Asbury Park Comic Con is this Saturday

Curls Studio has had such a great time at the past two Asbury Park Comic Con events, that we decided to exhibit for the third edition. This time around the event is taking place at the much larger Convention Hall, directly on the boardwalk on the Jersey shore. The organizers have also added a cosplay contest and panel discussions to the festivities. Each event gets bigger and better!

There are some really great guests including Bob Camp (co-creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show), Al Jaffee (MAD magazine), Dean Haspiel (HBO's Bored to Death), Stephanie Buscema (My Little Pony cover artist), Michael Uslan (executive producer of many Batman films), Brian O'Halloran (Dante Hicks from Kevin Smith's Clerks films), Evan Dorkin (Beasts of Burden), the guys from AMC's Comic Book Men, and many more!

Tickets are available online thru March 29 for $12, but if you pay at the door they will be $15. Also I just found out that parking fees do not go in effect until April, so hooray for free parking in the entire town of Asbury Park!

We hope to see you this Saturday, March 29, 2013 from 10AM to 6PM.

Trip to U.S. Library of Congress

Yesterday I was able to take a part in a small group tour of the U.S. Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. We were introduced to a treasure trove of original art being preserved in the Prints and Photographs Division followed by a gathering of selected material in the Serial and Government Publications Division.

We saw some pieces from the Small Press Expo collection, including Jim Rugg and the wonderful 2012 poster illustrated by Becky Dreistadt. (Speaking of which, my SPX banner art is also in the collection). We also saw the first appearance of Spider-Man in Amazing Fantasy #15 comic book plus original art by Thomas Nast, Garry Trudeau, Peggy Bacon, Rose O'Neill, Eric Drooker, Charles Vess, Rube Goldberg, and more!

I learned about how the material is preserved from aging as best as possible and how the librarians reference the content. In the photo above you will see how a protective box can be destroyed by florescent light damage, keep in mind that this is an acid-free box. Digital Conversion Specials are hard to work to properly scan and photograph the material as well.

Here is the hallway of over 14,000 Herblock pieces that are achieved. They also have around 4,000 New Yorker cartoons and tons more!

Now Magic Bullet #6 (Washington, D.C.'s free comics newspaper) has been added to the collection at the U.S. Library of Congress! You can also get your hands on a physical issue at one of the locations listed here. Hurry before all 5,000 copies are gone!

A lot of people don't realize you can make reservations with the librarians to view up to 15 objects per day. Thanks to the librarians for the tour and selecting materials for viewing. It was an experience I will not forget.

More photos can be found in the Curls Studio Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151470211282381.1073741825.50763422380&type=1

Magic Bullet #6 Hitting the Streets

Magic Bullet #6 (Washington, D.C.'s free comics newspaper, published by D.C. Conspiracy) went to print last Tuesday. Big thanks to Joe Carabeo who picked up all 5,000 direct from the printer in Maryland last Wednesday.

Joe commented, "who needs to be able to see behind them when they drive?" As you can see, the vehicle was loaded with bullets, Magic Bullet that is.

Currently the newspaper has been distributed with good coverage in Virginia. There will be more locations to come. I plan on meeting up with a bunch of folks at Asbury Park Comic Con in New Jersey (March 30) and they will help distribute at MoCCA Arts Festival in New York (April 6-7) and at more locations up north. A handful of Magic Bullet #6 contributors will be attending SPACE in Columbus, Ohio (April 13-14) and they plan to bring the issue there.

Don't forget, on Free Comic Book Day (May 4) we will be scattered at nine different locations in three states, plus the District of Columbia. This will be our big day everyone attending the event can meet in-person.

You can see the complete listing of where you can pick up a free issue of Magic Bullet #6 here at the bottom right column.

We are urging people to send photos or Instagram images of Magic Bullet #6 found in its natural habitat. Here are a few examples:

Our contributors will be hitting the streets hard to make it more widely distributed. If you are a shop owner or venue and want Magic Bullet #6 in your store, please reach out to us. It doesn't cost a thing to help distribute Magic Bullet #6.

Thanks,

Carolyn

Guests on MOKA Podcast #97

Troy-Jeffrey Allen, John Holmes, and Derek Scarzella invited Joe Carabeo and I to be guests on their podcast, The Menagerie of Kick-Assery.

For their 97th episode the theme was film director Sam Raimi. Take a listen at http://wearemoka.blogspot.com/2013/03/mokasst-097.html.

And if you enjoyed this podcast, please check out Joe and I's podcast, The Carolyn & Joe Show. Our theme this week also related to Sam Raimi, but with a spoiler discussion about his new film, Oz the Great and Powerful with special guests Kuni Ohi and Brian Sarvis: http://carolynandjoeshow.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/were-off-to-see-the-wizard/

Be sure to listen to the MOKA podcast during the month of April. Many of their guests will be Magic Bullet contributors. Thank you MOKA for supporting the Magic Bullet crew as well as advertising in Magic Bullet #6.

Magic Bullet #6 Cover and Contributor List

I am pleased to present to you the cover of Magic Bullet #6. Magic Bullet is Washington, D.C.’s free comics newspaper published by 
D.C. Conspiracy, a comics creators’ collective in the capital region. 

Art Hondros illustrated the cover art and El Jefe Design was tapped to create our new nameplate/masthead. S. G. Artley did the color center spread. The issue is schedule to go to print tomorrow with a run of 5,000 and will be hitting the streets shortly. Be sure to look for it around town and pick up this free publication.

Here are the contributors who made the final cut for print publication in Magic Bullet #6:

Henry and Jacob Warrenfeltz
Jason E. Axtell
Adam McGovern, Diana Leto
Nick Liappis
Rob Anderson, Dafu Yu, E.T. Collman, Paul Allor
Matt Rawson, Derek Scarzella, Troy-Jeffrey Allen
Michael Brace
R.M. Rhodes, Evan Keeling
Rafer Roberts
Arsia Rozegar
Kevin Panetta, Mike Short
Eric Gordon
Matt Dembicki
Dale Rawlings
John Shine
S. G. Artley
Jeff McClelland, Kurt Belcher, Jonathan Brandon Sawyer, Tom Ziuko
Andrew Cohen
Josh Kramer
Joe Sutliff
JTW
M. Jacob Alvarez
Sean Fahey, Ben Passmore, Kel Nuttall
Lauren Silberman
Michael Cowgill
William Brown
Joe Carabeo, Carolyn Belefski

We received many submissions and had to fit advertising along with a budgeted page count. Thank you to all who submitted and we urge you to submit your comics to be considered in future editions.

More information will be released soon about the digital download, which will be available for $0.99.

I plan to bring several bundles with me to Asbury Park Comic Con on March 30. We will also be distributing Magic Bullet to local establishments in DC, MD, and VA (places like book stores, restaurants, theaters, tattoo parlors, record shops, etc.).

May 4, 2013 is Free Comic Book Day and Magic Bullet #6 contributors are scheduled to appear at many local comic shops. Be sure to stop by and meet us in-person. Please refer to the graphic above to see who will be appear and the nine locations we'll be at.

I will also be promoting Magic Bullet at Capicons on June 16 (Father's Day) at the Dunn Loring Volunteer Fire Department. We'll be distributing Magic Bullet #6 for free at all Curls Studio tour stops in 2013.

Stay 'tooned for more information about distribution of Magic Bullet #6 as well as details about advertising and comic submission for the next issue. If you are interested in advertising and comic submission guidelines, connecting with us, or attending our meetings, visit magicbulletcomics.com for information.

It has been a pleasure editing this edition of Magic Bullet. I hope you get the opportunity to find it and enjoy reading it. May the hunt begin!

XOXO,
Carolyn