A great time was had by all at the Second Annual Creators Cookout at Comix Connection - Mechanicsburg

Mike Hawthorne and his magic spatula!

Many, many, many folks donated canned food for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank... you guys and gals filled this barrel! THANKS!

J.F. Gonzalez autographs his books for his avid fans!

The dust settles on the special ONE DOLLAR EACH back issue bins! It looked like a tornado hit them, so I guess a lot of you filled some of your want lists!

What are these folks waiting in line for?

To sample some of Mike Hawthorne's GREEK-STYLE PORK KABOBS and insanely delicious hamburgers, that what! Note the poor abandoned hot dog.

Horror novelist and comic book author Brian Keene takes a break from signing his books to grab some of Mike's delicious grub and chat with some fans.

J.F. Gonzalez, Brian Keene and Mike Hawthorne... thanks for making Creators Cookout 2009 a smash hit!

Many thanks to all of you who donated canned goods to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank!

And special thanks go out to the awesome Comix Connection Counter Monkeys -> Nicky (The CLAW!) , Tony (Baloney), Brian (fake Triple-G) and Manager Joe (The Continuity Kid) for holding down the fort! We seriously couldn't do it without you! Thanks!

And there are lots more photos HERE on the Comix Connection Facebook page!

Meet Famous Creators, help feed the people of Central Pennsylvania

That's tomorrow at Comix Connection-Mechanicsburg!

FREE Hotdogs, hamburgers and etc. will be available from 12 Noon until 2PM-ish... come early and watch comic creator Mike Hawthorne work his culinary magic!

Also meet and greet with authors Brian Keene and J.F. Gonzalez while you partake of the goodies.

PLEASE BRING SOME CANNED FOOD to feed the donation barrel for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank!

Cash donations will also be accepted, so come on in and grub out at Comix Connection!

Grab a burger, get an autograph, and chat with talented creators! What a great way to spend a rainy afternoon!

Oh and feed your brain too: ALL BACK ISSUES IN THE BINS ARE $1.00 EACH ALL DAY!

See you there!

THIS SATURDAY AT COMIX CONNECTION - MECHANICSBURG!

HOT DOGS

HAMBURGERS

HORROR NOVELIST BRIAN KEENE

COMIC CREATOR MIKE HAWTHORNE

HORROR NOVELIST J.F. GONZALEZ

CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA FOOD BANK

THIS SATURDAY
12 NOON - 2 PM-ish
COMIX CONNECTION - MECHANICSBURG
DONATIONS TO THE CENTRAL PA FOOD BANK WELCOME!

LET'S ALL PITCH IN TO HELP CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIANS!

(ALL BACK ISSUES IN THE BINS ARE $1.00 EACH ALL DAY!)

JOIN US!

Creating Memories to Last a Lunchtime!

On Saturday, September 12th from 12 noon until 2PM, Comix Connection - Mechanicsburg will be hosting our 2nd Annual Creators Cookout! We'll be offering free hot dogs & hamburgers with a side order of a few special guests:

Marvel/Vertigo/Image/IDW and all-around swell artist, who is currently wowing us with his pencils on G.I. Joe Origins, MIKE HAWTHORNE!

Two time Bram Stoker Award Winner, 2004 Shocker Award Winner for non-fiction, and writer of Marvel Comics' Dead of Night: Devil-Slayer , acclaimed horror and crime author BRIAN KEENE!

Author of several acclaimed novels of terror and suspense, including Clickers I & Clickers II, and over sixty other short stories, J.F. GONZALEZ!

Last year our Creator Cookout raised a sizable donation for the Hero Initiative, but with this year's event we chose to focus on a cause that's immediate to the mid-state, so we are seeking to collect charitable donations for the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank. A donation barrel for non-perishable food items will be available in our store starting on Friday, September 4th, 2009. Cash donations may also be made during the cookout event on Saturday. All donations will be collected by the Central PA Food Bank on September 14th. So please as you come in to our store next week, make a donation if you can of a food item, or if you're joining us for our festivities on Saturday make a donation then! Folks in our area are really depending on the Central PA Food Bank now more than ever.

Also for our loyal customers, all back issues in the bins will be just a dollar each for the entire day! So even if you can't make the cookout, feel free to come in for the back issues!

Comix Connection Cartoonist Cookout a smash success!

The day was beautiful, with rather warm, clear skies. I had arrived early to set things up and everything was running smoothly. Joe ran to get the ice and some weird form of Cheese Food Product to put on the burgers, and a few other last-minute items. We were all set and ready for the hungry throngs. Counter Monkey Tony arrived before noon, while he was walking past me the wind picked up and lifted my carefully constructed canopy (GO Gators!) up in the air and tried to dump it on the hot grill. Fine. Tony and I wrestled it to the ground and threw it back in the van. OK, no canopy. No big deal. We'll move the grill closer to the store to get it out of the wind, and rearrange everything else, including the artist's table. Speaking of which, where are the artists? The phone rings. It's Mike Hawthorne. He's just leaving York due to an unforeseen problem and he'll be here ASAP. No biggie. Except Mike has the hamburgers and the kebabs! Better get the hot dogs cooking, the hungry wolves are starting to circle the campfire...
And then, Mike Oeming and Taki Soma appear and everything's cool. Mike Hawthorne and Paul Azaceta arrive shortly thereafter, so it's all good. Burgers fry, marinated pork kebabs sizzle, and the soda pop flows! A great time is had by all. A reporter from the Harrisburg Patriot-News appears to do a story on comic books and interviews the Boyces and the Yothers and the artists and Joe and I ... CLICK HERE to read the full details!

Anyway, we all had a blast... it was cool hanging out with everyone on a fine Fall afternoon, shooting the breeze and grubbing out! Kudos to Mike Hawthorne for the brilliant idea of throwing an artist's cookout! We should do this again, don't you think?

And last but not least, we raised over $150.00 for the Hero Initiative, a charity that helps freelance artists who have no insurance, and more! Thanks everyone who came out and had a tasty grilled treat, and thanks for your generous donations!

Without further ado, here's some pics:

Olivia, Megan and Tom Hayes chat with artist Paul Azaceta, while in the foreground Mike Hawthorne works his magic!

Behold the culinary delights, the subtle flavors of which you can only get from grilling meat in a parking lot!

Counter Monkey Tony Magni, who saved my life by selflessly flinging himself between me and the runaway canopy. He's pretty super, man.

Wonder Woman fan Annelene Wahl, ready for Halloween.

Mike Oeming, Taki Soma and Mike Hawthorne chatting in the foyer of Comix Connection - Mechanicsburg, while a youth with a proper haircut looks on in awe.

Three parts of The Four Wahls!

You gotta make the next Comix Connection Cookout!

(Oh, and Counter Monkey Linnen was there too, doing whatever it is that Linnen does. You got me.)