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POW! The Live Art Show & Auction benefiting The Hero Foundry, a non-
profit 501 (c) 3 charity, and their mission of providing comic books
and graphic novels to library, schools, and hospitals. Join local
Dallas artists on Saturday, September 6th at Titan Comics as they
create action packed works of art with live music by American
Werewolf Academy. As the works are completed they, and previously
donated art, will be auctioned off.

The Hero Foundry Presents POW! The Live Art Show & Auction

POW! (Pictures on the Wall!) is a collaboration between local
artists and businesses to raise much needed funds for The Hero
Foundry and provide a view into the artistic creative process. All
funds will be used by The Hero Foundry to continue its mission to
increase literacy, inspire creativity, and most importantly, to
provide positive role models and moral guidance to today’s youth
through the comic book medium. This year The Foundry is launching a
new reading program that will complement their endowments of graphic
novels but also allow schools and libraries to directly influence
youth with the power comic books.

In order to help, Titan Comics and artists from Dallas and all over
the United States have joined together to help out The Hero Foundry
by donating time, talent, and incredible art to the event.

When:
Saturday, September 6th from 8pm – 11pm

Where:
Titan Comics
3701 W. NW Hwy, Ste 125
Dallas , TX 75220
214-350-4420
www.titancomics. com

Featuring:
Artwork from Tara McPherson, Rafael Albuquerque, Katie Cook, Evan
Shaner, Ralph Niese, Mike Lagocki and more!

Live Art by David Rodriguez, Sonny Strait , Joe Eisma, Matthew
Warlick, Evan Bryce, Vinh Luan-Luu, Jake Ekiss, Jonathan Miller and
many more!

Live Musical Performances by American Werewolf Academy and DJ
T.Strick!

The show is open to the public and free to all who attend with free
food and drinks being generously provided by local businesses and
private donors. If you want to help out The Hero Foundry and have a
blast at the same time you will be listen to some great music and
watching works of art come alive before your eyes in a fun and
energetic atmosphere then you should definitely show up at Titan
Comics on September 6th to bid on some fantastic original artwork!

More information is available at
http://www.myspace. com/theherofound ry and www.theherofoundry. com.
Or you can email Directors Brian Warthen at
brianwarthen@ theherofoundry. org and Paul Milligan at
thesuperleezard@ yahoo.com

Hi there,

My first graphic novel, titled “Li’l Kids,” is now in print and available.  This is a collection of three interlocked short stories, in comics format, that focus on elements from a young girl’s life.  We see how Marie, the main character in each story, develops and grows; from meeting a new friend to her burgeoning awareness of both her family’s poverty and her mom’s mental illness.  This later theme is more fully explored in my upcoming graphic novel “the road to god knows…;” however, Marie is only eight years old at the time of these three stories.  As a result, she is only just beginning to be aware of the world around her and her place in it.  Each story stands on its own but, when taken together, I think they demonstrate that childhood, like most aspects of life, can have its ups and downs.  Being a child can be fun, scary, and magical; but sometimes the things that seem very little at the time can have a profound effect on you later on in life.  That’s certainly true for Marie and her experiences in these stories help to bear that out.  Later, in “the road to god knows…,” I try and show just how significant some of those events can be.  In addition to the three stories, this collection includes a large amount of supporting material.  Concept and thumbnail art illustrate how each story was put together.  I also show each step in the creative process, from story outline to completed script.

“Li’l Kids” has an  ISBN of 978-0-9781237-1-0 is 88 pages in length.  The suggested retail price is $13.95 US.  I realize that it’s always hard to judge a brand new book sight unseen, so I’ve created a free downloadable PDF ebook version that’s up on my site (http://www.vonallan.com/shop.html).

It’s also working it’s way through a variety of channels.  It’s definitely available online through Amazon (both “dot com” and “dot ca”), Barnes & Noble and the like.  Distribution-wise, it’s definitely listed with Ingram and Baker & Taylor and it should show up in any searches using Bowker’s Books in Print, too.  Direct Market distribution is still up in the air to some extent.  That’s most likely going to be the last place “Li’l Kids” shows up (for a variety of reasons) so we’ll see how that goes.

It’s been an adventure, but I’m pleased as punch to finally have something “out there” - in print!

Thanks for your time!

–
Von Allan

My first graphic novel, Li’l Kids (ISBN: 978-0-9781237-1-0) is now available! Links for a free PDF Ebook and to online retailers for a physical copy are at http://www.vonallan.com/shop.html

And my original graphic novel the road to god knows… (ISBN: 978-0-9781237-0-3) can be now read entirely online at http://www.girlamatic.com/comics/godknows.php

If you are interested in attending a comic book & nostalgia show where
there are dealers tables with ONLY pre 1980 items; comics, pulps,
books, magazines, movie posters, dime novels, and etc for sale, then
consider attending our upcoming convention in Oklahoma City, October 3
and 4th.

Details at
http://oafcon2008. blogspot. com

Bart Bush

PRESS RELEASE - FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ENDORSES BARACK OBAMA!

Former Presidential candidate Savage Dragon puts in his endorsement for the Democratic nominee!

18 August  2008 (Berkeley, CA) - As reported in the New York Times,  a former presidential candidate will give his endorsement for this years’ race in SAVAGE DRAGON #137, as the titular character supports Democratic nominee, Barack Obama!

“Four years ago the Dragon was a reluctant presidential candidate,” SAVAGE DRAGON creator Erik Larsen said. “Fans have asked if he’ll be running again, but given the importance of the upcoming election it seemed appropriate that he would back Barack Obama, the candidate whose politics most reflect his own.  Savage Dragon will be giving Barack Obama his full support.”

Savage Dragon made his initial play for the presidential election in the 2004 campaign, but rescinded once the man claiming to be his running mate turned out to be Dreadknight, a supervillain bent on world domination. SAVAGE DRAGON #137 will sport a special 1:5 variant cover featuring Dragon formally endorsing the one candidate he is confident is not a potential nemesis,  Barack Obama. 

SAVAGE DRAGON #137 (DEC072099), a 32-page full color comic book for $2.99, will be available September 3rd, 2008. The full New York Times story may be read at http://themoment.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/14/geek-beat-savage-love/.

A couple of people asked for the link to the Eurocomics group -I’ve accidentally deleted those emails but I know CBO was where they heard of the group so,if you’re out there,here is the link!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eurocomics/?yguid=192631557

As I stared across a table full of final paste-ups [yep,some of us can create a comic without a computer!!],ink pots,brushes and other miscellaneous paraphenaelia you might expect to find in any artists work room,I wondered just how mad you have to be to even be involved in comics creation?

I decided that my “Words Within Words” was going to be a Small Press title.  I’ve not done one for a while,though I’m sure someone will correct me on that.  I’d put together the preview copy that went out to a very select few for comment.  Naturally,Paul “The Biscuit” Brown had to critique certain things.  In fact,his suggestions were basically echoing what I had planned to do originally but decided against [just don’t ask why -I have no idea!].

The lettering type was awful;I’d tried to be a wee bit arty and stylish and,er,failed.

So,a re-touch of the art,new paste up and here I am. The FC220 copier will be chugging its little heart out tomorrow!

Then there is “GO BO”.  What is “Go Bo”?  Well,I had this ridiculous little idea that I’d like to put together a mini comic -A6 in “Hooperscape” [or landscape to everyone else!].  Never done a mini comic before and I wanted to see how you’d put one together.  Oh boy. Let me tell you:always -always- double check your paste-ups because after you’ve run off 20 pages you do not want to discover that you’ve put the wrong pages back-to-back [not that an old pro like m’self would make that sort of stupid mistake..seriously]!

So the two books are put together and will form a double offer package of Hooper mayhem -hopefully reviewed on CBO by,uh,”Biscuits”?

There are many others out there who produce their own Small Press comics -in Europe,the USA and around the UK.  Some have been reviewed on CBO but what astonishes me is how few get in touch!  I mean,few comic news/reviews sites touch the Small Press and as people of taste come to CBO to see the sort of thing other sites leave alone because,as we know,Marvel and DC are the only ‘real’ comics out there!

If you have a comic then get in touch.  We’ll review fairly.

And,as far as Independent comics go;you’ll notice we have news from Heroic Press.  Apparently my local shop “cannot order them” so I’ll not be seeing them.  Even Image comics appear to be getting missed out -I still have not got The Perhapanauts #2 and was lucky to find #3!

If you publish comics and you are neither Marvel nor DC then get in touch -CBO gets enough hits to put certain “bigger sites” to shame.

And action figures -even now the hits looking at the items on action figures,Papo Toys and so on are high despite the companies ignoring us.  Well,their choice.

CBO is here for the Small Presser,Independent Comic publisher and we’ll cover action figures and toys BUT we need to be contacted and sent items first!

REMEMBER:we do not review based on pdfs -only hard copies. From September 2008 CBO will be tightening up its policy:we publicise and publish press releases but we’d now like to see more from publishers -actual copies of the books we’ve publicised.

I know some might think “Oh he’ll never dump so-and-so –they’re big hitters on site!”  Well,I could cite samples of big hitters we’ve dropped because they thought they could “play us”. 

Our coverage of HeroClix for example got massive hits but time and again we got excuse after excuse as to why we could not be sent review figures despite promises.  I think even HeroClix were a little shocked when we dropped them!

There are others,as those of you who’ve been CBOers from the start will know.

So,don’t expect to just use CBO to churn out press releases if you are a publisher. I would -seriously- shut CBO down rather than turn into a mere press release site.

CBO and myself have gone out of our way to help companies,small and large,and I’d like to see us expand more in future.

So,the question of how mad you have to be to work in the comics business?

Quite,quite mad.

FLARE CREATIVE TEAM PREPARES SENSATIONAL G-GIRL FOR 2009 DEBUT

Her name is Billi Jayne “BeeJay” Jensen. And she’s just a couple of weeks short of turning all of fifteen! But with the League of Champions off on a secret mission, and the abominable OGRE on the loose, it’s up to the sensational G-GIRL to skip on out to battle, and help the brave officers of the San Francisco Police Department take that monstrous bad guy down.

“Here Comes G-Girl” is scheduled to appear as a complete eighteen-page adventure, fashioned for your entertainment by FLARE’s regular creative team of Dennis Mallonee and Mark Beachum, and featuring a special guest appearance by G-Girl’s mom, that scarlet-tressed avenger of injustice, the awesomely endowed NEMESIS GIRL.

THE SENSATIONAL G-GIRL will follow the adventures of Billi Jayne “BeeJay” Jensen, a teenaged girl with special powers, who’s intent on going into the family business of being a superhero. But she does have a few problems with it, because for one thing she’s not sure she actually wants to wear that skimpy spandex outfit her cousin Andrea designed for her. And on top of that, for reasons you’ll learn when the first issue appears, she’s really not comfortable with the idea of being suddenly so attractive to boys.

As artist Mark Beachum explains, G-Girl isn’t going to display very much of the direct sexiness that’s sometimes seen in FLARE. Rather, G-Girl is meant to be much more playfully coy, adolescent coming-of-age adventure with touches of tongue-in-cheek cheesecake that hearken back to girl pin ups of the 40’s. And writer Dennis Mallonee, makes a point of emphasizing that quite a few of G-Girl’s adventures will have nothing to do with superheroics. G-Girl is not only a superhero, she’s a high school student. And as such, she’s going to have to deal with many of the same kinds of situations you might see Archie’s Betty or Veronica getting into.

THE SENSATIONAL G-GIRL is going to provide superhero action with a unique twist you will not expect and cannot miss! Mark Beachum’s work continues to bedazzle and provoke by pushing the edge as only he can, and Dennis Malonee’s newest creation will keep you both entertained and astonished!

Also in the first issue of THE SENSATIONAL G-GIRL, from out of the distant past, revealed at last in an all-new adventure by Dennis Mallonee and Denny Fincke, you’ll learn the fearsome “Fate of the DemonMaster. ” Long-time fans of the world of FLARE and the LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONS will recall that long ago, during events described in the original CHAMPIONS mini-series, “The Curse of the Hellfire Crown,” FLARE’s younger brother Philip, the notorious DEMONMASTER, was killed.

Or was he? In this first issue of THE SENSATIONAL G-GIRL, the truth is finally revealed. And when issue three rolls around, you won’t believe how the Demonmaster’ s fate relates directly to G-Girl’s!

So what does the “G” stand for? And what are Beej’s special powers? You’ll get the answers to those questions when the first issue of THE SENSATIONAL G-GIRL appears in early 2009!

FLARET, G-GIRLT, OGRET, THE DEMONMASTERT, LEAGUE OF CHAMPIONST and FLARET are trademarks, and CHAMPIONS® is a registered trademark of Heroic Publishing, Inc.

More information about Heroic Publishing can be found on the Heroic Publishing website at http://www.heroicpu b.com

Heroic Publishing’s full-color comic book magazines are distributed by Diamond Comics Distributors.

Retailers interested in stocking back issues of classic Heroic Publishing titles may want to register on the Heroic Publishing website at www.heroicpub. com/retailer and take advantage of Heroic’s back issue services.

J. ADAM WALTERS CLASSIC TG DETECTIVE STORY NOW AVAILABLE ON WOWIO.COM
The electronic edition of J. Adam Walters’ classic transgendered detective story, “The Remarkable Adventures of Heather Reilly,” is now available for online viewing FREE from Wowio.com, courtesy of Heroic Publishing, Inc.

What would you do if you were a hard-bolied investigative reporter who uncovered a secret that got you killed, only to find yourself waking up in the body of your own little sister? For hard-hitting ace reporter Jack Reilly, this is not a hypothetical question. The first issue of “The Remarkable Adventures of Heather Reilly” is writer/artist J. Adam Walters’ classic tale of murder, mystery, and magic that follows Jack’s quest to come to terms with what’s happened to bring him together with little sister Heather, and sets him on a course of action to solve his own murder and avenge his own death.

This classic tale was not only one of the earliest graphic novels in the sub-genre of transgendered fiction, it’s also a hard-boiled detective murder mystery. As such, it’s a compelling tale that demands a sequel. And writer/artist J. Adam Walters has already laid plans to begin working on Chapter Two in the remarkable adventures of Heather Reilly. The second issue is currently scheduled to appear sometime in early 2009.

HEATHER REILLY #1 can be viewed online free of charge, exclusively at the new global Wowio.com, along with nearly the entire inventory of both published and unpublished Heroic titles. You can find HEATHER REILLY #1 at http://www.heroicpu b.com/wowio. php?bookid= 4819

HEATHER REILLYT is a trademark of J. Adam Walters.

More information about Heroic Publishing can be found on the Heroic Publishing website at http://www.heroicpu b.com

Heroic Publishing’s full-color comic book magazines are distributed by Diamond Comics Distributors.

Retailers interested in stocking back issues of classic Heroic Publishing titles may want to register on the Heroic Publishing website at www.heroicpub. com/retailer and take advantage of Heroic’s back issue services.