Meet Jose Cabrera from 6-8pm who will be signing his new collection, The Crying Macho Man Collection: You So Loco

The NEW collection of hilarious CRYING MACHO MAN cartoons that is reminiscent of the old days of comedy slapstick.

www.cryingmachoman.com

Free Comic Book Day rocked the house at Manhattan Beach's The Comic Bug last Saturday, May 3rd.  Riding the coattails of the blockbuster motion picture IRON MAN, throngs of comic fans lined up to get free comics and sketches from over two dozen comic book creators.

Hellboy creator Mike Mignola made a surprise appearance along with BPRD writer Joshua Dysart, Sonambulo creator Rafael Navarro and Simpsons' artist Phil Ortiz.  To tie in with the Iron Man film, Marvel Adventures' Iron Man artist Scott Koblish dropped in to draw hundreds of pictures of Ol' Shell Head for kids.

The Hollywood League of Super-Heroes Superman, Wonder Woman and The Hulk showed up to take pictures with attendees and help hand out the thousands of free comics ordered for the occasion.

For the first time in Comic Bug history, the shop ran out of free comics midway through the afternoon.  The store had to resort to giving away much of its overstock to keep fans happy.

"We didn't anticipate a crowd like this," stated Jun Goeku regarding the over 500 patrons in attendance.  "Hopefully they all come back next year!"

The Comic Bug donated over $400 to the Hairy Cell Leukemia Foundation in honor of the late Dave Stevens, the creator of the Rocketeer.

CONFESSIONS OF A SUPERHERO

Sunday, January 27th from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. witness a once-in-a-lifetime event right here at The Comic Bug, the "Confessions of a Superhero" release party!  A screening of this absolutely amazing documentary will be followed by a brief Q & A with not just director Matt Ogens, but cast members Christopher (Superman) Dennis, Joe (The Hulk) McQueen and Jennifer (Wonder Woman) Gehrt!

Are these spandex-clad heroes menace or saviour?!  Are they here to help us or make a few quick bucks?  Come down to The Comic Bug Sunday, January 27th and find out.

DVDs will be available and there will be free snacks and refreshments.  For more on "Confessions of a Superhero", check out www.therealsuperhero.com.

Creator Mike Mignola and writer Josh Dysart will be at The Comic Bug to premiere the new mini-series BPRD 1946.

Wednesday, January 23 from 6 to 8 p.m. explore the origins of the BPRD with creator Mike Mignola and writer Joshua Dysart. There will be a brief, interactive Q&A, refreshments and autographs aplenty!

A portion of the proceeds will go the St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

Rising from the pits of Hades, Black Metal is a full-length graphic novel by Rick Spears (Teenagers From Mars, Pirates of Coney Island, Dead West) and Chuck B.B.  Black Metal is the story of Sam and Shawn, misunderstood twins with a mysterious lineage and a penchant for the darkest metal.  Though daily plagued by the rituals of the normal; school, shopping trips to the mall, and little brothers, the boys endeavor to stay true to the blackness in their souls. When they acquire the new Frost Axe album, their true destiny is revealed: they are the Roth incarnate.

Come by the store for a party with the artist of Black Metal, Chuck BB from 6-9pm.  The Comic Bug will have a live 'metal' band playing!  And we're not talking about Mike rockin' on the guitar!

Check out our eBay auctions here!

The Comic Bug celebrated it's Grand Re-Opening on thanksgiving weekend by hosting local artists, bands, stand-up comedian and also money saving discounts!

We would like to thanks "30 Days of Night's" Dan Wickline, "The Simpsons" Phil Ortiz, Emmy Award Winning animator Rafael Navarro, "Clockwork Girl"s Sean O'Reilly and "KISS"s Tone Rodriguez for donating their time and artistry.

Stand-up comedian Robb Fulcher let out a barrage of jokes with great laughter, even from Mike who was often the target of the jokes.

Great performance from Vaudeville (www.myspace.com/vaudevillepop), The Sweet Hurt (www.myspace.com/thesweethurt) and the world-famous, awe-inspiring KIDS OF WIDNEY HIGH!!! (www.kidsofwidneyhigh.com)

The Comic Book Artist Guild donated their time and raised money for wildfire relief.  During the event,  CAG West Coast Chairman Philip Clark sang and played the keyboard and saxaphone. 

The Comic Bug screened the documentary "Independents" (www.independentsdoc.com) The film is an investigation into the creative spirit and interviews over 25 of the comic book industries' unhindered spirits.  Independent comic book legends Batton Lash (http://www.exhibitapress.com/) and Wendy and Richard Pini (www.elfquest.com) were present and participated in a Q&A with director Chris Brandt.  

WE DID IT!  Almost 40 creators came to The Comic Bug to attempt to write and draw a complete 24 page comic book in 24 hours.  13 creators completed all 24 pages with the last pages finished in the final minutes.  The Comic Bug will print the stories for our customers to read in the near future.  Thanks to all the participants and get some rest for the next 364 days until the next 24 Hour Comic Day.

 On October 20th, 2007, cartoonists around the world will face the 24 hour comics challenge. To help these cartoonists, some comic book stores, educational institutions, libraries, businesses, and comics clubs will host special 24 Hour Comics Day events. They'll provide cartoonists with a space to work, access to food and drink, and camaraderie.

Check out 24 Hour Comic book day at www.24hourcomics.com 

The Comic Bug thanks Tokyopop and the creators for their store appearance on October 6th.  This was the first official event at the new location and it was great!  Considering it was a Saturday night, we had over 50 people show up and it was a fun atmosphere.  Beverages and snack were served and guests were able to talk with the creators who signed their books.

Thanks to Tokyopop and check out their sites!

http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/

www.tokyopop.com

WE MOVED!

We moved to a bigger location next to Trader Joe's.  The new address is 1807 1/2 Manhattan Beach Blvd.  It is twice as large as the original pre-fire location. 

We will have a real lounge with the possibility of a stage for a band.  The stage and lounge will also host bands, stand-up comedy, lectures/guest speakers and movie screenings.  We have lots of plans for the new location so please bear with us and thank you all for your support.

Mike, Adam & Jun

The Comic Bug 

Meet the West Coast chapter of CAG, Comicbook Artists' Guild from 5-8pm.

They will be on hand to present their first anthology printed on the west coast!  CAG members will discuss their upcoming projects and talk to those interested in joining the organization and also sign copies of their book!

Paul Krutcher is not invulnerable.  He's not driven to save the world.  He's not even out to avenge the death of a loved one.  Paul has a little problem with gravity, and it's changed everything he's ever known. 

What would you do if you could fly?

Welcome to a Bizarre New World.

The Comic Bug presents the team responsible for Bizarre New World.

Skipper Martin & Tone Rodriguez will be signing the premiere issue on May 31st on Thursday, new comic book day (because of Monday's Memorial Day holiday.)

ARE YOU READY!?!?!?!?!  FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2007 IS COMING!

FREE comic books will be given out all day starting at 11am until supplies last, so come by early to get your books.  The Comic Bug will feature hot writers and artists who will autograph books, do sketches and talk about their creations.  There will be special savings for those who come by this special event.

We have a tentative schedule of the upcoming events and guests who will be at The Comic Bug starting at 11am.

Peter Johnson, writer of Wildstorms Supernatural and producer of the TV series. He also wrote Marvel's Powerless and writes the up-coming Namor series.

Joshua Dysart, writer of Conan & the Midnight God and numerous other series from Captain Gravity to Swamp Thing. 

David Wohl, credits include Top Cow's Witchblade and Darkness.

Rafael Navarro of Sonambulo

Robbi Rodriguez, artist of Oni Press' Maintenance and others such as Image's Hero Camp.

David Schwartz, writer of the hit Image title, Meltdown.

Check out the details at www.freecomicbookday.com

Next Wednesday will be Independents Day at The Comic Bug! Six area artists will be signing comics and introducing themselves and their creations.

Christian Berenak - Se7en: Lust

Philip Clark - Quantum: Rock of Ages

Joshua Hale Fialkov - Elk’s Run

Tony Fleecs - In My Lifetime

Stormcrow Hayes - Afterlife

Omaha Perez - Holmes

Live local band from 8-9pm - Vaudeville

On March 16-18th, The Comic Bug had it's own small press booth at Wizardworld Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Convention Center. 

We had a great time and were honored to have local talent taking shifts at the table.  The Comic Bug sponsored the Wizardworld industry after party on Friday night.  We enjoyed spending the evening with publishers, artists, fans and customers.  The setting was across the street at Hotel Figueroa with 2 bars and a nice pool-side party.

There are many pictures on-line showing all the talent at the convention but here are a couple photos and the questions is...Is that The Comic Bug employee singing at Wizardworld?  You figure it out!

The deadline has passed and we have stopped accepting ubmissions.  We are in the process of reviewing all the submissions and will soon announce the results.  If there are people who are interested in participating in the production process, please email jun@thecomicbug.com

The announcement was made on 24 Hour Comic Day for the guidelines for our up-coming comic book, Infected! 

We will be producing a 64 page anthology featuring stories written & illustrated by our local talent.  Writers can submit a 1-page story with theme theme of 'infection' and turn it in at the store.  Artists can pick up a sample script and illustrate a 1-page sequential art story and turn it in to the store for consideration.

The 7 stories best suited for the comic book will be matched up with 7 artists to illustrate and will be published before March 2007, in time to present at Wizard World Los Angeles. 

Artists who want to break into the industry need to have published work and this could be a break at no cost to them.  Or perhaps there are potential writer/artists who just have a story to tell and think it would be fun to produce a short story.  Whatever the reason, if you have a fun story or have talent as an artist, come pick up the information at The Comic Bug and maybe get published!

We are also taking submissions for pin-ups and comic strips.  Come in for more details.

The Comic Bug will premiere the first issue of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born this Tuesday night at midnight!  There will be special sales and coffee and snacks for those who can brave the late night or really early morning! 

Come by and The Comic Bug will be making a special offer for those who come in at that time, donate a blanket that will be given to the homeless and you will get a FREE copy of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #1.  The Comic Bug is teaming up with the charity Poverty Matters to help the homeless during the recent cold nights.

Check out their website at www.povertymatters.com.

Josh Dysart, writer of Swamp Thing, Captain Gravity, Violent Messiah and other comics will be available to sign his new mini-series by Dark Horse, Conan & The Midnight God. 

Copies of the recently collected mini-series, Captain Gravity and the Power of the Vril, will also be on hand for Dysart to sign.

Dysart will be at The Comic Bug from 11am to 1pm & 5-8pm.

Check out his site at www.joshuadysart.com

November 26th Update: We were on FIRE Thanksgiving Weekend!

The busiest shopping days of the year is over and busy is an understatement.  Even though our building has been red-tagged since the fire on Wednesday, we were still able to conduct business from our parking lot.  Our customers have been extremely supportive, buying up smoke damaged merchandise to help our store. We are now operating out of a couple containers in our parking lot and hope to be moved into a nearby location soon.  Thanks to everyone for your support!  Updates to follow.

November 25th Update: Buy 1 Get 1 Free on Every Pre-Fire Merchandise!

The damage has been assessed and it is much worse than we thought.  All comics and trades exposed have some damage.  Bagged, boxed and packaged items are damaged but the interior is fine, however they are not great for collectibility.  We are selling everything "Pre-Crisis" at buy 1 get 1 FREE in order to re-stock with clean & new merchandise for when we move to a new location.  The building has been red-tagged but we will continue business out in the parking lot in a couple of containers.  We don't need electricity, water or gas! We have spirit and positive attitudes and look forward to a bigger & better store in the next few weeks (we hope). We will keep everyone posted and hope everyone will come down and buy some stuff!  Thank you for your support!

Posted  November 23rd: The Comic Bug Fire Sale! Literally!

Here's the deal:  We want to sell as much merchandise as possible in order to re-open our store in another location with NEW merchandise!  We are offering BUY 1 GET 1 FREE on ALL merchandise except for this weeks new comics.  Battle-damaged items will be sold at lower prices or just make an offer.  Bear with us until we find a new location which will be soon!

Posted on November 22nd: Fire Bad!  The Comic Bug kind of closed on Nov 22

If you tried to get your comics today, you were likely met with a shocking sight.  No, it's not "Mike's No Pants Wednesday" again (we put a stop to that).  We arrived this morning to find that our neighbors' dry cleaning business had been gutted by fire.  Thankfully, no one was hurt and it didn't spread very far, but it did some damage to everyone's shops.  

If you can hold off for a few days, we are hoping to open our doors as soon as Friday to feed your manic post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping needs.  There may be no electricity, it may smell like smoke, there might even be smoldering embers but if you can put up with then so can we. 

We will be offering The Comic Bug's First Annual Fire Sale in place of our sale we had promoted!  All battle-damaged merchadise will be deeply discounted and we do have the new books for the week in non-scorched condition!  So come on by and we may have smoked turkey to serve!

Check back here for updates and information as we get it.

During this crisis, The Comic Bug will still be open for business! 

Due to the lack of electricity, gas or water, we will shorten our store hours from 10 to 6pm during the week and 9 to 8pm on Wednesday.  We are in the process of cleaning up in the store so please bear with us. 

We are still selling most of our smokey merchandise for Buy 1 Get 1 Free so come by and get some great stuff at low prices!

Tony Fleecs, writer/artist of the comic In My Lifetime and Christian Beranek, writer of the comic Dracula Vs. King Arthur will be in the store signing from 11am-1pm and 3pm-8pm.  They will be the first artists to sign at The Comic Bug since the devastating fire of 2006!  They will brave the conditions in order to talk with their fans and help promote these cool new comic books.

In My Lifetime:  Tony Fleecs' balls are on the line. His debut comic explains why girlfriends are barred from comic stores and how cancer improved his sex life. Warren Ellis, creator of PLANETARY, TRANSMETROPOLITAN & THE AUTHORITY calls it "Brave, brilliantly observed comedy, and the first autobio comic in years that hasn't made me want to punch the author in the stomach."

Dracula Vs. King Arthur:   Vlad Tepes of the Dracul Order is in his final days. His empire is about to be overrun by an advancing Turkish Army. Vlad will certainly be killed and have his remains spread across the countryside...unless he makes a deal with Lucifer himself. He will become Dracula, the first vampire, and go back to the days of Camelot to destroy King Arthur.

Meet the artists responsible for some great indys such as Meat Cake, Nightmares & Fairy Tales & Autumn at The Comic Bug on November 18th from 2-4pm.

Dame Darcy won a scholarship to the San Francisco Art Institute in 1989.  She majored in film and studied animation under Larry Jordan.  That same year, Darcy self-published the first issue of her comic book, "Meat Cake."  She also began her endeavors in freelance illustration and cartoon work for various Bay Area magazines, newspapers, and underground 'zines.

Dame Darcy will be signing copies of The Illustrated Jane Eyre

For more information, go to her website at www.damedarcy.com

Crab Scrambly  From the artist who illustrated Everything Can Be Beaten comes the miserable adventure of unlucky Zazil. While traveling through fantastical worlds to escape the creatures known as the Charnocks, he discovers that his unfortunate luck follows him no matter what plane of existence he ends up in. He also currently draws the comic book Nightmares & Fairy Tales published also by Slave Labor Graphics

His official web site  http://www.13thcircle.com/ 

A press release for his book The 13th of Never  http://www.slavelabor.com/nf_13th.html

 “Since the founding of America, there has been a darkness at work that the general population konws nothing about. But there is an elite corp of soldiers ready to deal with the things that go bump in the night: THE U.T.F. (Undead Task Force)”

Meet the team responsible for U.T.F. (Undead Task Force) at The Comic Bug on November 15th from 5-8pm.  Tone Rodriguez and Will Wilson shares their thoughts on the book and will sign autographs and may do sketches for fans.  Come by for the show!

Also come on by and wish Mike Wellman a Happy Birthday!  (Don't tell him how you found out!)

WE DID IT!!!

24 hours straight of creating comics!  Roughly 35 creators accepted the challenge and we have 18 completed 24 page comics.  Some came for fun to hang out with creators and try to draw a comic book and some cerious creators hunkered down and used all 24 hours to sleeplessly create their 24 page comic. 

We will have all the stories bound in print in the up-coming days so everyone can see what can be created in 24 long sleepless hours.

Come by and take a look at the book and think about giving it a try next year!  Congratulations wo all those who accepted the challenge and maybe we will see some of them in print by those who put the event together.

Go to www.24hourcomicday.com for more info.

Mike Wellman made an appearance at the Redondo Beach library to talk about comic books.  This is the second appearance at that location and the focus was the creative process.  Mike spoke with kids young as 6 years old who wanted to someday write comic books.

You would be hard-pressed to find an actor who has more class and an all-around nice guy then Richard Hatch of Battlestar Galactica fame.

Richard Hatch made an appearance at our store on 9/30/2006 and gave his fans a good time.  He discussed his work on Battlestar Galactica in the original series and also the current hit series.  He also talked about his own creation, War of Magellan, that will be seen in print next year and also as a gaming system soon.

Richard Hatch signed autographs for his fans and was a great sport when his appearance on a 70's show featuring actors doing stunts was played on the tv screen.  Watching himself performing headstands on a high-wire brought back great memories and also great stories for those at the signing.

We would like to thank those who came to the event and also to Richard Hatch for taking the time to visit us.  He may also make another appearance in the future when War of Magellan sees print.

Thanks to the Ludovico Technique team for their appearance at The Comic Bug. 

Living in Infamy is a 4-issue mini-series that follows a bunch of super-villains who rat out their boss and gets placed into witness protection for villains.  A great concept and a great series.  In fact this was one our best selling mini-series for an independant comic book. If you haven't read this book then give it a try.

Check out their website

SPAZ creators were on hand to sign their new #1 issue of SPAZ.  They signed autographes and provided sketches for their fans.  Their all-age comic book is a fun book that looks at comic book geeks in all their geekiness. Check it out at The Comic Bug.

Tom Filsinger, game entrepreneur and psychology professor, came to The Comic Bug and discussed his up-n-coming projects and also his current game with his fans. 

Tom Filsinger has published a memoir on creativity called The Dark Menace of the Universe. His game he created combines gaming and wrestling that takes gaming to a new level.  His fans drove hours to visit him in his rare west coast appearance.

We thank Tom for coming to the store and wish him luck in his multiple projects he is working on and welcome him anytime in the future.

After many years of waiting, another Mac Afro #1 was released by co-owner of The Comic Bug, Mike Wellman.

Writer, Mike Wellman, who was also responsible for Gone South, and Raphael Navarro of Sonambulo fame celebrate "...the most important comic of our time!" (-Stan Lee). That's right, true believer. I'm sure Stan said that at some point, so we can easily infer the reference was to Mac Afro.  The party was hosted by DJ C Diddy.

We still have some copies in stock so if you are looking for a fun story with great art, come to The Comic Bug and pick yourself up a copy!  If you are lucky, perhaps Mike will sign a copy.

Saturday, July 8th at Hawthorne Library 12700 Grevillea Ave., Hawthorne

Mike Wellman, co-owner of The Comic Bug, will be holding a creator/comic book learning at the local Hawthorne library.  He will be joined by Raphael Navarro, creator of the series, Sonambulo.

Michael Alan Nelson, writer of the hot series from BOOM! STUDIOS, War of the Worlds: Second Wave will be signing at the store on June 1st from 5-8pm.  He will sign all 3 issues of the series.  Check out their website at www.boom-studios.com

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY on MAY 6th, 2006 

Come in for FREE comics!

We also have special guests to make this event even more exciting!

PHIL ORTIZ, artist of The Simpsons will be autographing and drawing sketches for fans from 12-3.

CRIMELAB STUDIOS artists DANNY MIKI & ALLAN MARTINEZ 

will be on hand for autographs and sketches from 11-1pm.

PHILLIP CLARK, creator & writer of the series QUANTUM: ROCK OF AGES will also be at THE COMIC BUG to autograph his book! Check out his site  www.quantumcomics.net

Our Crisis At The Comic Bug was a huge success!  We had lines during the entire event.  Our fans were able to get items signed by Marv Wolfman, Geoff Johns and Norm Rapmund.  The guests were great with all the fans.  In fact quite a few lucky fans were able to snag some sketches from the talented Geoff Johns! Who knew he could write AAAND draw!?! Daaaaaamn! - (I wonder if he can balance a table on his chin while juggling 3 bowling ball.... probably yes.)

We raised and donated over $2,200 to a great charity, ACTOR, which supports the great artists who founded this industry. Check them out at www.actorcomicfund.org. Thank you to all the fans that came out and supported this worthwhile cause!

All proceeds go to Hurricane Katrina Red Cross relief.

Get a limited edition (only 250 made), 11"x17" signed and numbered by Mike Mignola lithograph print, available exclusively at the Comic Bug!  You can grab one at the store for only $10.  Or you can have one sent to you for $10 plus $5 shipping.  CLICK HERE TO ORDER