Special Media Guest: James Kyson Lee

James Kyson Lee is best known for his starring role as Ando Masahashi, a quiet Tokyo executive who embarks on wild adventures with his time-traveling friend Hiro Nakamura in the hit TV show Heroes, which will return for its fourth season this fall. Born in Seoul, South Korea, James moved with his family to New York City at the age of ten. He graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and continued his education at Boston University and the New England Institute of the Arts, where he studied communications and broadcasting. After trying out improv and inspired by his newly discovered passion for performing, James sold his used car and purchased a one-way ticket to Los Angeles, where he began his training in music, dance, and acting. At his first television audition, he landed a guest-starring role on J.A.G. He has since appeared on many hit shows, including NBC's Las Vegas, The West Wing, CSI, and Heist, as well as Threat Matrix and All About the Andersons. James will be starring in four upcoming feature films: Termination Shock (2009) and How to Make Love to a Woman, Hard Breakers, and Necrosis (2010).

Special Media Guest: Ray Park

Action star Ray Park began his martial arts training at the age of seven and became a fixture at exhibitions and tournaments throughout his native Great Britain, where he topped martial arts championships before later traveling to Malaysia to refine his skills. Conquering numerous championships worldwide and winning multiple medals, Park realized a personal dream when he competed in the Martial Arts World Championships in 1995. In 1997 he made his big-screen debut as the stunt double for James Remar's character Rayden in Mortal Kombat: The Annihilation, the film based on the popular video fighting game. Park then donned red-and-black face paint and horns to play the coveted role of Darth Maul in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, following that up with Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow as the Fighting Headless Horseman. In 2000, Park played the role of the villainous Toad, lackey to the wicked mastermind Magneto in the X-Men motion picture. Ray will next star as Snake Eyes in the much-anticipated blockbuster G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, opening on August 7. It was also recently announced that he will join the cast of Heroes in its fourth season this fall.

Special Guest: Ron Frenz

We are very pleased to welcome Ron Frenz to the ranks of the Mid-Ohio-Con 2009 guest list! Ron burst onto the comics scene in the 1980s when he followed John Romita, Jr.'s acclaimed run on The Amazing Spider Man starting with issue no. 251. His brilliant redux of the cover of Amazing Fantasy no. 15 with the first appearance of Spider-Man's black costume in issue no. 252 indellibly etched his name and work into the minds of fans. Ron co-created Spider-Girl with writer Tom DeFalco, which was the longest-running superhero book with a lead female character ever published by Marvel before being re-launched as The Amazing Spider-Girl. Ron’s remarkable body of work also includes such titles as The Mighty Thor, Ka-Zar the Savage, The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Marvel Saga, Thunderstrike, and Superman. With the recent conclusion of the critically acclaimed Spider-Girl (vol. 2) series with issue #30, Ron is currently working on Outdoor Life's one-page comic strip It Happened to Me, the Spectacular Spider-Girl Marvel Digital comic, and will be soon be working on the Black Knight four-chapter serial. In June 2009, Ron was honored by the Toonseum of Pittsburgh with the Nemo Award for Excellence in the Cartoon Arts.

2009 Eisner Award Winners

The 2009 Eisner Award winners were announced at the annual award ceremony on Friday night at San Diego Comic-Con. Please join us in congratulating all the exceptionally talented award winners, including Mid-Ohio-Con 2009 special guests Art Baltazar, Mark Evanier and P. Craig Russell.

Best Short Story: "Murder He Wrote," by Ian Boothby, Nina Matsumoto, and Andrew Pepoy, in The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror #14 (Bongo)

Best Continuing Series: All Star Superman. by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC)

Best Limited Series: Hellboy: The Crooked Man, by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben (Dark Horse)

Best New Series: Invincible Iron Man, by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larocca (Marvel)

Best Publication for Kids: Tiny Titans, by Art Baltazar and Franco (DC)

Best Publication for Teens/Tweens: Coraline, by Neil Gaiman, adapted by P. Craig Russell (HarperCollins Children's Books)

Best Humor Publication: Herbie Archives, by "Shane O'Shea" (Richard E. Hughes) and Ogden Whitney (Dark Horse)

Best Anthology: Comic Book Tattoo: Narrative Art Inspired by the Lyrics and Music of Tori Amos, edited by Rantz Hoseley (Image)

Best Webcomic: Finder, by Carla Speed McNeil, www.shadowlinecomics.com/webcomics/#/finder/

Best Reality-Based Work: What It Is, by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Graphic Album—New: Swallow Me Whole, by Nate Powell (Top Shelf)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint: Hellboy Library Edition, vols. 1 and 2, by Mike Mignola (Dark Horse)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips: Little Nemo in Slumberland, Many More Splendid Sundays, by Winsor McCay (Sunday Press Books)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books: Creepy Archives, by various (Dark Horse)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material: The Last Musketeer, by Jason (Fantagraphics)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Japan: Dororo, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)

Best Writer: Bill Willingham, Fables, House of Mystery (Vertigo/DC)

Best Writer/Artist: Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library (Acme)

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team: Guy Davis, BPRD (Dark Horse)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist: Jill Thompson, Magic Trixie, Magic Trixie Sleeps Over (HarperCollins Children's Books)

Best Cover Artist: James Jean, Fables (Vertigo/DC); The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse)

Best Coloring: Dave Stewart, Abe Sapien: The Drowning, BPRD, The Goon, Hellboy, Solomon Kane, The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse); Body Bags (Image); Captain America: White (Marvel)

Best Lettering: Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #19 (Acme)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism: Comic Book Resources, produced by Jonah Weiland (http://www.comicbookresources.com/)

Best Comics-Related Book: Kirby: King of Comics, by Mark Evanier (Abrams)

Best Publication Design: Hellboy Library Editions, designed by Cary Grazzini and Mike Mignola (Dark Horse)

Hall of Fame: Judges' choices: Harold Gray, Graham Ingels; Voters' choices: Matt Baker, Reed Crandall, Russ Heath, Jerry Iger

Will Eisner "Spirit of Comics" Retailer Award: Tate's Comics, Fort Launderdale, Florida, USA

Special Guest: Scott Kolins

We are delighted to welcome Scott Kolins to the rapidly growing roster of creative guests for Mid-Ohio-Con 2009. Long acclaimed for his distinctive style and remarkable body of work that spans the flagship titles of Marvel and DC Comcis alike, Scott began his professional career as a comic book artist in 1991 after studying at the Kubert School. Over the past 18 years, Scott has been an artist on Flash, The Avengers, The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, Rogue’s Revenge, Omega Flight, Annihilation Prologue, Hulk-Wolverine, Superman-Batman, Marvel Team-Up, Countdown, Thor: Blood Oath, Green Lantern, The Brave & The Bold—and many others! His influences include Barry Windsor-Smith, Michael Golden, Jack Kirby, Mike Mignola, and Frank Miller. Scott is currently wrapping up his first writer/artist project Solomon Grundy and look for the his new Blackest Night: Flash series with writer Geoff Johns later this year.

Special Guest: Fred Hembeck

We are thrilled to announce that fan-favorite cartoonist Fred Hembeck will make his first ever appearance at Mid-Ohio-Con in 2009. In fact, Fred is apparently not a big fan of flying, so this year might be his first appearance outside of the greater New York metropolitan area since he attended a comic convention in Chicago way back in 1981. Fred has been entertaining comic book fans for more than 30 years with his unique artistic style and keen sense of humor in his parodies of characters from the comic book worlds of DC, Marvel and beyond. His cartooning style relies on a simple yet sophisticated economy of lines, resulting in an immediately recognizable signature look to his characters, which includes curlicues at their elbows and knees. Fred often portrays himself as a character in his own work, in the role of "interviewer" of various comic book characters. Fred recently published The Nearly Complete Essential Hembeck Archives Omnibus, featuring 912(!) pages of material written and drawn by the cartoonist. Welcome aboard, Fred! We can't wait to see you in October!

Comic's Buyers Guide Mid-Ohio-Con 2008 Review

Thinking about joining us for Mid-Ohio-Con 2009? Check out this review of Mid-Ohio-Con from Comics Buyer's Guide #1649 by none other than Tony Isabella, America's most beloved comic book writer and columnist. The review is also available at Tony's Online Tips column at The World Famous Comics Network.

"The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you."

- Rita Mae Brown

I spent the first weekend of October at Mid-Ohio-Con with so many of my friends that I soon lost count. There were friends who are like unto family to me, friends I hadn't seen in as much as two decades, friends I don't see nearly often enough, and, as always, new friends. I love this convention.

Mid-Ohio-Con is now under the auspices of brothers James and Bill Henry of GCX Holdings LLC, though founder Roger Price remains a big part of the show. What impressed me most about this year's event is that the Henry Brothers absolutely get what has made Mid-Ohio-Con such a great show for over 25 years. I was excited to be a special guest of the show and I look forward to continuing my own long association with Mid-Ohio-Con.

I did three panels during the show: a Jack Kirby tribute panel hosted by Mark Evanier; a "Men of Bronze" panel with fellow guests Len Wein, Roger Stern, Keith Pollard, and Arvell Jones; and "Tony's Tips Live," a live-action version of my monthly column. As part of the last, I held a trivia contest where attendees who answered my questions correctly received fabulous prizes. If you want to test your knowledge against that of my Mid-Ohio-Con audience, here are the questions I asked them:

Who was the second person to apply for membership in the Fantastic Four and what was that person's special ability?

What is the name of the teen hangout in Riverdale?

What Mid-Ohio-Con guest wrote The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan for Gold Key Comics?

What Mid-Ohio-Con guest wrote Mod Wheels for Gold Key Comics?

Recently-engaged couple Mark and Abby appear in what ongoing comic-book series?

You'll find the answers at the end of this column.

I had more special moments at Mid-Ohio-Con than I can recount in these few paragraphs, but here's a few of them...

Seeing friends Chris Claremont, Bob McLeod, and Dean Mullaney for the first time in decades. Chris and Dean looked great and Bob looked like he'd barely aged a day since we worked together in the Marvel Bullpen in the 1970s.

Having a wonderful conversation with comics legend Joe Kubert on his work and on Robert Kanigher, a writer whose talents we both have a great deal of respect for.

Spending time with the Toth family, especially artists Layne and Peri. Young as they are, these girls are natural storytellers and I love watching them grow as creators.

Watching Joe Kubert watching Layne Toth draw. Now there's a photo I wish I had taken.

Seeing Billy Tucci's sensational pages for his Sgt. Rock mini-series. I can't wait to read it.

Chatting with Mike Grell and Beau Smith about comic books that we all love.

Giving out candy to anyone who came by my signing table and cracking up when Sean McKeever told me that's how people end up on Dateline: To Catch a Predator:

"Mr. Isabella, what did you think was going to happen when you offered Sean McKeever candy?"

Meeting the Black Lightning fan who was literally jumping up and down because he was excited to meet the writer who created his favorite character.

This is where I have to drag myself away from my fond memories of the convention or this column will go on forever. Let us leave it at this:

Mid-Ohio-Con remains my favorite comics convention. I loved being at this year's event and I plan on returning to the show as often as the Henry Brothers will have me.

Mid-Ohio-Con 2008 earns the full five Tonys.

The dates for this year's Mid-Ohio-Con are October 3-4. The show will again be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. For the most current information and updates, you should visit the event's website at:

http://www.midohiocon.com/

Finally, here are the answers to the "Tony's Trivia" questions asked at my "Tony's Tips Live" presentation:

Willie Lumpkin, who could wiggle his ears real good.

Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe, though, given how the spelling of the shop's name has been inconsistent at times, I would have accepted any answer that sounded like this.

Mark Evanier.

Len Wein.

Love and Capes, the delightful superhero sitcom by my friend Thom Zahler.

Thanks for spending a part of your day with me. I'll be back tomorrow with more stuff.

Tony Isabella
TONY'S ONLINE TIPS
Comics Buyer's Guide #1649
Thursday, February 5, 2009

Special Guest: Jacob Chabot

We're psyched to welcome Jacob Chabot to the ever-growing ranks of the Mid-Ohio-Con 2009 guest list. Jacob is best known for his Eisner Award-nominated indie title The Mighty Skullboy Army, which has been published in a series of digest-sized comics as well as its own collection from Dark Horse Comics. Despite the fact that he's only in elementary school, Skullboy has plans of corporate and world domination. Turnips, monkeys, robots and interns…the comic has it all and you owe it to yourself to pick up a copy of the TPB as well as the awesome Skullboy vinyl figure. In addition to his creator-owned work, Jacob’s art has been published in Marvel Comics, Nickelodeon Magazine, and Mad Magazine. His upcoming projects include a story in Marvel's Strange Tales Anthology, and the recently-announced X-Babies limited series with writer Gregg Schiegel. Slated for an October launch, the X-Babies series will bring back the X-Babies of the Mojoverse alongside Royal Roy, Top Dog, Planet Terry, and Wally Wizard from Marvel’s defunct kid imprint, Star Comics.

Special Guest: Sean McKeever

We're very pleased to welcome Sean McKeever to the Mid-Ohio-Con 2009 guest list. Sean is a writer best known for his introspective, character-driven tales, as seen in the breakthrough teen-drama series The Waiting Place. The Eisner Award winner has written for indie and major publishers alike, with a body of fan-favorite work that includes Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, The Incredible Hulk, Sentinel, Mystique, Inhumans, Gravity, Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man, and X-Men Origins: Jean Grey for Marvel and Countdown to Final Crisis, Birds of Prey, Teen Titans and Terror Titans for DC Comics. Look for Sean’s work in the Ravager co-feature in the pages of Teen Titans this Summer, and the Nomad: Girl Without A World limited series this Fall, which picks up on the story of Rikki Barnes, the teen girl from Heroes Reborn who appeared in Captain America #600. If that's not enough, Sean mentioned in a recent interview with Newsarama "another little treat at Marvel right now, and then there are a couple of other things I'm talking to various publishers about, including DC." We can't wait!

2009 Harvey Awards Nominees

We're pleased to recognize Mid-Ohio-Con 2009 special guests Bryan J. L. Glass and Thom Zahler for their nominations for the 2009 Harvey Awards! Bryan is nominated as Best New Talent and his title, THE MICE TEMPLAR, is mentioned in no fewer than 4 categories, including Best Continuing or Limited Series, Best Colorist, and Best Graphic Album - Previously Published. Thom Zahler is nominated as Best Cartoonist for his title LOVE AND CAPES from Merkle Press, and as Best Letterer for his work on BUZZBOY: SIDEKICKS RULE! from Sky Dog Comics. Check out the rest of the categories and nominees below and visit harveyawards.org to cast your ballot for this year's awards.

BEST WRITER

- Kyle Baker, NAT TURNER, Abrams Books
- Ed Brubaker, CAPTAIN AMERICA, Marvel Comics
- John Gallagher, BUZZBOY: SIDEKICKS RULE!, Sky Dog Comics
- Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
- Grant Morrison, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics

BEST ARTIST

- Gabriel Ba, UMBRELLA ACADEMY, Dark Horse Comics
- Kyle Baker, NAT TURNER, Abrams Books
- Jimmy Gownley, AMELIA RULES, Renaissance Press
- Jason Kruse, WORLD OF QUEST, Yen Press
- Frank Quitely, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics

BEST CARTOONIST

- Lar deSouza, LEAST I COULD DO, www.leasticoulddo.com
- John Gallagher, BUZZBOY: SIDEKICKS RULE!, Sky Dog Comics
- Al Jaffee, TALL TALES, Abrams Books
- Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
- Thom Zahler, LOVE & CAPES, Merkle Press

BEST LETTERER

- Jimmy Gownley, AMELIA RULES, Renaissance Press
- Rob Leigh, THE SPIRIT, DC Comics
- Doug Sherwood, LOCAL, Oni Press
- John Workman, MARVEL 1985, Marvel Comics
- Thom Zahler, BUZZBOY: SIDEKICKS RULE!, Sky Dog Comics

BEST INKER

- Rich Faber, BUZZBOY: SIDEKICKS RULE!, Sky Dog Comics
- Jamie Grant, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics
- Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
- Mark Morales, THOR, Marvel Comics
- Ryan Winn, THE DARKNESS, Image Comics

BEST COLORIST

- Frank Cammuso, OTTO'S ORANGE DAY, Raw Junior, LLC
- Jamie Grant, ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics
- Laura Martin, THOR, Marvel Comics
- Wil Quintana, THE MICE TEMPLAR, Image Comics
- Dave Stewart, UMBRELLA ACADEMY, Dark Horse Comics

BEST COVER ARTIST

- Frank Cho, BUZZBOY: SIDEKICKS RULE!#3, Sky Dog Press
- James Jean, FABLES, Vertigo Comics
- Jay Lynch, MINESHAFT #23, Mineshaft Publishing
- Ken Rocafort, PILOT SEASON: CORE #1, Top Cow
- Alex Ross, JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA, DC Comics

BEST NEW SERIES

- THE DREAMER, IDW
- ECHO, Abstract Studios
- HIGH MOON, www.zudacomics.com
- NIGHT OWLS, www.zudacomics.com
- SUPERTRON, www.zudacomics.com

BEST CONTINUING OR LIMITED SERIES

- ALL-STAR SUPERMAN, DC Comics
- CAPTAIN AMERICA, Marvel Comics
- DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
- MICE TEMPLAR, Image Comics
- UMBRELLA ACADEMY, Dark Horse Comics

BEST BIOGRAPHICAL, HISTORICAL OR JOURNALISTIC PRESENTATION

- DRAW!, edited by Mike Manley, Twomorrows Publishing
- HOW TO MAKE WEBCOMICS, Brad Guigar, Dave Kellett, Scott Kurtz, and Kris Straub, Image Comics
- KIRBY: KING OF COMICS, Mark Evanier, Abrams Books
- SCORCHY SMITH AND THE ART OF NOEL SICKLES, edited by Dean Mullaney, IDW
- WORDLESS BOOKS: THE ORIGINAL GRAPHIC NOVELS, edited by David A. Berona, Abrams Books

BEST SYNDICATED STRIP OR PANEL

- BREWSTER ROCKIT: SPACE GUY!, Tim Rickard, Tribune Media Services
- GET FUZZY, Darby Conley, United Features Syndicate
- MUTTS, Patrick McDonnell, King Features Syndicate
- THE NORM, Michael Jantze, Uclick Gocomics
- PEARLS BEFORE SWINE, Stephan Pastis, United Features Syndicate

BEST ANTHOLOGY

- COMIC BOOK TATTOO, edited by Rantz Hoseley, Image Comics
- FLIGHT VOLUME 5, edited by Kazu Kibuishi, Villard
- MOME VOLUME 10, edited by Eric Reynolds, Fantagraphics Books
- PIXU #1, edited by Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon, Self-Published
- POPGUN VOLUME 2, edited by Joe Keatinge and Mark Andrew Smith, Image Comics

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM – ORIGINAL

- BOTTOMLESS BELLY BUTTON, Fantagraphics Books
- DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODRICK RULES, Amulet Books
- ESSEX COUNTY: THE COUNTRY NURSE, Top Shelf
- SKIM, Groundwood Books
- TOO COOL TO BE FORGOTTEN, Top Shelf
- WORLD OF QUEST: VOL. 2, Yen Press

BEST GRAPHIC ALBUM – PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED

- AMELIA RULES!: FUNNY STORIES, Renaissance Press
- M, Abrams Books
- NAT TURNER, Abrams Books
- THE MICE TEMPLAR: VOL. 1, Image Comics
- Queen and country: VOLUME, Oni Press
- SKYSCRAPERS OF THE MIDWEST (HARDCOVER), Adhouse Books

BEST SINGLE ISSUE OR STORY

- ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY #19, Self-Published
- FIRST BORN: AFTERMATH #1, Top Cow
- LOVE AND ROCKETS, VOL. 3 #1, Fantagraphics Books
- M, Abrams Books
- NASCAR HEROES #5, NASCAR Comics
- NAT TURNER, Abrams Books
- THE AMAZiNG REMARKABLE MONSIEUR LEOTARD, First Second
- Y: THE LAST MAN #60, Vertigo Comics

BEST DOMESTIC REPRINT PROJECT

- ASTOUNDING SPACE THRILLS, IDW
- COMPLETE PEANUTS, Fantagraphics Books
- COMPLETE TERRY AND THE PIRATES, IDW
- SCORCHY SMITH AND THE ART OF NOEL SICKLES, IDW
- WACKY PACKAGES, Abrams Books

BEST AMERICAN EDITION OF FOREIGN MATERIAL

- GUS AND HIS GANG, First Second
- POCKET FULL OF RAIN, Fantagraphics Books
- RED COLORED ELEGY, Drawn and Quarterly
- SOLANIN, Viz
- WITCHBLADE TAKERU MANGA #'s 11 & 12, Top Cow

BEST ON-LINE COMICS WORK

- BLACK CHERRY BOMBSHELLS, Tony Trovarello and John Zito, www.zudacomics.com
- HIGH MOON, Scott O. Brown, Steve Ellis, and David Gallaher, www.zudacomics.com
- LEAST I COULD DO, Lar deSouza and Ryan Sohmer, www.leasticoulddo.com
- NIGHT OWLS, Bobby & Peter Timony, www.zudacomics.com
- PVP, Scott Kurtz, www.pvponline.com

SPECIAL AWARD FOR HUMOR IN COMICS

- Lar deSouza and Ryan Sohmer, LEAST I COULD DO, www.leasticoulddo.com
- John Gallagher, BUZZBOY:SIDEKICKS RULE!, Sky Dog Comics
- Al Jaffee, TALL TALES, Abrams Books
- Jeff Kinney, DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, Amulet Books
- David Malki, WONDERMARK, www.wondermark.com

SPECIAL AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN PRESENTATION

- COMPLETE LOCAL: HARDCOVER EDITION, Ryan Kelly and Brian Wood, Oni Press
- KIRBY: KING OF COMICS, Mark Evanier, Abrams Books
- QUEEN AND COUNTRY: VOLUME 3, Greg Rucka, Mike Norton, Steve Rolston, and Chris Samnee, Oni Press
- TALL TALES, Al Jaffee, Abrams Books
- WONDERMARK, VOL. 1: BEARDS OF OUR FOREFATHERS, David Malki, Dark Horse Comics

BEST NEW TALENT

- Matt Cassan, NASCAR: HEROES, Nascar Comics
- Bryan J. L. Glass, THE MICE TEMPLAR, Image Books
- Laura Innes, THE DREAMER, IDW
- Tim Sievert, THAT SALTY AIR, Top Shelf
- Bobby Timony, NIGHT OWLS, www.zudacomics.com