Long Beach Comic Con This Weekend
Popular new California-based comics convention Long Beach Comic Con enters its second year this weekend. While dwarfed by the massive scale of San Diego Comic-Con, Long Beach hosted over 6,000 con-goers during its first year, and boasts an impressive slate of guests for such a young con, including comics creators Stan Lee, Howard Chaykin, J.H. Williams, Amanda Conner, Jeph Loeb, Mark Waid and Jimmy Palmiotti among others. Long Beach Comic Con takes place from October 29-31 at the Long Beach Convention Center located at 303 East Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, CA. Admission is $30 for Saturday, $25 per day for Sunday and Friday, and $45 for the weekend, with children 10 and under entering free.
Gaiman's Death in Action Comics
The personification of Death from Neil Gaiman's classic Sandman graphic novel series will make a rare appearance opposite Lex Luthor in Action Comics #894. Written by rising star and Doctor Who veteran Paul Cornell, the issue will include some dialogue contributed by Gaiman, the character's creator and hits stands this Wednesday. Unlike other Vertigo characters entering mainstream DC Comics, Death remains a Vertigo property and is simply on loan. A pale young woman with black hair and gothic makeup, Gaiman's Death is an inherently sympathetic and gentle figure, unlike most portrayals of Death.
Graphic Novel Moon Lake Performed Live
Dan Fogler's horror graphic novel Moon Lake will be performed as a live multimedia radio play in a special Halloween performance at New York City's Cinema Village in Union Square on October 30. More details are available here.
Derek Kirk Kim Sells Off Original Art
Eisner-winning comics artist Derek Kirk Kim, co-creator of the acclaimed graphic novel Eternal Smile, has announced that for the first time, he is auctioning off some of his original art online in order to help pay his website bills.
Stan Lee Appears on Nikita
Comics legend Stan Lee, who has had a cameo in every major Marvel big screen movie yet, has recently made an another unannounced appearance on genre television – the CW's spy drama Nikita. Billed as “Hank Excelsior” he played a bystander being interviewed by a local news crew. More details – and video footage of his appearance – are available here.
Kids Comic Con Goes To Africa
Thanks to private donations through fundraising website Kickstarter, Alex Simmons' popular children's comics event Kids Comic Con and his exhibit, The Color of Comics, will be able to tour Senegal, educating and entertaining children abroad as well as at home. Simmons was asked to bring the event to Senegal, but lacked the funding to do so until Kickstarter made it possible.
Superman Lawsuits Rage On
The legal battle between the Siegel heirs and Warner Brothers / DC Comics, which has been under way since 2008, could continue for at least another 18 months. To recap, the Siegel family sued DC for the rights to Superman and DC, in return, has sued the Siegels' lawyer, Marc Toberoff. DC also will find itself embroiled in a rights reversion lawsuit from the Siegels if its next Superman movie does not enter production by 2011, which has led to the as-yet-untitled Superman reboot being rushed into being less than a decade after Superman Returns. More details are available here on Robot Six.
This Week @ Good Comics For Kids
This week School Library Journal’s blog Good Comics for Kids had a selection of Great Halloween Comics For Kids, a review of Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl, what the GC4K bloggers are reading this week, a preview of Toy Story: Some Assembly Required, and the 10/20 roundup of good comics for kids.
This Week @ The Beat
This week PWCW editor Heidi MacDonald’s blog The Beat covered Disney going digital, quite possibly the worst superhero movie concept of all time – now in development, Superman Earth One, the question of whether or not Marvel is in fact lowering prices as promised at all, another culprit for the decline of comics, the secret history of Wonder Woman, Dan Clowes and multimedia, The Missing Kramer's Caper, Marvel month to month sales figures for August, the establishment of a new graphic novel prize in honor of Lynd Ward, Urasawa's Pluto on its way to the screen (may it do better than the Astroboy movie), Arnie Hammer – the man who would be Superman, straight talk with Image's Eric Stephenson, graphic novelist Sarah Glidden leaving for Iraq to fuel her next book, how – almost – to embed comics and the final verdict on Harvey Pekar's death.
