• Chris Ross, Director of Digital Publishing and in-house book designer for Top Shelf Productions (2013 Eisner Award nomination for best publication design)
• Sarah Mirk, Online Editor of Bitch Media and the force behind the Oregon History Comics
• Spencer Newlin-Cushing, Assistant Editor at Dark Horse Comics
• Jason Leivian, Owner and Curator of Floating World Comics

Moderated by Todd Sattersten, PSU Professor and author of Every Book Is a Startup

Transmit Culture: A Panel Discussion about Comic and Graphic Novel Publishing
Thursday May 16th
Doors open at 7 for hour d’ourves and mingling
Event is from 7:30 to 9 pm.
Where: 5th Avenue Cinema
510 SW Hall Street
Facebook Event Page

The post Ooligan Press’s Transmit Culture: A Panel Discussion about Comic and Graphic Novel Publishing appeared first on Portland Geek Council of Commerce and Culture.

Online at TFAW.com, at least two free comics will be added to all in-stock orders starting at 12:01 am PST May 4, while supplies last.

TFAW has an incredible slate of comic book creators signing at all three of their Oregon locations, including several creators from this year’s official FCBD comics, like Ryan Hill (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Ben Bates (Sonic the Hedgehog), Joshua Williamson (Captain Midnight), and Jeremy Barlow (R.I.P.D.). Plus, meet Colleen Coover (Bandette), Terry Dodson (Uncanny X-Men), Aaron Lopresti (Sword of Sorcery), Erika Moen (Bucko), Ibrahim Moustafa (The Pound), Vicente Navarrete (Sketch Monsters), Michael Avon Oeming (Victories), Paul Tobin (Detective Comics), and Leia Weathington (The Legend of Bold Riley)!

May 4 also kicks off TFAW’s Spring Savings Sale, both in stores and online. Customers will save up to 60% on comics, graphic novels, toys, statues, and more. In stores, customers will also enjoy $5 doorbuster graphic novels.

As a special bonus, Stormtroopers and other Star Wars characters from Cloud City Garrison and Kashyyyk Base will “patrol” at the Beaverton TFAW, and the Pirates of PDXYAR will invade the Portland and Milwaukie TFAW stores. Espionage Cosmetics will also be offering demonstrations of their geeky cosmetics at the Portland TFAW. Get the complete schedule below.

PORTLAND TFAW, 2916 NE BROADWAY PORTLAND, OR 97232:
RSVP on Facebook

9:00 am: Doors open!
11:30-1:30 pm Signings:
* Terry Dodson – Uncanny X-Men, Captain Marvel
* Erika Moen – Bucko, DAR
* Jeremy Barlow – Mass Effect, R.I.P.D.
2:00-4:00 pm Signings:
* Joshua Williamson and Vicente Navarrete – Captain Midnight, Sketch Monsters
* Michael Avon Oeming – Victories, Powers

Special Guests: Free demos by Espionage Cosmetics from 12-3; the Pirates of PDXYAR from 10-2.

BEAVERTON TFAW, 4390 SW LLOYD AVE. BEAVERTON, OR 97005:
RSVP on Facebook

9:00 am: Doors open!
11:30-1:30 pm Signings:
* Aaron Lopresti – Sword of Sorcery, Justice League International
* Ben Bates – Sonic the Hedgehog, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
1:30-3:30 pm Signings:
* Colleen Coover – Bandette, Girl Comics
* Paul Tobin – Colder, Detective Comics

Giveaways From the Following: Bricks and Minifigs, Java Mama, Jimmy Johns, Subway & Starbucks (while supplies last)

Special Guests: Stormtroopers and more from Cloud City Garrison & Kashyyyk Base

MILWAUKIE TFAW, 10977 SE MAIN ST. MILWAUKIE, OR 97222:
RSVP on Facebook

9:00 am: Doors open!
12-2 pm Signings:
* Ryan Hill – Avatar: The Last Airbender
* Leia Weathington – The Legend of Bold Riley
* Ibrahim Moustafa – The Pound

Giveaways From the Following: CD Game Exchange, Pietro’s Pizza & Spring Creek Coffee House (while supplies last)

Special Guests: The Pirates of PDXYAR from 10-2.

The post Free Comic Book Day at TFAW appeared first on Portland Geek Council of Commerce and Culture.

10th Annual Stumptown Comics Fest
April 27 and 28, 2013 • Oregon Convention Center
Sat. 10-6, Sun. 12-6

The post Visit the Portland Geek Council Booth at Stumptown appeared first on Portland Geek Council of Commerce and Culture.

The Hollywood Theatre presents graphic novels spilling out of the third eye of GRIDLORDS. GRIDLORDS is a Portland based underground and art comics community, with a strong love of interdisciplinary performance and storytelling, and an unbridled desire to marry sound and vision in new ways.

In an era where the church of the mind and the soul of the state are dependent on individuals too wrapped up in their phones to be wrapped up in each other GRIDLORDS wants you, the audience, to feel a part of something. On April 27th at 9:30pm a massive exhibition of shadow puppets, warped sounds, strange lights, free hand animations and comedy will descend upon the theater with one goal – to inspire creativity and stimulate independent thought.

The smorgasbord includes:

Eamon Espey & Lisa Krause: performing Ishi’s Brain
Ishi’s Brain is a show by Lisa Krause and Eamon Espey that incorporates shadow puppets, a marionette, masks and a liberal use of painted cardboard. It’s based on a chapter in Espey’s new graphic novel, Songs of the Abyss. The true story is about a man who has often been referred to as “the last wild Indian.” In Krause and Espey’s version, it becomes a science fiction ritual where a lone spirit spends his final days and an alien shaman guides him into the next world.

MSHR
MSHR is a collaborative audio-visual project by Birch Cooper and Brenna Murphy. The duo works across digital, analog and organic media to build synthesizers, installations, recordings and rituals. “A hand tracing a spiral in the wet sand, meshing with the sky to form a nano chip.”Chelsea Kamm w/ the Many Fur Puppet troupe
IN THE DARK TIMES. A short and sweet shadow puppet show about the end times by the Many Fur Puppet Troupe, set to a live soundtrack by a wild band of Portland locals.

Erin Tanner performing Dream Governor
Dream Governor: a multi media collage story of a full time dreamer who lives in the dome of a capitol building, inspired by recent travel time and conversations in Olympia Wa and Providence RI. Erin Tanner is a pacific northwest based artist in realms of comics, puppetry, performance, animation, piano, comedy, storytelling, and most recently mural paintings and video.

MARSUPLALA
MARSUPLALA is a collaborative performance project between artists Wally C. and Alex Chiu.  The project can be described as a collage of creative vomit; some of the best there is to offer in the world of Weirdo Art Theater. Expect to see full body monster costumes, animated violence, and drippy cuteness.

Plus Lori D. presents a Gridlords Animation reel featuring:

EDIBLE ROCKS by STEFAN GRUBER

Stefan Gruber is a Seattle animator and performance artist. He creates a short hand drawn, digitally finished film every year. Edible Rocks is his new film about the time he convinced his little brother that there were rocks you can eat.

WATER by AMY LOCKHART

Amy Lockhart is a filmmaker, animator and artist. Her animations have screened at festivals nationally and internationally, including the Ann Arbor Film Festival and International Animation Festival in Hiroshima, Japan.

LIKE A LANTERN by LILLI CARRE

Lilli Carré is an artist and illustrator living in Chicago. She primarily works in the forms of animation and comics, and is the co-founder of the Eyeworks Festival of Experimental Animation. She has created several books of comics, most recently the short story collection Heads or Tails, published by Fantagraphics Books.

WEE WEE ATTRACTORS by LEIF GOLDBERG and URSA GOLDENROSE

Leif Goldberg’s mystifying films present the viewer with an ecstatic obstacle course of mutating images and delightfully warped sounds.  In addition to filmmaking, Goldberg is an independent artist whose work ranges from drawings and objects to screen prints.

(from Anthology Film Archives program notes, Feb. 2013)

LORD I: THE RECORDS KEEPER by LORI DAMIANO

Lori D. is a Portland based independent Illustrator & animator.  LORD I: THE RECORDS KEEPER is a hand-drawn animated film that she has been working on for over 10 orbits of the earth.  LORD I is a story of a documentarian learning to shake off the mental barnacles of the past and the holographic barnacle projections of the future in order to encounter the indefinable present moment.

GRIDLORDS
The Hollywood Theatre
April 27th @ 9:30pm
4122 NE Sandy Blvd.
ADMISSION: $5

The post GRIDLORDS Re-Illustrates Indie Comics in Cosmic Exhibition appeared first on Portland Geek Council of Commerce and Culture.

Planning to attend Stumptown Comics Fest at the Oregon Convention Center April 27 and 28? Start the celebration right at the Stumptown Comics Fest Kickoff Party April 26 at the Portland TFAW. Meet and mingle with guests from the Fest, enjoy music by Switch from Dangerous Kids and Bobby Roberts from Welcome to That Whole Thing, and consume free food and beer (for those 21+ with valid ID). Portland’s Ground Kontrol Classic Arcade will provide video games for the party!

Before the party, get mythic at the Portland TFAW’s signing with Stumptown Comics Fest guest Bill Willingham, creator of the Eisner Award-winning Vertigo series Fables, from 5 to 7 p.m. This event is courtesy of the Fest, which brought Willingham to Portland for the signing and convention.

Stumptown Comics Fest Kickoff Party
Portland TFAW
2916 NE Broadway
April 26, 7pm
Facebook Event Page

The post Stumptown Comics Fest Kickoff Party appeared first on Portland Geek Council of Commerce and Culture.

From Capital I Productions:

“Manos” The Hands of Fate is arguably one of the worst movies ever made. The 1966 film written, directed, produced and starring fertilizer salesman Harold P. Warren was barely received when released, only available in limited showings at a few drive-in theatres. Thanks to Mystery Science Theater 3000, in 1993 Manos was brought out of obscurity and soon became a much-loved, and still revered, cult classic.

This is Capital I Productions’ second incarnation of this original onstage version. Directed and adapted to the stage by Portland actor and musician Brian Adrian Koch, it first premiered at Theater! Theatre! in 2006 to thrilled audiences and rave reviews.

While this show is for lovers of bad movies, comedy, horror and theatre, music plays a big part as well with onstage musicians providing the production’s live score. Koch is the drummer for popular Portland band Blitzen Trapper and the onstage band will feature BT lead singer Eric Earley along with members of The Parson Red Heads and Viva Voce.

In a surprising twist only seen in the vast and quirky world of B movies, Jackey Raye Neyman Jones, an Oregonian who played the young girl “Debbie” in the original 1966 film will join this production as the voice of… Debbie! In the film, Debbie’s voice was dubbed over by an older woman, just one of the many reasons Manos grew to such cinematic notoriety. What was heard was a middle-age woman mumbling in sync with the young actress’ lips, her own voice has never been a part of Manos – until now! In Koch’s adaptation, the part of Debbie will be played by a puppet that Neyman Jones will voice from offstage.

 Opening Night is Thursday, April 11 at 8pm.
April 11-13 & April 18-20, Thursday – Saturday at 8pm
April 25-28 & May 2-5, Thursday – Sunday at 8pm
A Q&A session with the cast will follow performances
(with more special guests to be announced on website)
Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center>
5340 N. Interstate Ave., Portland
$20 available online and at the door

The post “MANOS” The Hands of Fate appeared first on Portland Geek Council of Commerce and Culture.

Things From Another World (TFAW) is proud to announce a signing with writer James Asmus (Thief of Thieves) February 27 at the Portland TFAW from 7 to 10 p.m. Writer/performer Asmus will be signing copies of Gambit from Marvel Comics, as well as his new creator-owned series from Image Comics, The End Times of Bram & Ben. Free food and beer (21+ with valid ID) will be provided.

The X-Men’s Ragin’ Cajun returns to a life of crime in Gambit, an action-packed solo series with art by Clay Mann (X-Men Legacy). The End Times of Bram & Ben, Asmus’s hilarious collaboration with Jim Festante and Rem Broo, presents a totally different story: when the Rapture happens, Bram is taken up to heaven due to a clerical mistake–only to be immediately returned. Now he and his more level-headed friend Ben must contend with the upcoming Armageddon–not to mention a world full of “sinners.”

James Asmus Signing: Gambit and The End Times of Bram & Ben
Portland TFAW
2916 NE Broadway
February 27 from 7 to 10 p.m.
RSVP on Facebook

The post James Asmus Signing: Gambit and The End Times of Bram & Ben appeared first on Portland Geek Council of Commerce and Culture.

Things From Another World (TFAW) is excited to announce a graphic novel buying program unique to Portland-area comic book stores. Bring your surplus, good-condition graphic novels to the Portland, Beaverton, and Milwaukie TFAW stores Wednesday through Saturday to exchange them for either store credit or cash.

How it works: bring in up to 100 of your surplus graphic novels from Marvel, DC Comics, Vertigo, Image Comics, or IDW Publishing Wednesday through Saturday, and a store manager will examine them. For those they need, you’ll earn either 25% of the cover price as store credit (store credit good only at brick and mortar locations), or 10% of the cover price in cash (checks issued for purchases over $25). Please keep in mind that if your books have more than minor shelf wear or are deemed unlikely to sell, TFAW may be unable to purchase them.

A valid state-issued photo I.D. and phone number are required for all book purchasing transactions. Additional terms apply, see a store manager for details!

The post TFAW Introduces Graphic Novel Buying Program for Oregon Stores appeared first on Portland Geek Council of Commerce and Culture.

From their recent blog:

Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen were hilarious in their roles as Captain D.D. Cumulus and Lady Opal Nightstream. I cannot say enough nice things about the director, the crew, production people and actors we worked with. We were even invited to lunch with them. It was exciting to see Hollywood at work. Co-creator, writer and director, Jonathan Krisel (btw his note book computer even has a bird stenciled on it), Carrie, and Fred used input from us, plus improvisation to flesh out the skit. It was a genuinely creative, fun, playful and satisfying experience. Everyone who participated seemed to have a great time.

The Portlandia TV show explores the somewhat quirky and even ridiculous side of the  mythical Portlandia we all love in Portland, Oregon. Complete with the weirdly dressed sub groups, like our beloved Steampunks, our endearing regional eccentricities, including our fervent recycling, our niche bookstores and specialty artisan shops, our obsession with brunch and our irrepressible DIY art. But as truly brilliant satire, it always seems spot-on in the roasting of our antics, and feels pretty well rooted in truth, because it is! This show does its homework.

The Rose City Steampunks also made sure to have their best Northwest-made geek finery on hand, including goggles by SteamBaby, and an impressive silver hand-held cannon created by Anthony Hicks of Tin Plate Studios. 

For the full story of their appearance, take a look at the blog post from Rose City Steampunks founder, Lorien Stormfeather Fletcher. And be sure to tune in this Friday, when the episode airs!

Portlandia Season 3, Episode 8: Soft Opening S03
February 8, 2013 on IFC
10:00pm Pacific

Synopsis: Peter and Nance practice hosting friends at the soft opening of their bed and breakfast; a magazine features a local furniture maker in their Man Issue; steampunks attend a convention; Fred takes a love interest on a bold third date.

The post Rose City Steampunks take on Portlandia appeared first on Portland Geek Council of Commerce and Culture.

From their press release:

Headlining the show will be Adam WarRock, making his first stop on a short west-coast tour. A nationally-recognized comics and pop culture hip-hop artist, WarRock’s press kit is riddled with glowing reviews from outlets like the BBC and Wired, as well as celebrity endorsements including Nathan Fillion (Castle, Firefly), Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim, Sean of the Dead) and Marvel author Matt Fraction.

Also joining WarRock on stage will be a new local duo “Michotomy.” Comprised of Portland emcees, Kiew Nikon (Kinetic Emcees & Analog Brothers) & Pwn Toney (Kielen King/Star Pilot’s Revenge), Michotomy will be joined on stage by their friend and local comic shop manager Sean Wynn (aka Badd Wolfe).

Opening the show will be “Bad Habitat,” the local, fan-voted winners of “Jammin” 107.5 fm’s “Open For Snoop Dogg” Contest. Bad Habitat has also opened for Slick Rick, Rahzel, Bizzy Bone, Digital Underground and many more well known acts. They recently released their first full-length album “Scissor Tree” and are already working to produce their next release.

The team at Dangerous Kids is the geeky glue bringing this show together, and their own DJ Switch will be spinning throughout the evening, as well as DJ SugarPDX. For more information, go to www.dangerouskids.net, or get the latest on Dangerous Kids Facebook.

Romancing The Nerds
The Fez Ballroom
316 SW 11th Ave, Portland, OR
February 14th. 9:00p.m.
21+, $10 cover: BUY TICKETS

The post Romancing The Nerds: a Valentine’s Day hip-hop concert appeared first on Portland Geek Council of Commerce and Culture.