Lunchbox creators, Dave Roman and Ryan Sias will be found in the artist alley/small press area so be sure to stop by and say hi!

Dave will also be on a couple of kid-friendly panels…

NICK MAG PRESENTS…AVATAR COMICS & FANDOM SPOTLIGHT
Friday at 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM in ROOM 1E08
-Nickelodeon Magazine gives a behind-the-scenes look at comics produced for Avatar: The Last Airbender and spotlights all the creativity surrounding the fandom for the popular show. There will lots of audience participation, trivia-bending, and prizes for the best cosplayers! We’ll also be showing an amazing collection of AMV’s, and a special puppet surprise! Featuring: Johane Matte aka Rufftoon (storyboard artist), Dave Roman (comics editor), and Alison Wilgus (comics writer).

FLIGHT EXPLORER - A CONVERSATION WITH KAZU KIBUISHI AND CREATORS
Sunday 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM in Kids, Teen Room 1E08
-Flight Explorer, a spin-off of the award-winning Flight graphic novel anthology series, features fun characters and stories that appeal to young readers and parents who want to introduce their children to graphic novels. Join Flight and Flight Explorer editor Kazu Kibuishi and Flight contributors Amy Kim Ganter (who drew the Zuko/Mai Avatar comic), Johane Matte (Rufftoon!), Phil Craven, Jake Parker, Kean Soo, and Dave Roman for their take on the amazing world of Flight Explorer and all-ages comics!

NICK MAG PRESENTS…GAG CARTOONS & FUNNY DRAWINGS
Sunday 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Kids Room 2D02-03
Nickelodeon Magazine editor. Chris Duffy walks you through the stages of making hilarious cartoon drawings. Learn tips for brainstorming ideas, drawing funny scenes and coming up with the clever captions guaranteed to make your friends shoot milk through their nose. Featuring gag cartoonists Karen Sneider, Gary Fields, Alec Longstreth, Feggo and more!

NICK MAG PRESENTS…3-D COMIC CAROUSEL
Sunday 3:00 PM-4:00 PM in room 1E09
-A series of cartoon slide shows presented by an array of comic strip makers, performers, and other characters. Plenty of gags, goofiness, audience participation and 3-D action! Definitely for kids and alternative-comics-loving adults. Featuring: R. Sikoryak (Drawn and Quarterly), Sam Henderson (Magic Whistle), Kim Deitch (Alias the Cat), Michael Kupperman (Tales Designed To Thrizzle), and Karen Sneider (Pony Up!)

With live drawing, readings, activities, and the world premier
of the Scooby Doo Opera, there’s something for kids of every age,
and a cookie to finish the day off with.

Enjoy
Ryan Sias
Silent Kimbly

As for JourneyCow, the complete list of all the comics Cow teleported into can be viewed here. But don’t be surprised if you still see some residual teleporting from Cow in the next few days (I really can’t explain how these teleporter-majigs work). The CowTracker will continue to stay up until we can be sure Cow has permanently fixated himself back into his own comic.

If you were a regular reader or are new to Wally & Osborne, now’s a good time to head on over to Antarctica and get in on the fun with a polar bear and a penguin.

Organized by the same folks who put on the NY Comic Con, this should be a really huge event!

I’ll have a table in the Artist Alley area with my friends, The Comics Bakery, selling a huge assortment of mini-comics, graphic novels, t-shirts, buttons, and wizard rock CDs!

I’ll also be hosting a panel:

Avatar : The Last Airbender - Comics & Magazines
Friday December 7th from 4 PM - 5 PM
Hosted by Nickelodeon Magazine editor, Dave Roman.
Featuring Avatar magazine contributors Alison Wilgus and Tina Lam.
Anime Panel Room (1A06)

A behind-the-scenes look at the various stages of making the Avatar comics that appeared in the official Avatar magazines, as well as the mini-comics packaged with the single disk DVDs. From story pitches to script revisions, and creating final art for print, this is a chance to find out what goes into making a great comic, and what editors actually do all day! BONUS FUN: There will be trivia-bending competition live on stage! Prizes will be won! Cosplaying encouraged!

Another panel that might be worth checking out:

Del Rey & Marvel Comics
Sunday, Dec 9th at 3 PM - 4 PM
Join Del Rey Manga and Marvel Comics for a special announcement!
Manga Panel Room (1A24)

Should be cool!

Some of you here on Lunchbox Funnies might have noticed that Cow, the lovable yet intelligently disabled better half of Cow & Buffalo, has been popping up in few places outside his usual six panel confines. That’s because on November 18th, 2007, Cow transported himself right out of his own comic. Now he’s out there on the web, not so desperately trying to make his way back to his pet brontosaurus, Bronto, who he forgetfully left up in the clouds.

Mike Maihack, Cow’s creator, recently caught up with himself to get the lowdown on what JourneyCow is all about:

Mike: So, where’d you come up with the idea for JourneyCow?

Mike: Uh.. in my car.

M: Hmmm… interesting. I heard you don’t like bananas.

M: I don’t! What a disgusting fruit.

M: Back to JourneyCow…

M: Ah, yes.

M: So Cow transported himself right out of your comic? How’d you let that happen?

M: Well, I can’t watch those guys 24/7. I should have known giving Cow a teleporter was a bad idea. I guess I learned my lesson (laughs).

M: It seems Cow’s been spotted in quite a few other webcomics out there already, including fellow Lunchbox comics Silent Kimbly and Zip and Li’l Bit. Do you anticipate Cow traveling around quite a bit before he finds his way back to your comic?

M: Yes, yes. I’m so glad that artists like Ryan and Trade have been such terribly good sports about the whole ordeal. It must be quite frustrating to have my idiotic character zapping in and disrupting their daily routines. But, I don’t know. I hope he makes it back. Right now it’s just Buffalo and Cabbie running the show which doesn’t make for a whole lot of interesting dialog. But Cow’s, I don’t know…. is brainless too strong a word? I’m not sure he’ll make it back on his own…

M: Are you keeping track of all of Cow’s appearances?

M: Yes! I have a CowTracker on the comic website keeping tabs on all of the places he’s been. Maybe if some sort of pattern develops we can figure out a way to get him home.

M: Wouldn’t CowSpotter have been a better name? Cause you know, cows have spots?

M: … Yes.

M: If you could have any superpower, what kind of superpower would you have?

M: Oh, that’s easy. The ability to communicate with underwater sea creatures. There’s just limitless possibilities there.

M: I knew you’d say that. Anything else you want readers to know about JourneyCow?

M: Yeah. If anyone out there sees Cow in their comic or anyone else’s comic, make sure to let me know. I’d very much like to have the oblivious oaf back.

(Mike Maihack is a reporter for no one and can often find himself receiving strange looks from squirrels.)