KATIE COOK To Deliver 2018 RINGO AWARDS Keynote Address

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - July 11, 2018 - The 2018 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards will be presented at the Ringo Awards Banquet and Ceremony in conjunction with the 2018 Baltimore Comic-Con on the evening of Saturday, September 29, 2018. The final ballot is now open to comic book creative professionals to submit their votes. A limited number of tickets are available to the public to attend the Banquet and Award Ceremony and spend a fun evening, share a drink, and enjoy a meal with the comic book professional community.

Ringo Awards tickets include a full cocktail hour (cash bar), a full service dinner (featuring a Baltimore crab cake), the awards ceremony, and a gift bag, and are now available for $125. Please visit our website to purchase with credit card: http://baltimorecomiccon.com/tickets/

The Ringo Awards Committee is proud to announce the addition of Katie Cook to the 2018 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards ceremony as the Keynote Address speaker.

Katie Cook is a comic artist and writer that has been in the industry for a while. She'd list just how long here, but isn't that a faux pas of admitting that she's old? I mean you can always Wikipedia her birthday if you want to get stuck on this topic. Why are we still talking about this?

She is the creator of the comic Nothing Special on LINE WEBTOON, an all-ages adventure about a girl, a boy with fairy wings, and a dead Radish. It's her favorite thing and you should read it. Katie also wrote and drew the webcomic Gronk: A Monster's Story, which lost several awards but is still delightful.

In mainstream comics, Katie has carved out quite the little gallery of titles she's worked on... Did you ever watch that documentary about this fascinating woman in NYC that puts on a bizarre mix of costume jewelry and eclectic clothes every day? Iris? That's Katie's career... A little over here at IDW, a little over there at LucasFilm Press, who thought Katie was a good idea for a Sex Criminals cover, oh look now she's drawing Spider-Man? A mixed bag of adorable all over this place.

Katie spent several years as one of the primary writers on IDW's My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and has also done projects with Marvel, BOOM! Studios, and more (she apologizes for referring to some of you as "and more"). She's also illustrated several Star Wars children's books for Disney LucasFilm Press, and created artwork for the Disney Wonderground Gallery. Artist and writer! Double threat! (She thinks a triple threat in comics would be when someone is also an excellent editor, but any editor that has ever worked with her will attest that she thinks spell-check is something from Harry Potter.) Her mother thinks she is funny. Sometimes. Maybe.

"Mike Wieringo once said, 'I just try to keep things fun. I like to do fun comics' and that's the attitude that I love in comics," said Cook. "It's my own goal as well... Comics are so many things to so many people, but for me, they are fun. I am thrilled that I was asked to be a part of the Ringo Awards this year as the Keynote speaker, and I hope to get a chance to talk about the things I love in this industry that are bright and wonderful to me and make you to sit in a room and listen to me talk about them. I swear, if I see you get up during it to sneak to the bar, I will call you out - just try me Andy Price. Also, polite applause is mandatory."

"Katie was my first and only choice to be our Keynote speaker this year," said Marc Nathan, Baltimore Comic-Con promoter. "She's witty and entertaining, and I'm sure will give a great speech."

Voting on the 2018 Final Ballot is restricted to the comic book industry creative community -- anyone involved in and credited with creating comics professionally. Don't miss the presentation of final ballot winners, Fan-Only Favorites, Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement and Dick Giordano Humanitarian Awards, and the Mike Wieringo Spirit Award on the evening of Saturday, September 29th, 2018!