Kickstarter/Indiegogo Spotlight: SEPARATION, a hard cover art book by Tyler Kirkham

Art books are just a wonderful thing to add to your collection.  Whether you're an artist using it for reference and inspiration, or just appreciate the work, they're always good to have around.  This week's feature project comes from great artist Tyler Kirkham.  His first art book, Separation, is sure to be another great addition, so head over to the Kickstarter to make sure it happens.

Greg Capullo, Neal Adams, Mark Bagley, Kenneth Rocafort, David Marquez Among Top Comics Creators Scheduled To Attend Wizard World Austin Comic Con, November 22-24

Miguel Sepulveda, Tyler Kirkham, Phil Ortiz, Dennis O'Neil, Mike McKone, Kody Chamberlain, Rob Guillory Also Headline More Than 125 In Artist Alley At Austin Convention Center

NEW YORK and AUSTIN, Texas – Eisner Award Hall of Famer Neal Adams (“Batman,” “Green Lantern”), Greg Capullo (“Spawn,” “Haunt”), Mark Bagley (“Fantastic Four,” “JLA”), Kenneth Rocafort (“Superman,” “Action Comics”) and David Marquez (“Ultimate Spider-Man,” “Fantastic Four: Season One”) headline the nearly 125 comics artists and writers scheduled to attend Wizard World Austin Comic Con, November 22-24 at Austin Convention Center. It is the eighth and final event in the 2013 series produced by Wizard World, Inc. (OTCBB: WIZD) and will also feature a top-drawer collection of top celebrities and a variety of activities, exhibitors and special attractions.

In addition to Eisner Hall of Famer Stan Lee, who will appear on Saturday, Nov. 23, in the celebrity area, special guests at the Austin Comic Con Artist Alley will include Miguel Sepulveda (“Green Lantern,” Thor”), Tyler Kirkham (“Superboy,” “X-Men”), Phil Ortiz (“The Simpsons,” “Muppet Babies”), Dennis O'Neil (“The Flash,” “Hulk”), Mike McKone (“Astonishing X-Men,” “Avengers Academy”), Kody Chamberlain (“Sweets,” “Punks”), Rob Guillory (“Chew”), “Zombie King” Arthur Suydam (“Marvel Zombies,” “Army of Darkness”), Michael Golden (“Hulk,” “Daredevil”), Greg Horn (“Guardians of the Galaxy,” “The Avengers”) and Joe Eisma (“Morning Glories,” “Existence 3.0”).

The roster includes two Eisner Hall of Famers in Lee and Adams, another Eisner Award winner in Guillory and four nominees in Eisma, Marquez, Matthew Sturges (“The Witching Hour,” “Doctor Who”) and Billy Tucci (“Birds of Prey,” “Sgt. Rock”).

Additionally, all full price attendees will receive a free copy of the Exclusive Variant Cover of The Walking Dead #1 comic, available only at Wizard World Austin Comic Con. The Wizard World artist to draw the cover will be announced soon.

Norman Reedus of “The Walking Dead,” icon William Shatner, WWE® Superstar John Cena® and “Quantum Leap” star Scott Bakula are among the top celebrities scheduled to attend the event. The standout roster will also include “The Karate Kid” Ralph Macchio, Bruce Campbell of Evil Dead, Laurie Holden, Michael Rooker and Chandler Riggs of “The Walking Dead” of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “The Incredible Hulk” Lou Ferrigno and many others.

Wizard World Comic Con events bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, graphic novels, comics, toys, video gaming, television, sci-fi, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more. Wizard World Austin Comic Con show hours are Friday, Nov. 22, 3-8 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 23, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 24, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

A first-class lineup of topical programming takes place all three days at the event, with celebrity Q&A's, comics-themed sessions, costume contest, movie screenings, evening parties and more. Sunday, Nov. 24, is also Kids Day, with an array of activities and programming specially designed for the younger Wizard World fans.

Austin Comic Con is also the place for cosplay, with fans young and old showing off their best costumes throughout the event. Fans dressed as every imaginable character – and some never before dreamed – will roam the convention floor, often stopping by the Cosplay Stage, the ideal place to see and be seen.

For more on the 2013 Wizard World Austin Comic Con, visit http://www.wizardworld.com/home-tx.html.

About Wizard World:

Wizard World (OTCBB: WIZD) produces Comic Cons and pop culture conventions across North America that celebrate graphic novels, comic books, movies, TV shows, gaming, technology, toys and social networking. The events often feature celebrities from movies and TV, artists and writers, and events such as premieres, gaming tournaments, panels, and costume contests.

The full event schedule can be found at www.wizardworld.com.

Wizard World 2013 Schedule
November 22-24 – Wizard World Austin Comic Con

Wizard World 2014 Schedule
January 24-26 – Wizard World Portland Comic Con
February 7-9 – Wizard World New Orleans Comic Con
March 7-9 – Wizard World Sacramento Comic Con
March 28-30 – Wizard World Louisville Comic Con
April 4-6 – Wizard World St. Louis Comic Con
May 2-4 – Wizard World Minneapolis Comic Con
May 30-June 1 – Wizard World Atlanta Comic Con
June 19-22 – Wizard World Philadelphia Comic Con
August 1-3 – Wizard World San Antonio Comic Con
August 21-24 – Wizard World Chicago Comic Con
September 12-14 – Wizard World Richmond Comic Con
September 26-28 – Wizard World Nashville Comic Con
October 11-12 – Wizard World Austin Comic Con
October 31-November 2 – Wizard World Ohio Comic Con
November 7-9 – Wizard World Tulsa Comic Con

Screwed #1

Screwed follows a young woman who awakens in a hospital covered in scars as if she had been taken apart and put back together again; her mind as fragmented as her body. As she tries to piece together what’s happened to her, she will find many enemies are after her but she’ll also find a valuable ally in FBI Agent Erin Scott.

The entourage of monsters in Zenescope’s arsenal is already impressive enough, but lucky for us, it’s still growing.  This time we get to see the classic nuts and bolts tale of Frankenstein’s monster get a totally new incarnation in Screwed.  Thanks to the creative minds of Tyler Kirkham and Keith Thomas, this feature creature is nothing like you’ve seen before.

Over the years we’ve seen plenty retellings of our favorite Hollywood monsters, but this book brings a whole new spark to the story we know (I couldn’t help the pun, don’t hate ).  Not only is our front man a front woman this time, but it’s set in a completely modern, and very urban setting.  Right off the bat, we’re thrown right into the chaos that this poor soul finds herself surrounded by and the pace never slows down.  Starting on a strong foundation in just this first issue, I can only imagine what’s bound to hit next.

With such intensity throughout the whole issue, the art has to keep up or chance losing that energy the story has.  It begs for just the right type of backdrop and in-your-face action sequences to set the tone, and David Miller gives us what we deserve.  With the dark and grit necessary in some places, and the brightness that leaps off the page in others, he provides a great visual layout for us.

Most of us can’t help but love our monster stories, but Screwed gives us new reason to love the monster Mary Shelley first gave us.  I’m pretty much sold on this with how well it’s starting off, and long time Zenescope fans can look forward to another great series.  This is one I’d say has a lot of promise already and should be on your grab list.

For more information on Screwed or other Zenescope titles, check out Zenescope.

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.

Screwed

Kickstarter of the Week: The Family Troll

The Family Troll is a heart warming tale of an abandoned young troll who blesses the lives of a young couple in the most amazing way!

This is a story book (OGN) written by Jill Kirkham and drawn by Tyler Kirkham (DC comics' Green Lantern Corps, New Guardians, Red Hood) and is on Kickstarter at the moment: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1561924987/the-family-troll-picture-book

It is loosely based on Tyler and Jill's real life experiences as they have struggled to have a child of their own. It takes place in a fantasy world, and follows the lives of a young couple as they have the very same struggle.

They choose to consult a wizard in the hopes of receiving a magic spell or potion to solve their problem. The Wizard agrees, but only if they will watch over his newly rescued, adopted baby troll. The Wizard must travel the land to gather the ingredients for the spell and cannot take care of this infant troll himself.

The couple raises the troll over the course of a year and grow very close to him. He blesses their lives in numerous ways, and also ends up helping the couple forget their worries and live life to the fullest.

This blissful year eventually leads the couple to even have a child of their own!

They end up adopting the troll and live happily ever after!

The story seems simple, but it surely is more then just that, just based on the endeauvours of the Kirkham's themselves.

Lavishly illustrated in between Kirkham's full-time DC Comics exclusive, this fantasy tale is surely to touch the hearts of both children and adults alike.

In order to raise both awareness of this truly unique venture as well as trying to reach new targets in funding, Tyler Kirkham has promised a Custom Sketch for ALL Current Pledgers who will add either $50 (for a torso) or $100 (for a full body) to their current pledges. This is a true feat since normally Tyler will only sketch at conventions and is now enabling this new opportunity to fans of his artwork!

 

Con Recap: Wizard World Ohio Part 1

Like any con that I attend, this one started out with travel. I am thrilled to report that my 5 hour drive to the Columbus area was uneventful. Pretty exciting start, huh? Don't worry. I promise it gets better.

My first stop was to check into my hotel room. Now, since we're still pretty small, we went with a pretty small priced hotel. Someday though, we'll be among the awesome who stay at convention hotels. Luckily, I don't mind a bit of adventure when it comes to staying in a hotel. Besides, quite often I walk away with a story to tell. This con choice? The Microtel on Stringtown Road in Grove City. Yep, Stringtown Road. I think I giggled every single time the gps told me to get off there. It's just such a fun name. I figured a fun name was a good start for what would hopefully shape up to be a fun weekend.

Getting to the hotel was a bit of a hassle. The directions said to go past the hotel and make a u-turn. The only problem? U-turns weren't allowed at the next intersection so I ended up pulling onto the street, into a shopping center, driving all the way around the shopping center, coming back out onto the street, turning onto the correct road and then into the hotel. Whew! Check in was a breeze, even if the girl at the desk didn't seem to really love her job. She wasn't rude, just sort of bored. I managed to get everything inside and down to the room...opened the door to find...1970's porno room! Woo!


These pictures honestly don't do it justice. It was just beyond weird to me that the mirrors were placed like that. Ok, it's kind of weird to have a giant mirrored wall to begin with.

After getting over the shock of the mirrors, I headed down to the convention center. My directions were pretty clear which as y'all know means absolutely nothing when the very exit you're supposed to take no longer exists! I tried following signs that said to convention parking..that didn't help. Luckily, my phone has a built in gps app and it saved my buns! I even got super lucky and found parking in the tiny lot that was right next to the entrance!

After parking, I headed in and stood around  hung out with other fine folks waiting to get their press badges. Right on time, they were handed out and even came with an offer of an introduction to any celebrities and artists that I might want to talk to. It felt really good to be appreciated for what I was there to do.

Once I received my press badge, I got to hang out with two of the volunteers and an on site security guard while I waited for the doors to open. It turns out that the security guard was from Flint. We talked a bit about what it was like and had a great time joking around until it was time for me to get to work.

First stop? Zenescope. I didn't mean to. I'm not addicted to them. Really. Actually, I stopped by because Keith Thomas was standing at their table. If you're not familiar with Keith, you should be. Not only is he a great guy but he wrote one of my current favorites, Cricket for Big Dog Ink. Cricket is a one-shot that should be turned into a mini-series with Keith at the helm. Seriously, it's good stuff.

Tyler Kirkham with the awesome Keith Thomas. Watch out for these two!

Since he was standing there, I stopped by and said hi to him and the Zenescope guys. After some chitchat, it was time for me to really get to work so business cards in hand, I worked my way around the convention floor.

This convention is much smaller than others that I've attended but that didn't prevent it from having some seriously quality people there. I confess to sighing longingly at the Doctor Who store and finding it very cool that there was a booth/table where you could go and they would make you fangs that were quality and would last a lifetime if you took care of them.

Since the con was pretty small, I actually managed to cover all of the floor and about half of artist alley on Friday night. I even had the chance to stop by and say hi to friends like, Dirk Manning (author of Nightmare World).

At the end of Day 1, my feet were tired and I was tired from a long day, but content. I wrapped it all up by being brave and grabbing some White Castle for dinner before relaxing on the bed at the hotel. Why brave? I haven't had White Castle since our whole house got food poisoning in 1996 from some frozen burgers gone bad. All in all, I'll give them an "it's ok." They're not my favorite, but they were ok.

Make sure y'all come back tomorrow where I'll fill you in on the rest of the convention and share lots of pictures that I stole totally took with permission from Keith and Blair.

Geek-o-Rama received press passes for the purpose of this con writeup. All thoughts, comments, fan girling and porn room photos belong to the author. All other pictures belong to their respective cameras.