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.
We’ve got some new cover art in our gallery, a link to comicattack.net‘s cool preview/review of Tom Nguyen’sIncredible Comic Book Women, and a link to boingboing.net‘s post about manga master Mark Crilley’s latest, Brody’s Ghost, the first in a series of six graphic novels about, as boingboing puts it, “a disheveled, depressed curbside busker” who meets “Talia, the ghost of a teenage girl who died of cancer five years ago. She senses that Brody possesses a hidden talent, and she convinces him to help her solve a grisly murder.”
It’s a good week for comic book lovers as Marvel is releasing quite a few comics on Wednesday (the 18th). This will be particularly exciting for Spiderman fans, as there are 6 Spiderman comic releases (2 reprints among them).
Now here’s a shocker: Stephen King collaborated with Scott Snyder (another sci-fi author) and Rafael Albuquerque (illustrator) to make a comic book for Marvel Comics! It’s titled American Vampire, and though vampires seem to be everywhere lately, it’s probably worth picking up. It was released last spring, so if anybody knows anything about it or has an opinion, please share!
Based on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s graphic novels about slacker/gamer/guitarist/Canadian Scott Pilgrim, the storyline remains roughly the same. The less-than-buff Pilgrim, played by the always awkward (and Canadian) Michael Cera, has to fight the 7 evil exes of Ramona Flowers, the pixie-ish new girl in town with technicolor hair, to win her heart. Some people are worried that the film adaptation won’t do justice to the source material (when do movies ever, really?), but so far Scott Pilgrim vs. The World has a 79% on Rotten Tomatoes and some pretty decent reviews. Even mainstream media outlets like the Washington Post liked it, calling the film “a romantic comedy that’s based on a comic, but has the sensibility of a video game, the bass lines of an ambitious indie-rock band and the heart of a classic John Hughes teen movie.”
We think the trailer looks pretty darn good and director Edgar Wright, who also directed the hilarious and innovative zombie flick Shaun of the Dead, hasn’t disappointed us yet. Check out the international trailer and a clip from the film below. Do you think Wright will be able to capture O’Malley’s style?
And, if you’re bored, check out the Scott Pilgrim movie site to create your own avatar. And Bryan Lee O’Malley has some cool behind the scenes photos and other Scott Pilgrim stuff on his site radiomaru.com.
IMPACT author Steve Ellis is having a busy month in publishing — he’s got two books hitting the shelves within thirty days.
Book #1: The Harvey Award-winning online comic High Moon illustrated by Steve and written by David Gallaher recently printed in bound graphic novel format. Check out this stylish promo or buy it on Amazon.
Book #2: The ultimate guide to drawing Ellis’s trademark werewolves as well as other vicious, blood-sucking, brain-gobbling creeps appropriately titled Scream. It includes 23 complete step-by-step demos for vampires, witches, zombies, mummies, ghosts and other classic horror characters such as this part bat, part demon WEREBAT:
Or this evil, rotting ZOMBIE PIRATE.
Click on the book cover below to buy a copy online, just in time for Halloween 2009.
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.
According to Entertainment Weekly, an official Twilight Manga from Yen Press is in the works. A pub date is yet to be released, but the novel will feature the artistry of Young Kim and panels are reportedly being reviewed thoroughly by Meyer herself.
The latest EW magazine features finished illustrations of Edward, Bella, and Jacob, as well as more behind-the-scenes on what we can expect. Click here to read a little more about this new development, or pick up your copy of EW today–it hit newsstands July 17.
IMPACT’s newest manga instructional book is coming this Fall to a store near you. With Shojo Fashion Manga Art School you’ll learn all about drawing people, creating great expressions, clothing your characters, and placing people into settings. Everything you need to bring your manga to life.
Cincinnati Comic Expo Poster
