BC Refugees Blog

THE OTHER DEAD #1  (IDW, release date September 25, 2013)    Writer / Co-Creator: Joshua Ortega, Digger T Mesch.  Art: Quing Ping Mui.  Colors: Blond.  Letters: Tom B. Long.  Edits: Tom Waltz.  Creative Consultant: Kevin Eastman.  Based on a film treatment by Digger T Mesch.  Covers: Logo cover by Reynir Hauksson;  Obama cover by Dave Dorman;  Zombie turtles cover by Kevin Eastman & David Millgate.           THE OTHER DEAD received some unexpected advance publicity from an unlikely source a few weeks ago when all copies were held up in U.S. Customs on their way to the United States via an Asian printer.  The book did not debut on September 11 as scheduled and rumors circulated that it was due to the controversial variant cover featuring an armed and angry President Obama.  The Customs’ office explanation (that they were spraying for moths) was doubted, and the c...

EDITOR’S NOTES:  I must receive solicitations for an average of three Kickstarter campaigns per week. While I support this method of raising funds for creative efforts, it’s impossible to donate on a regular basis. So I choose them carefully and try to avoid posting here every time I contribute - - I prefer to reserve that for what I consider the “extra special” projects.  This recent project is of special interest, so I’m going to share some information about it with you . . . . . . Here’s is the web link to a generous amount of information about the game, if you prefer to explore that on your own  . . . . . http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2096318262/the-moaning-words-investigation-into-the-cthulhu-m?ref=live Otherwise, read on . . . . . . . THE MOANING WORDS ON KICKSTARTER The newest creation from renowned French publisher Byook  is  THE MOANING WORDS, an innovative reading and gaming experience based on the eerie  Cthulhu Mythos of  author...

KIRBY: GENESIS #0 – 8 (Dynamite Entertainment 2011-2012) Written by Kurt Busiek. Art Direction, Layouts and Covers by Alex Ross. Art by Jack Herbert and Alex Ross. Colors by Vinicius Andrade. Letters by Simon Bowland. Story by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross. Featuring the concepts and characters of Jack Kirby.           The credits page of every issue contains a short message right after the creator listings: “Dedicated to the legacy of Jack Kirby, King of Comics.”   From every cover to every panel of every issue of this dynamic mini-series KIRBY: GENESIS pays loving tribute to that legacy.   Kirby fans and enthusiasts already know this and most likely have a coveted set of this series.   For others who have heard of the legendary man, this serves as a respectful introduction to the power of his imagination and incredible creativity.   It serves as a great starting point for those who plan to seek out col...

  Here are some of the costumes that caught my eye at Baltimore Comics Con when I had a camera in my hand.  Let’s begin with the prize winner below, followed by some colorful and familiar characters.                                                                         

. . . . . From the official press release . . . . . Baltimore Comic-Con Announces 2013 Costume Contest Winners BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - September 12, 2013 - The Baltimore Comic-Con is happy to announce the winners of the 5th Annual Costume Contest. The contest took place this past Sunday, September 8, 2013 and saw a myriad of incredible and creative costumes. With costumes ranging from classic superheroes to video game characters and beyond, the contest has proven to be one of the most anticipated events at the show. The grand prize winner for Best Overall Costume, and the recipient of the $1,000 cash prize, was Aaron Thompson for his "Jake Sully from Avatar" costume. Winners for this year's contest include: Best Over-all Costume: Aaron Thompson, Jake Sully from Avatar Fan Favorite: Adam Close, Mannly Cyrus Male Contestants 1st Place - Paul Day, Iron Man Hulkbuster 2nd Place - Dale Horey, Pain from Warhamm...

There would be several articles already posted here if I wasn't so freaking busy! Who needs sleep, anyway? In the meantime, enjoy this photo of Rick Campbell's young sons in the outfits he made for them. If not for a parking lot accident (only the car was injured) they would have entered the costume competition on Sunday at BCC. Who says Superman and General Zod can't get along? It just requires a little Bobba Fett intervention! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I admit to being skeptical when I received this news.  So I wrote back to my contacts who took the time to reply right back to me.  What sounds too funny to be true has been verified.   . . .. from the official press release . . . . . . .  . 9/11 Release of Obama “The Other Dead” #1 Cover Held Up By Customs Fans and Media Watching Closely As This Story Unfolds LOS ANGELES, CA--September 9, 2013— The Other Dead (IDW Publishing) comic’s creative team just received word that their book, slated to release on 9/11, is being held up in Customs “to spray for moths.”  The timing is conspiracy theory-level suspicious, given the fact that the book’s one-in-10 variant cover by Eisner and Inkpot Award-winning artist Dave Dorman portrays President Obama wielding guns, just as the President is currently considering military action against Syria.  “At first I thought Customs said they were spraying for Mothra, which was ironic since the books were being held up ...

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND SEPTEMBER 8, 2013: You can expect to see some longer articles here on various presentations, etc. at the Baltimore Comics Con in future posts. In the meantime, here are some highlights (based on my obviously subjective opinions) of Day Two: • I heard the details on how Seth Goldman of Honest Tea Co. was partner in developing a business book on how to start a small company - - a book that is good enough to make the required reading of all entrants into the Yale School Of Business. What’s unique about the book (“Mission In A Bottle”) - - and why it was a featured presentation during a comics convention - - is that it’s a graphic novel. • MIKE MIGNOLA is living the dream. During a Question & Answer session, Mike admitted that “I just want to be left alone to do my thing.” And, Dark Horse does exactly that. More details to follow. • MIKE CAREY was the most literary of the creators I heard during the Con. His roots in comics and literature were traced during a v...

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND SEPTEMBER 7, 2013: The 26th Annual Harvey Awards were presented tonight as part of the Baltimore Comic Con during a dinner at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. One title and its’ creative and art team ran away with most of the honors. While that’s a remarkable achievement, it’s a little disappointing that its’ dominance in the voting meant that several deserving books and creators had to settle for just being nominated. More details will follow, but here is the short list. (This is not the order of presentation, but the order in which most readers will have more interest.) BEST WRITER = Brian K. Vaughan, SAGA, Image Comics BEST ARTIST = Fiona Staples, SAGA, Image Comics BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY = SAGA #1, Image Comics BEST CONTINUING OR LIMITED SERIES = SAGA, Image Comics BEST NEW SERIES = SAGA, Image Comics HERO INITIATIVE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD = Sal Busecma DICK GIORDANO HERO INITIATIVE HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR AWARD = Paul Levitz BEST LETTERER = Todd Klein, F...

Just wanted to share some quick comments about the 14th Annual Baltimore Comic Con with our readers. Knowing that some well-read comics websites will be posting lengthy articles on today's panels as soon as they end, I wanted to leave something for our readers. The big news is that the 15th BCC in 2014 will be a three day event, beginning on Friday, September 5th and occupy even more areas of the Baltimore Convention Center. Without knowing the official head count, it seemed like the crowd was extremely large this year. The lines are longer. The wide aisles are easy to navigate only if you are anorexic. Highlights: Bryan JL Glass has a different super-hero miniseries coming from Dark Horse. The career retrospective on George Perez ran over. No wonder! There is so much to tell. He's a future Hall Of Famer for sure. Valiant has some big things in the offing, including a bold way to thank comics stores for their support. Mark Waid and Barry Kitson have obtained the rights...

. . . . . From the official press release . . . . . September 6, 2013, Mt. Laurel, NJ - Baltimore Comic Con Announcement - Dynamite is proud to announce signing a new agreement with Condé Nast that will bring back the legendary man of action Clark Savage Jr. in an all-new Doc Savage comic book series scheduled to debut in December 2013. The second project developed as part of their licensing partnership with Condé Nast, the new Doc Savage follows on the heels of their top-selling comic book series, The Shadow, and its related spin-off titles. Chris Roberson, acclaimed comic book writer of Masks and iZombie, joins talented artist Bilquis Evely as the contributing creators. The first issue will feature a cover by superstar painter Alex Ross (Kingdom Come, Marvels, Masks), with special variant cover editions also provided by John Cassaday (Astonishing X-Men, Uncanny Avengers) and Stephen Segovia (X-Treme X-Men). "In the course of my comics career, I've been lucky enough to wor...

. . . . . from the official press releases . . . . . . . Honest Tea Co-Founder Seth Goldman to Appear at the Baltimore Comic-Con Honest Tea to Sponsor the Harvey Awards BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - September 4, 2013 - Baltimore Comic-Con is pleased to welcome Honest Tea co-founder Seth Goldman for his only comics event appearance of the year as he talks about his new book, Mission in a Bottle: The Honest Guide to Doing Business Differently-and Succeeding .  Co-written by Barry Nalebuff and drawn by Sungyoon Choi ( American Widow ), Mission in a Bottle   tells the story of how two guys attempted to launch a mission-driven business that offered a healthier tea, taking it from brewing tea in their spare time to a multi-million dollar business sold in more than 100,000 outlets worldwide.  It's both an innovative non-fiction comic and a funny, insightful business book. Goldman will appear Sunday morning at 11 am in Room 305 to talk about the making of the book, the uses of no...

. . . . . from the official press release . . . . . . . . Special Guests Join Kevin Smith Saturday! Jason Mewes Moderates SmodCast Superpanel! Saturday "Jay & Silent Bob" Event Schedule Expanded! BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - September 5, 2013 - We are thrilled to announce that we have expanded the Afternoon with Jay & Silent Bob events to include a new panel hosted by the one and only Jason Mewes!  The panel will feature Walt Flanagan and Bryan Johnson of the award winning podcast Tell 'em SteveDave! along with Mike Zapcic and Ming Chen of I Sell Comics! This bonus panel is open to all Baltimore Comic-Con ticket holders and will take place at 1:30 pm on Saturday, September 7, 2013.  The 90 minute panel will be followed by the screening of The Jay & Silent Bob's Super Groovy Cartoon Movie and live appearance by Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes.  With the expanded event, the start time of the film will be pushed back to begin at 3:30pm.  Tell 'em Steve...

This article is based on information supplied by the Ghastly Awards website . . . . .   BC Refugee Blog acknowledges the good efforts of the Ghastly Awards to recognize outstanding work in Horror Comics every year.  The Ghastly Award Judges work strictly on a volunteer basis. There is no paid staff and the awards are completely funded through sponsor donations. Prior awards were mostly based on nominations through committee readings.  Beginning in 2013, the Ghastly Awards switched over to a Submission based process.  Comic Creators can submit their books for nomination consideration throughout the calendar year.  The top five nominees in each category will be chosen by the Judges, and will then be voted on by the Judges, Creators and Fans to decide the winners. ATTENTION COMIC CREATORS:  BC Refugee Blog encourages you to take the time to head over to www.ghastlyawards.com and submit your work for 2013 Ghastly Award nomination consideration. You can s...

from the official press release . . . . . . . . . . BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - September 2, 2013 - From September 7th & 8th at the Baltimore Comic-Con, award-winning graphic novelist and illustrator, Robert James Luedke, will be raising awareness for the Wounded Warrior Project , selling originally designed prints whose proceeds will benefit the veteran's charity. The WWP's purpose is to raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the needs of injured service members; to help injured service members aid and assist each other; and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members. "This is a wonderful cause that supports those who have put it all on the line for their country, but now are finding it difficult to heal and reintegrate into society, even with the help of our government," said Luedke. Through the efforts of his Facebook group, Artists Supporting the Wounded Warrior Project , Luedke has raised over $24k f...