IDW Publishing Recaps Comic-Con 2017

Press Release:

San Diego-based publisher, IDW, was well represented at this year’s Comic-Con International and made some noise, thanks to IDW’s high profile booth signings, in-demand exclusives, and major announcements! Not to mention walking away from the annual Eisner ceremony with awards for Best Anthology – Love is Love, and Best Reality-Based Work – March: Book Three.

As they celebrated the trilogy’s conclusion, Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell not only received Eisner Awards for March: Book Three, but also Inkpot Awards for their contributions to the field of comics, before leading hundreds of students, teachers, and fans in an inspiring march through Comic-Con.

Love is Love project organizer, Marc Andreyko, was awarded the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award for his efforts to aid the victims of the tragic Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. The benefit anthology raised over $167K for those affected.

Legendary comics creator Walter Simonson, whose Ragnarök is published under IDW, was honored during the ceremony as well, being inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in recognition of his long and outstanding career.

With so many announcements hitting during the biggest trade show of the year, we’ve compiled a handy guide to what exciting news IDW/Top Shelf made at the event.

Sonic the Hedgehog — Everyone’s favorite blue blur is returning to comics in 2018, now under IDW’s editorial guidance as SEGA announced a new publishing partnership.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen — Award-winning creators Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill will conclude their careers in comics with a final storyline, “The Tempest,” beginning in June.

Goosebumps — This October, encounter monsters old and new in IDW’s comic series from the terrifying world of R.L. Stine’s bestselling series.

Black Crown’s Assassinistas — This 6-issue miniseries from writer Tini Howard (Hack/Slash) and newly minted Will Eisner Hall of Famer Gilbert Hernandez (Love and Rockets) packs a punch. Ex-hitwoman Octavia comes out of retirement, dragging her college-aged son and his boyfriend along on her mission to kick some serious ass this December.

Black Crown’s Punks Not Dead — Courtesy of writer David Barnett and artist Martin Simmonds, cross the pond this January for this UK-based tale of Fergie, a boy in search of his father, and his companion, the ghost of The Sex Pistol’s Sid Vicious (obviously).

TMNT/Ghostbusters 2 — The Heroes in a Half Shell and the original ‘busters will reunite for a 5-week crossover event series this November from Erik Burnham, Tom Waltz, and Dan Schoening.

Ghostbusters: Answer the Call —The heroines of the 2016 feature film are returning to comics this October, now with their own series, from Ghostbusters veterans, writer Kelly Thompson and artist Corin Howell.

Jem and the Holograms: Dimensions — The new anthology comic set in Jem’s world will premiere this November, with an all-star lineup of rotating creative teams including Jem mainstay Sophie Campbell, plus Kate Leth and Tana Ford joining the jam session.

The X-Files: JFK Disclosure — This two-part special, written by Denton J. Tipton with art by Menton3, will reveal the truth surrounding one of the greatest conspiracies in American history.

Gears of War — The popular video game franchise will return to comics in January 2018, with writer Kurtis Wiebe (Rat Queens) scripting new stories. In addition, IDW will be reprinting the previous Gears of War comics into collections.

Glénat — IDW Publishing and French publisher Glénat are teaming up on a new joint initiative to publish original graphic novels in the U.S. and France, publishing genre graphic novels that will fit into both markets. It kicks off with a new fantasy series, The Highest House, by Mike Carey and Peter Gross, creators of The Unwritten.

30 Days of Night  — Fresh art from the upcoming reimagining of the vampire tale set in Alaska was unveiled. From writer/co-creator Steve Niles and artist Piotr Kowalski (Sex), a new take on the modern classic arrives this December.

Star Trek: Discovery — The first details about the comic book tie-in to the upcoming Star Trek TV series were teased, including a Klingon-centric storyline. It will be written by Mike Johnson and Star Trek: Discovery TV writer Kirsten Beyer with art by Tony Shasteen with more details to come about the October launching title.

Visionaries — Hasbro’s Visionaries return to comics was teased from the creative team of writer Magdalene Visaggio (Kim & Kim) and artist Fico Ossio (Revolution).

Unicron is coming!  — First Strike, the next major Hasbro comic book event from IDW, will see Unicron enter the picture, which can only mean one thing – destruction!

For additional details or assets for all of the above, please reach out to IDW’s media contact.

IDW Publishing thanks all of its talented creators, dedicated fans, and the hardworking staff of Comic-Con International for another amazing year! See you all in 2018!

CA – Wonder Woman Rebirth Signing

Writer Greg Rucka (Black Magick, Stumptown) and artists Nicola Scott (Black Magick, Earth 2), and Liam Sharp (Judge Dredd, co-founder of Madefire) appear at Fantastic Comics on Sunday, August 14, 2016 at 3:00 till 6:00 PM!

Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott will also appear for a Q&A that to continue the shop’s women’s book club discussion of their fantastic comic, BLACK MAGICK, that night at 8:00 PM, details here…

RSVP on Facebook!

Fantastic Comics
2026 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704
510-848-2988

Nerd HQ Returns to San Diego

Press Release:

Zachary Levi and David Coleman’s uber brand The Nerd Machine is bringing fan favorite NERD HQ back to the New Children’s Museum. This marks the sixth year for NERD HQ to set up camp in downtown San Diego for the annual SDCC weekend. NERD HQ brings the nerd community a four-day haven to connect, recharge and enhance their Con experience. This year’s guests can look forward to a return of the preeminent “Conversations for a Cause” panel series, as well as over 160 hands-on gaming experiences on both PC and console brought to you by AMD and Xbox, and a VR experience brought to you by Oculus.

NERD HQ is excited to announce a re-teaming with gaming partner AMD and this year’s new co-headline sponsor, Xbox. This new sponsorship will bring combined 13 playable titles which includes Battlefield 1 courtesy of EA and DICE, playable on 64 PC’s powered by AMD, and Xbox One hands-on gameplay experiences including Gears of War 4, Halo Wars 2, Titanfall 2, Dead Rising 4, ReCore, and Minecraft: Xbox One Edition and many more. Fans will also get to experience several new PC games from The Square Enix Collective including The Turing Test & Black the Fall.

NERD HQ will see the expansion of the fan experience with a new VR gaming lounge, in partnership with Oculus and AMD. Located on the upper level, players can get hands on with a range of VR experiences all playable with the new Oculus Rift.
The fan favorite philanthropic panel series ‘Conversations for a Cause’ will once again be positioned on the lower level in a dedicated enhanced auditorium. The annual panel series has given fans unique opportunities to have sometimes surprising, intimate experiences with their favorite celebrities. Previous panels have played host to some of the biggest names in pop-culture like Joss Whedon, William Shatner, Tom Hiddleston, Tatiana Maslany, Nathan Fillion, Sophie Turner, Andrew Lincoln, Jeff Bridges, Seth Green, Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Guillermo Del Toro, Vin Diesel, Kellan Lutz, Dylan O’Brien and Norman Reedus, just to name a few. Tickets for panels are $22, and all proceeds raised through ticket sales go directly to non-profit Operation Smile whose mission is to help improve the health and lives of children across the world. For 2016, all of the panels will be streamed live on multiple platforms, including Facebook, IGN, AMD & the Nerd Machine YouTube Channel, NerdMachineTV.

The NERD HQ APP and website have undergone a complete rebuild. Guests will be able to pre-register for Nerd HQ, secure gameplay sessions, and link to Brown Paper Tickets to purchase seats for “Conversations for a Cause’ panels. Fans who cannot make the event can watch the entire lineup though an integrated NERD HQ YouTube channel. The Nerd HQ website has also been updated and features all of the same functionality as the Nerd HQ App. ( thenerdmachine.com/nerd-hq ) The Nerd HQ app will be available to download on iOS and Android in early July.

NERD HQ welcomes newest sponsor Johnson & Johnson in 2016. The merging of the company’s popular‘Donate a Photo” app and NERD HQ’s popular “Smiles for Smiles” campaign, will offer fans a new opportunity to raise funds for Operation Smile. Whether it’s through the APP or onsite at NERD HQ for every photo uploaded, Johnson & Johnson donates $1 to Operation Smile*.

Nerd HQ is also partnering with Live.me, the live broadcasting app that has found it’s home in the top 10 app list after only launching in April of this year. It allows fans to share virtual gifts to broadcasters, which can be redeemed for cash. The app will give fans exclusive access to celebrity interviews from the “Conversations for a Cause” green room, along with an insider’s look at all the action during Nerd HQ. In an effort to raise more awareness and support for Operation Smile, all proceeds raised on the official Nerd HQ Live.me channel from July 21-24 will go directly to the organization. Be sure to follow all the excitement at Nerd HQ by downloading Live.me and following The Nerd Machine.

Hallmark debuts its new pop-up shop experience, PopMinded, at Nerd HQ. It will offer a curated selection of Hallmark’s most popular products, including Keepsake Ornaments, featuring iconic pop culture brands. Fans can also purchase a limited edition exclusive Classic TV Series Batman, part of a new line called Squeelys®, pick up free limited edition buttons from the itty bittys® line, and can participate in building a live mural during the four day event.
Fan’s can expect NERD HQ to once again be the destination for the best dance parties in town. This year NERD HQ will bring back the popular Fan Party on Thursday, the exclusive NERD PARTY on Friday, and a final “Dance the Night Away” farewell party on Saturday night to wrap up the weekend.

For the latest information on Nerd HQ 2016 at the New Children’s Museum in downtown San Diego, tune into www.thenerdmachine.com/nerd-hq

BIG WOW! ComicFest Returns this Weekend…May 17-18, 2014

Press Release:

Big Wow! Comic Fest Returns to San Jose on May 17th & 18th, 2014, bringing two great days of Comic Book, Art, Anime, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Gaming and Cosplay FUN! Many of the country’s best vendors of all things cool and collectible will tempt your wallets with the perfect gifts for Geek, Nerds, Fans and True Collectors, everywhere!

Founded in 1979 as “Super-Con”, Big Wow! Comic Fest is not only Northern California’s Longest-Running Comic-Con, but is this year’s Only Major Comics Event in the San Francisco Bay Area!

As the Original Artist-Friendly Show, we have Fantastic Comic Book Creator Guests spanning all decades and genres! This year we are pleased to welcome as our Featured Guests: Charlie Adlard (Artist for the popular “Walking Dead” series), Legendary Illustrator Neal Adams (Batman, X-Men, Avengers), Hellboy Creator Mike Mignola, Fan-Favorites… Travis Charest (Weapons of the Metabarons), Art Adams (X-Men, Godzilla), and more Special Guests including: Dan Brereton (Nocturnals), Mike Zeck (Punisher, Spider-Man, Secret Wars), Joe Linsner (Dawn), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons, Futurama, Disney Poster Artist), Alex Nino (Dead Ahead), Sergio Aragones (Mad Magazine, Groo the Wanderer), Liam Sharp (Gears of War), and many more confirmed and added to our website! Over 200 Comic Creators!

Meet, get autographs, and learn the secrets of Show Biz from our spectacular CELEBRITY GUESTS:

GODZILLA is in the House…Meet Kenpachiro Satsuma, in 1984’s RETURN OF GODZILLA, he would land the title role of Godzilla and continue as the King of Monsters for the next 11 years. This is first time to America in over 20 years.

Also from Japan, meet Satoshi Furuya he enthralled generations of children with his portrayal of the original Ultraman.

Jane Wiedlin is the sexy and charismatic guitar player for The GoGos! One of the best known Rock/Pop groups to emerge from the 1980’s, Jane is back at work, creating a stage production for her self published comic series “Lady Robotica”.

Also Appearing will be: Kevin Bernard Grevioux (Co-Writer, Producer and actor in “Underworld”, “I, Frankenstein” and comic book writer), Damion Poitier (Avengers (in the last 2 minutes, he was the surprise Villian), Star Trek, Hunter Prey…and the son of Sidney Poitier). Also, C. Andrew Nelson (Darth Vader), Parker Stevenson (Hardy Boys), Richard Kiel (007 “Jaws”), William Katt (Greatest American Hero, House)…and more

COSPLAY Guests Jessica Nigri, Riddle (star of “Heroes of Cosplay”), Ivy Doomkitty, Anthony Misano… and many more will all be on site. Along with hundreds and hundreds of amazing fans all in costume.

Super-Star Cartoonist and Big Wow! Bigwig Frank Cho (Liberty Meadows, 50 Girls 50), will teach a 90-minute Figure Drawing Workshop with a live model, demonstrating fundamentals of technique and style. Any aspiring artist is welcome to sit in the audience and work along with Frank, who will provide priceless tips and critiques! And Inker Extraordinaire Mick Gray (Starman, Promethea) will once again provide a weekend-long inking demonstration as he works on his current comic book assignment at his booth! Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see professional comic artists at work!

In conjunction with San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum, Big Wow! Comic Fest proudly presents “BATMAN!, 75 years a Hero” Featuring Seven Decades of Original Art and Memorabilia from the DC Comics world-famous Super Hero. Also, there will be 2 additional shows, “The Art of MIKE ZECK!” And “The ART of FAMOUS MONSTERS”.

And Speaking of Famous Monsters… We are hosting the 1st Annual “Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi Film Festival” with the legendary Famous Monsters Magazine… who are also hosting our Japanese guest, and presenting the “Famous Monsters of Filmland” Pavilion with guests, props, make-up and costume designers and more.

And no Big Wow! ComicFest is complete without our:

Live Art Auction, Costume/Cosplay Contest (Saturday night directly after the show), Gaming, Card & Role-Playing Games, “Creature Features Live” with host: John Stanley, showing the original “Night of the Living Dead.”

Panel Discussions, including: Creating Comics, The Art of Self-Publishing, and how to Design and Create Your Own Costumes! There will be 5 rooms of programming going on, throughout the show.

Tickets are available on the website. And we have tickets available at over 30 participating comic book stores around Northern California.

Admission is only:

1 Day Adult $25.00 (at the door)

2 Day Adult $35.00 (at the door)

1 Day Child (8-14) $10.00 (at the door)

2 Day Child $15.00 (at the door)

CHILDREN UNDER 8 ARE FREE!

*Save $5.00 Off Admission! Buy tickets online, or at many local Comic Book Stores!

FOR MORE INFORMATION we will always have guest and programming updates for the show at: www.bigwowcomicfest.com. Also, most of our Guests will be available before the show for online, phone and in some cases, personal appearance Interviews.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter!

DC – I Know That Voice Screening

John DiMaggio screens his new voice acting documentary “I Know That Voice” at the National Press Club on Friday November 8, 2013 at 6:00 PM!

This is a ticketed event. Click here to jump to the ticket form.

The National Press Club will host the East Coast premiere of the voice acting documentary I Know That Voice on Friday, November 8, at 6:00 p.m. in the Conference Rooms. The film’s executive producer, Annie Award-winning and Emmy-nominated voice actor John DiMaggio, will be on hand to introduce the film and answer questions after the screening, followed by a meet-and-greet and signing. DiMaggio is known for voices such as Bender in Futurama; Jake the Dog in Adventure Time; Marcus Fenix in Gears of War; Rico in The Penguins of Madagascar; Dr. Drakken in Kim Possible; and Schnitzel in Chowder.

I Know That Voice explores every aspect of the voice acting profession, and showcases some of the most talented, versatile, and hard-working members of the entertainment industry. It features interviews with more than 150 top voice actors, casting and voice directors, show creators, producers, voice teachers, and other animation industry luminaries. For a full list of the featured actors and creators, click here.

The documentary will be released on Video on Demand, iTunes, and DVD this December. To watch the trailer on YouTube, click here.

The screening is sponsored by The National Press Club’s Young Members Committee, and is free for Club members and $10 for nonmembers. The signing session is limited to one item per person.

National Press Club
529 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20045