TwoMorrows Publishing returns to Comic-Con International: San Diego for its 17th consecutive year, at Booth #1301 (the usual spot, beside the Golden & Silver Age Pavilion, just inside the doors to Hall B). Be sure to stop by and learn about TwoMorrows upcoming American Comic Book Chronicles history book series, and next year’s new TwoMorrows magazine Comic Book Creator, edited by Jon B. Cooke (formerly of TwoMorrows much-missed Comic Book Artist magazine)!

This year, TwoMorrows will be debuting these new magazines:

• Jack Kirby Collector #59 (on obscure Kirby rarities)

• Alter Ego #111 and #112 (both hot off the presses, before they’re in stores)

• Back Issue #58 (on Bronze Age Justice League) and #59 (not yet in stores, on TOON Heroes)

• BrickJournal #20 (spotlighting LEGO Superheroes) – available beginning on FRIDAY

In addition, the TwoMorrows booth is one of the Comic-Con locations to pick up your free LEGO “STUDS” collectible trading cards—the 60-card set profiles the men and women who use LEGO to build incredible original creations, and each card features an amazing LEGO creation on the front, and info about the work and artist on the back. Collect them all, starting at booth #1301!

New TwoMorrows book releases on hand at Comic-Con include:

• Modern Masters Volume 28: Eric Powell (focusing on the creator of The Goon)

• Marie Severin: The Mirthful Mistress of Comics (biography of the multi-talented artist, colorist, and humorist)

TwoMorrows-related panels include:

• Thursday, 11am, ROOM 22ABC: Join Lou Scheimer, co-founder of Filmation Studios, and author Andy Mangels as they discuss the history of Filmation, and TwoMorrows new book Lou Scheimer; Creating The Filmation Generation!

• Friday, 1:30pm, ROOM 26AB: TwoMorrows publisher John Morrow joins comic book historian Arlen Schumer, Randolph Hoppe of The Jack Kirby Museum & Research Center, and comics scholar Charles Hatfield to discuss the Auteur Theory of Comics, and how it relates to Jack Kirby.

• Saturday, 5pm, ROOM 23ABC: See how the LEGO fan community has grown with BrickJournal magazine editor Joe Meno, builders Brandon Griffith and Elizabeth Cortes, plus Jim Foulds of the LEGO Community Team and LEGO Certified Professional Builder Nathan Sawaya.

• Sunday, 10am, ROOM 5AB: Jack Kirby Tribute Panel, with Mark Evanier, Herb Trimpe, Stan Goldberg, Paul Dini, and Charles Hatfield.

Signings this year at Booth #1301 include:

• Thursday, 12:30pm: Lou Scheimer and Andy Mangels (the first 50 people each day receive a limited mini-reproduction of the rare Filmation employee poster, signed by Lou)

• Friday, 11am: Lou Scheimer with Michael Gray (“Billy Batson” from the live 1970s Filmation Shazam! TV show) (Again, the first 50 people receive a limited mini-reproduction of the rare Filmation employee poster)

• Saturday, 10am: Eric Powell (signing copies of his new Modern Masters book from TwoMorrows)

On Friday night, July 13, at the annual Eisner Awards ceremony, the entire line of TwoMorrows magazines is nominated for Best Comics-Related Journalism. Plus, most everything at the TwoMorrows booth will be on sale at 30% OFF, so get there quickly to avoid sell-outs! And be sure to ask for your FREE copy of of our NEW Fall Catalog Update, and see what’s coming up over the next few months from the publisher who’s bringing a new day to comics and LEGO fandom.

We just started our first-ever sale on LEGO-related publications and merchandise! Don’t miss this one-shot chance to complete your collection with big savings, NOW THROUGH JUNE 20!

• BrickJournal print magazines are just $5 each (regular $8.95), with a FREE digital edition! (That’s 44% off cover price!)
• All individual Lego-related digital editions are 15% off!
• Lego books are 25-57% off, including new Minifigure Customization and The Cult of LEGO titles!
• Our You Can Build It book of LEGO instructions is 30% off, or save 33% on a BUNDLE that includes the parts to build two custom sets!
• Save up to $3 each on our “I Have Issues!”, Happy Brick, and new “Mini Me” t-shirts!
• Our limited edition Spacefighter Kit (71 LEGO pieces) and Tulip Kit (111 LEGO pieces) are only $8 each (20% off)!
• Removable/reusable BrickStix stickers and decals for your LEGO® creations are only $5 per set!

To order from the full selection of sale items, simply click on the LEGO Sale banner atop our home page, or go directly to:

http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=110

Just seeing if you’re paying attention! The actual titles are, of course, Back Issue and Alter Ego (issues #57 and #110, respectively), and both will be shipping early next week.

Ever hear of the 1940s Captain Marvel radio show? Didn’t think so. Roy Thomas presents a feature on it (and an interview with the fella who voiced Billy Batson 70 years ago) in AE #110, along with lots of other Fawcett-Focused Features. (Try saying that three times fast!)

And Michael Eury presents a tell-all interview with former DC Comics publisher Jenette Kahn in Back Issue #57.

Both mags are now completely full-color, for $8.95 cover price.

Click these links to see PDF previews of Alter Ego #110 and Back Issue #57.

After a customs inspection caused a 3-week delay releasing issue #108, ALTER EGO #109 will be in comic shops next Wednesday, May 16! And in this issue, Roy Thomas does what Roy does best: he offers stellar coverage of the Golden Age Justice Society of America.

So you think, after four All-Star Companion volumes and countless issues of Alter Ego on the topic, that Roy doesn’t still have more to say, and artifacts to uncover, about the JSA? C’mon, this is ROY THOMAS we’re talking about!

Check out a PDF preview of the issue HERE.

The above graphic should give you an idea what’s been keeping me busy the last few months. Our third annual BrickMagic LEGO Festival is coming up in two weeks, and we’re up to our eyeballs in final preparations. If you want to know more about it, go to www.brickmagic.org

While you’re hitting your local comic book store this Saturday for Free Comic Book Day, don’t forget: you can download a FREE DIGITAL EDITION of each of our magazines, any day, at www.twomorrows.com.

Just go to the “Free Stuff” Category in the top left corner of our home page, or click this link to find all the goodies that await you every day, including our full catalog, absolutely FREE:

http://twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=108

Then, head to your local comics shop, and pester them to carry all your favorite TwoMorrows mags on a regular basis if they don’t already.

And don’t forget; when you order the print edition from TwoMorrows (at 15% off or greater), you ALWAYS get the Digital Edition FREE!

For all you who’ve been patiently waiting for your April issue of Back Issue and Alter Ego, copies FINALLY arrived here at TwoMorrows HQ today, and will go in the mail tomorrow.

The hold-up was caused by US Customs. Now that both mags are full-color, we have to print them overseas to keep the cover price from skyrocketing, and all the copies got held up at the US port, waiting for, I guess, some SHIELD agents to inspect them. After weeks of sitting in a warehouse, they were finally released and delivered, and subscribers’ links to the digital edition were emailed today.

Back Issue #56 spotlights the history of the Avengers, just in time for this weekend’s movie debut, so check it out before you head to the cineplex.

Our kids just went back to school after a great, relaxing Spring Break (aahhhh, carpool…), and I know everyone’s scrambling to get their taxes in the mail this week. So just for fun, we’re putting all our “How-To” books, mags, and DVDs on sale for 40% off till the end of April. (Digital stuff’s 10% off.) Just click the big “Sale 101” banner at the top of our home page, and you’ll go right to the list of sale items. Enjoy!

…somebody in the category of Best Comics-Related Journalism, of which TwoMorrows is a nominee. That’s right; Eisner nominations were just announced, and instead of one or more of our individual magazines getting nominated this year, the nominating committee chose to group ALL FOUR of our comics mags together as one “TwoMorrows” nomination.

In essence, it’s recognition for all four of our editors and their staff and contributors, which is OK by me. So hats off to:

TwoMorrows Publications: Alter Ego edited by Roy Thomas, Back Issue edited by Michael Eury, Draw edited by Mike Manley, and Jack Kirby Collector edited by John Morrow (who he?)

Ballots go out in mid-April to comics creators, editors, publishers, and retailers. A downloadable pdf of the ballot is available online, and a special website has been set up for online voting: www.eisnervote.com. The results in all categories will be announced in the big shindig ceremony on Friday night, July 13 at Comic-Con International.

The new issue of Diamond’s PREVIEWS comic shop catalog is out, listing our June releases, including our new Modern Masters book on ERIC POWELL. You can check all our June listings out HERE.