Tuesday, November 07, 2017

PR: Man at Arms & Maid Cafe Reservations - Anime USA 2017 Newsletter

Anime USA is right around the corner, and I haven't been putting up too much information on it, so here's their latest newsletter.


Anime USA 2017 Newsletter, Volume 14: Man at Arms and Maid Cafe Reservations
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Join Us at Anime USA 2017 - Click Here
Anime USA 2017 Educational Guest

Man at Arms

Announcing the stars of the hit TV & Youtube series MAN AT ARMS! These bladesmiths, armourers & craftsmen bring to life fantasy arms & armor from your favorite video games, anime & pop culture!

Matt Stagmer – Host – BladesmithMatthew Stagmer
 Matt Stagmer has been   making swords for 19 years   and is the lead blade grinder   at Baltimore Knife and Sword.   In the summer of 2014 he     began hosting the hit web   series: 
MAN AT ARMS: REFORGED. Teamed with other talented craftsmen, he brings to life the most requested fantasy arms and armor from your favorite video games, anime, and other pop culture genres. In 2017 he became the host of the TV show MAN AT ARMS : The Art of War, starring alongside Danny Trejo, to make history's most devastating weapons.
 

Ilya AlekseyevIlya Alekseyev
Ilya Alekseyev was born in Troitsk, Russia. Since an early age, he developed a liking for the art and craftsmanship of bladed weapons. He brings his background in Art History, Asian Studies, and Philosophy to his craft. Ilya is currently an Armourer and product designer working with Baltimore Knife and Sword. Among the skills that he brings to the Man at Arms project are his expertise in armor, Damascus steel, bloomery steel, and engraving.
 

Bill Collison Bill Collison
 Bill Collison has been working   with Baltimore Knife and   sword for the past 20 years   grinding blades. His   craftsman background started   in armor making and progressed into casting, mold making and heat treating. His knowledge with sheet metal work has made it easy to transition into prop armor and costuming. He has been working with the Freelancers as their jousting armorer for 17 years and has a background in Martial Arts and the SCA. Bill is a contributing smith on both the MAN AT ARMS television and Youtube series.

Website: http://imakeswords.com/

Anime USA 2017 Special Event

Maid Cafe Reservations

Over the past few years, we've noticed that the lines for the ultra-popular My Cup of Tea Maid Café have been getting progressively longer. And why shouldn't they? Our hard-working maids go above and beyond to give their Masters and Princesses the best experience they can! We hate to turn away anyone looking to enjoy our Maid Café, and this year, we've come up with a way for you to guarantee a seat, skip the lines and get some really neat perks in the process: Introducing MoePass+!

MoePass+ works like a flexible reservation system. At both the Maid Café Meet & Greet on Thursday evening, or at the café itself starting Friday morning, you can purchase a MoePass+ and select a time period you'd like to come back and be seated at the Café. The passes cost $5.00 for just about any party size, and come with the following benefits:

– The pass is good for a full hour, so if you choose a 1:00PM time slot, you can arrive any time up until 1:59PM, go right to the MoePass+ line, and you'll be seated next! This way, if there's a panel you want to finish up, or if you're stuck in an autograph line, you don't have to worry about losing your spot.

– Once you're seated, and you turn your pass over to your maid, you'll get one free picture and game (a $8.00 value).

There are only 4 MoePass+ spots available for every 30 minute window, so if you're really eager to get a good spot at the café this year, make sure to show up to the Maid Café Meet & Greet on Thursday night!

If you can't make it on Thursday, just head to the Café at any time, and a hostess will gladly take care of your reservation.

Anime USA is Recruiting Public Safety Staff

You Can Be a Part of the

ANIME USA 2017 Team!


Anime USA is recruiting Public Safety Staff for our convention from 8 Dec to 10 Dec at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park hotel in Washington, DC. Duties will include, but not be limited to:
  1. Patrolling (monitoring convention areas & all hallways to enforce convention rules)
  2. Badge check (posting outside function rooms or entrances to hallways to ensure only Anime USA attendees enter)
  3. Enforcing signs designating no cameras, no bags or large coats, no audio recording, etc, where applicable
  4. Line wrangling (making sure attendees waiting to enter functions are standing and entering the function in an orderly manner)
  5. Wristband Check (for adult only functions, assuring only attendees who are over eighteen with a valid wristband and Anime USA badge are admitted).
**Those that have staffed public safety, security, or have experience in other such departments at other conventions should list what conventions they worked at, and what ranks they held**

***This position requires excellent customer service skills.  Positive customer interactions are required***

Please send an email to Public Safety at publicsafety@animeusa.org for more information about the position or to apply to be on our 2017 staff.

Memberships

Regular: $66
Child: $33
Silver: $91
Sponsor: $150
Join Anime USA
Hotel
Anime USA's host hotel is the Washington Marriott Wardman Park.

Rooms are $167 a night plus tax.

There will be a non-refundable $50 deposit for each room.
Reserve a Room
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Email

Questions?

Reply to this e-mail and we'll be happy to answer them for you!

Anime USA LogoCopyright © 2017 Anime USA, All rights reserved.
Note to our readers: Thank you for reading our special announcement. We respect your privacy. We will never sell your information to a third-party. If you did not intend to sign up for this newsletter, we apologize for the inconvenience. Please do not mark us as spam.

Our mailing address is:
Anime USA, 2009 Capstone Circle, Herndon, VA 20170


Nell Minow's account of the editorial cartoonist meeting

Political Cartoonists Talk Twitter, Censorship, MAD Magazine, and How to Draw Trump

Nell Minow, Contributor
shareholder advocate, movie critic
11/06/2017
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/political-cartoonists-talk-trump-censorship-mad-magazine_us_59f87dc3e4b0449428337964

Friday, November 03, 2017

Comic Riffs talks to Sikoryak on Trump, Mike Mignola, Barry Blitt and about Thor

'The Unquotable Trump' uses the president's own words to comic effect

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog November 1 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/11/01/the-unquotable-trump-uses-the-presidents-own-words-to-comic-effect/

Mike Mignola's next dark comic features a sad werewolf and the vampires he hates

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog October 25 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/10/25/mike-mignolas-next-dark-comic-features-a-sad-werewolf-and-the-vampires-he-hates/

How the New Yorker's Barry Blitt builds his Trump caricatures

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog October 27 2017

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/10/27/how-the-new-yorkers-barry-blitt-builds-his-trump-caricatures/


How an obscure New Zealand comedy director transformed the 'Thor' franchise

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog November 2 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/11/02/how-an-obscure-new-zealand-comedy-director-transformed-the-thor-franchise/

How 'Thor: Ragnarok' brought two new female characters to the male-dominated Marvel universe

Washington Post Comic Riffs blog November 4 2017
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2017/11/03/how-thor-ragnarok-brought-two-new-female-characters-to-the-male-dominated-marvel-universe/

Nov 17: Animezing!: Castle in the Sky


Join us for a FREE classic anime film at the JICC!
Join us for a FREE classic anime film at the JICC!
JICC Logo
Animezing!: Castle in the Sky
2017 marks the 100-year anniversary of Japanese animation. In celebration, the JICC is presenting a retrospective of landmark animated films!
The first film produced by the legendary Studio Ghibli and directed by Hayao Miyazaki! 
A young girl with a mysterious crystal pendant falls out of the sky and into the arms and life of young Pazu. Together they search for a floating island in the sky, site of a long-dead civilization promising enormous wealth and power to those who can unlock its secrets.
Castle in the Sky is an early masterpiece of storytelling and filmmaking whose imaginative and ornately detailed vision presaged later films like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.
In Japanese with English subtitles | Rated PG | 1986 | 124 min | Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Castle in the Sky (Tenku no Shiro Laputa) © 1986 Studio Ghibli
Registration is required.
You are invited to
Friday, November 17th, 2017
from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM (EST)
Japan Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!
Event venue map
This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
In the event of a cancellation, please contact us at jicc@ws.mofa.go.jp.

Program begins at 6:30PM.
Doors open 30 minutes prior to start of program.
No admittance after 7:00PM or once seating is full.

Registered guests will be seated on a first come, first served basis. Please note that seating is limited and registration does not guarantee a seat.

The JICC reserves the right to use any photograph/video taken at any event sponsored by JICC without the expressed written permission of those included within the photograph/video.
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© 1981-2017 Japan Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan




Big Planet Comics' Jared Smith interviewed

The "How Does a Comic Book Store Owner Work?" Transcript

Read what Jared Smith had to say about running Big Planet Comics in Washington.

Slate Plus
Nov. 2 2017

NPR on Derf's Dahmer and Thor movies

Portrait Of The Killer As A Young Man: 'My Friend Dahmer'

http://www.npr.org/2017/11/02/560376370/portrait-of-the-killer-as-a-young-man-my-friend-dahmer

'Thor: Ragnarok' Is Hela Good

http://www.npr.org/2017/11/02/560371973/thor-ragnarok-is-hela-good

'Thor: Ragnarok' Pokes Fun At Itself While Being The Best Thor Film Yet

The City Paper features Adam Griffiths

Adam Griffiths Wrote a 600-Page Graphic Novel About His Grandmother's Civil Rights Lawsuit [in print as Graphic Novelty]

The local cartoonist spent nearly a decade on his sprawling, surreal D.C.-set graphic novel.

Washington City Paper Nov 3, 2017 , p. 23
https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arts/books/blog/20981372/adam-griffiths-washington-white-graphic-novel

The Post and City Paper on Thor and Blade of the Immortals

'Thor: Ragnarok' is a delicious blend of meaty action and sublime silliness [in print as Thor-ly needed].

Washington Post November 3 2017, p. Weekend 29-30
online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/thor-ragnarok-is-a-delicious-blend-of-meaty-action-and-sublime-silliness/2017/10/27/1f412782-b9bc-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html


'Thor: Ragnarok' rewrites the rules of superhero movies [in print as Hilarity ensues: 'Ragnarok' has fun breaking the rules].

Express November 3 2017, p. 36
online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/express/wp/2017/11/03/auto-draft-7/?utm_term=.4edd24a9c7af

Thor: Ragnorak Is the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Best Comedy [in print as Out of this World].

Director Taika Waititi injects new life into the Thor franchise.

Washington City Paper Nov 3, 2017 , p . 26
online at https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arts/film-tv/blog/20981316/thor-ragnorak-reviewed

'Blade of the Immortal': Samurai is cursed with eternal life — and seemingly interminable sword fights [in print as Manga-inspired exercise in excess].


Washington Post November 3 2017, p. Weekend 33
online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/blade-of-the-immortal-samurai-is-cursed-with-eternal-life--and-seemingly-interminable-sword-fights/2017/11/02/e35ed64c-b9bb-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html

Wednesday, November 01, 2017

PR: Cards Comics & Collectibles New Location, In-Store Signing!

Cards Comics & Collectibles New Location, In-Store Signing!
Store reopens in historic location, hosts Joe Pruett from AfterShock Comics
Cards, Comics and Collectibles - Baltimore County's premiere comic book store and the official news source of the Baltimore Comic-Con - is moving! Stop in today at the BRAND NEW, MUCH LARGER Cards Comics and Collectibles at 51 Main Street, Reisterstown, MD 21136 -- we're still finishing our build-out, but you can pick up new books!
This Saturday, November 4, 2017, to add to the excitement of the new store, come meet Joe Pruett, writer of Black Eyed Kids from AfterShock Comics for an in-store signing!
CC_C New Store In Progress
You want comics_ We got comics_

Cards Comics and Collectibles | 51 Main Street, Reisterstown, MD  21136

New Kickstarter from G.E. Gallas

G.E. Gallas writes in about her "new Kickstarter campaign: "Open Book Chocolates: Literary, Artisanal Chocolate Bars"!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/868711984/open-book-chocolates-literary-artisanal-chocolate

Open Book Chocolates is a marriage between two passions: literature and chocolate. Food can be a powerful instrument in storytelling, from the Muscat grapes Mercédès offers Monte Cristo to the ever-present tea shared by Holmes and Watson. Our signature flavors embody the stories, characters, and themes of our favorite classics."

The Post on Lego animation history

Lights, camera, Lego: How an 'active play' giant took a chance on Hollywood [in print as Lights, camera, Lego: Toymaker's bet pays off].


Washington Post October 22 2017: G2
online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/lights-camera-lego-how-an-active-play-giant-took-a-chance-on-hollywood/2017/10/19/74735c38-b288-11e7-9e58-e6288544af98_story.html

New Terry Flippo webcomic, Deliver Me, starts today

Terry is a mail carrier for the Post Office, iirc.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/325467341252869/permalink/325792587887011/


Sneak preview! Don't tell anyone I showed you. On second thought, TELL EVERYONE!