More guest updates...

Alex Irvine is the writer of the Marvel Comics series Hellstorm: Son of Satan and Daredevil Noir. He is also the writer of award-winning original novels (Buyout, The Narrows, The Life of Riley, One King, One Soldier, A Scattering of Jades), short stories (collected in Unintended Consequences and Pictures from an Expedition), and several tie-in and media-related books (The Vertigo Encyclopedia, Batman:Inferno, The Ultimates: Against All Enemies, The Supernatural Book of Monsters, Demons, Spirits, and Ghouls, Supernatural: John Winchester's Journal). He has also worked as a reporter for the Portland Phoenix, and was part of the writing team on the groundbreaking ARGs known as The Beast and I Love Bees. He lives in Maine, where he teaches at the University of Maine in Orono.

Lincoln Peirce writes and draws the comic strip "Big Nate". Peirce's comic strip, Big Nate, is featured as an island on the famous children's website, Poptropica. Big Nate appears as the first cartoon on The Maine Sunday Telegram in the comics section.

Sponsor Spotlight- Shipyard Brewing Company

Thanks to our sponsor Shipyard Brewing Company. The brewery itself is about 100 yards away from the festival site at Ocean Gateway. Shipyard's products are available at most area stores.

http://www.shipyard.com

Shipyard is committed to brewing the freshest, most flavorful, full-bodied ales available. We use only the finest ingredients, including top fermenting multi-strain yeast from Ringwood Brewery. All our beer is handcrafted with pride at our brewery on the historic waterfront in Portland, Maine.

Shipyard first began in 1992 at Federal Jack's Restaurant and Brew Pub in Kennebunk, which is one of Maine's original brew pubs and working breweries. Within two years, demand for Shipyard beer outpaced the small operation and, in April 1994, founders Fred Forsley and Alan Pugsley opened the Shipyard Brewing Company in Portland. Stop by and visit us when you're in Maine and see first hand why Shipyard is excellence in brewing.

Jellaby 2 in stores NOW!!!

The new Jellaby has arrived, and just in time for the festival!!! Kean Soo is one of our featured guests and we are thrilled to have his new book in the store NOW! We will also have copies available at the festival.

Sponsor spotlight- Inn on Peaks Island

The festival is very fortunate to have some very generous sponsors for our event.

The first one is The Inn on Peaks Island.

http://www.innonpeaks.com

Discover The Inn on Peaks Island - in the heart of Portland's Casco Bay! Just 15 minutes by boat, it's the perfect spot to take in an evening sunset or escape for the weekend, or a week. The Inn's 6 Maine cottage-style luxury rooms feature: Jacuzzi tubs, private decks, and skyline views of Portland. The Pub features fresh Maine seafood, crisp salads, and creative pub fare. Serving lunch and dinner daily. Proudly serving hand-crafted beer from Shipyard Brewing Company.

CR Review: Cecil and Jordan in New York: Stories by Gabrielle Bell

There is a nice review of Gabrielle Bell's new book on the Comics Reporter. Read the review here.

Gabrielle is just one of over 70 guests appearing at the festival. It is just four weeks away!!!!

Posters are here!

The posters have arrived! Thanks to Matt Talbot for the for the great design. You can see more of Matt's work at www.mattrobot.com . If you would like to help distribute posters please let us know.

Exhibitor info e-mails

I have sent an e-mail to everyone who will be exhibiting at the show. If you are a creator or publisher who will be at the festival and you did not receive an e-mail entitled "Maine Comics Arts Festival updates", please contact me so that I can confirm your address. Also, please check your spam filters. Thanks!

More guest bios

Corey “Fake Rockstar” Pandolph has been trying to be funny for 25 years. After several failed attempts at many different comedic genres, he found comfort and success in the tedious and deadline riddled world of comics and comic strips.

In 2001, Corey’s comic “Barkeater Lake” was picked up for syndication development by United Media. After 4 years of unsuccessfully trying to break the feature into the world of newspapers, he decided to leave UM and launch “Barkeater Lake” on the web, where it resides to this very day, sporadically updated to wide acclaimed.

In 2007, Corey got his syndication wish via Universal Press Syndicate, where he took over artistic duties for the comic “The Elderberries” by an ailing Phil Frank. Sadly, in September of that same year, Mr. Frank passed on and Corey took over both the writing and drawing of the strip permanently. The Elderberries is syndicated in over 100 papers worldwide.

Finally, in an effort to completely eliminate any extra time in his day, Corey created the strip “TOBY, Robot Satan” for the Boston and NYC metro. TOBY’s mechanical malevolence runs five days a week and is now featured in The Bollard and on the humor site, Drink at Work.com, as well.

In addition, Mr. Pandolph contributes to the pages of Mad Magazine, writes regularly for the afore-mentioned Drink at Work.com (for which he and his fellow bloggers were nominated for a ECNY award in 2009), As well as contributing to the pages of The Bollard and The Bollard.com of Portland, Maine.

The many websites of the Fake Rockstar universe:

http://www.fakerockstar.com
http://www.tobyrobotsatan.com
http://www.barkeaterlake.com

Corey, his wife Kristen and their three dogs split their time between Gritty McDuff’s in Portland, the mountains of the Adirondacks and the streets of NYC.

Norm Feuti is a syndicated cartoonist and author living in Plainville, Massachusetts. He is also the lucky husband of a beautiful wife, and a proud stay-at-home dad for his two wonderful children.

His syndicated comic strip, Retail , presents a humorous look at the retail industry by chronicling the daily events at the fictitious Grumbel’s department store. The humor of Retail plays out through the day-to-day trials and triumphs of four main Grumbel’s department store employees (Marla, Cooper, Val, and Stuart) and the customers they encounter. Retail is distributed worldwide by King Features and appears in about 70 newspapers throughout the US and Canada.

His first book, Pretending You Care: The Retail Employee Handbook , is a parody guidebook for retail employees that includes over 200 Retail comic strips. Pretending You Care is published by Hyperion. It can be purchased on Amazon.com and at fine booksellers everywhere.

His web comic, Gill , is a fresh and edgy new strip that takes a humorous look at the life of an 8-year-old boy who lives under less than ideal circumstances. His parents are divorced. His mother struggles to maintain their meager existence. His estranged father floats in and out of his life to offer crude and confusing advice. Gill is an exploration of childhood and an imperfect American family in all its dysfunctional glory. You can read Gill 5 days a week at www.gillcomic.com .

Guest list additions

More guests are being added to the festival. Here are some of the latest:

Anne Sibley O'Brien is the creator of the award-winning graphic novel, The Legend of Hong Kil Dong: The Robin Hood of Korea. Raised in Korea, Anne always wanted to bring the classic Korean hero legend to US audiences. Awarded "Booklist’s Top 10 Graphic Novels for Youth" the book has an extensive website http://www.KoreanRobinHood.com, that pulls readers deeper into the world of 17th Century Korea.

JOHN KLOSSNER
John Klossner is a Maine-based cartoonist and illustrator whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, TIME magazine, Down East, Computerworld, and a variety of other print and electronic publications. Hs comic strip "Mason Darrow, non-profit lawyer" ran in the Boston Metro for several years at the turn of the century. John's website is http://www.jklossner.com/

John can often be found in his barn, separating the #1 plastic recyclables from the #2's.

JUANA MEDINA
Juana was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia. She is a student at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). In 2008 she received the first Jay Kennedy Memorial Scholarship, awarded by the National Cartoonists Society and was the recipient of a NEA Challenge Grant awarded through RISD.

She is currently finishing a BFA in Graphic Design. Collaborating in some projects with different artists in the US and contributing work to publications in Latin America.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juana_medina/

More creator updates

There are more bios still to post. Here are some of the most recent:

Melissa Mendes is a student at the Center for Cartoon Studies. Someday she wants to start an artist-mentoring program for high school kids, while still making her own comics, and maybe children's books. You can see more of her work at www.tropist.com/mezilla.

Joseph Lambert graduated from The Center For Cartoon Studies in May 2008. He is the creator of several mini-comics, one of them, “Turtle, Keep It Steady,” was published in Houghton Mifflin’s The Best American Comics 2008, for which he also designed the endpapers. Look for more of Joseph’s work at www.submarinesubmarine.com.

The Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) offers a two-year course of study that centers on the creation and dissemination of comics, graphic novels and other manifestations of the visual narrative. Experienced and internationally recognized cartoonists, writers, and designers teach classes. The school is located in historic downtown village of White River Junction, Vermont, in the old Colodny Surprise Department Store.

Hotel updates-Hilton Garden Hotel

If you are planning on attending the festival and staying at one of our host hotels, please be aware that the room rates are only guaranteed until April 15, 2009. After that the blocks are released to general booking and the group rate will not apply.

The third hotel that we have is the Hilton Garden Hotel.

Below is a link for reserving a room:

http://hiltongardeninn.hilton.com/en/gi/groups/personalized/PWMDHGI-MCA-20090515/index.jhtml

The Hilton is within walking distance of the festival and right across from the ferry terminal. It is the most convenient of the three hotels. NOTE: The "water view" rooms are more but the city view is OK too. You will have a water view all day at the festival. The rate they have offered is a significant savings from the regular rate.

If people are on more of a budget and have questions about anywhere else to stay just let me know.