ON THE SCENE: Boston Comic Con Regroups in Bellingham

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by LTZ — There was some unpleasantness in Boston this week — you might have heard. Friday afternoon, mere hours before the FBI and police captured suspected Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Hynes Convention Center sent word down: Boston Comic Con was off. It was an everyone-loses situation: the con organizers are almost certainly out a lot of money for nothing, the guests are out potential income (especially those who were taking a weekend off from steady gigs), the fans are out their con experience, the cosplayers are out their costume contest, and the retailers were out a big source of revenue. This was such an eleventh-hour move by the Hynes that the retailers had their merch packed up and ready to go, just waiting for the all-clear to start hauling it into the convention center.

Dragon*Con Founder Ed Kramer files dozens of complaints from jail while looking extremely creepy

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Warning: watching this video is likely to cause your blood pressure to rise.

On the Scene: Sex and Violence? “Blame it on New York!”

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Tweet A group of New York City inspired comics creators descended on the Soho Gallery for Digital Art on the 17th of April to discuss the good, the bad, and the strange elements of the city that have influenced their lives and works, including Al Jaffee of MAD Magazine fame, Peter Kuper of Spy vs. [...]

The Phantom Hand’s Art Opening on 4/20 in Philly

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TweetBy Dre Grigoropol The artist collective The Phantom Hand is having their art opening for their show The Last Meal this Saturday on 4/20.  The show is at Jinxed, an art gallery at the Piazza in Northern Liberties in Philadelphia. This gallery focuses on illustration.  The Phantom Hand a group that is organized by illustrators and [...]

Let’s put on a show: Larry’s Comics to host impromptu gathering Mass. tomorrow

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TweetWith the extraordinary events in Boston today shutting down the Boston Comic Con that was planned for this weekend, local Retailer Larry Doherty of LArry’s COmics in Lowell, has announced a spontaneous convention for anyone left high and dry: Damn, I just heard Boston Comic con is officially cancelled due to the manhunt for the [...]

Boston Comic Con cancelled

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Despite attempting to put on a much anticipated show this weekend, the Boston Comic Con showrunners have had to cancel it in light of the massive manhunt and lockdown gripping the Boston area.

San Diego Comic-Con Car-parkinglypse underway

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Tweet Hotels, badges…can there be yet another San Diego Comic-Con-related lottery? Why yes. Parking. Ace Parking offers pre-sale parking at the convention center for $12 a day, so you don’t have to get to the center at 4 am (like it would do much good) to find a parking spot. As we’d sooner bring a [...]

To Do This Weekend: Comica Comiket in London

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TweetAre you in London? Your weekend just got planned! Comica Comket starts on Friday, hosting comic creators including Frazer Irving, Julia Scheele, Brian Bolland, and David Hine, amongst many others. And it’s free to enter!

On the Scene: MoCCA Fest 2013, SelfMadeHero’s Englishmen in New York

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Tweet It’s a truism that comics culture and the comics industry varies radically from country to country, but MoCCA Fest’s efforts to bring in an international perspective is laudable, to get past the stereotypes of difference and hear the story first-hand. Needless to say, it’s valuable to avoid a myopic perspective of the American comics [...]

Convention Watch: Doj-Con at Dundee

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TweetIn non-Saga related news, the number of conventions in the UK continues to rise with smaller events around the country becoming even bigger and better than ever before. Doj-Con (previously Dee-Con) is Scotland’s largest free anime, comics and genre con, and, well, prepare yourselves Farscape fans!

On the Scene: MoCCA Fest 2013, Words from the Market-Wise at the ‘Art as Profession’ Panel

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Tweet Holding panels in the wood-panelled bowels of the Armory this year at MoCCA Fest did bring a certain gravitas to the proceedings even if the location was a little difficult to locate for the unfamiliar. When I arrived at the “Art as Profession: Creating, Promoting, and Making Money in Comics” panel at 11:30 on [...]

Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer Go “Live” at Bard College

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TweetThe Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College in Red Hook, New York, hosted “An Evening with Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer” on the 6th of April, an event packed with poetry, prose, and musical performance numbers from Gaiman and Palmer alike, frequently in combination. Here are some photos and a few choice [...]

Announcing three new comics shows for the NYC/tri-state area

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TweetAlmost as soon as I walked into MoCCA on Saturday, the first bits of news I got were show-related. Cliff Galbraith of the much liked Asbury Park Comicon, announced that next year the show will be TWO days long, on April 19-20, and will be held at a nearby hotel. Galbraith is also launching the [...]

Cartoonists on Tour: Gilbert Hernandez

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Tweet Few cartoonists can hope to have as great a year as Gilbert Hernandez is having, with two upcoming releases of majestic power: JULIO’S DAY and MARBLE SEASON. And you’ll be able to meet the man and get them signed at the following stops: Monday April 15th, 5:30 pm 101 Mattin Center, Johns Hopkins University [...]

MoCCA Party Poop

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TweetAs usual, you will need many metro cards or cab fares to get to all the social events surrounding MoCCA, this weekend’s indie comics festival. I’m not sure I have them all so if your event is missing, email me. THURSDAY Kickstarter MoCCA Meetup! 8 pm If you like comics and are in Brooklyn, come [...]

On the Scene: WonderCon 2013 Recap and Photo Gallery

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TweetAs I suggested in my early con impressions, WonderCon had a reasonable amount of space and handled the numbers of attendees pretty well. It was no surprise that Saturday brought bigger numbers than Friday, and the crowding was more obvious, but still never reached that feeling of pushing and shoving that can easily erupt at [...]