Comics Bulletin - Small Press Printed Material: Do Not Bend

As reported at Journalista and Girlwonder.org, Karen Ellis, creator of diary comic Planet Karen, lost her apartment in a fire on Sunday 15th January.

The apartment above her own caught fire on Sunday night, and while firefighters fought the blaze for three hours, tragically, the occupant was killed. Karen is physically fine, but most of her possessions, including books, clothes and drawing supplies, are ruined beyond repair. The apartment itself has suffered so much structural damage that she's also been made effectively homeless. (See this comic for an account in her own words.)

Check out Karen's comics on the fire and aftermath: planetkaren.girl-wonder.org

The call is out for contribution to her Paypal account to help out. Just head to http://planetkaren.girl-wonder.org and hit the "Donation" button in the right-hand column. Every donation, whatever its size, really counts!

Girl-Wonder.org is also planning a fundraising auction on Karen's behalf. If you have items you think you'd like to donate, they ask that you contact Karen Healey at karen.healey@girl-wonder.org for details.

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Comicbook Artists Guild Awards - 6 Feb 2009

Posted: Tuesday, February 3, 2009
By: Darren Schroeder

Designed to recognize contributions to the comic book community and the organization, the Comicbook Artists Guild Awards were presented to 6 members last year at the 3rd Annual Indie After-Party. Determined to provide its members with more exposure and greater visibility, the 2009 CAG Awards will be presented Friday February 6 at the New York Comic Con.

With this year's award ceremony, the Guild leaders had two goals in mind. First, they wanted to move the ceremony to the event schedule at New York Comic Con. This year, the award ceremony will be celebrated on Friday, February 6th at 7pm in Room 1A23 of the Jacob Javits Center. The second goal the leaders of CAG set was to expand the number of awards granted, in order to recognize a wider span of members. In this year's CAG Awards, 15 awards will be granted to members in categories ranging from Best Writer to Art Direction Excellence to Best Web Comic. On CAG's decision to move the awards ceremony to New York Comic Con, Creative Director and New York Metro Vice President Mark Mazz states I'm very proud of the expanded 2nd Annual CAG Awards with the additional new categories for Best Cartoonist, Best Web-comic, and Best Workshop. We thank NY Comic Con for embracing the awards show and the independent community for their outstanding work.

The Guild will have Sam Vera, host of the Catch da Craze podcast and owner of Crazee Comics, as emcee for the event. Members of the comic book podcast industry will also be in attendance for interviews with the winners following the ceremony. Commenting on the growth of the CAG Award Ceremony, President and Co-Founder Keith Murphey says The CAG Awards are becoming a solid industry staple for new comic book talent and established creators within our circle. It's a circle that continues to widen and it welcomes everyone that wishes to be in comics within our group.

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Comicbook Artists Guild Celebrates Independence

Posted: Tuesday, February 3, 2009
By: Darren Schroeder

The New York Comic Con brings together a multitude of creators, professionals and fans of pop culture. For the past three years, the Comicbook Artists Guild contributed to the celebration by co-sponsoring the Indy After Party along with several independent minded publishers, apparel companies, media ventures, and now a museum. This year is no exception. In conjunction with numerous sponsors, CAG invites attendees and exhibitors to Blaggard's Pub for an evening of networking, door prizes and entertainment. This year's celebration will take place on Saturday, February 7, 2009 from 8pm to midnight.

The Comicbook Artists Guild is moving the party to a bigger and more robust venue this year, as well as a full service restaurant. Last year's party drew in a crowd of over 240 attendees. The need to move to a larger location was imminent. In addition to the introduction of a new venue, the Indy After Party is hosting the lead singer of the band Toolfist for a live performance. Attendees of the party will also be eligible to win exciting door prizes, while meeting new friends and mingling with old.

Additional co-sponsors for this year's Indy After Party include:

The Comicbook Artists Guild, L.L.C., founded in 2000, is a non-profit organization dedicated to the networking, education and support of comic book creators, writers and artists alike, regardless of amateur or professional status, skill levels or talent divisions. Currently, CAG operates membership chapters out of New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Nebraska and a chapter abroad in Brazil, with interest in opening more chapters and continuing to grow. CAG's goal is to advance the medium of comics through the creative experiences of its members. By bringing them together on projects of their choosing, the Guild perpetuates the positive aspects of the comics industry and its continuing contribution to popular culture.

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