Comic Book Candy

This year Chicago has added one more convention to the mix, and this one is a little different (and no, we're not talking about Cake). Vert Con, a small venture organized and crowd funded by local high schooler and former Comic Vault employee Everett "Vert" Watford took place this weekend in the basement of the All-Saints Church in the Ravenswood neighborhood. With only one local comic shop in attendance as a vendor ( First Aid Comics ), the majority of tables were dedicated to local creators touting their creator-owned works. Guests of honor included Mike Norton , creator of Battlepug , and Tim Seeley , creator of Hack / Slash. Also in attendance were Batman, Inc. artist Chris Burnham and Atomika creator Sal Abbinanti . Seeing such big names in attendance at such a small gathering made the absence of other well-known local creators more noticeable. Considering the long established Heroes Con in North Carolina also took place this past weekend, it's likely that tho...

The month of May brings more than just warm weather and summer blockbusters. For comic book fans the world over, especially those in Chicago, Free Comic Book Day is the shining beacon that marks the end of a long, cold winter. FCBD means those much touted event books from the Big Two are right around the corner, and comic book movie adaptations aren't far behind either. This year saw the release of Thor the same weekend as FCBD, while past releases have included Wolverine and Star Trek . Despite a large amount of store participation across the world, many fans still do not know what this wonderful event is about. Speaking from retail experience, many casual comic readers see posters for FCBD and think, "What's the catch?" Though every store has different criteria, the main idea remains the same. Stop in to your local comic book store on the first Saturday in May and you can get 1 or more free books specifically released for FCBD, no purchase necessary. These books ...