THE 1964 NEW YORK COMICON: THE TRUE STORY BEHIND THE WORLD'S FIRST COMIC CONVENTION tells the greatest story never told: the story of the first comic con ever held. This event was never reported by any radio channel, tv station, magazine, or newspaper. Bits and pieces of the story can be found in old fanzines, but, until now, the majority of this story has only existed in the memories of the original 56 attendees of the show. Now, at last - for the first time - the full story of the world's first comic book convention is finally told. The story of the 1964 New York Comicon is the story of Bernie Bubnis, Ron Fradkin, Art Tripp, and Ethan Roberts. Four boys who, like an early 1960s Kirby kid gang of boy commandoes, took Comic Fandom by storm by writing and publishing their own fanzines, pillaging used-book stores and flea markets for back-issue comics, visiting the offices of Marvel, DC, and Gold Key Comics, and meeting with Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Stan Lee, Julius Schwartz, Bill Harris, Flo Steinberg, Curt Swan, Mike Sekowsky, Don Heck, Gil Kane, and Joe Giella. Tired of hearing about other fans' failed attempts to stage a convention for years, these four boys took it upon themselves to make a convention happen. They pooled their resources and used their contacts with the comic professionals they knew to get them to attend and donate door prizes that included stacks of original art pages. They even convinced Spider-man artist Steve Ditko to attend the con - and to this day it is the only con Steve Ditko has ever attended. (Find out why.) This book tells the stories of the first comic collectors ever and how they traveled from all over the country and converged on New York City on that hot summer day in July 1964 to attend this historic event. All the earliest-known comic dealers attended that day, including Howard Rogofsky, Bill Thailing, Claude Held, Phil Seuling, Doug Berman, Don Foote, Marc Nadel, Malcolm Willits, and Tom Wilson. 34 pages of their original price lists from 1964 are reprinted to show what comics were for sale that day and what they were selling for. This book presents a complete blow-by-blow account of the convention - in the attendees' own words. It includes over 300 photographs and 45 pages of biographical information about this amazing group of 56 original attendees that includes a fifteen-year-old future GAME OF THRONES writer George R. R. Martin, the world-famous radio host Paul Gambaccini, and a young Len Wein, co-creator of Wolverine and Swamp Thing -- to name just a few of the comic book fans and who attended the con. Research for this book includes dozens of interviews with original attendees and all four organizers as well as information mined from complete runs of old 1960s comic book fanzines, such as The Rocket's Blast, Alter-Ego, The Comicollector, The Comic Reader, Jeddak, Comic Art, Masquerader, Hero, Yancy Street Journal - and more. Featured in this book are complete and unedited early 1960s interviews with Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, Julius Schwartz, Mike Sekowsky, Joe Giella, and Gold Key editor Bill Harris. Also included is long-lost art by Steve Ditko, Jack Kirby, and Curt Swan. In addition, this book contains the only published art ever drawn by George R.R. Martin along with the first three writings he ever published, and they are each reprinted in their entirety. A digitally-restored copy of the complete 1964 New York Comicon program booklet is reprinted in its entirety as well for the first time since 1964. Also reprinted in their entirety are Progress Report #1 (8 pages) and Progress Report #2 (2 pages) and all ads for the convention. The story of early comic book fans' struggle to organize their first comic convention is a tale of epic proportions - one that is long overdue to be told - for it is Comic Fandom's greatest story. And now, for the first time, comic fans everywhere can read about the convention that started it all: the 1964 New York Comicon.

Only at Comic-Con examines the relationship between exclusivity and the proliferation of media industry promotion at the San Diego Comic-Con, from the convention's founding in 1970 to its current status as a destination for hundreds of thousands of pop culture fans and a hub of Hollywood hype and buzz.

Offers undergraduate students with an understanding of the comics medium and its communication potential. This book deals with comic books and graphic novels. It focuses on comic books because in their longer form they have the potential for complexity of expression.

Cosplay, comics, anime, and geek culture have exploded into the mainstream over recent years and have resulted in a thriving community of costume enthusiasts and pop culture fans. Today’s cosplayers find inspiration on the pages of comics, classic literature, and even history, as well as film, television, and video games to inform their creative and oftentimes elaborate ensembles. They utilize all manner of materials and techniques including 3D printers, thermoplastics, craft foam, fabric and more to design their costumes and props. Libraries on the leading edge are already embracing this new worldwide sensation by integrating cosplay into their programming and events. Learn all about the world of cosplay and how you can host cosplay events, workshops, makerspaces, clubs, and more in your library! This one-stop guide includes quotes and interviews with librarians who are incorporating cosplay into their programming as well as with cosplayers. You’ll also find 32 full-color photographs of cosplay in action to give you both ideas and inspiration for getting started!

Contributions by Kenneth Baker, Jaqueline Berndt, Albert Boime, John Carlin, Benoit Crucifix, David Deitcher, Michael Dooley, Damian Duffy, M. C. Gaines, Paul Gravett, Diana Green, Karen Green, Doug Harvey, Charles Hatfield, M. Thomas Inge, Leslie Jones, Jonah Kinigstein, Denis Kitchen, John A. Lent, Dwayne McDuffie, Andrei Molotiu, Alvaro de Moya, Kim A. Munson, Cullen Murphy, Gary Panter, Trina Robbins, Rob Salkowitz, Antoine Sausverd, Art Spiegelman, Scott Timberg, Carol Tyler, Brian Walker, Alexi Worth, Joe Wos, and Craig Yoe Through essays and interviews, Kim A. Munson’s anthology tells the story of the over-thirty-year history of the artists, art critics, collectors, curators, journalists, and academics who championed the serious study of comics, the trends and controversies that produced institutional interest in comics, and the wax and wane and then return of comic art in museums. Audiences have enjoyed displays of comic art in museums as early as 1930. In the mid-1960s, after a period when most representational and commercial art was shunned, comic art began a gradual return to art museums as curators responded to the appropriation of comics characters and iconography by such famous pop artists as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. From the first-known exhibit to show comics in art historical context in 1942 to the evolution of manga exhibitions in Japan, this volume regards exhibitions both in the United States and internationally. With over eighty images and thoughtful essays by Denis Kitchen, Brian Walker, Andrei Molotiu, Paul Gravett, Art Spiegelman, Trina Robbins, and Charles Hatfield, among others, this anthology shows how exhibitions expanded the public dialogue about comic art and our expectation of “good art”—displaying how dedicated artists, collectors, fans, and curators advanced comics from a frequently censored low-art medium to a respected art form celebrated worldwide.

In the summer of 2000 X-Men surpassed all box office expectations and ushered in an era of unprecedented production of comic book film adaptations. This trend, now in its second decade, has blossomed into Hollywood's leading genre. From superheroes to Spartan warriors, The Comic Book Film Adaptation offers the first dedicated study to examine how comic books moved from the fringes of popular culture to the center of mainstream film production. Through in-depth analysis, industry interviews, and audience research, this book charts the cause-and-effect of this influential trend. It considers the cultural traumas, business demands, and digital possibilities that Hollywood faced at the dawn of the twenty-first century. The industry managed to meet these challenges by exploiting comics and their existing audiences. However, studios were caught off-guard when these comic book fans, empowered by digital media, began to influence the success of these adaptations. Nonetheless, filmmakers soon developed strategies to take advantage of this intense fanbase, while codifying the trend into a more lucrative genre, the comic book movie, which appealed to an even wider audience. Central to this vibrant trend is a comic aesthetic in which filmmakers utilize digital filmmaking technologies to engage with the language and conventions of comics like never before. The Comic Book Film Adaptation explores this unique moment in which cinema is stimulated, challenged, and enriched by the once-dismissed medium of comics.

The first in-depth, behind-the-scenes book treatment of the rivalry between the two comic book giants. THEY ARE THE TWO TITANS OF THE COMIC BOOK INDUSTRY--the Coke and Pepsi of superheroes--and for more than 50 years, Marvel and DC have been locked in an epic battle for spandex supremacy. At stake is not just sales, but cultural relevancy and the hearts of millions of fans. To many partisans, Marvel is now on top. But for much of the early 20th century, it was DC that was the undisputed leader, having launched the American superhero genre with the 1938 publication of Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel's Superman strip. DC's titles sold millions of copies every year, and its iconic characters were familiar to nearly everyone in America. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman -- DC had them all. And then in 1961, an upstart company came out of nowhere to smack mighty DC in the chops. With the publication of Fantastic Four #1, Marvel changed the way superheroes stories were done. Writer-editor Stan Lee, artists Jack Kirby, and the talented Marvel bullpen subsequently unleashed a string of dazzling new creations, including the Avengers, Hulk, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and Iron Man. Marvel's rise forever split fandom into two opposing tribes. Suddenly the most telling question you could ask a superhero lover became "Marvel or DC?" Slugfest, the first book to chronicle the history of this epic rivalry into a single, in-depth narrative, is the story of the greatest corporate rivalry never told. Complete with interviews with the major names in the industry, Slugfest reveals the arsenal of schemes the two companies have employed in their attempts to outmaneuver the competition, whether it be stealing ideas, poaching employees, planting spies, or launching price wars. The feud has never completely disappeared, and it simmers on a low boil to this day. With DC and Marvel characters becoming global icons worth billions, if anything, the stakes are higher now than ever before.