Five Star creators Terence Hanley and Jordan Lowe were at the River City Comic Con in Marietta, Ohio, this past weekend, and both were interviewed by a reporter for a local paper, the Parkersburg News and Sentinel. Jordan, owner of Asylum Comics in Marietta, was the organizer of the event. Terence, creator of two cryptozoological and extraterrestrial coloring books and the comic book Lucky Girl, was one of about twenty vendors at the convention. It was a hot, humid day, but the vendors and the attendees gamely stuck it out for an enjoyable show. Jordan Lowe and Terence Hanley were both featured on the website of the Parkersburg News and Sentinel. You can read all about it in Natalee Seely's article, "River City Comic Con: First in the Area in 10 Years," here.
Copyright 2011 Five Star Comics
Golden Age Heroes in the 21st Century
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Larry Blake and Terence Hanley at River City
Five Star creators Larry Blake and Terence Hanley will be at the River City Comic Convention in Marietta, Ohio, this Sunday, July 24, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The convention will be held at the Junior Fair Building, Washington County Fairgrounds, 922 Front Street, in Marietta. Larry will have plenty of original artwork for sale, plus his regular comic books and other publications. For sale at Terence's table: Mothman, Aliens, and Flying Saucers and Monsters and Aliens of America coloring books, Lucky Girl #1, and Mothman '66. Terence will also draw pictures for young and old. You'll find more information about the convention at its website, here.
Copyright 2011 Five Star Comics
Five Star Creators-Jordan Lowe
Keeper of Asylum Comics
Writer Jordan Lowe is a relative newcomer in the indie comics game, but he’s already amassing a resume to be proud of and feels right at home with the gang at Five Star Comics. He opened the store Asylum Comics in his hometown of Marietta, Ohio, in 2005, which he has freely admitted to doing in order to meet fellow comic creators. His first such collaboration was with artist Michael K. Easton on the city-full-of-superheroes tale Paradox City and continues to this day on their web comic Short Pants Romance, about a famous former kid sidekick who’s pushing thirty. Jordan and Michael co-founded OVAL, the Ohio Valley Artists League, where writers and artists gather for collaboration, motivation, and the production of a yearly anthology of their work. Jordan wrote the script for “Flip Falcon in the Fourth Dimension,” drawn by artist Gary Gibeaut for Five Star Comics #1, due out this summer. Jordan is also ready to begin posting the third volume of Short Pants Romance online and is producing an anthology of short, offbeat horror and fantasy stories with artist Z.D. Brooker called Strange Books and Paper. If that wasn’t enough to lose sleep over, he is also hosting the first annual River City Comic Con in Marietta, Ohio, on July 24, 2011. Five Star creators Larry Blake and Terence Hanley will be there, too.
Jordan Lowe's Links:
Copyright 2011 Jordan Lowe
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Terence Hanley at Derby City
Five Star creator Terence Hanley will be at the Derby City Comic Con in Louisville, Kentucky, this weekend. This year is the first for Derby City and anticipation is high. The convention takes place on Saturday, July 16, 2011, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Kentucky International Convention Center, 221 Fourth Street, Louisville, KY 40202. Terence will have his coloring books--Mothman, Aliens, and Flying Saucers and Monsters and Aliens of America--available, plus the first issue of Lucky Girl, Mothman '66 poster, and coloring pages of Orange Eyes, the Beast of 'Busco, and Louisville's own Pope Lick Monster. You can find out more by visiting the website of the Derby City Comic Con, here.
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| Monsters and Aliens of America coloring book, available at the Derby City Comic Con, July 16, 2011, in Louisville, Kentucky. |
Monsters and Aliens of America copyright 2011 Terence E. Hanley
Text copyright 2011 Five Star Comics
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Five Star Creators-Gary Gibeaut
Guardian of the Guard Dawgs
Gary Gibeaut has drawn comics since he was a kid. Now his artwork is in print--in comic books and coloring books, on t-shirts and stickers. Gary's main title is Guard Dawgs, the story of a supergroup that began shaping in his mind and on his drawing board many years ago. There are three issues of Guard Dawgs in print with more--and maybe even a web comic--on the way. Gary is also the creator of a Mothman coloring book, a "Mothman Rocks!" sticker, and Mothman t-shirt designs sold every year at the Mothman Festival in Gary's hometown of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Best of all for fans of Golden Age superheroes, Gary has illustrated Jordan Lowe's "Flip Falcon in the Fourth Dimension" for Five Star Comics. In Jordan and Gary's story, Flip Falcon must travel into the fourth dimension to rescue a group of scientists from a circle of demons and their newly crowned king, the evil Doctor Blanc. Look for "Flip Falcon in the Fourth Dimension" in Five Star Comics #1, due out in the summer of 2011!
Flip Falcon in the Fourth Dimension script copyright 2011 Jordan Lowe
Flip Falcon in the Fourth Dimension art copyright 2011 Gary Gibeaut
Text copyright 2011 Five Star Comics
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Superheroes in the Public Domain
Seventy-three years ago this month, a new kind of fictional hero made his debut and popular culture hasn't been the same since. The hero was Siegel and Shuster's Superman, and although he was not the first costumed hero, all others before him (and most since) pale in comparison. Within a year or two of Superman's debut in Action Comics #1 (dated June 1938, but on the newsstand for a couple of months prior), dozens of comic book companies had popped up, mostly in New York City, each trying to repeat the success National Periodicals had with its Man of Steel. Those companies and the studios under their employ created hundreds of costumed characters--superheroes, mystery men, phantoms, super soldiers, detectives, aviators, jungle girls, spacemen--most of which flopped and have seldom been seen or heard from since.
After World War II, superheroes themselves fell on hard times. During the 1950s, comic books came close to extinction. Many comic book companies gave up the ghost, while artists and writers were forced to go looking for work elsewhere. No one gave any thought to renewing the copyrights or trademarks for hundreds of characters and titles, or of thousands of stories. Consequently, those characters, titles, and stories fell into the public domain. They are free now for use by anyone, without permission, licensing, fees, or even attribution. There are no copyright violations or trademark infringements associated with their use and reproduction. Thus was born a new kind of character: the Public Domain Hero.
After World War II, superheroes themselves fell on hard times. During the 1950s, comic books came close to extinction. Many comic book companies gave up the ghost, while artists and writers were forced to go looking for work elsewhere. No one gave any thought to renewing the copyrights or trademarks for hundreds of characters and titles, or of thousands of stories. Consequently, those characters, titles, and stories fell into the public domain. They are free now for use by anyone, without permission, licensing, fees, or even attribution. There are no copyright violations or trademark infringements associated with their use and reproduction. Thus was born a new kind of character: the Public Domain Hero.
Five Star Comics began with the idea of reviving not only the characters of the Golden Age but also the the spirit of the 1930s and '40s. Too often today, comic books are grim, negative, gratuitously violent, and nihilistic. So-called "heroes" are not heroic or even admirable in any way. Many are simply psychotic killers. Golden Age heroes were different. They were aware that there really is a difference between good and evil. Golden Age heroes knew where they stood: It was on the side of right.
So how did we find the characters for our stories? Few people today can afford to search through hundreds of Golden Age titles for just the right character. Fortunately, there are several websites devoted to characters in the public domain. The men and women who have compiled the information on these websites have done a lot of work. We should all thank them for it. They have made it possible for us, the creators, to tell new stories about old characters, and they have made it possible for you, the readers, to enjoy those characters once again, after all these years.
Websites for Public Domain Characters
The best of three websites we have found is called Public Domain Superheroes. It includes alphabetical lists of characters, types of characters, and comic book companies. Each listing has a summary of information and a picture of the character in question:
Comic Vine also maintains a list of public domain characters, complete with pictures, but there is less information on each character than what you'll find on the previous site:
Finally, Wikibin has a list of public domain characters, but it's mostly just a repeat of the previous two lists, though less comprehensive:
Public domain characters offer a lot of opportunities to artists and other storytellers. You might want to give it a try. As for Five Star Comics, look for the first issue this summer!
Copyright 2011 Five Star Comics
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Terence Hanley at Summit City
Five Star creator Terence Hanley will be at the Summit City Comic Con in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on Saturday, June 18, 2011. This will be his third convention as an artist and the first of at least three conventions he will attend this summer. In addition to selling his Mothman, Aliens, and Flying Saucers and Monsters and Aliens of America Coloring Books, Terence will draw pictures of your favorite monster, alien, creature, or beast, and he'll have a coloring page giveaway showing the most famous monster from the Fort Wayne area, Oscar, the giant turtle, otherwise known as the Beast of 'Busco! The Summit City Comic Con is a one-day event taking place at The Grand Wayne Center, 120 West Jefferson Boulevard, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Event hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can find out more at the convention's website, here.
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| Mothman, Aliens, and Flying Saucers! Available at Summit City Comic Con in Fort Wayne, Indiana, this weekend. |
Mothman, Aliens, and Flying Saucers Coloring Book Copyright 2011 Terence E. Hanley
Text copyright 2011 Five Star Comics
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