster Mayhem by John Gallagher
John Gallagher is the award-winning artist and writer of graphic novels Buzzboy and Roboy Red (with Rich Faber). John teamed with sons Jack and Will to create a kids book, E.P.I.C. Bros., about two kids whose superhero dad is always out saving the world, and they pass the time using his gizmos for lovable mayhem. Jack and Will follow in the footsteps of big sister Katie, who teamed with her dad to create Zoey and Ketchup. John's Buzzboy is back from American Mythology Productions in Buzzboy Go Digital Monster Mayhem, where he has also contributed to the recently relaunched Casper the Friendly Ghost and The Inspector. When not creating comics, John is executive director of Kids Love Comics (kidslovecomics.net) and works as art director for Ranger Rick magazine.
Mark Morales photo
Justice League vs. Suicide Squad by Mark Morales
Mark Morales has established himself as one of the industry's go-to inkers for major titles and events for the big publishers. He has inked a vast number of titles at Marvel Comics including, among many others, A+X, Amazing Spider-Man, Avengers vs. X-Men, New Avengers, Secret Invasion, Sentry, Siege, Thor, Uncanny X-Men, Wolverine, X-Force, and X-Men. He has also done work for DC Comics on titles like Action Comics, Batman/Superman, JLA, New Suicide Squad, Prez, and Superman: The Man of Steel. He was also awarded the Harvey Award for Best Inker in 2009 and 2011.
Brandon Peterson photo
Trinity by Brandon Peterson
Brandon Peterson has been a professional illustrator for over 20 years, working primarily as a penciller and inker, but often as a colorist, writer, editor, and art director. He has done a great deal of work at Marvel Comics, as the artist on books like AvX, Avengers, The Ultimates, Ultimate Vision, Ultimate Extinction, Ultimate X-Men, Astonishing X-Men, X-Men, and Uncanny X-Men. Brandon was also VP of Special Projects and Art Director of the now-defunct CrossGen Comics, where he created titles like Mystic and Chimera. He is also a veteran of Top Cow Productions, having worked on Codename: Strykeforce, Cyberforce, Ripclaw, Medieval Spawn/Witchblade, and his own book, Arcanum. His work is recently featured on IDW's Revolution Heroes and DC Comics' Trinity.
So here are the details:

When: Sunday April 9. 10-5
Where: BWI Airport Marriott, 1743 West Nursery Road, Linthicum, MD 20190
How much: FREE!

Free?!? Yes, free! The Baltimore Comic-Con Spring Fling is a thank-you to our fans for helping us grow and making our show into the institution it has become. This one's just for the fun of it, and we hope we'll see you there!

Want to join us in September for the main event? Visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com for more information on the Baltimore Comic-Con and www.baltimorecomiccon.com/tickets/ to purchase your advanced tickets!


 

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

 
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 18th year of bringing the comic book industry to the mid-Atlantic area. For more information, please visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com.
 

Baltimore Comic-Con, P.O. Box 917, Reisterstown, MD 21136

TODAY!! Coast to Coast Comic Con Live Streaming at Beyond Comics











Beyond Comics
TODAY! - March 4, 2017

This is a Live Streaming Event!
 

BEYOND COMICS
Frederick Location 
 

Featured guests:
Jim Lee
Matt  Kindt, Jim Zub, Kieren Gillen,
Gene Luen Yang, Charles Soule, Sarah Gaydoss,
Mike Johnson, Ralph Tedesco
 

 

Enjoy a One-of-a-Kind Convention Experience
from the comfort of Beyond Comics!
 
This event will be Live Streamed into the store. 
Watch only the portions you want.


Featuring first looks at upcoming projects from the biggest publishers in the
industry, hear from your favorite creative teams about upcoming projects,
without the hassle a convention brings.

Ask questions to the publishers via social media!
]Get some great Convention-exclusive items and covers!

Featured Exclusive Comic Variants






Beyond Comics Frederick

5632 Buckeystown Pike

Frederick, MD 21704

301-668-8202

All events subject to change due to product availability, attendee levels and events beyond our control. We will do our best to update customers upon any changes.
Beyond Comics, 18749 B North Frederick Rd, Gaithersburg, MD 20879




Friday, March 03, 2017

DCist reviews Logan

'Logan' Is The Most Dour, Bloody 'X-Men' Film Yet, Thank God

City Paper on France's Zucchini

My Life as a Zucchini Is For Kids. It's Also About Death.

The Best Animated Feature nominee is the rare animated film that doesn't condescend to its young target audience.

Mar 2, 2017
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arts/film-tv/blog/20853755/my-life-as-a-zucchini-reviewed

The Post reviews France's Zucchinis

Comic Riffs on the Mankoff's retirement's New Yorker's cartoon editor

Bob Mankoff is likely to be the smartest person about humor and cartoons that will ever be hired by a magazine in our lifetime. Anyone interested in gag cartooning should read his books and autiobio. I can't blame him for going out on top, and heck, his predecessor Lee Lorenz is still alive too, thus showing that not only Popes should get out when they can. - MR

A last laugh: Bob Mankoff will step down as The New Yorker cartoon editor


Washington Post
Comic Riffs blog March 3 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/03/03/a-last-laugh-bob-mankoff-will-step-down-as-the-new-yorker-magazines-cartoon-editor/

DC papers review Logan

I saw the movie in a sneak preview last week. It's pretty darn bloody and earns its R rating. However I liked it a lot, and Dafne Keen, the actress who played the young girl, did a fantastic job. Any movie with Shane in its DNA is ok in my book.


In 'Logan,' one enemy is time [in print as Before sunset: In 'Logan,' the years take their toll]




Express March 3 2017, p. 24
https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2017/03/03/in-logan-one-enemy-is-time/


'Logan': Hugh Jackman, as the Wolverine, goes out fighting [in print as The 'X-Men' grown up, and brooding].


Washington Post March 3 2017 
, p. Weekend 27
https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/logan-hugh-jackman-as-the-wolverine-goes-out-fighting/2017/03/02/af7a6380-fb72-11e6-9845-576c69081518_story.html

Aw, heck, here's the NYT too -

In 'Logan,' a Comic-Book Stalwart Turns Noirish Western

A version of this review appears in print on March 3, 2017, on Page C1 of the New York edition with the headline: A Noirish Western With Comic-Book Claws.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/02/movies/logan-review-hugh-jackman-wolverine-x-men.html


James Mangold Narrates a Scene From 'Logan'

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/02/movies/james-mangold-interview-logan.html

Thursday, March 02, 2017

Q&A with Rafer Roberts about his Valiant work

by Matt Dembicki 

Local comic book writer/artist Rafer Roberts has over the past couple of years made a transition from focusing on self-published work to writing a couple of titles for Valiant Entertainment. Rafer answered a few questions we posed to him about his experience with that.

You transitioned into doing mainstream comics about two years ago (though you still do some DIY work). What’s the biggest different you’ve experience between doing your own self-published comics and working for a comics publisher on a monthly title?


Editors and deadlines! Working on my own stuff, whether it’s PLASTIC FARM or NIGHTMARE THE RAT, is a lot of fun but (I admit) there is quite a bit more freedom in content and speed at which I work.That can be both a blessing and a curse. I am solely responsible for content and making sure that it comes out in a timely fashion, as well as responsible for all the marketing and distribution.


With the WFH (work for hire) stuff, there is a certain amount of back-and-forth between me and my editors, breaking down what the stories are going to be, as well as notes on how to improve said stories and ensure that they fit within the publisher’s larger plans. Deadlines give the creative process a needed sense of urgency. It’s a far different process of coming up with a comic at your own pace and coming up with a new comic every month.




I also get to work with some incredible artists. David Lafuente, Mike Norton, Darick Robertson, Ryan Winn, Ryan Lee, Juan Jose Ryp, Raul Allen, Brian Reber, David Baron, and on and on and on. It is an easy life for a writer when the art teams are as amazing as this.

You mentioned that having regular deadlines are daunting. How do you keep on track while ensuring you continue to be creative in your writing?



Being creative isn’t the problem; but being creative on a schedule can be. You have to treat this like a job and follow some kind of work routine. I get up around the same time every day, give myself the first hour to wake up, and then make comics until I have to go to the day job. Sometimes “making comics” involves actually writing a script, or drawing something, but just as often that can be revising a script, or answering email, or writing an outline or pitch.


The real trick is keeping with that routine. It’s all about inertia. Once you get into a routine, once you get moving, it takes out half the effort required. If I fall out of my routine, if I don’t work for a week or so, then it is very difficult to get up and running again.
Can you briefly walk us through how you pitched yourself to Valiant? How did it pair you with the title your working on?


I had drawn a few DARKSEID AND THANOS: CARPOOL BUDDIES OF DOOM with writer Justin Jordan. Warren Simons, the editor-in-chief at Valiant, saw those and hired us to do similar comics as backups. I found that I really enjoyed working for Valiant and did everything I could to stick around. I gave Warren a few of my writing samples, and a few months later he called and asked me to pitch on a few books. Of those early pitches, ARCHER AND ARMSTRONG was the best fit and a great learning experience. HARBINGER was a much longer process, and one that involved much more back-and-forth during development. The series that is coming out right now bears very little resemblance to the initial series pitch.

What’s on your plate for the next six months?


Mostly writing HARBINGER RENEGADE. We’re building up to a huge event with HARBINGER WARS 2, which is my first event that I get to write. It’s maybe the most difficult thing I have attempted in comics thus far, but also (due to the amazing editors and art teams I get to work with) intensely rewarding. I’m also going to get back to NIGHTMARE THE RAT. I’m real close to finishing the series and want to put out a collection sometime this year. I also have a few pitches and other in-development projects out in the world, but nothing concrete enough to mention.

(Editor's note: The A&A pages are drawn by Mike Norton, colored by Allen Passalaqua, lettered by Dave Sharpe. The Harbinger page is by Darick Robertson, Richard Clarke, Diego Rodriguez and David Lanphear.)

Tom Hanks gives Bill Mauldin cartoon to White House Press Corps

See it here, along with some other less interesting gift:

Tom Hanks Buys White House Press Corps A(nother) Espresso Machine

http://dcist.com/2017/03/tom_hanks_buys_white_house_press_co.php

Alvarez illustrations in WaPo article

'We thought Gen X was a bunch of slackers. Now they’re the suits.'

Eddie Alvarez.

The Nation covers itself with a Doonesbury strip on the President...

...and they would like you to know about it. It goes on sale March 14th.


Trump's War On The Media-And How Journalism Can Prevail:
Doonesbury and Columbia Journalism Review join special Nation issue on covering a hostile White House and regaining public trust and audiences.
This release is also published here.
New York, NY -- March 2, 2017 -- 
Donald Trump loves to attack the news media, but he wouldn't be president today without them, argues acclaimed press critic and guest editor Mark Hertsgaard in this special issue of The Nation. Gracing the cover of "Media in the Trump Era" (March 20, 2017) is a lacerating cartoon by legendary Doonesbury creator Garry Trudeau. The issue's articles -- some published in conjunction with The Columbia Journalism Review -- stress solutions, not lamentations. Plus, something not normally associated with The Nation: laughs! The issue's overriding purpose, however, is deadly serious: How should the news media cover the combative new president, and how can American journalism regain public trust and audiences?
Continued at https://www.thenation.com/article/the-nation-special-issue-tackles-trumps-war-on-the-media-and-how-journalism-can-prevail/

March: Meet Arsia Rozegar (who also works in mainstream comics)

From Arsia Rozegar's Facebook page (with his permission):

Where you can find me and Shahnameh For Kids​ this Nowruz Season. 

March 5th 2pm-6pm
Persian Cultural Center Musical Norooz Celebration
3501 Rebel Run, Fairfax, Virginia 22030
https://www.facebook.com/events/1800991773493749/

March 11th 3pm-5pm
FSK Nowruz Celebration for Children
7130 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, VA 22043
https://www.facebook.com/events/630098230497046/

March 12th 10am-6pm
6th Annual Nowruz Festival
8100 Tysons Corner Ctr, McLean, Virginia 22102
https://www.facebook.com/events/1831856433763406/

March 19th 2pm-7pm
Nowruz Arts & Crafts Fair at Pars Place
2236 -C Gallows Rd, Vienna, Virginia 22182
https://www.facebook.com/events/750211955134994/

March 25th 7pm-11pm
Persian Parade DC Chapter's Nowruz Fundraising Gala
7801 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church, Virginia 22043
https://www.facebook.com/events/1247434268679566/

April 2nd, 9am-6pm
6th Annual Sizdah Bedar (Persian Spring Festival) #13BedarDC
Bull Run Regional Park Special Events Center, Centreville, VA
https://www.facebook.com/events/849893055150605/

Image may contain: 1 person

Researcher Talk: Dear Sirs: I Believe You are Wasting Your Time

Researcher Talk: Dear Sirs: I Believe You are Wasting Your Time

 Mar 1, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDQSuhmMGL0

Carol Tilley, Associate Professor of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois, will discuss her research in comic books that are part of the records of the Special Subcommittee and her scholarship on the intersection of young people, comics and libraries in the mid-twentieth century.

Sponsored by the Center for Legislative Archives
Recorded October 27, 2016

Wednesday, March 01, 2017

Medical illustrator and cartoonist Jeff Day

I just heard about medical illustrator and cartoonist Jeff Day who is currently working at the National Library of Medicine - his website is http://www.daybiomed.com/

The Post mentions "Headline Hunter" comic strip

How a torpedoed ocean liner boosted the career of a D.C.-born newsman [in print as Aboard a torpedoed ocean liner was this reporter's idea of somewhere to be].


Washington Post
February 28, 2017, p. B3

online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/how-a-torpedoed-ocean-liner-boosted-the-career-of-a-dc-born-newsman/2017/02/27/42e0fa5e-fd02-11e6-99b4-9e613afeb09f_story.html

Kelly writes, "He pitched products in ads and styled himself as the "Headline Hunter," the name of a comic strip based on his exploits"  - can anyone provide a sample or info about this strip?

The Post on Valiant's Secret Weapons

The Oscar-nominated writer of 'Arrival' is bringing a new series to Valiant Comics

By David Betancourt

Washington Post  Comic Riffs blog February 23 2017

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/02/23/the-oscar-nominated-writer-of-arrival-is-bringing-a-new-series-to-valiant-comics/

Comic Riffs on Garfield trolling

Mar 13: 'We Wear the Masks: Poetry and Fiction Inspired by Comic Books'

PEN/Faulkner Fiction and the O.B. Hardison Poetry Series come together to explore the evolving influence that comic books have on writers. The writers will read from their work and participate in a post-reading conversation moderated by Dr. Tara Betts, Visiting Lecturer at University of Illinois-Chicago. Using handwritten poems and passages, the artists of Ink Brick, a micro-press for comic book poetry, will create one-of-a-kind comic book broadside for this event March 13 at 7:30 pm at Folger Theatre. Tickets are $15.

Manuel Gonzales is the author of The Miniature Wife and Other Stories, which won the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction and the John Gardner Prize for Fiction, and the novel, The Regional Office Is Under Attack! He teaches creative writing for the University of Kentucky and the Institute of American Indian Arts. 

Yona Harvey is the author of Hemming the Water, which won the 2014 Kate Tufts Discovery Award, and is a co-author of the Marvel Comics series Black Panther: World of Wakanda
 
Gary Jackson is the author of Missing You, Metropolis which was selected by Yusef Komunyakaa as winner of the 2009 Cave Canem Poetry Prize. He is an assistant professor at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.
 
Discounted tickets for students, seniors and military members are available by calling the Folger box office.

March 6: Will Eisner week at Library of Congress

Will Eisner Centennial:  Discovering His Legacy in the Library's Collections

Curatorial Display

Will Eisner Centennial:  Discovering His Legacy in the Library's Collections

 

When: Monday, March 6, 2017, 11:00 AM-1:00 PM

Where:  Madison Building, Room 139.

 

Join curators from the Prints & Photographs Division and the Serial & Government Publications Division in a celebration of noted cartoonist, comic book publisher, and graphic novelist Will Eisner.  A selection of 30-35 objects will include comic books or related published items, and drawings including a few originals by Eisner and other key creators some of whose work will relate to the comic books on exhibit. Curators and other colleagues will be available to talk about items on view.

 

This event is co-sponsored by Prints & Photographs Division and the Serial & Government Publications Division.

 

Click here for more information.