The Zone 4 podcast crew of Brant Fowler, Gordon Dymowski, and Captain Ron Fortier, return. Episode #230 shines a light on some books and online comics they are enjoying that are not from the “big two,” Marvel and DC. Everything from Dark Horse, to Thrillbent, to Action Lab, to Bottled Lightning and more!

But before all that, there are some headlines. Some of them are pretty heavy, like the Kevin Maguire and Kirby Heirs situations. And some are light, like an actor interested in taking over Iron Man, and Groot being cast. And the crew has some words for Dan DiDio… again! And there are new shout-outs again this week! Plus some plugs.

So hunker down with some bacon bits, put aside your mainstream books, and get ready for some indie goodness. It’s time to enter the Zone!

You can listen to Zone 4 – Episode #230: Non-Big Two Spotlight! here.
You can now find Zone 4 on Stitcher as well!

This Week on PRO SE PRESENTS: THE PODCAST-

PRO SE PRESENTS: THE PODCAST brings you one of the best known, most prolific authors and creators in Genre Fiction and New Pulp!  PSP: TP Host Tommy Hancock welcomes Barry Reese, Author, Creator, Head of the REESE UNLIMITED imprint from Pro Se, and Pro Se’s Submissions editor!  Barry discusses what he writes, how he writes, who influences him, and most of all why he writes!  Learn the behind the scenes stories about his best known creation, including The Rook, Lazarus Gray, and Gravedigger. Listen as Barry discussed what he enjoys about Classic Pulp, but also why he’s continually trying to push his own boundaries!  PRO SE PRESENTS: THE PODCAST Presents Barry Reese!
http://prosepodcast.libsyn.com/pro-se-presents-the-podcast-barry-reese-writer-creator-editor-and-more

Cover Art: Douglas Klauba

Win Scott Eckert has shared the final cover to the upcoming Honey West/T.H.E. Cat novel: A Girl and Her Cat by artist Douglas Klauba. A Girl and Her Cat is the first new Honey West novel in over 40 years.

Available for order soon via Diamond and direct from Moonstone!

Following on the heels of the first ever Honey West & T.H.E Cat crossover comic, Moonstone’s “Death in the Desert,” comes the Honey West & T.H.E Cat novel, A Girl and Her Cat…

When an exotic green-eyed Asian doctor hires Honey to recover a stolen sample of a new Rubella vaccine from a rival scientist, the blonde bombshell private eye—suspicious but bored—takes the case. But after she’s attacked not once, but twice, on her way from Long Beach to San Francisco to track down her quarry, she knows there’s more—much more—to her femme fatale client than meets the eye.

Along the way, Honey’s one-time paramour Johnny Doom—ex-bounty hunter and current Company agent—reenters the picture, and the gorgeous doctor’s insidious—and deadly—grandfather deals himself in. But when Honey questions whether Johnny’s playing her game, or just playing her for a patsy, she joins forces—as only Honey can—with the one man in Frisco who can help her recover the stolen vaccine-cum-bioweapon and prevent worldwide genocide by germ-warfare—former cat burglar-turned-bodyguard Thomas Hewitt Edward Cat: T.H.E Cat!

Join writers Win Scott Eckert and Matthew Baugh, and cover artist Douglas Klauba, for A Girl and Her Cat, a groovy, racy 1960s romp coming soon from Moonstone!

Win Scott Eckert (The Green Hornet, The Avenger, Pat Wildman, The Domino Lady, Zorro, The Phantom, Sherlock Holmes, Wold Newton Origins, etc.)
Matthew Baugh (Zorro, The Avenger, The Green Hornet, Sherlock Holmes, Six-Guns Straight from Hell, The Phantom, the Cthulhu Mythos, etc.)
Douglas Klauba (The Phantom, Zorro, The Green Hornet, The Spider, Kolchak, The Black Terror, The Green Lama, Philip Marlowe, Doc Savage, etc.)
Moonstone: Classic & new heroes in thrilling tales of adventure, mystery, & horror!

We see them at every convention, and anyone with a camera seem to adore them. They are The HEROES OF COSPLAY, now headlining a new series on SyFy. Cosplay Queen, Yaya Hahn, talks about how mainstream media has accepted the hobby and why it isn’t just about dressing up like comic book characters anymore. Plus DC edges to a #1 spot in comic store sales and is it bye bye to The Ultimate Universe?

This summer, we are updating once a week – every Friday – but you don’t have to miss any pop culture news. THE POINT covers it 24/7! Take us ANYWHERE! The Point Radio App is now in the iTunes App store – and it’s FREE! Just search under “pop culture The Point”. The Point Radio  – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any other  mobile device with the Tune In Radio app – and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

So after all that hemming and hawing, Wizard World Chicago came and went. Unshaven Comics saw record sales, happy fans, and well… that’s all we needed. The vibe itself of the show was tepid at best. Many many folks stopping by were quick to talk about their excited meetings with John Barrowman, Wil Wheaton, and Zach Quinto. Others simply said the show was OK, and that they were having a good time as always.

As always, the looming undercurrent of complaints crept around the edges. Full weekend passes cost nearly $100. The show floor itself (due to circumstances beyond Wizard’s control) was split between two floors, with significant bottlenecking of crowds throughout the day. And for those of us showing, Artist Alley seemed to have significant dead-spots – places on the show floor where traffic seemed to never pass by. Attempts to move (and move, and move) seemingly did nothing for the sales. I would guess that roughly a third of the exhibitors left unprofitable, and grumpy.

But I digress. I’m not here to give a thorough analysis of this particular con. Nor am I going to politely make suggestions on how Wizard might improve their exhibitions. I did that last year. And the year before that. I wave the white flag on Wizard’s practices. It’s clear that they want to be micro-San-Diegos in pop-culture-scope and have no desire to really cater to comic creators or the fans that-there-of. My biggest gripe found its way to my Facebook feed via the illustrious Gene Ha.

Gene caught a story over on The Beat that declared Wizard was moving in on comic-con competition in Minneapolis. It’s Wizard World Minneapolis show (a new one amongst their cadre of dates and locales) is scheduled a mere two weeks before the Midwest Comic Book Association’s already established SpringCon. Well, well, well Wizard. Good on you.

Once again, Wizard chooses to horn in on territory where locally owned and beloved conventions have scheduled. Just as they purchased Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus and took over the New York Comic Con in years past. When asked for comment (in case you didn’t read the link above) Wizzy just piddled in the corner… essentially blaming the convention center, and kicking the dirt by it’s boots like a child trying to lie, and failing. It’s maddening.

Wizard has deeper pockets than small comic-based shows. It’s a fact. They book bigger halls, bag bigger stars, and charge exhibitors considerably more. And the fact that Wizard Chairman John Macaluso himself commented that “Scheduling conflicts do no one any good,” he’s merely playing coy in my not-so-humble opinion. What Macaluso isn’t saying is that the conflicts are plenty good for him because the odds are in his favor. His shows snipe in dates weeks earlier than his competition, and brings in pop-culture stars from movies and TV… which invariably draw in a larger audience. And in a smaller city like Columbus or Minneapolis? The average con-goer will have little to no reason (or a plethora of discretionary funds) to attend one con right after the other.

In short, the little guy gets boned, unless they spend their time creating guerrilla marketing efforts such to undercut Wizard all in an attempt not to go under. Mid-Ohio simply caved. And now? The same Cincinnati/Columbus area will see three conventions within a six-week period: Wizard’s Mid-Ohio Con, the newly formed Cincy Comic Con, and the elder Cincinnati Comic Expo.

Is this the fate of Minneapolis looks forward to? Conventions fighting over guests and rolling the dice on their attendance? In the end, if that happens everyone will lose. And when the competition has a deeper wallet, the battle becomes that much harder to fight. We proud dwellers of the Artist Alley are left in waiting, trying to figure out what move to make. Especially those of us making the choice to venture beyond our hometown borders… Where profitability of these shows determines whether we’re eating a nice steak dinner after the show, or supersizing on our way home, with merchandise still in tow.

As it stands, Unshaven Comics this year alone has visited Dayton OH, Ft. Wayne IN, Novi MI, Charlotte NC, and the Chicagoland area several times. Later this year we’re going to Cincinnati, St. Louis, Baltimore, New York, Dearborn, and Kokomo. It’s our hope that Wizard takes a step back, and considers making the shows its known for good again… rather than simply expand it’s empire of bullying.

SUNDAY: John Ostrander

MONDAY: Mindy Newell

Green Lama Illustration: Neil Foster

New Pulp Publisher Airship 27 Productions has released teaser art from the upcoming addition to their best-selling anthology series with The Green Lama – Mystic Warrior.

“THE GREEN LAMA – Mystic Warrior is now in production,” said Airship 27 head honcho, Ron Fortier in a post on his website. “It will feature two reprint stories from our first ever Green Lama anthology, by Peter Miller and Kevin Noel Olson. Plus two brand new Green Lama adventures by Nick Ahlhelm and Robert Craig.”

All four stories in The Green Lama – Mystic Warrior will feature brand new illustrations by artist Neil Foster.

All Pulp will post more as the project develops.

Airship 27 has also joined Twitter. Follow Ron Fortier at @airship271 and Michael Leal at @AirshipCaptainM for the latest Airship 27 news and updates.

Coming in 2014 from Piccadilly Publishing— A Legend Called Shatterhand and Shatterhand and The People by B.J. Holmes, based on the character created by Karl May.

About SHATTERHAND:
Old Shatterhand, the friend and blood-brother of Winnetou, the chief of the Mescalero Apaches, was a fictional character created by German writer Karl May (1842-1912). B.J. Holmes revived him for two epic westerns, A Legend Called Shatterhand and Shatterhand and the People, both of which will be appearing over the coming months under the PP imprint. Real-life historical characters turn up throughout the narratives and Shatterhand’s west has an undeniable ring of authenticity to it.

Follow Piccadilly Publishing on Facebook.

New Pulp Publisher Dynamite Entertainment has announced Noir, a new comic book series featuring The Shadow, Miss Fury, and The Black Sparrow. NOIR #1 is written by Victor Gischler with art by Andrea Mutti and a cover by Ardian Syaf. Noir #1 will arrive in comic book shop on November 13th.

Prelude to Miss Fury! When thieves steal from other thieves it always causes problems, doesn’t it?  So when The Black Sparrow is hired to steal a mysterious “Moon Stone” from a museum in New York, her decision to keep the thing for a better payday annoys her former employers who then steal it back from her.  Now it’s The Black Sparrow who is annoyed, and that’s a dangerous thing.  All she wants is what she stole fair and square, but she needs help.  She needs The Shadow!