Tag Archives: andy runton

Deering, Runton, Vosburg and the Simonsons at the Baltimore Comic-Con!

Be sure to attend the Baltimore Comic-Con‘s premiere inaugural three-day event the weekend of September 5-7, 2014 at the Baltimore Convention Center!

The list of comic book all-stars attending the 2014 Baltimore Comic-Con continues to grow!  This week, the convention has announced the addition of Rachel Deering, Andy Runton, Louise and Walter Simonson, and Mike Vosburg to the slate of comics luminaries!

Rachel Deering was born and raised in the backwoods of Kentucky, far from the influence of pop culture. She cites her love of Hammer horror films and monster magazines from the ’70s as the biggest influences on her writing. She has written comics and prose for such companies as Blizzard Entertainment, Vertigo, Dark Horse, IDW, Titan, and many more. Her work has recently seen publication in Creepy from Dark Horse and In The Dark from IDW.

Andy Runton is the creator behind Owly, a kind-hearted owl who experiences various adventures with his other animal friends. Published by Top Shelf, Owly has received numerous industry accolades, including the Harvey Award for Best New Talent in 2005, the Ignatz Award for Promising New Talent in 2005, another Ignatz in 2006 for Outstanding Series, a 2006 Eisner Award for Best Publication for a Younger Audience, and the Howard E. Day Memorial Prize for outstanding achievement in self-publishing in 2005. Runton also publishes Owly and Wormy books through Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon and Schuster.

Louise Simonson has, like her husband Walter, contributed significantly to the comic book industry. “Weezie”, as she is known, began her comics career as an editor at Warren Publishing before leaving for Marvel to edit titles including X-Men, New Mutants, and Star Wars. Departing the editorial role in favor of writing, Weezie has contributed to storylines in Marvel’s Marvel Team-Up, Web of Spider-Man, and Red Sonja, and was responsible for the introduction of Apocalypse in X-Factor as well as the launch of Power Pack.  At DC Comics, she worked on Superman: The Man of Steel and The Adventures of Superman.

Walter Simonson has made vast contributions to comics publishing, as a writer, an artist, and even in founding publishing imprints.  He was recognized in 2012 at the Harvey Awards in Special Award for Excellence in Production/Presentation and Best Domestic Reprint Project for Walt Simonson’s The Mighty Thor, Artist’s Edition from IDW, and in 2013 for Alien: The Illustrated Story from Titan Books for Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work. He also received the Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010 at the Harvey Awards. Walt’s career began in the 1970s at DC Comics, where he worked on titles such as Weird War Tales, Manhunter, Metal Men, Orion, Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Vigilante, and Hercules Unbound. Over at Marvel Comics, Simonson has had numerous noteworthy runs, including The Rampaging Hulk magazine, X-Factor, Fantastic Four, and Thor, on which he was responsible for the introduction of Beta Ray Bill and Thor as a frog.

Mike Vosburg began his comics career in the 1970s, as part of the underground comics movement. He would later move onto larger publishers such as Western Publishing and Charlton Comics before moving onto the big two, DC and Marvel Comics. At the latter, he worked on Savage She-Hulk, Sisterhood of Steel, and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. His most prolific work, though, is likely the covers created for TV’s Tales from the Crypt, drawn to mimic the style of 1950s horror comics. While he spends most of his time working on television and film projects, he still self-publishes his Lori Lovecraft title through Asylum Press.

This year’s previously confirmed guests for the show include: Marty Baumann (Pixar artist); Jeremy Bastian (Cursed Pirate Girl); Dave Bullock (Batman Black and White); Greg Capullo (Batman); Bernard Chang (Green Lantern Corps); Sean Chen (Amazing Spider-Man); Jimmy Cheung (Infinity); Cliff Chiang (Wonder Woman); Frank Cho (X-Men:  Battle of the Atom); Richard Clark (House of Gold & Bones); Steve Conley (Bloop); Alan Davis (Wolverine); Tommy Lee Edwards (Star Wars); Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Boys); David Finch (Forever Evil); Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (All-Star Western); Dave Gibbons (Watchmen); Bryan JL Glass (Mice Templar); Michael Golden (The Ravagers); Cully Hamner (Animal Man); Dean Haspiel (The Fox); Fred Hembeck (Garfield); Adam Hughes (Before Watchmen: Dr. Manhattan); JG Jones (Green Lantern Corps, Batman Black and White); Justin Jordan (Luther Strode, Green Lantern: New Guardians); Barry Kitson (Empire); Aaron Kuder (Action Comics); David Mack (Shadowman); Kevin Maguire (Guardians of the Galaxy); Alex Maleev (Moon Knight); Ron Marz (Witchblade); Bob McLeod (X-Men: Gold); Tradd Moore (Deadpool Annual); Mark Morales (New Avengers); Dan Parent (Archie, Veronica, Kevin Keller); David Peterson (Mouse Guard); Joe Prado (Justice League); Brian Pulido (Lady Death); Tom Raney (Incredible Hulk); Ivan Reis (Aquaman and The Others); Budd Root (Cavewoman); Alex Saviuk (Web of Spider-Man); Andy Smith (Superman #23.1: Bizarro); Allison Sohn (sketch card artist); Charles Soule (Thunderbolts); Jim Starlin (Thanos: The Infinity Revelation); Ben Templesmith (The Memory Collectors); Peter Tomasi (Batman and Two-Face); John Totleben (Swamp Thing); Herb Trimpe (GI Joe:  A Real American Hero); Billy Tucci (Shi); Rick Veitch (Saga of the Swamp Thing); Mark Waid (Daredevil); Bill Willingham (Fables); Renee Witterstaetter (Joe Jusko: Maelstrom); Thom Zahler (My Little Pony); and Mike Zeck (Secret Wars).

Preview: Adventure Time: Summer Special 2013

ADVENTURE TIME: Summer Special #1

Written by Abramo, Andy Runton, Becky Dreistadt, Frank Gibson, Noelle Stevenson, Ryan Pequin
Art Andy Runton, Becky Dreistadt, Noelle Stevenson
SC, 32pgs, FC, SRP: $3.99
Diamond Code: MAY13 0951

Put on that sunscreen and grab your beach-towel, because it’s an ADVENTURE TIME summer special! Featuring all-new sun-kissed stories from acclaimed creators, starring Finn, Jake and all of your favorites and showcasing a fully-painted cover by Becky Dreistadt!

KABOOM_ADVENTURETIME_SUMMERSPECIAL_001v1

New Blankets, Kung Fu, Any Empire, Homeland, & League 1969 — Top Shelf’s Comic-Con is HUGE

Official Press Release

New BLANKETS, KUNG FU, ANY EMPIRE, HOMELAND, & LEAGUE Top Shelf Products1969 — Top Shelf’s Comic-Con is HUGE!

We always make a splash at San Diego Comic-Con — it’s the biggest show of the year — but honestly, with so many incredible artists and such important new books debuting, PLUS our first books launching on the iPad, this year might be our most jam-packed convention ever! We hope you’ll come to see us, July 20-24, at the Top Shelf Booth (#1721) — and everybody can check out our digital books through Comics+!

Signings & Hot Debuts @ Booth #1721!

For five exhilarating days, we’ll be cramming together more talent than you’d think could fit in one room, let alone one convention booth! Get ready to meet over a dozen of our greatest authors:

— Craig Thompson (Blankets deluxe edition)
— Kagan McLeod (Infinite Kung Fu)
— Nate Powell (Any Empire)
— Robert Venditti (The Homeland Directive)
— Ray Friesen (Pirate Penguin vs Ninja Chicken)
— Andy Runton (Owly)
— James Kochalka (Johnny Boo) and family!
— Jeffrey Brown (Incredible Change Bots Two)
— Jeff Lemire (Essex County)
— JD Arnold & Rich Koslowski (BB Wolf & the 3 LPs)
— Eric Skillman (Liar’s Kiss)
— Matt Kindt (Super Spy)
— plus your crew: Chris Staros, Leigh Walton, and our new ebook expert, Chris Ross!

HOT OFF THE PRESS FOR COMIC-CON DEBUT!!

— BLANKETS (NEW HARDCOVER)
— INFINITE KUNG FU
— ANY EMPIRE

— THE HOMELAND DIRECTIVE
— OKIE D
OKIE DONUTS
— PIRATE PENGUIN VS NINJA CHICKEN

— THE LEAGUE OF EXT. GENTLEMEN: CENTURY 1969

Comic-Con’s Top Shelf Panel and Infinite Kung Fu video!

Don’t forget to come by the official Top Shelf panel at Comic-Con, Saturday July 23 at 4:30 in room 8! We’ll have Q&A with the Top Shelf family of authors, plus tons of sneak peeks at what’s coming next from us!

And in case you missed it last week, check out the incredible video that’s been blowing up the internet: this animated trailer for Kagan McLeod’s Infinite Kung Fu!

A Very Kochalka Comic-Con!

James Kochalka is a living legend: indie comics hero, diary comic pioneer, webcomics maestro, musical superstar, and more. His work (including American Elf, Johnny Boo, Dragon Puncher , and more) even earned him the title of Cartoonist Laureate of the state of Vermont! But did you know that his whole family are superstars? Now’s your chance to find out, because they’re all coming to San Diego!
Come by the booth (#1721) to meet the whole Kochalka family — James, Amy, Eli, and Oliver! They’re the stars of American Elf and Dragon Puncher, plus the kids are precocious young cartoonists themselves. The family will be signing a special print created by James just for this show!

Top Shelf’s Award-Winning Catalog Debuts in Comics+ from iVerse at SDCC

Top Shelf Productions joins iVerse Media for digital product launch.

San Diego, CA-18 July 2011 – One of the most diverse and highly-regarded publishers in the world of comics, Top Shelf Productions, is expanding into the digital market. iVerse Media is proud to announce the release of 70+ digital graphic novels from Top Shelf, available today for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch through the Comics+ app.

The first wave of titles includes work from top-selling and award-winning creators such as Andy Runton, Robert Venditti, Nate Powell, Jeff Lemire, Jeffrey Brown, James Kochalka, Renee French, Alex Robinson, Matt Kindt, and many more.

“We are incredibly proud to be releasing this first wave of Top Shelf titles at Comic-Con this year,” said iVerse Media CEO Michael Murphey. “Top Shelf really showcases the art of comics, and we’re excited to be the first to take this journey with them into the digital space.”

The launch titles from Top Shelf include such hits as Owly, The Homeland Directive, Any Empire, Swallow Me Whole, Essex County, Incredible Change-Bots, Johnny Boo, and Too Cool to Be Forgotten. With books spanning every age group and every genre (comedy, drama, action, memoir, fantasy, science fiction, even art books), there’s sure to be something for every reader. Following this initial wave, many more titles from Top Shelf’s rich catalog will be released over the coming weeks and months.

“At Top Shelf, we’re dedicated to telling stories that people connect with; reader-friendly comics with subtext and heart, each presented with a distinctive visual style,” explained Top Shelf publisher Chris Staros. “Now with the iVerse digital launch, it’ll be easier than ever to discover the amazing work our authors are doing, and maybe even find yourself a new favorite.”

Top Shelf and iVerse are breaking new ground — of the major English-language literary/art-comics publishers, Top Shelf is the first to offer its graphic novels for the iOS platform. And with prices ranging from $0.99 to $14.99, they hope to welcome plenty of new readers.

Titles are available now in the Comics+ Application for iOS.

Top Shelf at the San Diego Comic-Con

Official Press Release

Here comes the big one! The Comic-Con International in San Diego is July 21-25 — and this year, Team Top Shelf will be bigger than ever before! That’s right, the Top Shelf zone at San Diego will feature no fewer than FOURTEEN amazing creators, who will be signing and sketching for you all convention long!

Take a look at who’s coming: Sean Michael Wilson (AX: ALTERNATIVE MANGA), Kathryn & Stuart Immonen (MOVING PICTURES), JD Arnold & Rich Koslowski (BB WOLF & THE THREE LPS), Jeff Lemire (ESSEX COUNTY), Robert Venditti & Brett Weldele (THE SURROGATES), Andy Runton (OWLY), James Kochalka (JOHNNY BOO, DRAGON PUNCHER, SUPERF*CKERS), Jeffrey Brown (UNDELETED SCENES), Nate Powell (SWALLOW ME WHOLE), Matt Kindt (SUPER SPY), and Kevin Cannon (FAR ARDEN). Add on the full crew of Top Shelf staff, and the house will definitely be hopping — heck, it’ll take you an hour just to shake everybody’s hand!

Don’t Miss the Top Shelf Panels!

Mark your calendars for two Top Shelf panel sessions at Comic-Con as well! The first is MANGA FOR GROWN-UPS: GARO, AX, GEKIGA, AND THE ALTERNATIVE MANGA REVOLUTION (Thursday, July 22, 12:30-1:30), featuring Sean Michael Wilson and friends discussing the amazing history of adult-oriented “alternative” manga in Japan and its recent arrival into the English-speaking world, including the debut of our AX anthology. And the second one is TOP SHELF 2010: SWEDEN, JAPAN, AND SO MUCH MORE (Friday, July 23, 5:30-6:30) as we celebrate our most international year ever and announce a whole pile of new projects!

Superstars Kathryn & Stuart Immonen, Signing at the Top Shelf Booth!

Kathryn and Stuart Immonen have done acclaimed work for almost every comics publisher there is, so conventions are always super-busy for them. We’re delighted to announce that both Kathryn & Stuart will be joining us at the Top Shelf booth to promote their new graphic novel MOVING PICTURES for three days at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Here is the official Immonen signing schedule: Friday 10-12, Saturday 12-2, Sunday 11-1. Now you can track them down easily — much easier than tracking down a missing Mona Lisa, anyway…

RED-HOT DEBUTS AT COMIC-CON!

But what about the BOOKS, you ask? Come by the Top Shelf booth and find these awesome new titles, hot off the presses:

AX: A COLLECTION OF ALTERNATIVE MANGA

AX: A COLLECTION OF ALTERNATIVE MANGA

Edited by Sean Michael Wilson

THE PLAYWRIGHT

THE PLAYWRIGHT

by Eddie Campbell and Daren White

BB WOLF AND THE 3 LPS

BB WOLF AND THE 3 LPS

by JD Arnold and Rich Koslowski

FINGERPRINTS

FINGERPRINTS

by Will Dinski

DRAGON PUNCHER (BOOK 1)

DRAGON PUNCHER (BOOK 1)

by James Kochalka

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