The first comic book convention to take place in San Diego was a small affair. The three day convention, Golden State Comic Con was founded by Shel Dorf, Richard Alf, Ken Krueger, Mike Towry, and Greg Bear and organized by Dorf, drew in 300 people in August 1970.
Image Comics, not to be outdone by Dark Horse’s announcement, has announced 12 exciting new projects featuring some of the industry’s top creators slated for 2014 – 2015.
Press Release
For the first time ever, the eagerly-anticipated Image Expo—a showcase for exciting new projects and creators as they join the Image Comics team—went on-location to San Diego and kicked off San Diego Comic Con International’s preview night with a slew of exciting announcements.
Archie Comics is rebranding their long-running superhero imprint, Red Circle Comics, as a more literary, cinematic, and mature imprint called Dark Circle Comics.
According to Dark Circle Comics Editor Alex Segura, the imprint will feature stories “… more akin to cable television shows like Boardwalk Empire, True Detective and Orange is the New Black. Unique voices telling stories about flawed characters from a range of genres, including crime, superhero adventure and off-the-wall action.”
Here’s your first look at the Rocket Raccoon #1 SDCC exclusive variant cover by Jeff Smith, courtesy of Marvel Comics. The variant is limited to 5,000 copies, priced at $10.00, and available exclusively on site at The Marvel Shop in Marvel’s San Diego Comic Con International booth #2329.
Press Release
Skottie Young’s brand new Rocket Raccoon series is taking the comic book industry by storm, garnering rave reviews from critics and fans alike! Today, Marvel is proud to unveil that legendary cartoonist Jeff Smith (Bone, RASL) will lend his pen to a jaw-dropping variant cover to the sold-out first issue available exclusively at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con International!
Press Release
DC Entertainment (DCE) opened San Diego Comic-Con today with a blend of artistry and giving, unveiling the JUSTICE LEAGUE-inspired Kia Sorento, the eighth and final custom vehicle built in partnership with Kia Motors America. The Sorento’s eye-catching design was penned by legendary comic book artist and DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Jim Lee, who completed the customization of the car before a live audience. Created to raise awareness of DC Entertainment’s “We Can Be Heroes” giving campaign, the collection of all eight JUSTICE LEAGUE-inspired Kia vehicles will be on display throughout Comic-Con at the Interactive Zone at Petco Park, Official Comic-Con Partner.
Following the unveiling, DCE President Diane Nelson announced that the newly revealed JUSTICE LEAGUE car would be the centerpiece of a special online charity auction on eBay which benefits the “We Can Be Heroes” campaign. Nelson announced that the 10-day charity auction was now live through July 27, 2013 at www.ebay.com/wecanbeheroes.
Press Release
IDW Publishing is renowned for having great exclusives at San Diego Comic-Con International every year, but 2013 finds them taking it to the next level. See below for a complete list of SDCC exclusives, which promise to be the most sought after of the show!
Some of the items will be available for pre-order from IDW’s web store beginning today, July 2nd. Fans that preorder will be able to pick up their books from the IDW booth (These items will be noted below with an *asterisk).
IDW’s web store can be found here: IDW Con Exclusives
A limited edition product not available anywhere else, the ARTIST’S EDITION: BEST OF EC COVERS PORTFOLIO will be on hand. Featuring eight amazing prints of class EC covers by such luminaries as Frank Frazetta, Wally Wood, Harvey Kurtzman and more, this edition will be limited to 250 copies and priced at $50. It will be available for pre-order from IDW’s web store*, and there is a limit of 3 to a customer.
Speaking of EC and Artist’s Editions, an exclusive edition of the BEST OF EC ARTIST’S EDITION will be premiered at Comic-Con as well! Signed by the legendary Al Feldstein, numbered, and limited to 250 copies, this edition will feature a variant cover and be priced at $200. This title will be available for pre-order from IDW’s web store*, and there is a limit of 3 to a customer.
The 24th annual Eisner Awards were held on Friday night July 13th at the Indigo Ballroom in the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel. The ceremony was part of Comic-Con International: San Diego and there were many comics industry luminaries in attendance as usual.
Below are the list of winners from the 24th annual Eisner Awards. Congratulations to everyone who won an award!
Best Short Story
“The Seventh,” by Darwyn Cooke, in Richard Stark’s Parker: The Martini Edition(IDW)
Best Single Issue (or One-Shot)
Daredevil #7, by Mark Waid, Paolo Rivera, and Joe Rivera (Marvel)
Today, Comic-Con International (Comic-Con) released the list of nominees for the 2012 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards. The results will be announced in an awards ceremony on Friday, July 13, 2012 at Comic-Con International (SDCC).
Marvel’s Daredevil tops the list with six nominations for Best Continuing Series, Best Single Issue, Best Writer (Mark Waid), Best Cover Artist (Marcos Martin), and Best Penciller/Inker Team (two nominations: Marcos Martin, and Paolo Rivera/Joe Rivera). Jim Henson’s Tales of Sand, published by Archaia, received 5 nominations for Best Graphic Album-New, Best Penciller/Inker, Best Coloring, Best Lettering, and Best Publication Design.
With 11 nominations apiece, including 2 shared, DC and Marvel tied for the most nominations for a publisher. Close behind, IDW received 11 nominations, while Dark Horse had 10 (plus one shared), and Fantagraphics received 9 (plus one shared).
Several months ago, I came across some photos of the 1982 Minneapolis Comic-Con on Alan Light’s Flickr page. Recently I found one of his sets from the 1982 San Diego Comic-Con that had some remarkable pictures! I’ve picked out some of the best ones and compiled them here. They Include Carl Barks, Burne Hogarth, Archie Goodwin, Jim Shooter, Jack Kirby, Frank Miller, Bruce Hamilton, Max Collins, Trina Robbins, Jo Duffy, Milton Caniff, Hank Ketcham, and many more.
All of these pictures come from Alan Light and if you use or distribute them, please credit “Photo by Alan Light.” Again, I thank Mr. Light for sharing these wonderful images with the world!
ComicVine is a site that never ceases to amaze with the amount of information they collect and make available to the entire fan community. This time they’ve gone above and beyond with the sheer number of San Diego Comic-Con 2011 cosplay pictures they have on their site – a total of 1,143 photos!
Having sifted through most of the images, I’m posting several that I really enjoyed. If you have some time to spare, you really should check out all of the images at ComicVine at this link.
Enjoy!
