Phoenix Comicon is in full swing here in Phoenix,AZ, and the turn out for Thursday (preview night) was a huge success. If Thursday was this busy, I can’t even imagine was Saturday will be like.

Today, I got to meet creators such as Terry Moore, Peter David, Mike Mingola, Neal Adams, Arthur Suydam, Kieron Gillen, Jonathan Glapion, and many more. And that doesn’t even cover all the other amazing talent and other cool stuff going on this weekend.

As far as I can tell, they doubled the space from last year and sort of has a San Diego Comic-Con feel to it. Good stuff.

Anyways, below I will be uploading random photos throughout the con. Now, I don’t have the nicest camera, but it’ll do. So, enjoy and if you live in the valley try and make it down here. Seriously – good times will be had.

Click here for more photos, as I will be uploading more photos throughout the con, so make sure and check back!

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Tweets by @dweebofthedead

Chuckie Valdez, Phoenix Comicon 2013 Is In Full Effect This Weekend!

From Thursday, May 23rd to Sunday, May 26th at the Phoenix Convention Center, visit Valiant at booth #652 for a weekend packed with signings, panels, and exclusive giveaways!

Stop by for a full selection of Valiant comics, trade paperbacks, hardcovers and merchandise – including convention-exclusive, double-sided Shadowman #1/Harbinger Wars #1 Sketch Flipbooks! And get an advance look at the summer’s biggest releases with the Valiant Summer 2013 Preview Edition – a FREE convention-only comic book, featuring a look inside Quantum and Woody #1 by James Asmus and Tom Fowler and an extended preview of Harbinger Wars #1, the debut issue of Valiant’s first crossover event. And look for signings by Harbinger Wars creators Joshua Dysart and Clayton Henry throughout the weekend!

Then, get the inside track on the Summer of Valiant 2013 on Friday, May 24th at 1:30 pm in room 125B at the Valiant 2013: Harbinger Wars and Beyond panel presentation, featuring special guests Joshua Dysart (Harbinger Wars, Harbinger), Clayton Henry (Harbinger Wars, Archer & Armstrong), Christos Gage (Bloodshot and H.A.R.D. Corps) and Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani! Find out everything you need to know about the next year of the Valiant Universe right here, directly from a panel of Valiant insiders!

For more information, visit PhoenixComicon.com or ValiantUniverse.com.

We’ll see you in Phoenix!

Agent Burgos, VALIANT Gets Fired Up for PHOENIX COMICON 2013!

Both Mass Effect/Killjoys/R.I.P.D. and Star Wars/Captain Midnight/Avatar: The Last Airbender will be available for free download through Dark Horse Digital starting today.

Dark Horse Digital is available through all modern web browsers and features cloud storage in both the Google Play and Apple Store apps.

Make sure to check out these awesome titles from Dark Horse and support Free Comic Book Day! Free Comic Book Day has happened the first Saturday in May every year since 2002—eleven years in the running!

For more information on Free Comic Book Day, visit FreeComicBookDay.com.

To find and support your local comic shop, visit ComicShopLocator.com.

Agent Burgos, DARK HORSE FREE COMIC BOOK DAY COMICS AVAILABLE THROUGH DARK HORSE DIGITAL!

True Patriot cover by Jay Stephens

It’s Free Comic Book Day and our friends over at True Patriot comic want to give you an extensive first look at some of the stories they have created for the soon-to-be-released True Patriot collection. Follow the link below to get your copy. Plus, if you’d like to read more about True Patriot, take a look at the interview I did with award-winning comic book writer J. Torres where he tells us all about these new Canadian superhero stories.

FCBD – True Patriot:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ut3cjhggx7stgqf/TP-Preview.pdf

Have fun and keep reading. Oh, and also, May The Fourth Be With You.

Comic Canuck, Here’s Your True Patriot Free Comic Book Day Link

A galaxy of Star Wars comics for $30 or $100: reader’s choice!

MAY 3, MILWAUKIE, OR—Dark Horse Comics is joining in on the May the 4th festivities with a very exclusive limited offer to their digital comics readers.

Get blasted into a galaxy far, far away with two amazing May the 4th MegaBundles! One MegaBundle is for devout comics readers, and the other is for the younger Star Wars fan in all of us!

The comic collection places over three thousand pages of Star Wars comics goodness right at your fingertips. It includes some of our most popular Star Wars series, such as Knights of the Old Republic, Blood Ties, Empire, and Dark Times, as well as some of our newest series, such as Dawn of the Jedi, Agent of the Empire, and our smash-hit series simply titled Star Wars, written by comics legend Brian Wood.

The kids’ collection provides over one thousand pages of Star Wars Adventures and The Clone Wars. Hours of summer entertainment for your little Star Wars fan!

Each MegaBundle comes with an exclusive two-page digital preview of the highly anticipated comics adaptation of The Star Wars, George Lucas’s original-draft screenplay. Written three years before the 1977 film, this first vision of the galaxy far, far away introduces us to Jedi Annakin Starkiller and General Luke Skywalker, as well as a six-foot alien named Han Solo. It’s a tale of fantastic adventures, daring escapes, “laser swords,” and monsters, and is sure to read like no Star Wars you’ve known before!

Over 60 percent off the regular listed price for these digital comics? Why, yes! These are the MegaBundles you’re looking for, but they’re only here for a limited time.

Dark Horse Digital is available through all modern web browsers and as an app in both the Android and iTunes stores.

Stop by Dark Horse Digital and get all the Star Wars comics you could want and more!

About Dark Horse Digital

Dark Horse Digital offers its most popular titles at an unprecedented value, while providing the highest-quality reading experience possible. Single-issue comics are priced as low as just $0.99, and there is also an extensive list of free introductory #1 issues. Additionally, DH Digital’s “bundles” group together story arcs spanning multiple issues into affordable packages, allowing readers to get all the issues that comprise a complete narrative, starting at just $3.99 and up. And through cloud-based technology, Digital Store purchases can be read and enjoyed on your laptop, desktop, mobile browser, and Dark Horse Bookshelf app, available now on iTunes.

To get started, simply log on to Digital.DarkHorse.com or download the app to create an account, and begin building your collection today.

Agent Burgos, DARK HORSE DIGITAL: MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU SALE!

The Strangers Artist Scott Kowalchuk ~ Calgary, AB

Earlier this week, artist Scott Kowalchuk from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, took the time to speak with me about his new ongoing series The Strangers – published by Oni Press Inc. Written by Chris Roberson, colored by Dan Jackson, lettered by Ed Brisson and designed by Jason Storey, issue one launches on Free Comic Book Day Saturday, May 4. So get down to your local comic shop and get your copy, while they last. If you reside in Calgary, you can pick up it up at Alpha Comics – where Scott will be signing from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., and then he will be at Phoenix Comics South from 1:30 – 4 p.m.

I have had the pleasure of reading issue one already, so do yourself a favor and pick up this book! The Strangers embodies truly great art and story-telling that makes this comic so much fun to read. Can’t wait for issue two. 

Please click play on the audio file below and listen to my interview with Scott Kowalchuk. Plus, check out his other fantastic series The Intrepids and keep your fingers crossed for the release of his completed original graphic novel DOWN SET FIGHT from Oni Press Inc.

THE STRANGERS – ISSUE ONE PREVIEW

The Strangers – Issue 1, cover

The Strangers – Page 1

The Strangers – Page 2

The Strangers – Page 3

The Strangers – Page 4

Comic Canuck, The Strangers Artist Scott Kowalchuk Speaks With CBT

Check out the Shop Locator http://www.freecomicbookday.com/StoreLocator

So this is a pretty important day for all of us, I mean FREE COMICS!!! Who doesn’t like FREE COMICS?

There is a wide variety of comics to choose from, and I have listed a few of them so you can be fully prepared for this Saturday! Also make sure you check with your local comic shop for rules and participation.

Publisher: DARK HORSE
(W) Joshua Williamson & Various (A/CA) Ryan Hill & Various
All-ages adventure! Star Wars joins fan-favorite villains Darth Vader and Boba Fett! Then explore the upcoming Dark Horse series Captain Midnight, where the search for the missing superhero is on! And the smash hit Avatar: The Last Airbender follows Mai as she deals with her broken heart . . .

Publisher: DARK HORSE
(W) Jeremy Barlow & Various (A/CA) Garry Brown & Various
Three blockbuster titles fill this FCBD offering! In R.I.P.D., a séance goes terribly wrong! Then, in Mass Effect, follow a flight-school grad as he breaks the rules to prove himself in space! Finally, check out the police-state landscape of the highly anticipated miniseries The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys!

Publisher: BONGO COMICS
(W/A/CA) Matt Groening
Bongo rings in another Free Comic Book Day with a comical cornucopia of four-color comics and games. First, Bart becomes a model citizen for a day…with disastrous results. Then, Jimbo and the gang escalate and elevate their juvenile delinquency to new heights. Stick around for a bedtime tale with the dim but adorable Li’l Homer and go in search of the Happy Little Elves with Maggie.

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2013: INFINITY
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Pencils & Cover by JIM CHUENG
MAY 4th, 2013

Publisher: IMAGE COMICS
(W) Robert Kirkman (A/CA) Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn
This special Walking Dead issue contains a new Tyrese short story, who made his television debut in The Walking Dead Season 3! It also reprints short stories featuring Michonne, The Governor and Morgan. This special issue is a must-have for Walking Dead fans–none of these stories will be reprinted in the trade paperbacks!

Publisher: IDEA & DESIGN WORKS LLC
(W) John Howard, Joe Collins (A/CA) Brian Bolland
In advance of IDW’s coming ongoing series re-presenting the best Judge Dredd stories from the past with all-new coloring, this special FCBD release offers one of the most beloved Dredd stories of all time: the introduction of Judge Death, with all-new color! Plus: bonus “Walter the Wobot” strips appearing in color for the very first time, all beautifully illustrated by the brilliant Brian Bolland!

Publisher: VALIANT ENTERTAINMENT LLC
(W) Joshua D. M. Dysart & Various (A) Clayton Henry & Various (CA) Clayton Crain
Everything you need to know about the Valiant Universe in 2013 happens right here this Free Comic Book Day! The critically acclaimed, best-selling comics launch of the decade throws it into high gear with HARBINGER WARS, Valiant’s first-ever family crossover! The blistering conflict between BLOODSHOT and HARBINGER will crack the Valiant Universe in half and reveal the true cost of power. Plus — who will stand to oppose X-O MANOWAR on PLANET DEATH? What adventure lies beyond the horizon for ARCHER & ARMSTRONG? Who is the true heir to the legacy of the SHADOWMAN? And what top-secret projects could possibly be coming next? Get all the answers right here.

Publisher: DC
This super sampler is the perfect place to check out two sensational series from the DC Kids line, Beware The Batman and Teen Titans Go!, based on Warner Bros. Animation’s new animated series coming soon to Cartoon Network’s DC Nation Saturday morning programming block. It includes two exciting, all-new stories that readers of all ages will enjoy!

Publisher: DC
Superman: The Last Son of Krypton #1 is a great jumping-on point for fans who can’t wait to see Warner Bros. Pictures’ Man of Steel major motion picture! This issue features the first chapter of the Superman: Last Son of Krypton graphic novel, written by Richard Donner and Geoff Johns and illustrated by Adam Kubert, featuring Superman’s epic battle with General Zod and the Phantom Zone villains.
In addition, it includes a special sneak preview of the blockbuster new monthly series starring The Man of Steel by the all-star team of Scott Snyder and Jim Lee!

For a full list of all the comics click HERE

Agent Burgos, Free Comic Book Day 2013

Adam Hughes and Allison Sohn (photo credit: Jackson Gee)

Adam Hughes, artist extraordinaire, took time from his busy table at the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo to speak with me. His work is rightfully described as “Good girl art,” for – as what Adam likes to call – its naturalistic look.  Leading up to this interview, I was drawn in (pardon the pun) to watching Adam do incredible head sketches in what seemed like a matter of seconds for the many, many fans visiting him. He gives us insight into the City of Atlanta and how its become a hub for artists, his advice on breaking into the industry and a rundown of his current and potential upcoming projects.

Follow Adam on twitter @AH_AdamHughes and also follow Allison Sohn – his talented, Doctor Who-loving, artist wife @MrsAdamHughes.

Please hit play on the audio file below to hear my interview with Adam Hughes. Feel free to leave a comment after and even share this with your friends.

Chatting With Adam at the Calgary Expo.

Adam giving this talented young artist a critique on her portfolio at the Calgary Expo.

Adam sketched one of my favorites in my copy of the 2013 Calgary Expo artbook. THANK YOU!

Here I am with Adam and his wife Allison.

Allison Sohn with her wicked sketch card featuring the 10th Doctor.

I couldn’t leave without buying Allison’s sketch card of the 10th Doctor. Allons-y!

Comic Canuck, Adam Hughes Speaks With CBT At Calgary Expo

Hanging out with my new favorite band! (photo credit: Jackson Gee)

Kirby Krackle (@kirbykrackle) is a comic book rock band from Seattle and they talked to me about who they are, what they sing and the upcoming album they’ll be recording in the studio that Pearl Jam records in and owns. 

Listen to them for yourself. Hit play on the audio file below to hear my interview with Kirby Krackle. Feel free to leave a comment after and even share this with your friends.

Comic Canuck, Kirby Krackle – Live At The Calgary Expo!

Gareth David-Lloyd (photo credit: Jackson Gee)

Gareth David-Lloyd, much beloved for his work as Ianto Jones on the hit series Torchwood, is in town attending for the 2013 Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo. He took the time to chat with us and reflect about his time on Torchwood, latest projects including fatherhood and his hard rock blues band Blue Gillespie, as well as his love of Canada.

Please hit play on the audio file below to hear my interview with Gareth David-Lloyd. Feel free to leave a comment after and even share this with your friends.

Gareth David-Lloyd and I (aka Comic Canuck)

Comic Canuck, Torchwood’s Gareth David-Lloyd Speaks With CBT At Calgary Expo

Eve Myles (photo credit: Jackson Gee)

Eve Myles, best known for her outstanding role as Gwen Cooper on the hit series Torchwood, sat down and spoke with me about her thoughts on a potential Torchwood movie and her new series Frankie on BBC One. She also confesses, that this being her first time to the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo, that she’s a virgin to us Canadians.

Please hit play on the audio file below to hear my interview with Eve Myles. Feel free to leave a comment after and even share this with your friends.

Eve Myles and I (aka Comic Canuck)

Eve being awesome and funny!

Comic Canuck, Torchwood’s Eve Myles Speaks With CBT At Calgary Expo

CHICAGO, IL, APRIL 28–Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani have created quite a stir with their work on some of the most fun and ageless comics of all time. They won an Eisner for Tiny Titans, their treatment of DC Comics’ Teen Titans, and their recent Kickstarter campaign for their Aw Yeah Comics series surpassed its goal in record time.

Now, this dynamic duo takes on Dark Horse’s best-known character, Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, in an all-new comics series, Itty Bitty Hellboy!

A ghost named Rasputin has been spotted. And Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. are going to find out what’s he up to. Who is Hellboy, anyway? Why does he have such a big hand, and what is it used for? Who’s weirder, he or his friends? What is the B.P.R.D.? And what does chicken soup have to do with all of it? All this and more will be answered in the debut issue, where BIG things happen to Itty Bitty Hellboy!

“Itty Bitty HELLBOY! WOW! Such awesomeness! I haven’t screamed so much AW YEAH SHOUTOUTS in all my life! It is truly an honor to be the next creative team to add to the HELLBOY saga! I have been a fan of Mike Mignola since Hellboy’s early days at Dark Horse LEGENDS! It’s true. Can’t wait! Itty Bitty has never been so HUGE! AW YEAH HELLBOY!” said Art Baltazar, famous cartoonist.

“We get to work on HELLBOY? HELL YEAH!” exclaimed Franco Aureliani. “One of the most iconic characters in all of comics, and we get to bring our own style and story to it! Truly a dream come true! We’re big fans! Itty Bitty Hellboy is going to be a lot of fun . . . and we get to actually say HELL(BOY)!”

“Given the recent developments in Hellboy’s life—falling in love, discovering that he’s the rightful king of England, having his heart torn out and dropped into hell—this is clearly the next logical step in his evolution,” said Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.

For more information, check out the exclusive interview with Art & Franco on Nerdist News!

Itty Bitty Hellboy #1 arrives on shelves at your local comic shop on August 28!

Agent Burgos, C2E2: HELLBOY GETS ITTY BITTY!

APRIL 28, CHICAGO, IL—From the minds of Donny Cates (Hunter Quaid) and Mark Reznicek (percussive force of the Toadies) comes a brand-new superhero series that packs an eighty-proof punch. Dark Horse Comics is thrilled to announce Buzzkill!

Ruben is not your average alcoholic; he’s an unstoppable superhero who derives his powers from imbibing massive amounts of alcohol. After all the disasters it’s caused in his personal life, he’s ready to get clean . . . and the city’s supervillains couldn’t be happier!

“What I like so much about the book is that while it has these wild superhero trappings, at its core it’s a very sweet and very personal story about the relationship between power and addiction, and the very real consequences of both,” states Donny Cates. “It’s something that really interests me, and I think that sometimes we approach issues like these in comics as punch lines. What we’ve really tried to do here is take something really devastating and horrible, and examine it through a very familiar terrain. Also, there is a character named Panteradactyl. So there’s that.”

In this wildly gorgeous new four-part miniseries from artist Geoff Shaw (Batman 80-Page Giant) and colorist Lauren Affe, Buzzkill is drunk with power!

“Working on Buzzkill is kinda like hanging out in a bar, drinking beers and doing shots with your buddy, and discussing the weirdest, wildest, most effed-up stuff you can think of to put in a comic. In fact, that’s exactly what it’s like,” says Mark Reznicek. “Donny Cates is the evil genius of comics, so it’s a total blast to work with him. If you ever wanted to see what a drunken, superpowered barroom brawl looks like, or wondered what would happen to bears in the airless vacuum of space, or wanted to see a baboon in a business suit . . . Buzzkill is the book for you!”

Buzzkill #1 is on sale September 18 in comic shops everywhere!

Agent Burgos, C2E2: CATES & REZNICEK DEBUT BUZZKILL!

APRIL 28, CHICAGO, IL—From the floor of C2E2, Dark Horse announces a book that was almost too much for the editorial team! Eisner nominee Alex de Campi (Smoke, Ashes) headlines a B-movie comic masterpiece in Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight!

With covers by superstar artists Francesco Francavilla, Dan Panosian, and Coop, this series is excessive, gratuitous and tasteless—just like you love it.

Literature: overrated. Morality: expendable. Tonight is right for some over-the-top sex and violence! Bringing the flavor of midnight exploitation flicks to comics, Grindhouse delivers four two-issue gore operas, starting with the Chris Peterson-drawn “Bee Vixens from Mars,” pitting a one-eyed southern Latina deputy against lusty alien chicks bent on laying eggs in the entire male population!

Future arcs include “Prison Ship Anteres,” featuring art from Simon Fraser (2000 AD); “Bride of Blood,” with art by Federica Manfredi (True Blood, Hack/Slash); and “Flesh Feast of the Devil Doll,” with art by Gary Erskine (The Mask)!

“Grindhouse is the comic your mother warned you about. Seriously. You know when grownups told you comics were filthy, immoral trash? They were talking about this comic specifically,” states Alex de Campi. “Books like Grindhouse were the reason the Comics Code was invented. And if you’re in a very conservative or evangelical part of the US, you should be careful where you read it. Each story is two issues of solid gore, gratuitous nudity, and over-the-top badassery. It’s filthy. It’s violent. It’s really, really fun.”

“Bee Vixens” colorist Nolan Woodard added, “You do know I colored 28 Days Later, and this is still way more blood, right?”

For a sneak peak at several interior pages, check out Alex de Campi’s interview on Bleeding Cool.

Grindhouse: Doors Open at Midnight #1 is on sale October 2 in comic shops everywhere (where it’s not outlawed)!

Agent Burgos, C2E2: ALEX DE CAMPI’S GRINDHOUSE: DOORS OPEN AT MIDNIGHT!

Calling all Rico’s Roughnecks! Listen to Casper Van Dien at the Calgary Expo – the one and only Johnny Rico – talk about his thoughts on his integral role in the cult classic movie Starship Troopers, playing Johnny Cage in the new Mortal Combat, as well as an upcoming flick he just filmed with his lovely and talented wife, Catherine Oxenberg. Plus, he gives us the background on the family name, Casper.

Hit play to listen to Casper now soldier, you wanna live forever?

Casper photo-bombed John Barrowman and I. HAHAHA!

Comic Canuck, Casper Van Dien – Johhny Rico – Speaks With CBT At Calgary Expo