Monday, June 9, 2008

HEROESCON :: Event Schedule Roundup!

Another late-night blog post! That's what conventioneering is all about! I'll cut out the chatter and get to posting: presenting the last of the additions (at least the ones that will get into the program book) to our HeroesCon 08 Event Schedule:

COVERING COMICS: Criticism, Reportage, and Gossip Room 219
The digital age has allowed a deeper understanding of comics criticism and reporting than has ever been possible before. Tom Spurgeon of the Comics Reporter moderates this discussion featuring some of the leading lights on the comics journalism scene, including Heidi MacDonald of The Beat, Tim Hodler of the Comics Comics magazine and blog, Matt Brady of Newsarama, and Johanna Draper-Carlson of Comics Worth Reading. From industry reporting and journalism to criticism and good ole gossip, this is sure to be a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the comics news!

STATE OF THE INDUSTRY DISCUSSION Room 207
The Comics Reporter's Tom Spurgeon moderates what's sure to be one of the most fascinating conversations of the weekend, in this roundtable discussion featuring artist and Image publisher Erik Larsen, DC Executive Editor Dan Didio, artist and DRAW! MAGAZINE editor-in-chief Mike Manley, writer/artist Jimmy Palmiotti (COUNTDOWN, JONAH HEX), and writer and Boom! Studios Editor-In-Chief Mark Waid.

THE SILVER AGE OF COMICS Room 216
It's hard to imagine a period in comics history filled with more creativity and experimentation than the Silver Age--and who better to lead a discussion on it than Roy Thomas, former Marvel editor-in-chief and current ALTER EGO editor. Roy is joined by GHOST RIDER co-creator Gary Friedrich, HULK #181 penciller Herb Trimpe, MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE penciller Ron Wilson, and others to be announced!

THE NEW ART COMICS Room 219A
From critical favorite hits like MAGGOTS and POWR MASTRS, to prominence in influential anthologies like KRAMER'S ERGOT, "art" or "abstract" or "out" comics are pushing the boundaries of the avant garde in comics. Join Tom Spurgeon of the Comics Reporter as he sits down with Picturebox publisher Dan Nadel, KRAMER'S ERGOT editor Sammy Harkham and publisher Alvin Buenaventura for a frank discussion of this leading edge of art in comics!

DISNEY'S KINGDOM COMICS PRESENTS: HOLLYWOOD AND THE GRAPHIC NOVEL Room 217A
Join recently announced Disney's Kingdom Comics co-heads Ahmet Zappa and Christian Beranek as they discuss what it takes to navigate between graphic novels to film and back again.

COLLABORATION AND STORYTELLING IN TODAY'S COMICS Room 217BCD
Super panel moderator Tom Spurgeon conducts this chat with a who's who of artists and writers, featuring Darwyn Cooke (DC NEW FRONTIER), Matt Fraction (INVINCIBLE IRON MAN), Jimmy Palmiotti (COUNTDOWN), Cliff Chiang (GREEN ARROW & BLACK CANARY), and Barry Kitson (AMAZING SPIDER-MAN). From collaboration with other creators, editors, or big company-wide crossovers, it can be tough to get your creative vision out there sometimes. This is sure to be a great discussion by some really entertaining creators!

NOT THE USUAL GANG OF IDIOTS: EC COMICS PANEL
Part 1: Kurtzman for Beginners

In the first half of this look at two of EC Comics most important creators, we present a Harvey Kurtzman retrospective that's a veritable smorgasbord of presentations and events, including an overview of Kurtzman’s career by Thought Balloonist blogger Craig Fischer, and a close reading of “3-Dimensions!” a MAD story by Kurtzman and Wally Wood, by MIDNIGHT SUN cartoonist Ben Towle. Plus: a sneak peak at the new Kurtzman COMPLETE HUMBUG collection, forthcoming from Fantagraphics!

NOT THE USUAL GANG OF IDIOTS: EC COMICS PANEL
Part 2: A Chat With Al Feldstein (and Friends)

Ben Towle and Craig Fischer host an in-depth interview with Al Feldstein, EC artist and writer and MAD MAGAZINE editor extraordinaire! Along for the ride is a pair of celebrity funsters—FRED THE CLOWN and FIN FANG FOUR cartoonist Roger Langridge and CUL DE SAC comic stripper Richard Thompson—ready to roast and grill Feldstein about The Lighter Side of Editing America’s #1 Humor Magazine!

KIDS LOVE COMICS! Room 216
Featuring "Kids Love Comics" creators Jimmy Gownley, (AMELIA RULES), John Gallagher (BUZZBOY), and Josh Elder (MAIL ORDER NINJA), plus Michele Gorman, the Teen Services Manager at Charlotte's amazing ImaginOn youth library, and the author of GETTING GRAPHIC: COMICS FOR KIDS. This is sure to be a fun and informative panel for kids and parents alike, with some of the country's best all-ages cartoonists!

Holy Mackerel, those are some sweet panels. For all the times and days, check them out on our Event Schedule page--they'll be the ones in red.

8 comments:

Shawn Daughhetee said...

Wait, Ahmet Zappa is going to be at the convention?

Rich Barrett said...

I somehow missed the fact that Al Feldstein was going to be here. Those two EC panels sound fantastic! Especially since I'm about to finish The 10 Cent Plague and am anxious to start reading some old classic EC stuff.

Dustin Harbin said...

Better study up, Rich--Ben Towle and Craig Fischer are no joke!

Shawn, Ahmet is indeed coming in, I believe just for this panel! But he's not on the guest list per se. Fancy, huh?

Ben Towle said...

Come one! Come all!

Also, it wasn't 100% confirmed when the blurb was getting written up, but it looks like we'll be displaying some original pages from MAD and VAULT OF HORROR, by Jack Davis and Al Feldstein himself respectively!

Rich Barrett said...

Ben, I think I just peed a little.

Dustin, can I say "pee" on this family friendly blog?

Dustin Harbin said...

Ulp! I think I pooped my pants--what did you say, Rich?

Andy Mansell said...

Ben--
Can't wait for your panels. Dustin has named me panel-wrangler (he won't pay me, but i get a snazzy title-- pretty crafty!)so if there is anything I can do for you let me know.

Question-- I was just perusing an old IJoA and read a fascinating article about Historiography in the comics by Benjamin F Towle-- is that you?
If so wow!! Are you published in any other journals.

And RICH-- if you haven't read Midnight Sun-- Ben's awesome graphic novel-- please do so....I now want to go back and read it again and look for EC influences....

Ben Towle said...

Thanks for the recommendation, Andy! I'll of course be hawking "Midnight Sun" at the con...

Yeah, that article is by me as you probably deduced not just by my oddball last name, but also because of the historical theme. (I'm currently working on a GN for Hyperion Books with Jason Lutes about Ameila Earhart... So I guess I'm officially the "historical comics guy")

I very occasionally write stuff about comics. That article was pretty much my Master's thesis from when I was a student at SCAD. I've written a few reviews of books, gallery exhibits, etc. as well, but that's (I think) the only long article I've had in a print magazine.

Glad to know you're the panel-wrangler! I've talked with Dustin about it, but I think the only thing we'll need is we may need to round up a volunteer or two to watch Roger Langridge and Al Feldstein's tables during the panel... but we can coordinate that when the time comes.