Bastian, Black, Buckingham, Buzz, Calafiore And Case Coming To BCC 2019

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - September 10, 2019 - Celebrate the 20th annual Baltimore Comic-Con the weekend of October 18-20, 2019 at the Inner Harbor's Baltimore Convention Center. The Baltimore Comic-Con brings the Bs and Cs with the additions of Jeremy Bastian, Josh Blaylock, Mark Buckingham, Buzz, Jim Calafiore, and Richard Case to the 2019 event. Get your tickets now at the Baltimore Comic-Con website.

Jeremy Bastian is the creator and illustrator of Cursed Pirate Girl from BOOM! Studios and Archaia Comics. He is renowned for his delicate detail, whimsical characters, and strange creatures, all drawn at the actual print size with a very small brush!  Cursed Pirate Girl beckons to the 19th century in both subject and style. He has also contributed to Guild: Tink from Dark Horse Comics, Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard from BOOM! Studios/Archaia Comics, Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream from Locust Moon Press, and Under the Moons of Mars: New Adventures on Barsoom from Simon and Schuster. His Cursed Pirate Girl Annual was released by BOOM! Studios.

Josh Blaylock is a comic book creator from Chicago (and at one time, Cincinnati) and founder/publisher of Devil's Due Comics. This year has seen Josh appearing across the globe in major news coverage for the political anthologies   AOC and the Freshman Force: New Party, Who Dis, and Talk Bernie to Me. His work includes the supernatural action series Mercy Sparx (now in development for film), historical Armenian genocide thriller Operation Nemesis, The Bitcoin Comic Handbook - a guide to cryptocurrency, and How to Self-Publish Comics: Not Just Create Them - now required reading at Savannah College of Art and Design. 2020 sees the release of his newest original series ArkWorld. Devil's Due Comics, Blaylock's creator-owned publishing line of original properties, centers on supernatural action, horror, dark comedy, and sci-fi fringe. Also known for the legendary reboots of G.I. Joe, Voltron, and Micronauts in the early '00s, and for hundreds of other comics including Hack/Slash, Family Guy, and Child's Play, most recently, the company received global attention for its foray into political anthology comics with the launch of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and the Freshman Force, arguably the most talked about comic book on the planet in national media throughout the spring. The publisher was instrumental in influencing the comic book and pop culture industries as far back as 1998 with the first national 1980s retro streetwear line of its kind, Old Skool.

Mark Buckingham, who is best-known and most-celebrated for his work on the long-running Vertigo title Fables, began his career in 1990 working with Neil Gaiman on Miracleman from Eclipse Comics.  Working on such titles as 2000 AD, Hellblazer, and Shade, the Changing Man, he became a mainstay at DC Comics after taking over art duties on Fables with issue #6. His run on the popular imprint title has earned him four Eisner Awards, including Best New Series in 2003, Best Serialized Story in 2005 and 2006, and Best Artist/Penciler/Inker in 2007.

Buzz is a comic book artist known for his work on JSA, Atomika, Vampirella, Luna, X-Factor, Impulse, and many more.  A very popular and sought-after commission artist among the art collectors and the comic-book convention circuit, Buzz is also a multi-Emmy award-winning commercial artist who has worked with CBS, Fox, Los Angeles Lakers, and The United States Marine Corp. Buzz is currently working with comic art legend Neal Adams on several special projects for DC Comics and more.

In 30 years working in comics, Jim Calafiore has spent extended time at Valiant, DC, and Marvel, notably on Peter David's Aquaman, Judd Winnick's Exiles, Gotham Underground with Frank Tieri, Red Lanterns with Charles Soule, various Batman books, Deadpool, and Black Panther.  After a run on the critically-acclaimed Secret Six with Gail Simone, they reunited with for their creator-owned Kickstarter success Leaving Megalopolis, and volume 2 of the saga, Surviving Megalopolis. Volume 3 is in the works.

Richard Case has been drawing comics professionally for quite some time.  In addition to illustrating Grant Morrison's run on Doom Patrol, he has contributed to titles like Dr. Strange, Sandman, Shade the Changing Man, Sensational Spider-Man, and Batman '66. Most recently, he worked with Peter Milligan on a modern-day adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's Fall of the House of Usher, wherein the House in question is the White House...

"These 'Bs and Cs' are all A-gamers," said Marc Nathan, show promoter for the Baltimore Comic-Con. "They are all respected artists who have had a major impact on all corners of the industry. From fantastical to the political, their influence is unmistakable. Their fans won't want to miss them!"

Book Review: KRAMPUS, THE YULE LORD by Brom

KRAMPUS: THE YULE LORD by Brom (Harper Voyager, October 2012) Hardcover, 357 pages. ISBN # 006209565X / 9780062095657. Chesley Award 2013 Nominee for Best Interior Illustration.

Summary from the Goodreads website . . . . .

Set in Appalachia, Krampus the Yule Lord is a twisted fairytale about a failed West Virginia songwriter who gets ensnared on Christmas Eve in an eternal war between a not-so-saintly Saint Nick and his dark enemy Krampus, aka Black Peter, an ancient trickster demon.

Krampus the Yule Lord is Gregory Maguire (Wicked) meets Susanna Clarke (Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell) in the realm of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, as Clive Barker (Mr. B. Gone) works his dark sorcery from the shadows. Once again featuring Brom’s chillingly beautiful artwork throughout, Krampus the Yule Lord is a feast of wonder straight from the kitchen of Sweeney Todd.

My review on the Goodreads website . . . . .

I’m glad I didn't read the blurbs Goodreads provided before diving into this book. If I had, it would have set my expectations too high for the story to ever meet. McGuire, Clarke, Del Toro and Barker in the writing mix? How is that even possible? Perhaps that's why some reviewers didn't care for this at all. I loved it, and was pleasantly surprised. Prior to this I was only familiar with the fantastic Gothic art of Brom, and never realized he was also a writer.

This book is illustrated throughout and Brom's creations are startling, especially the muscle-bound warrior representation of Santa Claus. Krampus has never looked more frightening, while at the same time displaying a streak of mischievousness. He's a party animal who just wants to celebrate the winter solstice and the Yule traditions. He found himself in competition for attention with Santa Claus and his allegedly charitable gift-giving at Christmas-time and lost that fight, removing him from history and the public's memories. Actually, Santa Claus imprisoned Krampus in a cave and left him to rot for centuries.

Brom gives both characters Norse origins and links to both Odin and Loki. I can't tell more without spoilers. In Brom's version Santa Claus is the favored of the two by God. Santa's not entirely on the up and up according to Krampus, and has a devilish history of evil doings. However, Santa amuses God and she permits him to continue with his yearly project, using her sword-wielding angels to protect him and cover up his dirty deeds.

Krampus' escape, revival, and his attempts to get rid of Santa Claus and replace him with a return to the pagan rites of the winter solstice is at the root of this novel. However, it wouldn't be as compelling a read without the insertion of some human drama.

Jesse Walker is the main protagonist in the primary plot thread. He's a fascinating character, and one that is easy to empathize with. He's a struggling guitarist singer-songwriter trying to establish himself and make a living to support his wife and daughter. Unfortunately, he's stuck in a poor West Virginia community nestled in mountainous Appalachia and has to settle for playing at bars, sometimes only for scraps. He lacks the self-confidence to travel to Nashville for a try-out. He supplements his lowly income as a drug messenger for the local criminal kingpin, whose influence reaches as far as the local sheriff's office. Plus, Jesse's wife has left him and is shacking up with the same sheriff.

Everything changes on the night Santa Claus and Krampus interrupt Jesse's life.

Krampus, The Yule Lord is at heart an entertaining accounting of Jesse's struggles to reform, re-unite with his family and move forward. There are well-developed characters throughout the novel. I took my time reading this and savored the chapters. There are great battles, confrontations, heartfelt discussions and humor.

The ending is satisfactory, and Brom even manages to get in a few subtle digs at Christmas traditions, religion, the power of mythology and more. Recommended.

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Baltimore Comic-Con Adds Braun, Fletcher, Moline, Sears, Stelfreeze, Tomasi

 

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - September 6, 2019 - You don't want to miss a celebration of comics at the 20th annual Baltimore Comic-Con October 18-20, 2019 at the Inner Harbor's Baltimore Convention Center. The Baltimore Comic-Con is happy to announce the additions of Russ Braun, Brenden Fletcher, Karl Moline, Bart Sears, Brian Stelfreeze, and Peter J. Tomasi to the 2019 event. Buy tickets to the event now at the Baltimore Comic-Con website.

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Russ Braun has been drawing comics for 30 years, with a 7-year break for a stint with Walt Disney Feature Animation.   He's worked for most of the major comics publishers on everything from Batman, Swamp Thing, and Fables for DC/Vertigo to Son of Satan and Where Monsters Dwell for Marvel. He is perhaps best known for his frequent collaborations with Garth Ennis, on their creator-owned Jimmy's Bastards, The Night Witches, Sixpack, and Dogwelder, and particularly on The Boys, now a hit TV series on Amazon. You can find him on Facebook and Instagram at russ.braun.589 or at his website russ-braun.com.

Brenden Fletcher is a New York Times bestselling writer of comic books and animation. His current projects include the Eisner Award-nominated series Isola and Motor Crush for Image Comics,  as well as the upcoming Robotech comic series relaunch for Titan. Previous work includes DC Comics' Batgirl of Burnside, the YA mystery/adventure series Gotham Academy, and Entertainment Weekly's "Best New Series" of 2015, Black Canary. Brenden contributed the acclaimed Flash story to the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning Wednesday Comics, co-created the Power Rangers: Pink mini-series for BOOM! Studios, and contributed to Ghost in the Shell: Global Neural Network and the Attack on Titan Anthology for Kodansha. He currently lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and two cats.

Karl Moline has been a professional comic book artist working for all of the major comics publishers over the last twenty years. He is best known for his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer  and co-creating Fray with Joss Whedon, but has also worked on titles such as Superboy-Convergence, Avengers Arena, Avengers Academy, Rogue, Route 666, Daredevil 2099, Loners, Seekers of the Weird, Hulk Smash, Avengers, B.P.R.D., and Spider-Man Unlimited, among others. He lives near Tampa, Florida and likes cats and magic.

Bart Sears has accomplished much in his years working in the creative arts. His works have been published in every major comics publishers,  many smaller press publishers, and he even had a running feature in Wizard Magazine on drawing instruction called "Brutes and Babes". He designed action figures and packaging at Hasbro and ToyBiz, and has served in leadership roles in comics companies like CrossGen and his own Ominous Press. His recent work can be seen on covers for titles such as Valiant's Rai, Dynamite Entertainment's John Carter: Warlord of Mars and Turok, and DC Comics' Deathstroke.

Brian Stelfreeze, one of the original Gaijin Studios members, is a multi-talented artist, with experience and credits penciling, inking, coloring, painting, and even writing.  His comic book covers have gained him much attention and lauding, and his run painting covers on DC Comics' Shadow of the Bat for over 50 issues is noteworthy by itself. Brian's creative output can be found on BOOM! Studios' Day Men, Marvel Comics' Black Panther, and be sure to pick up BOOM! Studios' The Signature Art of Brian Stelfreeze to get a definitive look at the works of his publishing career.

Peter Tomasi is a writer and editor best known for his work at DC Comics. He began his career in 1993, editing such titles as  Green Lantern, the Batman titles, Aquaman, Hawkman, and JSA before being promoted to Senior Editor in 2003. In 2007, Tomasi decided to move from editing to writing full-time and, in 2010, took over writing Batman and Robin with issue #20. Since the launch of the New 52, Tomasi has helmed the new volumes of both Batman and Robin and Green Lantern Corps. His The Bridge: How the Roeblings Connected Brooklyn to New York from Abrams is a 2019 Ringo Awards Nominee for Best Non-fiction Comic Work.

"These guys are all-stars," said Marc Nathan, show promoter for the Baltimore Comic-Con. "These guests have worked on significant comics across the industry, and it will be hard for their fans to make tough decisions as to what to bring to get signed in October. We can't wait to have them to the show!"