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First Comics Creators heads to Baltimore Comic Con

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The 24th annual Baltimore Comic-Con will take place at the Inner Harbor’s Baltimore Convention Center on September 8-10, 2023. The Baltimore Comic-Con is announcing creators that worked at one of the early indie publishers in the industry, First Comics, to include Howard Chaykin, Mike Grell, Marc Hempel, Steve Rude, Joe Staton, and Mark Wheatley. Get your tickets online now!

Howard Victor Chaykin is a longtime veteran of the comic book business. As a cartoonist — both writing and drawing — he has been a major influence on the direction of comics, referred to frequently as one of the principal architects of the modern comic book. His signature creation, American Flagg!, introduced a new level of narrative complexity, depth of character, and point of view in its text, not to mention a previously unseen level of design and craft to the visual nature of an all-too-frequently staid and timid medium. Chaykin continues to produce work that pushes the envelope of concept, context, and content in comics…in last year’s The Divided States of Hysteria for example, a comic book which, thanks to social media, enraged an entire new generation of the willfully ignorant who might have had a better case if they’d actually read the damned book. Chaykin’s new series, Hey Kids! Comics!, is a fictionalized history of the comic book business, a love letter written with just a frisson of acid in the ink, to the field he’s loved and called home for over four decades.

Mike Grell is a writer/artist with a uniquely cinematic style of storytelling. His creations include:

  • The Warlord
  • Starslayer
  • Jon Sable, Freelance
  • Shaman’s Tears
  • Bar Sinister
  • Maggie the Cat

These, along with successful runs on such features as Superboy and the Legion of Superheroes, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Batman, Iron Man, X-Men Forever, James Bond: Permission To Die, the Tarzan Sunday comic strip, and the internationally acclaimed, Eisner Award- Nominated Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, have won him the comic industry’s coveted Inkpot Award For Outstanding Achievement in Comic Art. His graphic novel series Jon Sable, Freelance was adapted for TV by ABC in 1987. Grell has been voted to Wizard Magazine’s Top Ten List of Comics Writers and was recently named to Wizard World’s Hall of Legends and the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide Hall of Fame. It was recently announced that, beginning in 2023, the widely acclaimed Shaman’s Tears will become an “audio movie” podcast on The Fantasy Network, produced in conjunction with Native Voices under the artistic direction of DeLanna Studi out of the Autrey Museum.

In addition to his collaboration with Neil Gaiman on the climactic story arc “The Kindly Ones” in The Sandman, artist and writer Marc Hempel is also known for his critically acclaimed work with Mark Wheatley in the titles Breathtaker, Mars, and Blood of the Innocent. His own creations Gregory and Tug & Buster have been nominated for Harvey and Eisner Awards, and his humor anthology Naked Brain was named Best Comic Book in the Baltimore City Paper’s Best of Baltimore 2003 issue. Hempel’s art has also appeared in Marvel Fanfare, Epic Illustrated, Heavy Metal, Jonny Quest, Tarzan the Warrior, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser, Flinch, My Faith in Frankie, The Dreaming, Lucifer, and Disney Adventures. He has created advertising art for print and television, and character design for HBO Animation. More recently, Hempel produced CD art for the Nashville band Swamp Rat, drew an episode of the online strip Munden’s Bar for ComicMix.com, illustrated a 21-page story for Michael Chabon’s The Escapist: Pulse-Pounding Thrills, and has contributed to both MAD Magazine and Nickelodeon Magazine. Marc’s latest work includes a full page comic strip for the lavish hardcover Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream, as well as art for SpongeBob Comics, the Planned Parenthood benefit book Mine!, and Short Things: Tales Inspired by “Who Goes There?” (The Thing) by John W. Campbell, Jr. He is the recipient of the Speakeasy Award and the Inkpot Award. Originally from the Chicago area, Marc currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland.

Steve Rude’s career began in 1981 with his and co-creator Mike Baron’s groundbreaking Nexus comic series. This space saga catapulted Rude into the field of comics, where he became highly sought after by major publishers. During his first few years in the industry, Rude’s efforts led to numerous awards, such as the 1984 Russ Manning Newcomer Award, the Kirby Award for best artist in 1986, and numerous Eisners for artistic achievement. For over two decades, Rude has drawn hundreds of comic’s greatest iconic heroes, and has galvanized the art world as a comic magazine artist and illustrator.

Currently, Steve and his company, Rude Dude Productions, are bringing the past into the future with comic strips of Nexus and the Moth.

Joe Staton has been drawing comics since he started working for Charlton Comics in 1971, where he co-created E-Man and Michael Mauser. Though the bulk of his work has been for DC Comics, at last count, Staton has worked for at least 30 publishers and 100 different editors. Among his many comics credits are Action Comics, Green Lantern, The Legion, Classics Illustrated, and various incarnations of Batman. During his time on Green Lantern, he co-created several GLs, including Kilowog, Arisia, and Salakk. He also designed GL Guy Gardner’s “bad boy” look. More recently, with his writer-wife Hilarie, he produces medical comics such as Pete Learns All About Crohn’s and Colitis and Amy Goes Gluten-Free. In 1998, he received the Eisner Award for his work on World’s Finest: The Superman-Batman Adventures. He penciled over 100 issues of the Cartoon Network’s Scooby Doo comic. He illustrated a graphic novel adaptation of Ayn Rand’s Anthem for NAL and a graphic biography of Ronald Reagan. Since 2011, working with writer Mike Curtis, Joe has been the regular artist for the long-running Dick Tracy newspaper strip (available online at www.gocomics.com/dicktracy). Dick Tracy received Harvey Awards in 2013, 2014, and 2015 for Best Syndicated Strip or Feature.

Mark Wheatley, Overstreet Hall of Fame inductee, has been awarded the Eisner, Inkpot, Mucker, Gem, Speakeasy, Golden Lion, Robert E. Howard Foundation Outstanding Achievement and nominations for the Harvey and the Ignatz. His work has appeared in Spectrum, the Library of Congress, The Norman Rockwell Museum, and other museums. He has designed for Lady Gaga, The Black Eyed Peas, ABC’s Beauty and the Beast, and Square Roots, as well as Super Clyde, The Millers, and 2 Broke Girls on CBS. His most recent print projects include Songs of Giants, Doctor Cthulittle, Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time, Swords Against the Moon Men, The Philip Jose Farmer Centennial Collection, Mine! and Wild Stars. Past creations include Breathtaker, Return of The Human, Ez Street, Lone Justice, Mars, Black Hood, Prince Nightmare, Hammer of The Gods, Blood of The Innocent, Frankenstein Mobster, and Skultar as well as Tarzan, Baron Munchausen, Jonny Quest, Dr. Strange, The Flash, Captain Action, Argus, The Spider, Stargate Atlantis, Torchwood, and Doctor Who.

Among Wheatley’s latest projects, Skultar, has just been announced to start in Dark Horse Presents #7. Written by M.J. Butler, Skultar is a loving (but none-too-kind) send-up of barbarian stories. The Spider: Satan’s Murder Machines collects Norvell Page’s epic crime drama in a deluxe hardcover for the first time with a cover by Wheatley, and The Mark Wheatley Gallery collects a number of the artist’s 2010 13″ x 19″ art prints in book form for the first time.

This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Dan Abdo (Blue, Barry & Pancakes), Arthur Adams (Longshot), Sarah Andersen (Sarah’s Scribbles), Art Baltazar (Yahgz), Jeremy Bastian (Dune: House Harkonnen), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), Carolyn Belefsky (Curls), Brian Michael Bendis (Action Comics), Jon Bogdanove (The Death of Superman), Judy Bogdanove (Steel Annual), Dan Brereton (Nocturnals), Harold Buchholz (Sweetest Beasts), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Greg Burnham (Tuskegee Heirs), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Chris Campana (Death Dealer), Joe Carabeo (Black Magic Tales), Richard Case (Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jim Cheung (Young Avengers), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Amy Chu (KISS: The End), Brian Clevinger (Atomic Robo), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Katie Cook (Nothing Special), Nick Davis (Night Guardians), Deans Family (Crass Fed), Abby Denson (Uniquely Japan), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Derec Donovan (Adventures of Superman), Jan Duursema (Star Wars: The High Republic), Garth Ennis (The Boys), David Finch (Moon Knight), Tony Fleecs (Stray Dogs), Chris Flick (Capes and Babes), Scott Fogg (Phileas Reid Knows We’re Not Alone), Tana Ford (LaGuardia), Trish Forstner (Stray Dogs), Franco (Fae and the Moon), John Gallagher (Max Meow), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), Jimmy Gownley (Amelia Rules!), Mike Grell (Jon Sable), Dawn Griffin (Zorphbert & Fred), Chris Gugilotti (Teen Titans Go!), Gene Ha (Mae), Laura Lee Gulledge (Page by Paige), Bob Hall (West Coast Avengers), Cully Hamner (Blue Beetle), Brian Haberlin (Spawn), Tony Harris (The Whistling Skull), Mike Hawthorne (Deadpool), Marc Hempel (Sandman), Greg Hildebrandt (Star Wars), Morry Hollowell (Old Man Logan), Jamal Igle (Superman), Mark Irwin (Green Lantern), Klaus Janson (Daredevil), Dave Johnson (100 Bullets), J.G. Jones (Wanted), Kata Kane (Altar Girl), Barry Kitson (Amazing Spider-Man), Jeff Lemire (Black Hammer), Nate Lovett (Dungeons & Dragons), Matthew Loux (Prunella and the Cursed Skull Ring), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), Tom Mandrake (Spectre), Laura Martin (Nubia: Queen of the Amazons), Mariano Brothers (Claire Lost Her Bear at the World’s Fair), Ron Marz (Green Lantern), Jason May (LEGO Club Magazine), Bob McLeod (New Mutants), Adriana Melo (Action Comics), Pop Mhan (Gears of War 3), Al Milgrom (Spectacular Spider-Man), Karl Moline (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Mark Morales (Thor), Trevor Mueller (Re-Possessed), Sarah Myer (Monstrous: A Transracial Adoption Story), Jamar Nicholas (Leon: Protector of the Playground), Jason Patterson (Blue, Barry & Pancakes), David Pepose (Savage Avengers), David Petersen (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo: WhereWhen), Brandon Peterson (Uncanny X-Men), Richard and Wendy Pini (Elfquest), Ed Piskor (Red Room: Trigger Warnings), Joe Prado (Superman), Afua Richardson (Omni), Christopher Ring (Seamus (the Famous)), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Arsia Rozegar (Shahnameh For Kids), Steve Rude (Nexus), Jim Rugg (Hulk Grand Design), Andy Runton (Owly), Alex Simmons (Archie), Louise Simonson (The Death of Superman 30th Anniversary Special), Walter Simonson (Thor), Matt Slay (Equilibrium), John K. Snyder III (Suicide Squad), Sozomaika (DC Power: A Celebration), Mark Sparacio (Omega Paradox), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), John Timms (Superman: Son of Kal-El), Emilio Velez Jr. (The Dodgeball Teens), Wade von Grawbadger (Justice League), Adam Wallenta (Punk Taco), Todd Webb (Mr. Toast Comics), Scott Wegener (Atomic Robo), Joey Weiser (Ghost Hog), Mark Wheatley (Skultar), Emily S. Whitten (The Underfoot), Marcus Williams (Tuskegee Heirs), John Workman (Wild Things), Caitlin Yarsky (Black Hammer Reborn), and Thom Zahler (Love and Capes).

John Beatty, Alan Davis, Greg LaRocque, Bill Morrison, Alex Saviuk, and Joe Staton head to Baltimore Comic Con

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This year’s Baltimore Comic-Con returns to the Inner Harbor at the Baltimore Convention Center on October 28-30, 2022. Baltimore Comic-Con has announced some of comics’ biggest names for the 2022 event: John Beatty, Alan Davis, Greg LaRocque, Bill Morrison, Alex Saviuk, and Joe Staton. Tickets are available online now so fans can avoid ticket counter lines at the show!

John Beatty got his first break working for Marvel and DC Comics when he was 19. The year was 1980 and the decade that followed is now referred to as the “Bronze Age” of comic books! Beginning with short filler stories for DC Comics anthology books, Beatty soon found himself as the finisher on the JLA working over George Perez. However, the run was limited to 4 issues due to Marvel Comics offering him the inking duty over his favorite character, Captain America, with his long-time mentor and collaborator, Mike Zeck. Coming off of a 2.5 year run on Cap, Zeck and Beatty were tagged to do the art on the first major clash of heroes and villains, Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars! which saw the change of Spider-Man’s costume to black in issue #8 of the series, something that turned into a bigger deal as Venom. After Secret Wars, the team of Zeck and Beatty produced the hit limited mini-series and a graphic novel starring Marvel’s newest “A-List” character, The Punisher. The last major work the team produced was the Captain America Annual 8. Covers for Captain America, G.I. Joe, and many other titles were a staple of work for the team during the ’80s. Beatty continued projects for Marvel, including Thanos Quest, Squadron Supreme, Venom: The Madness, and others. At DC Comics, John was the inker for Batman: Year 3 and the first 5 issues on the new Batman title, Legends of the Dark Knight. Eight years of work on various Batman titles with writer Doug Moench and penciler Kelley Jones became well-known in the ’90s, including the last 2 installments on the Vampire/Batman GN series, other Batman graphic novels, and a 3-year run on the monthly Batman title, recently reprinted in two beautiful hardcover editions. Eventually turning his sights on DC Licensing, Beatty has produced vector ink and color for style guides, from movies to animated series to products such as toys, cards, packaging, and clothing, among other things. This is uncredited work, but is still being used. Traditional inking is still Beatty’s main love, and he continues to practice it and teach those around him who want to learn.

Born in June of 1956 in Corby, Northants, England, Alan Davis had no formal art education — unpleasant experiences with ‘art establishment’ reinforced his primary ambition to be a carpenter. Davis began contributing to comics as a part-time hobby that quickly became a full-time job. His first professional comic work was on Captain Britain in 1981 for Marvel UK. Marvelman for Warrior followed less than a year later. Harry Twenty on the High Rock for 2000AD allowed the hobby to become a full-time job. D.R. and Quinch followed. In 1985, Davis landed his first US work for DC Comics on Batman and the Outsiders, followed by Detective Comics. A few X-Annuals led to art duties on Excalibur. Then there was Wolverine: Bloodlust, a return to Excalibur as writer/artist, The ClanDestine, JLA: The Nail, Fantastic Four, various X-books, Superboy’s Legion, Avengers, Killraven, JLA: Another Nail, Fantastic Four: The End… Lots of covers, short runs and more ClanDestine. Runs on Thor, Captain America, Wolverine, Savage Hulk, Guardians of the Galaxy, and, most recently, three 100-page Thanos OGNs and writing an Avengers/Defenders mini-series, Tarot. Davis has been married to his wife Heather since 1977 with two children and four grandchildren.

Greg LaRocque’s career in comics began in 1980 doing short stories in DC Comics’ line of horror books. He also did Omac for DC before moving on to Marvel to work on the Avengers and Power Man & Iron Fist before his stint as a Spider-Man artist, notably on Web of Spider-Man. In a more than 40-year-long career in comics, Greg’s resume includes more work with DC, the Legion of Super Heroes, Flash, and Fighting American, as well as independents Razor, Stargate, and The Three Stooges! nyuk, nyuk..lol. Recent work includes The Regulators, Raven & the Masters for Power Comics. Greg is currently writing and drawing a creator-owned series, specifics to be announced shortly.

Award-winning cartoonist, writer, and illustrator Bill Morrison began his career in Detroit, Michigan as a technical illustrator, but his dream was to be a cartoonist. When Bill decided that he had rendered his last diesel fuel pump, he moved to Southern California with his wife, Kayre. He began working immediately in motion picture advertising where he painted dozens of movie posters, including many for Walt Disney Pictures such as The Little Mermaid, Bambi, Peter Pan, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book. For several years, Bill spent most of his waking hours on various projects related to The Simpsons. For that iconic property, he has created thousands of drawings for t-shirts, video games, posters, toy packaging, books, calendars, limited edition prints, etc. When The Simpsons creator Matt Groening founded Bongo Comics, Bill was hired on as art director and realized his cartoonist dreams when he drew the very first Simpsons comic. He quickly took on the role of Creative Director, editing Bongo’s entire output, and writing and drawing stories and covers as time permitted. Bill also worked with Groening on early character designs for the TV show Futurama and served as the series art director. He also recently served as Artist and Designer on Groening’s Netflix series, Disenchantment. In addition to his work on The Simpsons and Futurama comics, Bill has written and drawn his own comic book series, the four-time Eisner Award-nominated Roswell, Little Green Man, and co-created three other comic book series: Heroes Anonymous, Dead Vengeance, and Lady Robotika (the latter with Jane Wiedlin of the legendary all-girl rock band, The Go-Go’s). Morrison also created a 96-page graphic novel adaptation of The Beatles Yellow Submarine for Titan Comics. Most recently, Bill was the Executive Editor of the relaunched MAD Magazine, and also served as Art Director for Seriously’s “Best Fiends” animated shorts.

Alex Saviuk started his professional career at DC Comics in 1977 after studying sequential art with Will Eisner at The School of Visual Arts in NYC. Within a few short months, he became the regular artist on Green Lantern and The Flash. He also drew Superman, Hawkman, Aquaman, The Atom, and Air Wave, among others. In 1986, Alex moved over to Marvel Comics, filling in on Iron Man 211 and various covers before eventually becoming the penciler on Defenders of the Earth, featuring The Phantom, Flash Gordon, and Mandrake. Then, after successfully filling in on Amazing Spider-Man for 3 issues, he started a 7+ year run on Web of Spider-Man followed by over 2 more years on Spider-Man Adventures. From 1997-1998, Alex penciled the last 12 issues of The X-Files for Topps Comics (#30-41). In 2003, he joined the ranks of a Swedish and an Australian publisher chronicling the adventures of Lee Falk’s The Phantom. In 2004, he also assisted his mentor Will Eisner (legendary creator of The Spirit) on The Spirit Meets The Escapist published by Dark Horse, which unfortunately was Will Eisner’s last completed work before his passing in January 2005. Alex also worked on the graphic novel Feast of the Seven Fishes, glowingly reviewed by Stan Lee; it was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2006, and that same year, the Spider-Man newspaper strip, on which Alex worked, also received a Harvey nomination. In 2012, Alex worked with Stan Lee on a mainstream superhero book called Stan Lee and The Mighty Seven published by Archie Comics. Besides comics, Alex also does storyboards and conceptual art for advertising agencies and the occasional feature film (Never Back Down, The Reaping, Hoot, and Lonely Hearts). Currently and recently, besides drawing The Phantom, Alex contributed pencils and inks for 11 variant covers for Marvel’s Symbiote Spider-Man mini-series. Alex’s co-creation with writer Gerry Conway, Tombstone, appeared in the academy-Award winning hit movie Into the Spider-Verse! Also, the Eisner Award-nominated graphic novel Feast of the Seven Fishes by Robert Tinnell and Alex Saviuk is now a major motion picture directed and produced by writer Robert Tinnell and opened in mid-November 2019 to glowing reviews as a top ten holiday movie to watch! The book itself is still available online on Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble, among others!

Joe Staton has been drawing comics since he started working for Charlton Comics in 1971, where he co-created E-Man and Michael Mauser. Though the bulk of his work has been for DC Comics, at last count, Staton has worked for at least 30 publishers and 100 different editors. Among his many comics credits are Action Comics, Green Lantern, The Legion, Classics Illustrated, and various incarnations of Batman. During his time on Green Lantern, he co-created several GLs, including Kilowog, Arisia, and Salakk. He also designed GL Guy Gardner’s “bad boy” look. More recently, with his writer-wife Hilarie, he produces medical comics such as Pete Learns All About Crohn’s and Colitis and Amy Goes Gluten-Free. In 1998, he received the Eisner Award for his work on World’s Finest: The Superman-Batman Adventures. He penciled over 100 issues of the Cartoon Network’s Scooby Doo comic. He illustrated a graphic novel adaptation of Ayn Rand’s Anthem for NAL and a graphic biography of Ronald Reagan. Since 2011, working with writer Mike Curtis, Joe has been the regular artist for the long-running Dick Tracy newspaper strip (available online at www.gocomics.com/dicktracy). Dick Tracy received Harvey Awards in 2013, 2014, and 2015 for Best Syndicated Strip or Feature.

2022 GUESTS

Confirmed guests for this year’s show include: Chris Barcomb (The Amazing Adventure of Superior Sam), Jeremy Bastian (Cursed Pirate Girl), Marty Baumann (Pixar artist), John Beatty (Marvel Super Heroes: Secret Wars), Carolyn Belefski (Curls), Brian Michael Bendis (Action Comics), Brett Breeding (Superman), Dan Brereton (Nocturnals), Russ Braun (The Boys), Reilly Brown (Deadpool), Harold Buchholz (Sweetest Beasts), Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jeffrey Burandt (Killer Bad), Greg Burnham (Tuskegee Heirs), Jim Calafiore (NED, Lord of the Pit), Joe Carabeo (Black Magic Tales), Richard Case (Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror), John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men), Howard Chaykin (Time Squared), Jim Cheung (Miracleman), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Katie Cook (Nothing Special), Kevin Cuffe (Metalshark Bro), Alan Davis (Thanos), Nick Davis (The Night Guardians – Awakenings), Kristina Deak-Linsner (Roses for the Dead), J. Robert Deans (Crass Fed), Todd Dezago (The Perhapanauts), Scott Dunbier (Jim Lee’s X-Men Artist’s Edition, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Garth Ennis (The Boys, Friday and Saturday only), Chris Flick (Capes and Babes), Scott Fogg (Phileas Reid Knows We’re Not Alone), Trish Forstner (Stray Dogs), LJ and Kayla Fowlkes (The Adventures of CHIBIWONGTONG), Franco (The Ghost, The Owl), Bob Frantz (Metalshark Bro), John Gallagher (Max Meow: Cat Crusader), Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (DC Nation), Jimmy Gownley (Amelia Rules!), Steven Grant (X), Dawn Griffin (Zorphbert & Fred), Brian Haberlin (Spawn), Bob Hall (West Coast Avengers), Cully Hamner (Blue Beetle), Dean Haspiel (The Fox), Mike Hawthorne (Happiness Will Follow), Jamal Igle (Molly Danger), Klaus Janson (Daredevil, Friday and Saturday only), Chris Kemple (Artist Alley Comics), Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Alien), Kata Kane (Altar Girl), Barry Kitson (Amazing Spider-Man), Greg LaRocque (The Three Stooges), Jim Lee (Action Comics, Friday only), Joseph Michael Linsner (Red Sonja), Howard Mackie (Ghost Rider), Mariano Brothers (Claire Lost Her Bear at the World’s Fair), Laura Martin (Nubia: Queen of the Amazons), Ron Marz (Silver Surfer), Whitney Matheson (Pandemix: Quarantine Comics in the Age of ‘Rona), Jason May (LEGO Club Magazine), Bob McLeod (New Mutants), Mike McKone (Genis-Vell: Captain Marvel), Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Jarrett Melendez (Chef’s Kiss), Adriana Melo (Action Comics), Pop Mhan (Gears of War 3), Frank Miller (Sin City, Saturday only), Mark Morales (Thor), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons), Trevor Mueller (Albert the Alien), Jamar Nicholas (Leon: Protector of the Playground), Sedat Oezgen (Judge Dredd), Jerry Ordway (Superman), Rachel Ordway (Chainmail Bikini), Richard Pace (Second Coming, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Dan Parent (Archie vs. Sharknado), Andrew Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Brandon Peterson (Uncanny X-Men), Khoi Pham (Teen Titans), Ed Piskor (Red Room: Trigger Warnings), Eric Powell (The Goon), Andy Price (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic), Tom Raney (Green Lantern), Afua Richardson (Omni), Christopher Ring (Seamus (the Famous)), David A. Rodriguez (Skylanders), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Arsia Rozegar (Shahnameh For Kids), Jim Rugg (Hulk Grand Design), Alex Saviuk (Web of Spider-Man), Stuart Sayger (The Joker), Pat Shand (Destiny, NY), Liam Sharp (Green Lantern), Louise Simonson (X-Men Legends), Walter Simonson (Ragnarok), Don Simpson (Megaton Man), Matt Slay (Equilibrium), Matt Smith (Hellboy), John K. Snyder III (Suicide Squad), Jim Starlin (Infinity Gauntlet), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Paul Storrie (Storm Kids: Stanley’s Ghost), Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother), Billy Tucci (Shi), Emilio Velez Jr. (The Dodgeball Teens), Dexter Vines (Civil War, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Sean Von Gorman (Return of Toe Tag Riot), Mark Waid (Superman: Red and Blue), Adam Wallenta (Punk Taco), Todd Webb (Mr. Toast Comics), Emily S. Whitten (The Underfoot), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Keith Williams (Thor the Worthy), Charles P. Wilson III (Wraith), Rich Woodall (Electric Black), Gene Luen Yang (Superman Smashes the Klan), and Thom Zahler (Love and Capes).

Doug Moench’s Aztec Ace Will be Collected for the First Time

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Aztec Ace, the cult classic from the mind of comics legend Doug Moench, is reprinted for the first time in Aztec Ace: The Complete Collection. A collaboration between Dark Horse Comics and IT’S ALIVE!, Aztec Ace: The Complete Collection is an archival hardcover that restores all 500+ pages of Moench’s fan-favorite time travel adventure series.

First published by Eclipse Comics in 1984, Aztec Ace is an action-packed, intellectual, time-travel adventure starring Caza (AKA Ace) as he travels between the Aztec Empire and his home in the 23rd century. Ace, along with his pupil Bridget Chronopolis and his navigator Head (the floating disembodied head of Sigmund Freud), struggles to save his dimension from time paradoxes created by his enemy, the mysterious Nine-Crocodile.

Aztec Ace: The Complete Collection hardcover collects the full fifteen-issue run for the first time, and includes a bonus Aztec Ace short story by Moench and Tim Sale, a pin-up gallery featuring new artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz, ChrisCross, Dan Day, Jeff Lemire, Joe Staton, Jok, Kelley Jones, Matt Kindt, Michael Avon Oeming, Michael Wm Kaluta, Paul Gulacy, Paul Pope, Ron Harris, and more!

Aztec Ace: The Complete Collection hardcover will be available at comic shops on July 20, 2022, and from bookstores August 2, 2022. It is available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and at your local comic shop and bookstore. Aztec Ace: The Complete Collection hardcover will retail for $79.99.

Aztec Ace

Baumann, Calafiore, Forstner, Pascoe, Staton, Stelfreeze, & Tucci Hit Baltimore

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Baltimore Comic Con 2021

The Baltimore Comic-Con is coming up this October 22-24, 2021 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The Baltimore Comic-Con is pleased to welcome Marty Baumann, Jim Calafiore, Trish Forstner, Jim Pascoe, Joe Staton, Brian Stelfreeze, and Billi Tucci to this year’s event. Get your tickets online!

Marty Baumann is an illustrator, graphic artist, and production designer. He has contributed to some of the most popular, Oscar-winning animated films of all time. Marty has worked as an artist at Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios as an illustrator, graphic artist, and production designer on such films as Toy Story 3, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Cars 2, Planes, Wreck-It Ralph 2, and many others. He also helped develop theme park installations, toy packaging, and Pixar corporate branding. Marty has rendered illustrations and developed characters for toy manufacturers, magazines, and newspapers, and illustrated children’s books, created logos, info-graphics, broadcast promotions, and presentation art for Hasbro, Universal Studios, National Geographic, Scholastic Books, Nickelodeon, and many others. Recent projects include his role as concept artist for the new Mystery Science Theater 3000 and the visual development of Sir Paul McCartney’s feature film, High in the Clouds.

In 30 years working in comics, Jim Calafiore has spent extended time at Valiant, DC, and Marvel, notably on Peter David’s Aquaman, Judd Winnick’s Exiles, Gotham Underground with Frank Tieri, Red Lanterns with Charles Soule, various Batman books, Deadpool, and Black Panther. After a run on the critically-acclaimed Secret Six with Gail Simone, they reunited with for their creator-owned Kickstarter success Leaving Megalopolis, and volume 2 of the saga, Surviving Megalopolis. Volume 3 is in the works.

Trish Forstner is from Baltimore, Maryland and is a relative newcomer to the comic industry but brings a lifetime of experience in creating fun, lovable characters. She’s been drawing since she could hold a pencil. Trish is inspired by classic animation and has drawn influence from many sources, particularly Classic 80s and 90s toons. You’ve seen her work in IDW’s My Little Pony comic series. Most recently she co-creates Stray Dogs with Tony Fleecs, published by Image Comics.

James Pascoe has been a freelance illustrator for over 30 years, most of it in the comics field. He has done inking, pencilling, painting and/or digital coloring for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Valiant. His credits include Azrael, Empire, Batman/Punisher, and Thor, among others. He also lovingly restores comic book and comic strip art with missing logos, balloons, and captions, does cover re-creations, and is currently illustrating the California Tarot – Shadows & Light tarot card deck.

Joe Staton has been drawing comics since he started working for Charlton Comics in 1971, where he co-created E-Man and Michael Mauser. Though the bulk of his work has been for DC Comics, at last count, Staton has worked for at least 30 publishers and 100 different editors. Among his many comics credits are Action Comics, Green Lantern, The Legion, Classics Illustrated, and various incarnations of Batman. During his time on Green Lantern, he co-created several GLs, including Kilowog, Arisia, and Salakk. He also designed GL Guy Gardner’s “bad boy” look. More recently, with his writer-wife Hilarie, he produces medical comics such as Pete Learns All About Crohn’s and Colitis and Amy Goes Gluten-Free. In 1998, he received the Eisner Award for his work on World’s Finest: The Superman-Batman Adventures. He penciled over 100 issues of the Cartoon Network’s Scooby Doo comic. He illustrated a graphic novel adaptation of Ayn Rand’s Anthem for NAL and a graphic biography of Ronald Reagan. Since 2011, working with writer Mike Curtis, Joe has been the regular artist for the long-running Dick Tracy newspaper strip (available online at www.gocomics.com/dicktracy). Dick Tracy received Harvey Awards in 2013, 2014, and 2015 for Best Syndicated Strip or Feature.

Brian Stelfreeze, one of the original Gaijin Studios members, is a multi-talented artist, with experience and credits penciling, inking, coloring, painting, and even writing. His comic book covers have gained him much attention and lauding, and his run painting covers on DC Comics’ Shadow of the Bat for over 50 issues is noteworthy by itself. Brian’s creative output can be found on BOOM! Studios’ Day Men, Marvel Comics’ Black Panther, and be sure to pick up BOOM! Studios’ The Signature Art of Brian Stelfreeze to get a definitive look at the works of his publishing career.

Billy Tucci is an award-winning cartoonist best known for his modern-day samurai fable, Shi. Through Billy’s Crusade Fine Arts, the multi-Eisner Award-nominated Shi has been printed in five languages and sold more than 3 million comic books. He has also worked on a litany of projects for DC Comics, including Sgt. Rock, Harley Quinn, Flash Vs. Superman, and Batman. His earnest retelling of the Christmas story, A Child Is Born, has quietly turned into an international blockbuster after winning the Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year Award. 2021 celebrates Billy’s 27th Anniversary in comics with the release of the Shi: Return of the Warrior, Shi: Haikyo, and the Shi: Omnibus Vol. 1. He also illustrated Wonder Woman: Angel of Battle for DC Comics and wrote the comics return of June Tarpe’ Mills’ golden age icon, Miss Fury for Dynamite Entertainment.

2021 GUESTS

This year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Tom Akel (Stan Lee’s Backchannel, courtesy of Rocketship Entertainment), Chris Bachalo (Non-Stop Spider-Man), Art Baltazar (Big Alien Moon Crush), Marty Baumann (Disney/Pixar), John Beatty (Secret Wars), Carolyn Belefski (Curls), Brian Michael Bendis (Action Comics), Ziggy Blumenthal (Operation Pajama Pants), Russ Braun (The Boys), Brett Breeding (Superman), Reilly Brown (Deadpool), Greg Burnham (Tuskegee Heirs), Jim Calafiore (Welcome to Megalopolis), Chris Campana (The Adventures of Parker Reef), Castillo Studios, Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Becky Cloonan (Dark Agnes), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Steve Conte (Action Figure Kingdom), Katie Cook (Nothing Special), Jamie Cosley (Light Side), Kristina Deak-Linsner (Vampirella: Roses for the Dead), J. Robert Deans (Crass Fed), John Dell (Lobo, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Vito Delsante (Stray), Todd Dezago (Perhapanauts), Jason Douglas (Parallel, courtesy of Source Point Press), Charles C. Dowd (Lilith Dark), Ryan Dunlavey (M.O.D.O.K. Reign Delay), Garth Ennis (The Boys, Friday and Saturday only), Trish Forstner (My Little Pony), Franco (The Ghost, The Owl), Bob Frantz (Metalshark Bro), John Gallagher (Max Meow: Cat Crusader), Kami Garcia (Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity), Mitch Gerads (Mr. Miracle), Joe Giella (Green Lantern), Mike Gold (Green Arrow), Michael Golden (Micronauts), Jimmy Gownley (Amelia Rules!), Dawn Griffin (Zorphbert & Fred), Laura Lee Gulledge (Page by Paige), Gene Ha (Mae), Scott Hanna (Icon and Rocket), Dean Haspiel (The Red Hook), Glenn Hauman (They Keep Killing Glenn), Mike Hawthorne (Happiness Will Follow), Marc Hempel (The Sandman), Jamal Igle (Wrong Earth), Klaus Janson (Daredevil, Saturday only), Dave Johnson (The Good wiAsian), Chris Kemple (Artist Alley Comics), Tom King (Batman), Scott Koblish (Deadpool, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Leeanne M. Krecic (Let’s Play, courtesy of Rocketship Entertainment), Robert Lemieux (Life in the Comics), Joseph Michael Linsner (Red Sonja), Howard Mackie (Ghost Rider: Return of Vengeance), Chris Mariano (Claire Lost Her Bear At The World’s Fair), Mark Mariano (Far Out Firehouse), Whitney Matheson (Pandemix: Quarantine Comics in the Age of ‘Rona), Ian McGinty (Adventure Time), Bob McLeod (New Mutants), Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Frank Miller (Dark Knight III: The Master Race, Saturday only), Karl Moline (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Mark Morales (The Next Batman: Second Son), Trevor Mueller (Albert the Alien), Josh Neufeld (A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge), Jamar Nicholas (Leon: Protector of the Playground), Jerry Ordway (The Power of Shazam), James Pascoe (Azrael), Andrew Pepoy (Simone & Ajax), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Brandon Peterson (Sinestro: Year of the Villain), Khoi Pham (Star Wars: Crimson Reign), Andy Price (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic), Christopher Priest (Black Panther, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Joe Quesada (Daredevil), Tom Raney (Guardians of the Galaxy), Amy Reeder (Wonder Woman: Black and Gold), Afua Richardson (Omni), Andrew Robinson (Halo), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Jennifer Rouse (Frankenstein Mobster), Craig Rousseau (The Perhapanauts), Alex Saviuk (Web of Spider-Man), Stuart Sayger (Army of Darkness: 1979), Gregg Schigiel (SpongeBob Comics), Chris Schweizer (The Six Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton), Doc Shaner (Strange Adventures), Jim Shooter (Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars), Matt Slay (Equilibrium), John K. Snyder III (Killers), Mika Song (Donut Feed the Squirrels), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), Brian Stelfreeze (Black Panther), Paul D. Storrie (Storm Kids: Stanley’s Ghost), Arthur Suydam (Merc with a Mouth), Martha Thomases (Dakota North), Peter Tomasi (Batman and Robin), Ben Towle (Four-Fisted Tales: Animals in Combat), Tim Townsend (Non-Stop Spider-Man), Timothy Truman (Grimjack), Billy Tucci (Shi), Fred Van Lente (Action Philosophers), Brian K. Vaughan (Saga, Friday and Saturday only), Emilio Velez Jr. (The Dodgeball Teens), Robert Venditti (Hawkman), Mark Waid (Dr. Strange), Lee Weeks (Batman/Catwoman Special), Mark Wheatley (Songs of Giants), Emily S. Whitten (The Underfoot), Matt Wieringo (Stargate Atlantis: Gateways), Keith Williams (Thor the Worthy), Marcus Williams (Tuskegee Heirs), Renee Witterstaetter (Guardians of the Galaxy), Javier Cruz Winnik (Puerto Rico Strong), Rich Woodall (Electric Black), Gene Luen Yang (Superman Smashes the Klan), Kelly Yates (Doctor Who), and Thom Zahler (Love and Capes).

Marvel, AAM-Markosia, Yen Press, and Harlequin all deliver New Releases on comiXology

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There’s 13 new releaes on comiXology right now from Marvel, AAM-Markosia, Yen Press, and Harlequin. You can get shopping now or check out the individual releases below.

Marvel Weddings

Written by John Byrne, Gerry Conway, Steve Englehart, Stan Lee, David Michelinie, Fabian Nicieza, Jim Shooter, Roy Thomas
Art by Rich Buckler, John Buscema, Sal Buscema, John Byrne, Jack Kirby, Andy Kubert, Paul Ryan, Joe Staton
Cover by John Romita Sr.
Purchase

Collects Fantastic Four (1961) #150 And Annual #3, Incredible Hulk (1964) #319, Avengers (1963) #59-60, 127, Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21, X-Men (1991) #30. Reed and Sue, heart and soul of Marvel’s First Family of Super Heroes. Peter and Mary Jane, the spider and the supermodel. Scott and Jean, childhood sweethearts sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them. Bruce and Betty, the beauty and the beast. Break out the tissues, True Believer: The House of Ideas cordially invites you to celebrate the history-making nuptials of its greatest couples in this keepsake edition! From the Fantastic Four to Spider-Man to the X-Men, with a few surprises in between, this commemorative volume proves the power of love can overcome all odds

Marvel Weddings

New Invaders: To End All Wars

Written by Allan Jacobsen
Art by Jorge Lucas, C.P. Smith
Cover by Scott Kolins
Purchase

Collects New Invaders (2004) #1-9. Soldiers, super heroes, sentinels of liberty since the Second World War – they’re the Invaders, and they’re back! In 1941, the greatest heroes of the day united to battle the Axis powers. Today, the Invaders have reunited to combat the Axis Mundi, a global terrorist network born from the ashes of the Third Reich. Beyond borders, beneath the seas and behind enemy lines, they hunt the hidden terrors that threaten civilization!

New Invaders: To End All Wars

Rogue: Forget-Me-Not

Written by Tony Bedard
Art by Derec Donovan, Karl Moline
Cover by Scot Eaton
Purchase

Collects Rogue (2004) #7-12. A bold new direction for the Southern Belle! Rogue may be a hero now, but once upon a time she wasn’t so sweet…and that criminal past may just come back to haunt her! A traumatic encounter will leave her drastically changed…permanently!

Rogue: Forget-Me-Not

Sabretooth: Open Season

Written by Daniel Way
Art by Mark Pennington, Bart Sears
Cover by Paolo Rivera
Purchase

Collects Sabretooth (2004) #1-4. The most brutal villain in the Marvel Universe returns! But has he gone too far this time? Did Sabretooth destroy an entire island of innocent humans? And what will happen when the U.S. Military tries to bring him down? Will they succeed – or pay the ultimate price?

Sabretooth: Open Season

So I’m a Spider, So What? #52.2

Written by Okina Baba
Art by Asahiro Kakashi
Purchase

Read the next chapter of So I’m a Spider, So What? on all digital platforms!

So I'm a Spider, So What? #52.2

The Last Magician #3

Written by Sean Meighen
Art by Thien Uncage
Purchase

Still grappling with his newfound destiny as the legendary Last Magician, Christian soon faces his first challenge when he is abducted by the demonic Shadow People. Will Christian be able to defeat the dark entities and escape with his life, or will his first adventure as Rookwood’s sworn protector also be his last?

The Last Magician #3

The Last Mundane #2

Written by Jorge Perez Bucheli
Art by Jorge Perez Bucheli
Purchase

Alliances are put to the test during Adam and his friends’ long journey to Nuke City, only to discover that there is no single safe place on their way to their final destination. Meanwhile, a lurid menace begins to take shape, led by dark forces and threatening to establish a new world order!

The Last Mundane #2

Monument #4

Written by Richard Perry
Art by RH Stewart
Purchase

As Nicole and DCI Venn seek out to solve the string of murders in East London, they both find different clues that lead them to who is responsible. Nicole seeks advise from her mentors whilst Venn visits an old enemy that he believes holds the key to all the answers.

Monument #4

Possession #5

Written by Michael Norwitz, Mary Ann Vaupel
Art by Enrico Carnevale
Purchase

“All this has happened before, and all this will happen again.” This issue turns away from the usual Possession cast for a tale of times past, in which the 1940’s heroes Shaman & Flame share a turbulent romance and confront the two-faced Head of Janus in a tragedy on the border of reality!

Possession #5

A Scandalous Proposal #2

Written by Julia Justiss
Art by Misao Hoshiai
Purchase

Emily finally realizes her love for Evan, which has liberated her. But he has to marry the sister of his best friend. A big hurdle is now standing between the two, and because she loves him, Emily decides to leave Evan…and return to the high society that she abandoned years ago?

A Scandalous Proposal #2

Another Time

Written by Susan Napier
Art by Jun Togashi
Purchase

Helen is being fitted for her wedding dress when her fiancé’s brother, Alexander Knight, suddenly appears. He stares at Helen with his ardent black eyes and asks her, “Have you forgotten that night in Hong Kong five years ago?” What is he talking about? She’s never met him before! But there are blank spots in Helen’s memory due to a past illness… Is there a secret between the two of them hidden in her lost memories?

Another Time

Claiming My Bride Of Convenience

Written by Kate Hewitt
Art by Imeri Tsubakino
Purchase

Daisy, a poor waitress, decided to marry multimillionaire Matteo after they met by chance. Matteo needed a wife in order to take over his grandfather’s company and he assured her the marriage would be for two years only. However, three years have gone by now and Daisy is still married! Exasperated, she asks Matteo for a divorce. But she’s shocked when he proposes that they make their relationship real. He’s never so much as looked at her in the past three years, and now he wants a real marriage?

Claiming My Bride Of Convenience

Conveniently Engaged To The Boss

Written by Ellie Darkins
Art by Tomoko Takakura
Purchase

Eva is the secretary for the president of a high-end department store. One day, the son of the president asks her to pretend to be his fiancée to comfort his father, who’s suffering from cancer. She agrees to do it, since she’s fond of his father. In order to keep up appearances, they stay at a hotel together and even choose an engagement ring. Immersed in their new pretend life, the lines start to blur between what’s fake and what’s real…

Conveniently Engaged To The Boss

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Baltimore Comic Con 2020 Welcomes Award-Winners Cliff Chiang, Jamal Igle, David Petersen, Don Rosa, Joe Staton, and Mark Waid

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Cliff Chiang

Join us for the 21st annual Baltimore Comic-Con in the Inner Harbor at the Baltimore Convention Center on October 23-25, 2020. The Baltimore Comic-Con features many comics luminaries, including industry award winners Cliff Chiang, Jamal Igle, David Petersen, Don Rosa, Joe Staton, and Mark Waid! VIP, General Admission, and Fan Experience Tickets are now on sale.

Cliff Chiang began his career as an assistant editor at DC’s Vertigo imprint before moving into freelance illustration. His previous work includes runs on Human Target, Green Arrow & Black Canary, Wonder Woman with Brian Azzarello, and the Eisner Award-winning Paper Girls, co-created with Brian K. Vaughan. Cliff is currently writing and drawing a book for DC’s Black Label.

Jamal Igle

A recipient of the 2011 Inkpot Award for Outstanding Achievement in Comic Art, Jamal Igle is the writer/artist/creator of Molly Danger for Action Lab Entertainment. The co-creator of Venture with Dynamo 5 creator/writer Jay Faerber and the penciller/co-creator of The Wrong Earth for AHOY Comics, Jamal is a comic industry veteran. Jamal’s detailed pencils have graced books as varied as The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas and the all ages action miniseries Race Against Time, as well as mainstream hits such as G.I. Joe, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Green Lantern. Jamal has served as the series artist for popular runs on Firestorm the Nuclear Man, Nightwing, Tangent: Superman’s Reign, Superman, Supergirl, and Zatanna for DC Comics, Noble Causes for Image Comics, and a four-issue run on New Warriors for Marvel Comics. He’s done just about everything from acting on the small screen and voiceovers for commercials, packaging books for Scholastic, and serving as storyboards artist for Roughnecks: Starship Trooper Chronicles and Max Steel: MX1 for Sony Animation. Jamal is also a popular guest lecturer on the subjects of comics and animation. Currently, Jamal is working on White, the sequel to the hit series Black from Black Superpowers/Black Mask Studios, coming late Summer 2019.

David Petersen

David Petersen is a cartoonist and children’s book illustrator who launched his career with a self-published issue of his series Mouse Guard in 2005, when it was then picked up by Archaia, who continues to publish the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning series. Petersen has also worked on covers for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Dark Crystal. He’s illustrated an edition of Kenneth Grahame’s Wind in the Willows for IDW and his artwork also graced the cover for the 2012 Baltimore Comic-Con program, as well as the show-exclusive t-shirt. In 2008, David won the Eisners for Best Publication for Kids (Mouse Guard Fall 1152 & Winter 1152) and Best Graphic Album – Reprint (Mouse Guard Fall 1152 Hardcover). In 2010, he was nominated for a Harvey Award for Best Artist (Mouse Guard: Winter 1152).

Don Rosa

Eisner Award-winning Don Rosa can hardly be mentioned without evoking images of Walt Disney’s Donald Duck, Scrooge McDuck, and the rest of the Duck family. Heir apparent to Carl Barks as the Duck master, he was responsible for approximately 90 stories before his retirement from working with Disney in 2006. You can see his beautiful contributions in IDW’s Don Rosa’s The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, Vol.1: Artist’s Edition.

Joe Staton

Joe Staton has been drawing comics since he started working for Charlton Comics in 1971, where he co-created E-Man and Michael Mauser. Though the bulk of his work has been for DC Comics, at last count, Staton has worked for at least 30 publishers and 100 different editors. Among his many comics credits are Action Comics, Green Lantern, The Legion, Classics Illustrated, and various incarnations of Batman. During his time on Green Lantern, he co-created several GLs, including Kilowog, Arisia, and Salakk. He also designed GL Guy Gardner’s “bad boy” look. More recently, with his writer-wife Hilarie, he produces medical comics such as Pete Learns All About Crohn’s and Colitis and Amy Goes Gluten-Free. In 1998, he received the Eisner Award for his work on World’s Finest: The Superman-Batman Adventures. He penciled over 100 issues of the Cartoon Network’s Scooby Doo comic. He illustrated a graphic novel adaptation of Ayn Rand’s Anthem for NAL and a graphic biography of Ronald Reagan. Since 2011, working with writer Mike Curtis, Joe has been the regular artist for the long-running Dick Tracy newspaper strip (available online). Dick Tracy received Harvey Awards in 2013, 2014, and 2015 for Best Syndicated Strip or Feature.

Mark Waid

The multiple Harvey and Eisner Award-winning Mark Waid has been the voice behind dozens of series that have resonated throughout comics fandom and the creative community alike. His more acclaimed runs include DC Comics’ The Flash, Kingdom Come, JLA: Year One, JLA, Legion of Super-Heroes, and Superman: Birthright, Marvel Comics’ Captain America, Fantastic Four, Amazing Spider-Man, The Indestructible Hulk, and Daredevil, BOOM! Studios’ Incorruptible and Irredeemable, Archie Comics’ Archie, and his creator-owned works Empire and Potter’s Field. He currently serves as Publisher (U.S.) at Humanoids.

In addition to on-site CGC grading, this year’s confirmed guests for the show include: Marty Baumann (Disney/Pixar), John Beatty (Secret Wars), Brian Michael Bendis (Action Comics), Brett Breeding (Superman), Mark Buckingham (Justice League Dark), Howard Chaykin (Hey Kids! Comics!), Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls), Frank Cho (Harley Quinn), Becky Cloonan (Dark Agnes), Steve Conley (The Middle Age), Katie Cook (Nothing Special), Alan Davis (Tarot, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Shane Davis (Metal Men), Kristina Deak-Linsner (Vampirella: Roses for the Dead), Jose Delbo (Aquaman), Garth Ennis (The Boys, Friday and Saturday only), Mitch Gerads (Mr. Miracle), Joe Giella (Green Lantern), Greg Hildebrandt (Wolverine), Jamal Igle (Wrong Earth), Tom King (Batman), Barry Kitson (Doctor Strange), Scott Kolins (The Flash, courtesy of Hero Initiative), Joseph Michael Linsner (Red Sonja), Bob McLeod (New Mutants), Carla Speed McNeil (Finder), Frank Miller (Dark Knight III: The Master Race, Saturday only), Terry Moore (Strangers in Paradise), Richard Pace (Second Coming), James Pascoe (Azrael), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Brandon Peterson (Sinestro: Year of the Villain), Tom Raney (Guardians of the Galaxy), Amy Reeder (Amethyst), Afua Richardson (Omni), Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge), Louise Simonson (Power Pack), Walter Simonson (Ragnarok: The Breaking of Helheim), John K. Snyder III (Killers), Joe Staton (Dick Tracy), Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother), Timothy Truman (Grimjack), Gus Vazquez (Scooby Apocalypse), Robert Venditti (Hawkman), Mark Waid (Dr. Strange), Gene Luen Yang (Superman Smashes the Klan), and Thom Zahler (Love and Capes).

Review: Fallen Angels

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Sunspot has hurt his best friend and runs away from school and his fellow New Mutants meeting fellow runaways, the Fallen Angels! This trade collects Fallen Angels #1-8.

Story: Jo Duffy
Art: Kerry Gammil, Marie Severin, Joe Staton
Ink: Tom Palmer, Val Mayerik, Tony Dezuniga
Color: Petra Scotese
Letterer: Jim Novak, Bill Oakley, L.P. Gregory

Get your copy in comic shops now and on book shops on December 10! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Amazon (Hardcover)
Amazon (Paperback)
Kindle/comiXology
TFAW

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and make a purchase, we’ll receive a percentage of the sale. Graphic Policy does purchase items from this site. Making purchases through these links helps support the site

Preview: Family Man

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Family Man

Jerome Charyn (w) • Joe Staton (a & c)

Two brothers: one, a man of God; the other, a man of the Mob. In a city on the edge of chaos, they’ll do anything to survive. The story begins in New York City… one hour into the future. Crime runs rampant, rogue cops patrol the rubble-strewn streets, predatory gangs steal anything that isn’t nailed down, and the once powerful mafia Dons cower in fear in their tenement prisons. Someone is killing the mob chieftains one by one, and the last survivors call on Alonzo, the Family Man, to hunt down the murderer. But it won’t be easy—not when Alonzo’s own brother Charles, the gun-toting Monsignor of the corruption-ridden New York City police department, is a prime suspect.

HC • B&W • $39.99 • 300 pages • ISBN: 978-1-68405-452-7

Family Man

It’s Alive! Will Publish Doug Moench’s Aztec Ace: The Complete Collection. Back it on Kickstarter

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IDW Publishing’s It’s Alive! imprint has announced plans to publish the first-ever collection of the time-traveling Indy cult comic book hit from the 1980s, Aztec Ace! In support of the project, It’s Alive has launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, which can be found at:

Aztec Ace: The Complete Collection will be a 500+ page, action-packed, intellectual, time-travel adventure starring a citizen of the original Aztec Empire named Caza (AKA Ace). Traveling between the ancient world and the 23rd century, Ace – along with his pupil Bridget Chronopolis and his navigator, the floating disembodied head of Sigmund Freud – struggles to save his own dimension from time paradoxes created by his enemy, the mysterious Nine-Crocodile.

Aztec Ace was originally created and written by legendary Batman scribe and Moon Knight creator Doug Moench, edited by Cat Yronwode, and illustrated by a host of talented artists including Dan Day, Michael Hernandez, Ron Harris, and Thomas Yeates.

This collection will mark the first time the original issues of Aztec Ace have seen print in any form since their original publication in 1984 by Eclipse Comics. This project also marks It’s Alive! publisher Drew Ford’s return to large-format, all-encompassing collections, such as The Puma Blues by Stephen Murphy and Michael Zulli, and U.S.S. Stevens: The Collected Stories by Sam Glanzman, both Eisner Award nominees. Ford has launched a Kickstarter campaign to cover the costs of development, which include a new foreword, intro, and cover, plus the digital scans and restoration of all 15 original issues.

To help meet the funding goals (and stretch goals), the Kickstarter will be offering exclusive, one-of-a-kind Aztec Ace sketches from some of the top talents in comics today! Superstar artists including Bill Sienkiewicz, Paul Pope, Jeff Lemire, Michael Avon Oeming, Kelley Jones, Joe Staton, and more have already created Aztec Acesketches, which will become available for purchase at different times during the campaign!

Stretch Goals include a cover gallery of all original 15 covers from the series, a sketch gallery of all the one-of-a-kind Aztec Ace sketches, an Aztec Ace short story written by Doug Moench and illustrated by Tim Sale, and the publication of a never-before-seen 52-page Aztec Acescript by Doug Moench.

The campaign also offers Early Bird Specials on PDFs, books, t-shirts, and even original pages of Aztec Ace art by Dan Day! These Specials will only be available until June 6th!

It’s Alive! to Publish Family Man by Jerome Charyn and Joe Staton

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Many years ago, DC Comics launched a non-superhero, non-science fiction, and non-fantasy imprint called Paradox Press, which produced such popular titles as Road to Perdition and A History of Violence.

One of the titles published by Paradox Press was an almost 300 page graphic novel (originally published as a three issue mini-series), entitled Family Man by Jerome Charyn and Joe Staton.

Family Man is set in the near future, when New York is a ruined city, the police are out of control and the Mafia families have all been wiped out. THE FAMILY MAN is Alonzo, haunted by the murder of his wife and children. His brother Charles is the leader of the police force and is coming ever closer to total power in the city. When Charles orders a round-up of all “criminal” elements into a makeshift prison camp, the various plots start to come apart and only Alonzo can save the city.

With the help of Eisner award-winning editor and designer Jon B. Cooke, It’s Alive! will take what was originally published in three digest-sized square bound comic books, and transform it all into a 300+ page, black and white, 8.25″ x 11″, hard cover graphic novel, with well researched historical essays about the creators, the imprint the comics originally came from, and the story itself.  A Kickstarter to help them raise the funds to publish this epic tale will be announced very soon!  Along with the ability to pick up a copy of the book itself, fans will have a shot at obtaining a page of Family Man original art, from the small handful of pages that Joe Staton will be making available. There will also be more original artwork and sketch rewards, donated by several incredible artists, including: Larry Hama, Paul Gulacy, Jamal Igle, Mark Wheatley, Timothy Truman, Batton Lash, Alex Saviuk, Scott Kolins, Rick Burchett, Ron Frenz, and many more!

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