Category Archives: Conventions

Archaia Panels at Comic-Con

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Official Press Release

ARCHAIA GRANTED FIVE PANELS FOR SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON

FEATURED GUESTS INCLUDE BRIAN FROUD, ZACHARY QUINTO, MICHAEL McMILLIAN, DAN FOGLER, DAVID PETERSEN OF ‘MOUSE GUARD’, TOM SIDDELL OF ‘GUNNERKRIGG COURT,’ MATZ OF ‘THE KILLER’ AND PHIL HESTER OF ‘DAYS MISSING: KESTUS’

Los Angeles, CA (July 8, 2010) – Looking to deliver the best experience for their fans attending Comic-Con International in San Diego, Calif. and to capture an even larger audience of its high-quality line of publications, the show organizers granted Archaia Entertainment five diverse panels at the convention, loaded with special guests, exclusive sneak peeks and advance information on upcoming titles.

Over a dozen projects and up to 20 creators will be highlighted during Archaia’s panels. Guests of special note include Brian Froud, a veteran of The Jim Henson Company who will be on hand to discuss his involvement in the forthcoming Dark Crystal and Labyrinth comics; actor/producer Zachary Quinto (“Star Trek, “Heroes”) and actor/writer Michael McMillian (“True Blood”), who will speak about Lucid, the first comic to come from the partnership between Quinto’s company, Before the Door, and Archaia; actor/writer/producer/director Dan Fogler (“Fanboys,” “Balls of Fury”), who will unveil a sneak peek of the upcoming Moon Lake, a hardcover anthology of comedic horror stories; Eisner Award-winning creator David Petersen, who’ll be on hand to talk about the current Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard series and preview the upcoming Mouse Guard: The Black Axe; Tom Siddell, creator of the popular Gunnerkrigg Court Web comic and books; Matz, the Eisner Award-nominated writer of The Killer, a popular series originally published in France that has captivated American readers; and Eisner Award-nominated writer Phil Hester, who will talk about his involvement with the sequel to the critically acclaimed Archaia and Roddenberry Productions series, Days Missing: Kestus.

“I’m super stoked that Archaia is able to bring all these talented individuals together and have them speak to their fans, as well as help make new ones,” exclaimed Archaia Marketing Manager Mel Caylo. “I’d like to thank Comic-Con International for being very gracious in granting us five panels so that we’re able to give all our creators an opportunity to speak about their projects.”

Here’s a detailed look at the five panels Archaia will host during Comic-Con International, which takes place July 22-25, 2010 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif.:

Thursday, July 22, 6-7 p.m., Room 9
Archaia: BLACK LABEL — The new Archaia Black Label specializes in co-developing intellectual properties with prestigious partners who are seeking to realize their ideas through the use of Archaia’s resources. Join us as we show exclusive preview images and discuss the first of the Archaia Black Label titles, including: Days Missing: Kestus with Roddenberry Productions’ Rod Roddenberry and Trevor Roth, writer Phil Hester (Days Missing) and artist David Marquez (Syndrome); Moon Lake with creator Dan Fogler (“Fanboys,” “Balls of Fury”), writer R.H. Stavis (Demons of Mercy) and artist Robbi Rodriguez (Hazed); and Syndrome with Fantasy Prone’s Blake Leibel (United Free Worlds), writers Daniel Quantz (Marvel Age: Spider-Man) and R.J. Ryan (Marvel Studios), and artist David Marquez.

Friday, July 23, 4:30-5:30 p.m., Room 25ABC
Archaia: LUCID — Lucid, the first comic book project from Archaia’s partnership with Before the Door, arrives in stores in August! Join Lucid creator and writer Michael McMillian (“True Blood”) and BTD partners Zachary Quinto (“Star Trek,” “Heroes”), Neal Dodson and Corey Moosa as they share cool behind-the-scenes info and other interesting tidbits about the making of the comic. Moderated by Archaia Editor-in-Chief Stephen Christy.

Friday, July 23, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Room 9
Archaia: ALL ACCESS — Get updates and new information on a host of Archaia titles, including: Awakening with writer Nick Tapalansky and artist Alex Eckman-Lawn; Critical Millennium: The Dark Frontier with writer Andrew E. C. Gaska and artist Daniel Dussault; Feeding Ground with creators Chris Mangun, Swifty Lang and Michael Lapinksi; The God Machine with creator Chandra Free; Gunnerkrigg Court with creator Tom Siddell; Hybrid Bastards! with writer Tom Pinchuk; The Killer with writer Matz; Killing Pickman with writer Jason Becker; Starkweather: Immortal with writer David Rodriguez and artist Patrick McEvoy; and Titanium Rain with writer/artist Josh Finney and artist Kat Rocha.

Sunday, July 25, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Room 25ABC
Archaia: THE JIM HENSON COMPANY — The first series of Fraggle Rock comics was a rousing success, so what does Archaia and The Jim Henson Company have in store next? Find out exclusive information on upcoming Archaia/Henson comic book and graphic novel ventures from Archaia Editor-in Chief Stephen Christy and special guest Brian Froud, who worked closely with Jim Henson on “The Dark Crystal” and “Labyrinth” movies as a concept artist. Joining them will be The Jim Henson Company Senior Vice President of Marketing and Publicity Nicole Goldman, Fraggle Rock comic book editors Tim Beedle, Paul Morrissey and Joe LeFavi, plus Fraggle Rock comic book writers Heather White and Sam Humphries, and artist Heidi Arnhold!

Sunday, July 25, 2:30-3:30 p.m., Room 3
Archaia: ALL AGES — All ages books are not necessarily children’s books—they’re books that readers of all ages can enjoy! Join Archaia for updates, previews and exciting new information on several of its All Ages titles, including: Berona’s War with creators Jesse Labbé and Anthony Coffey; Fraggle Rock with The Jim Henson Company; Gunnerkrigg Court; Mouse Guard: The Black Axe and Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard with creator David Petersen and contributors Jeremy Bastian (Cursed Pirate Girl), Katie Cook (Fraggle Rock) and Karl Kerschl (The Abominable Charles Christopher); and Return of the Dapper Men with artist Janet Lee. Moderated by Archaia’s Mel Caylo.

Many of the creators listed above will also be available at the Archaia booth at Comic-Con International (#2635) for autograph signings. A schedule will be distributed and posted on the Archaia website soon.

About Archaia

Archaia has built an unparalleled reputation for producing meaningful content that perpetually transforms minds. Archaia is: An Elegy for Amelia Johnson, Artesia, Awakening, Beautiful Scars, Berona’s War, The Black Knight, Critical Millennium, Cyclops, The Dark Crystal, Dark Fall, Days Missing, The Devil’s Handshake, The Engineer, Everlast, Feeding Ground, Fraggle Rock, God Machine, The Grave Doug Freshley, Gunnerkrigg Court, Hybrid Bastards!, Inanna’s Tears, The Killer, Killing Pickman, Labyrinth, The Lone and Level Sands, Lucid, Miranda Mercury, Moon Lake, Mouse Guard, Mr. Murder Is Dead, Okko, One in a Million, Primordia, The Return of the Dapper Men, Robotika, Saga, The Secret History, Some New Kind of Slaughter, Starkweather: Immortal, Syndrome, Titanium Rain, Trial By Fire, Tumor and 10 more new titles in 2010.

For more information on Archaia or any Archaia titles please visit www.Archaia.com. Archaia can also be found on Facebook (facebook.com/archaiacomics) and Twitter (twitter.com/archaiacomics).

And Then I Got High… Marley to Introduce Marijuanaman

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Reggae star Ziggy Marley, son of Bob Marley, with co-writer Joe Casey and artist Jim Mahfood are set to introduce Marijuanaman at San Diego Comic-Con.  Marley will be at the convention to sign the special poster.

Ziggy’s new superhero, Marijuanaman, is from a planet that is in desperate need of THC. Marijuanaman seeks to save Earth’s marijuana fields from destruction by the drug company PharmeXon, and thus saving his home planet from destruction.

The series will debut next year on a very appropriate April 20.

Marijuanaman

First 2011 Convention in Arizona, Will a Protest Follow?

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The well known California comic dealer Jimmy Jay has announced  the first comic book convention of 2011, scheduled for January 8 and 9 in Mesda, Arizona.  Guests so far include Rob Liefeld, Jeph Loeb, Robert Kirkman, Jon Layman, Mike Choi, Sonia Oback, Cory Walker and  Ryan Otterly.

Arizona is at the center of a firestorm over a recent piece of legislation that requires police to determine the immigration status of anyone they stop and suspect is in the country illegally. It also makes it a state crime to lack proper immigration papers.  The legislation has already been modified since it was signed into legislation.  The law now requires scrutiny only of people who police stop, detain or arrest. They also changed a section of the bill that barred officers from “solely” using race as grounds for suspecting someone is in the country illegally

Some have called this law racist and is nothing but racial profiling.  Opponents feel the changes made won’t make any difference and have filed at least three federal lawsuits, with more to follow.  The legislation has led to numerous protests and calls for boycotts of the state.

Crime has been cited as a reason for the legislation, but crime is actually down along the border, negating this argument.  Some police enforcement have stated that the legislation will lead to more crime as immigrants will be afraid to report crime committed against them or be less willing to cooperate.

The Justice Department has drafted a legal challenge to the law citing that it impinges on the Federal Government’s authority to police the national borders.  L.A. County officials have called for a boycott.

Will this controversy come to the comics industry with calls for industry talent and companies to not attend and boycott?

We’ve reached out to the convention for an interview and comment and will update this article when and if one is received.

Dark Horse Announces C2E2 Domo Exclusive!

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Official Press Release

COLLECTORS REJOICE OVER ALL-NEW DOMO QEE!

MARCH 4, MILWAUKIE, OR—Dark Horse Deluxe, the product arm of Dark Horse Comics, has announced a special exclusive variant in their popular line of toys based on fashion and viral superstar Domo. The Domo Qee figure is unique to the Hong Kong–based toy company Toy2R and has been a massive hit since the line was launched in 2009.

The debut Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) will be held at McCormick Place, located at 2301 South Lake Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois. Dates are April 16–18, 2010.

The convention exclusive features Domo covered with a Hawaiian-style print, setting it apart from previously released figures in the series. Only 1,200 of this special variant have been manufactured, and they will be made available to both casual fans and collectors at the Dark Horse Comics booth in the exhibit hall on a first-come, first-served basis.

“We made a Domo Qee exclusive for Comic-Con International in San Diego last summer,” Dark Horse’s vice president of product development, David Scroggy, recalled. “We were surprised to find it had sold out by the end of the first day of the show. We made even fewer of them this time around, and as this promises to be a very well-attended first-time event, we advise attendees to drop by early if they are interested in owning one.”

The release of the C2E2 variant closely follows the on-sale date of the second “mystery box” series of Domo Qee toys, which are scheduled for release on March 31, 2010. This “blind-box” assortment features figures individually packed at random. The only way to know which is inside is to purchase it! In the Domo blind-box assortment, figures are sold in counter displays of fifteen, and each display box of fifteen figures is packed into a master carton of four cases.

The special two-inch version of the lovable mascot turned iconic viral superstar from Japan’s NHK television network is growing in popularity in the United States. Dark Horse was an early licensee of Domo, under the auspices of licensing agency Big Tent Entertainment, and has already produced sold-out limited editions of Domo as various sizes and colors of flocked vinyl figures, stationery, journals, and sculpted magnets. Party lights, sticky note books, and other new Domo items are on tap for summer.

Starting from a very unusual place as an advertising icon, Domo’s unique look and personality have catapulted the character from four hundred television spots in Japan into one of the Internet’s biggest sensations, sparking worldwide recognition. As the poster child for personalized, user-generated content, Domo has been able to transition from popularity within Japan to a worldwide following, spawning countless fan-made images, websites, and videos, along with a first-ever licensed product line including plush, toys, fashion, and collectibles selling at major trend retailers nationwide.


About Qee

Qee (pronounced “key”) is a collection of designer toys created by Hong Kong–based company Toy2R, which was founded by Raymond Choy in 1995. Qees are produced in limited numbers and are highly collectible. Many contemporary artists and designers from Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America have designed figures. Domo is the mascot of NHK Television in Japan, and is breaking out worldwide as animation, toys, publishing, and apparel.

About Big Tent Entertainment, LLC

Big Tent Entertainment, LLC (bigtent.tv) is an entertainment company specializing in the integrated development and management of media brands. Formed in 2002, the company manages a portfolio across both traditional and new media while focusing on brand strategy, community building, viral marketing, licensing, and retail merchandising. Big Tent currently serves as the worldwide (ex-Asia) marketing and licensing company for fashion and viral sensation Domo as well as the North American agency of record for a number of properties including: Discovery Kids, the leader in educational content for children; Telemundo, a leading producer of high-quality content for Hispanics in the U.S. and audiences around the world; TOKYOPOP, the world-renowned manga publisher and global pop-culture brand; Crusty Demons, the masters of freestyle motocross; Purple Ronnie, U.K.’s most successful licensed character; and PixFusion, a global leader in personalization products.

About Dark Horse

Since 1986, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Janet Evanovich, Gerard Way, and comics legend Will Eisner, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as the Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, its highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Mass Effect, Serenity, and Domo. Today, Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic-book publisher in the United States and is recognized as one of the world’s leading publishers of licensed comics material.

Rating the Publisher SDCC Coverage

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We’ll be bringing you a round up of comic books companies and their embrace of the internets but in the short term I decided to take a look at each companies use of the web to help push their own coverage of San Diego Comic Con.  We’ll take a look at the four major publishers and see what they’re doing.

Dark Horse

Press Releases: Dark Horse is all about the press releases.  I’ve made it a rule, since they’re the only company that sends them out I’ll post a good chunk of them.  They’ve sent a few over SDCC but not enough that it’s irritating.  Email still rules and Dark Horse knows it. – GRADE: A

Website: Dark Horse is covering the goings on with SDCC but is promoting mostly G4’s coverage.  They don’t have a dedicated portal for this event but are updating the news thats going on.  Why they’re pointing to someone elses coverage, instead of doing it themselves I have no idea why, forget the contest they did together.  Other than blog posts the site is sparce on the goings on. – GRADE: C

Facebook: Dark Horse links to MySpace but no Facebook link anywhere on their website.  Much like their website the pickings on Facebook is light.  Just importing of their blog posts.  Weak sauce. – GRADE: C-

Twitter: Their Twitter coverage is to be expected, pretty weak.  Some links to their press releases and a few signing posts.  Their last tweet as of this writing was 21 hours ago. – GRADE: D

Overall Grade – C/C+

DC

Press Releases: I’ve tried to get on their email press release list.  For some reason this isn’t easy.  Does it exist?  No idea. – GRADE: Not Graded

Website: I’ll first state, I hate the DC site.  It’s hard to navigate, doesn’t work well in Firefox, just piss poor.  While there’s a portal it’s just some links to the schedule of their panels and no real news, http://dccomics.com/sites/events/. There are some slide shows and podcasts but those are primarily off the main page, why not just turn it into one giant portal with the newest info presented.  It’s an attempt but like DC comics, their website is just not up to snuff for the modern age. – GRADE: C

Facebook: Do they even have an official page?  There’s a fan page with 35,000+ fans and a group with 10,000+ that’s clearly run by fans.  The fan page has no content, no updates, nada.  FAIL DC, FAIL! – GRADE: F

Twitter: The DC Twitter account is very blah, mostly links to stories and press releases.  There’s no real “live” coverage.  There’s more content then Dark Horse, but also very weak. – GRADE: C-

Overall Grade – D+

Image

Press Releases: I think I got on their list, but have yet to receive anything.  We’ll give them the benefit of the doubt. – GRADE: Not Graded

Website: One news post with their schedule from July 16, and the blog hasn’t been updated since August 08.  I understand that Image is this confederacy of creators, but you each should chip in and get a new media person. No excuses folks.  A year since you updated your blog!? – GRADE: F

Facebook: This one is easy, there is no presence on Facebook. – GRADE: F

Twitter: Hmm, they’re actually vibrant on Twitter, did you just skip steps in the whole web operation and just went straight to the latest, greatest fad?  And the feed is actually good, it’s entertaining with descriptions of the line, and humor.  It’s personal and fun. – GRADE: A

Overall Grade – D+

Marvel

Press Releases: Sadly, it’s been a pain to get on Marvel’s press list.  You have to dig through their website to even find a contact.  I finally found one the first day of SDCC, still waiting for my first press release.  So much for rapid response. – GRADE: Not Graded

Website: Marvel has a top notch website.  Their coverage of SDCC news has been amazing, with a dedicated portal to check out what’s happening, http://marvel.com/sdcc09. Consisting of blog posts, a schedule, video and photos, all they need is a little integration with other websites and this would be perfect.  You can also get the content through RSS making it easy and convenient. – GRADE: A-

Facebook: Marvel has had a top notch if not basic fan page.  The blog posts flow into the feed, videos and photos are posted.  Overall, a fairly basic, but thorough page, but nothing special. – GRADE: B

Twitter: Forget the numerous artists, writers, and editors on Twitter, we’re focusing on the main Marvel feed.  Promoting panels, retweeting news, and links to their website, this is a nice portal of what’s going on.  What’s missing is the personal touch. – GRADE: B+

Overall Grade – B+

DARK HORSE UNVEILS THE NEXT WAVE OF COMICS, GRAPHIC NOVELS, MANGA, AND MORE

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DARK HORSE UNVEILS THE NEXT WAVE OF COMICS, GRAPHIC NOVELS, MANGA, AND MORE AT THE 2009 COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL

JULY 21, SAN DIEGO, CA–Dark Horse is proud to again deliver a loaded catalog of new projects that exemplify the evolution of the comics medium. Here are just a few of the highlights from this year’s Comic-Con International:

365 Samurai and a Few Bowls of Rice—Swiss artist J. P. Kalonji’s graphic novel comes to America. A young swordfighter must kill 365 samurai on a quest to avenge his master—in a fun, humorous, cartoony style.

Age of Reptiles—Film designer Ricardo Delgado returns with the third installment of his epic (silent) dinosaur comics series. Carnivores hunt herbivores on a migration south.

Aliens vs. Predator: Three World War—The 2009 relaunch of the Aliens and Predator series comes together with a creative team of John Arcudi and Rick Leonardi.

Archie Archives—The classic Archie comic books get the deluxe treatment in a series of hardcovers as the newest editions to the Dark Horse Archives series.

Blacksad—Collecting all three of the international award-winning European volumes, the third of which has not been published in English before. This crime noir about a cat detective, PI John Blacksad, is a phenomenal anthropomorphic story with fully painted artwork. By Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido.

Casper Anniversary Special—A 64-page hardcover celebrating Casper’s sixtieth anniversary and featuring his first appearance in comics. Conan: The Weight of the Crown—Darick Robertson writes and draws our first Conan one-shot since the Conan the Cimmerian relaunch. This comic is part of Dark Horse’s all-new One-Shot Wonders program.

Dark Horse GelaSkins—Decorative coverings for phones and laptops featuring some of Dark Horse’s most popular properties, including The Umbrella Academy, Yoshitaka Amano, Tim Burton, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellboy, and many more. A select few will be available at the Dark Horse booth during the convention as supplies last. The whole program is set to launch in September 2009.

Devil—Devil is an original Japanese manga being created for Dark Horse by Torajiro Kishi and animation powerhouse Madhouse Studios, featuring genetically designed vampires in a sci-fi police drama set in Tokyo.

Electropolis—Electropolis: The Infernal Machine is the perfect companion to Mister X: Condemned. Visionary artist Dean Motter revisits his unique brand of “antique futurism” in a story full of familiar faces, including a memorable cameo by Mister X himself.

Final Fantasy Boxed Set—A luxurious edition that stays true to the original Japanese collection of the complete Final Fantasy artwork by Yoshitaka Amano. Furry Water and Mesmo Delivery—Eisner winner Rafael Grampá comes to Dark Horse with two books: Mesmo Delivery, a reprint of his psychedelic small-press debut; and Furry Water, cowritten with Daniel Pellizzari, a six-issue postapocalyptic action comic.

One-Shot Wonders—A new program running from October to December, highlighting some of Dark Horse’s biggest characters and properties in standalone comics retailing at $3.50 each. The program includes “Sugarshock,” Conan, Hellboy, Abe Sapien, Star Wars (two titles), “Dr. Horrible,” and The Goon.

The Art of Blade of the Immortal—Hardcover edition of the original Japanese book with 32 new bonus pages not previously available. This book will be in the style of the Dark Horse The Art of . . . and Library Edition series.

DARK HORSE Goes Green In San Diego!

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DARK HORSE GOES GREEN

WITH REUSABLE BAGS

FOR COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2009!

JULY 17, MILWAUKIE, OR–Dark Horse Comics announced today that the company will be giving out reusable bags at next week’s Comic-Con International in San Diego. In recent years, the company’s large yellow bags have made quite a splash with fans at the convention, and have been seen all over the world in live television and Internet coverage of the show.

This year, the company has produced over 20,000 reusable cloth bags, which are made from 80 gsm nonwoven cloth. Each of these bags will feature the iconic Dark Horse logo, along with one of four different logos from popular Dark Horse properties: Star Wars, The Umbrella Academy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Japanese creative powerhouse CLAMP.

“Dark Horse is committed to doing our share to help the environment. We are firming up our resolve to find new ways to not only reduce our own ‘footprint,’ but also to get the message out,” said Dark Horse president Mike Richardson. “The first step in this new campaign is to move away from our traditional plastic giveaway bags at the San Diego Comics Convention to sturdy, reusable bags featuring a variety of Dark Horse character art.’

All four designs of reusable bags will be available only at the Dark Horse booth (#2615) at Comic-Con International 2009.

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