Friday at Mysterious Galaxy

Need Friday night plans? And just so happen to be in San Diego (or willing to make the trek in for a speaking engagement with someone who's none-too-comfortable doing speaking engagements)? Well, then, have I got plans for you. Click the subject above, or read on.

Local genre bookstore Mysterious Galaxy, one of the better bookstores in San Diego (they could leap to the top of that list if they'd start selling graphic novels there), invited me to come speak about comics and graphic novels. A nice bonus about this, unbeknownst to them, is that the title of the engagement and the subject matter is a perfect place for me to also plug a book that Scott Tipton and I are writing for IMPACT Books, COMIC BOOKS 101 (coming spring '09). Either way, it should be a fun, casual event so if you're in the area and looking to come talk comics, c'mon by. I'll likely hand out comics to everyone there, too. The above link will have the address and phone number, and here's the formal description of the event:

Title of Event: Comics & Graphic Novels 101
Time: Friday, March 21, 2008 7:00 p.m.
Location: Mysterious Galaxy

Comics and Graphic Novels seem to be everywhere in 21st century publishing. Almost every major traditional publishing house now has a comics imprint, in addition to the established publishers in the comics field in the US and internationally. While many readers are comfortable and familiar with the world of sequential art, we know some of the rest have questions. Comics aren't just superheroes in tights? They're not just for kids? What's manga, anyway? Etc.

To answer these questions and more, we drew on two of our local community resources: Chris Ryall, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of IDW Publishing, and Robert Scott, Owner of Comickaze & AFC Studio. Chris will focus on IDW's contributions as a small press, including not only the comics and graphic novels they produce, but also their prose, art book, and children's book publications. Robert will offer insights into what comics offer today, including works by such genre prose authors as Peter David, Joe Hill, Cory Doctorow, Kevin J. Anderson, Steve Niles, Clive Barker, and MG's own Jeff Mariotte, all published by IDW. Find out more at Comics and Graphic Novels 101 on Friday, March 21, at 7:00 PM.