"Ancient" Creative List as of today!

Holy mother of Santa, do we have a spectacular list of artists (and writers) for Cellar Door: Ancient!
I just got the first official finished comic by the illustrious Sam Spina, as usual. He's a punctual dude. I heard from his girlfriend, Samantha, that he was laughing out loud to himself as he drew this comic. It's four pages long and this is only the first page, so you'll have to buy the book to see what he was chuckling about!!

Mr. V, another splendid Denver artist, is second in place for speed so far, having turned in his finished inks only a week ago!

I have a list of over 20 artists who I'm totally psyched about. I also have three scripts that need artists to draw them, so if you're an artist looking for a script, email me!

My line-up of artists so far:

Sam Spina
Mr. V
Ron Ruelle
Oi Bob Parks and Berto
Jake Roth
John Peters
Nate Hamel
Tim Winkleman
Perri Smith
Madeline Keller
Anjuli King
Celso
Justin and Andy
Dan Connor
Lucas Schneider
Tyler Brown
Laurissa Hughes
Amanda McManaman
Scorpio Steele
Nick Van Over
Joe Oliver
Jen Goodland
Melanie Gilman
Charlito LaGreca
Antholy Aleman
and
Jon Garza!!!

Thank you to everyone who submitted ideas! PSYCHED.

Deadlines you should know!

Here are a couple of important deadlines that you should know about!

January 15

Get your papers in for the first comics focused literary conference in Denver! It's the Rocky Mountain Conference on Comics and Graphic Novels! Just click on the link: http://www.denvercomiccon.com/literarycon/call-for-papers/

January 31 

Both of the Cellar Door: Threshold contests will be ending on the 31st. If you are an artist be sure to get your drawings in based on the poem The Jabberwocky (http://www.facebook.com/events/262856103771332/). If you are more interested in the writing side of things, get your essay in connecting Lewis Carroll to the theme of Threshold (http://www.facebook.com/events/348960491785949/).

Hope to see your work!!!

Calls for Kickstarter!

Hey all you submitters from near and far! I'm looking to put together Kickstarter campaigns for both Cellar Door Threshold and the all-comics version Cellar Door Ancient! 

What I would LOVE to have from you? If you have the capabilities send me a vid that I can splice in telling us your thoughts on the anthology or just a couple minutes of you being your wonderfully creative self (talking about your work, reading, or drawing). If you live in Denver Proper or the surrounding areas we have pro-status film friends with worthy equipment so you should call us and set something up!

I'd really like to get some of these done by the 15th of this month but there is not really a cut-off since we can use them as updates over the course of the campaign! I can't wait to see something from you! yes you!

Fitches for the Win!

 Last night at the (Rough Cut) Unraveling Book Party held at the wondrous and haunted Grant Humphreys mansion of Capital Hill, Miss Abigail Fitches was presented with a giant fake check! Of course it was only a symbol of the $50 prize she was earlier awarded for her incredible portrait of Franz Kafka (seen below). He will be available in button and magnet form soon :)

Both writers and artists make sure and keep your eyes open (or just email me) for details about the upcoming JABBERWOCKY contest for Cellar Door: Threshold!

Cellar Door: Unraveling Book Release!

Hey all! Great news! The time has finally come to get your hands on a copy of Cellar Door: Unraveling! We will be having our first release party for the second book at the Grant Humphreys Mansion in Capital Hill (thanks to our wondrous muse-in-residence Lindsey) on the 19th of November. We will have snacks and mingling and readings from 6 pm til 9 pm and then move over to Charlie Brown's for an after party and some general debauchery and shenanigans. 

If you have any questions or would like to be involved in the silent art auction just drop me an email at Cellar.Door.Book@gmail.com or on Facebook. 

Can't wait to see you there!!!

ANCIENT: Call for submissions!

Hello, hello! This is Leila del Duca. At the moment, I'm listening to Man Man, and it's doing a good job at fueling my creative energy. That's beside the point. The POINT of this post is that we're doing an ALL SEQUENTIAL issue of Cellar Door to be released in time for Denver Comicon in June 2012! The theme this time is "Ancient" and I will be guest Art Directing it. Yes! Yes, it is true, so true. This time we aren't accepting any short stories, but we are accepting comics and whatever form of sequential art you can throw our way, and I hope you have some good stuff to hurl at us. Hurl in the tossing sense, not puke or anything...This is getting gross. Just read the submission guidelines already and TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

Ancient

An all-sequential issue of Cellar Door

Call for Talent

Cellar Door, the literary and visual arts publication is now looking for submissions for its first all-sequential issue to be released in June 2012 in time for Denver Comic Con! This time, we will be accepting comics, or, sequential art.

The Theme

The theme for this edition of Cellar Door is going to be Ancient. Think of old things, new things that look old, crumbling ruins, times long gone and past. Think of the future and what the present must look like to those yet to come. Think of historical ancients and fantastical ancients and sci-fi ancients and ancient ancients. Think Ancients, like in Stargate! Yeah. Yeah!! Let us know if you have any questions.

The Guidelines

Being that comics/graphic novel serializations are a hybrid of written and visual work and are extremely work-intensive, please follow these guidelines:

First submit a proposal (no more than a page) outlining the story and some of its primary plot points and/or characters. Include only a minimal amount of artwork if you believe it necessary. If you are a writer in need of a comic book artist, please let us know. If you are an artist wanting to work from someone else's script, please let us know and include samples of your work in an email.

If your proposal is accepted you will be asked for a script and artwork sample (if applicable) and arrangements will go forward from that point.

Also, if you already have a finished work you’d like us to consider we would be more than happy to take a look at it without the process listed above.

Final artwork must fit within the dimensions of 6 x 9 inches, which is the format of the final book.
Comic/graphic novel serialization proposals and relevant questions should be sent to Cellar.Door.Book@gmail.com.

Deadlines

Proposals: December 15, 2011Script and minimal art: February 15, 2012Final art: April 15, 2012

Response Time

Though we try to get back to all contributors in a timely manner we do get behind in the game now and then. Please feel free to contact us in regards to the status of your piece if you have not heard from an editor within 10 days of submitting.

Compensation

Beyond exposure in the quarterly, the contributor is guaranteed one copy of the book in which his/her work appears.

Measures are being taken to obtain financial compensation as well but I have no firm details or planned rates at this time.

Rights

By submitting your unpublished work, you understand that, if accepted, Cellar Door is acquiring First North American Serial Rights which gives us the right to publish your work for the first time in the North American market. You, the author retain all other rights to the work and will be contacted for permission if we plan to include it in any future collections. If the work is not published within six months of acceptance all first rights are null and void.

Any use of your material in the format of Podcasts and MP3 will be protected under the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial - No Derivatives 3.0 license (see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ for full details). Basically this protects your work from any attempts to use it commercially or creating derivatives not approved by the creator of the work.

Contact

This issue will be guest-Art Directed by Leila del Duca. Please send inquiries and correspondence to her at leiladelduca@gmail.com, and please CC to Cellar.Door.Book@gmail.com. The editorial staff of Cellar Door look forward to hearing from you!

Blog Fail!

So this is just a blog to let you know that I know that I've been failing at keeping this blog all exciting and fresh lately. Cellar Door: Unraveling is at the printers and ready to roll...waiting to roll....wanting to roll! There are only a few minor obstacles to conquer and it will be allowed to roll. Hearsay and rumors and little birds say that there is a good possibility that we might be holding the release party in the esteemed Grant Humphreys Mansion of Capital Hill which should be rather grand. I just finished making the little changes on the Call for Talent for book three, themed Threshold so if you don't see a copy in the next few days and would like to get one just let me know. The big news is that we are now going to be in full color. While that might not be huge news to the writers (though some do like to play in colorful fonts) I think it deserves a great big exclamation point for the artists and the readers. Well that's about all that I have for you right now but be sure to check back here soon for more. I plan on getting better at this and maybe a few angry emails would help make sure I do.

Cheers,

Michael

Coming Soon!

Here it comes! The long awaited second book of Cellar Door Anthology! I'm happy to tell you that I dropped off a disk containing all the pertinent files to Peter (our heroic local printer) this morning. I have no doubt that its going to be a thing of beauty. I also have no doubt that I'll be on here (and on Facebook) celebrating the arrival of the proof into my hands so stay tuned all! The wait is almost over.

Release events to be announced SOOOooooon!

The Rise of the Platypuses!

Give these Platypuses hope. Give them purpose. Support Cellar Door and give them color and character and pizzaz. We will send these little fellows forth into art auctions once they are properly adorned to earn money for the continued success of our collective and projects.

There are four of these clay-born creatures available at Denver Drink & Draw (Leela European Cafe) tonight. I also have a plethora of colorful sharpies and acrylics.Be the first to sign one and grow in fame.


Their infamous debut will most like be occurring on September Second wherever our auction table finally lands (You will be kept in the know).

For those of you language geeks that are scoffing at my pluralizing of these little guys, Webster's and other trusted interwebs sources assure me that both platypuses AND platypi are acceptable usages. Thank you for your time and consideration!

Denver's Superheroes and Villains!

Good day Denver!

So, in preparing a fantastic comic conference (see www.denvercomiccon.com) we are preparing a video blog about our local heroes and villains. If you would like to be the stars of said blog you should let me know about your powers and your wicked plans. This can be done in two ways. First you can make a quick vid and send it over to me at MichaelWilliamPrince@gmail.com OR stop in at the Drink & Draw of Leela European Cafe on Tuesdays between the hours of four and six for a quick try-out. Tights, masks and the such are welcome, otherwise just tell us about what you could do with superpowers and your plans for world domination. Hope to see you!

Lonnie MF Allen

Next up we have the interview results from one of the most notorious members of Denver Drink & Draw and a dear friend of your humble editor: Lonnie MF Allen! Enjoy!

Cellar Door: What do you write and draw?

Lonnie MF Allen: I’ve made a lot of mini-comics since then late nineties as well as had comic short stories published in anthologies, including an Eisner nominated one in SPX 2005. I’m currently working on a graphic novel that I hope to show around as well as irregular web-comic on my blog page.

CD: Is there anything you would love to adapt? A book to a screenplay? A movie to a comic? A fairy tale to something? Etc…

LMFA: Just about every novel that I read I want to adapt into a television series or film. Oddly enough, I don’t feel that way about comics because those are better adapted to animations. Aeon Flux is the best example I can think of, it was a wonderful animated series and when I had heard they were adapting it into a film, I thought that could be nothing but horrible, and I was right.

CD: Who are your strongest influences?

LMFA: If I went into a list, it would most likely be boring and long. I’ll name off a few big ones for me: Kurt Vonnegut, Thomas Pynchon, Voltaire, Dash Shaw, Hernandez Brothers, Jose Munoz, and David Mazzuchelli.

CD: What are your favorite books (comics, of course are included)?

LMFA: Breakfast of Champions, As I Lay Dying, Things Fall Apart, Asterios Polyp, Body World, anything by Neal Stephenson.

CD: What music (if any) do you listen to while you work?

LMFA: Everything and almost anything. Please don’t misunderstand this as me not caring. I love music, so I try to just set my iTunes to random, and listen.

This piece is from www.LonnieAllen.blogspot.com

Astroland!

        

        

     Come one come all to a comic reading at the new(ish) DIY art and music headquarters of Boulder! This should be a fun night full of amazing artwork and great storytelling by some of our local heroes including Lonnie MF Allen, the Xeric award-winning cartoonist Sam Spina, Celso, and Noah Van Sciver of Blammo fame. 

      The gallery will be opening at 6 pm and the readings will commence at 8 pm. This event is free but there will be places to make a charitable donation! Astroland is located at 4415 North Broadway, Boulder, CO.

      This should be a lot of fun! I hope to see you all there on July 9th!

Zazzle

New Cellar Door Anthology merchandise available including coffee mugs, 1" buttons, and more! Check out the Zazzle Market by scrolling to the bottom of the blog (and clicking on the link if you are so inclined). Thanks are due to Abi Fitches of PLUG zine for introducing me to this site!

The Spectrum (Themes)

Attention one and all! In considering themes for future books I thought I might be able to make you part of the process. Always feel free to offer suggestions to Cellar.Door.Book@gmail.com.

We are coming out with the Unraveling book later this summer once we get some more art between the covers. Let me know if you're still interested in doing an illustration or two! The theme of the third book is to be Threshold and I'm going to start sending out guidelines for it any day now. As for those coming after I have decided to post a selection of themes (and have guidelines on hand upon request) and accept submissions for them simultaneously. The order of printing will be decided on which inspires the most content first and then we'll continue from there. So, without further ado, here are the first selections:

Dead Authors & Artists (working out an exact title still)

Tricksters & Fools

Out of Your Skin

Deviance

Also, there is a distinct possibility that we may have an opportunity to print a book in color now and then which will allow the artists to truly shine! Please send me any thoughts you have on powerful themes that would inspire some great vivid art. Here's some of my thoughts:

Paradise

Green

Purple

Swords & Sorcery

Return to the Sea

And as always, your thoughts and opinions are invaluable to Cellar Door Anthology. Please share them freely.

Professor Lunchbox

So one of our resident artists of Denver Drink & Draw, Professor Lunchbox, will be the guinea pig for this interview column of the Cellar Door Blog. If the interaction .seems a bit stiff its because the interaction was strictly through email. I'll be conducting more dynamic Q&A's down the road once we get some more projects and collaborations underway. It is an exciting time for both the anthology and our community of artists and writers! So, without further ado, I present Professor Lunchbox:

Cellar Door: What do you draw?

Professor Lunchbox: I draw, paint, and make digital images (mostly in Adobe Illustrator) for print of people...sci-fi guys, elves, geeky lookin' dudes and a lot of pin-up gals. I also do graphic design stuff like logo designs and posters on the freelance end of things.

CD: Is there anything you would love to adapt? A book to screenplay? A movie to a comic? A fairytale to something?

PB: A story that Michael has yet to write...I'd like to adapt that into a short comic ;)  ... other than that I draw a lot of inspiration from creative works by others but I rarely ever think of using someone else's ideas to make art. I have too many of my own that I have yet to execute to spend my time reinterpreting other people's creations.

CD: Who are your strongest influences?

PB: That is a loaded question. I'm inspired by a lot of artists who do things similar to me. I'm a really big fan of Fafi (French graffiti artist), Adam Hughes (of course), Joe MAD!, Hyung-Tae Kim, Joe Chiodo, the amazing creative staff at CAPCOM (they've been inspiring me since I was like 10), Humberto Ramos, Mike Mignola and as of recently I'm really into Olivier Coipel though my absolute favorite of all time has to be Alphonse Mucha. Beyond that music always plays a strong role in keeping the creativity flowing...and I'm big into animation and movies...and video games of course. They all keep creative ideas going in without having to just look at drawings for inspiration.

Lastly I'm very inspired by the Works of the Mighty Boosh and friends (Noel Fielding, Julien Barret, Richard Ayoade, Matt Berry, Michael Fielding, Dave Brown, Rich Fulcher and the crazy dude who plays Garth Marenghi). They may do comedy and TV but their Wu-Tang style comedy troupe is such a great idea. They often work in small groups and always shift up who's working with who...I think there is a lot of strength in that...I hope to build something like that out of the Drink & Draw.

CD: What are some of your favorite books (comics, of course, are included)?

PB: His Dark Materials, Harry Potter, anything by Phillip K. Dick (more movies are based on his books than most people realize), Batman, 100 Bullets, The Goon, Hellboy, Artemis Fowl, The I Ching, The Tao (my favorite philosophical book) and the Hagakure.

CD: What music (if any) do you listen to while you work?

PB: Artists who like to change their style inspire me a lot though I tend to stick to mine. Tricky, DJ Shadow, Buck 65, David Bowie, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and EL-P are some of my favorites. I really like the high synth electro scene right now too: Daft Punk, Kavinsky, Mux Mool, Royksopp and so on.

CD: Do you have a webiste or some work I can plug on the blog?

PB: My website is www.professorlunchbox.com...it is about to be updated in the next few weeks so be sure to keep a watchful eye on it! My facebook profile is currently under my name: Benjamin Givens.


(The art displayed in this blog was created by Benjamin Givens aka Professor Lunchbox. If you like these make sure you check out his site or come and visit Denver Drink & Draw at Leela European Cafe on Tuesday nights)

Meet the Talent!

Coming soon we will have more information about and interviews with those that are the blood and bones of Cellar Door Anthology, the writers and the artists. Here through the work of myself and the poet/writer Tameca Coleman you will be able to find out more about your favorites that you seen in the book.

Stay TUNED!

Things You Should Do and See!

It seems like things are moving so fast that the world is becoming a glorious blur so I just wanted to keep you all posted on some upcoming events and happenings and gatherings and such. The following will involved not only Cellar Door Anthology but also 5280 Comicbook Classroom and the brand new and shiny zine, PLUG.

This Saturday! May the 7th a bunch of us will be gathering at a couple different spots to celebrate a day of wonder known as FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. This, as stated in its name, will include the giving out of free comics as well as having peeps from both Cellar Door and 5280 on hand as well of a slew of artists willing to fulfill you imagination's needs with really neat commissions. Also, not to be balked at, mocked or disdained will be the great sales offered by the gentlemen and Patty! at I Want More Comics (http://www.iwantmorecomics.com/) and Wayne and his crew at Time Warp in Boulder (http://www.time-warp.com/servlet/StoreFront).

On Friday May 20 we will be throwing a fundraising concert (catchy title to come!) for PLUG, a hot new zine that can be obtained at the Santa Fe art walk (First Friday in June) at Leela European Cafe, home of Denver Drink & Draw on Tuesdays. Stay tuned for details on this one! Cellar Door merch and info will be available somewhere in the house.

Don't forget! May 20th is also the deadline for your Kafka (art or essay) entries for Cellar Door: Unraveling. Make sure you've paid your $2 entry charge by that time as well to make sure you qualify for the $50 prize money if your work is judged the best!

That's all the announcements I have for the moment but be sure and stay tuned! Like I've said, things are moving awfully fast as of late.

Herding Cats :)

So its that time again! I've gotten started on handing out stories to illustrate for Cellar Door: Unraveling. We have great stories and poems for the second book and now we're in need of some illumination. If you're not holding something to draw and feel the desire to do so please do let me know. I've got post-apocalyptic worlds and cardboard men and poems on barroom napkins among many other things.

So...talk to me at Drink & Draw or an upcoming 5280 Comicbook Classroom event or you can just email me at Cellar.Door.Book@gmail.com. Include in the subject: I Want to Draw!

Hello Again!

To start off, let's talk about Project Hello 2011. It is to be a gathering of creatives from every medium: filmmakers and painters and sculptors and musicians and writers, fashion designers, jewelry makers (deep breath), culinary artists, and crafters! If you are any of these or one that has slipped my attention you should be a part of this big event. Its the second one they're throwing. Apparently 2010 was a big success! The entry deadline is May 2 so don't wait too long. Follow the link below to get there. Entry is free but if you are accepted there is a $25 participation charge. I'm going to try and get a spot for Cellar Door Anthology as well as 5280 Comic Book Classroom table. Hope to see you there too.

http://projecthello.posterous.com/call-for-entry#!/

Also stay tuned for news of a highly successful Denver Comicfest 2011! We'll be having the post-party and debriefing this coming Friday and I'll have a bunch more details about the things we've done. Some highlights you ask? Nationally renowned Elliot Serrano (Army of Darkness comics!) is going to give us a mention on his Chicago Tribune associated blog (http://blogs.redeyechicago.com/geek-to-me/) and you may someday see LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow and Star Trek: The Next Generation fame wearing a 5280 T-shirt :)  Also! I Want More Comics (http://iwantmorecomics.com/) is promoting Cellar Door Anthology and its jumping over their shelves.

As always...stay tuned for more!

Kafka

So...the public domain is a beautiful beautiful thing and I've recently decided to partake of it in order to enhance the future editions of Cellar Door beginning with Unraveling. If all goes as planned (and why wouldn't it? right?) we will be including the master Franz Kafka's "Jackals and Arabs" as well as an essay and some artwork inspired by his work. Said essay and art will be the output of an contest that will be running until the 20th of May.

Make sure and email us if you would like to participate in the contest (at the usual address: Cellar.Door.Book@gmail.com) and I'll send out the details. The gist for now? The essay will be 500-1000 words concerning a connection between Kafka's work and the theme of the book, unraveling. The art contest will be a choice of three drawings: 1. a portrait of the writer. 2. a drawing of a man transforming into a bug. 3. an illustration from the short story "Jackals and Arabs". To read the story online go here: http://www.kafka-online.info/jackals-and-arabs.html. It's a great read as are the rest of his works.

I hope to hear from you!

I Want More Comics!

        

While the title of this blog is a truthful statement it is also the name of a really great comic shop in Westminster that as of last night has copies of Cellar Door: One upon its shelves. These guys are also partners with 5280 Comicbook Classroom so while it may be a bit of a drive for those of us in the downtown area (and even farther for some of you dear readers) it is well worth the trip. They've got a great staff, an amazing selection and always some fun going on in the store.

The Basics

Greetings readers! I thought since I have been telling a lot of new people about this blog lately I should probably take a moment and review the basics of what Cellar Door is (and what it hopes to be). The anthology started out a little under a year ago after another book my group had been working on called Tales to Oddify went under. The editors of that one got out two pretty cool books but the motif of pulp fiction only seemed to stifle the amount of content they received. Having learned the ins and outs of self publishing through this experience (though my cohorts and I were only writers and artists on the book and not the ones putting it together) we decided to give it a try and thus was born Cellar Door. One of my main hopes is that this book will start people on the road to submitting their works for publication. It can be a really intimidating industry out there and I am trying to help make it a little less so. There are too many amazing voices and visions that get relegated to the corner because they don't think they have what it takes.

The first book we put together under the title was themed One (and is still available here, on Amazon, and upon the bookshelves of a few stores in Denver, CO). It took approximately six months to put together and release and has gotten some favorable attention.

The second book is being created under the theme Unraveling. We've got some really great material already and are still looking for a bit more. I'm excited to report that it will definitely have more artwork than the first issue! Keep your eyes open and tell your friends to submit and check out the book.

Thanks so much,

Michael Prince

Hunting Writers!

      I've just returned from the annual Sigma Tau Delta (English Honors Society) International Conference held this year at Pittsburgh, PA. It was a weekend full of excitement and lots and lots of talent. I talked to plenty of fantastic writers about submitting to Cellar Door: Unraveling and hope to see a new crop of poems and stories coming in soon. The conference ended on Sunday and there is the shock of readjusting to reality (work and school especially) to consider so while I am hungry to see these new works, I refuse to grow impatient until at least the end of the week. Then! All bets are off ;)

       The picture here depicts a classy sampling of the super team known now as the Sigma Tau Delta Mega-Chapter which knows no borders! You'll be hearing more from them and certainly from me. Stay tuned.

The Quarter Cart

I just had to post about this really fun project my friend Jovie is working on. She is heroically rescuing books that have been cast into those quarter bins with cracked paint that you see standing dejectedly outside the store proper. She is willing to suffer through these tales deemed unworthy of the true shelves in order to not only review them but also re-imagine and draw their rather strange covers (check out the wicked handlebar on that man's face!).

This will actually be a good study about judging a book by its cover. Will Jovie find a masterpiece of literature hidden under an unfortunately drawn piece of "art"?

You can follow along with the fun at the link:

http://quartercart.tumblr.com/

The Conference

Let the hunt begin once more! It's that time again. Wednesday morning I'll be flying to Pittsburgh (accompanied by a handful of other writers and one writist...the illustrious Roberto Martinez) to attend the Sigma Tau Delta International English Honors Conference. I'll be reading on a panel and pubbing with our amazing friends from Wisconsin (see below) and most important (to this blog at least) hunting new writers for the Anthology! It's going to be a great time as always. Keep an eye out on here. I might find the time to post some of our adventures. The lovely Jillian Phillips will be doing so as well at the link below:

http://jilliesconvention.blogspot.com/

Hmmmm....perhaps there will be interviews coming as well. Stay tuned!

Comics & Education Symposium

Love comics? Love reading? Love education? Still need to get your hands on a copy of Cellar Door: One or some fantastic author buttons??? Make sure to be at Tattered Cover in LoDo this coming Thursday around 5 o'clock. We'll have a great panel in session starring some great mind and talent!

* Leila (stop calling me beautiful!) del Duca the artist on such titles as Escape from Terra and her personal project Fox Witch and Other Tales.

*  Doctor William Kuskin, repeat panelist at Denver Comicfest and great literary mind joining us all the way from CU-Boulder.

* Sam Spina the AWE-inspiring auteur of Spinadoodles and many other charming titles!

* Professor Rebecca Gorman, bringer of comic knowledge, successful playwright and professor at Metro State College of Denver.

* Scorpio Steele the mysterious and uber talented artist!

* Professor Quintin Gonzalez who has brought Graphic Novel to UC-Denver and will bring his charm to this panel (ask him about his love of Scott Pilgrim).

With a line-up like this can you really say no to a visit??? Make sure to get the skinny on Friday's events too if you haven't heard already! Here's a couple of teasers: American Splendor and Static Shock and prizes and merch! This one will be held in North Classroom on Auraria Campus (room 1525)...just follow the posters and herd of nerds heading into the building :)

Steve Niles!

Remember that comic I recommended on here just the other day? The Lurkers? Well it turns out that I must have been subconsciously been prepping for the upcoming Denver Comicfest (April 15-17) because the writer of that ghoulish thread, writer Steve Niles will be there. He is also the author of 30 Days of Night. I need to check those out next. Shamefully I have only watched the flick so far but I really enjoyed it and if the book is better in this case (of which I have little doubt) I am really excited about this read.

Maybe if we ask nicely he'll spin us a tale for the anthology. We'll have to see.

Make sure you come out to the comicfest to get your Niles' book of ghouls and vampires signed by the very man! There will also be a chance to attend the special event on Saturday night of the festivities in which you can share drinks and appetizers with this talent and the other great guests. It is called An Evening With...and there will be more details soon. Keep your eyes on here and on the related Facebook pages.

Rapunzel (A work in progress)

Artist Thea Jovie Hunt is hard at work creating a collection of images from the fairytale Rapunzel to include in Cellar Door: Unraveling. If you think about it, it couldn't be much more perfect for the theme. A girl is taken from her home because of her father's theft (though they were just vegetables!). A witch's obsession keeps her from living a normal life. In the end a prince's eyes are undone by thorns. This old tale was made for this book! To the left is just a hint of the wonderful work you'll find between the covers of the second issue of Cellar Door Anthology.

ALSO! Poet and writer Tameca Coleman has just signed on to write the occasional blog on here. I am honored and you should be excited. Tameca is a very talented wordsmith! Keep an eye on great things to come.

Oh the Horror!

I've discovered today (between midterm prep) that horror comics are alive and well! I've got some recommendations for those of you not too weak of heart ;)

First off Vertigo is putting together a monthly anthology of some of comic's best minds and talents under the title: Flinch. It is aptly named. The story's range from the cutely macabre to the gut-wrenching to the occasional mind-jarring thread. My favorite so far of the three collections I've read was "Wolf Girl Eats". I think it was in the first book actually.

My meanderings next led me to a comic put out by IDW, written by Steve Niles and drawn by Hector Casanova (great name!) called "The Lurkers". I loved the art in this book and the story was consistently creepy and enthralling. Tired of Zombies? Come check out the Ghouls in here. I need to find more work of both of these guys!

The last was a short book by Alan Moore so its no big surprise that I was enchanted and stunned all at once. The book is The Courtyard. Its a fantastic tale in Lovecraftian fashion (keep an eye out for the Cthuhlu tentacle beard in the second half!). This comic was printed under Avatar. Make sure to look it up.

Tonight at Drink & Draw!

Great turnout tonight for Denver Drink & Draw at Leela European Cafe. A good mix of new and familiar faces! I'm sitting here with artist Thea Jovie Hunt and though we are fading fast I felt like expressing some excitement over things to come.

Finding some really great work in the submissions for Cellar Door: Unraveling...finally. I've already sent some acceptances and got some of the artists started on illustrations. If you haven't heard from us yet, don't fret, things are just going a bit slower than expected.

Also there was plotting done for upcoming events such as the Comics & Education Symposium which is being held on March 15-17 (details will be listed on here in the next few days), a fashion show to be held this summer and a guerrilla film-making camp. That's right, be excited.

Sleepiness is setting in and its time to sign off. For Cellar Door and Narniaaaaa!

Watercourse Eats

This Monday be sure to stop by for a bite or two or three at Watercourse in Denver. Every dollarspent is a another bit of support for 5280 Comic Book Classroom. The restaurant serves vegetarian and vegan fare and it is truly wonderful. Don't miss this opportunity to help out and eat well in the meantime!

Artwork above by local artist Ravi Zupa and can be seen in amazing murals on the walls of the restaurant. Come see!

Release party video!!

I took some really bad video footage during the release party, but still couldn't help making a montage of some of the clips. Here it is with musical accompaniment by Beck.

Cellar Door One Release Party

The suspense is over. On Friday January 28th the first book of Cellar Door Anthology will be released at Leela European Cafe. Come down and meet the artists and writers of the inaugural issue! Buy a copy so they can sign and sketch in them for you. There will be drink specials, door prizes, and buttons with your favorite authors upon them. It will be a good time. I swear! Show your love for the growing local scene of united creative types.

The 5280 Comic Book Classroom staff will also be on hand to answer any and all questions you may have and let you know about all the upcoming events!

A Huge Success!

It's two days after the Rock for Literacy for the 5280 Comic Book Classroom and I still have not got the excitement out of my system. What a great night! All three of the bands (Silver String Theater, Backslide, and Say Yes) were fantastic and were a huge draw to plenty of new faces. Between the silent auction (included the battled over Captain America shield) and the donations at the door over $800 was raised for the classroom! We are still waiting on numbers from the staff of Leela for their contribution which will bring it to a figure higher than we had modestly expected. Thank you all who have been so supportive in this project.

Coming up Next (and Finally!) - The Release Party for Cellar Door One will be held on Friday the 28th.

Rock for Literacy!

Make sure to make your way over to Leela European Cafe on Friday the 14th sometime between 7 and midnight (ish)! There will be some great music coming from the direction of the stage and you'll be able to show your love for the newest non-profit on the block: 5280 Comic Book Classroom! There will be a suggested donation of $5 as well as plenty of awesome silent auction items to throw your money at. All this as well as door prizes and time to hobnob to find out how you can get involved in all the fun and craziness that is to come. It'll be a crime to miss this one...and you know that crime never pays...unless you're a really good super villain and then you do come out on top...but only sometimes!