Thursday, October 28, 2010

First convention announcement of 2011: SAN DIEGO!

San Diego – Comic-Con International: San Diego (Comic-Con), the largest comic book convention of its kind in the world, will open its Comic-Con 2011 attendee registration for four-day and one-day passes at 9 a.m. PT on Monday, November 1 at Comic-Con.org. In advance of the occasion, the organization today announced the first 20 special guests for its 2011 show.

Jordi Bernet, Dave Gibbons, Alan Davis, Jonathan Hickman, Jamal Igle, and Patricia Briggs are just a few of the special guests scheduled to take part in Comic-Con 2011. Four-day passes for last year’s convention were sold out eight months prior to the show, and one-day passes were gone by April.

“2010 was the fourth straight year in which we reached a self-imposed attendance capacity,” said David Glanzer, Comic-Con’s director of marketing and public relations. “With the impressive roster of talent we already have lined up for 2011, we expect that enthusiasm to continue and for the 2011 show to be one to remember.”

Comic-Con 2011 will be held July 21-24 at the San Diego Convention Center. Passes to the show’s Preview Night on July 20 were sold out during this summer’s 2010 convention, although more four-day passes with Preview Night may be released closer to the show, depending on returns or cancellations.

Following is the current list of special guests confirmed for the 2011 convention:

Jordi Bernet (Spanish comics artist known in the U.S. for the hardboiled Torpedoseries and for DC’s Jonah Hex)

Patricia Briggs (Author, Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega series)

Jo Chen (Award-winning cover artist for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Runaways)

Alan Davis (British writer/artist on such titles as Captain Britain, Excalibur and JLA: The Nail; currently artist on Avengers Prime)

David Finch (Artist known forCyberforce, Avengers, New Avengers, and Brightest Daycovers; he’s now writing and drawing Batman: The Dark Knight)

Dave Gibbons (British artist on the classic Watchmencomics series, and Give Me Liberty/Martha Washington;writer/artist, The Originalsgraphic novel)

Kim Harrison (Author, Rachel Morgan, Madison Avery series)

Jonathan Hickman (Writer, Fantastic Four, Secret Warriors, and S.H.I.E.L.D.)

John Higgins (Long-time British artist on 2000 AD titles; colorist on the classicWatchmen comics series)

Charlie Huston (Crime/horror novelist, Hank Thompson series, Joe Pitt Casebooks;comic book writer, Wolverine: The Best There Is, Moon Knight)

Jamal Igle (Artist (Marvel, Image, Devils Due, Disney), whose latest work includesSupergirl)

Richard Kyle (Writer, Graphic Story Magazine, highly influential fanzine of the 1960s; coined the term “graphic novel” in 1964)

Rebecca Moesta (Co-author (with Kevin J. Anderson), Star Wars Young Jedi Knightsseries, Crystal Doors series; author, Buffy novels)

Christopher Moore (Author, humorous vampire novels, including Bite Me: A Love Story, You Suck: A Love Story, Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story, etc.)

Bill Schelly (Historian of comics fandom; books include The Golden Age of Comics Fandom, biographies of Joe Kubert and Otto Binder, etc.)

Frank Stack (Pioneering underground cartoonist (as “Foolbert Sturgeon”), artist on many of Harvey Pekar’s American Splendor stories as well as the graphic novel Our Cancer Year)

Mark Tatulli (Cartoonist with two ongoing syndicated strips: Lio and Heart of the City)

Roy Thomas (One of the first fans to become a pro: published early 1960s fanzineAlter Ego, went on to be editor-in-chief at Marvel and write titles such as Conan;currently editing revived Alter Ego magazine)

Maggie Thompson (Editor of Comics Buyers Guide; co-creator of Comic Art, one of the earliest comics fanzines in 1961)

Scott Westerfeld (Author, Uglies, Midnighters series)

About Comic-Con International:
Comic-Con International: San Diego (Comic-Con), the largest comic book convention of its kind in the world, is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture. In addition to its San Diego convention each summer, Comic-Con organizes the San Francisco-based WonderCon each spring and the Alternative Press Expo each fall. On the web: Comic-Con.org,Facebook.com/comiccon, Twitter.com/comic_con.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

To All things.. an ending and a new beginning.

I just wanted to write a quick note and address the news that was released at NYCC 2010. Yes, Sterling and I are leaving Supergirl with issue # 59. The book however will continue on with Nick Spencer and Bernard Chang, who I have every confidence will continue what we started, so be nice to them, okay?

It's going to sound cliche' but the truth is, at least for myself , I chose to leave. I approached Matt Idelson about 4 months ago right after we finished War of the Superman and let him know I wanted to move on. Two years on a series as an artist is a long time creatively, and like any artist, you feel the need to stretch and do new things. There was no malice, no secret agenda on DC's part. There were discussions of what I may do next but nothing finalized. , including Birds of Prey. So when that news leaked out I was a little befuddled and didn't know how to respond to it and I chose silence on the subject. I know a lot of people were hoping I would take over BOP. Sadly when they would have needed me to start conflicted with finishing my Supergirl run. I'll get to work with Gail again one day, LOL.

I just wanted to say thank you to the Supergirl fans who have supported us during our 2 year run on the title. Especially to all of the Supergirl fan sites like Comic Box Commentary, Maid of Might, DC Women Kicking Ass, Too dangerous for a girl, Superman homepage and Living between Wednsdays for all the support and love. I'm leaving some out because as I wrtie this I'm on my way back to New York Comic Con for the last day of the show. I haven't forgotten you so please charge it to my head and not my heart.

Our work was not for everyone. I know there were a few fans who were proponents of the book when it started who've decided, in one case, to stop reading any DC title while we were involved with the series.

That's a little extreme don't you think?

For those people I can only say : you can't please everyone. Hopefully you'll come back to the series and support Nick and Bernard.

As for me, have no fear. I'm still at DC and an announcement about my next project is coming in the next few months. It's gonna be fun.

Thank you,
Jamal.

About Me

My photo
One of the most popular and prolific pencillers in the comic book industry, Jamal Igle is an award winning artist and writer. Best known for his run on Supergirl with writer Sterling Gates, Jamal has been a professional jack of all trades for nearly 20 years, drawing every title from Action Comics to Zatanna for DC Comics. A former comics retailer, Editor for several small press companies including TV Comics, Airwave Comics and Destination Entertainment. Former Junior Art Director and Marketing rep in the Advertising and publishing arenas. Jamal's clients include Marvel Comics, image Comics, Dark Angel productions/ Simmons and Company, Devil's Due Studios, Crusade Entertainment, Walt Disney inc., Sony Television, CBS Television and Scholastic Entertainment. Jamal has also worked as a conceptional artist for the Toy and gaming industries as well as film and television. Jamal is married to his beautiful, and much smarter wife Karine.They're also the proud parents of an extremely cute child named Catherine and a Cat named Loustique