Sunday Comix taking Mid Ohio Con By Storm!

Russ Merritt, Max Ink, Mike Lucas, Ray Tomczak, Jonathon Riddle and Molly Durst are only a few of the artists crawling out of the woodwork for the 28th Annual Mid Ohio Con which will be held October 4–5, 2008 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Show Hours:
Saturday
10 a.m.–6 p.m.
Sunday
10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Keep an eye out for those zany Sunday Comix folks, get your con sketches, pick up some indie books, enjoy your Mid Ohio Con and keep Sunday Comix going strong!

Rich Watson & Via Colori

Rich Watson, a member of Sunday Comix who in the summer moved to Columbus from New York has been featured in the Columbus Dispatch on their article about Via Colori at Goodale Park.

Check out the article here for more details!

Night Falls on the Day Prize, but the Night Is Filled Stars...

The finalists for the 2008 SPACE Prize were announced on Monday. The winner will be picked from three voting bodies. Two rotating judges will have one vote each and one "popular vote" will be culled from votes by all the registered SPACE 2008 Exhibitors (via emails sent to SPACE Coordinator, Bob Corby). The judges for this year are the 2007 Day Prize winners, Matt and Carol Dembicki (acting as one legal entity), and the “God-father of Small Press Comics,” Tim Corrigan.

The finalists were chosen from all the books that were collected for the Howard E. Day Memorial Prize at SPACE 2008. It wasn’t until afterward that Dave Sim revealed that he was disbanding the Day Prize (and all future convention appearances) in order to focus on writing and drawing comics. Says Corby, “Losing the Day Prize is small consolation for having regularly produced Dave Sim work on comic store shelves. We'd like to thank Dave Sim for having the Day Prize here at SPACE for the last 7 years and wish him the best on his projects.” Among the finalists are local talents Craig Bogart (The Ineffables) and Max Ink (Blink). Max also happens to be the coordinator of Sunday Comix (and the author of this blog entry). "There were a lot of great books submitted this time around and I'm honored to be included," says Ink.

The winner of the SPACE Prize will receive a cash prize of $300.00 and a plaque. The plaque presentation will be held during SPACE 2009 on April 18 and 19, 2009 at the Aladdin Shire CenterColumbus. in

THE 2008 SPACE Prize Finalists:

Birth
Alterna Comics
Michael S. Bracco
23 Trumpet Lane Suite A
Levittown NY 11756
$12.00
(buy online)

Blink: Barefoot in America,
Breakfast in the Park
ONWARDStudio
Max Ink
1440 W. Rich St. 5
Columbus OH 43223
$4.00

(buy online)

Breathers 1
Justin Madson
708 Birch St.
Baraboo WI 53913
$6.50

(buy online)

Clockwork Creature: Chapter One
Ambrosia Publishing
Kyle Strahm- Artist Writer
Wesley Craig Green-Editor
96 Wilcox St.
Timmins Ontario, Canada P4N 3K9
$6.95
(buy online)

Concepcion
Pretentious Comics
Rickey Gonzales
P.O.Box 14376
Chicago IL 60614
$3.00
(buy online)

The Secret History
of the Ineffables Part 1
Mystery City Comics
Craig Bogart
2714 Ruhl Ave.
Bexley OH 43209
$3.00

Lackluster World 5
Gen:Eric Publishing
Eric Adams
2245 Hannaford Ave.
Cincinnati OH 45212
$7.00
(buy online)

The Serial Squad !
Bad Place Productions
Paul E. Schultz- Writer/Artist
Jon Hodges- Editor
P.O.Box 18755
Cleveland Heights OH 44118
$5.95 & $2.00 S&H
(buy online)

A Thorn in the Side
Carbon-Based Books
Bill Knapp
2526 Rainbow Dr.
Lafayette IN 47904
$14.95 & $2.25 S&H
(buy online)

Autumn Cons

The San Diego Comic-Con is seen as the premiere comic book convention. Well, sure-- for the Summer comic book conventions. But here in the east side of the Mid West, the Mid-Ohio-Con is the "must-attend"reigning champ of and Autumn comic book conventions. This year, it's moved from its usual late November Thanksgiving weekend to an early October (4 & 5) show date. This year's guest list is building up to an impressive one. (The recent addition of Chris Claremont is quite a coup.)

Here in Ohio and beyond, there are a few other conventions that are deserving of your attention: Canton Comic & Sci-Fi Convention (Sept 14), INDYFEST (Sept 21), Screaming Tiki Con (Oct 17-19), Toledo Comic & Sci-Fi Convention, (Nov 16) and the XCape Con (Nov 22-23).

Message from Packrat Comics

Dear Friends:

Due to the record gas prices and a sharp decline in economic growth, it is with great remorse that I will be closing my Marysville store and the last day of business there will be July 31. I have made a great many friends over the last year and will miss each of your regular visits, as to me it's more than just a store, it's like you're stopping by my home to chat.

Please note that the Hilliard store is still very very strong and continues to grow, so rest assured that I plan on being in business for the long haul. Getting through the rough economic times will ensure the future success of expansion as I do plan on returning to Marysville.
In addition, I am in the process of revamping the website for even more convienent online ordering from www.packratcomics.com so please check it out soon.

I want to thank you for your support and I look forward to serving you in the future.

Sincerely,

Jamie

PS -
With gas prices at an all time high and slow econmic growth, we are sad to announce that our Marysville store will be closing July 31. And since we hate packing...from now until we close, take 40% off all items in stock (excluding trade paperbacks, new comics shipping this week and next). All comics on the wall other than new issues will only be $1.00! THIS SALE IS IN MARYSVILLE ONLY


Jamie & Teresa Colegrove
Packrat Comics
3872 Lattimer Street
Hilliard, Ohio 43026
614-527-8450
packratcomics@sbcglobal.net
www.packratcomics.com

What A Month It's Been...

Can you believe it's been a month since this blog has been last updated? Cripes.

The last item posted was in regards to the upcoming workshop, Drawing Words and Writing Pictures, facilitated by Matt Madden being held at the Wexner Center (in association with the Bone & Beyond exhibit). Well, I just listened to a nice little story on NPR's All Things Considered about the text book (with lots of pictures) Drawing Words and Writing Pictures: A Definitive Course from Concept to Comic in 15 Lessons written & illustrated by Matt and his wife, Jessica Abel. Go check it out the story, buy the book, and then sign up for the workshop.

Last week, the Mid-Ohio-Con launched The Mighty Mighty MOC-Blog. This is a great resource to stay up-to-date on what's going down on the upcoming premiere Ohio Comic Book Convention (now in its 27th year!) and it's also a opportunity to get involved! They are currently

seeking writers and guest bloggers to contribute original content such as articles, features, reviews, interviews, and even regular columns. (They) are also looking for illustrators and cartoonists to contribute one-off or serialized cartoons for a weekend comics feature.

Recent posts include Joe Kubert being the guest of Honor this year and Ohio's own P. Craig Russel making his only convention appearance this year.

I promise to be more diligent on posting on this blog in the future.

Drawing Words and Writing Pictures: A Graphic Novel Workshop

Sat, Jul 26, 2008 | 1:00 - 5:00PM
Wexner Center
Advance registration is required

Matt Madden, illustrator and author of 99 Ways to Tell a Story and Drawing Words & Writing Pictures (with his wife, Jessica Abel), is going to offer a crash course in creating your own graphic novel in this hands-on workshop for adults. In introduction to an interview conducted for the Comics Journal, Gary Sullivant wrote:

What has impressed me most about Madden, beyond his considerable skills as a visual artist and storyteller, is his constant experimentation. His approach to comics differs from that of most practitioners, which is to find a particular style that works well and refine it, often revisiting the same subject matter from book to book. I pretty much know what I'm going to get in the next comic by Adrian Tomine, the Hernandez brothers, or even Chris Ware — though I love what each of them does. But Madden, even before 99 Ways to Tell a Story, has approached each project as an opportunity to explore different styles, methods and even subjects. In this, he embodies the great New York poet Frank O'Hara's most famous line: "Grace to be born and live as variously as possible."

So, this is definitely not going to be a "how to draw superheroes" sort of workshop! No prior experience is necessary, and materials will be provided. There is a fee of $12 for members of the Wexner Center or $15 for the general public. To register, call the education department at (614) 292-6493, or e-mail edweb@wexarts.org.

A Looney Tunes Evening with Jeff Smith

Thu, Jun 5, 2008 | 7:00PM
Film/Video Theater

Jeff Smith has described Bone as “a Bugs Bunny cartoon meets Lord of the Rings.” Join him next Thursday, June 5 as he introduces some of his favorite Warner Bros.’ cartoons and discusses the influence their characteristic zaniness had on his own work.

The program features Chuck Jones’s celebrated “hunting trilogy”—Rabbit Fire (1951), Rabbit Seasoning (1952), and Duck! Rabbit, Duck! (1953)—all three starring Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, and Daffy Duck. (app. 90 mins., 35mm).

Bring your family and young friends. This program is designed for all ages.

TICKETS
$5 members
$7 general public
$5 students
$5 senior citizens
$3 children under 12

TO PURCHASE TICKETS CALL (614) 292-3535 or buy tickets online

Wexner Center for the Arts
The Ohio State University
1871 North High Street
Columbus, Ohio 43210-1393
Entrance Level of the Wexner Center

The exhibition Jeff Smith: Bone and Beyond, on view through August 3, features original comic book drawings by the Columbus-based artist and some of the comics artists who have inspired him. The exhibition and related events are presented in collaboration with Ohio State’s Cartoon Research Library.

"All Men Are Not Created Evil"

In October of this year, a few weeks after the Mid-Ohio-Con but just before Halloween, a new animated film will be released, Igor. It's a humorous take on the fictional character Igor. The cast includes John Cusack, Sean Hayes, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Eddie Izzard, Paul Vogt, and Molly Shannon. The plot revolves around Igor (voiced by Cusack) and his dreams of winning first place at the annual Evil Science Fair.

What does this have to do with comics?

One of our (many) local comics creators, Dara Naraghi, has written some all-original stories in a prequel series to this The Weinstein Company film and is being published by IDW. Art on the comic series is by the talented Grant Bond, of Archibald Saves Christmas, and Clockwork Girl fame. The book is available now, so go out and support your local creators and get a little behind the scenes look at this year's best Halloween animated flick!

New Mid-Ohio-Con Website

To go along with the new date for this year's Mid-Ohio-Con ( from their traditional Thanksgiving-weekend time slot to the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, October 4–5, 2008), they rolled out a bright and shiny new looking website-- www.midohiocon.com.

MOC will be returning to the Greater Columbus Convention Center, located in the heart of Columbus’s vibrant downtown area. This year they’ve moved out of Battelle Hall and into Exhibit Hall E and several adjoining panel rooms, offering a greatly expanded show floor for creative guests, exhibitors, and the "artists alley," as well as dedicated space for panel programming and other special activities. The Exhibit Hall is just down High Street from the Hyatt Regency hotel and only a short distance from all the dining, shopping, and entertainment available in downtown Columbus's Arena District.

Among the scheduled guests will be Jason Mewes, Alan Davis, Gary Friedrich, Mike Grell, David Mack, Bob McLeod, Steve Rude, Arthur Suydam, Ethan Van Sciver, Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, Bernie Wrightson, (I wonder if they're going to have a Swamp Thing discussion panel?), Dick Ayers and many more.

This year’s MOC will feature a charity auction of items including original artwork by comic book legend John Byrne; a fan film festival sponsored by local comic shop Packrat Comics; a costume contest; a variety of all-new MOC exclusives and merchandise; and more. Bookmark www.midohiocon.com and mark that date (October 4&5) on your calendar.