Comicfest Activities and Panels

Local Creator Spotlight
Get an inside look at what some of the Rocky Mountain Region's finest Comic Creator's are working on in this exciting inside look. Members of 7000 BC Comics, Angry Commuter Comics, Fort Collins Comics Collective, Prime Dimension Studios, and Squidworks will all be on hand to discuss their work as well as how to get involved in the local comics creator scene.

Comics and Prose with Kevin J Anderson
International bestselling author Kevin J Anderson joins us to discuss his work both in and outside of comics, including Dune, The Last Days of Krypton, Star Wars novels, and his original works, including a new rock CD/fantasy novel crossover, Terra Incognita.

Beyond the Cape and Tights: The Best of Indie Comics
Join Charlitto, from the Indie Spinner Rack podcast, Patrick Hoover from Angry Commuter Comics, Sean Anderson from the I Want More Comics Shop, as the best comics outside of the Big Two are discussed. If you've been looking to go beyond the world of Superhero Comics but didn't know where to start this group of Indie Comics Fans will help to point you in the right direction. It's also a great time to talk about what you love about Indie Comics and debate the best Indie Comics on the rack today.

Mike Baron Through the Years
Join Eisner, Harvey, and Kirby nominated writer Mike Baron as he discusses his award winning work on Nexus, Badger, The Flash, and others. Mike will be joined by some of his current collaborators at Big Head Press and IDW including Scott Bieser and Nick Runge.

From the Store front: Perspective of Comic shop owners
Join local comic shop owners as they weigh in on some of the most talked about issues in comics today including: Event Comics, Diamond's new dollar threshold for publishers, Price increases, late comics, and more.

Licensed Property Comics with William Katt, Nick Runge, and Zach Howard
When the show is canceled or the movie is over it's time for the comic books to continue the stories. However creating these comics is never easy as fans have preset expectations on both storylines and characters. Join William Katt (Writer The Greatest American Hero, Arcana), Nick Runge (artist for Ghostbusters, Angel, and Terminator), and Zach Howard (Star Wars, Star Trek, and Aliens) as they discuss both the fun and challenges of creating these comics. Artist Zach Howard will also be debuting the first page from Dark Horses upcoming Aliens comic.

Creating Dynamic Faces with Amy Reeder Hadley
Rising star Amy Reeder Hadley (Fools Gold and Madame Xanadu) is prepared to answer all your questions about facial expressions, angles, and variability complete with demonstration.

The Art of Storytelling: With Brian Wood
The first of what will become a tradition at Comicfest. Join Brian Wood as he shares the nuts and bolts of his storytelling process. A question and answer session will follow.

Comic Book Movies: Threat or Menace
Comic book movies have been some of Hollywoods biggest money makers as well as some of there most anticipated films. Has this helped or hurt the comic book industry? Has it generated new readers? Is it a trend or a fad? Join in on this great discussion.

The Fun and Challenges of Drawing Comics
Learn from artists of varying styles and techniques some of the methods and tricks they use when producing their comics.

How To Break into Comics
As Comic book fans most of us have dreamed of breaking into the industry, but where do you start? Learn from industry pro's the routes that they've taken and what it takes to help earn your big break.

Vertigo Panel
Join Vertigo stars Brian Wood and Amy Reeder Hadley as they discuss whats to come in Madame Xanadu, DMZ, and Northlanders. This will be a great time to get all of your questions answered about these great series.

The Best of Webcomics
Is your budget tapped out but still want to read more comics? Have you seen webcomics while surfing the web but didn't know where to start. Join web comic creators and fans to learn about the ever evolving world of webcomics.

Continuity: Friend or Foe
Continuity in Comics is one of the longest held debates amongst comic fans. Does continuity help to tell good stories or just make readers angry when mistakes are made? Is it possible to tell stories about a character for 30 years without continuity. Join our group as the debate continues.

Marvel Mondo Panel
Teleconference with Brian Michael Bendis and Jeph Loeb: Have you always wanted to go to a Marvel Mondo panel, but haven't been able to make it to New York, Chicago, or San Diego well stay tuned True Believers because it's landing right here in Denver. Do you want to know what Bendis is going to do next with the Marvel or Ultimate Universe? What will Loeb do next with the Hulk? This will be an exciting question and answer session live via teleconference with Marvel Comics Creators Brian Michael Bendis (Secret Invasion, New Avengers, and Ultimate Spiderman) and Jeph Loeb (Hulk and Ultimatium)

Panel Theory and Page Lay-out
For the aspiring cartoonists one of the most difficult hurdles is where to put the panels. How to successfully layout a comics page from script to finished pencils so that your pages are given a professional look will be discussed in detail.

Portfolio Review
Is your submission for that never before told tale of The Batman just about ready to be sent off to DC comics? Are you sure you have what it takes to blow Joe Quesada's mind with your latest sketches of Spider-man and The Hulk? If you are more than just a fan of comics, and are working to start your comic book career, then reserve your spot now for Comicfest's portfolio review by RSVP'ing at comicfestportfolioreview@gmail.com. You will have your chance to receive an honest evaluation of your work by creators such as Armando Durruthy, John Cboins, and Mike Baron. Availability is limited so don't delay!

An Evening With Brian Wood!
DrawerBoxes® would like to invite you to an Evening with Brian Wood on April 18that 8pm. This is your chance to sit down and talk with one of comic’s most talented writers (DMZ, Northlanders, Demo, and Local). Space is extremely limited so please contact your local comic book store or email Jason Page at comicfest@gmail.com to reserve your ticket. Tickets are $25 and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Hero Initiative. Tickets will be available at the door at Comicfest based on availability.

We ask that if you are interested in attending An Evening with Brian Wood, that you do not bring your comics or cameras. This is strictly a social event and there will be plenty of time for pictures and signing during the convention.

Hero Initiative Silent Auction
The Hero Initiative is an organization designed to provide monetary assistance to former comic book creators requiring supplemental health, medical, and quality-of-life assistance. This organization has given us the opportunity to give back to the creators that have given us so much enjoyment throughout the years.

At the first Denver Comicfest you will have the opportunity to give back to those that have given so much to you through a series of silent auctions, featuring exciting collectors items throughout the weekend. We have a variety of items donated to us. Such as library bound volumes of DMZ, Madame Xandau, and Nexus (Donated by library bindings). There will also be rare signed items such as a framed Green Lantern Poster signed by artist Ethan Van Sciver (Donated by I want more comics ), Signed Trade paperbacks by Writer Matt Sturges (Donated by Matt Sturges), and a Michael Turner 2007 New York Comic Con signed sketchbook (Donated by From This Day Forward Photography) and many others.

For more information about the Hero Initiative go to www.heroinitiative.org. We hope that these great collectors items will inspire generosity for this wonderful charity.

Raffle
All weekend long there will be a chance to win some great items. Such as movie passes to the Cinebarre, Comics, Sketchbooks and much more. Don't miss out on your chance to win these great prizes.

Live Podcasting
Charlito from the Indie Spinner Rack podcast is making the trek back home from New York to Denver to cover the con and talk comics with anyone he can. Charlitto will be podcasting live throughout the weekend as well as moderating an Indie Comics Panel and Webcomics panel. Listen to Indie Spinner Rack for free on iTunes or goto indiespinnerrack.blogspot.com for more details. Indie Spinner Rack is a podcast geared towards the indie comic book publishing world. Not only for veterans of Indie publishing but new readers as well. Charlito and Mr. Phil bring you the smackdown of Indies, from the past to present, with extra tidbits of info and current happenings throughout the industry. In addition the show also features interviews, contests, and plenty of silliness to go round. So sit down, take a spin and join the boys for your latest info from the outer edges of comicdom! Special thanks to the good folks at Library Bindings for bringing Charlito out for this great event!

Other Podcasters in attendance at Comicfest will be Charles O'Neil from the Fanboy Face-off Podcast and Mike Myers from the DC Noise Podcast. Both shows are available for free on iTunes. For more information on Fanboy Face-off goto www.FanboyFace-off.com . For more information on DC Noise goto www.dcnoisepodcast.com.