THE BOSTON COMICS ROUNDTABLE: a community of comics creators, meeting weekly since 2006.

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Boston Comic Con 2015
The Boston Comics Roundtable is very excited to be an exhibitor at Boston Comic Con 2015. We will be launching our latest anthology Spellbound, which will be available for purchase for only $8! Our past anthologies will also be available along with an assortment of work from our members.

We will also be hosting a number of featured artists, including:

Eric Boeker
(Fri. July 31, 12−1 pm)
Ever since he can remember, Eric Boeker has wanted to grow up to be a cartoonist, which is why he (like all other aspiring cartoonists) studied German Literature and grew up to be an engineer. Thankfully, his cartoonist tendencies could not be repressed, and in 2005 he began to actively work on various independent cartoon projects, including creating the weekly, Gen-X, zombie sitcom comic “Commute of the Living Dead,” which can be seen on-line as part of Dig Boston’s Sunday Comics Project and at www.commuteofthelivingdead.com. He is also known to draw giant monsters and cute animals wearing dashing hats, when under extreme duress. Eric is a proud member of the Boston Comics Roundtable, a Boston-based collective of comic book artists and writers.

Greg Moutafis
(Fri. July 31, 2−3 pm)
Greg Moutafis has illustrated an eclectic mix of projects for Cengage, Caliber Comics, Children’s Hospital Boston, Jetpack Press, and Lollipop music magazine. His current release is the full color miniseries Boom!Squad with writer David Crouse.

Bob Flynn
(Fri. July 31, 4−5 pm)
Bob Flynn is a cartoonist and character designer known for his work in SpongeBob Comics, Nickelodeon Magazine, and Heeby Jeeby Comix. He heads up the art team as Director of Art & Animation at Boston-based FableVision Studios. Bob has also served as lead character designer on the animated series, Bravest Warriors, having designed fan-favorite characters including Catbug, Impossibear, Jelly Kid, and Plum…as well as shaping the look of all sorts of cute little creatures and weird monsters.

Joey Peters
(Sat. August 1, 11 am−12 pm)Joey Peters is a writer, cartoonist and beauty contest champion. His work has appeared in In a Single Bound, Leftovers of the Living Dead, a few alt-weeklies, and all across the internet. His latest work is The Super Wizard Returns, a reinterpretation of Fletcher Hanks’ mad genius.

Catalina Rufin
(Sat. August 1, 12−1 pm)
Catalina Rufin is an illustrator, cartoonist, and zine-maker from Boston. Her work is inspired by Celtic culture and mythology, Studio Ghibli films, and 1970s rock. She tells stories about hope, and healing. She draws LOTS of fairies.

Cory Levine

(Sat. August 1, 1−2 pm)
Writer, editor and graphic designer Cory Levine is a former editorial staffer for Marvel Comics where he edited hundreds of collected editions of comic books, encyclopedic handbooks, special edition magazines, and foreign-licensed comics including the company’s well-received line of Soleil graphic album adaptations. In 2010 he founded First Edition Publishing, Inc. — a publishing solutions firm offering editorial packaging, graphic design and pre-press production services. His writing is featured in the VIZ Media graphic novels Monsuno Combat Chaos Vol. 2: Revenge/Sacrifice and Ben10 Omniverse Vol. 1: Ghost Ship. He lives and works in New Hampshire.

Heide Solbrig
(Sat. August 1, 2−3 pm)
Heide Solbrig, the mind behind WhateverFloatsYourBoat Productions, is a writer, filmmaker, and media artist. Solbrig’s scholarly and media work examines the history of capitalism and concentrates on what some have described as ‘economic storytelling,’ i.e., stories about how economics, history, and politics impact us in deeply personal ways. While Solbrig’s work engages with politics, personal narrative, and experimental media forms—she will admit to liking accessible serial narrative quite a bit as well—she is a fan of Joss Whedon as well as other independent fantasy, science fiction, and comic book forms. Her graphic novel The Dandelion King is available for purchase.

Jerel Dye
(Sat. August 1, 4−6 pm)
Jerel Dye is a cartoonist, illustrator, and artist living and working in the Boston area. He has several self published mini comics and has stories in anthologies like Inbound, Minimum Paige, Hellbound, and the Little Nemo tribute Dream Another Dream. His first graphic novel Pigs Might Fly is due to be released in 2016. Jerel also teaches courses in drawing, cartooning and comics, at the Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, and does graphic design and media work for local non-profit organizations.

Joel Christian Gill
(Sun. August 2, 3−5 pm)
Joel Christian Gill is the chairman, CEO, president, director of development, majority and minority stock holder, manager, co-manager, regional manager, assistant to the regional manager, receptionist, senior black correspondent and janitor of Strange Fruit Comics. He is the author/illustrator of 2 forth coming books from Fulcrum Publishing Strange Fruit vol I Uncelebrated Narratives from Black History May 2014 and Tales of the Talented Tenth Fall 2014. In his spare time he is the Associate Dean of Student Affairs at the New Hampshire Institute of Art and member of The Boston Comics Roundtable. He received his MFA from Boston University and a BA from Roanoke College. His secret lair is behind a secret panel in the kitchen of his house (sold separately) in New Boston, New Hampshire where he lives with his wife, four children a 2 talking dog and 2 psychic cats.

Please see the complete schedule of featured artists below:

Friday July 31
- 12:00 PM: Eric Boeker
- 2:00 PM: Greg Moutafis
- 4:00 PM: Bob Flynn
Saturday August 1
- 11:00 AM: Joey Peters
- 12:00 PM: Catalina Rufin
- 1:00 PM: Cory Levine
- 2:00 PM: Heide Solbrig
- 4:00 PM: Jerel Dye
Sunday August 2
- 3:00 PM: Joel Gill
We’ll be at table numbers 812 and 813. Do come by and say hello!
July 31, 2015
Mini-Comics Workshop

Mini-Comics Workshop with Boston Comics Roundtable

Please join the Boston Comics Roundtable for our first Mini-Comics Workshop at the Boston Comics Workspace, located at 561 Windsor Street in Somerville, Studio 306. In this two hour session participants will be taught the ins and outs of putting together their own mini-comic. The workshop will take place Sunday August 9 at 2:00 pm. Admission is free and open to the public, though a suggested donation of $5 is welcome.

The first installment will go through the standard steps of producing a mini: laying out the pages, printing, stapling, and finishing. Mini-comic veterans, such as Ben Doane, Jesse Lonergan, Roho, and others, will be on hand to walk you through the process and share years’ worth of advice. The second part of the afternoon will cover more in-depth topics of the production process, namely, ways to make your work stand out among all the other minis out there, going over a host of topics from color choices, to technique, to binding.

It promises to be an enlightening workshop for anyone hoping to improve their craft, both beginners and masters alike.

When: Sunday August 9 at 2:00 PM

Where: Boston Comics Workspace, 561 Windsor Street in Somerville, Studio 306

Facebook Event.

Google Calendar.

July 29, 2015
Roundup: Creator Talk with Dan Mazur

On Sunday July 26, the Boston Comics Workspace hosted its second Creator Talk with local comics maven Dan Mazur, an acclaimed author, cartoonist, and comics scholar known locally for his many contributions to the Boston comics scene from his work as Ninth Art Press, publishing with BCR, and co-directing the Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo.

Mazur provided an extremely thorough presentation on his most recent work “The Jernegan Solution” to a well-attended and rapt audience. He covered how he came up with the idea for the piece as well as its evolution and the process of revision and expansion. He discussed his visit to Lubec, Maine, the setting of the story (and also the easternmost point in the United States), and the process of historical research. Mazur also covered character development in terms of look and attitude and went into his artistic process. The audience was allowed to peruse his thumbnails and roughs as well as view the finished work in its entirety. It was an extremely informative and inspiring afternoon!

July 28, 2015
Roundup: Spellbound Party

On Saturday July 18, the Boston Comics Roundtable was happy to celebrate the release of their latest anthology Spellbound. The kickoff event was held at the new Boston Comics Workspace, where the BCR community gathered for a magical evening of food, games, and fun!

A better crowd could not have been asked for to take a peek at the new anthology (pictured are David Marshall, J. L. Bell, Neil Johnson, Heide Solbrig, Olivia Li, Catalina Rufin, Donna Martinez, John Carvajal, Jordan Stillman, Adam Tutkus, L. J. Baptiste, Carolina Hu, Jonathan Juniman, Roho, James Mobius, Mattie Glenhaber, and Dan Mazur, among others). We were very pleased to have many of Spellbound‘s contributors in attendance, who each very kindly autographed the Workspace copy of the book (check it out next time you’re in the space).

The food was abundant and overflowing, almost as much as the titillating conversation. Folks participated in a comics jam to surreal and comedic effect as well as decorated the Workspace table with their lovely drawings. The hand drawn bookmarks were also a big hit. It was a wonderful evening and a great event in anticipation of Spellbound‘s official launch at Boston Comic Con 2015. Thanks to everyone who came out and made the night a success!

Photographs are courtesy of David Marshall (inkydavid), Roho and Levon Gyulkhasyan.

July 21, 2015
Spellbound: An Urban Fantasy Comics Anthology

Spellbound: An Urban Fantasy Comics Anthology

Edited by Olivia Li, Heide Solbrig, Ben Doane, Jamie Koh
40 pages ~ $ 8 | Black and White | 7 x 8.5 inches

The latest installment in the Boston Comics Roundtable’s ongoing anthology series, delves into city life through the lens of urban fantasy. This collection contains over a dozen stories by Boston-area independent comics creators who challenge the way we view the world by adding a dash of the supernatural into life in the big city. Visually diverse, these tales reveal the magic in both the extraordinary and the mundane of life in Beantown. The stories span from imaginative solutions for the challenges of the immigrant experience, to the dark rites of Patriots fans, to larger-than-life musings of inanimate objects along a Boston skyline. This anthology takes our city and pulls it through the looking glass, and along the way creates a sometimes serious, sometimes silly wonderland of local comics.

Spellbound contains work from L.J. Baptiste, J.L. Bell, W.B. Clem, Patrick Flaherty, Mehitabel Glenhaber, Levon Gyulkhasyan, Paul Hanna, Youngjin Hur, Patrick Jordan, Anthony Lathrop, Dan Mazur, Greg Moutafis, John Quirk, Roho, Catalina Rufin, and Adam Tutkus. The anthology was edited by Olivia Li, Heide Solbrig, Ben Doane, and Jamie Koh.

Buy from Storenvy | Previews | Read Press

July 18, 2015
Boston Creators Recognized by Harveys and Eisners

It’s awards season for mainstream American comics, and several of our local friends are getting attention from both Harvey and Eisner Award jurors.

At the San Diego Comic Con, the gorgeous, gigantic anthology Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream (Locust Moon), won the Eisner for Best Anthology and Best Design; among the star-studded list of contributors to the book is long-time Roundtabler Jerel Dye, whose stories have appeared in BCR anthologies Inbound 5 and Gulp!; Jerel also co-edited BCR and River Bird Comics’ Hellbound III:Darkness. Also in the Little Nemo anthology is Raul Gonzalez, whose stories appeared in the BCR’s Inbound 4, Inbound 5, and In a Single Bound #1, as well as Boston-area cartoonists Maris Wicks, Joe Quiñones, and Andrew MacLean. The Harvey awards have recognized Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream in their nominations as well, with a chance at both Best Anthology and the Special Award for Excellence in Presentation.

A panel from Jerel Dye’s entry in the anthology Little Nemo: Dream Another Dream

Another friend of BCR received an Eisner nomination this year: comics writer and scholar A. David Lewis (who co-edited the Colonial Comics anthology in which several BCR members were represented) got the nod for his tome American Comics, Literary Theory, and Religion: The Superhero Afterlife (Palgrave Macmillan).

Bob Flynn has contributed stories to Inbound 4, Inbound 5, and Gulp! a monster comics anthology for KIDS! (which he co-edited); he’s also a frequent contributor to Spongebob Comics, which was nominated for a Harvey Award in the Best Original Graphic Publication for Younger Readers category — we wish the best of luck to the two Bobs!

An excerpt from Bob Flynn’s story in Spongebob Comics #37

Congratulate Bob and Jerel in person — buy their comics and even get a sketch! — when each appears as Featured Artist at the BCR Table at the Boston Comic Con (Bob Flynn from 4:00-5:00 on Friday, July 31st; Jerel Dye from 4:00-6:00 on Saturday, August 1st).

July 17, 2015