MN – Free Comic Book Day 2013

Christopher Jones, Anthony Hary, Peter Allen, and The Great Carlito appear at Source Comics & Games on Saturday May 4, 2013 for Free Comic Book Day!!

Source Comics & Games
1601 Larpenteur Avenue, Falcon Heights, MN 55113
651-645-0386

MCBA Celebrating 25 Years with May 2013 SpringCon

Press Release:

MCBA SPRINGCON COMIC BOOK CARNIVAL

A CELEBRATION OF COMMUNITY

Saint Paul, MN. April 8, 2013 - To celebrate 25 years of unswerving and enthusiastic service to the comic book industry, the Midwest Comic Book Association (MCBA) is pleased to announce that the 25th Anniversary MCBA Comic Carnival will take place May 18 & 19, 2013, 10AM to 5PM both days at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, in the Grandstand, at 1265 Snelling Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108.

Expect the unexpected at the 2013 SpringCon Carnival! The clock is ticking and the fuse is burning down to igniting 840 minutes of red hot MCBA comic book action the likes of which this community has never seen!

“SpringCon has evolved into a 840 minute regional nexus of all of the things that make the world of analog and digital comic books so very compelling and relevant!” said Nick Postiglione, Co-Director of the all volunteer MCBA, “Over the years, SpringCon has been built around the concept of developing an interactive community and providing opportunities for all aspects of our growing community to interface in a welcoming, energetic and encouraging environment and now is the time to try expand our efforts and see where our ever expanding journey will take us.”

The 25th Anniversary 2013 MCBA Comic Carnival will feature a festive 100,000 square foot atmosphere that will truly acknowledges and celebrates our long standing heritage of welcoming community, reputation for being a breeder reactor for comic creators of all types (Including superstar creators, working professionals, up and comers, Independent & Alternative creators, webcomicers, self-publishers, mini-comic folks, small press, and all creative and format points in between!), having a dynamic and growing fan base, and a huge collection of all sorts of hucksters, lovable and otherwise!

A super gigantic guest creator list, hucksters from all over sector 2815, an avalanche of free entertainment and programming, costumed characters, activities benefiting charities, and thousands of fans! A place where new and exciting creative alliances will be formed, collector dreams will be recognized or dashed, new friendships will be forged in the fires of common interests, newbies will be welcomed to worlds they never knew existed, local charities will be benefited, role playing costume characters will be masters of all they survey, creative types will be inspired to new heights and all will be as it should. Something for everyone and everyone welcome!

Meta Con 2013 Adds Eric Roberts

Press Release:

Minneapolis Comic Con announces Eric Roberts

Minneapolis, MN – March 31, 2013 – The most exciting event to hit Minneapolis is excited to announce that actor Eric Roberts will be appearing at the 2013 Minneapolis Comic Con, Meta Con, this August. Eric Roberts is famous for numerous movie and TV roles, including the role of Sal Maroni in The Dark Knight, which was the fourteenth highest-grossing film of all time.

One of Hollywood’s edgier, more intriguing characters, Eric Anthony Roberts started life in Biloxi, Mississippi, but grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. He is known by comics fans in particular for appearing in The Dark Knight as Sal Maroni, Gotham City Mafia boss. His career began with King of the Gypsies (1978), a role for which he earned a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatization of Willa Cather’s 1905 short story, Paul’s Case. He earned both a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination for his supporting role in Runaway Train (1985). Through the 1990s and 2000s he maintained numerous dramatic film and TV-movie roles while appearing in TV series. His TV work includes three seasons with the sitcom Less than Perfect and a recurring role on the NBC drama Heroes. His sisters Julia Roberts and Lisa Roberts Gillan, and daughter Emma Roberts, are also actors.

His numerous and extensive credits can be found on Wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Roberts

Meta Con 2013 brings thousands of fans of comics, science-fiction, video games, anime, and music together for a nerd-culture weekend extravaganza. This Minneapolis comic con includes almost a hundred different events, including formal dances, gaming tournaments, and cosplay costume contests. A big part of this comic and anime con is the giant exhibitor hall, featuring vendors selling all kinds of epic gear from comic books to video games.

Meta Con will be held August 30 through September 1, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency Downtown Minneapolis. Individuals interested in attending can pre-purchase tickets (pre-register) online at http://metaconvention.com/register Hotel room information is available at http://metaconvention.com/location and rooms are only $99 per night.

Jay & Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie Tour

Jay & Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie Tour Kicks off on April 20, 2013

Jay and Silent Bob are back! Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes are hitting the road with their new animated film, JAY & SILENT BOB’S SUPER GROOVY CARTOON MOVIE – which blazes across America in a series of one-night-only shows starting April 20, 2013 in Atlanta at the Center Stage Theater. The legendary best buds from Jersey are back to dispense weed and wisdom in cartoon form and audiences will have the opportunity to watch the new movie and stick around for a rip-roaring Q&A afterwards. Tickets go on sale Friday, March 1, 2013.

Produced by Mewes and directed by first-time filmmaker Steve Stark, JAY & SILENT BOB’S SUPER GROOVY CARTOON MOVIE features the voice talents of Eliza Dushku, Tara Strong, Ralph Garman, Neil Gaiman, Ben Gleib, Jon Lovitz, and the podcast stars of Smith’s SModcast Network! When they can no longer stomach the ever-growing weed of suburban crime, Jay & Silent Bob take on the mantles of costumed avengers Bluntman & Chronic, smashing super-villains they accidentally create! Can the Doobage Duo save their beloved Jersey ‘burbs from their new arch enemies, the League of Shitters? While clearly not the comic book movie the world wants, GROOVY MOVIE is the comic book movie the world needs!

“This is what can happen when you put the plug in the jug, kids!” said screenwriter and SModCo head honcho Kevin Smith of Producer (and friend of Bill W.) Jason Mewes. “I’m crazy proud of Jay for turning the soul-crushing bummer that is sobriety into productivity, making something as funny and fun as GROOVY MOVIE in the process!”

“As an actor, it was awesome to play Jay again,” said producer and voice talent Jason Mewes. “But as a producer, I sweated every nickel because I wanted to keep the budget low… And dirty.”

The budget for GROOVY MOVIE: $69,000!

“That budget figure not only makes us proud, it makes us giggle,” Smith went on to say . “We live in an age of wonder where you can make a whole cartoon movie for well under a hundred grand! And the super hero who made miracles happen for next to nothing in cost was our genius director, Canadian animator Steve Stark!”

“A few years back, Steve was a Jay & Silent Bob fan who Tweeted us a YouTube cartoon he made from an episode of SModcast,” Mewes explains. “Now the guy’s directed an entire Jay & Silent Bob cartoon movie! And since we’re using Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and YouTube to sell tour tickets, it’s like the whole cartoon’s made possible by the power of social media! SNOOTCH!”

Forgoing a standard theatrical release, SModcast Pictures (a division of SModCo) will repeat the city-by-city, one-night-only structure of their groundbreaking RED STATE USA Tour and cap each Groovy Movie screening with a performance of their Jay and Silent Bob Get Old podcast – the wildly popular live show which has sold out tours across the US, Canada, the UK and Australia. All 103 live shows recorded to date are available for download at SModcast.com and iTunes. Mewes has also produced home video versions of the show entitled, Jay and Silent Bob Get Old: Teabagging in the UK, Jay and Silent Bob Get Irish: The Swearing o’the Green, and Jay and Silent Bob Go Down Under.

Complete ticket and tour information is available at the website and the trailer can be seen here. “Like” Jay and Silent Bob on Facebook.

About Jason Mewes (Jay)

Jason Mewes (@JayMewes) is the Creative Producer at SModCo Internet Radio (SIR), which launched in May 2011, as well as the Creative Producer at SModCo Internet TV (SIT), which launched in May 2012 and lives online as a YouTube channel. SModco produces Mewes’ weekly video blog called, Mewes News, which was also the first SIT video to air. Best known as the vocal half of the on-screen comedic duo, Jay and Silent Bob, Mewes has reprised his role as the celebrated character, “Jay,” in a number of films. With cult-fans following his controversial antics, Mewes has captured audiences with rebellious banter against his unspoken other half and longtime friend, Kevin Smith (Silent Bob). Since the beginning of the duo’s offbeat work together, Mewes and Smith have continued to build on their beloved character driven roles from the Jay and Silent Bob series. Most recently, Mewes wrapped Spoilers, alongside Smith, an original online series for Hulu and in 2011, he co-hosted the TV series, Cinema Enema, which reviews film in an off-kilter way. As an actor, Mewes can be seen in a starring role in the Wunderkind Pictures feature, Noobz, as well as The Last Godfather, Money Shot, K-11, and Rock Jocks. Mewes’ most noted film credits include: Smith’s award-winning Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Clerks II, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. This string of cult hits all celebrated and continued Mewes’ infamous role as “Jay,” a bawdy, fast talking, and over sexed but very likable guy. For his successful and brow-raising portrayal, MTV honored him with 2007′s Dirtiest Mouth Award.

About Kevin Smith (Silent Bob)

Kevin Smith (@ThatKevinSmith) is the fat guy who got thrown off the plane. He also made CLERKS once.

JAY & SILENT BOB’S SUPER GROOVY CARTOON MOVIE TOUR DATES

 

April 20	Atlanta, GA	Center Stage Theater
April 21	Washington, DC	Warner Theater
April 22	Tarrytown, NY	Tarrytown Music Hall
April 23	New York, NY	Best Buy Theater
April 24	Boston, MA	House of Blues
April 25	Philadelphia, PA	Keswick Theater
April 29	Santa Barbara, CA	Lobero Theater
April 30	Sacramento, CA	Crest Theater
May 2	San Francisco, CA	Warfield Theater
May 5	Los Angeles, CA	The Wiltern
May 9	Portland, OR	Bagdad Theater
May 15	Seattle, WA	Moore Theater
May 17	Kansas City, MO	Midland Theater
May 18	St. Louis, MO	The Pageant
May 19	Chicago, IL	The Vic Theater
May 20	Indianapolis, IN	Clowes Memorial Hall
May 21	Royal Oak, MI	Royal Oak Music Theatre
May 22	Milwaukee, WI	Pabst Theater

 

Dates for New Jersey, Texas and Canada will be added in late March.

Will Eisner Week Celebrates Graphic Novels

Press Release:

The Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation is proud to announce Will Eisner Week 2013, a ten-day series of events in more than a dozen cities nationwide that celebrates graphic novels, free speech awareness, and the career and legacy of Will Eisner, one of the most innovative figures in the history of comics and graphic novels.

Will Eisner Week’s theme this year is, “Read a Graphic Novel,” which will be the underlying message of all the events. Cities holding celebrations include New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, and Minneapolis.

Will Eisner Week 2013 has added significance, as it marks 35 years since the 1978 publication of Eisner’s groundbreaking graphic novel, “A Contract With God.”

“This year, we will be having Will Eisner Week celebrations in more places than ever before,” said Will Eisner Week Organizing Committee Chair Danny Fingeroth. “The people doing the events are planning some amazing happenings that will spread the word about how cool graphic novels are, and that celebrate Will Eisner’s astonishing body of work done over a career that spanned seven decades.”

Will Eisner Week 2013 events include:

March 1-15, SAVANNAH, GA: Savannah College of Art and Design will hold several events run by Professor David Duncan, including a March 2 screening of “Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist” and various Eisner-themed art sessions.

March 2, 4:00-4:55 PM, SEATTLE, WA: Emerald City Comicon panel: Eisner’s “A Contract With God—Reflections on the 35th Anniversary,” featuring Dennis O’Neil, Batton Lash, Matt Fraction, Jackie Estrada, and Ben Saunders.

March 3-10, PITTSBURGH, PA: Various events at the Toonseum, including a screening of the documentary “Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist” by Andrew & Jon Cooke on March 6.

March 4-8, ARKADELPHIA, AR: The Comics Arts Club of Henderson State University, under the direction of Professor Randy Duncan, will study Eisner’s work in the context of Immigrant Experience Focus Week.

March 6: 7:30 PM, PORTLAND, OR: The Art Institute of Portland: Lecture on Eisner by Dark Horse Editor Diana Schutz.

March 7, 6:30-9:30 PM, NEW YORK, NY: The Society of Illustrators hosts a Will Eisner Sketch Night.

March 7, 7:00-9:00 PM, SAN FRANCISCO, CA: The Cartoon Art Museum. An Evening With Mario Hernandez, including a discussion of Eisner’s influence.

March 7, 7:30 PM, PORTLAND, OR: The Jack London Bar. A reading of Eisner’s “Last Day in Vietnam,” with Brian Bendis, Matt Fraction, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Michael Oeming, and Dylan Meconis.

March 7, 7:00-9:30 PM, BOSTON, MA: Tufts University. Screening of “Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist,” followed by a panel discussion including A. David Lewis, Chuck Henebry, and Stephen Weiner.

March 10, 1:00-4:00 PM, MINNEAPOLIS, MN: Minneapolis College of Art and Design hosts a Graphic Novel Read-In, featuring a screening of “Will Eisner: Portrait of a Sequential Artist.”

March 11, 7:00-9:00 PM, NEW YORK, NY: Parsons/The New School, Comics & Picture-Story Symposium. Jeremy Dauber and Danny Fingeroth discuss Eisner’s work in the context of Jewish-American literature.

March 12, WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, VT: Center for Cartoon Studies. Lecture on Eisner by Stephen Bissette. (For CCS students only.)

March 14, 7:30 PM, BURBANK, CA: The Animation Guild will hold a special Comic Art Professional Society meeting devoted to Eisner, hosted by Scott Shaw!.

Celebrations are also being planned for Amherst, MA and Washington, DC. Check www.willeisnerweek.com for updates on all events.

A Note From Bill Willingham About Fabletown & Beyond

For immediate release

Wait a moment, on second thought, “for immediate release” makes this sound awfully urgent, and it’s not. Yes, it does happen to be time-sensitive material and we’d like it released soon, or at least soonish, but it needn’t be immediate. Save “immediate” for medical emergencies, positioning yourself under a pop-up fly, and disarming bombs. At best, this falls more under the heading of, “as quickly as you can reasonably get to it.” Please, finish your coffee and that last bite of sandwich, visit the facilities (if you need to), relax a bit and settle yourself. Then, please, if you’d be so kind, release this puppy.

Thanks.

Fabletown and Beyond, our convention celebrating the Mythic Fiction movement in comics, is just around the corner.

A personal note from Bill Willingham, inviting you to think about attending:

Hi,

I’m Bill Willingham, the writer of the long-running comic series Fables. In just over a month I’ll also be hosting a small comic convention in Rochester, Minnesota called Fabletown and Beyond. It’s a convention about Fables and books like it.

If you go to our website you can find out all sorts of good things like who else is coming, what sorts of programming we’re planning to have (although it’s far from a comprehensive list yet). Please visit fablescon.com for the full tour.

Since it was designed from the beginning to be a small convention, with more time and opportunity to interact with the guests of your choice, we’re limited on how many folks can attend, and we’re beginning to close in on our hotel room and attendance limits.

So then, now seems the time to act. If you’re interested in attending, a month and a half away is nearly no time at all. Perhaps it’s time to pounce, to strike boldly, to do some other thing that is metaphorically equivalent to deciding to attend.

Also, you may not know this but it’s going to be the perfect show to which you’ll want bring the special love of your life. We’ve done extensive made-up scientific research on this. Think of Fabletown and Beyond as a romantic couples retreat, but with comics too.

We’re planning on a fine time to be had for all, including (but not limited to) game shows, a phone-photo scavenger hunt, with amazing prizes, and even opportunities for one-on-once conversations with your favorite artist and/or writer.

Pretty cool, huh?

Speaking for vast multitudes, I do hope we’ll see you there.

Also, for those in the greater Minneapolis and Saint Paul area, and its surroundings, you should know that The Crossings art studio in Zumbrota, as a lead in to Fabletown and Beyond, is hosting an all comic art gallery show, throughout the entire month of February.

It’s going on right now and will continue throughout the rest of the month. It features the comic art of myself, Gene Ha, Adam Hughes, Mark Buckingham, and Chrissie Zullo, all of whom will also be attending the convention in March.

Many original pieces have already sold. It’s on track to being the best gallery show the venue has ever had. But we’ve stocked the art in deep. Many more pages and comic art covers are still available and will be throughout the month.

For more information you can visit The Crossings website at: crossingsatcarnegie.com or by calling them at 507 732 7616.

Of course any unsold covers and pages will be available again at Fabletown and Beyond.

MN – Fables Writing Workshops

Bill Willingham appears at the Crossings Gallery to teach two writing workshops.

Writing to be Drawn

Saturday, February 9, 10am-1pm.
Cost: $50. Age 12 to adult.
Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Comic Books are big. They rule Hollywood now, and before they’re drawn, they need to be written.

It can be tough to write for the specific medium of comics, unless you can think like an artist. Bill Willingham, a thirty year veteran of comic book writing, and winner of comics’ most prestigious award for comic writing, will take you through the ins and outs and how to write when it’s going to be drawn.

Writing Prose Stories

Saturday, February 23, 10am-1pm.
Cost: $50
Level: Beginner to Intermediate

This is a one-day class on some of the special considerations one should have in writing prose to sell, including how to keep it short and lively. We’ll also discuss some of the special considerations for writing to specific markets, like Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and other genres.

Bill Willingham is a novelist, short story writer and comic book writer, winner of many industry awards and four time Hugo nominee. His work has been translated into far too many languages, none of which he can read.

Crossings Gallery
320 East Avenue, Zumbrota, MN 55992
507-732-7616

MN – FablesCon Art Show

Bill Willingham appears at the Crossings Gallery for a cocktail reception on February 23, 2013 to celebrate the opening of the Fabletown & Beyond art show!

Press Release:

To kick off the New Year and help prepare you for the wonderous event that will be Fablescon, Crossings Art Center (in Zumbrota, MN) will be holding an exhibit featuring several artists who will be a part of Fabletown and Beyond.

The exhibit will be on at the art center throughout the month of February and will feature art from Bill Willingham, Gene Ha, Mark Buckingham, Adam Hughes, Chrissie Zullo, and Peter Gross.

Here’s a brief summary of some of the art that will be present and for sale:

Gene Ha has most of the art from Fables #122 and #123… 27 out of the 40 pages will be available.

Chrissie Zullo will have original Cinderella covers for sale.

Mark Buckingham will have a plethora of Fables pages.

Peter Gross will have lots of The Unwritten pages.

Adam Hughes will have Fairest covers on display and for sale.

And Bill Willingham will have pages from Shadowpact, art from an original and unpublished Richard Nixon JLQ story and other assorted comic pages.

Crossings Gallery
320 East Avenue, Zumbrota, MN 55992
507-732-7616

artwork by Gene Ha

MN – Beautiful Creatures Signing

  

Join Thomas Mann and Zoey Deutch, stars of the upcoming film Beautiful Creatures for a special appearance and autograph signing at the Rotunda of the Mall of America on Monday, January 21st at 5:30 pm. Beautiful Creatures is based on the best-selling young adult novel of the same name and tells the story of small town boy who meets a mysterious stranger and her family

Please click here for the Official Event Guidelines.

Mall of America
60 E Broadway, Bloomington, MN 55425

MCBA SpringCon Comic Book Carnival (May 2013)

Event Details:

• Category: Comic Book Convention
• Location: Minnesota
• Date: Saturday, May 18th 2013 - Sunday, May 19th 2013
• City: Comic Book Convention in Saint Paul
• Event: MCBA SpringCon Comic Book Carnival
• Address: MN State Fairgrounds – In the Grandstand
• Country: US
• Add to Google Calendar | Download iCal

Convention Name
	MCBA SpringCon Comic Book Carnival
Convention Website Address
	http://www.midwestcomicbook.com
This convention will take place:
	over multiple days.
Start Date (Format mm/dd/yyyy)
	05/18/2013
End Date (Format mm/dd/yyyy)
	05/19/2013
About This Convention
	To celebrate 25 years of unswerving and enthusiastic service to the comic book industry, the Midwest Comic Book Association (MCBA) is pleased to announce that the 25th Anniversary MCBA Comic Carnival will take place May 18 & 19, 2013, 10AM to 5PM both days at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, in the Grandstand, at 1265 Snelling Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108. Expect the unexpected at the 2013 SpringCon Carnival! The clock is ticking and the fuse is burning down to igniting 840 minutes of red hot MCBA comic book action the likes of which this community has never seen! “SpringCon has evolved into a 840 minute regional nexus of all of the things that make the world of analog and digital comic books so very compelling and relevant!” said Nick Postiglione, Co-Director of the all volunteer MCBA, “Over the years, SpringCon has been built around the concept of developing an interactive community and providing opportunities for all aspects of our growing community to interface in a welcoming, energetic and encouraging environment and now is the time to try expand our efforts and see where our journey will take us.? The 25th Anniversary 2013 MCBA Comic Carnival will feature a festive 100,000 square foot atmosphere that will truly acknowledges and celebrates our long standing heritage of welcoming community, reputation for being a breeder reactor for comic creators of all types (Including superstar creators, working professionals, up and comers, Independent & Alternative creators, webcomicers, self-publishers, mini-comic folks, small press, and all creative and format points in between!), having a dynamic and growing fan base, and a huge collection of all sorts of hucksters, lovable and otherwise! New and exciting creative alliances will be formed, collector dreams will be recognized or dashed, new friendships will be forged in the fires of common interests, newbies will be welcomed to worlds they never knew existed, local charities will be benefited, role playing costume characters will be masters of all they survey, creative types will be inspired to new heights and all will be as it should. Something for everyone and everyone welcome! ###
Venue Name and Address
	MN State Fairgrounds – In the Grandstand 1265 Snelling Avenue North Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108 United States Map It
Number of Dealer/Exhibitor Tables
	500
Projected Attendance
	9000
Please select the Category that best describes the convention
	Comic Books
Additional Categories
	Anime Book Festival Comic Books Gaming Horror Science Fiction and Fantasy Collectibles
Guests
	TBA Check Website

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