Posts Tagged ‘baltimore comic con’
August 27, 2011
Official Press Release
Dale Cendali Appointed Secretary of CBLDF Board of Directors
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Board of Directors has unanimously elected noted litigator Dale Cendali to the office of Secretary. Cendali, who joined the board in 2010, replaces retiring Board Member Louise Nemschoff in the role.
Dale Cendali is a nationally recognized leader in the field of intellectual property. She is a partner in the prestigious law firm of Kirkland & Ellis, where she heads the firm’s Copyright, Trademark and Internet Practice Group. She has successfully litigated and tried numerous high profile cases and has argued before the United States Supreme Court. Her clients include myriad prominent individuals and companies who rely on her for her expertise in copyright, trademark, patent, Internet, trade secrets, defamation, false advertising, privacy and contractual matters. She has extensive experience representing clients in the entertainment, consumer products and technology sectors. Managing Intellectual Property Magazine named her trial victory for J.K. Rowling in the well-known “lexicon” fair use case the “Copyright Trial of the Year.”
Cendali says, “As an intellectual property lawyer and long time comic book fan, I am delighted to combine my passions on the CBLDF Board to help support its heroic efforts to protect and inform comic book creators, companies and fans.”
Board Member Paul Levitz says, “Dale has been a serious fan, collector and supporter of comics since her fanzine reading days…and as an attorney, she’s done important pro bono work as well as becoming a leader of the intellectual property bar. It’s a pleasure to welcome my friend to the CBLDF role of Secretary, where she can help us even more.”
CBLDF’s Liberty Annual 2011 Previewed Online
It’s that time of year! The CBLDF’s Liberty Annual is available for preorder now from your favorite retailer. Edited by Bob Schreck, this year’s incredible annual boasts work from Matt Wagner, JH Williams, Frank Quitely, Craig Thompson, and many, many more. Check out all the previews here!
Listen to CBLDF: Censorship Then & Now
CBLDF recently attended Baltimore Comic-Con. During the convention, Executive Director Charles Brownstein presented a riveting history of comics censorship. Internet radio website blogtalkradio was onsite to record the talk, which you can listen to here.
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Tags:baltimore comic con, cbldf, censorship, comic book legal defense fund, comic books, comics, convention, dale cendali, event, liberty annual
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August 27, 2011
Official Press Release
Baltimore Comic-Con Thanks Contributors to 2011′s Success
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - August 24, 2011 - The Baltimore Comic-Con would like to extend a gracious “Thank You!” to all of those who helped make our 12th annual show a success! The success of the show would not have been possible without the contributions of our exhibitors, guests, and staff. We would especially like to thank the fans that attended the weekend’s events. Without you, the show simply could not have happened!
Much of the show’s success was made possible by the attendance of our Guest of Honor, Stan Lee, who made his first appearance at the show this year. As a founding father of Marvel Comics, Lee’s presence was a great draw to fans, retailers, and guests alike. In addition to his appearance at the show for autographs and photos, Lee was also the focus of a special panel moderated by Jimmy Palmiotti.
We would also like to thank the guest charities who attended the show — the Hero Initiative, Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBDLF), the Baltimore Human Society, and the ‘Ringo Scholarship Fund — who collectively raised over $14,000 to support their worthy causes.
“The CBLDF raised $5,000 at Baltimore Comic-Con thanks to the generosity of Baltimore’s incredible community of comics fans,” said Charles Brownstein, Executive Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. “We’re grateful to Marc Nathan and his entire team for putting one of the most enthusiastic and well-attended comics centric shows in the US, and for helping the CBLDF raise these much needed funds!”
“Our 12th annual show was our biggest show to date,” said Marc Nathan, show promoter of the Baltimore Comic-Con. “After years of requests from fans to bring Stan Lee to Baltimore, 2011 seemed like the right time, and the weekend’s success proved it! We are elated with how well the fans received Stan and are already planning for what we can do to top this year’s show in 2012.”
With attendance up over last year, a very successful and enjoyable costume contest, and the sixth year hosting the Harvey Awards among the show’s highlights, the successes can barely be measured. We can’t wait to start making announcements for next year’s show!
Save the Date! Baltimore Comic-Con 2012!
That’s right! Mark your calendars now for next year’s Baltimore Comic-Con, which will take place the weekend of September 8-9, 2012 at the Baltimore Convention Center, and we’ll see YOU in Baltimore!
About The Baltimore Comic-Con
The Baltimore Comic-Con is celebrating its 13th 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 September 8-9, 2012. 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 7 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.
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Tags:baltimore comic con, comic books, comics, convention, event
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August 26, 2011
As we prepare for a hurricane (seriously, an earthquake and now this!?) and catch up on writing reviews and reading a few weeks worth of comics, here’s the news you might have missed.
Around the Blogs:
Bleeding Cool – Jim Lee, Geoff Johns Morning Radio Show Blitz Beginning Tomorrow – With a week to go, better late than never.
ICv2 – Showtime Gets ‘The Damned’ – This has been sitting on my shelf for a while now. Guess I should finally read it.
Con Coverage:
Bleeding Cool – Wizard World Chicago Vs Baltimore Comic Con As Seen From Artists Alley
CBR – Orlando MegaCon Announces Initial 2012 Guest Lineup
Hollywood Soapbox – YOUR GUIDE: FanExpo Canada comes to Toronto, Aug. 25-28
Bleeding Cool – Collectors Cornered #6 – The Big Baltimore Comic Con
The Mary Sue – Baltimore Comic Con Cosplay
The Mary Sue – Interview: Frank Cho at Baltimore Comic Con
The Mary Sue – Interview: Amanda Conner at Baltimore Comic Con
MTV Geek – FanExpo Canada Starts Today – Here’s What We’re Looking Forward To!
MTV Geek – PAX Prime Primer: Your Guide to Tabletop Gaming
Around the Tubes Reviews:
CBR – Punisher #2
Saffron Walden Reporter – Turf
IGN – Comic Book Reviews for 8/24/11
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Tags:ammanda conner, baltimore comic con, chicago, comic books, comics, convention, cosplay, event, fan expo, fan expo canada, frank cho, geoff johns, jim lee, orlando megacon, pax, penny arcade expo, punisher, showtime, television, the damned, turf, wizard world
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August 25, 2011
Official Press Release
Baltimore Comic-Con Announces Costume Contest Winners
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - August 24, 2011 - The Baltimore Comic-Con is happy to announce the winners of the 3rd annual Costume Contest. The contest took place this past Saturday, August 20, 2011and saw a myriad of incredible and creative costumes. With approximately 200 entries and costumes ranging from classic super-heroes to video game characters, this was by far the best and most successful contest thus far.
The grand prize winner for Best Over-all Costume, and the recipient of the $1,000 cash prize, was Robert Day for his Optimus Prime costume.
Winners for this year’s contest include:
Over-13 Category
Best Male Superhero: Wade Brown – MODOK
Best Male Non-Superhero: Vincent Posbic – Master Chief from HALO
Best Female Superhero: Lisa Hissinbothan – Storm
Best Female Non-Superhero: Devin Houser – Joker
Best Group (majority of member over 13): Jay Buechle & Leigh Alexander – Bengali & Cheetara from ThunderCats
Under-13 Category
Best Male Superhero: Michael P. – Two-Face
Best Male Non-Superhero: Jeffery S. – Link from Legend of Zelda
Best Female Superhero: Maria H. – Hitgirl
Best Female Non-Superhero: Ashley L. – Zombie from Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (tie) & R. Hill - The Corpse Bride
Best Group (majority of member under 13): RJ, Peter, and Jayden J. – Luke Skywalker and Mandalorians
Special thanks go to everyone who entered the contest and showed their support!
Save the Date! Baltimore Comic-Con 2012!
That’s right! Mark your calendars now for next year’s Baltimore Comic-Con, which will take place the weekend of September 8-9, 2012 at the Baltimore Convention Center, and we’ll see YOU in Baltimore!
About The Baltimore Comic-Con
The Baltimore Comic-Con just celebrated its 12th 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 was held August 20-21, 2011. 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 6 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.
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Tags:awards, baltimore comic con, convention, cosplay, event
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August 25, 2011
I’m slowly making my way through the back-log of reviews. You might have noticed. Aspen comics making their “debut” yesterday and I’m happy to say, expect to start seeing IDW as well. But, while you wait for those reviews (the first hitting who knows when), here’s the news you might have missed.
Around the Blogs:
ComiChron – Comics cover prices from 1961 to present – The great site takes a look at the average prices of comic books over the years.
Con Coverage:
CBLDF – Road Report: Baltimore Comic-Con
Around the Tubes Reviews:
LFPress – Black Widow: The Name of the Rose
MTV Geek – Cage of Eden, Vol. 1
Andy Naselli – Luther: The Graphic Novel
CBR – Ultimate Comics: Ultimates #1
The Ouhousers – Ultimate Comics: Ultimates #1
Bloggers [Heart] Books – Vampire Academy
Rotting Flesh Radio – Witch
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Tags:baltimore comic con, black widow: the name of the rose, business, cage of eden, comic books, comics, convention, event, luther: the graphic novel, sales, ultimate comics ultimates, vampire academy, witch
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August 24, 2011
The Graphic Policy office is still standing after the 5.8 earthquake yesterday (we’re just outside of DC in Virginia) and I wish I could say the piles of comics, graphic novels and movies thrown about due to it. That’s not the case, and is really just post convention chaos. While I attempt to get things in order, here’s the news you might have missed.
Around the Blogs:
Von Allan Studio – Minimum Wage and the Prices of Comics – A very good article about the comic book market and a look at wages over the years compared to the price of comics.
The Huffington Post – Comic Books go to war- A Very Brief History of the War Comic – Always great to see articles about comic book history.
Education Matters – Schools need comic books – A good article about using comic books in the classroom. Reading, no matter what it is, is good for children.
Bleeding Cool – Marvel Fires Some Of Their Marketing People – A lot of people reported this and this article seems to be the most likely scenario and even handed.
Con Coverage:
Bleeding Cool – Baltimore Comic Con In My Pants by Joshua Lazarus
The Beat – Baltimore Comic-Con Photo Parade
The Beat – Fun times in Baltimore, 2011 edition
Around the Tubes Reviews:
IGN – Ultimate Comics: Ultimates #1
Primary Ignition – We3: Deluxe Edition
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Tags:baltimore comic con, business, comic books, comics, convention, education, event, marvel, ultimate comics ultimates, war, we3
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August 23, 2011
When I go to conventions, I tend to spend my time on the floor talking to publishers, writers, artists or stumbling through Artist Alley. But, there’s usually an excellent choice of panels to attend too, that I never seem to manage to attend. At Baltimore Comic Con, I decided to attend the panel hosted by BOOM!‘s Chip Mosher spotlighting the talented Shannon Wheeler.
Wheeler is the creator of Too Much Coffee Man, and recently won an Eisner Award for his collection of rejected New Yorker cartoons, I Thought You Would be Funnier. Shannon also has written an opera and you might see his work in The New Yorker.
Wheeler began cartooning at an early age, taking classes from Michael T. Gilbert during the evenings. He went on to study architecture at Berkley and started to create cartoons for $10 a pop. Shannon from there began to recount stories that were beyond entertaining. In the first he recounted how he and a friend dissected cartoons and how jokes were told. This lead to a lot of discussion, but not a lot of creating. The second explaining how he had to defend his cartoons at Berkley as he was lined up with the other cartoonists and would be grilled if his comic met certain criteria in it’s depictions. The lesson he learned from there was to answer “yes.” His first major comic at Berkley was Tooth & Justice.
Around 1988 Shannon moved to Austin, Texas where he became a video store clerk and would hang out at The Daily Texan newspaper with other legendary cartoonists such as Chris Ware.
His first real hit was Too Much Coffee Man which saw over 10,000 copies sold for it’s first issue and is in it’s seventh printing. The series ran for ten issues (sort of). Wheeler explained how he skipped two issues because he wasn’t having fun creating it, thinking the readers wouldn’t have fun reading it. He really liked the ending, so decided to skip two issues. He needed to skip two so that the covers worked the way he wanted. This lead him the exclaim:
There’s nothing rarer than a non-existent comic book.
The stories flowed from there and here are the highlights, some never having been told before.
- In 1993, Wheeler and his friends decided to make a bullet hole comic book gimmick. They’d shoot a comic with a bullet and work the hole into the stories (one person forgot that part). They debated if it was a good idea, Wheeler said no matter the idea, people will look for excuses not to do it. They shot the books 3 times with the last time being done in a house garage and music covering up the gun fire. A 9mm gun and a shotgun has been used and the shotgun was guaranteed “unreadable” selling fort $20. The lesson, as condition goes down, the value goes up.
- Japanese bootleg shirt – this was the “big story reveal’ of the show. Wheeler wanted to do a t-shirt with Kanji writing and a picture or Too Much Coffee Man. He felt it was a bit pretentious to do. But, if the t-shirt is already selling in Japan, that’d justify the t-shirt. So began the story of the bootlegged shirt. Wheeler explained to people that a friend saw the t-shirt and that he was bootlegging and bootlegged t-shirt. The translation was even off stating, “Person who drinks coffee often” as you’d expect in a t-shirt of that nature. Ironically he was later contacted by a Japanese company, who actually licensed the t-shirt.
- Wheeler was irritated he at one point had never gotten an award, so he had planned on creating a fake award for him to receive. While this was in the planning stages he then actually received one, scrapping the plan.
The stories went on and on, going over the Too Much Coffee Man opera, his work for The New Yorker and his latest book collecting rejected submissions. Wheeler throughout was honest and open recounting the good and bad.
The panel was engaging and entertaining, running over it’s hour allotment. If you head to a convention and have a chance to see him speak, absolutely take advantage, you’ll be entertained and learn a lot.
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Tags:baltimore comic con, boom studios, chip mosher, comic books, comics, convention, even, i thought you would be funnier, shannon wheeler, the new yorker, too much coffee man
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August 23, 2011
I’m still trying to recover from the Baltimore Comic Con this weekend and we have one more article about the event coming today. But, while you wait for that, here’s the news you might have missed.
Around the Blogs:
SouthWard Patch – Newark Firefighter Shuns Life of Crime through Comics – It’s great to see articles focusing on local stores and those that work there.
Con Coverage:
CBR – Image Comics Heads to Fan Expo Canada
CBR – BCC – DC Comics’ New 52 Panel
Comics Alliance – PAX Prime: The Comics Panels You’ll Want To Catch
Publishers Weekly – Baltimore Comic-Con Attendance Way Up
Around the Tubes Reviews:
CBR – Daredevil #2
Fangoria – Strange Girl Omnibus
MTV Geek – Ultimate Comics Ultimates #1
Saffron Walden Reporter – X-Men: Age of X
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Tags:age of x, baltimore comic con, comic books, comics, convention, daredevil, evnet, fan expo, fan expo canada, pax, penny arcade expo, strange girl, ultimate comics ultimates
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August 22, 2011
It’s not even 24 hours since the end of 2011′s Baltimore Comic Con which took place near the harbor of Baltimore, Maryland. The convention was packed, seeming to draw record crowds for the weekend. Saturday was wall to wall people making it at times difficult to make it through the crowds. It seems legends like Stan Lee did their job, sparking people to come downtown and check out the convention. Even with the massive crowds, I constantly heard from those exhibiting that sales were down slightly from last year. No matter, you couldn’t help be impressed by the crowds.
But, what I like about Baltimore is the focus on comics. It’s one of the few big name shows that keeps it’s focus on it’s roots. You won’t find movie or television celebrities here, but what you will find is writers, illustrators and publishers interacting directly with the fans. This is a perfect show to come to where you can shake hands with legends, get autographs and photos and interact directly with creators. Fans are able to ask directly what they’re working on and you can often find the greats hanging out during and after the show, completely approachable. I might be a blogger, but I’m a fan first, and it’s such a fun time to talk comics with those who are involved creating them. It’s often eye opening and you learn a ton.
But, the show isn’t all dealers, publishers and artist alley. There’s also a decent selection of panels where you can catch some industry titans talking about history or what’s coming up. There were a few bumps this year, but after sitting through Saturday’s spotlight with Shannon Wheeler, I’ve made a promise myself to attend more panels at future shows. It’s entertaining and you get stories you’ll hear nowhere else. I also had the pleasure of moderating the BOOM! 6th Anniversary Panel with BOOM! Studios founder and CEO Ross Ritchie. 1) being on panels are fun; 2) I really need to get better at it; 3) I learned a hell of a lot.
You also get to see so much you won’t necessarily find at your local shop. Small publishers, self-publishers line places like Artist Alley. You also get to find new ways people are telling stories. This show Heretic City stood out to me. It’s not the traditional comic book, instead, it tells a graphic story through t-shirts. A great idea and very unique. It shows graphic story telling can happen outside of the traditional panel format.
But, in the end, for some one like me it’s all about catching up with old friends and making new ones. Here’s the rundown.
Old friends:
- Len Wallace and Jessica – always great hanging out with you two. I think we’ll have to make Saturday dinner a tradition. Look forward to seeing you both at NYCC.
- The Top Cow crew – Atom! and Filip – always great catching up, and hope to hang at at NYCC. Top Cow has a special place as the first company we really covered and I look forward to continue to support them. Great guys, great product, great attitude.
- Ron Marz – I promise to get you the script – folks, one of the nicest people you’ll meet at a con, great with the fans.
- Drew Gaska – a true talent and awesome guy. Love his writing and ideas and so happy the person behind them is so smart, fun and friendly.
- The Kill Shakespeare guys – Anthony and Conor, so talented and I can’t wait to see what they have coming up. You want to watch a great pitch and interaction with fans, go see them at cons. You can’t help but dig Shakespeare after.
- The BOOM! Studios crew – Ross and Chip, always fun. Let me know when I can moderate another panel… The product is fun and quality, they’ve got a great attitude, it’s no wonder I’m looking forward to shining the spotlight on them more and more.
- ComiXology – Taking five minutes talking to this team and you can’t help be excited about the future of digital comics. John and the team are brilliant and will win you over on the digital medium.
New friends:
- Shannon Wheeler – the creator of Too Much Coffee Man is a legend, and hilarious. If he’s on a panel, go see it.
- Denis Kitchen – All I want to do now is sit this industry legend down and just film him talking. Amazing stories.
- CBLDF – I finally connected with the CBLDF team and look forward to helping support them more and more in the future.
- Chandra Free – the writer and artist of The God Machine is so talented and being able to watch her sketch is amazing. It just solidifies my opinion of her talent.
Twitter/Digital friends now in person!:
- PLB Comics – a small publishing company, their book The Fall is a great read. They’re also very friendly in person and I’m feeling really good after meeting them to support their efforts.
- Joshua Hale Fialkov – the writer of Echoes and Tumor is a talent and his upcoming book The Last of the Greats is just as solid. We were early supporters of his, and so happy to continue to do so.
- I loved Rahsan Ekedal art on Echoes and was so happy to meet him at the show as well. You better believe I’ll be picking up some of his original work at NYCC.
There’s also a bunch of indie books I picked up and you better believe I’ll be letting you know my thoughts in future reviews. Next up is SPX in two weeks!
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Tags:anthony del col, baltimore comic con, boom studios, cbldf, chandra free, comic book legal defense fund, comic books, comics, comixology, conor mccreery, convention, denis kitchen, drew gaska, event, filip sablik, heretic city, joshua hale fialkov, kill shakespeare, kitchen sink press, len wallace, plb comics, rahsan ekedal, shannon wheeler, stan lee, top cow
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August 22, 2011
The 2011 Baltimore Comic Con has come and gone and as expected, it was a blast. Here’s all of the photos snapped showing off the convention, some of the celebrities and the crazy costumes.
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Tags:baltimore comic con, convention, event
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Graphic Policy believes in journalistic integrity and transparency. We will disclose when a product has been given for free for review and/or when no cost has been incurred to the staff so that you may be able to make a fully informed decision as to the opinions provided.
Baltimore Comic Con 2011 Recap
August 22, 2011It’s not even 24 hours since the end of 2011′s Baltimore Comic Con which took place near the harbor of Baltimore, Maryland. The convention was packed, seeming to draw record crowds for the weekend. Saturday was wall to wall people making it at times difficult to make it through the crowds. It seems legends like Stan Lee did their job, sparking people to come downtown and check out the convention. Even with the massive crowds, I constantly heard from those exhibiting that sales were down slightly from last year. No matter, you couldn’t help be impressed by the crowds.
But, what I like about Baltimore is the focus on comics. It’s one of the few big name shows that keeps it’s focus on it’s roots. You won’t find movie or television celebrities here, but what you will find is writers, illustrators and publishers interacting directly with the fans. This is a perfect show to come to where you can shake hands with legends, get autographs and photos and interact directly with creators. Fans are able to ask directly what they’re working on and you can often find the greats hanging out during and after the show, completely approachable. I might be a blogger, but I’m a fan first, and it’s such a fun time to talk comics with those who are involved creating them. It’s often eye opening and you learn a ton.
But, the show isn’t all dealers, publishers and artist alley. There’s also a decent selection of panels where you can catch some industry titans talking about history or what’s coming up. There were a few bumps this year, but after sitting through Saturday’s spotlight with Shannon Wheeler, I’ve made a promise myself to attend more panels at future shows. It’s entertaining and you get stories you’ll hear nowhere else. I also had the pleasure of moderating the BOOM! 6th Anniversary Panel with BOOM! Studios founder and CEO Ross Ritchie. 1) being on panels are fun; 2) I really need to get better at it; 3) I learned a hell of a lot.
You also get to see so much you won’t necessarily find at your local shop. Small publishers, self-publishers line places like Artist Alley. You also get to find new ways people are telling stories. This show Heretic City stood out to me. It’s not the traditional comic book, instead, it tells a graphic story through t-shirts. A great idea and very unique. It shows graphic story telling can happen outside of the traditional panel format.
But, in the end, for some one like me it’s all about catching up with old friends and making new ones. Here’s the rundown.
Old friends:
New friends:
Twitter/Digital friends now in person!:
There’s also a bunch of indie books I picked up and you better believe I’ll be letting you know my thoughts in future reviews. Next up is SPX in two weeks!
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Tags:anthony del col, baltimore comic con, boom studios, cbldf, chandra free, comic book legal defense fund, comic books, comics, comixology, conor mccreery, convention, denis kitchen, drew gaska, event, filip sablik, heretic city, joshua hale fialkov, kill shakespeare, kitchen sink press, len wallace, plb comics, rahsan ekedal, shannon wheeler, stan lee, top cow
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