UK – Brian K. Vaughan Signing

Brian K. Vaughan, author of Saga, Paper Girls, Y: The Last Man, Runaways, and many more, signs at Travelling Man York on Friday September 22nd 2017 from 4.30pm till 6.30pm.

RSVP on Facebook!

Travelling Man
54 Goodramgate, YO1 7LF York, UK
+44 1904 628787

2017 Ringo Awards Final Ballot Announced

Press Release:

The 2017 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards are to be presented on the evening of Saturday, September 23, 2017 as part of the fan- and pro-favorite convention, the Baltimore Comic-Con. The Ringo Awards has completed the 2017 nomination process, which was inclusive of fans and comic book professionals alike, and both communities showed strong support, both in talking about us on their websites, blogs, and social media feeds, and by submitting their nominations.

With the nomination deadline looming, we continued to see significant volume each day, and determined we needed to extend our original voting deadline to accommodate as many interested participants as we reasonably could without adversely impacting our ability to release and provide sufficient voting time for the final ballot. The augmentation in participation during the nomination extension ended up being significant.

Voting on the 2017 Final Ballot is restricted to comic book industry creative community — anyone involved in and credited with creating comics professionally. We now present the inaugural Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards Final Ballot.

Fan and Pro Nomination Categories

* Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist)

• Daniel Clowes
• Steve Conley
• Hernandez Brothers
• Aydin Anh Huynh (Snailords)
• Kaitlyn Narvaza (instantmiso)
• Skottie Young

* Best Writer

• PJ Haarsma & Alan Tudyk
• Jody Houser
• Tom King
• Robert Kirkman
• Jeff Lemire
• Alan Moore
• Mark Waid
• David Walker
• Gerard Way

* Best Artist or Penciller

• Kaare Andrews
• Cliff Chiang
• Rafael de Latorre
• Mitch Gerards
• Jason Johnson
• Jason Latour
• Dustin Nguyen
• Fiona Staples

* Best Inker

• Mark Brooks
• Jeremy Freeman
• Jonathan Glapion
• Jason Latour
• Jae Lee
• Danny Miki
• Sean Murphy
• Victor Olazaba

* Best Letterer

• Clayton Cowles
• Taylor Esposito
• Todd Klein
• Troy Peteri
• John Workman

* Best Colorist

• Jordie Bellaire
• Tamra Bonvillain
• Elizabeth Breitweiser
• Laura Martin
• Rico Renzi
• Sarah Stone
• Matt Wilson

* Best Cover Artist

• Frank Cho
• Mike Del Mundo
• JG Jones
• Phil Noto
• Ryan Sook
• Fiona Staples
• Sana Takeda

* Best Series

• Faith, Valiant Entertainment
• Paper Girls, Image Comics
• Saga, Image Comics
• Spectrum, Automatic Pictures
• Vision, Marvel Comics

* Best Single Issue or Story

• Deadly Hands of Criminal, Image Comics
• DC Universe Rebirth #1, DC Comics
• Emancipation Day, Redistrictedcomics.com
• Faith #1, Valiant Entertainment
• Locke & Key: Small World, IDW Publishing

* Best Original Graphic Novel

• Ghosts, Scholastic/Graphix
• March: Book III, Top Shelf Productions
• Patience, Daniel Clowes, Fantagraphics
• Tetris: The Games People Play, First Second
• Wonder Woman: The True Amazon, DC Comics

* Best Anthology

• Dark Horse Presents, Dark Horse Comics
• Island, Image Comics
• Love is Love, DC Comics/IDW Publishing
• ReDistrictedComics.com
• Wonder Woman 75th Anniversary Special, DC Comics

* Best Humor Comic

• Adventures of God, Line Webtoons
• Blue Chair, Line Webtoons
• Giant Days, BOOM! Studios
• I Hate Fairyland, Image Comics
• Jughead, Archie Comics
• Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Marvel Comics

* Best Comic Strip or Panel

• Bloom County, Berkeley Breathed, Universal Uclick
• Dick Tracy, Joe Staton & Mike Curtis, Tribune Media Services
• Foxtrot, Bill Amend, Universal Press Syndicate
• Mutts, Patrick McDonnell, King Features Syndicate
• Pearls Before Swine, Stephan Pastis, Universal Uclick

* Best Webcomic

• Girl Genius, Phil Foglio
• Siren’s Lament, Kaitlyn Narvaza (instantmiso)
• The Middle Age, Steve Conley
• The Red Hook, Dean Haspiel
• unOrdinary, uru-chan

* Best Non-fiction Comic Work

• Cooking Comically
• Dark Night, A True Batman Story, DC Comics
• March: Book Three, Top Shelf Productions
• ReDistrictedComics.com
• Rolling Blackouts, Drawn and Quarterly
• Tetris: The Games People Play, First Second

* Best Presentation in Design

• Aliens 30th Anniversary: The Original Comic Series, Dark Horse Comics
• Al Williamson’s Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Artist Edition, IDW Publishing
• Britannia, Valiant Entertainment
• Legacy of Luther Strode, Image Comics
• Mike Mignola’s Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects: Artist’s Edition Hardcover, IDW Publishing
• Moebius Library: The World of Edena, Dark Horse Books
• The ODY-C: Cycle One Hardcover, Image Comics
• Spectrum, Automatic Pictures

Comic pros can navigate to the website to submit their vote.

In addition to Final Ballot categories, both Fan-Only Favorites from the nomination ballot and Hero Initiative Awards (The Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award and The Dick Giordano Humanitarian Award) will be presented at the Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards ceremony the evening of September 23, 2017.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NYC – Wonder Woman Day Signing

Cliff Chiang, Phil Jimenez, and Brian Azzarello celebrate Wonder Woman Day at Midtown Comics Downtown on Saturday, June 3rd from 1:00 – 4:00 PM! Plus, there will be freebies and prizes – while supplies last.

RSVP on Facebook!

Midtown Comics Downtown
64 Fulton Street, New York, New York 10038
(212) 302-8192

Five Points Festival 2017: Designer Toys, Comics & NYC

Press Release:

The Five Points Festival is a collision of toys, comics, and counterculture curated by Clutter Magazine and sponsored by Midtown Comics and Playcrafting NYC. A designer toy and comic convention coming May 20-21, 2017 to Pier 36 on New York’s Lower East Side, Five Points is two days and nights of comic artists and writers, vinyl and plastic toys, original art, food trucks, and craft breweries – bringing together 15,000 tastemakers, misfits, and rebels in a one-of-a-kind marketplace! Get your tickets now at the link…

• The Midtown Comics booth will present mega signings with comic royalty including Greg Capullo, Scott Snyder, Nick Spencer, Dan Slott, and Bryan Lee O’Malley! And be on the look out for Five Points exclusives, too, with details coming soon to our Facebook, Twitter, and blog!
• Meet amazing Designer Toy Artists including Ron English, Amanda Louise Spayd, Chris Ryniak, Gary Ham, Huck Gee, James Groman, Jason Freeny, Jeff Lamm, Peter Kato, Simone Legno, Tara McPherson, and many more!
• Rub elbows with 150 amazing creators in our Artist Alley including Amy Reeder, Andrew MacLean, Annie Wu, Ben Templesmith, Christopher Hastings, Cliff Chiang, Jamal Igle, Mags Visaggio, Ronald Wimberly, Sean Gordon Murphy, Tini Howard, and more!
• All of our vendors can be found here and the list keeps growing every day.
• Outside Pier 36, you’ll find all delicious food trucks including Korilla, Nuchas Empanadas, and Big D’s Grub – and a craft beer garden!
• Grab an exclusive Dunny designed by Gary Ham! Available in three colors, 3″ tall, and limited to 1000 pieces total (across the three versions), this is the first production Dunny created by Gary Ham in the world!
• Want the yellow and black Gary Ham Dunny? You’ll want to be a VIP, as it is included with the VIP ticket! Our yellow and black Dunny is limited to only 250 pieces, and being a VIP is the only way to guarantee this colorway! You’ll also get a ticket into the Designer Toy Awards on Friday night, early access into Five Points, and access to the Saturday night party by Sonicboombox!
• All the awesomeness kicks off at the Designer Toy Awards presented by Lagunitas! The entire art toy world comes together on Friday, May 19 at Webster Hall, and a a VIP ticket is the ONLY way for you to join ’em!

RSVP on Facebook!

MoCCA Arts Festival 2017 Programming Announced

Press Release:

Programming for the MoCCA Arts Festival 2017 will take place at the beautiful Ink48 Hotel (653 11th Avenue at 48th street), steps away from our primary venue, Metropolitan West at 639 West 46th Street. Organized by Best American Comics Series Editor Bill Kartalopoulos, this year’s programming will feature spotlight sessions from distinguished creators and historians. A full schedule of events will be released in the coming months.

To view past MoCCA Arts Festival lectures please visit our youtube channel, which includes videos from past speakers Rebecca Sugar, Cece Bell, Fiona Staple, Robert Williams, Alison Bechdel, Bill Griffith, Jillian Tamaki, and many more!

For directions please visit our Directions and Ticketing page.

SATURDAY, APRIL 1 PROGRAMMING

12:30PM / Garamond Room
Reading Without Walls: Diversity in Comics
Gene Luen Yang is the National Book Award-nominated author of graphic novels including American Born Chinese and Boxers and Saints. When he was named the fifth National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, he chose as his theme “Reading Without Walls” to promote diversity in reading. Gene will be joined by a panel including Damian Duffy (Kindred, Black Comix), Hazel Newlevant (Chainmail Bikini), and Whit Taylor (The Nib) in a conversation about issues of diversity in comics. Moderated by Jonathan W. Gray (John Jay College- CUNY).

12:30PM / Helvetica Room
Drew Friedman: Heroes of the Comics
In Heroes of the Comics and his new follow-up volume More Heroes of the Comics, illustrator and cartoonist Drew Friedman has produced a series of affectionate, beautifully rendered portraits of important figures from the history of American comic books, accompanied by short informative biographies. Friedman will discuss selected figures from his two books with Fantagraphics publisher Gary Groth, special guest Al Jaffee, who is featured in the first volume, and Karen Green, ‎Curator for Comics and Cartoons at Columbia University’s Rare Book & Manuscript Library, who provides the second volume’s introduction.

BREAK

2:00PM / Garamond Room
Blutch in Conversation with David Mazzucchelli
Internationally renowned artist Blutch joins us from France to celebrate the publication of his graphic novel Peplum in an English-language edition by New York Review Comics. His work marries the lush grace of an informed observational artist with a playful and sophisticated approach to form that marks him as a devoted maker of comics. In this special event, he will appear in conversation with his friend and colleague David Mazzucchelli (City of Glass, Asterios Polyp) for a conversation moderated by Bill Kartalopoulos.

2:00PM / Helvetica Room
Covering Trump: Steve Brodner Edel Rodriguez in Conversation
Illustrators Steve Brodner and Edel Rodriguez have produced some of the most striking and memorable artwork of this past year’s U.S. Presidential election. Brodner’s work has appeared widely in multiple venues, including the covers of the Village Voice and The Nation. Rodriguez’s “Meltdown” and “Total Meltdown” covers for Time captured key moments in the Presidential campaign, and his stark covers for Germany’s Der Spiegel have been among the most widely seen political images since the election. Legendary art director Steven Heller will speak with these two artists about their careers, their election coverage, and the function of art in politically fraught times.

BREAK

3:30PM / Garamond Room
Fit to Print: French Artists in The New York Times
Art director Alexandra Zsigmond searches widely for artists to commission as illustrators for The New York Times. Over the past several years, she has worked with many artists who graduated from the Haute école des arts du Rhin (HEAR), an art school in Strasbourg, France. Zsigmond’s work with more than a dozen of these artists is currently the subject of the exhibit Fit to Print, hanging at the Society of Illustrators and The New York Times Building. At MoCCA, she will speak with artists including Lucie Larousse, Mayumi Otero, Eugène Riousse, Simon Roussin, and Raphael Urwiller to discuss their unique work, the influence of Strasbourg, and how they collaborate to produce work for the Times.

3:30PM / Helvetica Room
Cliff Chiang Q+A
Comics artist and illustrator Cliff Chiang made his mark working on numerous titles published by DC Comics, including Human Target and Beware the Creeper. He achieved greater prominence with the serial Doctor 13: Architecture and Morality and a long run on Wonder Woman, both written by Brian Azzarello. He currently draws Paper Girls, written by Brian K. Vaughan and published by Image Comics. He will discuss his work and his career with writer and former President and Publisher of DC Comics Paul Levitz.

SUNDAY, APRIL 2 PROGRAMMING

12:30PM / Garamond Room
David Lloyd in the Spotlight
British comics artist David Lloyd began his career working for Marvel’s UK division and then gained international fame with his collaboration with Alan Moore, V for Vendetta. A perennial classic of ultimately hopeful dystopian fiction in the comics form, V for Vendetta has not only spawned a successful film adaptation but continues to provide resonant iconography for protest movements including the Anonymous collective. Beyond V, Lloyd’s body of work includes the graphic novel Kickback and the online comics project Aces High. Lloyd will discuss his work and his career with comics scholar Kent Worcester in this rare conversation.

12:30PM / Helvetica Room
Teaching Comics Internationally
For much of their history, comics have been a self-taught discipline. Now students are learning how to make comics in a variety of academic environments, from dedicated schools to majors to minors to electives. This panel will bring together a group of international comics educators to discuss the programs they teach in and the different ways in which they approach teaching comics. Bill Kartalopoulos will lead a conversation with Jessica Abel (Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, US), Guillaume Dégé (Haute école des arts du Rhin, France), Ben Katchor (Parsons The New School for Design, US), and Merav Solomon (Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Israel).

BREAK

2:00PM / Garamond Room
Rutu Modan and David Polonsky in Conversation
Israeli artists Rutu Modan and David Polonsky are both known for the excellence of their artwork and for their provocative approach to blending historical and current events into their imaginative works. Modan is best known in North America for her graphic novels Exit Wounds and The Property and for her short story collection Jamilti. Polonsky is best known in North America as the art director for the animated film Waltz With Bashir, directed by Ari Folman. He is also the illustrator of the graphic novel based upon the film. Modan and Polonsky will discuss their work with comics scholar and writer Tahneer Oksman (How Come Boys Get to Keep Their Noses?).

2:00PM / Helvetica Room
RESIST!
In the weeks between the 2016 Presidential election and the 2017 inauguration, Françoise Mouly and Nadja Spiegelman edited RESIST!, a newsprint anthology of comics and cartoons, mostly by women. 58,000 copies of the newspaper were distributed for free by a grassroots network of volunteers during the Women’s Marches in Washington and across the country. RESIST! used online networks to solicit contributions and in the process became a new kind of hybrid platform: both an ongoing online forum for urgent expression by diverse voices and a print publication that has its roots in the Sixties underground press. In this special session, Mouly and Spiegelman will discuss the development — and the future — of RESIST! 

BREAK

3:30PM / Garamond Room
Anthologies as Art: Kramers Ergot and Lagon
The great anthologies of comics history — Zap, Weirdo, RAW, and others — have both made an assertion of comics’ aesthetic ambition at a certain time and place while functioning as a personal expression by each series’ editors. Sammy Harkham is the editor of Kramers Ergot, the anthology which, since 2003, has generated excitement with each volume as a strong statement about contemporary art comics in North America. Alexis Beauclair is the co-editor of Lagon, which debuted in 2014 as a risographed encapsulation of French avant-garde comics, and has metamorphosed with each volume leading to the latest, Gouffre. They will discuss their work as artists and editors with Bill Kartalopoulos.

3:30PM / Helvetica Room
Becky Cloonan Q+A
A graduate of SVA, artist and writer Becky Cloonan first made her mark with her collaborations with Brian Wood, Channel Zero: Jennie One and Demo. Her first graphic novel, East Coast Rising, was published in 2006. Her self-published works include Wolves, Demeter and The Mire, which earned her an Eisner Award for Best Single Issue. In 2012 she became the first woman to draw a main Batman title. Following Batman, she did the art for The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys and later created Gotham Academy for DC Comics. She is currently writing the sci-fi horror Southern Cross for Image Comics, and The Punisher for Marvel. She will discuss her career and her work with SVA MFA in Visual Narrative Chair and illustrator Nathan Fox.

TX – Paper Girls Signing

Artist Cliff Chiang (Paper Girls, Wonder Woman) appears at Austin Books & Comics on Friday, April 28th from 4:00 – 6:00 PM.

RSVP on Facebook!

Austin Books & Comics
5002 N. Lamar Blvd, Austin, TX 78751
(512) 454-4197

Another Round of HeroesCon 2017 Guests Announced

HeroesCon has announced more new guests for their 35th anniversary show including Neal Adams, Tom Bancroft, Mike Maihack, Jerry Ordway, Joe Rubinstein, Matthew Rosenberg, and more! HeroesCon 2017 takes place June 16-18, 2017 at the Charlotte Convention Center.

JOEL ADAMS | Lilz, Bucky O’Hare
NEAL ADAMS | Coming of the Supermen, Batman: Odyssey, Green Lantern, X-Men
DAVE AIKINS | SpongeBob, Dora and Friends, Zombies!!!
BOB ALMOND | Stan Lee’s Guardian Project, Black Panther, Heroes For Hire, Warlock
NATALIE ANDREWSON | Mamuna, Meanwhile
TOM BANCROFT | Opposite Forces, Mulan, Tomo
WES BROOKS | Undead Speed Equipment, Grim Riders
FRANK BRUNNER | Dr Strange, Conan, Howard the Duck
BUZZ | JSA, Vampirella, Atomika
BOB CAMP | Ren & Stimpy, Thundercats
PATY COCKRUM | SATURDAY ONLY  The Cat, Nightcrawler
JUAN DOE | American Monster, Solar, X-Men:198, Legion of Monsters, Fantastic Four
JASON FISCHER | Terra Flats, Seconds, Kaijumax
BEN FISHER | Grumpy Cat, Smuggling Spirits, Hexen Hammers
JARED K FLETCHER |Paper Girls, Southern Bastards, The Goddamned
NAOMI FRANQUIZ | Misfit City, Bitch Planet, Power & Magic
MICHAEL GARLAND | The Black Monday Murders, Curse Words, Wolverine, Captain Marvel
DUSTIN HARBIN | BEHOLD! The Dinosaurs, DIARY COMICS, Nutted!, DHARBIN!
ANDY HIRSCH | The Baker Street Peculiars, Varmints, Garfield
DANIEL LEISTER | Hack/Slash
MARISSA LOUISE | Spell on Wheels, Spook House, Robocop
MIKE MAIHACK | Cleopatra in Space, Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman
JERRY ORDWAY | Superman , Captain Marvel, Infinity Inc., WildStar
RON RANDALL | TREKKER, Future Quest, Supergirl
MATTHEW ROSENBERG | Rocket Raccoon, Secret Warriors, 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank, Kingpin
JOE RUBINSTEIN | Wolverine, Avengers, Daredevil
BRIAN SCHIRMER | Black Jack Ketchum, Backpacers, Ultrasylvania
BRIAN SHEARER | GI Joe, Transformers, Doctor Who, William the Last
MARLIN SHOOP | LARP!, Grimm’s Fairy Tales: Myths and Legends
DOMO STANTON | Starbrand & Nightmask, Prez, Deadpool, Chozen
ERIC TALBOT | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Melting Pot
JOEY WEISER | Mermin, Spongebob Squarepants
MATT WIERINGO | Ringo Scholarship

RSVP on the Facebook event page!

For the most up-to-date information, check our blog, or sign up for the weekly Heroes Hotline newsletter. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

BUYING AN ADVANCE PASS MEANS YOU’LL GET ANY ADVANCE INCENTIVES WE OFFER, FREE!

ENTRY WILL BE $25: FRI $25: SAT $20: SUN / AT THE SHOW ITSELF, SO YOU SAVE AS MUCH AS $20 BY PURCHASING ADVANCE PASSES TODAY! TICKETS ARE NOT REFUNDABLE, UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES WE MAY CREDIT AN UNUSABLE TICKET TOWARD FUTURE TICKET PURCHASES.

HEROES CONVENTION was founded in 1982 by Shelton Drum, owner of Charlotte’s Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find comics shop. Since then the convention has become famous for its comics-first and family-friendly atmosphere, where fans can mingle directly with professionals and exhibitors. Boasting an incredible guest list built mainly on reputation and goodwill, HeroesCon is known nationwide as a “must” on the summer schedule, drawing fans, exhibitors, and creators from all over the world to the Charlotte Convention Center.

HeroesCon 2017 Announces Another Round of Guests

HeroesCon has announced more new guests for their 35th anniversary show including Jason Aaron, Todd Dezago, Francesco Francavilla, Tommy Lee Edwards, and more! HeroesCon 2017 takes place June 16-18, 2017 at the Charlotte Convention Center.

JASON AARON | Southern Bastards, Star Wars, Scalped, Thor, Dr Strange
JEN BARTEL | Jem and the Holograms, Star Trek: Starfleet Academy
JOHN BEATTY | Secret Wars, Punisher, Batman, Thanos Quest
ALLEN BELLMAN | Golden Age artist for Timely, Marvel, Atlas
DANICA BRINE | Survivorland
ED BRISSON | Iron Fist, Bullseye, The Violent
RYAN CODY | Doc Unknown, Monstrous, The Phantom
JAMIE COSLEY | Cody the Cavalier
PATRICK DEAN | FLUKE, Big Deal Comics & Stories
JEFF DEKAL | Hulk, Journey Into Mystery, Avengers World, Shadowman
TODD DEZAGO | Tellos, Perhapanauts, Spider-Man
MICHAEL DOONEY | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Grimm Fairy Tales, Gizmo
TOMMY LEE EDWARDS | Mother Panic, Marvel 1985, The Question, Star Wars, Wolverine
JOEY ELLIS | Leaky Timbers
LOGAN FAERBER | Namwolf, Adventure Time, Bravest Warriors
FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA | Afterlife with Archie, The Black Beetle, Detective Comics
JOE GIELLA | Batman, Green Lantern, Marvel’s Strength & Fitness & Superhero Cook Book
ADAM GORHAM | The Violent, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
STEPHEN GREEN | BPRD, The Legacy of Luther Strode, Dark Horse Presents
JEREMY HAUN | The Beauty, Batwoman, Bad Karma, The Darkness
MATT HORAK | Punisher, Octo Skull
GEOF ISHERWOOD | Conan, Dr. Strange, Suicide Squad, Namor
SANDY JARRELL | Reggie and Me, DC Bombshells, Black Canary
CASEY JONES | Fantastic Four, Exiles, Excalibur, New Warriors
ERIC LAYTON | Blood Blister, the Remaining, Grim Ghost
BRIAN LEVEL | The Mantle, Constantine
KEVIN MELLON | Archer, Suicide Sisters, Heart, Lovestruck
ROBERT NEWSOME | Atomic Elbow, FLUKE
GEOFF SHAW | God Country, Buzzkill, The Paybacks
JOE STATON | Green Lantern, E-Man, Dick Tracy, Scooby Doo
JIM TOWE | Youngblood
DAVE WACHTER | Breath of Bones, The Guns of Shadow Valley, Godzilla: Cataclysm
MATT WILSON | The Wicked + The Divine, Daredevil, Paper Girls, Black Widow
ROBERT WILSON IV | Bitch Planet, Laser Joan, Knuckleheads
RENEE WITTERSTAETTER | Excess: The Art of Michael Golden, Joe Jusko: Savage Beauty

RSVP on the Facebook event page!

For the most up-to-date information, check our blog, or sign up for the weekly Heroes Hotline newsletter. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

TICKETS AVAILABLE HERE

BUYING AN ADVANCE PASS MEANS YOU’LL GET ANY ADVANCE INCENTIVES WE OFFER, FREE!

ENTRY WILL BE $25: FRI $25: SAT $20: SUN / AT THE SHOW ITSELF, SO YOU SAVE AS MUCH AS $20 BY PURCHASING ADVANCE PASSES TODAY! TICKETS ARE NOT REFUNDABLE, UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES WE MAY CREDIT AN UNUSABLE TICKET TOWARD FUTURE TICKET PURCHASES.

HEROES CONVENTION was founded in 1982 by Shelton Drum, owner of Charlotte’s Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find comics shop. Since then the convention has become famous for its comics-first and family-friendly atmosphere, where fans can mingle directly with professionals and exhibitors. Boasting an incredible guest list built mainly on reputation and goodwill, HeroesCon is known nationwide as a “must” on the summer schedule, drawing fans, exhibitors, and creators from all over the world to the Charlotte Convention Center.

NYC – Image Day 2017 Signing

Cliff Chiang, Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher, Karen Berger, Brandon Montclare, Amy Reeder, Alex de Campi, Joe Harris, Ivan Brandon, Jason Katzenstein, and W. Maxwell Prince sign at Forbidden Planet on Wednesday, February 1, 2017 from 6:00 – 8:00 PM to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Image Comics!

RSVP on Facebook!

Forbidden Planet
832 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
212-473-1576

Guests of Honor Announced for MoCCA Arts Festival 2017

Press Release:

The Society of Illustrators is proud to share this year’s stellar list of Guests of Honor for the MoCCA Arts Festival, taking place April 1-2 at Metropolitan West in New York City. This year’s featured Guests of Honor are:

• Acclaimed French cartoonist Blutch, whose graphic novel Peplum marks his second English- language translation, makes his first ever appearance at a North American comics festival.
• Cliff Chiang, known for his “fluid and confident storytelling” in work on comics including Human Target, Beware the Creeper, Wonder Woman, and Paper Girls.
• Artist Becky Cloonan, whose best-selling comics include Demo, East Coast Rising, American Virgin, Gotham Academy, The Punisher, and many others.
• Illustrator Drew Friedman, recognized for his body of comics work as well as his unforgettable caricatures of celebrities and legends, political figures and performers.
• British comics artist David Lloyd, best known as the artist of V for Vendetta, written by Alan Moore, and the designer of the iconic Guy Fawkes mask since adopted by Anonymous.
• American Born Chinese and Boxers & Saints author Gene Luen Yang, the current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and a prestigious MacArthur Foundation fellow, who will appear on Saturday only.

This diverse group of artists exemplifies the limitless aesthetic and social power of comics and cartooning. The MoCCA Arts Festival will take place April 1 – 2nd from 11:00AM – 6:00PM at Metropolitan West (636 W. 46th St.) with programming mere steps away at Ink48 (653 11th Ave).

Price of admission is $5 per day and will grant attendees access to the Fest including the Exhibitors Hall, on-site Gallery space, and programming. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door. Children under twelve are free. Further scheduling information regarding our Guests of Honor’s visits will be available in future announcements.

Applications to table at the Fest are now available online, and will close on December 31st.

ABOUT THE GUESTS OF HONOR

Blutch
Born Christian Hincker in Strasbourg, France, comic artist and writer Blutch is widely recognized for his incredible draftsmanship and his affectionate, outsider’s take on American culture including cinema and jazz. His comics debuted in the magazine Fluide Glacial in the 1980s. Since then he has published many books with publishers including L’Association, Cornelius, and Dargaud. His books So Long, Silver Screen (Picturebox) and Peplum (New York Review Comics) have been translated into English, and his illustrations have appeared in publications including Libération and The New Yorker. In 2009, he won the prestigious Grand Prix at the Festival International de la Bande Dessinée in Angoulême, France. His visit to North America is supported by Europe Comics

Cliff Chiang
Comic artist Cliff Chiang began his career as an illustrator for Disney Adventures Magazine and Vertigo/DC before moving on to freelance. His client list includes DC Comics, GQ Magazine, Lucasfilm, Warner Animation, Dark Horse Comics, Dynamics Forces Entertainment, and the ACLU. His artwork was used in the comics Human Target, Beware the Creeper and Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre, Green Arrow/Black Canary and Wonder Woman. He is currently working on the series Paper Girls with writer Brian K. Vaughan.

Becky Cloonan
At only 36, New York’s School of Visual Arts alum Becky Cloonan has already paved the way for women in comics. Her breakout hit, Demo (2004), a collaboration with Brian Wood, received numerous accolades and recognitions. Her first solo project,
East Coast Rising, released by Tokyopop in 2006, earned her a third Eisner nomination for Best New Series. In 2012 she became the first woman to draw a main Batman title. Following Batman, she did the art for The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys and later created cover art and stories for Gotham Academy for DC Comics.

Drew Friedman
Award winning artist Drew Friedman’s comics and illustrations have appeared in Raw, Weirdo, American Splendor, Heavy Metal, National Lampoon, SPY, MAD, The New Yorker, BLAB!, Time, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The New York Observer, Entertainment Weekly, among many others. His work has been collected in several volumes, and The New York Times called his three volumes of Old Jewish Comedians “A festival of drawing virtuosity and fabulous craggy faces.” His books of portraits, Heroes of the Comic Books and More Heroes of The Comics, published by Fantagraphics, have received high praise and recognition from the comics community. He is the subject of the upcoming documentary Drew Friedman: Vermeer of the Borscht Belt.

David Lloyd
British comic art David Lloyd’s career began in the 1970s creating art for Marvel UK titles. In 1982, author and editor Dez Skinn started production on Warrior magazine, and invited Lloyd to create a new pulp character. With the help of writer Alan Moore, the two conceived V for Vendetta, a dark comic featuring an anarchist anti-hero who battles with a fascist government while donning a Guy-Fawkes mask. DC Comics would later pick up the comic and transform it into a full graphic novel. In 2006, V for Vendetta became a full-length feature film, while the Guy-Fawkes mask illustrated by Lloyd has been used widely in protests throughout the world. Since the widespread popularity of V, Lloyd has worked on numerous other titles including Wasteland, Espers, War Story, The Territory, Kickback, among others. In 2012, Lloyd launched an online comics anthology called Aces Weekly.

Gene Luen Yang
Gene Luen Yang found early recognition in 2006 through his young adult (YA) book American Born Chinese (First Second Books), which became the first graphic novel to be a finalist for the National Book Award and the first to win the American Library Association’s Printz Award, as well as an Eisner Award. His next title, the diptych Boxers & Saints (also published by First Second Books), continued his winning streak, receiving the L.A. Times Book Prize. In January of 2016, Yang was appointed as the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress, Every Child A Reader, and the Children’s Book Council; then later that year, he was named a MacArthur Genius.

About the Society of Illustrators and the MoCCA Arts Festival
Founded in 1901, the Society of Illustrators is the oldest nonprofit organization dedicated to the art of illustration in America. Notable Society members have been N.C. Wyeth, Rube Goldberg, and Norman Rockwell, among many others. Our Museum of Illustration was established in 1981. We offer year-round themed exhibits, art education programs and annual juried competitions. Our Permanent Collection houses 3,500 pieces that are cataloged for scholarly use and displayed periodically. In 2012, we created the MoCCA Gallery with a focus on curated exhibits of comic and cartoon art.

The MoCCA Arts Festival is a 2-day multimedia event, Manhattan’s largest independent comics, cartoon and animation festival, drawing over 7,000 attendees each year. With 400 exhibiting artists displaying their work, award-winning honorees speaking about their careers and artistic processes and other featured artists conducting workshops, lectures and film screenings, our Festival mission accelerates the advancement of the Society’s broader mission to serve as Manhattan’s singular cultural institution promoting all genres of illustration through exhibitions, programs and art education.

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