Dear locals (of Cincinnati and surrounding areas),
It’s time to get excited about a new event: the Cincinnati Comic Expo. As Cincinnati has witnessed over the years, it is hard work to keep comic conventions up and running (we’ve had only a handful in the past ten-fifteen years). So it’s time to show support and try to keep this one around. The event is scheduled for September 18, 2010.
IMPACT may not have a booth (this year), but our editors will be all over trying to take in all of the action, like any other comic fanatics.
Oh, we must not forget the best part! Michael Uslan (Batman executive producer) and Allen Bellman (Artist for Captain America, The Patriot, The Destroyer,etc.) will be there; as well as many board games, costume contests and comic signings.
Click the image below for further information.
Here’s a little visual journey through the IMPACT team’s day at Gen Con. We saw some awesome artists, including our friend Jim Pavelec, who made Hell Beasts, InkBloom (with Chris Seaman) and Wreaking Havoc(with Chuck Lukacs, Thomas Manning, Christo) for IMPACT; had a great time browsing the vendors (possibly bought some furry tails); and loved the costume dance (which we have video of below).
We here at IMPACT have been passing this link around. It’s ICv2′s Comic-Con wrap-up focusing on the trends and takeaways from the convention. The pop culture blog names off-site elements, the Tokykopop Tour bus, the presence of non-comic TV shows, kids (as in young people/children), the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund party and more as memorable facets of this year’s Comic-Con. Read the whole article here and learn who they think the four big “media winners” were. Hint: one of them is Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.
Well, we’re packing up and road-tripping it to lovely Indianapolis, Indiana for Gen Con from August 5-8!
Gen Con, “the best four days in gaming,” is the longest running gaming convention in the world. With more than 28,000 attendees last year, this year promises the same kind of exciting art exhibits, jaw-dropping costumes, opportunities to interact with gaming industry professionals, and sneak peeks of the latest in games and gaming technology. You’ll even have the opportunity to play your heart out with fellow gaming enthusiasts.
Events include an Anime Rooters Room, art shows, Asian film screenings, a Gen Con-wide costume contest, a Pajama Jammy Jam dance, an eGame arena, live music, belly dancers, film-making seminars, writer symposiums and more (including non-gamer activities for friends and spouses who get sucked into attending Gen Con against their will).
Guests of honor include artist Tom Baxa, author Elizabeth Vaughan (best-selling author of Chronicles of the Warlands series), a slew of professional game testers and designers, cast members of “The Guild,” and champion of Geek culture, Wil Wheaton.
IMPACT author Steve Ellis and his High Moon collaborators David Gallaher and Scott O. Brown have won a 2009 Harvey Award for best online comics work. The prestigious award ceremony, named after comic great Harvey Kurtzman, was held Saturday at the Baltimore Comic-Con.
Steve won’t have time to rest on his laurels anytime soon. He has a new intrigue-style comic called Box 13 coming out for the iPhone this week, and he’s working on a Marvel Winter Guard project, due out this December. If you’re in the Brooklyn area this Saturday, stop by Bergen Street Comics for a High Moon and Scream book signing.
Happy Friday everyone! We’re wrapping up the week with a fourth installment of super-awesome designer Wendy Dunning’s exploits at Mid-Ohio-Con:
With a Little Help from Your Friends Comic Art Collaboratives and Groups
I found that Columbus has a couple of groups of folks that get together to share their art with each other. One of these is Sunday Comix, founded by Max Ink. Sunday Comix meets once a month (on a Sunday) so that members can share works in progress and get feedback. It’s open to artists, writers and readers. Their website is www.sundaycomix.blogspot.com. They are sponsoring Comix from the Crypt, a haunting art show of member’s works, now through the end of the month of October. A couple of members are pictured here.
Also in Columbus is a group called PANEL. This is a writers and artists collaborative that publishes anthologies with Ferret Press. The anthologies come out twice a year, with the current one being number 14, PANEL of Horror. I stopped to talk to Brent Bowman, who did the cover art for PANEL of Horror.
Q: How long have you been doing this?
A: So long, I can’t remember. But more in the last 4 years since I’ve been with PANEL.
Brent is working on a comic called Allied Powers (www.alliedpowerscomic.com). The writer is Craig Bogart, who has his own comic called The Ineffables (www.theineffables.com). I picked up a couple of issues of both. The Ineffables is kooky fun from the two issues I’ve read so far, and I have not yet broken into Allied Powers.
The moral of the story: hook up with some of your comic buds to keep the comics dream alive.
Here’s a book by some comic artists that work together: Wreaking Havoc. Written by Jim Pavalec, Chris Seaman, Chuck Lukacs and Thomas Manning, this book shows you how to draw the characters and creatures that wreak havoc and their weapons of destruction. And if October has you in the mood for some horror, check out Jim Pavalec’s Hell Beastsor Steve Ellis’sScream.
Fellow IMPACTians, wait no more. Today we bring you badass designer Wendy Dunning’s third installment about her adventures at Mid-Ohio-Con last weekend in Columbus, Ohio:
Lots of folks think small press publications when they think indie comics, but nothing is more independent than putting the entire thing together yourself. That’s what Ryan Claytor does with his autobiographical series And Then One Day. This is no straight-up autobiography; rather than Ryan telling the story of his life, he asked his friends to do the work and then translated that into comic form. Check the series out on Ryan’s website www.elephanteater.com. It’s a great site, and you can preview samples from his books as well as order them and other assorted goodies.
I first saw Ryan in San Diego at the 2008 Comic-Con, and with this con being a little less crazy, I stopped to ask him a few questions:
Q: When did you know you wanted to do these comics?
A: It was shortly after college. I’d collected comics as a kid, but just kind of forgot about them. Then a friend asked for a ride to a comic store, and I just got inspired again, especially by the work of Sergio Aragonés. Then I did an internship with Marvel, and I’ve been doing my own stuff for about 5 years.
Cincinnati Comic Expo Poster
