Category Archives: Conventions

MUTTS Creator Patrick McDonnell’s National Gift of Everything Tour continues this December!

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The Gift of Everything

Award-winning MUTTS creator Patrick McDonnell has entertained readers around the world with his beloved syndicated comic strip which has appeared in over 700 newspapers across 20 countries for 30 years. The prolific creator has been hitting the road to celebrate the release of his new children’s book The Gift of Everything and the 20th anniversary edition of the bestselling children’s classic The Gift of Nothing. McDonnell began the tour with an appearance at Doylestown Bookshop in Doylestown, PA and a signing at New York Comic Con, the national tour also includes celebrations of the 75th anniversary of Peanuts at The Charles Schulz Museum. 

In The Gift of Everything, Mooch the cat is searching for the perfect gift for his best friend, Earl the dog. But what, wonders Mooch, is perfect? Mooch soon discovers the answer: Everyone… Everywhere… Everything! As he sees the world around him with new eyes and a fresh feeling of gratitude, Mooch is delighted that he has just the right person to share it all with! In this joyful rhyming companion to The Gift of Nothing, the stars of the beloved comic strip MUTTS discover and celebrate the precious gift of being alive.

McDonnell has produced over a dozen picture books, including New York Times bestsellers The Gift of Nothing and Me . . . Jane (a Caldecott Honor biography of Jane Goodall). Both were adapted as musicals for the Kennedy Center. He has collaborated on books with author Eckhart Tolle (Guardians of Being), poet Daniel Ladinsky (Darling, I Love You), and His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Heart to Heart). This year will see the West Coast premier of The Gift of Nothing – A Musical for Children of All Ages at the Marin Theater in Mill Valley, California. This production originally debuted at the Kennedy Center.

The Marin Theater event is the  West Coast Premiere of The Gift of Nothing, a heartwarming new musical for children of all ages and their families based on the book of the same name by Patrick McDonnell featuring his beloved Mutts comic strip characters, Mooch and Earl. This special production marks only the second time this musical has ever been staged and coincides with the 20th anniversary celebration of the original book—just in time for the holiday season.

With Gift of Nothing Day coming up on December 15, it’s the perfect time to celebrate McDonnell’s amazing books. 

2025 Upcoming Tour Dates

Past Dates

Thank you to everyone who joined and helped to make these events so wonderful!

Fans can learn more about McDonnell’s tour here. The Gift of Everything and The Gift of Nothing Anniversary Edition are both be available from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.

The 2026 Edition of the Angoulême Comics Festival Officially Cancelled

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After threats of boycotts, a pulling of funding, and general distrust of the organizers, the 2026 edition of the Angoulême Comics Festival has been cancelled.

The issue the lead to this is over claims of toxic management and the dismissal of a staff member who had lodged a rape complaint. She was fired after going to the police to report the rape during the 2024 festival. The public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation into the complaint and she has taken her case to the Paris industrial tribunal to contest her dismissal.

Cultural minister Rachida Dati withdrew €200,000 (£176,000, $231,000) of public funds from the festival and had invited those boycotting it to a meeting.

The festival, first held in 1974, has been managed by 9eArt+ since 2007 even though it is a non-profit. Franck Bondoux the most recent director of 9eArt announced he would step down last week. 9eArt’s contract was recently renewed only inflaming tensions further.

Hundreds said they would “girlcott” the festival in support of the staffer fired along with numerous high profile publishers. Nine organizations and unions representing authors and illustrators stated they would not attend January’s event if it were held. They want the festival to no longer be managed by 9eArt+ with a refocus on rebuilding its values.

With the cancelation it could lead to an economic catastrophe for the local area it is held. The festival attracts over 200,000 visitors each year. The  festival would have taken place January 29 to February 1, 2026. 

Baltimore Comic-Con 2026 Tickets are On Sale!

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Baltimore Comic Con 2026

Next year’s Baltimore Comic-Con will take place at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center on September 25-27, 2026. In advance of the holiday season (and in response to numerous inquiries from fans!), tickets for the show are now on sale. Get that special someone a unique gift this holiday season.

Tickets currently available include:

  • VIP*
  • Weekend Pass
  • Friday only
  • Saturday only
  • Sunday only

As always, children 10 and under are free with a paid adult admission!

VIP ticket holders receive the following package items and benefits:

  • Exclusive early admission to all 3 days of the show
  • 2026 Baltimore Comic-Con Exclusive Convention T-Shirt (size subject to availability)
  • 2026 Baltimore Comic-Con Yearbook with a VIP Exclusive Cover
  • Show-exclusive lithograph

This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Jason Aaron (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Gene Ha (Mae), Tony Harris (The Whistling Skull), Dan Jurgens (Action Comics), Jae Lee (Inhumans), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Kevin Nowlan (Batman: Sword of Azrael), Ryan Ottley (Invincible), Matthew Dow Smith (DC’s Misfits of Magic), and Scott Snyder (DC K.O.),

Joseph Illidge’s Illuminous workshop comes to Everyone Comics in Long Island City

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Everyone Comics and Illuminous

Breaking into comics isn’t just about talent; it’s about clarity, strategy, and knowing how to build ideas that can survive the industry’s churn. On Saturday, December 6th, comics creator Joseph Illidge and his company Illuminous will bring a high-impact crash course in story architecture, IP development, and industry navigation to Everyone Comics (41-26 27th St, LIC). The shop, famous for bringing “culture to a high-class, fast-growing neighborhood”, has become a haven for new voices and ambitious creators fighting to break in on their own terms. 

The one-day workshop is built for creators ready to develop original IP, pitch with confidence, and move their projects forward. Illidge’s career spans DC Comics, Image Comics, Heavy Metal, Simon & Schuster, and Todd McFarlane Productions, with credits including New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident, The Shadow Cabinet, Bloodletter, and a newly announced film franchise deal with 50 Cent’s G-Unit Film & Television based on XERO. A longtime architect of the modern comics landscape—shaping Batman, Batgirl, Catwoman, and major creator-driven lines, he has distilled decades of experience into a practical, laser-focused methodology for building ideas that last.

Attendees will learn how to identify the true engine of their story, strengthen it for long-term viability, and prepare it for expansion across mediums: comics, animation, film, games, and beyond.

For writers, artists, indie creators, and anyone trying to break into comics with an original idea, this workshop offers the kind of clarity most people spend years chasing.

The Illuminous Workshop takes place Saturday, December 6th, 5-7 PM, at Everyone Comics & Collectibles, 41-26 27th St, Long Island City, NY 11101. Seats are limited, sign up today!

PAX Unplugged Will Return to Philadelphia December 4 – 6, 2026

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PAX Unplugged

PAX Unplugged 2026, the East Coast’s most-attended tabletop gaming event, will return to the Pennsylvania Convention Center Friday, December 4, 2026, through Sunday, December 6, 2026, as revealed at the end of this year’s show. 

Show organizers ReedPop and Penny Arcade welcomed tens of thousands attendees from all over the world, with even more fans taking part in the festivities through Twitch, YouTube, and other online platforms.

Highlights from the weekend include a storytime keynote with Isaac Childres, the Co-Founder of Cephalofair Games and designer of their award-winning RPG Gloomhaven. Several panels took place including from the UK-based publisher Modiphius on their upcoming release Fallout: The Roleplaying Game – Royal Flush, along with developer Darrington Press on what comes next for their popular RPG, Daggerheart. 

The show featured more than 300 exhibitors ranging from the industry’s biggest names to indie developers and Philly-based companies. Beyond the showfloor, attendees had the opportunity to check out competitive gaming tournaments, tabletop freeplay areas, and more.

For fans who can’t wait until PAX Unplugged returns next year, PAX East 2026, the East Coast’s most-attended gaming event featuring tabletop, gaming, and pop culture, returns to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center from Thursday, March 26, through Sunday, March 29, 2026, with badges on sale now.

PAX West 2026, the West Coast’s most-attended gaming event, returns to the Seattle Convention Center next Labor Day weekend from Friday, Sept. 4, through Monday, Sept. 7, 2026, with badges going on sale in the coming months. 

PAX Unplugged 2025: Allplay brings The Networks: Primetime, Piñatas, and 3 Witches

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Allplay is heading to PAX Unplugged and you can find them at booth #2911 where they’ll be showing off games from some of their amazing partners: Druid City Games, OddBird, Salt & Pepper Games, Itten Games, Sashi & Sashi, and their newest partner, Cardboard Alchemy, plus more!

They’re bringing three brand-new titles making their U.S. debut after Spiel last month:

The Networks: Primetime

Step into the role of a TV executive and build the next TV empire. Draft stars, run ads, manage your lineup across five seasons, and play powerful Network Cards to stay on top. The network with the most viewers at the end wins!

Check out the Mega Corp Expansion to add even more strategy and fun.

Piñatas

A delightful trick-taking game by Dr. Reiner Knizia. Take tricks carefully—once you take three tricks, you’re out—but score points based on all tricks won at the table. Simple rules, endless fun!
 

3 Witches

From Corey Young, this trick-taking Tiny Box game has no trump suit. Players bid on tricks, with the highest bidder becoming Lead Witch while opponents team up as Lesser Witches. Strategic, fast, and full of surprises.

PAX Unplugged 2025: Board Game Veterans Reveal Song of the Wildkin, a Co-Op Dungeon Crawler for All Ages

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Song of the Wildkin

Bōken Games has revealed Song of the Wildkin, an upcoming co-op dungeon-crawling adventure board game set in a rich fantasy world of anthropomorphic animals and nature-based channeling known as Pitchcraft. Song of the Wildkin emerges from the collective dreams of a board game veteran supergroup: a minimal setup, quick-to-table game with depth and complexity appealing to adults and children (9+) alike, packed with surprises and brought to life with hundreds of charming illustrations.

Enter a world inhabited by the Storied, anthropomorphic animals capable of Pitchcraft — an innate ability to shape wood through song, used for everything from elaborate table-setting to architecture. Talented practitioners even craft wordless woodbeasts that draw memories from the wood used in their creation.

Yet the winds whisper of woodbeasts growing hostile, and unexplained disappearances plague the realm. Among the vanished is the leader of the Seekers, heroes charged with solving the realm’s problems. Four Seekers-in-Training gather their gear and set off on a quest for answers.

Song of the Wildkin is a green legacy game with a 30-hour narrative-driven campaign full of adventure, player choice, 12 classes, and bosses that become playable characters. Assemble an adventuring party of four Seekers from a colorful cast of characters like Truval Fairhide, the valiant and just Guardian fox, and Jubleth Paleclaw, the water wizard hat-wearing Essence Tapper Axolotl. Lead the Seeker squad to defeat bosses like the Eightfold Empress in epic encounters, and then recruit them into your party!

Embark on a journey across richly detailed biomes inhabited by all manner of Storied. Complete scenarios requiring Seekers to cooperate as they explore 240 unique map cards and utilize more than 150 abilities. Designed for collaborative, accessible play that invites both new players and seasoned board game veterans, Song of the Wildkin’s dungeon-crawling and exploration evoke the essence of adventure with deep lore and themes, an evolving world, and minimal setup friction, keeping the focus on fun for all.

Featuring an all-star team of creators such as Andrew Bosley (Illustrator, Everdell), Paul DeStefano (Writer, Oathsworn), Ines Możdżyńska (Graphic Design, Kinfire Chronicles), Edgar Ramos (Sculptor, Stuffed Fables, Bloodborne), Ivan Alexiev (Developer, Rise of Babel), and more to be revealed soon, Song of the Wildkin combines a grounded fantasy setting with engaging gameplay focused on collaboration and intuitive mechanics.

Song of the Wildkin is currently in development with plans for a winter 2026 release.

PAX Unplugged 2025: Raybox Games is Bringing Escape from Projekt Riese

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Raybox Games is heading to PAX Unplugged 2025 from November 21–23 in Philadelphia, and attendees won’t want to miss Booth 3039. The studio will be showcasing its latest release, Escape from Projekt Riese—a fast-growing tactical narrative game that launched this summer to strong reception.

Escape from Projekt Riese drops players into the shadowy depths of WWII’s secret Riese complex, combining tense exploration, modular scenarios, branching narrative paths, and an Automa-driven enemy system that keeps every mission unpredictable. Visitors can get hands-on open copies of this Paths Unknown game.

Escape from Projekt Riese

PAX Unplugged 2025: Runaway Parade Games’ Punch Bowl is on Kickstarter, Making a Big Splash this Weekend

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Punch Bowl

Gwen Ruelle and Samuel Bryant of Brooklyn, NY have launched a Kickstarter campaign for their new game, Punch Bowl. This cozy, strategic game for 1-5 players is about competitive punch-making in a land of giant fruits. The game features vivid, colorful watercolor design by fine artist Kevin Ruelle, and deluxe components, including acrylic fruit gems, ice cubes, and punch cups. Punch Bowl won Best in Show at the Boston Festival of Indie Games.

The Runaway Parade Games team has raised over $110,000 in their first week of the campaign, and will be continuing to raise funds during the upcoming PAX Unplugged convention, which they have long attended to show their other games, Fire Tower and Smug Owls.

There will be demos, voting for your favorite fruit, and special giveaways for backers at the show. Visit Booth 3543 to find out more!

PAX Unplugged 2025: Kosmos invites fans to celebrate the holiday season with Play-Filled Special Events, Classics, and New Releases

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Dice Words

Kosmos returns to PAX Unplugged 2025, taking place November 21-23 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. 

Attendees of the East Coast’s largest tabletop gaming convention are invited to visit booth #3537 to demo and purchase a wide selection of titles from Kosmos’ extensive catalog. From fan-favorites like the cooperative poker hit The Gang, to this year’s fast-paced, dice-rolling word game Dice Words, as well as the company’s highly sought-after EXIT Advent calendars, fans and newcomers alike will have the opportunity to discover and take home many exceptional games just in time for the holiday season. 

Fresh off a successful debut at Gen Con this past summer, Dice Words is expected to be a highlight of the show. Fans can look forward to an in-booth activation for the game, as well as a special event for its hit escape-room series, EXIT. Details and additional highlights include: 

● Dice Words Daily Contest: Learn and play the game and meet designer Tim Phillips! With simple rules, quick playtime, and lots of room for replayability, this word-building game appeals to a wide range of players, from kids and families to adults looking for something new for game night. Kosmos will track attendees’ daily scores on a leaderboard, and the player with the highest-scoring word each day will win a prize pack of games. 

● EXIT: The Experience: Join Kosmos on Friday, November 21, at 7 pm in Room 204A to learn and play an EXIT game! Teams will compete to solve the same EXIT title (to be revealed at the event), and the winning team will receive a curated selection of games. All participants will snag an exclusive EXIT: The Experience tote bag, and raffles throughout the night offer even more chances to win fun prizes. 

● The Gang: Mini Expansion 2 – Tools of the Trade: First released at Gen Con, PAX Unplugged attendees will have a chance to get their hands on the latest mini expansion for The Gang, free with any purchase at the Kosmos booth.

Kosmos will also have a variety of its EXIT games for sale, including this year’s EXIT: Adventures on Catan, where the worlds of EXIT and Klaus Teuber’s wildly popular board game CATAN collide in a captivating escape-room adventure. PAX Unplugged is also the perfect place for fans to pick up a new EXIT Advent calendar to enjoy this holiday season. Three unique versions will be available, including this year’s release, EXIT: The Intergalactic Race. 

All games in the Kosmos booth, #3537, are 10% off at the show, while supplies last. Fans can also take advantage of this discount all weekend long on the Thames & Kosmos website, www.thamesandkosmos.com, using promo code PAXU2025 at checkout.

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