VIZ MEDIA WARMS UP JUNE WITH NEW DIGITAL ANIME CONTENT FOR NEON ALLEY

Catch The Launch Of MEGA MAN STAR FORCE Action Series Along With The Latest SAILOR MOON And SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL Episodes, Brand New NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Simulcasts And More!

VIZ Media prepares for the beginning of summer with a brand new digital anime update for Neon Alley.

Shoot like a rocket to the cosmos with the streaming premiere of MEGA MAN STAR FORCE. Based on the hit Nintendo DS video game, the anime sci-fi series is available now to stream (English dubbed) from the very beginning for the first time. Catch all the action of Season 1, Episodes 1-13, as Geo Stelar and his extraterrestrial partner, Omega-Xis, defend the Earth against alien invasion.

SAILOR MOON continues to captivate viewers on Neon Alley and fans can join their favorite Guardians as Season 3 – SAILOR MOON S – continues throughout the month with two new subtitled episodes added every Monday. Catch Episodes 110 and 111 on June 1^st. SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL also draws closer to its climactic series finale with a pair of new first-run subtitled episode simulcasts this month. Don’t miss SAILOR MOON CRYSTAL Act 23: “Covert Maneuvers - Wiseman” on June 6^th followed by Act 24: “ATTACK – BLACK LADY” on June 20^th. Only 2 episodes remain!

The new June 2015 Neon Alley update is highlighted by several top-rated VIZ Media anime properties including:

MEGA MAN STAR FORCE

·         MEGA MAN STAR FORCE follows the adventures of Geo Stelar and his extraterrestrial partner Omega-Xis. The duo is capable of merging through "Electromagnetic Wave Change" to become the hero, Mega Man. Through this partnership, they defend the Earth against various alien beings, including the invading Planet FM forces! In Episode 1, scientist Dr. Kevin Stelar attempts to contact intelligent life in outer space when the experiment goes wrong and the space station he is on explodes. Back on Earth, Geo Stelar, Kelvin’s son, believes his father is still alive and vows to one day venture into space to find him. Meanwhile, Geo’s fate is about to collide with that of a fugitive extraterrestrial named Omega-Xis who has escaped his home planet with the mysterious Andromeda Key and is headed straight for Earth.

·         Season 1, Episodes 1-13 are available to stream in their entirety with dubbed English dialogue now!

NARUTO

·         The action of Season 3 of the original NARUTO anime series complements the Neon Alley line-up with Episodes 144-156 available to stream with dubbed English dialogue now!

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN

·         Brand new shinobi adventures are in-store throughout June with simulcasts of the latest English subtitled NARUTO SHIPPUDEN episodes. Catch Episode 414 on June 4th. Simulcasts of the next 3 NARUTO SHIPPUDEN episodes are scheduled to take place every subsequent Thursday.

·         Also don’t miss the premiere of a new English dubbed episode of NARUTO SHIPPUDEN every Saturday throughout June beginning with Season 7, Episode 297 on June 6^th.

RANMA ½

·         The martial arts mayhem of RANMA ½ continues in June with Season 2 (Episodes 22-46) available to stream with dubbed English dialogue.

Neon Alley is VIZ Media’s consolidated online destination for FREE streaming anime content in the U.S. with over 3,700 subtitled and English dubbed episodes and movies from more than 32 series! Neon Alley also reaches an expansive on-demand U.S.-based audience on Hulu, which enables viewers to watch shows anytime, anywhere across devices including Xbox One, PlayStation^®4 (PS4™), Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, and mobile devices. A full list of Hulu -enabled devices can be found at http://www.hulu.com/plus/devices.

Additional information on Neon Alley is available at: www.NeonAlley.com and http://blog.neonalley.com.

###

VIZ MEDIA’S HAIKASORU LITERARY IMPRINT DEBUTS THE FUTURISTIC MYSTERY THRILLER GENE MAPPER

A Deadly Mutation Threatens The World’s Food Supply And Leads A Geneticist On A Quest To Determine Whether The Cause Is Nature Or Human Sabotage

San Francisco, CA, June 1, 2015 – VIZ Media’s Haikasoru literary imprint has announced the release of its newest title, the futuristic bio-thriller – GENE MAPPER – on June 16^th.

The novel about a deadly genetic threat to the world’s food supply was written by author Taiyo Fujii. It will be available for the first time in English in a print edition for $14.99 U.S. / $16.99 CAN. An eBook version also will debut on June 16^th for $8.99 (U.S. / CAN) for the Amazon Kindle, Apple’s iBooks Store, Barnes & Noble’s Nook Book Store, the Kobo eBooks Store, and the Google Play store.

In a future where reality has been augmented and biology itself has been hacked, the world’s food supply is genetically modified, superior, and vulnerable. When gene mapper Hayashida discovers that his custom rice plant has experienced a dysgenic collapse, he suspects sabotage. Hayashida travels Asia to find himself in Ho Chi Minh City with hired-gun hacker Yogodo at his side – and in mortal danger – as he pushes ever nearer to the heart of the mystery.

“Taiyo Fujii, winner of a 2014 Nihon SF Taisho Award by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of Japan, is a fast rising star of the Japanese science fiction scene, and we’re thrilled to release his bio-thriller GENE MAPPER,” says Nick Mamatas, Haikasoru Editor. “Fujii explores the darker side bio-engineering in his bestselling first novel, where extraordinary advances being made in the fields of biotechnology and genetics have made the advent of genetically modified organisms a controversial reality. Readers will not want to miss this engrossing and thought provoking thriller!”

Author Taiyo Fujii was born in Amami Oshima Island, Japan, and worked for stage design, desktop publishing, exhibition graphic design, and software development before becoming an author. In 2012, Fujii self-published GENE MAPPER serially in a digital format of his own design, and it became Amazon Japan’s #1 Bestseller of that year for the Kindle device. The novel was revised and republished in both print and digitally as Gene Mapper -full build- by Hayakawa Publishing in 2013 and was nominated for the Nihon SF Taisho Award and the Seiun Award. His second novel, Orbital Cloud, won 2014 Nihon SF Taisho Award and took first prize in the “Best SF of 2014” in SF Magazine. His recent works include Underground Market and Bigdata Connect. 

For more information on GENE MAPPER and the Haikasoru imprint, please visit the dedicated website at www.haikasoru.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC

Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan's largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and ONE PIECE, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.  Learn more about VIZ Media, anime and manga at www.VIZ.com.

###

BOOM Studios, Fabio Moon, Gabriel Ba, Janet Lee and More to Contribute to Comics Uniting Nations

For Immediate Release

June 1, 2015 – Comics Uniting Nations, the project using comics to educate people everywhere about the United Nations’ upcoming Global Goals for Sustainable Development, announces an additional round of contributors.

 “We’re working with creators and publishers from around the world to create a series of Public Service Announcements tied to the Global Goals,” explained Josh Elder, Co-Founder of Comics Uniting Nations. “These single-page comics will be designed to engage and educate readers about the Global Goals, inspiring them to learn more and become heroes for change in their own communities.”

"We all live in the same world,” said Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba, “and we are not doing a good enough job preserving it. We have to do better, and we have to try to show people that we will need to do this together. This project wants a better world, so it's really about making us all better people."

“I'll be doing a PSA for the topic "Life Below Water,’ focusing on pollution of our oceans,” explained Janet Lee. “Our oceans, like our air, belong to everyone and everything on this planet. We need them, and frankly they need us.”

The initial PSA talent lineup includes:

• Boom Studios (Lumberjanes)
• Fabio Moon & Gabriel Ba
• Janet Lee
• Katie Cook
• Neil Kleid
• Nick Dragotta (Howtoons)
• Trevor Mueller & Gabriel Bautista (Albert the Alien)
• Robert Berry
• Jim McClain, Rose McClain (Solution Squad)
• Otis Frampton (Oddly Normal)
• Brian Boyd (Grammarman)
• Rasheed Banda
• Tod Emko & Ethan Young (Piggy's Tale)
• Sam Hart
• Ted Anderson & Dave Windett

“The United Nations has worked in collaboration with the film, radio and television industries for years,” says Maher Nasser, Director of the Outreach Division, UN Department of Public Information. “The comics industry is a natural creative partner to develop informative and entertaining content, particularly for young people. Comics Uniting Nations is an exciting new initiative that can help us engage support around the world to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals to be agreed by governments in September.”

Comics Uniting Nations is currently raising funds to create a series of educational comics in multiple languages to explain the United Nations' forthcoming Global Goals for Sustainable Development - an international effort to address humanity’s most pressing challenges such as extreme poverty, hunger, health, education, sustainable energy, inequality, climate change and more.

The materials produced by Comics Uniting Nations will be one of the central pieces of learning content distributed via The World’s Largest Lesson, communicating the Global Goals across different languages, cultures and literacy levels. The comics will be made available in print and for digital view and download from mobile platforms – potentially sharing the UN’s Global Goals with hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

“As part of the World’s Largest Lesson, the Global Goals will reach kids everywhere in an engaging way,” says Natabara Rollosson, Co-Founder of Comics Uniting Nations. “The comics will educate and inspire kids around the world on how they can become heroes in their own communities, serving in the cause of these life-saving goals.”

Comics Uniting Nations is an independently financed project and is currently raising funds on Kickstarter.  It needs the support of the comics community to see fruition.  For more information or to pledge, please go to: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/readingwithpictures/comics-uniting-nations

'Lumberjanes' Trade Paperback Goes to Fifth Printing; Live-Action Movie Announced 

Lumberjanes Vol. 1 TP Cover by Noelle Stevenson
 

June 1, 2015 (Los Angeles, CA) - Holy Mae Jemison! BOOM! Studios is thrilled to announce that the first four printings of the Lumberjanes Volume 1 trade paperback have sold out at the distributor level in just seven weeks of release. The publisher is rushing back to press for a fifth printing of the collection that debuted at #7 on The New York Times Best Sellers list for paperback graphic books. In total, over 65,000 copies of the trade paperback have been sold into comic book stores, bookstores, and book club fairs.

 

Comic book fans should bear in mind that earlier printings of the Lumberjanes Volume 1 trade paperback may still be found at the local comic shop or bookstore nearest you. Not sure where to find your nearest comic retailer? Use comicshoplocator.com or findacomicshop.com to find one!

 

Adding fuel to this latest sellout, 20th Century Fox has optioned the film rights to Lumberjanes as a live-action movie. BOOM! Studios will produce the film, led by Founder and Chief Executive Officer Ross Richie (2 Guns) and President of Development Stephen Christy. Senior Vice President of Film Adam Yoelin (2 Night Stand) will co-produce.

 

The Eisner and GLAAD Media Award-nominated Lumberjanes was co-created by BOOM! Studios Editor Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, and New York Times Best Selling web cartoonist Noelle Stevenson (Nimona), with main series artist Brooke Allen (A Home For Mr. Easter). The series focuses on five, rad, butt-kicking best pals determined to have an awesome summer together...and they’re not going to let a magical quest or an array of supernatural critters get in their way! As part of BOOM!’s partnership model, the creators will share equally in all aspects of the publisher’s first-look deal with Fox.

 

“The entire team is excited for the opportunity to expose the comic to a wider audience and legions of young hardcore lady-types everywhere,” said Watters, Ellis, Stevenson, and Allen in a joint statement.

 

Stevenson added, "Read our book! They're making a movie so it's probably good, right?"
In searching for the ideal screenwriter for Lumberjanes, Producers Richie, Christy, and Yoelin went out to over 30 screenwriters before 20th Century Fox Senior Vice President of Development Kira Goldberg nominated Will Widger, screenwriter of The Munchkin, a highlight of the 2014 Black List, which details the best unproduced Hollywood screenplays every year. Goldberg bought the pitch and will develop the project for the studio working with Creative Executive Ryan Jones.

“I could not be more excited to start working on a Lumberjanes movie,” Richie said. “Shannon, Grace, Noelle, and Brooke have created a wonderful comic for everyone. Bringing a faithful adaptation to the screen and exposing even more potential fans to the amazing characters of Jo, April, Mal, Molly, and Ripley is something I can’t wait to dive into with the team at Fox.”

The Lumberjanes Volume 1 trade paperback will be back in print shortly and carries a retail price of $14.99 with a Diamond Code of FEB151172 and an ISBN of 978-1608866878.
 

ABOUT BOOM! STUDIOS

Founded by Ross Richie in 2005, Diamond Gem Award-winning “Best Publisher” BOOM! Studios (boom-studios.com) generates a constellation of best-selling Eisner and Harvey Award-winning original and licensed comic books and graphic novels with the industry’s top talent. BOOM! Studios is comprised of four distinct imprints. The original Studios imprint is home to Mike Carey's Suicide Risk; James Tynion IV's The Woods; Mark Waid's Irredeemable; Sons of Anarchy; and Big Trouble in Little China. Steven Grant’s graphic novel 2 Guns was released as a feature film from Universal Pictures, starring Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. BOOM!’s all-ages imprint KaBOOM! publishes Charles Schulz’ Peanuts; Jim Davis’ Garfield; Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time, Regular Show, The Amazing World of Gumball, and Steven Universe; Mike Kunkel’s Herobear and the Kid; and Natasha Allegri's Bee and PuppyCat. BOOM!'s experimental imprint BOOM! Box publishes The Midas Flesh and Lumberjanes. In June 2013, BOOM! acquired Archaia Entertainment (archaia.com). Archaia is the Eisner and Harvey Award-winning graphic novel publisher of Mouse Guard, Cow Boy, Gunnerkrigg Court, Rust, and Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand. In October 2013, BOOM! Studios entered into a unique first-look relationship with 20th Century Fox, giving the studio access to its library of titles and giving the publisher access to Fox's vast catalog of films. In August 2014, BOOM! Studios began a similar first-look relationship with 20th Century Fox TV to develop properties for the small screen.

DARK HORSE ANNOUNCES NEW ‘COLDER,’ SERIES AT PHOENIX COMICON

TOBIN & FERREYRA’S HORROR SERIES RETURNS FOR A FINAL SCARE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MILWAUKIE, OR—As part of its announcement slate for Phoenix Comicon 2015, Dark Horse Comics has announced the final installment of  Eisner-nominated horror series Colder. Colder: Toss the Bones sees the return of the Eisner-nominated horror series by Paul Tobin and Juan Ferreyra. Set to debut in September, the final chapter of the Colder trilogy follows a newly resurrected Nimble Jack, as he skips back and forth between the Hungry World and our own reality, recruiting agents of madness and unifying them with a single objective: the death and consumption of Declan! For more on Colder: Toss the Bones, check out an exclusive interview with Paul Tobin at Bloody Disgusting. Colder: Toss the Bones #1 Paul Tobin (W), Juan Ferreyra (A/Cover) $3.99 Available in September at your local comic shop Also available: Colder Volume 1 $17.99, 978-1-61655-136-0 ​Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound  Colder Volume 2: The Bad Seed $17.99, 978-1-61655-647-1 Amazon.com | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound ### About Dark Horse Founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent, such as Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Brian Wood, Gerard Way, Felicia Day, and Guillermo del Toro, and comics legends, such as Will Eisner, Neal Adams, and Jim Steranko, Dark Horse has developed its own successful properties, such as The Mask, Ghost, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Its successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Mass Effect, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, EVE Online, Halo, Serenity, Game of Thrones, and Domo. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading publishers of both creator-owned content and licensed comics material.

   THE FATE OF THE JUSTICE LEAGUE HANGS IN THE BALANCE AS WARNER BROS. HOME ENTERTAINMENT

AND THE LEGO^® GROUP RELEASE

LEGO^® DC COMICS SUPER HEROES:

JUSTICE LEAGUE: ATTACK OF THE LEGION OF DOOM!

ON BLU-RAY^TM COMBO PACK, DVD and DIGITAL HD,

AUGUST 25, 2015

Includes Exclusive Trickster LEGO^® Minifigure for Initial Ship!

Burbank, CA (MAY 29, 2015) – DC Comics and LEGO^® fans can rejoice as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Warner Bros. Animation, DC Entertainment and The LEGO^® Group release their next animated feature, LEGO^® DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom! on Blu-ray^TM Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD on August 25, 2015. The Blu-ray^TM and DVD releases will include an exclusive Trickster LEGO^® Minifigure, while supplies last.

LEGO^® DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom! will be available on Blu-ray^TM Combo Pack for $24.98 SRP and on DVD for $19.98 SRP.  The Blu-ray^TM Combo Pack includes a digital version of the movie on Digital HD with UltraViolet. Fans can also own LEGO^® DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom! in Digital HD on August 11 via purchase from digital retailers.

Crime is on the run as the newly formed Justice League keeps Metropolis safe and this makes evil genius Lex Luthor very unhappy. Together with Black Manta, Sinestro and a gang of ruthless recruits, Lex builds his own league and declares them the Legion of Doom. With this super powered team of terror and a plan to attack the top-secret government site, Area 52, can Lex finally be on the verge of victory? Sound the “Trouble Alert” and get ready for the bricks to fly when Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League face off against the world’s greatest Super-Villains! It’s the next all-new original movie from LEGO® and DC Comics.

The cast of LEGO^® DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom!  features some of the top voiceover artists in the industry, led by Justice League heroes Troy Baker (Batman), Nolan North (Superman), Josh Keaton (Green Lantern), Khary Payton (Cyborg), James Arnold Taylor (The Flash) and Grey Griffin (Wonder Woman, Lois Lane). The Legion of Doom includes Mark Hamill (Trickster, Sinestro), John DiMaggio (Lex Luthor, Joker), Kevin Michael Richardson (Captain Cold, Gorilla Grodd, Black Manta), Tom Kenny (Penguin), Cree Summer (Cheetah) and Tony Todd (Darkseid). Dee Bradley Baker is both hero and villain as Martian Manhunter and Man-Bat.

LEGO^® DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom! is directed by Rick Morales from a script by Jim Krieg. Sam Register. Jill Wilfert, Jason Cosler and Keith Malone are executive producers. Benjamin Melniker and Michael Uslan are co-executive producers, and Brandon Vietti is supervising producer.

“Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is excited to release LEGO^® DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom!” said Mary Ellen Thomas, WBHE Vice President, Family & Animation Marketing. “This is a wonderful addition to the LEGO^® DC Comics Super Heroes franchise.  The Justice League is facing off against the most formidable villains yet, resulting in an action-packed and hilarious film.”

LEGO^® DC Comics Super Heroes - Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom! Special Features include:

• Featurette - “Click, Zap, Boom! Creating the Sound Design” - This fun documentary goes behind the scenes with the talented sound design and foley team to explore how LEGO^® sounds are created live on stage and then edited into the final movie.  

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR RETAILERS

LEGO^® DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom! will be available on DVD and Blu-ray^TM from WBHE on August 25, 2015 for $19.98 / $24.98 SRP. Order due date is July 21, 2015. The release will be supported by a national TV and online media campaign, radio promotions in top markets, as well as promotional support through LEGO^® channels.

DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION ELEMENTS

LEGO^® DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom! will be available for streaming and download to watch anywhere in high definition and standard definition on their favorite devices from select digital retailers including Amazon, CinemaNow, Flixster, iTunes, PlayStation, Vudu, Xbox and others. Starting August 11, LEGO^® DC Comics Super Heroes – Justice League: Attack of the Legion of Doom! will also be available digitally on Video On Demand services from cable and satellite providers, and on select gaming consoles.

ABOUT DIGITAL HD WITH ULTRAVIOLET

Digital HD with UltraViolet allows fans to watch a digital version of their movie or TV show anywhere, on their favorite devices. Digital HD with UltraViolet is included with the purchase of specially marked Blu-ray discs. Digital HD with UltraViolet allows consumers to instantly stream and download movies and TV shows to TVs, computers, tablets and smartphones through UltraViolet retail services like CinemaNow, Flixster, VUDU and more. For more information on compatible devices, go to wb.com/ultravioletdevices. Consult an UltraViolet Retailer for details and requirements and for a list of HD-compatible devices.

About The LEGO^® Group

The LEGO^® Group is a privately held, family-owned company, based in Billund, Denmark. It was founded in 1932 and today the group is one of the world's leading manufacturers of play materials for children. The LEGO^® Group is committed to the development of children's creative and imaginative abilities. LEGO^® products can be purchased in more than 130 countries.

LEGO, the LEGO logo, the brick & knob configuration and the Minifigure are trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group.  © 2014 The LEGO Group.  All Rights Reserved.

About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (WBHE) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment's home video, digital distribution and interactive entertainment businesses in order to maximize current and next-generation distribution scenarios. An industry leader since its inception, WBHE oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc™ and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels, and is a significant developer and publisher for console and online video game titles worldwide. WBHE distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees.

About Warner Bros. Animation

Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) is one of the leading producers of animation in the entertainment industry, producing and developing both CG and traditionally animated projects for multiple platforms, both domestically and internationally. For TV, WBA produces series such as Teen Titans Go!, The Tom and Jerry Show and the upcoming Be Cool Scooby-Doo! and Wabbit – A Looney Tunes Production for Cartoon Network; original animated DC Nation shorts for Cartoon Network; and the forthcoming Mike Tyson Mysteries series for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. As the home of the iconic animated characters from the DC Comics, Hanna-Barbera, MGM and Looney Tunes libraries, WBA also produces highly successful animated films — including the DC Universe Animated Original Movies — for DVD. One of the most-honored animation studios in history, WBA has won six Academy Awards®, 35 Emmy® Awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, an Environmental Media Award, a Parents’ Choice Award, the HUMANITAS Prize, two Prism Awards and 20 Annie Awards (honoring excellence in animation).

JUSTICE LEAGUE and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics. 

About DC Entertainment

DC Entertainment, home to iconic brands DC Comics (Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, The Flash, etc.), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables, etc.) and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating across Warner Bros. and Time Warner.  DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment, and interactive games.  Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world.

Archie Comics Creators Come to

Baltimore Comic-Con

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - June 1, 2015 - Tickets are now on sale for the 2015 Baltimore Comic-Con, taking place the weekend of September 25-27, 2015 at the Baltimore Comic-Con. Join us in Baltimore's beautiful Inner Harbor for a weekend of comic excitement as we welcome Archie Comics creators Francesco Francavilla, Dan Parent, Andrew Pepoy, and Jeff Shultz.

 Eisner and Eagle Award-winning Francesco Francavilla has found a niche in the comics industry with his noir stylings. His Afterlife with Archie from Archie Comics received a Harvey Award nomination in 2014 for Best New Series. He has also provided art on DC Comics' Detective Comics and Swamp Thing, Marvel's Black Panther: The Man Without Fear, and you will find his artwork gracing covers for Marvel's All-New Hawkeye, Master of Kung Fu, and Princess Leia, Archie's Archie vs. Predator and The Black Hood, and Dynamite Entertainment's Reanimator and The Twilight Zone: Shadow and Substance.

 

While Dan Parent has worked elsewhere, the bulk of his career has been spent with Archie Comics, where he began working immediately after graduating from The Kubert School. His work has covered a great range of work for the publisher on titles such as Archie, Betty and Veronica, Cheryl Blossom, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Veronica. His groundbreaking work on Kevin Keller, the first openly gay character in the Archie Universe, earned him a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Comic Book. Most recently, in addition to his normal contributions to titles like Jughead and Archie Jumbo Comics Digest, Archie's Funhouse Comics Double Digest, Betty and Veronica, and World of Archie Comics Double Digest, he wrote and drew the Archie vs. Sharknado one-shot, and provided cover artwork for Archie vs. Predator. 

 

Andrew Pepoy's early career was in the realm of fanzines, but he quickly transitioned to publishing work for large publishers like DC Comics and Marvel Comics while still in college. Largely known as an inker (though an artist and creator in his own right, with works like The Adventures of Simone and Ajax), this Eisner Award-winning talent has worked on characters as diverse as Superman, Spider-Man, Scooby-Doo, Sonic the Hedgehog, The Simpsons, Godzilla, and Wallace & Gromit among many others. You can find his recent work on titles such as Fables from DC Comics, The Simpsons and Futurama from Bongo Entertainment, Life with Archie and Betty and Veronica from Archie Comics, and Uncle Scrooge from IDW.\

Jeff Shultz has illustrated stories of the Peanuts gang for BOOM! Studios, and was formerly a ghost artist for the Tom and Jerry newspaper strip, but he is probably best known for his work over the past 18 years with Archie Comics. Over the past 13 years, Shultz has been the artist for the long-running Betty and Veronica.

"It's great to have such great representation from Archie Comics, whose long-standing star has clearly been shining brighter in recent years," said Marc Nathan, promoter of the Baltimore Comic-Con. "All four of these gentlemen have contributed an amazing amount of work to comics, both to the Archie Universe and across the industry as a whole. We're thrilled to have them with us this year -- be there to meet them!"

TICKETS

General Admission and VIP Package tickets for Weekend, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, as well as the Harvey Awards, are now on sale! Visit www.baltimorecomiccon.com/tickets/ for more information and to purchase your advanced tickets now, and as always, kids 10 and under get into the show free with a paid adult General Admission! 

In addition to on-site CGC grading, this year's confirmed guests for the show include: Neal Adams (All-New Captain America); Scott Ambruson (Azteca: Ciudad Paradiso); Jeremy Bastian (Cursed Pirate Girl); John Beatty (Secret Wars); Christy Blanch (The Damnation of Charlie Wormwood); Mark Buckingham (Fables); Talent Caldwell (Grimm Fairy Tales Presents White Queen: Age of Darkness); Chris Campana (Kantara); Richard Case (Doom Patrol); Sean Chen (Secret Origins); Cliff Chiang (Wonder Woman); Frank Cho (Jungle Girl); Steve Conley (Bloop); Amanda Conner (Harley Quinn); Katie Cook (Gronk); Darwyn Cooke (Richard Stark's Parker); Todd Dezago (Perhapanauts); Joe Eisma (Morning Glories); Ramona Fradon (Spongebob Annual-Size Super-Giant Swimtacular); Francesco Francavilla (Secret Wars: Battleworld); John Gallagher (Buzzboy); Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez (Batman '66: The Lost Episode); Daniel Govar (Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier Prelude); Keron Grant (Father's Day); Laura Guzzo (Princeless: Short Stories for Warrior Women); Cully Hamner (Convergence: The Question); Dean Haspiel (The Fox); Russ Heath (G.I. Combat); h-eri (Ivory Dragon Studios); Jaime Hernandez (Love and Rockets); Ken Hunt (Talon); Klaus Janson (Superman); Dave Johnson (Inhumans: Attilan Rising); JG Jones (Strange Fruit); Chris Kemple (Red Vengeance); Denis Kitchen (The Best of Comix Book: When Marvel Went Underground); Barry Kitson (Empire: Uprising); Paul Levitz (Convergence: World's Finest Comics); Mike Lilly (Grimm Fairy Tales Presents: Robyn Hood); Nate Lovett (Midnight Tiger); Kevin Maguire (Justice League); Mike Manley (Darkhawk); Mark Mariano (The Other Side of Hugless Hill); Laura Martin (Star Wars); Ron Marz (Convergence: Batman and Robin); Pop Mhan (He-Man: The Eternity War); Terry Moore (Rachel Rising); Nen (The Memory Collectors); Tom Palmer (The Avengers); Jimmy Palmiotti (The Con Job); Dan Parent (Archie); Brent Peeples (Legenderry: Green Hornet); Andrew Pepoy (Afterlife with Archie); David Peterson (Mouse Guard); Khoi Pham (X-Men Legacy); Andy Price (My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic); Ron Randall (Convergence: Catwoman); Budd Root (Cavewoman); Don Rosa (Donald Duck); Craig Rousseau (Batman Beyond); Stephane Roux (Harley Quinn and Power Girl); Andy Runton (Owly); Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo); Matteo Scalera (Black Science); Jeff Shultz (Betty and Veronica); Bart Sears (Bloodshot); Louise Simonson (Convergence: Superman - The Man of Steel); Walter Simonson (Convergence: Superman - The Man of Steel); Matt Slay (The Sakai Project: Artists Celebrate Thirty Years of Usagi Yojimbo); Andy Smith (Earth 2); Matthew Dow Smith (X-Files Season 10); Charles Soule (Uncanny Inhumans); Jim Starlin (Thanos: The Infinity Relativity); Marcio Takara (Armor Wars); Ben Templesmith (Gotham by Midnight); Mark Texeira (Ghost Racers); Frank Tieri (Suicide Squad); Peter Tomasi (Green Lantern Corps); John Totleben (Swamp Thing); Jeremy Treece (King: Mandrake the Magician); Billy Tucci (Shi); James Tynion (Constantine: The Hellblazer); Rick Veitch (Saga of the Swamp Thing); Charles Vess (Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream); Mark Waid (Daredevil); John Watson (Red Sonja); Matt Wieringo ('Ringo Scholarship Fund); Rich Woodall (Kyrra); Kelly Yates (Doctor Who); Thom Zahler (My Little Pony: Friends Forever); and Mike Zeck (Secret Wars). 

   

In the coming weeks, look for more announcements from the Baltimore Comic-Con. We are looking forward to highlighting our guests, the Harvey Awards, industry exclusives, and programming. The latest developments can always be found on our website, Twitter, and Facebook pages.