Report on the Harrisburg Comic Con

Recently Progressive Galleries hosted a mini Comic-Con at their gallery/show space upstairs in the Maennerchor Building on North Street in Harrisburg, and one Tony Magni and I were on hand to represent Comix Connection! We offered a couple tables worth of comic book and graphic novel goodness to the fine folks of the downtown and had a rather fine time doing so. We were certainly in good company at this event as many other area retailers, new and old, and several private sellers were on hand selling a variety of cool stuff.

This show was a bit different from shows I'm used to frequenting, with their inclusion of live tattooing, a DJ, and an open bar, but honestly I thought these were cool and clever inclusions to draw in further interest for the event. Considering most shows try to just hook in a novice creator to attach their name to an event as a draw for crowds, I appreciated this fresh approach to broadening the event's appeal to the public. It was a hip show at a hip place, with a very affordable admission price of $2.00, and people came out! I enjoyed talking to the people who attended and stopped by our tables. I especially appreciated the attention from those who stopped by and were completely new to looking at comic books because that is always great to see! It is exactly what this art form needs to grow and thrive! For a first time event at this location, I think this event had a strong vendor response, and fortunately we had a decent buyer turnout too! It gives me hope that this area could support more events such as this, and hopefully this will be just the beginning of what type of comic book related events we could see here in central PA. After all... gas is expensive, so everyone should pull together and do this stuff here instead of driving to Philly or Pittsburgh for shows!

After all, money saved not going into a gas tank is money that can be spent on comics... just something to think about!

So yes, to conclude this brief account of the day, this show was very worthwhile, I thank Jonas and Nate, AKA the good guys who initiated and hosted this event, and I am very thankful that the local shops and sellers came out to take part for the afternoon. It was a pleasure being a part of this! I especially want to thank Matt, who was a seller next door to our table who was selling used CDs and DVDs, who gave me a good price on a stack of used discs. His stand was pretty much where my mad money went to at this event!

It was a good day, a good show, and we'll certainly keep you posted when any other events such as this pop up!

SCUBACAT!

Read about SCUBACAT HERE!

Jim and I (manager Jared) made Microheroes!

Inspired by last weeks post about Micro-heroes, and discovering how they were made.
Jim and I hit the drawing board, pixel by pixel, and created characters from a blank male template.

A peek at new WATCHMEN movie posters

Check them out by clicking HERE!

I'm pretty sure they are identical to the original Dave-Gibbons-art WATCHMEN portfolio images, which were also the same images that appeared as ads in DC comics back in 1985 or so...

(Thanks to Mike Bollinger for the linky.)

Local creator Mike Hawthorne featured in art show at York Emporium

COMIC ARTIST MIKE HAWTHORNE SHOWS IN DOWNTOWN YORK GALLERY.

YORK, PA—Mike Hawthone's images have appeared on the pages of both Marvel Comics and DC Comics, and they now will open in a new show in The Middle Gallery, located inside The York Emporium used book and curiosity shop in downtown York, on Friday August 1, 2008.

The opening, which includes a talk by the artist followed by a wine-and-cheese reception, begins at 7:00 PM and is both free and open to the public.

The opening has been scheduled to coincide with York's "First Friday" program.

Hawthone is a York native who graduated from William Penn High School before earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Temple University's Tyler School of Art in 1998.

He is the principal artist for The Unmen, published by Vertigo Comics (an imprint of the DC Comics Group). He has also drawn Swamp Thing for DC Comics and Machine Teen for Marvel Comics.

"The Middle Gallery is a new venture of The York Emporium," says shop owner Pam Lewin. "The intent is to bring together an eclectic mix of originals and prints within the relaxed atmosphere of the book shop."

In addition to the Hawthorne show, The Middle Gallery features an ongoing exhibition of works by local artists Leo Murphy and Steven Heffner, and digital artist L.W. Perkins.

The York Emporium is a used book and curiosity shop located at 343 West Market Street in downtown York. It boasts upwards of 19,000 sq. ft. and in excess of 250,000 titles on its shelves.

Hawthorne's work will remain on display through the months of August and September.

Related links:

The York Emporium

The Middle Gallery

Mike Hawthorne

News on a movie deal in the works

Come on out and meet Mike, chat him up and score some of that wine and cheese!

(Bonus trivia: The York Emporium is where Comix Connection got it's start!)

Cap's not dead, and neither is San Diego Comic Con!

The SDCC is very much alive and HERE are some neat pictures of the event.

Reporting from San Diego Comic Con! (not live...uh, but not dead.)

So, every year we get the news from SDCC! It's always very exciting for fans of the pop-culture. This year is no exception. First off we have...Flash: Rebirth by Geoff Johns and Ethan Van Sciver. A mini-series re-introducing the once dead Barry Allen, similarly to 2005's Green Lantern rebirth, also done by this creative team.

Kevin Smith will be returning to DC, writing a Batman mini-series titled Batman: Cacophony, starring one of my favorite underused villains from Smith's Green Arrow run, Onomatopoeia!

At Marvel, we will finally see an ongoing featuring the Golden Age team, Agents of Atlas, Written by none other than Jeff Parker.

Also in December we'll see Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon returning to Punisher with Punisher: War Zone, a weekly 6-issue miniseries, under the Marvel Knights line. Also replacing the Iron Man: Director of SHIELD title, a War Machine ongoing written by Greg Pak! YAY!



A few other things to note: A series titled Adam Legend of the Blue Marvel about a black superhero in the ‘60s that wore a costume that concealed the color of his skin. Six issues, starting in November. Sounds interesting. Last but definitely not least, Johns will be in on the Superman books until at least 2010!!!

And that's all for now, but that is only day one at the San Diego Comic Con!

Little Nemo TV/Movie? Pilot.

From the year of my birth, 1984, comes a TV/Movie? pilot for Winsor McCay’s classic comic, Little Nemo in Slumberland, by Yoshifumi KondÃ. Beautifully done. Wish I could see more of this!

Vote with your dollars

Coming this fall from IDW Comics:

IDW Publishing has announced the October 8th publication of graphic novel biographies of the leading candidates for President of the United States, Barack Obama and John McCain. The full color 28-page comic book bios will be available separately for $3.99 and in a flip-book version for $7.99. In addition to printed versions, mobile phone users will be able to purchase downloadable versions of the books through Uclick’s Go Comics Website. Fan favorite artist J. Scott Campbell (Gen 13, Danger Girl) has provided the covers for both biographies.

Read the whole article HERE at ICV2.

What, no Ron Paul?

A is for Awesome Artistic Arrangement!

This artist decided to take comic related characters and make an alphabetic arrangement out of them. Check it out HERE.

Maybe the Greatest Thing For My Comic Loving Eyes To Behold!

I'm sure many of you have seen this before...maybe not. If you haven't it is AMAZING! The attention to detail is astonishing. It is updated regularly and all of the current incarnations of all your favorite characters are HERE to see.

I believe this man may be the biggest Comics fan in existence.

39th anniversary of Man landing on Moon

Yep, it was 39 years ago today that a human first set foot on the Moon, a culmination of decades of research and the highest levels of technology. I was eight years old that day, and our elementary school teachers had us all sit on the floor of the lobby to watch events unfold on big televisions perched on top of stands. The Space Age was an awesome time to grow up, and every kid wanted to be an astronaut.

What are your memories of that momentous day?

Apparently there's a new BATMAN movie...

So did anyone see THE DARK KNIGHT? What didja think of it?

GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY -> WATCHMEN TRAILER!

I actually wept a little when I saw this:

CLICK HERE TO SEE AWESOME WATCHMEN TRAILER ALREADY!

I never thought I'd see WATCHMEN done right on the big screen, but for goodness sakes, every scene in this trailer is torn right from the comic!

2009: The Year of WATCHMEN!

(Thanks to Jared for the heads-up, and thanks for the image Mike B!)

One for this year's Christmas List!

On November 14th Warner Brothers will be releasing Batman: The Complete Animated Series DVD Collection, featuring sixteen discs and lots of goodies and extras! So if you've been holding out on picking up the sets of the four individual seasons, this may be just the incentive you need to finally add this amazing series to your DVD collection.

SPIRIT movie looking better?

OK, this was actually pretty cool. Longtime fan Mike Bollinger sent me THIS LINK to the new SPIRIT by Frank Miller trailer... what do you think?

Joe Shuster BATMAN drawing!

Via an orphan emailing, I was sent to the Noblemania blog, the home of Marc Tyler Nobleman, author of "Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman" (a book which we should be getting shortly), and that astonishing picture of perhaps the only known drawing of The BATMAN by SUPERMAN co-creator Joe Shuster! Find the whole story HERE!

I am almost speechless.

It's moments like this that really make me appreciate the internet. An amazing find.

ADDED: (Am I crazy? Has anyone else ever seen a Shuster Batman drawing?)

ANNOUNCING the Harrisburg Comi-Con!

Check this out:


It's being held at Der Harrisburg Maennerchor, Harrisburg's oldest social club!

Joe and Tony will be set up st this ultra-cool event... see you there!

This is annoying

From the COINLINK website:

Capital gains tax higher on sale of collectibles

Capital gain from the sale of a collectible held for more than one year is taxed at 28 percent.

That is significantly higher than the capital gains tax rate for most investments, which are taxed at a maximum 15 percent rate, 5 percent for taxpayers in the 10 or 15 percent tax brackets. Short-term investments in collectibles are taxed as short-term capital gains at ordinary income tax rates.

Ouch.

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT***

The gang at Comix Connection is proud to announce a very special event... the DEAD OF NIGHT: DEVIL SLAYER Release Party featuring acclaimed horror novelist (and now Marvel Comics writer!) BRIAN KEENE!

Timed to coincide with the release of the first issue of Marvel Comics' DEVIL SLAYER comic book, Brian Keene will be appearing at COMIX CONNECTION - YORK (only, sorry) on Saturday, September 6th from 1:00PM until 4:00PM to celebrate his first ever writing credit on a Marvel comic book! Woot! Come on out and meet Brian and get a copy of DEVIL SLAYER #1 autographed by the man himself! Available also will be a selection of Brian's novels (which are really very excellent, no lie) and copies of HELLBOY: ODDEST JOBS which just shipped and features a prose story by Brian!

Stay tuned for more details and other news!

A Public Service Announcement

Having trouble tying your shoes? Well, then CLICK HERE to go to Ian's Shoelace Site for all your shoelace-tying needs. Learn about Lacing Shoes, Tying Shoelaces, Slipping Shoelaces, Crooked Bows, Shoelace Length, Shoelace Tips, Shoelace Books and more!

You're welcome.

Baman piderman!

Best ever DC/Marvel crossover!

GI Joe and ROMMEL - Guest Review by Chris Yother

I got this email recently from longtime fan Chris Yother a few days ago and thought it was pithy and entertaining enough to post here (with his permission of course.)

Dude

Major bummer this weekend!! First, where was my favorite comic guy on Friday? - oh yeah, that's right, had his Irish buddies to hang out with :))) It's cool, hope you guys had a great time.

So, I stopped in this weekend in particular to pick up my last Joe comic from DDP. I did that intentionally. I sat down Saturday morning and read all 12 issues straight through. What an AMAZING series this 12 part adventure turned into!! Couple little things I didn't like but it just rocked!!! The tempo was a bit slow in the beginning - which was good - as I like character involvement and depth but I had a feeling they (DDP) were going to have to speed things up to give us a good conclusion. Smart move on their part to make installment 6 a two parter - that smoothed the story tempo out really well.

There were a lot, I mean A LOT of little subplots which I lost track of when reading the story on a monthly basis - especially around installment 8 or so. But reading it all together brought it all home. It was nice for me, as I have been a fan of the Joe comic since issue six came out (I never saw the first 5 issues on the newsstand rack!!) :)) This story line was to GI Joe fans what I think Civil War was to you Marvel fans - one big "HOAAH" bonanza!!

So, as the final installment was passing into my collective memory of Joe lore, I felt myself becoming really sad - I mean, WHAT HAPPENS NOW?? :)) The reality of me losing the Joes and not having a comic there each month was depressing. Fortunately, Larry Hama will be back with IDW in October. I really dig what they have done with DR WHO Classics so I am hoping this transition will be pretty smooth - still - OCTOBER!! At least that gives me time to catch up on all those war comics I have bought from you guys.

DDP did a wonderful job. It's a Golden time to be a Joe fan with the WW3 story and the 25th anniversary figures and vehicles and a movie due in 2009.

So, not only did I get that enjoyment - I also bought that ROMMEL solitaire game from DVG I saw on your rack. I got it because I cannot get ANYONE to steady commit to wargaming with me, so the solitaire option works perfectly. Anyway, I did Rommel moderately proud - the Axis got rocked but I did OK. Screwed up the rules - it was my first time playing the game, so that was bound to happen - unfortunately, the British forces benefited from it!! :)) Anyway, PLEASE PLEASE preorder me the Alexander the Great Solitaire game they are going to do - I really want that one!!

Hope you had a great 4th - I am!!
C

Thanks Chris!
So... any other GI JOE fans out there? What did you think?

Masters of Comic Art

Years ago I had a friend give me a video tape of a program called Masters of Comic Book Art, a documentary hosted by Harlan Ellison and directed by Ken Viola in 1987. The program featured interviews with a variety of key creators in the world of comics such as Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Steve Ditko, Neal Adams, Dave Sim, Bernie Wrightson, Frank Miller, and Moebius. It's my favourite comic related program to watch, especially when I am in need of creative inspiration.

I don't know how many of you have ever seen this, but I was able to find some clips on youtube. I was hoping more of this documentary was available, but it looks like only two segments are floating around out there. If you have a little bit of time though, check these segments out. I think you'll find them enlighting.

Jack Kirby



Dave Sim

What Splonks in your life?

Today i was riding my bike to the park and my tire totally splonked when i hit a rock.
I found a small page of sound effects and i thought it was ok neat...

UPDATE: Broken linky fixed!

The Question?

Brian Linnen sent me THIS LINK to a story about some weird characters who have been showing up at some of England's more prestigious venues.

Is it the Question?

THE END!

Well that's it...hope you all loved it. I enjoyed making it. Still not enough options in the program to create a strip that I could be completely satisfied with...so when I get a program that I can put my pencils into, maybe we'll see a different story. Until then....

Happy Fourth of July

Through the miracle of back posting, we at Comix Connection hope you enjoy the Fourth of July! Go celebrate America's Birthday in style! Have a bash as big as this nation of ours!

Cheers!

A Science Fiction Classic May Now Be Complete!

Metropolis, the most important silent film in German history, can from this day on be considered to have been recovered! It was announced today that film archivists at the Museo del Cine Pablo C. Ducros Hicken in Buenos Aires have just recently discovered the complete 16mm negatives of Fritz Lang's 1927 film! The most complete restored version audiences have been able to see of this film has been the 2001 restoration which Kino Video released on DVD. This effort still did not contain nearly 25% of the film, despite the addition of scenes that were found and restored in Europe from the film version from Film museum Munich, the additional materials of the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv (Federal Archive / Filmarchive), Berlin, and partners of the Deutscher Kinematheksverbund (Association of German Film Archives).

ZEITmagazin gives this story of how the film managed to survive.

"Adolfo Z. Wilson, a man from Buenos Aires and head of the Terra film distribution company, arranged for a copy of the long version of “Metropolis” to be sent to Argentina in 1928 to show it in cinemas there. Shortly afterwards a film critic called Manuel Peña Rodríguez came into possession of the reels and added them to his private collection. In the 1960s Peña Rodríguez sold the film reels to Argentina’s National Art Fund – clearly nobody had yet realised the value of the reels. A copy of these reels passed into the collection of the Museo del Cine (Cinema Museum) in Buenos Aires in 1992, the curatorship of which was taken over by Paula Félix-Didier in January this year. Her ex-husband, director of the film department of the Museum of Latin American Art, first entertained the decisive suspicion: He had heard from the manager of a cinema club, who years before had been surprised by how long a screening of this film had taken. Together, Paula Félix-Didier and her ex-husband took a look at the film in her archive – and discovered the missing scenes."



This is truly great news! I will certainly be anxiously awaiting a re-release now from Kino, who were already in the planning stages of a Blu-Ray edition sometime in 2009. I can only imagine that release will be slated now to carry the restoration version of this new complete negative, and finally allow modern audiences to see this film only as German audiences were able to enjoy it over 80 years ago!

Hair Hats

Why?



Was there really demand for this?

More hair hats found HERE!

TRON "Sweded"

OK, two things:

1) You have to have seen the movie TRON... (Saw it in 1982 with my buddies.)

2) You have to know what "Sweding" is... (Thanks again, creative genius Michael Gondry! - short definition here.)

You good? Now watch this:



Better version here.

There are lots of "Sweded" movies out there... let me know if you find anything cool.