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!