Pre-NYCC/NYAF 2011 with Dark Horse Comics

Hello readers! New York Comic Con/New York Anime Festival is approaching and we all can’t wait for it to come. To give you an insight on what’s going on during the convention, I have interviewed a few professionals and publishers that will be attending the event.

Dark Horse Programming at New York Comic Con 2011

DARK HORSE UNVEILS PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE FOR
NEW YORK COMIC CON 2011!

SEPTEMBER 28, MILWAUKIE, OR—As anticipation grows for what has become the fastest-growing comic show in the country, Dark Horse gives fans the first taste of what to expect at this year’s New York Comic Con!

2011 New York Comic Con Exclusive Marvel Spider-Man Syroco

DARK HORSE UNVEILS THE 2011
NEW YORK COMIC CON EXCLUSIVE
MARVEL SPIDER-MAN SYROCO!

SEPTEMBER 28, MILWAUKIE, OR—As part of the Marvel Syrocos program that debuted at San Diego Comic-Con International in July, it is announced today that Dark Horse will be releasing another exclusive Spider-Man statue for New York Comic Con!

All-new Ghostbusters Comics Series Hits Stores Nationwide

All- new GHOSTBUSTERS Comics Series
Hits Stores Nationwide
The boys are back with local retailer exclusive covers

San Diego, CA (September 28, 2011) — IDW Publishing is pleased to announce the launch of the new ongoing series, GHOSTBUSTERS. Through IDW’s partnership with Sony Pictures Consumer Products, the famous foursome are back in business starting this September. Celebrating the debut of this series, readers are encouraged to look for the nine unique covers created for select retailers throughout North America.

Personal Review: The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya

Review by Jong Chung

The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya presents three stories with excellent pacing throughout the volume. By title, they are: Endless Eight, The Day of Sagittarius, and Snowy Mountain Syndrome. More so than any of the other previous volumes of the series, I found myself appreciating the order of the stories to fit well with the series itself. Be it a coincidence or not (as each chapter was published as separate short stories, it seems, going by the afterword by the author at the end of the volume), I found myself happy to think back to how much I enjoyed the ride that is The Rampage of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Yen Press is Hiring!

Hello everyone!

Is anyone interested in working in the publishing industry? Are you interested in being a Online Marketing Associate or a Publicist? Well, Yen Press is looking for someone who can fill the position!

Getting to Know: Chris Giarrusso, Mini Marvel and G-Man Part 5

Please read Part 4 of the interview before reading Part 5

Marvel Comics & Image Comics, Inc. continuation

So with the combined years of experience, I wanted to know what was his most memorable moment working at each company? At Marvel, that moment was when he first started working on the Mini Marvel comic strip. Someone told him that Joe Quesada, who is an editor, writer and artist, had a laughed at one of his strips. This was the first time that Giarrusso felt that “‘maybe this will work out after all.’” At Image, a noteworthy experience for him was when his character G- Man met Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon character. “I drew the Dragon into a few strips myself, but that excitement was later trumped by having Erik himself drawing the Dragon on the same art pages I drew G-Man on.” Here’s the best part, Giarrusso was able to keep that artwork!

Getting to Know: Chris Giarrusso, Mini Marvel and G-Man Part 4

Please read Part 3 of the interview before reading Part 4

Marvel Comics & Image Comics, Inc.

What is it like working at two known publishing companies? Let’s dive in and find out. As an artist and writer for both companies, he did not have a typical workday because he does a variety of things that involves a little bit of everything. Sometimes he writes, draws, color and does production or design work for books. There are times where he will wake up early and be at his drawing board. However, there are times when he will be working all night and sleeping all day. Then there are moments of interruptions that can take his work off course. “With Marvel, there was a lot of switching gears in response to rejection or approval of scripts or art or corrections. With Image, there is a lot more work to be done for promotion as far as writing solicits and hunting for interviews.”

Getting to Know: Chris Giarrusso, Mini Marvel and G-Man Part 3

Please read Part 2 of the interview before reading Part 3

The Work Itself continuation

His other work is G-Man: Cape Crisis, which is a graphic novel comprised of five comic issues/chapters that focus on G-Man’s cape. After reading the book, the story presented in each chapter felt like a complete individualized stories. However, each issue was still linked together to create a longer, more complete whole story. According to Giarrusso, this is a goal that most comic writers try to achieve. “Ideally, each individual issue should be comprehensible and a complete story in itself even if you hadn’t read anything that came before.” He had the bigger story in mind, but when he was “fleshing it out,” Giarrusso identified the “smaller arcs” within the bigger story. These arcs then became the individualized comic books/chapters of the graphic novel.

Getting to Know: Chris Giarrusso, Mini Marvel and G-Man Part 2

Please read Part 1 of the interview before reading Part 2

The Work Itself

The one thing that I admire about his artwork is the simplicity of the characters while expressing their emotions. He believes that his artistic style in portraying the emotions was “largely an ongoing organic thing that happens.” It seemed like a natural technique that developed possibly from subconsciously picking up on how other cartoonists have done this. “After reading other cartoonists’ work for years and years, there’s a lot of visual language that just becomes ingrained.”

Getting to Know: Chris Giarrusso, Mini Marvel and G-Man Part 1

When I first met Chris Giarrusso, it was at New York Comic Con 2009. He was sitting behind a table at the artist alley promoting his artwork and selling the graphic novel Mini Marvel. After the initial conversation and conclusion of the convention, we continued to communicate outside the venue. Through his website, I discovered the cancellation of Mini Marvel. However, I also learned that he is continuing his creativity at Image Comics with G-Man.

Aniplex and Masayuki Ozaki at NYAF 2011

Two Of Aniplex's Biggest Names In NYC!

Yo. This is NYAF at NYCC Show Manager Lance Fensterman giving you a behind-the-scenes glimpse at what's going on in the world of NYAF at NYCC and NYC's anime community. The fine folks at Aniplex will be hosting a number of screenings and events at NYAF at NYCC this year. If you've been around the block, you've met Hiroe-san, who runs most of the Aniplex panels in the US. Well, for NYAF at NYCC, Hiroe will be joined by two of Aniplex's biggest guns - Koichiro Natsume and Hideo Katsumata.

2011 Sailor Moon Celebration at Forbidden Planet NYC!

Click on the image above for more info!

Toronto Welcomes Yu-Gi-Oh! Championship Series

TORONTO WELCOMES Yu-Gi-Oh! CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
First North American Premier-Level Event to
Feature Cards from Generation Force

EL SEGUNDO, CA (September 9, 2011) – After weeks of preparation, Duelists are ready to invade Canada’s “Queen City” for a shot to win fame and prizes at the Yu-Gi-Oh! CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES (YCS) event in Toronto, Canada on September 17th – 18th at the Hilton Toronto Airport Hotel & Suites. This premier-level Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG) event, from Konami Digital Entertainment (Konami), runs simultaneously with a 2011 YCS event in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Hasbro Announces New York Comic Con Debut

HASBRO ANNOUNCES
NEW YORK COMIC CON DEBUT
AND TITLE SPONSORSHIP OF “NYCC KIDS!”

The Global Branded Play Company to Showcase Its Iconic Pop-Culture Properties at the Convention and Host the National BEYBLADE Championship at New York Comic Con’s “NYCC Kids!”

PAWTUCKET, R.I. – SEPTEMBER 8, 2011 - For the first time at New York Comic Con, Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) will attend the convention at the Javits Convention Center in New York City from October 13-16 to present many of its iconic brands and meet with fans. Hasbro will have a significant booth presence featuring current and upcoming products from its TRANSFORMERS, G.I. JOE, JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS and KRE-O brands and BEYBLADE, MARVEL and STAR WARS lines. Additionally, Hasbro will host panels for several of its properties and action figure lines as well as offer for sale several HasbroToyShop.com special edition products made for New York Comic Con convention goers.

Z-Trip to Perform at New York Comic Con 2011

Z-TRIP TO PERFORM AT NEW YORK COMIC CON
IN FREE CONCERT FOR VIP AND 4-DAY TICKET HOLDERS!
Acclaimed Live Performance DJ Headlines
Opening Night Festivities
VIP Ticket Holders Provided Guraranteed Seating;
4-Day Ticket-Holders Provided Priority Seating

Norwalk, CT, September 8, 2011: Widely considered to be one of the best live performance DJs in history and the “godfather of mash-ups”, noted artist Z-Trip will provide a free evening of entertainment on Thursday, October 13 at 7:30pm for New York Comic Con (NYCC) attendees in the IGN Theater – Presented by Sprint at the Javits Center in New York City. The concert will be an opening night celebration providing music and entertainment for the thousands of fans who will be gathering for this year’s edition of New York Comic Con. The annual pop culture event, which attracts top talent and major artists from all areas of the pop culture universe including film, television, music, books, and gaming will take place October 13 – 16, 2011 at the Javits Center.

The 2011 Top Shelf Massive $3 Sale

For the next two weeks -- thru Friday September 23th -- Top Shelf is having a giant $3 web sale.

When you visit the site, you'll find 175 graphic novels and comics on sale -- with over 100 titles marked down to just $3 & $1! To help us continue doing what we do, please participate in this sale. With the economy as it’s been, it’s getting harder and harder to keep publishing such quality material. But if enough people participate, we’ll be able to finish paying for this year’s amazing releases, and “kick start” a full rollout for next year. Thanks in advance for your support (as the comics community IS the best community)!

Legendary Collection 2: The Duel Academy Years

JOIN THE REUNION WITH THE Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME
LEGENDARY COLLECTION 2: THE DUEL ACADEMY YEARS
Unique Set Gathers 279 GX Era Cards

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (September 7, 2011) - Duelists will want to grab their buddies and head to the nearest store for a Yu-Gi-Oh! GX reunion when Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. (Konami), the maker of the best-selling Yu-Gi-Oh! TRADING CARD GAME (TCG), brings together the best and most memorable cards from 2005 through 2008 all in one place! Players should save the date, October 4th, to get their hands on Legendary Collection 2: The Duel Academy Years when it arrives on shelves nationwide.

IDW Graphic Novels Debut on Apple iBooks

IDW Graphic Novels Debut on Apple iBooks
First major comics publisher to offer iBook
graphic novels and comics
for the iPad™, iPhone®, and iPod touch®

San Diego, CA (September 7, 2011)—Continuing to lead the charge of digital comics, IDW Publishing, a leader in digital comics, proudly debuted today the first large collection of comic and graphic novel titles ever available within Apple’s iBooks store. As the first major comics publisher to offer significant content, IDW’s initial iBooks entrée features nearly twenty complete graphic novels, including award-winning books and works by best selling prose authors.

Goodbye My Borders

The time has come to say goodbye. Many have said their goodbye’s already, but I have not. During its last couple of weeks, walking though the store, I see the emptiness slowly engulfing the area. I mean there are customers walking about and employees stocking up the shelves. However, seeing some of the space being closed off, including the bathroom, with empty shelves, it says something different. Makes me wonder if this is a sign of the industry, not just manga, but also physical bookstores or even the printing industry.

The Return of Hetalia?

Hello fans of Hetalia!

It seems that there is a possibility that the series might return. According to the message from Stu Levy via Facebook, all fans will be able to access the title, however, the access channel will be limited. For example: retail. Keep in mind that retail can mean a physical or online store. Along with volume 3, volume 4 would be published.

Comikaze Expo Gets Inked

Comikaze Expo Offers
Fans and Attendees the Makings of a Pop Culture
Makeover and Amazing Access to a
Modern Day Renaissance
To Die For Tattoos, Special FX Makeup and
a Viral Invasion, Oh My!

Los Angeles, Calif., (September 2011) – Comikaze Expo, the largest multimedia pop culture, comic book, horror, anime and gaming convention in California, announced that it will host incredible one-of-a kind features at its Los Angeles show: LIVE tattooing, Special FX makeup artists, and a chance to win a role in one of the most cutting-edge viral campaigns in history.

QC Anime-zing! 2012 Announces Dates and Location

Davenport, Iowa - September 7, 2011 - The organizers of the third annual Anime-zing! anime festival today announced that the Quad Cities anime convention will be held June 1-3, 2012 at the Clarion Hotel and Conference Center in Davenport, Iowa. This year's convention will feature several special guests of honor, a bigger cosplay masquerade, and a diverse selection from anime vendors and artists. Last year's event drew over 580 people to the RiverCenter in downtown Davenport. Guests included Johnny Yong Bosch, Eyeshine, Sonny Strait, Robert Axelrod, Trevor Mueller, Russell Lissau, Samurai Dan, and Lady Jillian.

Magic: The Gathering Comic Books

HASBRO, INC., AND IDW PUBLISHING
TO LAUNCH MAGIC: THE GATHERING COMIC BOOKS

SAN DIEGO, CA (September 1, 2011) – IDW Publishing and Hasbro, Inc. today announced yet another extension of the companies’ long-term relationship with an all-new comic book series based on the ground-breaking MAGIC: THE GATHERING trading card game (TCG). Under license from Hasbro, Inc., and in collaboration with Wizards of the Coast, IDW will launch a new series entitled MAGIC: THE GATHERING this fall, the first comic series in more than a decade based on the many worlds of the hugely popular game. Adding to the rich stories are exclusive, playable, alternate-art cards for the MAGIC: THE GATHERING TCG, which will only be available through select issues of the IDW comics.

DC Anime Club Sailor Moon Party

DC Anime Club Sailor Moon Party

In honor of the Manga Sailor Moon coming out September 13, 2011 we, DC Anime Club will have a Sailor Moon party at Barnes and Noble 3040 M Street NW Washington, DC 20007. The Party will include the following activities:

DC Anime Club Presents Video Game Day

DC Anime Club Presents Video Game Day

On Saturday September 10, 2011 at 2:00pm-5:00pm DC Anime Club will be hosting Video Game Day at Martin Luthur King, Jr Memorial Library 901 G St NW Washington, DC 20001 in Room A5 on the A Level. Video Game Day will consist of the following activities: Video gaming you don’t bring it we won’t play it, Pokemon and Mario Kart Tournament for Nintendo DS, Yugioh Card Gahteing and more !!!

DC Anime Club Presents Lolita Picnic

DC Anime Club Presents Lolita Picnic

DC Anime Club on September 17, 2011 at DC Freer Gallery Garden from 12:00pm-5:00pm will have a Lolita Picnic. For those who are unfamiliar, Lolita is a fashion subculture in Japan that is primarily influenced by Victorian children clothing, as well as costumes from the Rococo period. Lolita has made this into a unique fashion by adding gothic and original design elements to the look. From this, Lolita fashion has evolved into several different subs ...styles and has created a devoted subculture in Japan. The Lolita look consists primarily of a knee-length skirt or dress, headdress, blouse, petticoat, knee-high socks or stockings, and rocking horse or high heel/platform shoes.