Comic Book Resources

The Hero Initiative needs your Ed Hannigan art

The Hero Initiative is putting together an art exhibit featuring the work of Ed Hannigan, whose work was featured in and on comics like Green Arrow, The Defenders, Superman, Batman and Spectacular Spider-Man, among others. They're looking to borrow any original art for the exhibit from Dec. 15 through April 30; if you own any, contact Jim McLauchlin at jmclauch@aol.com.

Wolverine: Weapon X 100 covers up for bid at eBay

by Josh Medors

Several pieces of original art from The Hero Initiative's Wolverine: Weapon X 100 Project are available for bidding on eBay ... including this one by Josh Medors, which just looks absolutely incredible. Also pieces from Chris Bachalo, Colleen Coover, Art Adams, John McCrea and several others can be found as well.

Go check'em out and place a bid; it's for a good cause.

The Fifth Color - Marvel Solicitations for Dec '09

Walking into the local Borders bookstore, I noticed that the rack by the front is already starting to stock Christmas cards.  This surprised me as much as seeing the latest and (as always) greatest next event brewing on the horizon for the Marvel U.  Remember, Dark Reign is supposed to be over by the end of the year, so let pick up a pack of Santas and go look at the end of a banner title.

Oh, Dark Reign!  How will miss you!  Your only vaguely reasonable introduction brought us a bevy of brand new teams that make me ponder when Force Works is going to pop up next.  You dismantled SHIELD in favor of his own private army 'HAMMER', an acronym that not only hasn't been explained, but hasn't really done much when you think of all those 'dark' superhero teams at Osborn's disposal.  And they haven't really done much when you consider that Clint Barton ran amuck through Osborn's hand-picked Avengers team in their own base until he got to the God of War.  And Ares.

Really, what has Osborn done for us besides hand out frustration and stalemates and have to use a crappy acronym like GRANPA for a global supernatural/superhuman monitoring organization (like the Weird Happenings Organization wasn't doing anything)?  He's been a fantastic and obnoxiously unbeatable object of hate, a red-haired target for all our heroes as he held are the cards.  Perhaps Spaceballs was right, perhaps evil will always triumph because good is dumb.

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Brevoort trades his way to Fantastic Four #1

Months of effort, 84 trades and more than 500 comics have netted Marvel editor a copy of Fantastic Four #1, which Brevoort will donate to the Hero Initiative so they can auction it off. Check out the video update from Brevoort below:

Brevoort started trading comics in late 2008 with Marvel fans on his Blah Blah Blog on the company's website, all in an effort to see if he could one day get a copy of his holy grail.

"In all honesty, I was beginning to lose hope that we'd ever successfully complete this journey, especially after the previous near-misses," Brevoort wrote on his blog. "And I have to say, the thing that stands out the most for me about this whole Experiment is the vast generosity of Marvel's fans. Not only did most people offer up better books in Trade than what they were asking for, but a number of guys went even further, out-and-out donating items without getting anything in return outside of the feeling of doing something positive. There's no question, Marvel's fans are the best, as this whole experience proves beyond a doubt."

Gene Colan "looking okay" after being hospitalized Monday

The Hero Initiative's Jim McLauchlin reports that comics legend Gene Colan was hospitalized earlier this week due to pneumonia and other issues:

Gene Colan’s wife Adrienne informs us that Gene was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York early in the morning on Monday, Aug. 10 by ambulance.

All is looking okay, and best guess is that Gene might be laid up in hospital for a few days. In fact, steady improvement could get him home by late Wednesday-early Thursday. He has pneumonia in his right lung behind his heart, and possibility of infection of some fluids. Some Encephalopathy-related difficulties may be going on, too.

As positive vibes are always a nice tonic, cards, letters and well-wishes are deeply appreciated, and can be sent to:
Gene Colan
2240 Burnett Street, #5D
Brooklyn, New York 11229

Colan has done numerous prints benefiting the Hero Initiative, which you can find and buy right here. On behalf of everyone at Robot 6, we'd like to wish Gene the best of luck with a speedy recovery.

Update: Clifford Meth offers an update after talking to Colan on the phone.

ComicsLive | A guide to upcoming comic-related events

Sachs & Violens Perfume Oil

Welcome to ComicsLive, a guide to upcoming signings, conventions and other comic-related events. Information on submitting your event can be found at the bottom of this post.

This weekend

Chicago | Mark Millar, Dan Slott, Jason Aaron and more will be at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center for Wizard's Chicago Comic-Con.

A couple of events are occurring in conjunction with the show that are worth noting. There's a charity auction to benefit John Ostrander, who recently underwent surgery for glaucoma. Also, the Hero Initiative has teamed up with George Perez and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab to help con attendees find love. Not only can they improve their personal smell with a new fragrance based on Perez and Peter David's Sachs & Violens comic, but they can also bid on the opportunity to attend a speed dating session hosted by Perez. And it all benefits charity. What could be better?

Robot 6's Michael May attended last night's preview night and will have additional reports all weekend.

Las Vegas | 2009 Star Trek Convention, featuring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Christopher Lloyd, Zachary Quintos and many more.

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ComicsLive | A guide to upcoming comic-related events

Welcome to ComicsLive, a guide to upcoming signings, conventions and other comic-related events. Information on submitting your event can be found at the bottom of this post.

July 17

Multiple cities | Watchmen returns to theaters with additional footage for a limited run in Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas and Minneapolis. Details can be found here.

July 18

Baltimore | Geppi's Entertainment Museum hosts Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology editor Keith Chow, art director Jerry Ma, artist Alex Tarampi and writer Larry Hama from noon to 4p.m. for a presentation, discussion and signing.

Portland | Cosmic Monkey Comics hosts a 24-hour zine challenge beginning at 10 a.m. and ending, naturally, at 10 a.m. the next day.

Jeffrey Brown's Hulk

Puyallup, Wash. | Comic Evolution will host a March of Dimes benefit that includes a silent auction and several artists doing sketches for donations, including Paul Gulacy, Clayton Crain and many more.

San Francisco | Isotope Comics hosts a signing and party for Geoff Johns, writer of Blackest Night, Green Lantern and various other titles. They'll have free buttons and a selection of Lantern Corps. cocktails. The signing begins at 4 p.m. and the 21+ party begins at 7 p.m.

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SDCC '09 | Autographs, sketchbooks and a free T-shirt

San Diego Comic Con starts next Wednesday. NEXT WEDNESDAY. So catch on your sleep before then. But before you tuck yourself in, drop me an email and let me know what you have going on at the con, so I can post it right here.

I've got a lot of stuff in my in-box, so expect these updates to become a little more frequent between now and next week.

Free T-shirts | Greg Rucka and Matthew Southworth will be giving away 50 T-shirts for Stumptown, their long-awaited series from Oni that was announced, I think, two years ago at the con. They'll be giving them away at the Oni panel on Thursday.

Autographs | The SDCC has released their official auotgraph area schedule, which includes signings by James Jean, Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Adam West, Hope Larson, Thomas Jane, the Honky Tonk Man and many more.

Anime | The con folks have also posted the schedule for anime screenings, which they'll be showing late into the night.

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SDCC '09 | Exclusive comic stuff to buy, plus some creator schedules

The San Diego Comic-Con kicks off with Preview Night a week from this Wednesday. If you are a publisher, creator, retailer or any other kind of exhibitor who would like to let folks know about any special plans you have for the show (panels, signing schedules, exclusives, debuts, etc.) drop me an email and I'll run it here.

Also, a reminder: the programming schedule is out, so you can start putting together your to do list. This post at the Daily Cross Hatch, which includes a rundown of what various indie comic creators will be doing at the show, might also be helpful.

Creators | Remember those Colleen Coover Clue drawings Kevin linked to in May? Turns out she's turned them into blank cards and will have them at the show. She'll also have some new buttons.

Creators | Joëlle Jones will have a new sketchbook featuring the seven deadly sins at the show.

Comics | Wildstorm will distribute a free primer on their universe of characters -- Authority, Gen13, etc. -- at the con. Titled This Is WildStorm Universe #0, the book will lay out "where each WildStorm Universe team began, where they are now… and offering a few hints about their future."

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ComicsLive | A guide to next week’s comic-related events

Welcome to ComicsLive, a guide to upcoming signings, conventions and other comic-related events.

If you’d like to submit an event for inclusion, please email them directly to me. Please include the venue, city and state, start time, event details and any related websites where we can send folks for more information. Virtual events, like online creator chats, are also welcome.

July 10

Brooklyn, N.Y. | Michael Kupperman will be signing at Desert Island from 7 to 9 p.m. Details can be found here.

Cleveland | The Screaming TikiCon begins today and runs through July 12. Guests include Todd Dezago, Thom Zahler, Mike Gustovich, Edward James Olmos and more.

North Hollywood | Mastermind, a play written by CBR contributor Michael Patrick Sullivan, kicks off at the Eclectic Company Theatre. More details here.

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ComicsLive | A guide to next week's comic-related events

Welcome to ComicsLive, a guide to upcoming signings, conventions and more. This type of information can sometimes get lost in the archives when it's posted a few weeks or months ahead of time, so we'll be consolidating them into one weekly calendar-esque post every Friday and running reminders at the bottom of Kevin's Comics A.M. posts on the day of the event. Hopefully this will ensure the information is easier to find when you need it.

If you'd like to submit an event for inclusion, please email them directly to me. Please include the venue, city and state, start time, event details and any related websites where we can send folks for more information. Virtual events, like online creator chats, are also welcome.

Today, June 26

Toronto | Pulp Fiction, an art exhibit featuring the works of Marc Bell, Amy Lockhart, Peter Thompson, Seth Scriver and many more Canadian cartoonists, opens at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art. The exhibit kicks off with an opening party tonight at 7 p.m. and runs through Aug. 23. More details can be found here.

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Steve Dillon at Jim Hanley's Universe tonight to benefit the Hero Initiative

Steve Dillon signing

Steve Dillon will be at Jim Hanley's Universe in Manhattan tonight from 6-8 as part of a benefit for the Hero Initiative.

Beginning NOW when you come to our Manhattan location you can buy a raffle ticket to win ORIGINAL STEVE DILLON ART! Steve is generously donating original pages from some of his recent work to this great cause, and you can win one with the purchase of a raffle ticket for only $5.oo! The more tickets you buy, the better your chances are! There is no limit to the amount of raffle tickets you can buy; winners must be present during the drawing (held during the signing) to win prizes. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win some original art from one of the most significant artists working in comics today, all while helping The Hero Initiative!

Oh, but we are not done! For a suggested minimum donation of ONLY $15 you can get an original head-sketch by Steve! Again, all proceeds go to The Hero Initiative, the only charity for helping out creators in need.

Click on the first link up top to check out some of the original art, which features the Punisher, Wolverine, Deadpool and The Boys.

This weekend, it's HeroesCon in Charlotte, N.C.

HeroesCon

HeroesCon starts today and runs through Sunday at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N. C. The convention has a “straight up 100% comics vibe, without all the actors and movie stuff and all that," according to one of the show's organizers, Dustin Harbin. Marvel, DC Comics, BOOM!, AdHouse and Top Shelf will all be exhibiting at the show.

The con will be the first place fans can hear from Mark Bagley about his upcoming run on Justice League, Ed Brubaker on the recent Cap announcement, and Brian Michael Bendis on Avengers both Dark and New. The guest list also includes Chris Claremont, Matt Fraction, Mark Waid, Ethan Van Sciver, Colleen Doran, David Mack, Adam Hughes, Cliff Chiang, Mark Brooks, George Perez, Cully Hamner, Frank Cho, C.B. Cebulski, Roger Langridge, Eric Powell, Roy Thomas, Bill Sienkiewicz, Jonathan Hickman, Scott Wegener, Steve Epting, Dustin Nguyen and many, many more. Find the full list here.

HeroesCon also plays host to Indie Island, where you can meet Jeff Smith, Matt Kindt, Jason Lutes, Paul Maybury, Carla Speed McNeil, David Petersen, Andy Runton, Chris Schweizer, Dean Trippe and Ben Towle, among many others.

Here are some of the highlights (you can find the complete programming schedule here):

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Dave Simons' 'unfinished symphony'

Dave Simons

Dave Simons, who passed away earlier this month, was working on a story for the Hero Initiative's upcoming benefit book Hero Comics before he died. According to Jim McLauchlin, Simon had finished the script but hadn't started drawing it yet -- so they plan to run the script, undrawn, as a tribute to Simons.

"Dave's script will still appear, as part of what will now be a tribute page in the book," the organization's president said. "Hero's Charlie Novinskie, a friend of Dave's, will write a remembrance on that page as well."

The script can also be seen at the Hero Initiative blog.

Hero Initiative book features new stories by Chaykin, Ha and more

Back in March we learned that the Hero Initiative was putting together a benefit book to help raise money for the organization. Not only have they released more information on the contents, but they've also revealed the cover art.

As seen above, one is an Eve cover by J. Scott Campbell, while the other features Grendel by Matt Wagner.

As for the contents, the 32-page comic will include a new American Flagg! story by Howard Chaykin, as well as new stories by Gene Ha, Bill Willingham, David Lloyd and Kaare Andrews. Arthur Adams will recreate three classic Marvel Comics covers, and Hero Initiative beneficiaries such as Gene Colan, Bill Messner-Loebs and Josh Medors will tell their own personal stories and the organization's involvement in their recent struggles.

The book is edited and produced by Scott Dunbier, special projects editor at IDW Publishing, which is donating its publishing services to the project. The book retails for $3.99 and comes out July 29. The Hero Initiative will also have copies at their booth at this year's San Diego Comic Con.