Bar Harbor Comic Con 2018

On April 28th, I'll be appearing at the second annual Bar Harbor Comic Con at the Atlantic Oceanside Hotel And Event Center in Bar Harbor, Maine, where I'm looking forward to seeing some of my old Alpha Productions cronies, as well as creator pals Jay Piscopo, Amanda Kahl, Mort Todd and Paul Pelletier, among others.

Last year's show was a blast - probably the best 1-day regional con I've ever attended! Looking forward to heading back downeast in a few weeks...

TASK FORCE ALPHA @ Portland Comic Expo 2017

Here's the final cover to TASK FORCE ALPHA: FORGED IN FIRE, a superhero graphic novel originally written and drawn in the early 90s - but never published. It is getting a special, convention exclusive premiere at the Portland Comic Expo, Sunday, October 29th, at the Portland Expo Building in Portland, Maine.

I wrote the main story, which was illustrated by the amazing Paul Pelletier. The volume includes a few back-up stories, too, with contributions from many talented creators..

I am proud to be part of this, and want to thank publisher Leni S. Gronros for the opportunity to return to this project and help make it a reality after 25 years.

Hopefully, the book will get a wider release sometime soon after the con.

This Weekend: Bar Harbor Comic Con

This Saturday, I'll be downeast at the Bar Harbor Comic Con. It's a one-day show to benefit a local charity, the Park Street Playground Project. It will be held at the Atlantic Oceanside Hotel & Event Center, in Bar Harbor, Maine.

I'm looking forward to it because it's turned into a reunion of sorts for the core creators of Alpha Productions, a small, independent comic book publisher that I worked for between 1990 and 1995. Publisher/owner Leni Gronros will be there with his replica KITT automobile from Knight Rider. Art Director Paul Pelletier, who has since gone on to a prolific career drawing comics for both Marvel & DC, will be there. Editor Bob Cram will be there with his novel The Monster War. and our Marketing guy, Rick Lowell, will be there as a dealer, Casablanca Comics. 

Other guests include Gigi Edgley, the Australian actress who portrayed Chiana on the terrific space opera TV series, Farscape, and science fiction author Barry B. Longyear, whose short story, Enemy Mine, was adapted into a fun movie back in the 80s. There will also be  many other authors, comics creators, cosplayers and musicians.

It's a first-time show and a bit off the beaten track, so I don't know how it's going to go; I'm just looking forward to a fun afternoon with some old friends and new. If you happen to be in the area, come on over. It's for a good cause.

Bangorefest This Weekend

This weekend, I'll be attending my second convention in less than a week: Bangorefest in Bangor, Maine. Well, technically, it's in Orono at the University of Maine's New Balance Field House, October  28 through the 30th. I'll be there on Saturday and Sunday, hawking my various comics and hopefully, scoring an autographed Twiki photo from Felix Silla.

The horror-themed show will host a slew of actors and other genre celebrities, including most of the cast of John Carpenter's 1983 film adaptation of Stephen King's Christine. Hell, even the car will be there.

If you're in Central Maine this weekend, I hope you'll stop by.

Portland Comic Expo - Oct. 23

On Sunday, October 23rd, I'll be exhibiting at the Portland Comic Expo at the Portland Exposition Building in Portland, Maine. Admission is only $5. (http://www.portlandcomicexpo.com/)

At both shows, I'll have copies of my Femme Noir, Gravedigger, Shadow House, Perils On Planet X and Kolchak comics - as well as the pulp anthologies I've contributed to and the new Gravedigger mini-poster - for sale.

October Appearances: Portland Comic Expo & Bangorefest!

In about a month, on October 23rd, I'll be exhibiting at the Portland Comic Expo at the Portland Exposition Building in Portland, Maine. Admission is only $5. (http://www.portlandcomicexpo.com/)

Less than a week later, I'll be appearing at BANGOREFEST at the University of Maine in Orono. (http://www.bangorefest.com/) on Saturday and Sunday, October 29 & 30.

Evidently, I'm not notable enough to appear on either website, but I will be at both events.

At both shows, I'll have copies of my FEMME NOIR, GRAVEDIGGER, SHADOW HOUSE, PERILS ON PLANET X and KOLCHAK comics - as well as the pulp anthologies I've contributed to - for sale.

It's going to be a hectic month. Hopefully, I'll get to see some of my New England friends (and maybe make some new ones) in Portland and/or Bangor in October!

This Weekend: BANGOR COMIC & TOY CONVENTION

 For those of you Maine and New England folks attending the Bangor Comic & Toy Convention at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine this weekend, I'll be there all day on Saturday and Sunday, and will have sale copies of the Femme Noir comic books (tho I'm almost out of issue #1), Gravedigger (comics & trades), Shadow House, the Night Driver graphic novel, and the Kolchak The Night Stalker trade paperback collections that contain the two Kolchak miniseries I wrote. I'll also have a few copies of the Spider Chronicles, Captain Midnight Chronicles and Werewolves: Dead Moon Rising short story anthologies available.

In addition, my lovely better half, Brandi, will have some of her handmade geek-themed jewelry for sale at our table for you craftsy types.

Saturday afternoon, at 2:00, I'll be doing a panel (is it still a panel, if you're alone?) on Comics Writing, and Saturday night, around 8 PM, I'll be hosting a sci-fi double feature screening of 1953's Cat Women Of The Moon and 1959's Teenagers From Outer Space.

Hoping to meet a lot of cool new people (and customers!) and maybe catch up with some old friends. Hey, you never know.

Upcoming Appearance: Bangor Comic & Toy Convention, April 9-10

So far, I'm only scheduled to appear at one comics convention this year, and that's the Bangor Comic & Toy Convention at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine on April 9th and 10th. It looks to be a good show, with some big name media guests like Star Trek's Nichelle Nichols and Denise Crosby, Doctor Who's Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker, wrestler Kevin Nash, and bunch of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers cast members. Comic guests include Marvel inker Bob Wiacek, Chris Sprouse, Rich Woodall and Paris Cullins.

I'll be there with my wife, Brandi, and will have a bunch of stuff for sale, including Femme Noir, Gravedigger, Kolchak The Night Stlaker, Shadow House, and the brand new Perils On Planet X comic books. I've even had a new display banner made for the occasion.

Right now, I'm scheduled for a Comics Creators panel on Saturday afternoon, and Saturday evening, I'll be hosting a 50s sci-fi movie double feature of Cat-Women of the Moon and Teenagers From Outer Space! I'll be dropping some knowledge/trivia about the films and pretending to be an authority on the subject.

So, if you live in Maine or Northern New England, I hope you'll come to the show. I'd love to see you there!

BangPop! This Weekend! See You There!

 

This weekend, I'll be at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine for BangPop Comic Con, hanging out with such talented comics pros as Fred Van Lente, Alex De Campi, Alex Irvine, Charles Paul Wilson III! The cool media guests include Mystery Science Theater 3000's Dr. Forester (Trace Beaulieu) and TV's Frank (Frank Conniff), Battlestar Galactica's Nicki Clyne, and Andrew MacLean and Joseph Schmalke of The Walking Dead. Come on down and say hello!

Upcoming Appearance(s)

For the one or two of you who might find such information interesting, I will be attending the BangPop show in Bangor, Maine September 20 and 21st. 

BangPop is always a fun show, and this year looks like it'll be the biggest and best one yet, with more comics and media guests (including MST3K favorites Trace Beaulieu and Frank Coniff, and Battlestar Galactica cutie Nicki Clyne).

I may also be exhibiting at the Portland Comic Expo in Portland, Maine on October 26th... but that's not definite yet. Stay tuned...

Webcomics On A Card

It's tough to promote webcomics (Femme Noir, Perils On Planet X, Gravedigger) sitting behind a table at a convention, but I made up a bunch of postcards for this weekend's Coast City Comicon that I'll be handing out, with all the website info printed on them. Maybe a few folks will go online and check 'em out after the show....

Coast City Comic Con This Weekend!

I'll be making my only 2013 convention appearance this weekend at the Coast City Comic Con, in South Portland, Maine. It looks to be a surprisingly "big" show for this neck of the woods, with a bunch of notable comics guests - Mike Norton, Ben Templesmith, Erik Burnham and many others - and film/TV celebrities, including most of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 cast, and a reunion of actors from the 1984 cult film Savage Streets!

I’ll have a table in the artists alley and will have copies of my comics, graphic novels and prose anthologies on hand for purchase. In fact, going through my "inventory," it looks like I'll have the following material for sale at the show:

A handful of Femme Noir: The Dark City Diaries trade paperbacks - and a LOT of copies of the individual issues.

A handful of Kolchak Tales: Monsters Among Us trade paperback, containing my "Night Stalker of the Living Dead" miniseries.

A small number of my other Kolchak comics.

Some random issues of Leonard Nimoy's Primortals, which I scripted in the 90s.

A bunch of issues of my Shadow House horror comic.

Multiple copies of the Werewolves: Dead Moon Rising prose anthology.

Multiple copies of the Captain Midnight Chronicles prose anthology.

And several copies of the out-of-print First Edition of the Spider Chronicles prose anthology.

I’ll also have some free Gravedigger and Perils On Planet X postcards there, too. So, come on by... and buy! I don't want to carry all that stuff home!

Coast City Comicon Commercial

You may count me among the "Many More!"  Hope to see some of you there!

Coast City Comic Con Is Coming

My only 2013 convention appearance will be at the Coast City Comic Con, in South Portland, Maine, the weekend of November 9th and 10th. It looks to be a surprisingly "big" show for this neck of the woods, with a bunch of notable comics guests - Mike Norton, Larry Hama, Ed McGuinness, Ben Templesmith, Erik Burnham and many others - and film/TV celebrities, including most of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 cast, and a reunion of actors from the 1984 cult film Savage Streets!

I’ll have a table in the artists alley and will have copies of my comics, graphic novels and prose anthologies on hand for purchase. I’ll try to have some Gravedigger and Perils On Planet X stuff there, too. Hope to see you there!

Coast City Comic Con

Well, it's a bit over four months into the year and I only have one convention appearance scheduled for 2013. Actually, that's one more than I usually have, so that's not too bad.

I’m currently planning to attend the Coast City Comic Con, in South Portland, Maine, the weekend of November 9th and 10th. I’ll have a table in the artists alley; I don’t know if they’ll be advertising me as a guest or not (I’m guessing not). I’ll have copies of my comics, graphic novels and prose anthologies on hand for purchase. I’ll probably have some Gravedigger and Perils On Planet X stuff there, too.

If there’s a BangPop show in Bangor this year (it’s been cancelled two years in a  row, so I’m not optimistic), I’ll probably be there, too.

BangPop 2012

The only convention I'm attending in 2012 is coming up - BangPop 2012, in Bangor, Maine. I'll be attending on Sunday, September 23. I don't really have anything much in the way of new stuff this year, but I will have copies of Femme Noir, Kolchak, and Captain Midnight (the prose anthology) on hand, plus whatever else I can dig up around here....

Post-Pop

The BangPop show on Sunday went okay. I sold a fair number of Femme Noir and Kolchak: Monsters Among Us trade paperbacks throughout the day, and made a few bucks. The show was pretty dead by lunchtime, though, and that's a shame.

I really think that BangPop has a lot of potential, but the organizers need to put more planning, preparation and promotion into it. This year there wasn't even an active BangPop website until less than a month before the show. As for the event itself, there were only a couple of dealers and a handful of guests. They were very cool guests, but folks who showed up could see everything in about twenty minutes, and you know you've got trouble when even the Star Wars cosplayers bail early.

It's frustrating because I would really like to see Maine have one good annual pop culture convention and I know that there are a lot of people in New England who would attend BangPop if they knew about it and there was enough programming and other attractions to justify the drive. I understand that putting on a show is expensive, but if you start working on it well in advance, you can find economical and clever ways to attract more paying exhibitors and finagle more appealing guests. A month - or even two months - just isn't enough time to pull a show together.

Anyway, I personally made enough money to cover my meager expenses and on the way home from the shop, I stopped and bought Brandi a slightly-pricey Blu-Ray movie she'd had her eye on for a while. And tonight, I ordered a handful of comics trade paperbacks from In-Stock Trades. I haven't been able to buy anything new for a while, and was becoming a bit desperate for some new comics to read. The only thing I bought at the show was Marvel's Essential Killraven at half-price, and three old Man From Atlantis comic books for a buck.

Anyway, even though it was a fairly slow show, I'm still suffering a bit of post-con fatigue, and have had some back pain all day. This is usually about the time of night that I start working, but I don't think I can handle sitting in this chair too long. Maybe I'll go read some of that Killraven omnibus, and go to bed early.

Up Early

Actually, 5:30 AM is when I'm usually thinking about going to bed, but as I'm scheduled to appear at BangPop today, I actually went to bed around midnight. Four and a half hours later, I'm awake, and it looks like I'm going to remain that way.

In two hours I have to head to Bangor for BangPop. Maybe I'll get dressed, drive to the ATM, grab breakfast at McD's and be back home by the time the wife arises....

Sounds like a plan.

Flashback: Coast Con 91

This is a weird trip into the past. Roland Mann sent me a link to this video, shot for Misssissippi public television back in 1991 or 92, of me being interviewed at the Coast Con science fiction convention in Biloxi, Miss. I was working for a small independent comic book company called Alpha Productions at the time. I appear at about 5:15 into the clip. Several of my Alpha colleagues can be seen sitting next to me, including Leni Gronros, Bob Cram and Paul Pelletier (who now works for Marvel). My pal, author Sidney Williams is also interviewed.

Books In Boothbay

Next Saturday, July 10th, I'll be attending the Books in Boothbay: Maine's Summer Book Fair, in scenic Boothbay, Maine. Forty authors from around the state will attend to sign their books and discuss their writing. I'm looking forward to possibly meeting mystery writer Gerry Doyle, myself.

I expect to have copies of Femme Noir: The Dark City Diaries and Kolchak Tales: Monsters Among Us there to sign. If you're in the area, stop by!