One more quick reminder before Saturday — the fifth annual Lubbock Comic Book Expo is happening this weekend, starting tomorrow, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. It’s part of the 34th annual Lubbock Arts Festival, and it’ll be in the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center at 1501 Mac Davis Lane in Lubbock.

You’ve already heard there are tons of special guests. I won’t go over all of them again, but you can browse around the Lubbock Comics website for plenty of info about all of them.

And for goodness sake, we don’t want to forget about all the panel discussions and events going on. Here’s a quick schedule of what’s going on:

Saturday April 14th

10:00 am – 10:50 am: Write Right: Life, the Universe, and Everything by Mary Andrews
11:00 am – 11:50 am:  Why Read Comics? by Rob Weiner
12:00 pm – 12:50 pm:  Special FX and Make-up Panel by Renee Benton
1:00 pm – 2:20 pm:  Costume Contest!
2:30 pm – 3:20 pm:  In the Verse Unplugged
3:30 pm – 4:20 pm:  Writer/Artist Panel Moderated by Will Terrell
4:30 pm – 5:20 pm:  Iron Artist competition Watch ‘em Draw!
5:30 pm – 6:50 pm:  Filming a Superhero Web Series by Daniel Ballard and Kabletowava Films

Sunday April 15th

1:00 pm – 1:50 pm: Web Comics Creators’ panel moderated by Will Terrell
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm: the First Ever NERD Crown Competition by Jason Rhode & JP Acreman (Potential contestants for the NERD Crown will be chosen by written exam prior to the event)

Don’t miss out on this, guys, it’s gonna be a lot of fun.

Hey, you got your dayplanner set for this weekend, right? The fifth annual Lubbock Comic Book Expo is happening this weekend, Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. It’s going to be part of the 34th annual Lubbock Arts Festival, and it’ll be in the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center at 1501 Mac Davis Lane in Lubbock. There’s a small charge to enter the Arts Festival proper, but if all you wanna do is go to the Expo, it’s dead solid free.

Of course, you want to be there for the costume contest at 1 p.m. on Saturday, as well as all the other panels and activities, but there are also going to be a lot more special guests. We talked a bit about the guests a while back, but even more have been announced, including Koi Turnbull, Rita Moore, Sarah Arnold, George Zepeda, Rob Weiner, Mary Andrews and Joe Douglas Trent, an indie rock band called In the ‘Verse, Josh Lees, Jose Esquivel, Zip Alegria, Bryan Burk, Chas Foreman, and Jason Shasteen.

And that doesn’t even include all the friendly artists and vendors — and the fans — who’ll be hanging out upstairs in the Civic Center to chat, make some art, and sell some great stuff.

Remember, it’s this weekend! Saturday and Sunday! Don’t miss out, durngum it.

It’s time we talked a bit more about the upcoming Lubbock Comic Book Expo. We know the time, date, and place — Saturday, April 9th, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., and Sunday, April 10th, noon to 5, during the annual Lubbock Arts Festival at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, at 1501 Mac Davis Lane.

But did you know the grand costume contest will be held on Saturday at 1 p.m. and the Iron Artist competition will be held on Saturday at 4? It’s true!

And did you know there are going to be lots of special guests this year? You can expect to meet:

• Ben Dunn, founder of Antarctic Press and creator of “Ninja High School,” “Warrior Nun Areala,” and plenty of other comics;
• Greg Harms, freelance illustrator who’s worked on Lynch Mob, MidKnights, Modus Operandi, Parley, Control Syndicate, and plenty of other comics;
• Grant Sutherland, creator of the “Greetings from Wonderland” webcomic;
• Nate Bramble, creator of “Bramble Vine Comics” and “The Legend of Hermit Hill“;
• CCP Comics, an Austin-based company working to get lots of Texas creator working on lots of different comics;
• and lots of other creators, many of them locals, who’ll be on hand to meet folks, sell some comics, sketches, and other projects.

Am I allowed to get all over-the-top and say this is the biggest Comic Book Expo ever? I think I will, ’cause I think it probably will be. Make sure you show up and enjoy yourself. You’ll kick yourself if you miss out.

First things first: There’s going to be another meeting of people interested in getting some more comic conventions in Lubbock! It’s happening today at 6:30 p.m. at Awesome Books, 3009 34th Street.

The focus of this meeting is going to be dividing up some of the promotional work and sharing what’s been confirmed so far. If you’d like to assist with a comic convention — and take it from me, I had more fun volunteering at the previous conventions than I did when I was only an attendant — then you will certainly want to be at that meeting.

Now listen — the Miracle on 34th Street event will be going on around that time, which means a parade and a heck of a lot more traffic, so you might want to park on 33rd or 35th or in one of the larger parking lots and walk. So allow yourself some extra time to get to the meeting, awright?

Remember: today, 6:30 p.m., Awesome Books, 3009 34th Street!

And now: Reviews!

Knight and Squire #3

Genetic researchers have perfected cloning — and they’re able to re-create an actual historical personage, complete with his full genetic memory! Who do they pick for this great honor? Richard III. Wait, Richard III? The villain of Shakespeare’s play of the same name? A guy who’s thought to have killed his young nephews to keep himself on the throne? That doesn’t sound like a smart move, does it? The Knight and Squire are suspicious, but there’s some belief that Richard got a raw deal from history and Shakespeare, so maybe this guy’s okay, right?

Well, no, not really. He demands to be placed back on the throne, and when that isn’t so successful, he clones a bunch of England’s most rotten monarchs, gives them superpowers and their own armies, and turns ’em loose on everyone. Can the Knight, the Squire, and the British Isles’ other superheroes stop the royal renegades before they take over the country?

Verdict: Thumbs up. So very many things to love about this issue. There’s the Knight dating one of the Muses. Like an actual Muse, goddess of literature and the arts, from ancient myth. That’s so random, it’s awesome. There’s the final battle, fought partly through Twitter. There’s the way Richard’s lines are all in iambic pentameter. It’s a great issue in a great series, so go get it already.

Batgirl #16

Steph’s being chased by the cops, who think Batgirl killed a college student. After she evades the Gotham PD, she meets up with Detective Gage, who reveals that he knows she she’s been framed. Back at the university, Steph has to deal with her classmates demonizing Batgirl, mostly so they can get out of having to take tests, and Wendy Harris does a little off-the-clock investigating. Eventually, they’re able to track the real killers to an abandoned warehouse contaminated with an unusual form of radiation. But will getting her good name cleared and the gang rounded up be enough to solve the case when it turns out the bad guys have superpowered help of their own?

Verdict: As ever, very funny and exciting stuff. I don’t know if this is the best of the Bat-books, but it’s certainly the most fun.

Today’s Cool Links:

• It’s like someone figured out how to mix Christmas with death metal. And it’s been around for centuries!
• The Ten Least Successful Holiday Specials of All Time.
• Any of y’all ever read Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently novels? Turns out the BBC is adapting ’em for TV…
• Why does Brian Bendis hate Marvel continuity?
• Here are a bunch of Marvel parodies of old Charles Atlas ads.

First of all, we have some very interesting news for comics lovers in Lubbock.

There’s going to be a meeting tomorrow evening for folks interested in holding more comics conventions here in the Hub City.

It’s going to be happening at 8 p.m. sharp on Thursday, November 11, in the Metro Tower/NTS Building downtown, way up on the 19th floor in the large meeting room at the end of the hall.

They want anyone interested to come on out — whether you’re wanting to run a table, be a guest, or have some larger part in future conventions.

Got questions? Drop Nicholas an e-mail, and he’ll set ya up.

Alright, now let’s hit a few reviews.

iZombie #7

Gwen needs to chow down on a brain soon, or she’s going to turn into a mindless shambler zombie. But before she can get to her cerebellum lunch, we get to see Claire the vampire raised from the dead again by a mad scientist, Spot meets a new friend, and Horatio and Diogenes, the monster hunters, bite off more than they can chew with a van full of vampires.

Verdict: Thumbs up. Beautiful artwork, fun writing, and more craziness injected into Gwen’s undeath. The cliffhanger is pretty good, too.

Avengers Academy #6

Our focus this issue is on Reptil, the academy’s dinosaur-morphing golden boy. He’s dreamed of being in the Avengers his whole life, he’s just been elected as the class leader, and he should be on top of the world, but stress over his parents’ deaths, his potentially out-of-control powers, and having to keep too many secrets buried on behalf of his classmates is driving him towards a nervous breakdown. Can anyone help him make an emotional breakthrough?

Verdict: Thumbs up. I’m enjoying this comic a lot more than I ever expected to. The dialogue is good, the art is good, the plotlines and characterization are good. It’s well worth reading — hope you’re giving it a shot.

Secret Six #27

The two different Secret Six teams keep brawling with each other in Skartaris, but they call a fast halt to the proceedings after Scandal accidentally slashes Bane’s throat out. Luckily, Skartaris has healers who can fix him up fine. But the two teams are still at odds, still heading for a confrontation between two armies to determine who will control the fantasy kingdom. All that, plus Amanda Waller shoots someone in the head!

Verdict: Thumbs up. Not much to say about it — all the good stuff we’ve come to expect from the “Secret Six” series.

Chaos War #3

The Chaos King is whuppin’ everyone’s butts. He’s already taken over the Underworld, which allows him to control dead gods like Zeus, Hera, and Ares, who, backed up by Chaos’ power, can even smack Galactus around. Hercules is finally forced to kill Zeus, who encourages Herc to team up with the rest of the gods in the rest of the pantheons. Unfortunately, when Hercules uses his new omniscience to find where they’re all hiding out, he reveals their location to the Chaos King — and the more gods he devours, the more infinitely powerful he becomes. Is there any way to win when there’s no chance to win? And who is the Chaos King’s secret ally?

Verdict: Thumbs up. Okay, by this time, the threat to the universe has been risen way, way out of anyone’s league — so it’ll be fun to see how Herc and Amadeus Cho get out of this one next issue…

Today’s Cool Links:

• Marvel’s big price drop didn’t last very long, did it?
• Take a tour of the world’s creepiest Six Flags.
• This is what happens when you let your big-talkin’ rhetoric race past your ability to consider future consequences. Also, it’s funny as heck.
• I’d like to introduce y’all to Those Poor Bastards, my new favorite band in the universe. Ever wonder what kind of country music they play in Hell? They play this and this and this.

The West Texas Comic Con is today!

Head down to the Science Spectrum, 2579 S. Loop 289, from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.! Tickets are cheap — just four bucks for adults, two dollars for kids 12 and under, and dead solid free for toddlers and anyone wearing a costume!

There’s lots of stuff happening, like:

• 10:30 a.m.: “How to Read Comics” by Rob Weiner!
• 11:30 a.m.: Writers workshop and panel, featuring Matthew Sturges, Dirk Strangely, Josh Howard, Scott Zirkel, and Paul Benjamin, hosted by Will Terrell!
• 12:30 p.m.: Registration for the costume contest starts, leading inevitably to…
• 1 p.m.: The Costume Contest!
• 2 p.m.: Twitchy Dolphin independent film panel, featuring their movie “Funny Books”!
• 3 p.m.: DC  Fan Panel with Matt Sturges!
• 4 p.m.: Comics game show! With prizes!

There are tons of special guests, tons of exhibitors, tons of artists, tons of vendors, tons of great people — this is gonna be more fun, for less money, than you’re gonna comfortably believe.

Here’s the Comic Con’s official website! Here’s my article for the A-J! (Yes, I’ll probably be linking that in every blog post from now on)

Come on, folks, it’s a bye weekend for Tech football, so you got no excuses! Git down there or I’m whuppin’ on you with a truck axle!

Hey! Ya seen the latest edition of the Avalanche-Journal’s GO! entertainment magazine? Here’s the cover, for those of you who don’t have access to the paper edition:

You may recognize the artistic style. Yes, that is by Will Terrell, founder of the Lubbock Sketch Club, creator of the “Super Zeroes” webcomic, and one of the organizers of this Saturday’s West Texas Comic Con!

You want more details? Let’s check in with the cover article, written by — why, I do declare, it was written by me!

YAY, ME!

Anyway, go read the article, show it to your friends, go get yerself a good costume, and show up for the West Texas Comic Con this Saturday! Do it or face my undying wrath!

And it looks like they’ve been adding more and more special guests as time goes by — I looked at the list just last night and found a few new ones, so here’s the latest roster of guests for the convention:

• Matt Sturges, who is one of DC’s go-to writers, working on everything from “Jack of Fables” to “Justice Society of America” to “Blue Beetle” to “Final Crisis Aftermath: Run!” to “House of Mystery.”
• Josh Howard, writer/artist of Dead@17.
• Paul Benjamin, who has written several “Marvel Adventures” titles and done writing/producing for computer games like “Spider-Man: Web of Shadows.”
• Dirk Strangely, who writes and illustrates creepy-crawly titles like “Darkened Bedtime Stories for Children” and “Agnes and the Flies. (I just love that title)
• Scott Zirkel, a writer for Viper Comics and Penny Farthing Press.
• Joel Watson, creator of the “Hijinks Ensue” webcomic. 
• Chris Nicholas, founder of the “Staple!” independent media expo in Austin.
• 7,000 BC!, which is the entirely awesome name for the sketch club out of Albuquerque.   (Artists and members from the Albuquerque based Sketch Group!)
• Twitchy Dolphin Flix, an independent film company out of Austin.
• The Abilene chapter of the 501st Legion, an international organization of “Star Wars” cosplayers. I have no idea if they’ll be allowed to compete in the costume contest, but you better bring your best costume, just in case.

So anyway, go read my article (Yeah, I do think I need to link that again), gasp over how impossibly awesome it is, and make your plans to be at the West Texas Comic Con tomorrow!

Another Lubbock comic convention? Heck, yeah!

The West Texas Comic Con is happening on Saturday, November 7th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the main exhibit hall in the Lubbock Science Spectrum at 2579 S. Loop 289, Ste 250. There will be panels and presentations, vendors, artists, comics, costumed folks, and more fun than you can shake a stick at without getting investigated by the Lubbock PD.

Admission fees are cheaper’n dirt, too. Adults pay $4. Kids 12 and under pay $2. Toddlers get in free. And people who come in costume get in free! So keep your Halloween costume for an extra week so you can use it to get into the Comic Con, alright?

“Aww, come on, man! A Saturday in November?! I gotta go tailgating!” No, actually, November 7 is a bye week for Tech! Ain’t no football — so come on down!

Numerous presentations are planned, including a writers workshop, at least one humorous fan panel on “How to Read Comics,” a game show, and of course, the ever-popular costume contest, starting around 1 p.m.

And listen up — this year, there are going to be special guests.

The featured guest: Matt Sturges, writer of “Jack of Fables” and “Justice Society of America.” He’s also worked on “Blue Beetle,” “House of Mystery,” “Shadowpact,” and “Final Crisis Aftermath: Run!” Matt lives in Austin, believe it or not! He’ll be participating in the writers panel and a Q&A session.

Will Terrell will be there, of course. He’s the Lubbock artist who’s worked on “Disney’s Gargoyles” and “The Goblin Chronicles,” as well as helping found the Lubbock Sketch Club. And he designed the convention logo at the top of this post! He’ll be helping out on the writers panel and probably almost everything else. His current big project is the webcomic “Super Zeroes.”

And a guy named Dirk Strangely will be there, too. Dirk does extremely creepy (and often, very funny) illustrations and has written a couple of nicely morbid children’s books. I spent a lot of last night clicking through his gallery on his site, and I’m entirely loving his stuff. I’m really looking forward to meeting him.

So go ahead and make your plans for the West Texas Comic Con — Nov. 7, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Science Spectrum! Be there or I’ll whup ya with sticks!

Well, not a hangover exactly. Alcohol in large enough concentrations is a poison, and there weren’t nothing poisonous about Saturday’s Lubbock Comic Book Expo.

We had at least 2,500 attendees, which was a heck of a lot more than last year. Part of that was because the Lubbock Arts Festival was downstairs, and some folks climbed the stairs to see what was going on. But I’m good with that. A lot of those curiosity-seekers left with a few free comics, thanks to Free Comic Book Day. They enjoyed the presentations we held. They had a blast watching the costume contest. They got to talk to a lot of wonderful artists and vendors, and they picked up a few old comics they remembered from their childhoods, or they got a sketch from someone, or at the very least, they left saying, “That was fun. What a great group of people.”

As far as I’m concerned, this was a huge success. When I left, I was actually in physical pain, and I was so tired, I went to bed at 9 p.m. and slept for about ten hours. But I would do the whole thing over again in a heartbeat.

Here’s a bunch of pictures from the event:

We’re doing it again this November, from the main exhibit hall in the Science Spectrum. Watch for more announcements about the West Texas Comicon as we get closer to fall!

Are you ready for the Lubbock Comic Book Expo? Well, get ready. Get your costume together, get some bucks scrounged up to buy some comics, get your head in gear to meet and talk with some of the comic artists from Lubbock. ‘Cause it’s all happening tomorrow.

Let’s summarize the particulars: The Lubbock Comic Book Expo will be held tomorrow, May 2, at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center, at 1501 Mac Davis Lane. This is held in conjunction with the Lubbock Arts Festival, so expect a crowd. Bring yer walking shoes, ’cause the parking lot is going to be jam-packed. Entrance to the Comic Book Expo is free (we’re upstairs in the Civic Center’s mezzanine), but if you want to get into the Arts Festival, too, it’s gonna cost you two bucks. If I were you, I’d bring two bucks, ’cause the Arts Festival is great fun, and they got lemonade.

What’s there to do once you get there? Well, you can meet tons of exhibitors who will be selling comics, drawing sketches, shaking hands, and making contacts. You can enjoy Free Comic Book Day (but you better get there early, ’cause the free comics will probably disappear very quickly). You can get your picture taken with Batman, the Silver Surfer, the Headless Horseman, or any of your fellow comic fanboys and fangirls.

You can enjoy a wide variety of presentations, including:

• 11 a.m.: “The Reality of Spider-Man” with Rob Weiner – in which Rob will attempt to convince us that Spidey is real and is probably going to bite us and inject us with radioactive spider-man eggs.
• 12 noon: “Lubbock’s Comics Connections” with Scott Slemmons – in which I read off a bunch of my old blog posts, but you should come see it anyway, ’cause I’ll be using my beautiful radio voice, which can soothe savage goats.
• 1 p.m.: A demonstration by the Texas Tech Library 2D Lab – the first of three programs about computer aids for artists.
• 2 p.m.: A demonstration by the Texas Tech Library 3D Lab – The folks from the Tech Library also wanted to do something with their 4D Lab, but it got lost somewhere in the Jurassic. Maybe we’ll get to see that one last year.
• 3 p.m.: A Flash animation demonstration with Paul Davidson from South Plains College – a huge number of cartoons nowadays are animated using Adobe Flash, so this should be a good resource for aspiring animators.
• 4 p.m.: The Costume Contest – Are you gonna let that sweaty guy in the trenchcoat, fedora, and homemade Rorschach mask beat you? NO WAY! It’s ON LIKE DONKEY KONG, BABY!
• 5 p.m.: “The Future of Comics in West Texas” with Will Terrell and Robert Mora – in which Will and Robert emerge from the Texas Tech 4D Lab and destroy us all with Atomic Killbots from the 29th Century.

We’re gonna have a blast, and we want all of you to come say howdy. Remember, that’s tomorrow, 10 a.m., at the Civic Center! If you miss out, your future grandchildren will laugh at your lameness.