Can You Escape The Walking Dead? Try Your Luck at Petco Park During SDCC 2012

Press Release:

The Walking Dead Escape: San Diego Debuts at Petco Park to Celebrate Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead Issue #100 During San Diego Comic-Con July 12-15, 2012

Registration for The Walking Dead Escape: San Diego Opens May 16^th

San Diego, CA – May 16, 2012 –Robert Kirkman, the creator/writer of The Walking Dead comic book series and graphic novels and www.Skybound.com announce their first event, The Walking Dead Escape: San Diego.  In conjunction with the release of the Eisner Award-winning The Walking DeadIssue #100 at San Diego Comic-Con, the event takes place July 12 -15 at Petco Park, centrally located near the San Diego Convention Center. Registration is now open at TheWalkingDeadEscape.Com. There are three ways to participate in this epic adventure. Participants can be a Survivor and race through the zombie infested evacuation zone; a Walker who becomes one of the undead, embracing the inevitable; or a Spectator who watches the apocalypse from sidelines at the Escape Party.

The Walking Dead Escape: San Diego is unlike any obstacle course event in the U.S., expanding on the best-selling The Walking Dead comic book series and graphic novel storylines, allowing Survivors and Walkers to explore the initial days of the apocalypse.

“Our fans have been reading about it, watching it and now they get to live it with The Walking Dead Escape,” said Robert Kirkman. “We are literally transforming Petco Park into the early days of society’s collapse and San Diego is just the first city to fall.”

Survivors will climb, crawl and slide in an effort to avoid confrontation by hordes of Walkers, while achieving the ultimate adventure on The Walking Dead-themed obstacle course. The Walking Dead Escape is not a race, and Survivors are not timed, but the end is near, and they must move swiftly. If they’re lucky, Survivors will reach the decontamination zone at the end where it will be determined if they have been infected.

Whether taking part in the event as a Survivor, Walker or Spectator, participants will be amazed at the interactive displays and The Walking Deadreferences along the course. Early registration is strongly recommended, as walk-ups may not be available on event day.  This summer, The Walking Deadwill be taking over Petco Park and fans will have a front row seat to the real-life action event of a lifetime.

For more information or to register for this event, please visit www.thewalkingdeadescape.com or www.Skybound.com.

Shonen Jump Trivia Contest Offers Winner Two Tickets to SDCC 2012

Through their Facebook Page, Viz Media is offering fans the chance to answer 3 Shonen Jump Alpha trivia questions to win two tickets to Comic-Con International in San Diego. Travel and lodging is not included, however. Open only to fans in Canada (except Quebec) and the United States 13 years or older.

Grand Prize

2nd Prize

Prize Eligibility

Only persons residing in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, United States, and Yukon who are at least 13 years of age can enter.Sweepstakes StartsApril 23, 2012 @ 12:00 am (PDT)Sweepstakes EndsMay 23, 2012 @ 12:00 am (PDT)Need more Details?Read the Official Rules

NBC’s Grimm Offers Trip for Two to SDCC 2012

Through the official Grimm Facebook page, you can enter to win a trip for two to Comic-Con International in San Diego:

PRIZE: There will be one (1) grand prize awarded (“Grand Prize”) to Grand Prize Winner. Grand Prize consists of the following: a trip for Grand Prize Winner and one (1) guest to attend the Comic-Con convention scheduled to take place July 12, 2012 through July 15, 2012 in San Diego, California (the “Event”) (collectively, “Trip”). Trip includes: round-trip, commercial- coach class airfare for Grand Prize Winner and Guest from a major U.S. airport nearest Grand Prize Winner’s residence to an airport in or near San Diego, CA (“San Diego Airport”); hotel accommodations (standard room, double occupancy) for Grand Prize Winner and Guest for three (3) night stay at a hotel in or near San Diego, CA (“Hotel”) (Hotel selected by Sponsors in their sole discretion and subject to availability); transportation to and from Hotel and San Diego Airport; two (2) tickets for Grand Prize Winner and Guest to attend the Event (“Tickets”); and VIP treatment for Grand Prize Winner and Guest at GRIMM events. Estimated Retail Value (“ERV”) of Grand Prize is three thousand eight hundred and fifty dollars ($3,850).

Two second place winners will each receive an iPad preloaded with the first full season of the show.

You can enter once a day until June 15.

Batman Takes on Grendel for Exclusive Overstreet Edition Slated for SDCC 2012

Press Release:

Grendel & Batman on Hero Exclusive Overstreet #42

Matt Wagner illustrates limited edition fundraiser hardcover edition of the Guide

Los Angeles, CA. April 5, 2012-Gemstone Publishing and The Hero Initiative have once again teamed up to raise money for comic creators in need. Toward that end, they will release an exclusive, 500-copy, limited hardcover edition of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #42 at Comic-Con International: San Diego on Wednesday, July 11, 2012.

The Hero Initiative cover features Batman and Grendel illustrated by Grendel creator Matt Wagner and colorist Ryan Brown. It will be available exclusively from Hero with all money raised going to 501 (c)(3) charity. An extremely limited number of copies will be available from Hero’s website and through a select group of participating retailers. There will be no soft cover edition of this version, and it will retail for $35.

“I’m very happy to once again join forces with Hero for such a worthy cause. Helping out creators who have brought happiness to so many should be something on which everyone who has ever enjoyed their work can get behind. Matt Wagner and Ryan Brown have made an incredible contribution to these efforts with their stunning cover for this limited edition,” said Steve Geppi, President and CEO of Gemstone Publishing.

“In addition to Steve Geppi and everyone at Gemstone, we’d like to thank the folks at DC Comics for giving the ‘okay’ for this cover crossover. Matt Wagner has been a very active Hero supporter for a long time, and his two Batman – Grendel mini-series have remained popular with fans over the years. Bringing these two great characters together on this exclusive Overstreet edition helps us raise much-needed money for the creators we serve,” said Jim McLauchlin, President of The Hero Initiative.

“Hero does great work. Overstreet has been a benchmark of the comics industry since 1970. Their two previous collaborations were great, but this one’s a real team-up,” said Matt Wagner. “I’m pleased to join the ranks of the Guide cover artists that include Joe Kubert, Will Eisner, Carl Barks, and Alex Schomburg, as well as the likes of modern greats John Romita, John Romita, Jr., Mark Chiarello, Amanda Conner and my frequent collaborator John K. Snyder III, and particularly to do it for such a great cause.”

The winner of multiple Eisner Awards, writer-artist Matt Wagner first broke on the comic book scene with Grendel in pages of Primer #2 from Comico The Comic Company 30 years ago this year. Since the relatively humble debut, he has on his own and in collaboration with other artists built the character into a powerhouse presence in the world of creator-owned comics. Along the way, he also created, wrote and illustrated another indy sensation, Mage. Among his work for other companies, for DC Comics he was written and illustrated The Demon, Batman and The Monster Men, Batman and The Mad Monk, and Trinity, He also wroteDoctor Mid-Nite, and for DC’s Vertigo imprint he wrote Sandman Mystery Theatre and most recently Madame Xanadu. For Dynamite, he wrote and provided covers for Green Hornet: Year One, Zorro and he currently is doing the same for Zorro Rides Again,

Digital painter Ryan Brown, who colored Wagner’s cover art for this project, was born in Belfast and grew up interested in comics, particularly the horror genre. After studying art at university, he and one of his brothers ran a graphic design business before they joined with another brother and established Berserker Comics. Brown has worked with Simon Bisley, Glenn Fabry, and Wayne Nicholls, and for such publishers as Markosia and Zenescope, among others. He is presently working with Matt Wagner and Simon Bisley on The Tower Chronicles, a new project scheduled to debut in September 2012 from Legendary Comics.

This marks the third consecutive year that Gemstone and Hero have worked together to create a special limited fundraiser edition of the Guide. For The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #40, John Romita, Jr., Klaus Janson and Dean White provided a 40th anniversary recreation of Conan The Barbarian #1. For The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #41, John Romita, Sr., Tom Palmer and Dean White presented a selection of top Marvel heroes. As is the case with this new edition, all funds from the sales of these volumes went to The Hero Initiative.

The standard editions of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #42 feature a striking original Catwoman by Adam Hughes and a powerful recreation of John Buscema’s cover for The Avengers #58 by Joe Jusko. In both hardcover and soft cover, those editions are scheduled to go on sale in comic shops and at Comic-Con the same day, Wednesday, July 11, 2012. Retailers can still place reorders with Diamond Comic Distributors for those editions, while the limited edition will only be available from Hero.

About The Hero Initiative

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterday’s creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment. Hero is a federally recognized 501(c)(3) charity. The Hero Initiative Limited Edition Hardcover version of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #42 is scheduled to go on sale at The Hero Initiative booth at Comic-Con International: San Diego on Preview Night, Wednesday, July 11, 2012 and afterward through a limited number of Hero affiliates. This version will be available in hardcover only and is limited to 500 copies. The retail price is $35. Information on special signings during the show will be released at a later date.

About Gemstone Publishing

Best known as the home of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide, Gemstone Publishing was formed by Diamond Comic Distributors President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen A. Geppi as a conduit for his efforts to preserve and promote the history of the comics medium. Since 1970,The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide has been the Bible of comic book collectors and dealers alike. With updated pricing data on the approximately 300,000 comics listed spanning time from the 1500s to the present, market reports from advisors including retailers, fans and historians, and other insights, the Guide has been an annual tradition for more than four decades. In addition to the Guide, upcoming Gemstone projects include the Free Comic Book Day 2012 edition of Comic Book Marketplace, a new book entitled The Overstreet Guide To Collecting Comics, and the weekly Scoop email newsletter.

Game of Thrones Sweepstakes Offers Winner Trip to SDCC 2012

Entertainment Weekly and HBO are offering the Game of Thrones Ultimate Experience Sweepstakes. The Grand Prize winner gets a trip to the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con and admission into the Game of Thrones panel at the convention.

Details:

Grand Prize Winner and a guest, to attend “Comic-Con®” and the Game of Thrones Panel at “Comic-Con®” 2012 in San Diego, California. Trip includes round-trip coach airfare on a commercial airline for two (2) to San Diego, California from winner’s nearest major airport, round-trip car transfers to and from San Diego airport and the hotel, three (3) nights, four (4) days standard hotel accommodations based on double occupancy at a hotel of the sponsor’s choice, two (2) four (4) day passes to “Comic-Con®”and two (2) tickets to the Game of Thrones Panel.

Entries are due by April 16th. Enter here.

 

SDCC 2012 Adds Walking Dead Team, Scott Snyder, and More

Comic-Con International has added six more guests for the 2012 convention in San Diego:

• Charlie Adlard

  artist, The Walking Dead

• Tom Batiuk

  cartoonist, Funky Winkerbean, Crankshaft

• Alison Bechdel

  writer/artist, Fun Home, Are You My Mother

• Stan Goldberg

  artist/colorist, Archie Comics, Marvel Comics

• Robert Kirkman

  writer/co-creator, The Walking Dead, Invincible

• Scott Snyder

  writer, American Vampire, Batman, Swamp Thing

For more information, visit:
http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_guests.php

Scene on Video: ‘Comic Con Episode IV’ Featurette: Celebration

In this new featurette, Morgan Spurlock explains the origin of his new documentary about the San Diego Comic-Con, “Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope.” (SPOILER: It was actually Stan Lee’s idea!)

Scene on Video: SDCC Badge Purchase Tutorial

Via Comic-Con International:

A complete walk-thru of the process of purchasing your Comic-Con 2012 badge when we open sales online. Sales are limited to people who created a Comic-Con Member ID by February 28, 2012, and who successfully verified their e-mail address. Further details can be read on our website on our main registration page at: http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_reg.php. On that page you’ll also find our handy PDF download “Hints and Tips for Online Badge Registration”. In addition to watching this video, we highly recommend reading that document if you have a Comic-Con Member ID and are planning to purchase a badge for Comic-Con 2012.

Course of the Force, An Olympic-style Lightsaber Relay, to Lead the Way to SDCC 2012

Press Release:

Inaugural Lightsaber Run to Debut Leading up to 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International

Course of the Force run/walk from Santa Monica to San Diego will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation

San Francisco, CA (February 9, 2012) – Star Wars fans will have a chance to channel their Force of good-will while raising a lightsaber, an elegant symbol of hope, in an epic journey worthy of the Jedi Knights.

Lucasfilm Ltd., Nerdist Industries, Octagon and Machinima have teamed up to present Course of the Force, an Olympic-style lightsaber relay held July 7-11, where participants will make a journey from Santa Monica to San Diego while benefiting a worthy cause. At quarter-mile markers (much less than 12 parsecs), participants will hand off the official Course of the Force lightsaber to the next runner as they begin their leg of the journey. Course of the Force will take place in the days leading up to the annual San Diego Comic-Con International, July 12-15.

On top of creating an event for Star Wars enthusiasts to celebrate and embrace their love of the Saga, Course of the Force will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Fans will have the opportunity to participate in the historic lightsaber relay through various promotions and online calls to action.

Participants in the relay are encouraged to come decked out in their best Star Wars or pop culture-themed running gear, not only to look good but also to win prizes. Ancient Jedi Masters carried within backpacks are not required.

“The Course of the Force lightsaber run is a great cause that combines fitness with helping others, principles that aspiring Jedi Knights can embrace. We have long supported the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and this is a great opportunity to raise funds and awareness while letting Star Wars fans celebrate their favorite saga,” said Kayleen Walters, Sr. Director of Marketing for Lucasfilm.

Giving the event a true fan’s touch, Nerdist Industries’ founder Chris Hardwick and co-hosts will follow the action from the Course of the Force lead vehicle each day, broadcasting live to the Nerdist platform, including its YouTube channel, youtube.com/nerdist. Machinima, the leading next generation video entertainment network for gamers, will produce and simulcast exclusive Course of the Force content through its multi-channel video network and will provide promotion for the event.

As the Course makes its stops along the iconic California coast, Star Wars-themed parties, contests and live Nerdist shows will cap off each day for fans to enjoy. Participants will receive a customized Hasbro Star Wars Ultimate FX lightsaber, along with other gifts celebrating the Force and Comic-Con.

“We aim to build on the excitement leading up to San Diego Comic-Con International, to raise awareness for the wonderful Make-A-Wish Foundation and to ensure that Course of the Force becomes an evergreen part of the pop culture lexicon,” said Nerdist Industries’ principal and Course of the Force creator and executive director Peter Levin. “Partnering with Lucasfilm, Octagon and Machinima creates a trilogy of cachet, profile and execution expertise. As a wise green man might say, ‘succeed we will, for a good cause’.”

Online Registration

The 2012 Edition of Comic-Con Annual is Now Available Online

Via Comic-Con International:

The 2012 edition of Comic-Con Annual is now available online. This all-new publication is a veritable 80-page giant, and features an exclusive new cover photo of Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield from the upcoming movie The Amazing Spider-Man. Interviews with Stone and director Marc Webb are part of the Annual’s “Year of the Spider” coverage, which also includes articles on the Webslinger’s 50th anniversary in comics, focusing on Stan Lee, Steve Ditko (by Blake Bell), and the father/son team of artists John Romita Sr. and John Romita Jr. (by Tom Spurgeon). Additional feature articles celebrate the 75th anniversary of Hal Foster’s Prince Valiant (by Foster biographer Brian M. Kane), and the 30th anniversary of Love & Rockets (by Charles Brownstein). Plus a Comic-Con 2011 photo album, advance looks at Comic-Con International, WonderCon, and APE in 2012, and much more! The online version of the Annual features embedded links to specific Comic-Con.org website pages for the latest information on all three events. Click on the links in the purple boxes to visit the website for updates! View below or download your own personal PDF!

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