Press Release:

Boston Comic Con is pleased to announce several new additions to the guest list for the 2012 convention! Joining an already stellar line up are Joe Sinnott, Kevin Eastman, Eric Canete, Keu Cha, Todd Dezago, Ian Glaubinger, Daniel Govar, Mark Morales, Sara Richard, Stephane Roux, Matteo Scalera, Thomas E. Sniegoski, Charles P. Wilson III, and Dexter Vines. This year's event is shaping up to be the biggest in our five year history!

Silver Age legend Joe Sinnott's inks have embellished the pages of innumerable titles including Thor, Silver Surfer, Captain America, and The Avengers. His favorite character to draw is The Thing of the Fantastic Four, the comic for which he is best known. Don’t miss this opportunity to shake hands with an industry giant!

Kevin Eastman is best known as the co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a comic book phenomenon which was founded in Northampton, MA! For the past twenty years Eastman has owned, edited, and published the magazine Heavy Metal. Boston Comic Con is thrilled to bring this comic book icon back to the Bay State!

Eric Canete is an illustrator and designer working in the animation and comic book industries. As an animator he has worked on shows including Aeon Flux, Exo Squad, and X-Men. He has drawn many titles for Marvel and DC Comics such as Amazing Spider-Man, Luke Cage, and Iron Man. Currently he is working on a creator-owned project for Image Comics.

Keu Cha is an artist who has worked extensively with Top Cow Productions on titles including The Darkness, Fathom, Rising Stars, and Witchblade.

Todd Dezago is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his collaborations with penciller Mike Wieringo on Sensational Spider-Man and their creator-owned fantasy series Tellos. Dezago is also know for co-creating Young Justice with artist Todd Nauck in the one-shot Young Justice: The Secret. His other Young Justice work includes the miniseries JLA: World Without Grown-ups.

Ian Glaubinger is an illustrator inspired by all things in pop culture: the cartoons of the 1950's, Walt Disney, movies, comics, typography, vintage advertising, all things retro, his wife Kim, and his cat to name a few. He is a featured artist at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles, a very popular pop-culture based art gallery.

Daniel Govar is the co-founder of ThereAndBackAgain.net, a Tolkien and Lord of the Rings website dedicated to illustrating all facets of the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien. In 2010, Daniel’s sci-fi epic comic Azure was published by DC Comics, now available via DC and ComiXology’s digital apps.

Mark Morales is an inker best known for his works at Marvel Comics such as Secret Invasion, Siege, and Thor. Most recently he embellished the pages of Young Avengers over the pencils of fellow Boston Comic Con guest Jim Cheung.

Sara Richard's work has appeared in Atomic Robo, Pre-Historic Times Magazine, several Marvel trading card sets, Zombie Bomb, and in her new children's book Kitty and Dino. She has also worked as a toy designer for Hasbro.

Stephane Roux comes all the way from France as an illustrator of great renown. His sexy pinup-style art has graced the covers of Birds of Prey, Savage She-Hulk, and Countdown to Crisis. He has also illustrated Zatanna for DC Comics and is currently working on Star Wars: Agent of the Empire for Dark Horse.

Matteo Scalera is an Italian artist who was one of twelve discovered in Marvel's worldwide talent search in 2005. He is best known for his work with the character Deadpool and has drawn the titles Deadpool Team-Up, Deadpool Corps, and Deadpool: Merc with a Mouth. Additionally he has worked on Hyperkinetic, Dynamo 5, and PopGun for Image Comics.

Thomas E. Sniegoski is the writer of the New York Times best-selling The Fallen: Vol. 1 & 2, as well as Remy Chandler. He is also the only writer ever invited to work on Jeff Smith’s award winning series Bone, working with Smith on Bone: Tall Tales. Sniegoski has just finished writing Bone: Quest for the Spark, and a new additions to The Fallen series, The Fallen: End of Days and The Fallen: Forsaken.

Charles Paul Wilson III is the acclaimed illustrator and co-creator of the New York Times Best-Selling Graphic Novel, The Stuff of Legend, published by Th3rd World Studios. His work has also graced the covers and pages of the comic industry's top publishers such as IDW, DC, and Marvel Comics.

Dexter Vines is a comic book artist and inker best known for being one half of the "eDex" team, along with fellow Boston Comic Con guest Ed McGuiness. Dex has worked on titles for Marvel and DC including Civil War, Superman/Batman, JLA Classified, and Wolverine: Old Man Logan.

Previously announced guests include Al Feldstein, Paul Coker Jr., Al Jaffee, Brian Azzarello, Jeremy Bastian, Joe Benitez, Simon Bisley, Mark Brooks, Stephanie Buscema, Jim Cheung, Cliff Chiang, Becky Cloonan, Amanda Conner, Katie Cook, Geof Darrow, Renae De Liz, Steve Epting, Jamal Igle, Phil Jimenez, Alex Maleev, Ed McGuinness, Phil Noto, Jimmy Palmiotti, David Petersen, Tom Raney, Ivan Reis, Paolo Rivera, Tim Sale, Bill Sienkiewicz, Jill Thompson, Ben Templesmith, Joe Quinones, Bernie Wrightson, Skottie Young, Chrissie Zullo, and more!

Boston Comic Con is also happy to announce that we have SOLD OUT all artist alley tables. Anyone who submits a registration form from this point on will be added to a waiting list.

The Boston Comic Con is a 100% independently run comic book show committed to bringing the biggest and best comic creators to New England. Run by fans for fans, Boston Comic Con is not affiliated with any other convention tour or corporate interests. Hosting over 40,000 square feet of vendors selling comic books, toys, posters, trading cards, and other pop culture memorabilia, this is a destination event for geeks of any stripe. The convention will be held Saturday April 21st and Sunday April 22nd at the Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston Street, Boston, MA from 10am to 5pm each day. For more information please go to our website at www.bostoncomiccon.com and follow us on Twitter (@BostonComicCon) and Facebook!

Press Release

PETER PANZERFAUST #1, the debut of the new Image Comics series that merges Peter Pan with a World War II adventure story, has sold out after being released in stores on February 14.

It will immediately return to press for a second printing (JAN128112) due in stores the same day as PETER PANZERFAUST #2 (JAN120599), March 14.

In the first issue of this new ongoing series by Kurtis Wiebe (GREEN WAKE) and Tyler Jenkins, French orphans in Calais, a French city that has been heavily bombed by the Germans, encounter a charismatic American soldier. Inspired by his esprit, the boys find themselves trusting him with their lives — and learning that they can perform feats they would have never thought possible.

Comics reviewers have widely praised the debut:

"Peter Panzerfaust can only promise more action and intrigue amidst a magical story time backdrop on a monthly basis. Here, lost boys do indeed live forever."
- JP Fallavollita, Biff Bam Pop

"Peter Panzerfaust captures the magic of Peter Pan and transports it into a story of brotherhood during war.  Not only is Kurtis J. Wiebe's story a great introduction to his new project, but Tyler Jenkins' art masterfully brings that tale to life."
- Jason Clyma, Broken Frontier

"Pick of the Week. If you’re looking for a jaunty boys adventure book with a vintage feel, but modern sensibilities, I can think of nothing on the comic shelves that will fill the need better than Peter Panzerfaust. "
- Josh Flanagan, iFanboy

PETER PANZERFAUST is a monthly, full-color comic book series published under Image Comics' Shadowline imprint, available in comic book stores and multiple digital outlets.

by Brian LeTendre

Ghost Rider: Spirirt of Vengeance is exactly the movie I was hoping it would be. Veering away from the abysmal original movie, this sequel is all killer and no filler, focusing less on story and more on over the top, comic book action. Directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor’s' manic filmmaking is a perfect match for Nicholas Cage's cartoonish performance, and together they deliver the proper Ghost Rider movie we should have had the first time around .

An animated sequence near the beginning of the film brings viewers up to speed, where we find out Spirit of Vengeance picks up eight years after the original. Johnny Blaze has traveled halfway around the word to live in self-imposed exile, trying to repress the Ghost Rider and keep the Spirit of Vengeance from manifesting at all. He's pulled back into active duty when a monk comes to him for help, explaining that the devil has fathered child here on the mortal plane, and he plans on using the child as a vessel to become as powerful here as he is in hell. The monk promises to lift Johnny's curse if he saves the boy from his fate. The Ghost Rider must then protect the boy and his mother from the devil and his minions until the window for the transference ritual has closed. It’s an interesting but simple premise, and the rest of the movie doesn’t spend a lot of time developing the story further. What little we do get is delivered in the same sort of animated sequences that contribute to the comic book feel of the movie.

If you've seen the Crank movies, then you know that Neveldine and Taylor are known for their crazy camerawork, and that is evident here right out of the gate. The way they film the chase scenes in this movie puts you right at road level, and it really lends to the action. Outside of the action scenes, their twitchy camerawork drives home the idea that Johnny is constantly fighting the Spirit of Vengeance for control, as when the Ghost Rider really takes over, no one that has ever sinned is safe.

Speaking of the Ghost Rider, he looks as dark and nasty as he should look in this movie. The special effects on his head and on his bike are fantastic. The way he moves is creepy, and he feels more menacing every second he is onscreen than he ever did in the first movie. The effects are all the more impressive due to the fact that the budget for making Spirit of Vengeance was $35 million less than its predecessor.

At the end of the day though, you will either love or hate this movie based on Nick Cage’s performance. He is completely over the top in this movie, playing Johnny Blaze as a man who is half crazy from his constant battle to keep the Rider at bay. I loved his performance--he goes all out, and I think the movie is a lot more fun because of it.

For me, the jump between the 2007 original and this movie was like the jump between the Punisher and its sequel. While the first movie was meant to attract a wider audience, the sequel is more concerned with doing the character justice. And it succeeds here just like it did there.  My only real gripe was that it could have been rated R, but I'm hoping for an unrated DVD down the road. For me, this is the only Ghost Rider movie, and it's one I would gladly pay to see again. 

4 out of 5 Nick Cage Fans


P.S. I didn't see the movie in 3D, so I'd love to hear if anyone did and what they thought of it.

It’s finally here!!!!

You have heard Brian and Matman talking about Secret Identity ‘Radio’ and now we can share the details.

If you live in the Albany, New York area than you can hear Secret Identity on your radio on Sunday night at 8 PM on 100.3, The Point where upstate rocks with ‘Today’s Modern Mix!’

“This is real exciting for us,” said Brian via the satellite! “Getting Secret Identity on the radio is a big opportunity for us and I can’t wait to hear what the folks in New York think.”

Now if you are one of the many who don’t live in the broadcast area you can hear the show on streaming audio! By going to www.thepointontheweb.com (and then clicking onto the ‘Listen Live’ button), you will hear the show as it hits the airwaves.

“When we first started doing the show all those years ago, we thought of where it would go,” added Matman by smoke signal, “and we never thought we’d end up on the radio. This is a great opportunity for us and to be honest, I’m a bit nervous!”

So give a listen and let us, and the station know what you think!

We also need to thank Mike Thompson and Adirondack Broadcasting for taking a chance on some ‘solid gold ear candy!’

Press Release

Image Comics congratulates Joe Kelly and J.M. Ken Niimura on their receiving the International Manga Award for their comic book I KILL GIANTS. The Japanese Foreign Ministry announced that Kelly and Niimura had won the prestigious prize on Tuesday.

Originally published by Image Comics in 2008, then released in an oversized hardcover collection in 2010, I KILL GIANTS tells the story of Barbara Thorson, an acerbic fifth-grader so consumed with fantasy that she doesn't just tell people that she kills giants with an ancient Norse warhammer — she starts to believe it herself. The reasons for Barbara's troubled behavior are revealed through the course of the book, as she learns to reconcile her fantasy life with the real world.

"We do a lot of books I'm extremely proud of, but this is one is way up there," said Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson. "The outstanding work Joe and Ken did on I KILL GIANTS is proof positive of how great this medium is. That something so moving and heartfelt can be both a critical and commercial success should be an inspiration to creative people everywhere. It's nothing short of an honor to be associated with such an extraordinary piece of work."

Kelly and Niimura will receive their award in a ceremony on Friday, followed by a ten-day tour of Japan, during which they will meet with Japanese cartoonists and publishers and visit areas hit hard by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami last year.

We have lost another comic legend and for me, another creator that helped color my world for most of my life.

Artist John Severin passed away last Sunday at the age of 90 with his family and loved ones by his side. For over 50 years, Mr. Severin’s beautiful work appeared in such magazines as ‘Mad’ and ‘Cracked’ but it was his work at EC that got him noticed and started the legend! Within those pages his realistic and incredibly accurate style separated him from many of the others working in those same books.

I discovered his art some years later in ‘Sgt. Fury # 139’ which was a reprint of a comic that came out in the summer of 1967. What I noticed was the amazing detail that made each panel look like it was right out of a history book. From that moment on it was a race to collect everything he did; Unknown Soldier, Sgt. Rock, G.I. Combat, Our Fighting Forces not to mention his prolific work in the western genre.

For me, Severin broke away from the then current mold of over the top looking characters and unbelievable actions. His characters seemed less superhero even if they were wearing fatigues or a cowboy hat. Following Jack ‘King’ Kirby on ‘Sgt. Fury’ must have felt like a no win situation, but he not only took the challenge and won over this young fan, even if they were 10 year old reprints. But what did I know?

Since I never met him, I will have to remember John Severin for the gift he gave me; his art. I wish I got the chance to tell him how much his work impacted me and really inspired my love of history, especially World War II.

Thank you sir, I’ll miss you!