Comic News: Top Cow Reveals 2012 Talent Hunt Winners!

TOP COW REVEALS WINNERS OF 2012 TALENT HUNT

    by Frankie Rodriguez

         Top Cow President Matt Hawkins Unveiled the winners of this year's Talent Hunt: artists Rom & Martin Gimenez as well as writers Eugene Ward, Kenneth Porter and Hannibal Tabu. Normally, the Talent Hunt was limited to just artists who would have one shots printed and fans would vote for winners based on an American Idol styled process. This past year, Top Cow went digital and added writers to the mix.

        Matt Hawkins told CBR: "It was originally intended as an artist-only thing, as it's easy to do an art talent hunt. I added the writer portion when I realized that there really aren't that many ways for writers to break in. Writers either have to buy their way in by self-publishing, or they have to get a gig at a publisher and segue into writing. I'm sure there are some, but I don't know a writer who's broken into the comic industry on a blind submission."

  He almost mentioned that the writers were very hard to decided, partially because of over 800 writer submissions on top of the 300 artist submissions. Artist -Rom is from Italy. Writer Eugene Ward, with his Nottingham pitch which stuck out to Hawkins, is from Australia while the rest of the winners are from the United States. Readers should see their work later this year or early 2014. Congratulations to all the winners.

Image Comics NYCC Signing Schedule

Image Comics at New York Comic Con: Complete Signing Schedule

(From Image Comics Site)

Image Comics' complete signing schedule for New York Comic Con is now available! The schedule includes signings by top creators every day of the convention, October 11-14 in New York City's Javits Center. Signings will take place at the Image Comics booth, #1229.

Several creators will also be signing convention exclusives, which Image unveiled on September 19. Details on the exclusives, as well as the panel schedule, can be found at Image Comics' website.

	Thursday 3:00 PM - 9:00 PM
3:00-4:00	Haunt signing: Joe Casey and Nathan Fox
4:00-5:00	Not My Bag signing: Sina Grace
4:00-6:00	Think Tank signing/Talent Hunt: Matt Hawkins (Top Cow)
5:00-6:00	Mind The Gap signing: Jim McCann & Rodin Esquejo
5:00-6:00	Robert Kirkman signing (Skybound) (ticketed)*
6:00-7:00	Halloween Eve signing: Brandon Montclare & Amy Reeder
6:00-7:00	The Darkness and The Bulletproof Coffin signing: David Hine
7:00-8:00	Comeback signing: Ed Brisson & Michael Walsh
8:00-9:00	Great Pacific signing: Joe Harris
	Friday 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM
10:00-11:00	Pigs and Choker signing: Ben McCool & Ben Templesmith
11:00-12:00	Point of Impact signing: Jay Faerber
12:00-1:30	Mind the Gap signing: Jim McCann & Rodin Esquejo
1:00-2:00	Thief of Thieves signing: Nick Spencer, James Asmus, Shawn Martinbrough & Felix Serrano (Skybound)
1:30-3:00	Luther Strode signing: Justin Jordan & Tradd Moore (ticketed)*
3:00-4:00	Non-Humans signing: Glen Brunswick & Whilce Portacio
3:30-5:30	Think Tank signing/Talent Hunt: Matt Hawkins (Top Cow)
4:00-5:00	MacGyver signing: Lee David Zlotoff & Will Sliney
4:00-5:00	The Darkness and The Bulletproof Coffin signing: David Hine
4:00-5:30	Robert Kirkman signing (Skybound) (ticketed)*
5:00-6:00	D.O.G.s of Mars signing: Christian Weiser, Tony Trov, & Johnny Zito
5:00-6:00	Artifacts signing: Ron Marz (Top Cow)
6:00-7:00	The Manhattan Projects signing: Jonathan Hickman & Jordie Bellaire (ticketed)*
	Saturday 10:00 AM - 7:00 PM
10:00-11:00	Point of Impact signing: Jay Faerber
11:00-12:00	Halloween Eve signing: Brandon Montclare & Amy Reeder
11:00-12:30	Think Tank signing/Talent Hunt: Matt Hawkins (Top Cow)
12:15-2:00	Saga signing: Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples (ticketed)*
1:00-2:00	Witch Doctor signing: Brandon Seifert & Lukas Ketner (Skybound)
2:00-3:00	Severed signing: Scott Snyder, Scott Tuft, & Attilla Futaki (ticketed)*
3:00-4:00	Top Cow Universe signing: Jeremy Haun, Nelson Blake II, David Hine, Tim Seeley, & Ron Marz
4:00-5:00	Bedlam and Morning Glories signing: Nick Spencer & Rodin Esquejo (ticketed)*
4:00-5:30	Teen Wolf signing: Tyler Posey, Jeff Davis & David Tischman (ticketed)*
5:00-6:00	Great Pacific signing: Joe Harris
5:00-6:00	Thief of Thieves signing: Nick Spencer, James Asmus, Shawn Martinbrough & Felix Serrano (Skybound)
6:00-7:00	The Manhattan Projects signing: Jonathan Hickman & Jordie Bellaire (ticketed)*
	Sunday 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
10:15-12:00	Happy! signing: Grant Morrison (ticketed)*
11:00-12:00	Super Dinosaur signing: Jason Howard (Skybound)
12:00-1:00	Black Kiss 2 signing: Howard Chaykin
1:00-3:00	Saga signing: Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples (ticketed)*
3:00-4:00	Great Pacific signing: Joe Harris (writer/artist)
3:30-5:00	Robert Kirkman signing (Skybound) (ticketed)*
4:00-5:00	Valentine signing: Alex de Campi & Christine Larsen

*Tickets will be available at the Image Comics booth (#1229) on the day of the signing. One ticket per person will be available for each ticketed signing beginning at the start of the show each day and only while supplies last. No purchase necessary.

Top Cow Founder Marc Silvestri Brings back "Cyber Force" . . . FOR FREE!!

Silvestri, Hawkins & Pham bring back Cyber Force this October ... For FREE!

        Announced on Friday and reiterated today at Comic-Con, Marc Silvestri and Top Cow are bringing back Cyber Force this October. One of the biggest differences to Cyber Force this time around is that it will be free. Yes. FREE. Silverstri has started a Kickstarter to start the project. The kickstarter will help fund to bring Cyber Force back ... for free. In both print AND digital formats. Rebooting the title that launched Top Cow, Top Cow COO Matt Hawkins commented to CBR about Cyber Force's return:

"We are very intentionally keeping the rest of the Top Cow Universe pretty far away from "Cyber Force" so we can build and ground it separately, but yes the "reboot" gave us a good reason to start over. There have been somespin-off miniseries done over the years by Ron Marz and Mark Waid but nothing that was a pure reboot. There are no plans in the first year to have the Artifacts stories cross with "Cyber Force." They do take place in the greater Top Cow Universe however."


 Silvestri and Top Cow hopes that will they not only have the first issue of Cyber Force for free digitally or in your local comic shops with enough funding from Kickstarter ... but at least the first 5 issues would all be free in both formats. Merely ask for it or pick it up or download it. Top Cow's Overlord told Hero Complex the following:

"We want to use [Kickstarter's] crowd-sourced funding in typical Top Cow fashion, meaning differently. "While most everybody uses Kickstarter to fund a project in order to build it and then sell it, we at Top Cow are going to use the funds to build 'Cyber Force' and give it away -- for free! Plus we’re not talking just one issue but five full issues of the comic. And it won’t be free just digitally, but also as a full-color printed comic that will be available at any participating comic shop. So for people that want to read 'Cyber Force' digitally -- yes, including torrent sites -- it’s free. And for anyone wanting to hold a traditional comic in their hands to read it -- it’s still free. We figure this is a great way to reward loyal comic fans plus get new people to get onboard reading comics and see what they’ve been missing. Plus it allows fans to actually get involved in the comic making process and be part of something truly groundbreaking that will help all of us that love the genre."


Cyber Force # 1, written by Marc Silvestri & Matt Hawkins, with art by Khoi Pham, will hit stores this October . .. FOR FREE!!!