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

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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
Creator Talks: Dan Mazur

BOSTON COMICS ROUNDTABLE PRESENTS: Creator Talks, with Dan Mazur on “The Jernegan Solution”

SOMERVILLE, Mass. – The Boston Comics Roundtable (BCR) cordially invites you to the second installment of their recently launched Creator Talk series, which will take place at the new Boston Comics Workspace at 561 Windsor Street in Somerville, Studio 306. Writer/artist Dan Mazur will discuss his new historical nonfiction comic “The Jernegan Solution,” the tale of a strange little gold rush that occurred in 1890s Maine. The event kicks off at 2 pm on Sunday July 26th. Admission is free and open to the public.

Mazur’s Creator Talk will focus on the process of bringing “The Jernegan Solution” to fruition, from inspiration to publication, becoming what Kevin Bramer at Optical Sloth calls “a thoroughly engaging comic that details a bit of American history that I was completely unaware of.” Topics will include visual and historical research, script composition, and the creative problem solving involved in bringing this obscure bit of American history to light.

An excellent offering, then, for comics creators and enthusiasts alike.

Please find more information about Mazur and his work at www.danmazurcomics.com.

About Dan Mazur
Mazur wears many hats in the Boston comics community. He’s the creative force behind Ninth Art Press, the “unofficial publishing arm” of the BCR, co-director of M.I.C.E. (Massachusetts Independent Comics Expo), and an acclaimed author, cartoonist, and comics scholar. Most recently he is known for the compendium “Comics: A Global History.”

Purchase “The Jernegan Solution” here!

When: Sunday July 26, 2015 at 2:00 pm
Where: 561 Windsor Street, Studio 306, in Somerville

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July 13, 2015
The Super Wizard Returns

Joey Peters demonstrates the value of recycling for cartoonists:Peters mines the detritus of the Golden Age, namely the weird sequential outbursts of the mad genius Fletcher Hanks, using them to build his own comics empire from spare parts. Bringing his own contemporary sensibility to the material, Peters has actually drawn more pages using Hanks’ characters (including Fantomah, Stardust the Super Wizard, and Big Red Maclane — all in the public domain), than Hanks himself did in his brief, meteoric career. Peters’ newest Hanksian saga, The Super Wizard Returns, Chapter. 1, is now available as a digital download on Comixology.

For more comics by Joey Peters and more comics visit Superwizard.net

July 10, 2015
Spellbound Comics Release Party!

NEW ANTHOLOGY FROM BOSTON COMICS ROUNDTABLE: Spellbound Comics #1 Launch Party

SOMERVILLE, Mass. – Imagine the city of Boston if it were infused with magic, both the mundane and extraordinary sprinkled with a dash of the supernatural. The latest release from the Boston Comics Roundtable (BCR) explores just that in Spellbound #1. Please join us on Saturday July 18 at 6:00 PM at the Boston Comics Workspace (located at 561 Windsor Street, Studio 306, in Somerville, Mass.) to celebrate our newest anthology.

This collection of over a dozen stories takes our city and pulls it through the looking glass, utilizing a host of varying narratives to create a sometimes serious, sometimes silly examination of what it means to be a Bostonian. Including the work of Dan Mazur, author of Comics: A Global History, Colonial Comics editor and contributor J.L. Bell, and Emmy Award winning graphic designer Anthony Lathrop, to name but a few, the anthology promises a stunning and visually diverse array of unique stories. The book will be for sale before its official debut at Boston Comic Con on July 31. Come by the Workspace to snag an advance copy, enjoy some light refreshments, and talk shop with the BCR.

Spellbound is also available for preorder online at http://bostoncomics.storenvy.com/products/13019412-spellbound-1. Additionally, please see our website for more information about the Boston Comics Roundtable and our upcoming events (www.bostoncomicsroundtable.com).

About the authors
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.

About Boston Comics Roundtable
The Boston Comics Roundtable is a community of independent comics artists and writers based in the Greater Boston area, acting as a resource for local creators. We encourage development and collaboration and welcome anyone interested in creating or publishing comics, at all ages and levels of experience. Our weekly meetings revolve around discussions of news in comics, showing of members’ work, and the professional development of everyone involved.

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July 7, 2015
Creator Talks: Heide Solbrig

BCR invites you to the launch of the first in a series of Creator Talks on Sunday July 12, 2015 at 2:00 pm. First up is local writer, filmmaker, and media artist Heide Solbrig who will discuss her transmedia project The Dandelion King: an autobiographical story told through a graphic novel, six short films, an interactive app, archival footage, and a playable game. The talk will take place at the new Boston Comics Workspace, located at 561 Windsor Street, Studio 306, in Somerville, Mass.

Solbrig, also known as WhateverFloatsYourBoat Productions, will describe how she developed the ambitious scope of her project, with its innovative interactive and multimedia elements. She will explain her storytelling process as well as the recent publication of the first installment of her graphic novel. This is an excellent educational opportunity for any comics and multimedia enthusiast, both novices and experts alike. BCR intends to host more events such as this in the future to bring community members together to explore creative techniques and style.

About Heide Solbrig
Through multimedia, Solbrig tells stories that concentrate on how economics, history, and politics impact us in deeply personal ways. Solbrig holds several advanced degrees, including an MFA in Conceptual Design/Information Arts from San Francisco State University and a Ph.D. in Communication from The University of California, San Diego. Please find more information about Solbrig and her project at www.dandyking.net/.

Purchase the book here!

When: Sunday July 12, 2015 at 2:00 pm
Where: 561 Windsor Street, Studio 306, in Somerville

Facebook Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/403304579856479/
Calendar Event available here.

Poster Link: http://bostoncomics.com/?p=2974

June 30, 2015
Roundup: Comics Confection

The Comics Confection, held on Saturday 20 June, marked the first event for the Boston Comics Workspace (see more here). There were mounds of baked goods for consumption, comics to examine, doodles to draw, and excellent company.

A number of BCR members and friends were in attendance (pictured are Patrick Flaherty, David Marshall, Cathy Leamy, Catalina Rufin, Heide Solbrig, Donna Martinez, James Mobius, Olivia Li, Dan Mazur, Ludgy Jean-Baptiste, Jesse Schuh, and Jesse Lonergan, among others). Quite a few people brought their own work to share and add to our growing comic library. The collection contains not only BCR anthologies, but also the work of our members, some of which includes Inaction Comics published by Kimball Anderson, The Jenergan Solution by Dan Mazur, Highland Girl by Catalina Rufin, The Dandelion King by Heide Solbrig, Late August by Neil Johnson, Inky Stories #4 by David Marshall, and so many more, all available for perusing and purchase in one convenient location! Is your book not featured? Feel free to stop by the Workspace and drop a few copies off.

Besides flipping through comics, those in attendance took up ink and crayon and set to doing what they do best! It was wonderful to see the doodles and collaborations decorating our table. The food was good, the comics were many, and the conversation was engaging and plentiful, running the gambit from brush strokes to Doctor Who. I cannot think of a better way to have spent an afternoon. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open for news of our next event!

Photos are courtesy of Dan Mazur (danmazur), David Marshall (inkydavid), and Olivia Li (lovianart).

June 23, 2015