Celebrate the amazing feminal strengths of Princess Diana of Themyscira this weekend to benefit Domestic Violence Awareness month. This Sunday, October 25th, two comics shops in Portland, Oregon and Fleminton, New Jersey are raising money for the cause through awesome festivities and Wonder Woman silent art auctions. Don’t worry, you don’t have to live on either coast to participate, you can bid online by proxy up until tomorrow at midnight EST.

IMPACT authors Scott Tipton and Chris Ryall write at length about the Amazon princess on their website, www.comics101.com, and in their introductory guide to comics, Comic Books 101. Check ‘em out!

IMPACT had another great year at the San Diego Comic-Con last week. Many authors did book signings at our booth, and it was great to spend time with them: Scape Martinez (GRAFF); Chris Ryall and Scott Tipton (Comic Books 101); Randy Martinez (Creature Features); Harry Hamernik (Face Off and Cartoonimals); Brian and Kristy Miller (Hi-Fi Color for Comics); Peter David (Writing for Comics and Graphic Novels with Peter David, Revised); and Andy Schmidt (The Insider’s Guide to Creating Comics).

Many authors also had their own tables or booths, such as Stephanie Pui-Mun Law (Dreamscapes), and many participated in our IMPACT University panel on How to Write and Draw Comics and Graphic Novels along with Comics Buyer’s Guide editor Maggie Thompson.

As Editorial Director of IMPACT, for me, the con was filled with scouting authors, promoting IMPACT, noting trends and absorbing as much as I can about the entertainment and comics industries (despite its name, this convention is not just about comics—it’s popular entertainment of all sorts). There were lots of panels, including many how-to art sessions, and it was great to see what’s coming up from the plethora of creators and publishers represented in all of the popular styles IMPACT covers. Lots of new ideas and contacts I’m excited to follow up on—a great time!

Pam Wissman, Editorial Director

IMPACT Books

ArtistsNetwork.tv

North Light Books

Going to San Diego for this year’s Comic-Con? You’re not alone. Once again the show is sold out. But for those of you lucky enough to score some tickets, make sure you swing by the IMPACT Books booth to see what your favorite IMPACT authors are up to. Here’s our entire schedule of events, so you won’t miss a thing:

Thursday, 7/23

11:00 a.m.

Harry Hamernik, author of Face Off and Cartoonimals

1:00 p.m.

Chris Ryall and Scott Tipton, authors of Comics 101

2:00 p.m.

Randy Martinez, author of Creature Features

Friday, 7/24

11:00 a.m.

Andy Schmidt, author of the Insider’s Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels

12:00 p.m.

Kristy and Brian Miller, authors of Hi-Fi Color for Comics

1:00 p.m.

Peter David, author of Writing for Comics and Graphic Novels

3:00 p.m., Room 30CDE

IMPACT University: How to Write and Draw Comics, Graphic Novels, Manga and Fantasy!

Saturday, 7/25

11:00 a.m.

Scape Martinez, author of Graff

1:00 p.m.

Peter David, author of Writing for Comics and Graphic Novels

2:00 p.m.

Kristy and Brian Miller, authors of Hi-Fi Color for Comics

3:00 p.m.

Harry Hamernik, author of Face Off and Cartoonimals

3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Portfolio Review Area

Pam Wissman, IMPACT Book’s Editorial Director, Portfolio Reviews

IDW Publishing released G.I. Joe: Best of Larry Hama last week. Sweet. I love G.I. Joe for oh so many reasons, but here are my top three:

1. The Crimson Guard commanders Tomax and Xamot. To this day, whenever I experience a sudden, random ache or pain I instantly wonder if I have a twin who’s under attack somewhere.
2. I learned how to tread water thanks to Torpedo and one of the awesome PSAs. 
3. Lady Jaye (I always wanted to be her.)

A cool footnote, IMPACT author Chris Ryall (Comic Books 101) is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of IDW Publishing. Check out his blog, Ryalltime.

And of course, I have to conclude this post with a link to the trailer for the G.I. Joe movie.

Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.  

I don’t have an iphone, but get jazzed with every new app I hear about. I want that virtual level tool (just because I like watching the bubble move), and it would rock to have the app to help me figure out what song that is that I keep hearing on the radio. 

Now there’s a brand new app on the market, and it fits in just perfectly with what we do here at IMPACT… talk about comics! This app–Comicstrips–is for reading comics on the go, and newsarama.com has an exclusive interview with its creator in it’s brainstorming digital comics blog.

Check it out, then take your own comic strips history lesson with Chris Ryall and Scott Tipton’s book, Comic Books 101–where you’ll explore the humble beginnings of the comic book, all the way through to the popularity of today’s comic-based blockbuster films. 

Newsarama.com posted a review of Comic Books 101: The History, Methods, and Madness by Chris Ryall and Scott Tipton today. Check it out here. The review lists Chris and Scott’s web site as comicbooks101.com, but their web site actually is comics101.com. Check them out here.

Writing for Comics & Graphic Novels with Peter David and The Insider’s Guide to Creating Comics and Graphic Novels by Andy Schmidt also get a nod of approval in the review.

Comic Books 101 will be available June 5. You can preorder it here on Amazon.

Comic Books Resources wrote this little ditty about the upcoming Comic Books 101 by Scott Tipton and Chris Ryall. IMPACT’s sweet new guide on the history of comics hits shelves mid-May. We’ll keep you posted!