NYC – Halloween ComicFest 2014

Press Release:

JHU Comic Books celebrates Halloween ComicFest on Saturday October 25th!

It’s a day full of free comics, “The Greatest Halloween Costume Contest Ever,” signings, sales and more for comic and Halloween fans to experience together. During Halloween ComicFest, 19 new full-sized and mini comics will be available at JHU Comic Books for anyone who wants to participate!

Signing Schedule:

10am – Noon – Jacob Chabot (Hello Kitty, Skullboy, Strange Tales)

Noon – 2pm – Diana Leto (My Little Pony, Co-creator and co-illustrator of the Dark Horse graphic novel, The Halloween Legion ™)

Noon -2pm – Paul Castiglia (Archie’s Weird Mysteries, Midnight Marquee Vincent Price, Scared Silly)

5pm – 6pm – Greg Pak (Planet Hulk, Action Comics, Batman/Superman, Storm)

5pm – 6pm – Fred Van Lente (Archer & Armstrong, Cowboys & Aliens, Incredible Hercules, The Delinquents)

RSVP on Facebook!

JHU Comic Books MANHATTAN
32 East 32nd Street, New York, NY 10016
(212) 268-7088

NC – Free Comic Book Day 2014

Joe Quinones, Maris Wicks, Yale Stewart, Jacob Chabot, Erica Henderson, and many more sign at Acme Comics on Saturday May 3, 2014 for Free Comic Book Day!

RSVP on Facebook!

Press Release:

The countdown is on as Acme steps into the next age of the Triad’s oldest & largest comic book store, consolidating their creative power back into the Lawndale Shopping Center and strengthening it’s partnership with Geeksboro Coffeehouse Cinema to bring you the best Free Comic Book Day ever!

2014 IMPROVEMENTS

–57 different comic offerings, up from last year’s 52, PLUS whatever other promo books we find around the shop to add to the mix! The first 50 people in line are guaranteed a copy of each book, an offer so appealing it pushes the physical boundaries of the official Free Comic Book Day bags!

–The air-conditioned and waterproofed Sketch Pavilion in Acme Comics Presents will be streamlined to get you through the line faster than ever before while ensuring all attendees that would like to have the opportunity to get their books signed and get a one of kind commission can do so for FREE!

–Geeksboro’s main floor will also play host to even more artists with which to visit!

–Discover more about one of our favorite publishers as we screen Sequart’s Image Revolution featuring length documentary in the 48 seat theatre downstairs in Geeksboro!

–Get to know renowned local cosplayers like Ed “Static Shock” Newsome, Caitlin “Robin” Rhyne, Ian “War Machine” Raulston, and many, MANY more on the sidewalks of the Lawndale Shopping Center!

–FREE face-painting by Munchie & Me!

–Once again, hang out all night and all day and all night again at Geeksboro as our pals down the sidewalk will be open straight through on Friday for the food, beverages, and facility conveniences for anyone camping out over night, all day Saturday to provide refreshments and entertainment to event-goers, and until 2 AM Saturday night for the after-party to beat all after-parties!

–Pub-style Superhero Trivia on Saturday night complete with cash & comic prizes!

–Have small children and want to avoid some of the crowds? Stop by to pick up a bag of books and visit with creators at the Greensboro Children’s Museum (6 books, 3 artists) and the Windsor Recreation Center (4 books, 4 artists) from 10 AM – 1 PM!

Creators Appearing at Acme Comics & Geeksboro Coffeehouse Cinema:

—Thomas Boatwright – Orc Girl, Cemetery Blues, Halloween Legion, Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo

—Jacob Chabot – Mighty Skullboy Army, Hello Kitty, Voltron Force, SpongeBob

—Casey Coller – Transformers Robots in Disguise, Transformers More than Meets the Eye

—Chris Giarrusso – G-Man, Aw Yeah Comics, Mini Marvels, Bullpen Bits

—Erica Henderson – Subatomic Party Girls, Atomic Robo Real Science Adventures

—Sandy Jarrell – Batman ’66, Meteor Men, Wasteland

—Tracy Lee Quinn – freelance illustrator, Free Comic Book Day poster

—Joe Quinones – Ultimate Comics Survive, FF, Batman Black & White, Batman ’66

—Amanda Rachels – Flesh of White, Arcana’s the Book, Clown Town

—Gregg Schigiel – Pix Teenage American Fairy, SpongeBob Comics, X-Babies

—Brian Smith – Stuff of Legend, Intrepid EscapeGoat, Uncle Ant

—Yale Stewart – JL8 (Little League), Nova

—Randall Trang – Roller Girl & the Flying Sidekick

—Michael Watkins – Sonic the Hedgehog, Transformers

—Maris Wicks – Primates, Yes, Let’s, Batman Black & White

—Kelly Yates – MonstHer, Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time, Doctor Who: Fairytale

Acme Comics
2150 Lawndale Drive, Greensboro, NC 27408
336-574-2263

Hello Kitty Comic to Debut at SDCC 2013

Press Release:

Viz Media and Sanrio® Announce Publishing Deal to Develop Original Hello Kitty® Graphic Novels

Pop Culture Icon Hello Kitty® And Her Friends Will Debut In Two VIZ Kids Offerings

San Francisco, CA, February 11, 2013 – Viz Media, LLC (Viz Media), the largest publisher, distributor and licensor of manga, graphic novels and anime in North America, has announced a new publishing deal with Sanrio, Inc., the global lifestyle brand and parent company of pop icon Hello Kitty®, to develop a series of original graphic novels, and a special single-volume comic featuring a limited-edition Hello Kitty design.

The single-volume Hello Kitty® comic is scheduled to debut at the 2013 Comic-Con Show in San Diego with a Comic-Con exclusive cover by Eisner-nominated artist Jacob Chabot. The comic will feature art by Victoria Maderna, Ian McGinty and Chabot. The main graphic novel series is scheduled to launch in the Fall of 2013 with Here We Go!, a collection of comic stories about Hello Kitty’s travels. Both offerings will be rated ‘A’ for All Ages, and will be published under the company’s VIZ Kids imprint. Viz Media previously teamed with Sanrio and video game company CAPCOM to develop a pair of fun STREET FIGHTER® X Sanrio books that were released in November 2012.

HELLO KITTY®: HERE WE GO!• MSRP: $7.99 US / $9.99 CAN • Available Fall 2013
Hello Kitty has places to be and friends to meet! Join her (or Hello Kitty) as she explores an underground realm, chases an unsavory cake thief around the world, climbs the Himalayas, travels back in time, and discovers that sometimes, the best place to get away from it all is between the pages of a good book.

HELLO KITTY® FASHION MUSIC WONDERLAND • MSRP: $6.99 US / $7.99 CAN • Available Summer 2013
It’s Hello Kitty as you’ve never seen her, in stories filled with fashion, music and adventure!

Sanrio® is the global company behind classic iconic characters Hello Kitty®, Little Twin Stars®, My Melody®, and many more. Sanrio® was founded in the 1960’s in Japan by Shintaro Tsuji, whose simple dream of bringing smiles to people’s faces grew into the brand’s “small gift, big smile” philosophy. This philosophy has served as the inspiration for the broad spectrum of products bearing the likeness of endearing characters that have helped to skyrocket the brand into a $5 billion- a-year business. Sanrio® recently acquired the classic Mr. Men Little Miss™ brand which also has graphic novels published by Viz Media.

“Sanrio and Hello Kitty are synonymous with the very essence of pop culture, and we’re very excited to have Hello Kitty as part of the VIZ Kids family of titles,” says Beth Kawasaki, Viz Media Senior Editorial Director. “The new wordless comic and graphic novel series will appeal to Hello Kitty fans of all ages. Viz Media is having a blast creating the fun new original series and we can’t wait for everyone to see the books.”

For more information on VIZ Kids graphic novels and manga, please visit VIZKids.com.

About Sanrio
Sanrio, best known for global icon Hello Kitty and home to many endearing characters including Chococat, My Melody, and Keroppi, is a worldwide lifestyle brand founded on the “small gift, big smile®” philosophy — that a small gift can bring happiness and friendship to people of all ages. For over 50 years, this philosophy has served as the inspiration for the broad spectrum of unique Sanrio products and experiences. Today, more than 50,000 Sanrio-branded items are available in over 70 countries and upwards of 12,000 U.S. locations including department, specialty, national chain stores and over 100 Sanrio boutiques. For more information, please visit www.sanrio.com and www.facebook.com/hellokitty.

About Viz Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Viz Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan. Owned by three of Japan’s largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha, Inc., Shogakukan, Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., Viz Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, Viz Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages. Viz Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products. Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.

CA – Legends of Voice Acting LIVE

Rob Paulsen, Tara Strong, Cree Summer, and Maurice Lamarche appear on a live edition of the Pop My Culture podcast with hosts Cole Stratton and Vanessa Ragland on Sunday, September 23rd at 5:00p.m. at Five Stars Bar in Los Angeles.

Buy tickets ($5.00) at the link.

Press Release:

Prepare to have your culture popped! Named the #2 Best Comedy Podcast of the Moment by Rolling Stone and to Top 10 lists by IFC.com and Mashable.com, Pop My Culture is a weekly-ish podcast hosted by comedic actors and improvisers Cole Stratton and Vanessa Ragland. Join these two entertainment nerds and their special guests as they discuss movies, music, television, celebrity gossip, etc. without all those pesky “serious” topics like politics, religion and the environment. I mean, you can tune into Fresh Air for that. We’ll just tackle the trivial watercooler stuff, ok? Oh, and check out their past episodes on iTunes, popmyculturepodcast.com and on nerdist.com.

For this special live edition at RIOT, Cole and Vanessa are thrilled to welcome some legendary guests that have voiced tons of your favorite cartoon characters, including Rob Paulsen (Animaniacs, Pinky & The Brain, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Tara Strong (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Teen Titans, Rugrats, The Fairly OddParents), Cree Summer (Inspector Gadget, Tiny Toons, Batman Beyond), Maurice LaMarche (Futurama, Pinky & The Brain) and more to be announced soon!

Five Stars Bar
267 S. Main Street Los Angeles, CA 90012