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Snow is melting, the days are longer, and clocks are about to spring forward—
In addition to winter nearing an end, it also marks the beginnings of Comic Convention Season, with a virtual event to officially kick off the season. For the second year, and now with distributor Diamond’s support, The In Store Convention Kickoff is an all-day event, happening TODAY at participating retailers.
The eight-hour-long live broadcast featuring interviews and specials with your favorite creative team and special guests, and hear about upcoming projects from Marvel, DC Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, and more. It'll be like going to a whole day's worth of comic-con panels but without the lines, tickets, or crowds...and you can hang out with all your friends from your local comic shop.
For the collector, the event is also offering exclusive Convention Kick-Off Variant Covers for purchase on the following new releases- Boom Studio’s Jonesy, Marvel’s Power Man and Iron Fist, and DC’s Batman: Arkham Knight – Batgirl and Harley Quinn, as well as an exclusive gold Star Wars bank from Diamond.
The actual convention season kicks off big next week, with Chicago’s C2E2 (happening a little earlier than usual this year), our favorite of last year’s shows and the largest convention in the Midwest. Held at the expansive McCormick Place (an even bigger area than the NYC Comic Con), last year’s show attracted 70,000 fans and the highlights were plentiful.
Wrestler-turned-writer CM Punk was announced as the Guardians of the Galaxy spinoff, Drax writer at the show, and remains on the book, with issue #4 out just recently. M. Night Shyamalan was on-hand with lead actor Matt Dillon, to give everyone a first look at the acclaimed 'Wayward Pines' mini-series.
Sylvester McCoy and Neve McIntosh provided plenty of humor at their Dr. Who panel, perhaps the most fun of the weekend, Hayley Atwell and Ming-Na Wen's panel called the "Kick-Ass Women of Shield" was the hardest to get into, and Jason Momua mesmerized the crowd with his Games of Thrones tales and hints of his take on the Aquaman character he is set to portray in upcoming movies.
93-year old Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee was on hand as well, for a light-hearted and informative Q+A, with Lee retaining all of his unmissable personality, though his hearing is admittedly declining.
Lines were long to meet the most popular creators, with writers such as Scott Snyder, Rick Remender, and Jonathan Hickman, being among the most popular (which is a recent change, as comics are a primarily visual medium with artists traditionally getting most of the attention).
This year’s C2E2 is packed with guests as well—entertainment guests include Chicago native John Cusack, Melissa (Supergirl) Benoist, and several from the cast of Agents of Shield, along with the usual bevy of wrestlers, reality stars, and famous cosplayers.
Comic creator guests include the Batman creative team (soon to leave the book though) of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, famed X-Men writer Chris Claremont, longtime fan-favorite Art Adams, and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.
If you can’t make it to Chicago for C2E2, there are several area comic shows happening as well—pack your pull list, wallet, and patience—comic convention season is officially here!
Upcoming area comic book-related shows so far announced include:
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The In Store Convention Kickoff |
The eight-hour-long live broadcast featuring interviews and specials with your favorite creative team and special guests, and hear about upcoming projects from Marvel, DC Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, and more. It'll be like going to a whole day's worth of comic-con panels but without the lines, tickets, or crowds...and you can hang out with all your friends from your local comic shop.
For the collector, the event is also offering exclusive Convention Kick-Off Variant Covers for purchase on the following new releases- Boom Studio’s Jonesy, Marvel’s Power Man and Iron Fist, and DC’s Batman: Arkham Knight – Batgirl and Harley Quinn, as well as an exclusive gold Star Wars bank from Diamond.
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C2E2 (18-20 March 2016) |
Wrestler-turned-writer CM Punk was announced as the Guardians of the Galaxy spinoff, Drax writer at the show, and remains on the book, with issue #4 out just recently. M. Night Shyamalan was on-hand with lead actor Matt Dillon, to give everyone a first look at the acclaimed 'Wayward Pines' mini-series.
Sylvester McCoy and Neve McIntosh provided plenty of humor at their Dr. Who panel, perhaps the most fun of the weekend, Hayley Atwell and Ming-Na Wen's panel called the "Kick-Ass Women of Shield" was the hardest to get into, and Jason Momua mesmerized the crowd with his Games of Thrones tales and hints of his take on the Aquaman character he is set to portray in upcoming movies.
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Stan Lee at C2E2 (2015) |
Lines were long to meet the most popular creators, with writers such as Scott Snyder, Rick Remender, and Jonathan Hickman, being among the most popular (which is a recent change, as comics are a primarily visual medium with artists traditionally getting most of the attention).
This year’s C2E2 is packed with guests as well—entertainment guests include Chicago native John Cusack, Melissa (Supergirl) Benoist, and several from the cast of Agents of Shield, along with the usual bevy of wrestlers, reality stars, and famous cosplayers.
Comic creator guests include the Batman creative team (soon to leave the book though) of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, famed X-Men writer Chris Claremont, longtime fan-favorite Art Adams, and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.
If you can’t make it to Chicago for C2E2, there are several area comic shows happening as well—pack your pull list, wallet, and patience—comic convention season is officially here!
Upcoming area comic book-related shows so far announced include:
Mar 12 - Sound+Vision Pop Culture Collectibles Show- Woodbury, MN
Mar 20 - MortCon – Mound View, MN
Apr 8-10 - Wizard World – Madison, WI
April 16 – ComicCard- Bloomington, MN
May 6-8 – Wizard World - Minneapolis, MN
May 13-15 - Wizard World – Des Moines, IA
May 7 – Free Comic Book Day – participating retailers
May 14-15 - MSP ComicCon (formerly SpringCon) – Falcon Heights, MN
June 19 - MortCon – Mound View, MN
July 23 - Sound+Vision Pop Culture Collectibles Show- Woodbury, MN
Sept 11 - MortCon – Mound View, MN
Oct 8 - MSP MicroCon (formerly FallCon) – Falcon Heights, MN
Nov. 5 - ComicCard- Bloomington, MN
Nov 19 - Sound+Vision Pop Culture Collectibles Show- Woodbury, MN
Mar 20 - MortCon – Mound View, MN
Apr 8-10 - Wizard World – Madison, WI
April 16 – ComicCard- Bloomington, MN
May 6-8 – Wizard World - Minneapolis, MN
May 13-15 - Wizard World – Des Moines, IA
May 7 – Free Comic Book Day – participating retailers
May 14-15 - MSP ComicCon (formerly SpringCon) – Falcon Heights, MN
June 19 - MortCon – Mound View, MN
July 23 - Sound+Vision Pop Culture Collectibles Show- Woodbury, MN
Sept 11 - MortCon – Mound View, MN
Oct 8 - MSP MicroCon (formerly FallCon) – Falcon Heights, MN
Nov. 5 - ComicCard- Bloomington, MN
Nov 19 - Sound+Vision Pop Culture Collectibles Show- Woodbury, MN
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C2E2 2015 Saturday admission crowd (25 Apr 2015) |
