Courtesy of Dark Horse

Mike Mignola's Hellboy

Let's just get this out of the way: Renowned comic book creator Mike Mignola has no earthly idea if Hollywood will ever get around to making Hellboy 3, the third cinematic portrayal of his signature red-skinned character. It's a question that the 52-year-old artist and scribe will get hit with often at various events, and we're certain that fanboys and geeks alike will be asking it during Mignola's visit to this weekend's Phoenix Comicon, where he'll appear from Friday through Sunday.

Frankly, he's pretty resigned to the fact that Hellboy 3 may never become a reality, although he'd love to see it happen, and told Jackalope Ranch as much during a phone interview earlier this week. We also discussed the ongoing Hellboy in Hell series, which debuted last year and damned the loveable humanoid demon and his "Right Hand of Doom" into Hades and, thus, a whole new direction for the character. Mignola gushed about his excitement over getting to explore a whole new world and how he anticipates adapting different folkloric portrayals of Hell for future issues, whenever he gets around to turning them out.

See Also:
- - 10 Must-See Events at Phoenix Comicon 2013
- Phoenix Comicon Announces Comic Book Legends as 2013 Guests
- Doctor Who and Torchwood's John Barrowman Talks Phoenix Comicon, the Face of Boe, and Chasing Down The Bionic Woman

More »

http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2010/06/this-is-why-ill-never-be-adult.html

Ever since Allie Brosh and her webcomic Hyperbole and a Half dropped off the face of the Internet more than a year ago, we've been twiddling our thumbs, attempting to find similar webcomics (her friend Matthew Inman creates a pretty good, and wildly successful one called The Oatmeal), and putting her return on our wish lists.

And this morning, we received very good news.

See also:
- The Oatmeal's Matthew Inman on Webcomics, Cereal, and His Upcoming Visit to Changing Hands
- 10 Must-See Events at Phoenix Comicon 2013

More »

Courtesy of Ash Avenue Comics.

Get ready.

Comic book geeks of Metro Phoenix better get plenty of sleep on Friday night, not to mention waiting until Sunday to check out Iron Man 3. That's because Saturday, May 4, gonna be a red-letter day that's like a ink-stained, pulp-filled, four-color mashup of Phoenix Comicon, Halloween, and Christmastime. The annual celebration of Free Comic Book Day will be happening at retail shops both locally and nationwide.

And thanks to a bit of calendar synchronicity, Intergalactic Star Wars Day (a.k.a. "May the Fourth Be With You") also falls on Saturday. The upshot of which for fans of the saga is that many local nerd-related businesses will feting both occasions. We've scoured pretty much every collectors den, comic shop, and geek havens in town and have a comprehensive list of what you can expect this weekend. Consider it a rehearsal for Comicon.

See Also:
- 7 Favorite Comic Book Shops in Phoenix
- Phoenix Comicon Announces Sci-Fi Sirens and Comic Book Legends for 2013
- All About Books and Comics Hosts a Celebration of the First Gay Comic Book Wedding

More »

Wait. You got your Aziz Ansari tix already, right? Good. 'Cause his Buried Alive Tour stops at Comerica Theatre on May 5. Ready for the pre-party? Here it goes: 10 GIFS of our favorite swagtastic comedian, Yeezy sidekick, and Parks and Recreation character. (Deal with it, Swansonians.) That one up there? That's a bonus GIF, from us to you, boo.

See also:
- Is Parks and Recreation the Wu-Tang Clan of Comedy?
- 30 Minutes or Less Plays It Too Safe
- Rashida Jones Steps Out on Her Own

More »

Heather Hoch

Blurring the lines between fine art, poetry and naughty comics, the Tempe Zine Con featured nearly 20 entries from local artists and writers.

Down at the Bayou, a house in the "Hipster Compton" section of Tempe just west of the ASU campus, a small crowd of fashionable, attractive young artists gathered in the brick shed to share their zines, drink some beer and take turns listening and reading their work.

See also:
- Aaron Johnson's Zine Collection
- Creators of Ziindi Zine Open 1Spot, a Native Contemporary Art Gallery on Roosevelt Row

More »

Welcome back to Explicitly Graphic, a monthly column by Cynthia Clark Harvey (who's working on a graphic novel of her own). From time to time, Harvey will review graphic novels, talk to artists, and dive into the scene of all things explicitly graphic. Today, she talks about Lynda Barry's university cartooning class with an online syllabus.

http://thenearsightedmonkey.tumblr.com

Cartoonist Lynda Barry is encouraging us to do the unthinkable.

For years, Barry has taught a workshop called Writing the Unthinkable. Now she's teaching an interdisciplinary Art/Science/English class, The Unthinkable Mind.

See also:
- Chris Ware's Graphic Novel Building Stories is an Unfolding, Inspiring Narrative
- University of Chicago's "Comics: Philosophy & Practice" was an Academic-omicon
- Sketchy Stuff: A Resource Guide to Drawing Opportunities, Workshops, and Classes in Phoenix

More »

Amazing Arizona Comic Convention

Editor's note: Amazing Arizona Comic Con has announced that because of an illness, Stan Lee will not be appearing.

Remember when comic books cost a dime and you would rush the newsstand every Friday after school for some weekend reading? Batman, Superman and Spider-Man were the big ones, but there were also Tales from the Dark Side, G.I. Joe and probably something about zombies.

Well, those days are gone. The reality is that comic books have become big business, practically overshadowing the larger-than-life characters filling the pulpy pages.

The third annual Amazing Arizona Comic Con returns to Phoenix January 25-27 featuring two of the men most responsible for elevating comic books in the literary world: Marvel Comics founder and creator Stan Lee, and DC Comics mastermind Jim Lee (no relation).

See also:
- Phoenix Comicon Announces First Wave of Guests for 2013, Including J. Michael Straczynski and the Cast of Babylon 5
- The 13 Best One-Liners of William Shatner

More »

"Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you're the Charlie Browniest."

It's easy to get bummed out by Christmas -- especially when the "holiday season," with all the crass consumerism, bad music, and awkward family gatherings, seems to kick off earlier and earlier each year.

But only the "grinchiest" can resist the charms of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Originally aired by CBS in 1965 (ABC now airs the special), the film established Charles M. Schulz's "Peanuts" characters as synonymous with Christmas, capturing all the joy and lowdown of the holiday with its crude animation, mellow jazz soundtrack (courtesy of Vince Guaraldi), and decidedly traditional message.

See also:
- 7 Favorite Comic Book Shops in Phoenix
- Phoenix Comic Book Artist Dave Kiersh Publishes Afterschool Special

More »

Comic by Dave Quan aka Luster Kaboom

Read the full comic after the jump ...
More »

iwishthiswas.com

San Diego Comic-Con is over and the latest adventures of Batman have yet to hit the silver screen. So while you're in comic land limbo, we have a few local solutions to get an illustrated fix.

7. Greg's Comics
This is the comic book geek's comic book shop. The Mesa store's laid out like a dork hoarder's garage sale -- packed with rows and rows of long boxes, with very little wiggle room. But there's a bounty of back issues in those boxes, at fairly cheap prices, and best of all, mini-series are bundled together and sold at a discount.

More »