Yesterday afternoon I made my way out to The Golden Apple comic book store on Melrose Ave. here in LA for an in-store appearance by Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia and comic artist Tim Sale for the launch of their new comic book series Rest. I was very happy to see that a few hundred folks also came out for the comic book release event. Here are a few pics from yesterday’s fun:

When I arrived, the line of folks who came out for the event stretched down the street and around the block, it was very cool. I was fortunate enough to get to hang out with Milo’s best friends Dino and Russ (some of you may know that they, along with Milo, are the founding members of the Divide Social Club) for the duration of the in-store appearance. I got to meet a few Pink readers and, after the event was finished, I also got to snap a pic with Milo himself. After the jump, check out a few more fun pics including a VERY COOL VIDEO of Milo’s arrival at yesterday’s event … (more…)

Heroes star Milo Ventimiglia is launching his very own comic book this month and he wants you to come out and buy a copy personally from him. OK, well, mebbe you won’t be purchasing it from him exactly but he will be on hand at The Golden Apple comic book store here in LA this Saturday evening for the launch of his comic book series Rest … I’m sure he’ll also be on hand to sign a few autographs and take a few photos. Here are a couple promo flyers for the event with all the necessary info for this weekend’s in-store appearance:

REST RELEASE EVENT
Saturday October 25,2008 at 5:00pm
MEET THE CREATIVE TEAM OF THE NEW COMIC BOOK REST!

WE WILL HAVE A GOLDEN APPLE VARIANT COVER TO ISSUE #1 AVAILABLE AT THE EVENT ONLY! IT WILL FEATURE A PHOTO OF MILO VENTIMIGLIA AND A COLORED DRAWN BACKGROUND FROM TIM SALE!

You may recall that Milo was on hand at the New York Comic Con earlier this Spring to promote his new comic book series Rest … and finally, the series is being released. This event is not to be missed … I am gonna do my best to make it out to The Golden Apple to get my Rest comic #1 signed by the man himself. Mebbe I’ll see some of you there!!!

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Earlier this week the McCain campaign released a campaign commercial which likened his Democratic rival for the Presidency of the United States of the America, Senator Barack Obama, to celebrities like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears … but it turns out that Sen. Obama is more like Superman or Batman, especially when you consider that the man has made into a sorta superhero in his own comic book:

It’s a year of superheroes in Hollywood, with the big-budget epics of Batman, Iron Man and the Hulk, but a big-budget production out of Washington, D.C., is carving a niche in the animation trend. Presumptive nominees John McCain and Barack Obama will star this fall in their own comic books put out by IDW Publishing, a San Diego-based publisher better known for telling the stories of robots (The Transformers) and vampires (30 Days of Night). Don’t expect Captain America-versus-Superman hijinks or super-villains threatening the electoral process. Trading sound bites for word balloons, the books purport to tell McCain and Obama’s life stories, independently researched and illustrated by a veteran team of writers and artists. “We’re not doing anything that is sensational here,” said IDW special projects editor Scott Dunbier, adding that neither campaign was involved in the development of the books. “We’re sticking to the facts.” On Oct. 8, the books will be released in comic book shops and go on sale online and for reading on cell phones. Comic book biographies have been written before — Marvel Comics had a best-seller in 1982 with a biography of Pope John Paul II. But Dunbier said the company is breaking new ground getting out fully researched comics on two candidates before Election Day. Dunbier said the nontraditional style of storytelling and visuals in comics may reach some voters more effectively than other types of media can. “We’re not in the business of doing textbooks, but I think comic books really do have the great potential to inform and teach and do more than just standard superhero comics,” he said.

I think this is a pretty cool idea … and I suppose it’s very democratic of the comic book company to create comics for both Obama and McCain. The US really could use a hero like Barack Obama :)

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Tori Amos, all dolled up in a creative and interesting-looking superhero-esque outfit (think Ferosha Couture goes to Comic Con), made an appearance at the San Diego Comic Con over the weekend to sign copies of the new book Comic Book Tattoo which is a collection of graphic comicbook stories based on her music an lyrics. Here are a few pics of Tori at this weekend’s event and a portion of a blogpost devoted to the Comic Book Tattoo convention panel with featued Tori and 6 of the book’s contributors:

The panel for Comic Book Tattoo was great. They had not just Tori Amos but 6 of the writers and artists who worked on the book, and most important of all, they kept it balanced. Too often when you have one high-profile guest, the panel ends up focusing entirely on that person. But everyone had a chance to talk about the process. One of the things that Tori emphasized was that she’d wanted the artists to have complete freedom, because she’d been on too many projects where someone stepped in and said something like, “Did you think about the demographic?” Rantz Hoseley expanded on that, pointing out that many of the artists kept asking him (or, more precisely, Tori, through him) whether they could do things like do a story without word balloons. They were accustomed to that kind of limitation working on other projects. Ted McKeever mentioned a Superman story he turned in that got rejected because he drew the wrong number of belt loops. And Rantz took great pleasure in telling them to go for it, whatever it was. At one point, Tori mentioned that when she read the stories, she didn’t hear the songs they were based on in her head — she heard new music, which she’s now working on. She and several of the artists talked about the cyclical nature of inspiration, with different kinds of arts all inspiring each other.

Because I’ve never attended a Comic Con in my life, I’m not all that familiar with the way the panel discussions work … it sounds pretty difficult to get into all the panel discussions that may interest you because the demand is so high. I’m thankful that this blogger was able to attend and give a report — it sounds like it was a great discussion. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my Limited Edition version of Comic Book Tattoo so I can finally see what all the excitement is about. Tori Amos’s music has touched me in such a way that I am curious to see how other folks have interpreted her music graphically and storywise. This is such a cool endeavor, I’m excited that so much work is going into the book’s promotion.

PS: For the record, I would prolly have many colorful things to say if any other person were caught wearing an outfit like this in public but for an artist like Tori Amos (or Björk) I am very willing to cut some slack (also consider, there are a lot of freaks at Comic Con … she was surely not the oddest looking person there). Tori is a Goddess and should be allowed to dress the part … even if sometimes it may look like she dressed the part in the dark and on drugs, I can’t really hate on her ;)

[Photo credit: Splash News, Source via Undented]