MoCCA, Kids Comic Con Open This Weekend
This year the MoCCA Art Festival (April 10 and 11) andKids Comic Con (April 10) overlap, but the two-day MoCCA festival should givefans and kids a chance to take some time and visit Kids Comic Con at the Bronx Community College.In an effort to beat the heat that caused problems at last year's festival,MoCCA has been scheduled early and will once again be held at the historic69thRegiment Armory on Lexington Ave at 25thStreet. in Manhattan.. MoCCA offers a focus on small press and independentcomics. Guests include Mad Magazine's Al Jaffe, Jaime Hernandez of Loveand Rockets fame, Frank Miller, Kyle Baker, Becky Cloonan, Chip Kidd andmany, many more. The show features a wide variety of panels and programming,running throughout the weekend. Availablethrough the MoCCA site, advance ticket prices are $15 for a weekend pass,$12 for members and one day passes at $10. Prices will be higher at the door.Proceeds go to benefit the museum.
Founded in 2007 by comics writer, YA novelist andeducational activist Alex Simmons, KidsComic con caters to comics-loving children, parents and educators andfocuses on comics as both entertainment and as educational tool. Events includeincludes panels, hands-on workshops directed by comics professionals and a widevariety of comics creator guests including Chris Giarrusso of Mini-Marvels,Raina Telgemeier of Smile, X-Men: Misfits and the Babysitters Clubgraphic novels among many others. DC Comics and Abrams Comics Arts will also besponsoring several special guest artists. First organized by comics creatorAlex Simmons in 2007, last year the one day con had over 750 attendees,approximately two-thirds of which were children. Held at the Bronx Community College, admission is free to childrenunder 17, $5 to the general public.
Confirmed: Neal Adams Returns to DC and Batman
As recently rumored, comics great Neal Adams - long absentfrom the DC Comics lineup - is returning to DC with a 12-part maxi-seriesentitled Batman:Odyssey beginning this July. The news was confirmed last Fridayin an officialpost on the officialDC Comics blog.
Publishers WeeklyPurchased
Publishers Weekly, the parentpublication of PWCW, has beenpurchased by PWxyz LLC, a new company formed by former PW publisher George Slowik specifically to run PW as an independent magazine. More details can be found in thisarticle on the PW site.
Kate Beaton, Erika Moen on Penny Arcade
In an unusual move, the creators of the smash hitgaming-themed webcomic PennyArcade commissoned comic creators Kate Beaton and Erika Moen to makespecial guest strips of the comic. Beaton is known for Hark A Vagrant - her popular and eccentriccomics about history, primarily Canadian history, and Moen was the creator ofthe now completed web comic Dar: A SuperGirly Top Secret Comic Diary . This was an unusual move on the part ofHolkins and Krahulik, the team that creates Penny Arcade, because previouslythey had primarily reached out only to other gaming-themed comics. Beaton and Moen's Penny Arcadecomics can be found here.
PWCW's Heidi MacDonaldTalks iPad
Heidi MacDonald, co-editor of PW Comics Week and blogger of The Beat, was the guest on PC Mag's very special podcast about comics onthe iPad. You can listen to this episode of PC Mag After Hourshere.
Marvel's iPad App Debuts
In coordination with the new Apple iPad mobilecomputing device, Marvel comics has launched their own digital comicsapplication. While Marvel has long had Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited, awebsite on which paying members could read as many of the comics that Marvelhas digitized for a single monthly fee, the Marvel Comics App wil mark the firsttime that Marvel has made their comics available in an ala carte fashion.Readers may purchase individual comics for $1.99 each through the application,download them, load them on any app store compatible device they own, and readand reread them as many times as they desire without an ongoing subscription.The application is free and a number of free older Marvel comics are availablefor the app.
This Week @ Good Comics For Kids
This week SchoolLibrary Journal's blog Good Comics forKids had the Good Comics For Kids reviewindex for the first quarter of 2010, a review of TheWizard's Tale, the 3/31listing of comics suitable for all ages, and a Toontalk, Mouse Guard and more linksroundup from Brigid Alverson.
This Week @ The Beat
This week at PWCW editor Heidi MacDonald's blog The Beat, she reported live from SanFrancisco's Wonderconwith the latest news on thebig players and indiecomics,anonymousindustry commentary, "Bar Con"shenanigans, explored February's Marvel,DCand Indiecomic book month-to-month sales numbers, covered the event known as The UK WebMinicomix Thing, the iPad launchindetail and science fiction author, internet guru and electronic freedomadvocate Cory Doctrow's dissent, Neal Adams rejoiningDC, the NeoIntegrityexhibit at MoCCA, the trailerfor Cartoon College - theupcoming documentary on the Centre for Cartoon Studies, memoriesof the late great Dick Giordano, BodyWorldcreator DashShaw on tour, herown take on the PW acquisition, comics creator BenTemplesmith's wacky astrology as well as this year's best AprilFools joke - courtesy of Chris Sims and hosted a guest column by YenPress's RichJohnson on his early days at DC Comics.
