Free Comic Book Day!

It's here once again - the day that's Christmas for geeks, and also a great chance to introduce comics to new readers and make a new generation of fans.

Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday (May 4), and is a national event that provides retailers a lot of awesome comics, from a variety of publishers, that they can give away for free.There are three Spokane area stores participating this year - Merlyns, The Comic Book Shop, and Hastings.

Local artists will be at Merlyns both Saturday and Sunday, drawing free sketches for kids. There will be plenty of other events going on at the store both days, including the book release party for local creator Manny Trembley's new all-ages graphic novel Martin Monsterman!

Manny will be extra busy this weekend, as in addition to the release party, he'll be one of the artists drawing free sketches at Merlyns on Saturday, and will be at Tafuri Studios in the Garland district on Friday, drawing free monster sketches for their First Friday event.

For more information, or to RSVP, you can check out the Facebook event pages:

• First Friday at Tafuri Studios!
• Free Comic Book Day at Merlyns!
• Martin Monsterman Book Release Party!

If you're not local, be sure to check out the FCBD website for a participating retailer in your area, and we hope to see everyone else this weekend!

Stumptown Comics Fest!

If you're going to be in the Portland, OR area this coming weekend, the Stumptown Comics Fest is the place to be. This will be the 10th year for this major Portland convention, which continues to host a wide collection of some of the best independent comics and creators.

This year you'll find a couple of Spokane's own in attendance: Catbeard the Pirate's Matt Nelson and Fish Tank Books' Manny Trembley, who will be in the exhibitor area at table N-07. So swing by and check out their work if you get a chance, and let anyone else who might be attending know where they'll be.

And a reminder for those who'll be nearby this weekend, especially if you have kids - this Saturday is the Superhero Storytime at Auntie's Bookstore, starting at 11 am. For more info, check the last blog post: Superhero Storytime!

Superhero Storytime!

It's time once again for Superhero Storytime, an annual event for kids of all ages, hosted at Auntie's Bookstore in downtown Spokane and sponsored by the Spokane ComiCon!

This is a great opportunity to promote reading for kids, and introduce them to the worlds of superheroes and science fiction. There will also be giveaway and goodies for the kids, and you can even win tickets to the upcoming convention!

The event will be on Saturday the 27th at 11 am. You can contact Aunties for more information, and there is a Facebook event page set up where you can RSVP or for any questions you might have: Superhero Storytime!

A big thanks to Nathan O'Brien and the Spokane Comicon for sponsoring this great event!

Drink & Draw April Spectacular!

The next Drink & Draw Social Club of Spokane is scheduled for this upcoming weekend! It will be held at The Onion Bar & Grill on N. Division, Saturday April 13 from 6 - 10 pm.

There is a Facebook event page set up with more information, to RSVP, or if you have any questions: Drink & Draw Social Club of Spokane April Spectacular!

A big thanks to Nathan O'Brien & the Spokane ComiCon, and The Onion for putting together and hosting this great all-ages event, and we hope to see you all there!

Mini-Comics Day!

This Sunday (the 24th), Merlyns in Spokane will be hosting a local Mini-Comics Day event from Noon to 4 pm. Similar to the 24 Hour Comic Challenge, but more free-form and on a smaller scale, the general idea is to produce a completed mini-comic within one day. But what constitutes a mini-comic is really up to the creator. This is an annual national event, and you can check out the official website for more information and suggestions: Mini-Comics Day!

And here is the local Facebook event page where you can RSVP and ask any questions you might have: Mini-Comics Day at Merlyns!

Kickstarter Alert - Penultimate Quest!

Lars Brown has been serializing his latest comic project, titled "Penultimate Quest", on his website, and debuted the first collected volume at the Emerald City ComiCon last week. He's currently running a KickStarter campaign to fund a larger print-run and there's still time to contribute. You can get your own copy, with personalized sketches, and even some sweet original art, including the original pages from the comic! Check it out here: Penultimate Quest KickStarter!

Emerald City was huge this year, with the show taking over the entire convention center. A lot of the local creators who were exhibiting have blogged about their experiences and posted sketches they did while there; you can check out their individual sites and social network pages for their thoughts and pics. For a reminder of who all was there, see this post: CSG at ECCC!

Emerald City Update - Drink & Draw!

Thanks to everyone who made it out to the Drink & Draw on Saturday night! We had a full house, including some new faces, and everyone seemed to have a lot of fun. The plan is to have the next D&D at the end of March or beginning of April - we'll update here when the specifics are nailed down, and you can join the Facebook Group for more updates, like these photos taken by event organizer Nathan O'Brien.

A reminder that this coming weekend (March 1-3) is the Emerald City ComiCon in Seattle. You can see the big list of local creators who will be exhibiting there in our last update: CSG at ECCC!

Also, ECCC will be having their own pre-Con Drink & Draw the night before the show, which is a great opportunity to meet and socialize with con-goers, both fans and pros. It'll be at the Daily Grill, across the street from the Convention Center, and will start at 7 pm. This is a free event to enter, but is restricted to 21 and up attendees.

You can see more information about this, and other great convention sponsored events going on over the weekend, at the ECCC Website. Hope to see you there!