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Welcome to the Homepage of
"T.R.&Co.: the Fannish Cartoon Adventure"©
***What's New***
Although it's been alittle while since Free Comic Book Day, I am still going to post an article below about my appearance for this year. I have (unfortunately) found that it's easier to update MySpace than this main web site. But I am getting back into it more these days. For pictures of recent convention appearances and artwork, please go to my page at:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=203359895
For even more, go to Presley or Green Arrow's sites-(listed on my Top Friends List) and there are TONS of pictures from FCBD, and the recent Wrath of Con convention that I was co-chairman for. You can see one of the few "down times" that I had all weekend: me with a beer in hand, riding "shotgun" in a real (and drivable) Star Wars LandSpeeder! Good Times!!
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T.R.&Co. strips, single-panel cartoons, and sci-fi/fantasy spot illos will soon start appearing in the "electronic pages" of Planetary Stories . Long-time fan (silver/golden age fandom) Shelby Vick (Shelvy), has putting out the on-line pulp-styled web site for several years now. In that time he has brought together a great group of fan/semi-pro writers and cover artists from across the country (world?) Check out the latest issue at: www.planetarystories.com
***I recently created a "Masthead" logo for Planetary Stories for the "We Salute" section, which does just what it says: salutes Fans, creators, etc. that should be acknowledged for their long-time accomplishments in Fandom. You can see it in the current issue #11 which is on-line now.
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**(originally published in The County Press news & entertainment magazine)
Free Comic Book Day is This Saturday
By Tim Riley
If you aren’t a comic book collector, or have been to a comic specialty store in awhile, you’ve probably never heard of-what has become a kind of “Christmas” for comic fans-known as “Free Comic Book Day.”
This annual event in the world of comics fandom-always held the first Saturday in May-will be this Saturday, May 3rd. It was started several years ago by Diamond Comics-the largest distributor of comics, sci-fi, and specialty collectibles in the world. Free Comic Book Day (FCBD for short) was originally created as a marketing plan to help boost the traffic into comic shops by regular customers, and to try and attract new customers that had never shopped there before.
Just as the name implies, all designated “specially-marked” comic books are completely free to anyone that comes into participating shops, and not just in this country, but also in stores in Canada and around the world as well. This is because Diamond Comic Distributors, which originally started as a small company in Baltimore, Maryland in the early 1980’s, and after buying it’s British counter-part Titan Distributing some years later, become a world-wide company.
When Free Comic Book Day was started seven years ago, and for a few years after, there were only a handful of comic book companies participating in the annual event. The larger companies such as Marvel (home of Spiderman and the X-Men), D.C. (home to Superman and Batman), and Image Comics (home to Spawn) mainly used the day as a promotional program, offering smaller “sampler” sized versions of their main titles, or to test the market by showcasing new untried comic books. But it did not take long for the smaller “independent” comic creators to see the potential in joining the “Big Three” in producing FCBD offerings of their own.
For the first few years the larger companies produced no more than eight to twelve comic books for shops to offer to their customers. But when the smaller companies, and even one-person “small press” creators began to add their works to the pile, the number of comics has continued to grow year after year.
A vast majority of comic and specialty stores participate in FCBD, although a few do not. And those that do sometimes do not always order every comic title that is offered. Since comic shops have to pay a small amount for each comic book, which mainly pays for the shipping costs from Diamond Distributor, they try and get comics they think their customers will like and possibly want to read again.
Maggie and "Grandpa" (Me), drawing for some fans
This year there will be forty one comics available from almost as many different companies. And the subject matter of the titles is just as varied-ranging from the standard superhero stories to funny animals, horror and romance stories, and even two “how-to-draw comics” titles. And where the first comics years ago were sometimes no more than 12 to 16 pages in length, most of the books offered this year are starting at the standard market size of 32 pages, with one book that is 64 pages and another topping out at 168 pages of art and stories.
Both local comic and specialty stores: Comic Emporium at 2403 Hwy. 231, and the new Arena Comics & Games in the Big Lots shopping center at the corner of 15th St. and Lisenby Ave., will be participating in Free Comic Book Day. Each store will have many of the comics offered this year, along with their regularly scheduled titles.
Arena Comics & Games is planning some special activities for its customers on their first FCBD. The shop will open at 10 a.m. with several costumed “supeheroes” there for the kids to meet and get their pictures taken with. Local comic artists Victor Strickland, Tim Riley, and Jayson Kretzer will also be on hand, drawing sketches and signing books for the fans.
For more information about the event you can contact one of the local stores, or go to www.FreeComicBookDay.com
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This Year’s Free Comic Book Day was “Super”
By Tim Riley
Free Comic Book Day: An annual event-now in its seventh year-has become a kind of “Christmas” for comic book fans. On the first Saturday in May they-or anyone-can come into stores across the United States, and many countries around the world, and get free comic books just for asking.
This year’s Free Comic Book Day was well attended at both local comic book shops- Comic Emporium on Hwy. 231, and the new Arena Comics & Games in the Big Lots shopping center-by the fans and the simply curious alike. Each store had many of the comics offered this year, along with their regularly scheduled titles. They also gave out three special game pieces from a very popular game called “HeroClix”.
“HeroClix” is a game in which you move superheroes around a playing board, and do battle with the bad guys. And as a player’s hero gets attacked or hit, you click the bottom base the hero is standing on to change your power levels: hence the name “HeroClix”. The three pieces (heroes) given out were two characters from the Star Wars version of the game, and a flying Iron Man piece from the new movie currently out in theatres.
Arena Comics and Games had almost a “mini-convention” on Saturday-with a dozen people dressed as superheroes, three local artists drawing sketches for the fans, and of course free comics for everyone. One local fan, West Hubbard, who does a weekly “pod-cast” show over the internet, did a show right from the store itself, giving fans out there in “web-land” a way to listen in on the day’s events.
When Free Comic Book Day was started seven years ago by Diamond Comics-a of distributor of comics, sci-fi, and specialty collectibles-based in Baltimore, Maryland, only the larger companies such as Marvel (home of Spiderman and the X-Men), D.C. (home to Superman and Batman), and Image Comics (home to Spawn) participated. This year there were forty one comics available to the shops and their customers, from almost as many different companies.
For more information about the event you can contact one of the local stores, or go to www.FreeComicBookDay.com
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I hope you enjoy these new strips of the "continuing fannish adventures" of T.R. and his friends!
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About T.R.&Co.©
T.R.&Co.© is like a "Peanuts or Bloom County set in the world of sci-fi and comics". It has been around "fandom" for many years, having been originally created in 1981 as a one-shot "filler cartoon" for a convention program book. Since then the strip and its characters have evolved into who and what they are today.
Over the years the strip itself, or its characters have appeared in genre' magazines such as Scary Monsters, THWAK, G-Fan (a Godzilla mag), Jokester, and multiple editions of the Fandom Directory. Other appearances have included numerous convention program books, club newsletters, and fanzines.
Collections of the strips, or stories have also been published in three book collections of their own (available for sale on the Books, T-shirts & More page) with a fourth book in the works now.
Not just about one specific genre' or interest group in "fandom"- T.R.&Co.© has characters and stories that cross the lines between the many diverse groups that make it up.
Contact the Artist:
T.R.&Co. Studios
c/o Tim Riley
P.O. Box 2172
Panama City, FL 32402
©
T.R.&Co., its characters, cartoon strips, art work, this web site and all other content ©2001/2007 by Tim Riley
This site has been visited
since July 1, 2001.
