Showing posts with label cosplay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cosplay. Show all posts

Monday, July 31, 2017

Bob Batchelor on the birth of Spider-Man echoed in local 'King Kirby' play currently running

Coincidentally, a press release from Bob Batchelor came through today that ties in strongly with the play King Kirby which is currently running in Greenbelt. The paragraph where Goodman asks for more Westerns (or whatever is selling) is a recurring episode in the play, as is this characterization of Stan Lee. In his upcoming biography of Stan Lee, Batchelor writes about the creation of Marvel's first superhero character, and Jack Kirby's role in it. With his permission, here's info on his book and the excerpt (which, if you think it gives Lee too much credit, bring it up with Bob please).

Fifty-five years ago the Amazing Spider-Man debuted in a comic book series that faced cancellation for low sales. If it weren’t for a stream of fan letters and readers gobbling up the book, one of the world’s most iconic superheroes would have died an untimely death.

T​he story behind Spider-Man’s creation and appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15 is a tale filled with intrigue, and more importantly, Stan Lee’s calculated risk. The famed editor and writer deliberately ignored his boss – publisher Martin Goodman – who rejected the character, because “people hate spiders.” Unable to get Spider-Man out of his head, Lee had an origin story printed in AF #15. The overwhelming response and extraordinary sales would transform Marvel from a publishing also-ran to the hippest, hottest publisher on the planet.

Below is a 1,500-word excerpt on Spider-Man’s creation by noted biographer and cultural historian Bob Batchelor, which is excerpted from his new book Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel (published September 15, 2017).

Batchelor, who teaches at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, is the author of more than 25 books, including Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel (Rowman & Littlefield, September 2017, adult trade, retail $22.95). Amazon: http://amzn.to/2q4lNYe

A lifelong comic book fan and noted media resource, he has been an editorial consultant for numerous outlets and been quoted in or on BBC Radio World Service, Today.com, Columbus Dispatch, msnbc.com, The Miami Herald, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Dallas Morning News, Taiwan News, Associated Press, The Guardian, and The Washington Post.

Spidey Saves the Day!
By Bob Batchelor


All lean muscles and tautness, a new superhero bursts from the page. Swinging right into the reader’s lap, the hero is masked, only alien-like curved eyes reveal human features, no mouth or nose is visible. His power is alarming: casually holding a ghoulish-looking criminal in one hand, while simultaneously swinging from a hair-thin cord high above the city streets. In the background, tiny figures stand on rooftops, looking on and pointing in what can only be considered outright astonishment.

The superhero is off-center, frozen in a moment, as if a panicked photographer snapped a series of frames. The image captures the speed, almost like flight, with the wind at his back. The hero’s deltoid ripples and leg muscles flex. Some mysterious webbing extends from his elbow to waist. Is this a man or creature from another world?

The answer is actually neither. Looking at the bright yellow dialogue boxes running down the left side of the page, the reader learns the shocking truth. This isn’t a grown man, older and hardened, like Batman or Superman, one an existential nightmare and the other a do-gooder alien. No, this hero is just a self-professed “timid teenager” named Peter Parker. The world, he exclaims, mocks the teen under the mask, but will “marvel” at his newfound “awesome might.”

It is August 1962. Spider-Man is born.

Spider-Man’s debut in a dying comic book called Amazing Fantasy happened because Stan Lee took a calculated risk. He trusted his instincts. Rolling the dice on a new character meant potentially wasting precious hours writing, penciling, and inking a title that might not sell. The business side of the industry constantly clashed with the creative, forcing fast scripting and artwork to go hand-in-hand.

In more than two decades toiling as a writer and editor, Lee watched genres spring to life, and then almost as quickly, readers would turn to something else. War stories gave way to romance titles, which might then ride a wave until monster comics became popular. In an era when a small group of publishers controlled the industry, they kept close watch over each other’s products in hopes of mimicking sales of hot titles or genres.

Lee calls Marvel’s publisher Martin Goodman, “One of the great imitators of all time.” Goodman dictated what Lee wrote after ferreting out tips and leads from golf matches and long lunches with other publishers. If he heard that westerns were selling for a competitor, Goodman would visit Lee, bellowing, “Stan, come up with some Westerns.”[1​] 

This versatility had been Lee’s strength, swiftly writing and plotting many different titles. He often used gimmicks and wordplay, like recycling the gunslinger Rawhide Kid in 1960 and making him into an outlaw or using alliteration, as in Millie the Model.

A conservative executive, Goodman rarely wanted change, which irked Lee. The writer bristled at his boss’s belittling beliefs, explaining, “He felt comics were really only read by very, very young children or stupid adults,” which meant “he didn’t want me to use words of more than two syllables if I could help it…Don’t play up characterization, don’t have too much dialogue, just have a lot of action.” Given the precarious state of publishing companies, which frequently went belly-up, and his long history with Goodman, Lee admits, “It was a job; I had to do what he told me.”[​2​]

Despite being distant relatives and longtime coworkers, the publisher and editor maintained a cool relationship. From Lee’s perspective, “Martin was good at what he did and made a lot of money, but he wasn’t ambitious. He wanted things to stay the way they were.”

Riding the wave of critical success and extraordinary sales of The Fantastic Four, Goodman gave Lee a simple directive: “Come up with some other superheroes.”[3​] The Fantastic Four, however, subtly shifted the relationship. Lee wielded greater authority. He used some of the profit to pay writers and editors more money, which then offloaded some of the pressure.

Launching Spider-Man, however, Lee did more than divert the energy of his staff. He actually defied Goodman.

For months, Lee grappled with the idea of a new superhero with realistic challenges that someone with superpowers would face living in the modern world. The new character would be “a teenager, with all the problems, hang-ups, and angst of any teenager.” Lee came up with the colorful “Spider-Man” name and envisioned a “hard-luck kid” both blessed and cursed by acquiring superhuman strength and the ability to cling to walls, just like a real-life spider.[4​]

Lee recalls pitching Goodman, embellishing the story of Spider-Man’s origin by claiming that he got the idea “watching a fly on the wall while I had been typing.”[​5​] He laid the character out in full: teen, orphan, angst, poor, intelligent, and other traits. Lee thought Spider-Man was a no-brainer, but to his surprise, Goodman hated it and forbade him from offering it as a standalone book.[6​]

The publisher had three complaints: “people hate spiders, so you can’t call a hero ‘Spider-Man’”; no teenager could be a hero “but only be a sidekick”; and a hero had to be heroic, not a pimply, unpopular kid. Irritated, Goodman asked Lee, “Didn’t [he] realize that people hate spiders?”[​7​] Given the litany of criticisms, Lee recalled, “Martin just wouldn’t let me do the book.”[8]

Realizing that he could not completely circumvent his boss, Lee made the executive decision to put Spider-Man on the cover of a series that had previously bombed, called Amazing Fantasy. Readers didn’t like AF, which featured thriller/fantasy stories by Lee and surreal art by Steve Ditko, Marvel’s go-to artist for styling the macabre, surreal, or Dali-esque. It seemed as if there were already two strikes against the teen wonder.

Despite these odds and his boss’s directive, Lee says that he couldn’t let the nerdy superhero go: “I couldn’t get Spider-Man out of my mind.”[9] He worked up a Spider-Man plot and handed it over to Marvel’s top artist, Jack Kirby. Lee figured that no one would care (or maybe even notice) a new character in the last issue of a series that would soon be discontinued.

With Spider-Man, however, Kirby missed the mark. His early sketches turned the teen bookworm into a mini-Superman with all-American good looks, like a budding astronaut or football star. Lee put Ditko on the title. His style was more suited for drawing an offbeat hero.

Ditko nailed Spider-Man, but not the cover art, forcing Lee to commission Kirby for the task, with Ditko inking. Lee could not have been happier with Ditko. He explained: “Steve did a totally brilliant job of bringing my new little arachnid hero to life.”[10] They finished the two-part story and ran it as the lead in AF #15. Revealing both the busy, all-hands state of the company and their low expectations, Lee recalled, “Then, we more or less forgot about him.”[11] As happy as Lee and Ditko were with the collaboration and outcome, there is no way they could have imagined that they were about to spin the comic book world onto a different axis.

The fateful day sales figures finally arrived. Goodman stormed into Lee’s office, as always awash in art boards, drawings, mockups, yellow legal pads, and memos littering the desk.

Goodman beamed, “Stan, remember that Spider-Man idea of yours that I liked so much? Why don’t we turn it into a series?”[​12]

If that wasn’t enough to knock Lee off-kilter, then came the real kicker: Spider-Man was not just a hit, the issue was in fact the fastest-selling comic book of the year, and maybe that decade. Lee recalls that AF skyrocketed to number one.[13]

The new character would be the keystone of Marvel’s superhero-based lineup. More importantly, the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man transformed Marvel from a company run by imitating trends into a hot commodity. In March 1963, The Amazing Spider-Man #1 burst onto newsstands.

Fans could not get enough of the teen hero, so Lee and Marvel pushed the limits. Spider-Man appeared in Strange Tales Annual #2 (September 1963), a 72-page crossover between him and the Human Torch. And in Tales to Astonish, which had moved from odd, macabre stories to superheroes, Spidey guest-starred in #57 (July 1964), which focused on Giant-Man and Wasp. When The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 appeared in 1964, with Lee dubbing himself and Ditko “the most talked about team in comics today,” it featured appearances by every Marvel hero, including Thor, Dr. Strange, Captain America, and the X-Men.

Spider-Man now stood at the center of a comic book empire. Stan Lee could not have written a better outcome, even if given the chance.

All this from a risky run in a dying comic book!

______________________________
_

[
​1​
] Mark Lacter, “Stan Lee Marvel Comics Always Searching for a New Story,” Inc., November 2009, 96.
[
​2​
] Don Thrasher, “Stan Lee’s Secret to Success: A Marvel-ous Imagination,” Dayton Daily News, January 21, 2006, sec. E.
[
​3​
] Quoted in ibid.
[
​4​
] Stan Lee and George Mair, Excelsior! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2002), 126–27.
[
​5​
] Ibid., 126.
[
​6​
] Roy Thomas, “Stan the Man and Roy the Boy: A Conversation between Stan Lee and Roy Thomas,” in Stan Lee Conversations, ed. Jeff McLaughlin (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2007), 141.
[
​7​
] Lee and Mair, Excelsior!, 127.
[
​8​
] Thomas, “Stan the Man,” 141.
[
​9​
] Lee and Mair, Excelsior!, 127.
[
​10​
] Ibid., 128.
[
​11​
] Ibid., 128.
[
​12​
] Ibid., 128.
[
​13​
] Stan Lee, Peter David, and Colleen Doran, Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir (New York: Touchstone, 2015), n.p.

Friday, November 27, 2015

Orsini's Cosplay book available now


Cosplay, by Arlington author Lauren Orsini was published this year, and is featured in Barnes and Noble. This photo is from the Falls Church store.

Orsini has long been active in anime and manga fandom, and worked for some years with Anime USA. This book was done on contract, and she wrote about it on her blog under the title, "Writing a book in seven weeks."

blog_sidebar_headThere she noted, "It's quickly becoming apparent that the actual writing part of the book is going to be a cakewalk compared to getting the photos in order. I didn't write a word of the book this week. Instead I spent my time organizing the cosplay photos my publisher has already given me, plus searching for and contacting talented cosplay photographers all over the world."

By week 5 the writing was becoming the focus, "...I've reordered the sections in a way that feels good to me (now they're all focusing on a genre, with the final chapter on original costuming)..."

She told ComicsDC, "Traditionally publishing a book isn't easy or lucrative, but it's an experience unlike any other. People have sent me photos of my book from places like California, Florida, and New York. I'm really grateful to Carlton Limited and Sterling Publishing for giving me this opportunity."

Monday, April 21, 2014

Eric's Awesome Con Pics, a guest post


My name is Eric and I have been shooting amateur photography for over six years off and on. I normally shoot up in Columbia Height, DC is a private studio (really really small). I completely agree with the the creator of Awesome Con that the DC area has been under served by comic book conventions so in my own little way I hope this support the hometown convention.

I am hoping to make contact with the various convention cosplay attendees so that I can email back their image(s). I snapped approximately 1200 images at the convention and now I am editing it down to one image per cosplayer to post to DeviantArt and Flickr. If you are a cosplayer that would like their respective image emailed to them (or really anything else people would like to communicate about such as Photoshop talk or setting up a shoot) then the best way to contact me is through my email (EricPhotoNow@Yahoo.com).

Below were Friday's Cosplayers (better quality images are at my DeviantArt site).



Saturday, March 02, 2013

Meet a Local Con Organizer: Ron Barba of AnimeUSA

101_4614 Deadpool
The Convention season has started again, with anime and manga focused-Katsucon having been at National Harbor last month, and Emerald City Comicon kicking off the comic book cons in Seattle this weekend. Six months ago, I attended AnimeUSA at the Washington Marriot Wardman Park, where it had moved after being in Crystal City in Arlington. The following interview was done with one of the con organizers, Rob Barba, for a Washington City Paper article that didn't gel. But everyone I see at AnimeUSA looks like they're having a great deal of fun, so perhaps it's not too soon to start planning to attend this September's event.

Mike Rhode: How’d you personally get into comics?

Rob Barba: I'm the writer for a webcomic, Claude & Monet (www.claudeandmo.net); due to its anime style, I felt working with a convention would be a good way to gain both exposure and experience. The former I've got, but the latter my cup runneth over. I can honestly say that in my eight years of working with Anime USA, it's been a worthy experience.
101_4608
MR: How is AnimeUSA different than a standard comics con?

RB: We focus both on manga, manwha, and manhua (Japanese, Korean and Chinese comics, respectively) as well as webcomics. In the former case, these are the basis of anime, which has been on the rise for a number of years. For the latter, it will be the future of how comics are produced, and we felt it was important to be at the forefront of exposing our audience to this medium.

MR: How many years has it run, and how many years have you been a part of it?

RB: Anime USA has been around since 1998. I joined in 2004, after I moved into the area.

MR: How many people did you have?

RB: We had an attendance of roughly 3800 people. While this number is roughly the same as last year, we believe that the move to the new hotel as well as the tragic events of Hurricane Sandy had an effect on our attendance. We plan for greater growth next year.

MR: How did the weather such as Sandy and the following Noreaster affect 2012's con?

101_4604RB: Quite a bit, to be honest. The result was a wholesale cancellation of various panels, vendors coming from the north, and even many of our own staff. As mentioned before, attendance took a hit because of it. Still, I believe we did our best to regroup and move forward for our fans.

MR: Why did you move to the hotel in DC this year?

RB: The Marriott was best suited for our needs after an exhaustive search for a new location. With a layout suitable for panels, workshops and the like; plenty of picturesque locations for cosplayer photography, and room to grow, we were hard-pressed not to chose this site. Combined with the attentive staff of the Marriott, it sealed the deal for us.

MR: Any guests you are particularly proud of having come in 2012? Favorite guests of past years?

101_4606RB: Phil Lamarr, as he is one of the largest guests we have had to date. Caitlin Glass is also a fan favorite. The list of favorites for previous years is too long to mention, but includes folks like Steven Bloom, Monica Rial and others.

MR: Is there anything special about 2012 not mentioned yet?

RB: If people enjoyed 2012, wait until they see what we have planned for 2013. While I can't comment due to contractual reasons, I can say that the marquee guest for next year will be one the fans have been clamoring for, for quite some time.

Friday, November 09, 2012

AnimeUSA underway

I spent a few hours at AnimeUSA today and had a good time looking around at the art show, the dealers and the cosplayers. It runs for two more days. I've put some pictures up here and at Flickr.

Local cartoonists Jamie Noguchi, Tony Tribby and Alexa Polito have tables, as does the Snow By Night webcomic team.

101_4611 Jamie Noguchi

Jamie Noguchi, whose new book is Erfworld vol. 1.

101_4616 Tony Tribby

Tony Tribby, whose new book is 'Death is Good'.

101_4613 Alexa Polito

Alexa Polito, whose selling a minicomic sketchbook, 'Rough Sex vol. 1'.

...and there are the cosplayers too...

101_4606

...I'm not sure that costume is anime/manga influenced, but the next one is Lady Deadpool from Marvel Comics...

101_4614 Deadpool

...and these are real police officers enjoying their surroundings.

101_4605

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

AnimeUSA is this weekend

 AnimeUSA runs this weekend of November 9th-11th at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, DC.  This is always a nice, fun con, with a lot of cosplay. It's particularly good for teens. Things appear to start at noon on Friday.

Here's their first AnimeUSA podcast which features staff members Theo Bugtong (Director of Marketing), Tom Stidman (Director of Guests), and Mark Pope (Vice Chair of Programming).

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Baltimore Comic-Con photographs

101_1725 Deadpool and Wolverine

Here's pictures of the Baltimore Comic-Con 2011 show. There's a bunch of local Washington creators in the pictures - check out the photo's name, rather than the captions which I haven't finished yet.

101_1757 Trimpe and Gallant
Shannon Gallant & Herb Trimpe, two G.I. Joe comic book artists.

101_1759 John Gallagher
Buzzboy's John Gallagher.

101_1760
A dedicated cosplayer.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Oct 2: Lolita Picnic Press Release


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

CONTACT: Chris Wanamaker, (202) 262 2083 president@dcanimeclub.org

 

DC Anime Club

  Presents Lolita Picnic

 

DC Anime Club on October 2, 2010 at DC Freer Gallery Garden from 12:30pm-5:00pm will have a Lolita Picnic. For those who are unfamiliar, Lolita is a fashion subculture in Japan that is primarily influenced by Victorian children clothing, as well as costumes from the Rococo period. Lolita has made this into a unique fashion by adding gothic and original design elements to the look. From this, Lolita fashion has evolved into several different sub ...styles and has created a devoted subculture in Japan. The Lolita look consists primarily of a knee-length skirt or dress, headdress, blouse, petticoat, knee-high socks or stockings, and rocking horse or high heel/platform shoes.

Attendees are encouraged to bring food, since there will be a potluck with the photo shoot.

We will meet up at Smithsonian Subway Station (Blue/Orange Line) at 12pm, then proceed to the Mall. Come in your best Lolita outfits.

THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

Contact:
president@dcanimeclub.org (connected to Blackberry)

 

 

This event is free and open to the public for Ages 13 and up.

 

For more information please call (202) 262 2083, email DC Anime Club president@dcanimeclub.org visit the DC Anime Club website at http://dcanimeclub.org.

 

 

About DC Anime Club:

 

DC Anime Club was established in 2003 to introduce and educate people in the Washington, DC area about East Asian culture, through viewing and discussion of Japanese animation (also known as anime) and Japanese comics (manga).

We also work to provide a positive, alternative activity to the youth in the area by exposing them to foreign culture, encouraging artistic expression and creativity, and providing opportunities for participation in community activities and leadership.

DC Anime Club is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization. Contributions to DC Anime Club are tax deductible to the extent allowable under the law.

DC Anime Club has been featured in many newspapers and publications .

In addition to our bi-meetings, the club holds an Art Show, a Cosplay Party fundraising event, and anime lectures at local schools . Our club works with the Japan Information and Culture Center, Embassy of Japan, Smithsonian Freer Gallery and DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival on their anime screenings. Our Marketing Team has helped promote performances for several Japanese bands such as Puffy Ami Yumi, Pine am, The Slants, The Captains and Ayabie.

DC Anime Club was founded by Chris Wanamaker (President), Jules Chang (former Vice President) and Craig Vaughn (Vice President) on Saturday June 5, 2003. We have a strong membership that continues to grow. 

 

 

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

PR: Baltimore Comic-Con 2010 Second Annual Costume Contest and More!

And note DC locals, Richard 'Cul de Sac' Thompson and SL 'GI Joe' Gallant are attending, at the kid's table that John Gallagher arranges. They'll be there because I'm driving them.



Baltimore Comic-Con 2010 Second Annual Costume Contest and More!
 
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - August 11, 2010 -
In addition to the all-star line-up of talent scheduled at this year's 11th anniversary Baltimore Comic-Con, the show will host their second annual costume contest ... back by HUGE demand!
 
"We held the first costume contest last year and were not sure what to expect, it being our first time," said Marc Nathan, Baltimore Comic-Con promoter, "and we were totally caught off-guard when hundreds entered.  The contestants and audience overflowed the stage and the contest room, then spilled into the convention center."  He went on to add, "We've been asked for years and years to have a costume contest - so we had one and it was a massive hit - so now we have to take it up a notch!  Bigger hall, bigger prizes, bigger guest judges."
 
The $1,000 grand prize will be awarded to the best over-all costume at the event, including pro and amateur costumes.  Other award categories will win DVD prize packages, comic book packages, Orioles baseball tickets, gift certificates to Cards, Comics and Collectibles of Reisterstown, Maryland, and special last minute prizes from top comic book companies.  Everyone who enters the contest will win passes to the advance screening of Summit Entertainment's newest film, RED, starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, and Helen Mirren (based on the Wildstorm graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner) which opens nationwide on Friday, October 15th.
 
A panel of celebrity media judges will determine the contest winners, including some world-famous comic book creators!
 
The contest will start at 1pm on Sunday, August 29th at the Baltimore Convention Center!
 
Added Guests
We are pleased to announce the addition of the following guests to the 2010 Baltimore Comic-Con:  J.D. Arnold (BB Wolf and the 3 LPs), Tommy Castillo (Moon Lake), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Fillbach Brothers sponsored by Laughing Ogre Comics (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Ramona Fradon (Namora), SL Gallant (G.I. Joe), Mike Gold (Editor, ComicMix Graphic Novels from IDW), Jimmy Gownley (Amelia Rules!), Gabriel Hardman (Atlas), Tony Harris (Justice League: Generation Lost), Marc Hempel (Absolute Sandman), Jason Horn (Ninjasaur), Klaus Janson (Daredevil), Joe Jusko (Red Sonja), Jason Kruse (World of Quest), Jay Leisten (Uncanny X-Men), Mike Maihack (Comic Book Tattoo), JD Mettler (Justice League: Generation Lost), Chip Mosher (Left on Mission, Boom! Studios Marketing Director), Jamar Nicholas (Radiskull & Devil Doll: Radiskull Hate Love), Sonia Oback (X-Force), Denny O'Neil (Batman), Andrew Pepoy (Jack of Fables), Brian Pulido (Lady Death), Rico Renzi (The Perhapanauts), Alex Saviuk (Stan Lee and the Super Seven), Richard Thompson (Cul-de-Sac), Bob Tinnell (Lone Justice), Dean Trippe (Superior Showcase), Ted Tucker (Buzzboy), Mark Wheatley (Lone Justice), Ron Wilson (Marvel Two-In-One), and Thom Zahler (Love and Capes).
 
Publishers exhibiting in 2010 include Archaia Comics, Adhouse Books, Boom! Studios, Dark Horse Comics, IDW, Image Comics, Top Cow Productions, and Top Shelf Comix.
 
Previously announced guests include: Dave Aikins (SpongeBob Squarepants), Mike and Laura Allred (Madman), Sergio Aragones (Groo), Ivan Brandon (Nemesis:  The Imposters), Tom Brevoort (Executive Editor, Marvel Comics), Michael Broussard (The Darkness), Jim Calafiore (Secret Six), Eric Canete (New Avengers:  Luke Cage), Bernard Chang (Prince of Persia), Howard Chaykin (Black Kiss), Sean Chen (Nova), Cliff Chiang (Greendale), Mark Chiarello (Editor, DC Comics), Frank Cho (Ultimate Comics New Ultimates), Mike Choi (X-Force), Steve Conley (Star Trek Omnibus: The Original Series), Amanda Conner (Power Girl), Shane Davis (Superman:  Earth One), Francesco Francavilla (The Green Hornet:  Year One), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (Wednesday Comics), Ron Garney (Wolverine:  Weapon X), Sterling Gates (Supergirl), Bryan J.L. Glass (Mice Templar), Michael Golden (Marvel 1602:  Spider-Man), Cully Hamner (Detective Comics), Dean Haspiel (ACT-I-VATE), Jonathan Hickman (Fantastic Four), Greg Horn (Green Lantern), Adam Hughes (Wonder Woman), Jamal Igle (Supergirl), Georges Jeanty (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Van Jensen (Pinocchio:  Vampire Slayer), Geoff Johns - Sunday only (Blackest Night, Chief Creative Officer, DC Comics), J.G. Jones (DC Universe Legacies), Denis Kitchen (Oddly Compelling Art of Denis Kitchen), Barry Kitson (Iron Man 2 Prequel), Rich Koslowski (BB Wolf and the 3 LPs), Greg LaRocque (The Exiled), Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), Norman Lee (New Mutants), Steve Lieber (Underground), Joe Linsner (Dawn:  Not To Touch The Earth), Luna Brothers (The Sword), David Mack (Kabuki), Clay Mann (X-Men Legacy), Laura Martin (Girl Comics), Ron Marz (Witchblade), Todd McFarlane - Saturday only (Spawn), Mark McKenna (Banana Tail), Mike McKone (Avengers Academy), Bob McLeod (New Mutants Forever), Pop Mhan (Ender's Game: Mazer In Prison), Terry Moore (Echo, SiP), Mark Morales (Siege), Chris Moreno (Toy Story), Sean Murphy (Joe the Barbarian), Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), Phil Noto (Avengers:  The Origin), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Jimmy Palmiotti (Jonah Hex), Jeff Parker (Thunderbolts), Lauren Perry (Blank-ees), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Brandon Peterson (Ultimate Extinction), Chris Pitzer (Publisher, Adhouse Books), Paul Pope (Wednesday Comics), Eric Powell (The Goon), Jack Purcell (Gotham City Sirens), Mike Raicht (The Stuff of Legend), Tom Raney (Black Widow:  Deadly Origin), Chris Roberson (I, Zombi), James Robinson (Justice League of America), Kenneth Rocafort (Velocity), Budd Root (Cavewoman), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (Marvel Her-Oes), Stephane Roux (Zatanna), Jim Rugg (Afrodisiac), Filip Sablik (The Asset, Top Cow Pubisher), Tim Sale courtesy of Hero Initiative (Captain America White), Ian Sattler (Editor, DC Comics), Stuart Sayger (Bram Stoker's Death Ship), Bob Schreck (Jurassic Park), Jim Shooter (Magnus, Robot Fighter), Louise Simonson (X-Factor Forever), Walter Simonson (Thor), Andy Smith (WildC.A.T.S.), John K. Snyder III (The A-Team:  Shotgun Wedding), Allison Sohn (Star Wars sketchcard artist), Jim Starlin (Dreadstar), Brian Stelfreeze (The Authority:  The Lost Year), Paul D. Storrie (Twilight Crusade:  Gabriel), Karl Story (Zatanna), Billy Tan (Shadowland), Ben Templesmith sponsored by Laughing Ogre Comics (Choker), Mark Texeira (X-Men:  Origins), Herb Trimpe (Incredible Hulk), Timothy Truman (Conan the Cimmerian), Billy Tucci (Shi), Dexter Vines (Ultimate Avengers), Neil Vokes (Superman Adventures), Doug Wagner (World of Warcraft:  Horde), Matt Wagner (The Green Hornet:  Year One), Mark Waid (Irredeemable, Chief Creative Officer, Boom! Studios), Marv Wolfman (New Teen Titans), John Workman (Heavy Metal), Bernie Wrightson (Swamp Thing), Kelly Yates (Doctor Who: 2010 Annual), and Chrissie Zullo (Cinderella:  From Fabletown With Love).
 
In coming weeks, look for more announcements from the Baltimore Comic-Con. We are looking forward to highlighting our guests, the Harvey Awards, industry exclusives, and programming. The latest developments can always be found at our website (http://www.baltimorecomiccon.com/), Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/baltimorecomics), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/baltimorecomiccon), MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/baltimorecomics), and ComicSpace (http://www.comicspace.com/baltimorecomicon) pages.

This year's Baltimore Comic-Con will be held August 28-29, 2010. Convention hours are Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM and Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM. The ceremony and banquet for the Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, August 28th.
 
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
harveys@baltimorecomiccon.com - for communications regarding the Harvey Awards ceremony and banquet
general@baltimorecomiccon.com - for general Baltimore Comic-Con inquiries
 
About The Baltimore Comic-Con
The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 11th year of bringing the comic book industry to the Baltimore and Washington D.C. area. With a guest list unequaled in the industry, the Baltimore Comic-Con will be held August 28-29, 2010.  For more information, please visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com.

About The Harvey Awards
The Harvey Awards are one of the comic book industry's oldest and most respected awards.  With a history of over 20 years, the last 5 in conjunction with the Baltimore Comic-Con, the Harveys recognize outstanding achievements in over 20 categories.  They are the only industry awards nominated and selected by the full body of comic book professionals.  For more information, please visit www.harveyawards.org.
  

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Heroes Con 2010 pictures

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Evan Dorkin's perhaps ashamed to be caught buying a mainstream comic strip book from Richard Thompson.

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After talking about the Thomas Boatwright painting of Lamont Cranston I bought, Jim Amash drew this Shadow sketch for me.

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Richard Thompson is a fan of Kate Beaton.

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Raina Telgemeier and her fine Smile.

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And then there's Dazzler.

More pictures online here. Labels to follow.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

PR: DC Comic-Con Costume Contest



DC Comic-Con Costume Contest

Washington, DC - April 28, 2010 - JUST ANNOUNCED!  Iron Man 2, hitting theatres on May 7, 2010, presents the Inaugural DC Comic-Con Costume Contest!
 
Come out to the Iron Man 2 table dressed as your favorite comic book character to enter-to-win Iron Man 2 prizes.  The person with the best costume will win reserve seats at the advance screening of the film in DC!  Best Costume will be picked from all entries at 3pm, so enter early!
 
For more information on Iron Man 2, go to www.ironmanmovie.com.

 
Directions
The show will be held at the George Mason University campus at 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA  22030 in the Student Union Building II (SUB II).  Free Parking is available in Lot A (beside the Patriot Center), which is a short walk from SUB II.  A map of the campus can be found at http://parking.gmu.edu/pdf%20files/parkingmap09.pdf, and directions to the show can be found on the show website at http://dccomicon.com/?page_id=63
 
About The DC Comic-Con
The DC Comic-Con, launching in 2010 on Sunday, May 2nd from 10am-5pm, is a result of the cooperative work of Marc Nathan, sponsor of the Baltimore Comic-Con (http://www.baltimorecomiccon.com/) and Brett Carreras, sponsor of the VA Comicon (http://www.vacomicon.com/). For more information about guests, games, show exclusives, and contests, please visit http://dccomicon.com/.
  

Monday, October 12, 2009

Baltimore Comic Con photos continued - Cosplay

All photographs are by Claire.

100_8238 Hawkwoman
Hawkwoman.

100_8269 The Joker
The Joker - an excellent version that reminded me of Marshall Rogers' art.

100_8268 Ghostbusters
The Ghostbusters posed with a family, and doesn't the one on the right really look like Dan Ackroyd?

100_8261 Rorscach, Nite Owl and Poison Ivy
Rorschach, Nite Owl and Poison Ivy - a teamup that Alan Moore will never want to see.

100_8237 Hawkwoman
Hawkwoman.

100_8223 Scarlet Witch and White Queen
Scarlet Witch and the White Queen.

100_8224 Scarlet Witch, Bee, White Queen
Scarlet Witch, #21 henchman of the Monarch from the Venture Bros cartoon, and the White Queen.

Here's an article about the cosplay contest - "Comic book fans get in character: Baltimore Comic-Con's debut costume contest draws dozens of colorful entrants," By Tricia Bishop, Baltimore Sun October 12, 2009.

I'm sure Bruce Guthrie will have plenty of photographs on his website of the cosplayers (link towards the right - over there).

Thursday, July 24, 2008

DC Anime Club cosplay in Silver Spring

Details at "Dressing in character is part of ‘Cosplay’ fun," by Aaron Kraut, Montgomery Gazette Wednesday, July 23, 2008. The Alliance Comics and Games store used to be one of Geppi's stores, way back in the early mists of the direct market.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Bits from today's papers UPDATED

For a bit on the Danish Islam cartoons and fallout in Canada, see Meghan Cox Gurdon on "Chilling climate for journalists in our neighbor to the north," Washington Examiner (January 17, 2008): 15. Editorial cartoonist Nate Beeler's in their most days too and remains the chief reason to pick up the paper.

And then not online is a story about an upcoming event with the DC Anime Club at the Japanese Information and Culture Center - Dixon, Glenn. 2008. Playing and dress-up: Cosplayes act the parts from manga to anime to video games. [Washington Post] Express (January 17). Apparently there will be a cosplay get-together there tomorrow night.

The Express is still running 5 strips or panels, including Bizarro.

The Post has a big strip by Mark Zingarelli on the front of the Home section - my copy will go to Michigan State U's comic art collection.

The Onion has an article about Original Sin cider's ad campaign by cartoonist R. Black. Can't find it online yet, but it's page 32 of the DC edition.