Adventures at WonderCon - Part I: Archaia Panel

Wondercon exhibit hall , pic by Doug Lowder

Not being a major superheroes-genre graphic novel reader, Red Dot Diva particularly enjoys the original offerings that Archaia publishes. The stories are creative and not too mainstream, and the art usually bold or unusually beautiful.

Of course, it also helps that they have an equally beautiful bunch of people working for the company. ;)

So, it was not surprising at all to see Archaia garnering 9 nominations for this year's Eisner Awards!! (Check out the announcement here!) They have become an indie publishing company to really look out for.

Red Dot Diva's friends @douglowder and @calowder attended Archaia's panel at WonderCon. Here's a mini report from @calowder:

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My husband Douglas and I had an amazing time at WonderCon in San Francisco, April 1-3, 2011. An absolute must for fans of comics, graphic novels, science fiction and fantasy. Three days of meeting talented people and talking to folks with similar interests. Great fun!

On Saturday morning, there was a good crowd waiting for indie comic publisher Archaia’s panel. Editor-in-Chief Stephen Christy was the moderator for the talented and enthusiastic panelists - Marketing Manager Mel Caylo, Assistant Editor Rebecca “Tay” Taylor, Executive Editor Joe LeFavi, and Editor Nate Cosby.

We got a lively presentation from Joe LeFavi, who is editor for the book "Immortals: Gods and Heroes". It is an original anthology inspired by the upcoming movie "Immortals". The gritty, dark and violent movie is based on Greek mythology and is about a few good people vs. a massive force of evil. (I was delighted to hear that there were “more abs in this film than actors” and there is “not a single shirt in the entire movie”. Hmm. Sounds like a great movie already!) The exciting anthology, which is set to debut in September, will have contributions by David Mack, Ben Templesmith, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, Ron Marz and Dennis Calero.

Some other announcements on upcoming Archaia titles::
- "Old City Blues", a crime drama and a cross between European and Japanese comics coming in June
- "Rust", an all-ages comic reminiscent of Rocketeer and Iron Giants set on a farm where a young boy crashes with a jet pack.
- "The Storyteller", an anthology of tales in a partnership with The Jim Henson Company which includes original unproduced material from the late 80's TV series of the same name.

AND...

- Wil Wheaton will be doing the Foreword for the hardcover Volume Two of "Days Missing". Archaia partners with Roddenberry Productions on this story.
- Alan Ball (True Blood, Six Feet Under) will be writing the Foreword for the hardcover edition of "Lucid", written by Michael McMillian and scheduled for release in late April.

We also heard great things about "Mr. Murder is Dead", written by Victor Quinaz and illustrated by Brent Schoonover. Stephen Christy was particularly enthusiastic about it and said the premise of the story is "What if Dick Tracy became a cantankerous old man and became a criminal?" This comic, like the "Lucid" series, is being done in partnership with the Before the Door production company.

Someone in the audience made an observation that all the Archaia books were beautiful to look at and touch, then asked the staff, "Are you very tactile type people?" Stephen Christy quickly responded, "Very!"

After the ensuing laughter, he pointed out that "quality will be the way to keep print books alive. We think of all aspects of the book including the feel and look of it".

No wonder, the Archaia books are getting very popular with us, readers!

I thought the Archaia panel was a very informative panel. Their booth was always busy and had a roll of writers and illustrators signing various books. Archaia's enthusiasm and pride in their work is obvious.

I wish them continued success!!

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@calowder will be writing another report on her Wondercon adventures. She has hinted *very strongly* to Red Dot Diva that it will involve some very gorgeous and creative people. So look out for it on this blog!

Follow Archaia on Twitter or Facebook to keep up with their awesome releases and announcements!