BC Refugees Blog

  What are you doing this Sunday?  For a mere $3 U.S. funds, you can spend the afternoon rubbing elbows with like-minded comics enthusiasts, score some bargains on back-issues, and meet and greet various writers, artists and creators. Don’t forget to stop by the FIRST STATE COMIC CON in Delaware this weekend.  Head over to the Mill Creek Fire Hall, this year’s host of the First State Comic Con, located at 3900 Kirkwood Highway, Marshalltown, Delaware from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Among the more notable guests attending is comics artist Greg LaRocque, also a veteran of several decades in the business.             Greg LaRocque is a native of Baltimore, Maryland and began his comics career in 1980 with Marvel Comics .  His work at Marvel incudes MARVEL TEAM-UP STARRING    SPIDER-MAN; WEB OF SPIDER-MAN; THE AVENGERS; and POWER MAN AND IRON FIST.           LaRocque obtai...

    What are you doing this Sunday?  For a mere $3 U.S. funds, you can spend the afternoon rubbing elbows with like-minded comics enthusiasts, score some bargains on back-issues, and meet and greet various writers, artists and creators. Don’t forget to stop by the FIRST STATE COMIC CON in Delaware this weekend.  Head over to the Mill Creek Fire Hall, this year’s host of the First State Comic Con, located at 3900 Kirkwood Highway, Marshalltown, Delaware from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Among the more notable guests attending is comics artist Neil Vokes, also a veteran of several decades in the business.            Neil Vokes debuted in 1984 in the early days of Comico , a major independent publisher at that time whose books were sold through news stands, book sellers, and comic shops (back before they went to a distributor to comics shop system). Along with inker Rich Rankin they adapted the Japanese cartoon-based ROBOTECH MASTE...

GHOST RIDER: THE ROAD TO DAMNATION Writer: Garth Ennis Artist: Clayton Crain Marvel Comics | TPB | $19.99 Once I saw  Ghost Rider: The Road to Damnation , I knew I had to pick it up, it had my dream team of writer and artist.  Garth Ennis  is best known for  Preacher  but has worked on books such as  Punisher Max  and is currently closing out his series,  The Boys . His upcoming project is  Red Team .  Clayton Crain  first got my attention when he illustrated  Carnage USA , he has also worked on various  Spider-Man  titles. Ghost Rider  is a character that should be awesome. A flaming skull and a bad-ass bike all against the backdrop of the greatest story ever told, absolute good vs. absolute evil. Instead often times, we get a ripoff Ghost Rider penance-staring into the  Hubble  telescope like the last volume. Or we get flashbacks to Chicago style gangster Ghost Riders and British flying ace Ghost...

  What are you doing this Sunday?  For a mere $3 U.S. funds, you can spend the afternoon rubbing elbows with like-minded comics enthusiasts, score some bargains on back-issues, and meet and greet various writers, artists and creators. Don’t forget to stop by the FIRST STATE COMIC CON in Delaware this weekend.  Head over to the Mill Creek Fire Hall, this year’s host of the First State Comic Con, located at 3900 Kirkwood Highway, Marshalltown, Delaware from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Among the more notable guests attending is comics writer David Michelinie, a veteran of several decades in the business.          Michelinie is best known for his legendary scripting of several key storylines at Marvel for The Amazing Spider-Man and Iron Man titles.  Some of his earliest work appeared in DC’s House Of Secrets as well as a run of Aquaman stories in Adventure Comics which helped lead to a renewal of Aquaman’s own book in 1977.  Ma...

from the official press release . . . . . HUMBLE DYNAMITE 10TH ANNIVERSARY BUNDLE COLLECTION REWARDS FANS WITH VALUE-PRICED COMICS AND GRAPHIC NOVELS PROMOTION ALSO BENEFITS THREE CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS - THE COMIC BOOK LEGAL DEFENSE FUND, MAKE-A-WISH, AND DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS June 25, 2014, Mt. Laurel, NJ:   To celebrate their first decade of comic book publishing, Dynamite Entertainment launches its first ever Humble Bundle promotion which will allow fans to purchase over 100 digital comics books and graphic novels (the largest Humble Bumble comics collection in history) at a cost of each person's choosing, granting existing and new fans significant purchasing power.   In keeping with the tradition of promotions hosted and arranged by Humble Bundle, Dynamite will contribute a portion of the proceeds to three important charitable organizations, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. ...

from the official press release . . . . . . Baltimore Comic-Con Welcomes Amy Chu, Jeremy Dale, Gerhard, and Ron Randall! BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - June 23, 2014 - Come to the Baltimore Comic-Con's premiere inaugural three-day event, September 5-7, 2014, at the Baltimore Convention Center!      Adding to an already vast variety of guests, we are proud to welcome to our show Amy Chu, Jeremy Dale, Gerhard, and Ron Randall!      Amy Chu has recently written for DC Comics' Vertigo Quarterly: Cyan #1.  She is also the creator of the Alpha Girl Comics anthology series, Girls Night Out , and the horror mystery The VIP Room . A frequent speaker at conventions, she was a member of our "Self Publishing Panel" along with Jimmy Palmiotti, George O'Connor, Danielle Corsetto, and Carolyn Belefski at last year's Baltimore Comic-Con. Jeremy Dale is best known for his artwork on G.I. Joe comics for Hasbro and IDW as well as the Harvey Award-winning Popgu...

from the official press release . . . . . ..           JUNE 24, 2014:   Valiant Entertainment today announced that Executive Editor Warren Simons has been promoted to the position of Editor-in-Chief.  Since joining Valiant as Executive Editor in 2011, Simons has overseen the relaunch of the resurgent publisher's comic book line with an array of best-selling, critically acclaimed series including X-O Manowar , Harbinger , Bloodshot , Archer & Armstrong , Unit y, Rai , and more.          In his new role as Editor-in-Chief, Simons will continue to preside over all day-to-day operations of Valiant's editorial department, and manage Valiant's growing editorial team.  Additionally, Simons will also continue to edit a stable of Valiant's flagship series and special projects, including Rai , Unity , Harbinger , X-O Manowar , and this summer's Armor Hunters crossover event.   ...

EDITOR’S NOTE:  BC Refugees has great respect for classic pulp fiction and admires any attempt to revive this format, which embraces or enfolds many genres: action adventure, detective, crime, science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery and western.  From their home base in Arkansas, since 2010 Pro Se Press has done much to keep the format alive.  We feel honored to share the news of their latest and very ambitious plans.  We plan to update our readers on happenings at Pro Se on a regular basis . . . . . . Pro Se Productions announces the release of one of its most interesting collections yet. Multiple genres get the Pulp treatment in stories of three thousand words or less in Rat-A-Tat: Short Blasts of Pulp . Like Bullets from a Tommy Gun, Pro Se Productions delivers Pulp like no one else in Rat-A-Tat: Short Blasts of Pulp .           Today’s best Genre Fiction authors pull their fedoras down tight, charge their laser ...

from the official press release . . . . . BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - June 19, 2014 - The Baltimore Comic-Con is excited to announce that Certified Guaranty Company, LLC (CGC) will be on-hand to conduct on-site grading at this year's show.  The show, which is expanding this year to three days, will take place the weekend of September 5-7 at the Baltimore Convention Center.           According to Harshen Patel, Director of Operations for CGC, they will be accepting submission for all tiers of service - with the exception of Magazines - on a first-come, first-serve basis for all three days of the show.  In addition to the on-site grading, CGC will be partnering with Classic Collectible Services (CCS) to also offer attendees of the show on-site pressing service.           "The Baltimore Comic-Con has always been such a successful show and CGC has shared in that success over the years," said Pa...

from the official press release . . . . . . June 18th, 2014, Mt. Laurel, NJ:    The acclaimed filmmaker Quentin Tarantino comes to Dynamite for the first time with a sequel to his film Django Unchained , as Django meets the legendary Zorro.  Known for his incredible films that are uniquely "Quentin", such as Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill , Django/Zorro will stand-out from every comic book coming out this year.             Django/Zorro is co-plotted by Quentin Tarantino and  comic book legend  Matt Wagner ( Mage , Grendel , The Shadow , Zorro ).   Reginald Hudlin, writer of the Eisner Award nominated Django Unchained screenplay adaptation and a producer of the Django Unchained film, will be working closely with Quentin and Matt as the editor of Django/Zorro. Stay tuned for information on Django/Zorro , set for release later this year from Dynamite Entertainment and DC Entertainment.  ...

EDITOR’S NOTE:  BC Refugees has great respect for classic pulp fiction and admires any attempt to revive this format, which embraces or enfolds many genres: action adventure, detective, crime, science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery and western.  From their home base in Arkansas, since 2010 Pro Se Press has done much to keep the format alive.  We feel honored to share the news of their latest and very ambitious plans.  We plan to update our readers on happenings at Pro Se on a regular basis . . . . . . New Pulp Delivered Hard and Fast - - Pulse Fiction Debuts            from Pro Se Productions           Pro Se Productions proudly announces the release of the first volume in a new series two years in the making.  Want stories that will get your heart racing, your blood pumping?  You’ll find them in Bishop and Hancock’s Pulse Fiction Volume One , availabl...

  EDITOR’S NOTE:   There will be no spoilers here. We believe every reader with an interest in reading a well-crafted follow-up to a major setback will want to read this issue. We intend to provide just enough information to encourage you to visit your local comic shop today. HARBINGER #24  (Valiant Entertainment, June 2014)  “Wake”.  Writer: Joshua Dysart.  Artist: Khari Evans.  Colorist: Brian Reber,  Letterer: Dave Sharpe           For a proper handling of the impact of death on surviving family members, you would be hard pressed to find a better example in comics than HARBINGER #24 .  Unlike other publishers,  the death of a Renegade team member in Issue #23 is meant to be permanent in the Valiant universe.  That becomes more apparent as you read on in this issue. You can also see the beginning of the end as the threads that kept the team together begin to unravel.   ...

  THE AUTEUR #3  (Oni Press, May 2014)  THE AUTEUR #4  (Oni Press, June 18 2014 release date)  Written by Rick Spears.  Illustrated by James Callahan.  Colored by Luigi Anderson.  Lettered by Sick Rears.  www.onipress.com      The madcap parody of Hollywood ( and to a lesser degree. modern society ) that is THE AUTEUR continues in sarcastic fashion with Issues #3 and #4, leading up to the Issue #5 conclusion of the first story arc ( more, perhaps?  . . . Please?) entitled “President’s Day”  ( not in honor of the holiday, but the name of director/producer Nathan Rex ’s latest exploitation movie ).   As with previous issues, this is intended for mature adult audiences ( just the ones that read comics, mind you ) and comes with the contents page disclaimer: “The shocking scenes you are about to see are not suggested for the weak or immature.:”  ( Who’s left after that?)      ...