Comic Book Resources

More Con War skirmishes and Con Love treaties

(Yes, I'm enjoying the metaphors. Why do you ask?)

Full-scale warfare between convention promoters isn't universal, believe it or not -- some are giving peace a chance. In addition to the recent arrangement worked out by Heroes Con and Supercon to avoid a date conflict, Emerald City ComiCon's Jim Demonakos tells Robot 6 that following an unavoidable conflict with Orlando's MegaCon the weekend of March 13, 2010, he and MegaCon's Beth Widera collaborated on choosing dates for 2011 so that future overlap could be avoided. "We ended up on the same dates for 2010 and neither of us could move, but we've talked and coordinated and our mutual 2011 dates will not be on each other's dates at all," says Demonakos. "Con planning, always an adventure."

Continue Reading »

Because Legos are for wussies

Hellboy Playmobil

Swedish artist Jakob Westerman has created a set of custom-made Hellboy toys using Playmobil characters. Above are the bad guys — Ilsa, Rasputin, dr. Krönen and Leopold — but there's lots more in the link (go to the "Misc" section). Westerman even made a swell carrying case to hold them all.

(found via The Ephemerist)

SDCC '09 | Dark Horse Comics signings and panels

Dark Horse Comics has a full signing schedule for their booth on all five days of the show, as well as several panels. As Kevin mentioned earlier this week, they'll be formally announcing Rafael Grampá’s Furry Water, and there's also a big super secret announcement involving Gerard Way, Shaun Simon and Becky Cloonan. The trio will sign at the booth about 45 minutes after the Gerard Way panel on Saturday.

No doubt Dark Horse will have all sorts of cool stuff to buy, look at and pick up for free at their booth as well. Check out their complete schedule after the jump.

Continue Reading »

Talking Comics with Tim: Nate Powell

Swallow Me Whole

Nate Powell's Swallow Me Whole is a graphic novel that demands and warrants repeated readings. Released by Top Shelf last year, the publisher describes it as "a love story carried by rolling fog, terminal illness, hallucination, apophenia, insect armies, secrets held, unshakeable faith, and the search for a master pattern to make sense of one’s unraveling." My thanks to Powell for this email interview and his level of candor.

Tim O'Shea: What motivated you to start self-publishing mini-comics at the age of 14?

Nate Powell: Well, I’d been drawing comics with a few friends for a couple of years already. We had many issues of a comic series mapped out, and a friend’s uncle suggested that we finish up each issue and self-publish it. We didn’t really know what that entailed, but soon discovered a few neglected copy machines around town and in my dad’s office. We made 100 copies of the first comic, and they all sold in about two months; we’d never anticipated recovering our expenses, or anyone actually BUYING the books, to be honest. We just wanted to have a comic too, and found the most accessible way to make them. At this time I was already into the punk subculture and had been exposed to people who made zines and released records in much the same manner, but it was not until a few years later when I started writing zines and putting out records that I saw the inherent connections between these two realms of DIY entrepreneurship.

Continue Reading »

Talking Comics with Tim: John Arcudi

B.P.R.D.

John Arcudi has been working in the comic book industry since the mid-1980s. Most recently he has bolstered his fanbase as one of the writers (along with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola) of the various B.P.R.D. miniseries for Dark Horse. I recently caught up with him for a succinct, yet informative and entertaining email interview.

Tim O'Shea: How do you and Mignola break down the writing chores on B.P.R.D.?

John Arcudi: It changes from series to series. Sometimes Mike hands me a loose plot and I flesh it out, sometimes Mike writes some of the series and I write some (that's how we did our first, "The Dead") and sometimes I do most of the writing with some contributions from Mike. There is no standard procedure.

O'Shea: What attracted you to delving into the dark and complicated, while at the same witty, Hellboy universe?

Arcudi: Actually, a chance to work with Mike and Guy Davis was all the motivation I needed. But it is nice that I get to have a little fun with the characters. Most comics are so serious, so it's nice to have a laugh now and again.

Continue Reading »