Showing posts with label conventions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label conventions. Show all posts

Saturday, March 02, 2013

Meet a Local Con Organizer: Ron Barba of AnimeUSA

101_4614 Deadpool
The Convention season has started again, with anime and manga focused-Katsucon having been at National Harbor last month, and Emerald City Comicon kicking off the comic book cons in Seattle this weekend. Six months ago, I attended AnimeUSA at the Washington Marriot Wardman Park, where it had moved after being in Crystal City in Arlington. The following interview was done with one of the con organizers, Rob Barba, for a Washington City Paper article that didn't gel. But everyone I see at AnimeUSA looks like they're having a great deal of fun, so perhaps it's not too soon to start planning to attend this September's event.

Mike Rhode: How’d you personally get into comics?

Rob Barba: I'm the writer for a webcomic, Claude & Monet (www.claudeandmo.net); due to its anime style, I felt working with a convention would be a good way to gain both exposure and experience. The former I've got, but the latter my cup runneth over. I can honestly say that in my eight years of working with Anime USA, it's been a worthy experience.
101_4608
MR: How is AnimeUSA different than a standard comics con?

RB: We focus both on manga, manwha, and manhua (Japanese, Korean and Chinese comics, respectively) as well as webcomics. In the former case, these are the basis of anime, which has been on the rise for a number of years. For the latter, it will be the future of how comics are produced, and we felt it was important to be at the forefront of exposing our audience to this medium.

MR: How many years has it run, and how many years have you been a part of it?

RB: Anime USA has been around since 1998. I joined in 2004, after I moved into the area.

MR: How many people did you have?

RB: We had an attendance of roughly 3800 people. While this number is roughly the same as last year, we believe that the move to the new hotel as well as the tragic events of Hurricane Sandy had an effect on our attendance. We plan for greater growth next year.

MR: How did the weather such as Sandy and the following Noreaster affect 2012's con?

101_4604RB: Quite a bit, to be honest. The result was a wholesale cancellation of various panels, vendors coming from the north, and even many of our own staff. As mentioned before, attendance took a hit because of it. Still, I believe we did our best to regroup and move forward for our fans.

MR: Why did you move to the hotel in DC this year?

RB: The Marriott was best suited for our needs after an exhaustive search for a new location. With a layout suitable for panels, workshops and the like; plenty of picturesque locations for cosplayer photography, and room to grow, we were hard-pressed not to chose this site. Combined with the attentive staff of the Marriott, it sealed the deal for us.

MR: Any guests you are particularly proud of having come in 2012? Favorite guests of past years?

101_4606RB: Phil Lamarr, as he is one of the largest guests we have had to date. Caitlin Glass is also a fan favorite. The list of favorites for previous years is too long to mention, but includes folks like Steven Bloom, Monica Rial and others.

MR: Is there anything special about 2012 not mentioned yet?

RB: If people enjoyed 2012, wait until they see what we have planned for 2013. While I can't comment due to contractual reasons, I can say that the marquee guest for next year will be one the fans have been clamoring for, for quite some time.

Monday, February 25, 2013

PR: Biggest Comic Retailers Unite to Support a Great School in Southern Maryland

Biggest Local Retailers Unite to Support a Great Cause in Southern Maryland

REISTERSTOWN, MD - February 23, 2013 - Third Eye Comics of Annapolis, MD, Cards, Comics & Collectibles of Reisterstown, MD, Laughing Ogre Comics of Lansdowne, VA, and Comics & Gaming of Gainesville, VA, have all come together to support a charity convention being held in La Plata, MD.

The ANS Sci-Fi & Comic Con, which will be held on May 11, 2013, was founded in 2012 to benefit the Archbishop Neale School (ANS) in La Plata. The mission of the show is to create a fun and memorable event for fans and collectors of all ages that supports the educational and spiritual goals of ANS.

In its second year, the show will be expanding to feature more than 80 tables with more than 30 different vendors, as well as 13 artists from as far away as New York City, including Frank Cho, the creator, artist and writer of Liberty Meadows and the artist and writer of Marvel Comics' new Savage Wolverine comic, who is being sponsored by Cards, Comics & Collectibles. In addition, Jerry & Penelope Gaylord and Brian Turner, artists on Boom! Studios' Fanboys vs. Zombies, NFL Rush Zone, and Adventure Time, will be appearing courtesy of Third Eye Comics.

"We love seeing new conventions pop up, and the ANS Sci-Fi & Comic-Con in La Plata, MD is one of the most promising new shows we're doing in 2013," said Steve Anderson, owner of Third Eye Comics. "With superstar Frank Cho, and a retailer's room of the best vendors the area has to offer, we know this is going to be the first of many awesome shows we do with ANS."

"I knew of this show last year but was unable to go," said Marc Nathan, owner of Cards, Comics & Collectibles and show promoter of the Baltimore Comic-Con. "Lots of my closest dealer friends had great things to say about the show and the cause. This year, we are coming full force with lots of product and we are all really excited."

In addition to the vendors and artists, the show will also feature screenings of some rare and unusual films and a sneak-peak of the new documentary Plastic Galaxy - The Story of Star Wars Toys, with a special Q&A session with director Brian Stillman, as well as a game demo of the Conquest Tactics CCG by developer Andy Niggles. Additional programming includes: panels and presentations, silent auctions, door prizes, great food, and the 501st Legion!

"I am really looking forward to this event," said Gary Dills, Owner of Laughing Ogre Comics. "Any time you can put great people together with a great cause, everyone wins. I am happy to be involved with such an endeavor!"

"We're looking forward to a great show with an even better cause," said Tim Chillemi of Comics & Gaming.

The Archbishop Neale School is located at 104 Port Tobacco Road, La Plata MD, 20646. Convention hours are from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, and admission is $5 for adults and children over 10 (children 10 and under are free). All proceeds from admissions, vendors fees, and silent auctions directly benefit Archbishop Neale School.

For more information and to register, check out the ANS Sci-Fi & Comic Con's website at www.anscomiccon.com .


Tom Boone
Event Organizer
ANS Sci-Fi & Comic Con
104 Port Tobacco Road
La Plata, Maryland 20646

(202) 297-1461
The ANS Sci-Fi & Comic Con is an ALL AGES fan and collectors event benefiting Archbishop Neale School on Saturday, May 11, 2013, from 10am to 3pm. For more information, visit
www.anscomiccon.com

About Archbishop Neale School -
Archbishop Neale School is a Catholic elementary school in La Plata, Maryland that has been in continuous operation since 1927, with a two-track system for grades Pre-K through 8 and a curriculum centered on the Archdiocese of Washington graded course of study. We are fully accredited, and our teachers are certified by the State of Maryland in their specific areas. We serve Catholic students from over seven parishes and many non-Catholics as well. For over 80 years, parents have entrusted their children to ANS because they are assured of an excellent, Archdiocesan standards-based academic curriculum that encompasses Catholic faith and values delivered in a safe, caring environment. For more information, visit
www.ArchbishopNealeSchool.org


Tuesday, November 06, 2012

AnimeUSA is this weekend

 AnimeUSA runs this weekend of November 9th-11th at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, DC.  This is always a nice, fun con, with a lot of cosplay. It's particularly good for teens. Things appear to start at noon on Friday.

Here's their first AnimeUSA podcast which features staff members Theo Bugtong (Director of Marketing), Tom Stidman (Director of Guests), and Mark Pope (Vice Chair of Programming).

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Sept 25: Annapolis Comic-Con

Time
Sunday, September 25 · 10:00am - 4:00pm

Location
Annapolis Elks Lodge
2517 Solomon's Island Rd
Annapolis, MD




More Info
SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 25th 10AM-4PM
*************************************
Join us for the first ever ANNAPOLIS COMIC-CON, A GOOD OLD FASHIONED COMIC BOOK SHOW!

ADMISSION is $5 for adults, kids under 10 get in free!
Come in costume, and admission is only $1!

SPECIAL GUESTS include:

legendary FLASH artist GREG LAROCQUE
indie all-star STEVE CONLEY (ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS, AMAZING ADVENTURES OF THE ESCAPIST)
Image Comics DEADLANDS publishers VISIONARY COMICS
and more!

PLUS:

Loads of vendors bringing all sorts of comic awesomeness, ranging from vintage Silver and Golden Age back issues to the hottest modern day titles.

Costume Contest at 1PM, with an awesome prize TBA

Live Auction at 2PM for all sorts of comic goodness!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

April 10: Capicons next convention

Capicons Comic Book and Pop Culture Con
Sunday, April 10 · 10:00am - 3:00pm
________________________________
Location
Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire And Rescue Department
2148 Gallows Road
Dunn Loring, VA
________________________________
More Info
Special Guest: Rafer Roberts--creator of Plastic Farm, and editor of D.C. Conspiracy's Magic Bullet! More TBA!

Admission $3 - Kids FREE!

Open to the public from 10 am - 3 pm. Buy, sell & trade: Gold, Silver, Bronze Age comics; Indie & Modern comics, Publishers & Creators, TV & Movie Collectibles. Non-sport cards; Videos & DVDs; Horror/Sci-Fi; figures, toys; Star Wars & Star Trek memorabilia; original artwork, posters and other comic-related collectibles.

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Sam and Lilah and Jim and Hyeondo at NY Comic Con

Jim Douganwrites in

Subject: SAM & LILAH at the New York Comic-Con! Original Art for Sale!
Hey everybody! This weekend (Friday, October 8 - Sunday October 10) is the New York Comic Con at the Jacob K. Javits Center (http://www.facebook.com/l/58a521vGz5W3-52FKfg64q47waw;www.newyorkcomiccon.com/), and in addition to many, many comic and pop culture luminaries, your humble SAM & LILAH creators, Hyeondo Park (http://www.facebook.com/l/58a52okiq5XHoNusjBp3YQqI3kg;www.hanaroda.net) and Jim Dougan, will be in attendance! Hyeondo is sharing Table Q3 in Artists' Alley with his friend Jack Forbes (http://www.facebook.com/l/58a526P9BazG9c89zax5TM1fgBg;thehebrewgod.com/), and selling all kinds of neat stuff, including his work on the manga adaptations of JULIUS CAESAR and HUCKLEBERRY FINN, and hopefully some copies of the ACT-I-VATE PRIMER and NO FORMULA.

But most important of all: for the first time, Hyeondo will be selling SAM & LILAH original art!!! All pages are for sale from $40 to $50, so come on down and take a look! You know you want to, but just in case, here's a taste of what's available (in this case, Chapter 3, page 1):

http://www.facebook.com/l/58a52tBsgD2pSTi667O2WKvdE5w;i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/chatterbox_dc/hp_sl_i_03_01copy.gif

The map below tells you where to go! See you in New York!

http://www.facebook.com/l/58a52WgeAhckWeYtO33vdcn5qjg;i5.photobucket.com/albums/y196/chatterbox_dc/NYCC2010floorplan-revx.jpg

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Capicon con covered by DC Comics ExaminerMark Ruffin

Mark Ruffin's got a short article and video up now -

Capicon revitalized as local keepsake event
Mark Ruffin
DC Comic Books Examiner October 4th, 2010

The video, at almost 10 minutes long, is interesting. At around the 2 minutes mark, the owners talk about setting up a local small press show.

And co-owner Laura Daugherty says that they're going to have more local cartoonists at the next show - "We're hosting Hero Initiative with John K. Snyder, III on December 5, along with John Gallagher, Steve Conley and Andre Campbell from Heritage Comics HSQ."

Sunday, October 03, 2010

Capicon show today w/ DC Conspiracy and Curls

I just got back from this - it's a good show and has a lot of discounted 1/2 price collectons and $1 comics. Also, these folks are there -

Please note the DC-area talent we have scheduled to join us, including 2010 Lulu Nominee Carolyn Belefski and members of DC Conspiracy Matt Dembicki, Andrew Cohen, Rafer Roberts and Evan Keeling.
......
Capicons Comic Book & Pop Culture Con
Sun, Oct. 3, 2010
10 am - 3 pm

Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Hall, 2148 Gallows Rd, Dunn Loring, Virginia

Admission $3 - Kids FREE!
FREE Admission for those in Costume (Costume Contest at 1 PM)

Open to the public from 10 am - 3 pm. Buy, sell & trade: Gold, Silver, Bronze Age comics; Indie & Modern comics, Publishers & Creators, TV & Movie Collectibles. Non-sport cards; Videos & DVDs; Horror/Sci-Fi; figures, toys; Star Wars & Star Trek memorabilia; original artwork, posters and other comic-related collectibles.

FEATURING:
2010 Lulu Nominee Carolyn Belefski, Curls Studio
Matt Dembicki, Artist/Publisher and Editor of Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection
D.C. Conspiracy--a collective of DC comic creators, writers, publishers & artists

Directions to DLVFRD: Take I-495 (DC/Capital Beltway) to Exit 47A (Rt. 7 West). Go 1/2 Mile, Left on Gallows Rd. 1 mile to 2148 Gallows Rd.

--
Laura Daugherty
Capicons
PO Box 2488
Merrifield, VA 22116
http://capicons.com

Monday, June 07, 2010

Heroes Con pic of 3 cartoonists, 1 professor and 2 fanboy stalkers.



Dinner at Heroes Con. Left to right: Richard "Cul de Sac" Thompson, Mike "ComicsDC" Rhode, Shannon "G.I. Joe Gallant, Craig "Appalachian State" Fischer, Chris "Crogan's Vengeance" Schweizer and Chris "Cul de Sac webmaster" Sparks. Sparks and I are the fanboy stalkers because Fischer gets paid to do this stuff. The picture is Sparks' and we all had to really overtip the waitress by the time he was done asking her to take it.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Webcomic con coming to DC in September.

This PR arrived over the e-transom today -

Intervention: Your Online Life, In Person. A Convention with Webcomics, Videos, Music, and You - September 10-12 2010 at the Hilton Washington DC. http://www.InterventionCon.com

Intervention is a convention for the independent comics, art, and music creators. The con was started by webcomic creator Onezumi Hartstein (http://www.Onezumi.com) and web developer James Harknell (http://www.AWSOM.org). This goal is to bring together different independent creators to party, educate, and appreciate the opportunities the Internet gives to all of us.

Intervention will have awesome webcomics geek-related programming and gaming all day and night from Friday through Sunday. There will be one dance party where the audience can assist the DJ in making live music and one NYC-style dance party. In addition to the Artist's Alley/Vendor Room over 30 webcomic and New Media experts will attend. The con is still being planned. Discussion is being held on the Intervention forum: http://interventioncon.com/forum/

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Monday, May 10, 2010

Back when Frank Frazetta came to DC cons

Frank Frazetta, the great comic book, strip and fantasy artist, has died. I'm sure obituaries will appear tomorrow, but Gary Groth has a Frank Frazetta Interview 1994 interview online, prefaced by a note about how Frazetta came to a 1971 comics con in Washington that Groth had organized.

Friday, May 07, 2010

May 22: Windup Comic Fest in Baltimore

Windup Comic Fest, Spring 2010
Saturday, May 22
2pm - 7pm

The Windup Space
12 West North Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21201-5904

More details here.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

PR: DC Comic-Con Costume Contest



DC Comic-Con Costume Contest

Washington, DC - April 28, 2010 - JUST ANNOUNCED!  Iron Man 2, hitting theatres on May 7, 2010, presents the Inaugural DC Comic-Con Costume Contest!
 
Come out to the Iron Man 2 table dressed as your favorite comic book character to enter-to-win Iron Man 2 prizes.  The person with the best costume will win reserve seats at the advance screening of the film in DC!  Best Costume will be picked from all entries at 3pm, so enter early!
 
For more information on Iron Man 2, go to www.ironmanmovie.com.

 
Directions
The show will be held at the George Mason University campus at 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA  22030 in the Student Union Building II (SUB II).  Free Parking is available in Lot A (beside the Patriot Center), which is a short walk from SUB II.  A map of the campus can be found at http://parking.gmu.edu/pdf%20files/parkingmap09.pdf, and directions to the show can be found on the show website at http://dccomicon.com/?page_id=63
 
About The DC Comic-Con
The DC Comic-Con, launching in 2010 on Sunday, May 2nd from 10am-5pm, is a result of the cooperative work of Marc Nathan, sponsor of the Baltimore Comic-Con (http://www.baltimorecomiccon.com/) and Brett Carreras, sponsor of the VA Comicon (http://www.vacomicon.com/). For more information about guests, games, show exclusives, and contests, please visit http://dccomicon.com/.
  

Saturday, April 10, 2010

April 18: Capicon Comic convention

Sunday, April 18th, 2010
Capicons Comic Book and Pop Culture Con

Dunn Loring Vol. Fire Dept, Dunn Loring, Virginia

Special Guests:
Martin Grams, Jr, Author of The Green Hornet: A History of Radio, Motion Pictures, Comics and Television
http://www.martingrams.com

Dan Nokes, Artist/Publisher--21 Sandshark Studios
http://21sandshark.com/

Also featuring
Artist Tom Arvis, Sureshot Comics
http://www.arvtoon.com

FREE admission! Door prize drawings!

Open to the public from 10 am - 3 pm. Buy, sell & trade: Gold, Silver, Bronze Age comics; Indie & Modern comics, Publishers & Creators, TV & Movie Collectibles. Non-sport cards; Videos & DVDs; Anime; Manga; Horror/Sci-Fi; figures, toys; Star Wars & Star Trek memorabilia; original artwork, posters and other comic-related collectibles.

See you there!
Laura, Jeff & Ed,

Saturday, February 20, 2010

May 2: Washington, DC Comicon at George Mason University

Apparently there's a new Washington, DC Comicon at George Mason University (which is 20 miles out of town). Here's one story and here's another. ComicsDC will admit to feeling a bit snubbed on this news. We're also wondering if it will affect Marc Nathan's attendance at Capicon.

Sunday, February 07, 2010

March 7: Capicons convention rescheduled

Event: Capicons Comic Book & Pop Culture Con
Start Time: Sunday, March 7 at 10:00am
End Time: Sunday, March 7 at 3:00pm
Where: Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department

To see more details and RSVP, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?event.php&eid=293214896993&mid=1d94bd4G40206d0eG15556b8G7