This Saturday, May 4th is Free Comic Book Day! Our offering is the Mouse Guard / Rust Flip Book, which you can pick up for free at your local participating comic book shop! It contains original stories by David Petersen (Mouse Guard); Royden Lepp (Rust); Cory Godbey (Jim Henson’s Labyrinth); Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos (Cow Boy); and Sean Rubin (Bolivar). Plus, there’s an activity page by Yehudi Mercado (Pantalones, TX)! If you live near any of the shops below, you can run into Archaia folk who will be out and about signing for Free Comic Book Day! (All times listed are local.)

CALIFORNIA

4 Color Fantasies
7172 Archibald Ave.
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91701
(909) 563-8751
11am – 3pm
Archaia will have a table with books for sale, giveaways, and creator signings!
Appearing: 1 – 2pm Tim Beedle (Fraggle Rock); 2 – 3pm Moro Rogers (City in the Desert)

MICHIGAN

Detroit Comics
23333 Woodward Ave.
Ferndale, MI 48220
(248) 548-2669
Appearing: 10am – 12:30pm David Petersen (Mouse Guard)

Green Brain Comics
13210 Michigan Avenue
Dearborn, MI 48126
(313) 582-9444
Appearing: 1pm – ? David Petersen (Mouse Guard)

NEW YORK

Midtown Comics (Downtown location)
64 Fulton St.
New York, NY 10038
(800) 411-3341
Appearing: 1 – 3pm Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos (Cow Boy)

SOUTH CAROLINA

Richard’s Comics & Collectables
1214A Laurens Road
Greenville, SC 29607
(864) 271-1104
Appearing: 11am – 1pm Cory Godbey (Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, Fraggle Rock)

TEXAS

Austin Books and Comics
5002 N. Lamar Blvd
Austin, TX 78751
(512) 454-4197
Appearing: 11am – 3pm Yehudi Mercado (Pantalones, TX)

WASHINGTON

The Comic Stop (Lynwood location)
3333 184th St. SW, Suite G
Lynnwood, WA 98037
(425) 744-2767
Appearing: 11am – 3pm Royden Lepp (Rust)

Archaia will be exhibiting at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) during the weekend of April 26-28. You can find us at Booth 1019! Confirmed Archaia creators in attendance include:

Andrew E. C. Gaska (writer: Critical Millennium: The Dark Frontier, Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes, Space: 1999: Aftershock and Awe)

Andrew Rostan (writer: An Elegy for Amelia Johnson)

Brent Schoonover (artist: Mr. Murder Is Dead)

Chandra Free (writer/artist: The God Machine, Fraggle Rock)

Charles Soule (writer: Strange Attractors)

Cory Godbey (artist: Fraggle Rock, the upcoming Jim Henson’s Labyrinth and Spera Vol. 3)

David Marquez (artist: Syndrome, Days Missing Vol. 2: Kestus, the upcoming The Joyners in 3D)

David Petersen (writer/artist: Mouse Guard)

Jeremy Bastian (writer/artist: Cursed Pirate Girl)

Ramón Pérez (artist: Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand)

R.J. Ryan (writer: Syndrome, the upcoming The Joyners in 3D)

Royden Lepp (artist/writer: Rust)

Tom Pinchuk (writer: Hybrid Bastards!)

Yehudi Mercado (writer/artist: Pantalones, TX)

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We will also be presenting a panel during C2E2. Please join us!

Sunday, April 28, 1:30 – 2:30p.m., Room W471 Archaia Entertainment Presents: Comics Storytelling and the Lost Art of 3D — Join creators with a special perspective on 3D storytelling in comics for an uncensored discussion of the medium’s benefits and drawbacks, as well as a wide-ranging survey of the highs and lows of 60 years of 3D comics, only at C2E2 2013!

Pioneered by a cabal of industrious creators in the early 1950s, anaglyph 3D comics experienced a boom at roughly the same mid-century moment as 3D movies first appeared in cinemas nationwide. 60 years later, 2012 saw the passing of two of the field’s pioneers: comics legend Joe Kubert, one of the format’s credited inventors, and Ray Zone, the famed conversion artist on the most notable 3D comics of the last 30 years.

To pay tribute to these lost giants and celebrate the 2013 release of their ambitious, all-3D graphic novel The Joyners in 3D from Archaia, writer R.J. Ryan (Syndrome) and New York Times best-selling illustrator David Marquez (All-New X-Men, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man, Syndrome) have invited a panel of creatives from across comics to dig deep into the medium’s checkered history of using 3D as a storytelling tool. The multimedia presentation will include big-screen glimpses of comics’ most famous—and most forgettable—3D projects, as well as a brief, exclusive sneak peek at Ryan & Marquez’s epic 3D melodrama, The Joyners in 3D. Moderated by Word Balloon podcast host John Siuntres.

Every panel attendee receives a free pair of 3D glasses and a coupon to receive a copy of the 2012 Free Comic Book Day hardcover at the Archaia booth (while supplies last)!

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Mouse Guard creator David Petersen and Rust creator Royden Lepp will also take part in the Imaginative Sci-Fi Authors of C2E2 Panel!

Saturday, April 27, 12:45 pm - 1:45 pm., Room W475b Joining other science fiction and fantasy authors such as E.B. Hudspeth (The Resurrectionist, Quirk), Jeffrey Brown (Vador and Son, Top Shelf), Brandon Easton (Roboy, Lion Forge), and Rachel Rawlings (The Maurin Kincaide Series), David Petersen and Royden Lepp will talk about their imaginative Sci-Fi and Fantasy graphic novels!

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SIGNING SCHEDULE (Subject to change. Check booth for final times.) Archaia Booth, #1019 

FRIDAY, April 26 

12:30-1:30  Chandra Free (Table 1), Jeremy Bastian (Table 3)

12:30-2  Charles Soule (Table 2), Royden Lepp (Table 4)

2-3:30  R.J. Ryan, David Marquez (David until 2 only) (Table 3)

3-4  David Petersen (Table 2)

3-4:30  Andrew E. C. Gaska (Table 4)

4-5  Tom Pinchuk (Table 3)

4:30-5:30  Yehudi Mercado (Table 2)

4:30-6  Royden Lepp (Table 1) 5-6:30  Brent Schoonover (Table 4)

5:30-7  Andrew Rostan (Table 3)

6-7  Charles Soule (Table 2)

SATURDAY, April 27

11-12  Jeremy Bastian (Table 2)

11-12:30  Brent Schoonover (Table 1), R.J. Ryan and David Marquez (David until 12 only) (Table 3), Royden Lepp (Table 4)

12:30-1:30  Yehudi Mercado (Table 2)

1-2:30  Chandra Free (Table 1), Ramón Pérez (Table 3)

1-4  Andrew Rostan (Table 4)

2-3  Charles Soule (Table 2)

3-4  David Petersen (Table 3)

3-4:30  Andrew E. C. Gaska (Table 1)

3:30-5  Royden Lepp (Table 2)

4:30-5:30  Cory Godbey (Table 3)

5-6:30  Tom Pinchuk (Table 1)

6-7  Charles Soule (Table 2)

SUNDAY, April 28 

11-12:30 Andrew Rostan (Table 1), R.J. Ryan and David Marquez (David until 12 only) (Table 2), Charles Soule (Table 3), Chandra Free (Table 4)

1-2:30  Brent Schoonover (Table 2), Andrew E. C. Gaska (Table 3)

3-4  David Petersen (Table 2), Andrew Rostan (Table 3), Yehudi Mercado (Table 4)

A panel from @RoydenLepp’s RUST story #FCBD 

This Digital Wednesday, Archaia and comiXology are teaming up to bring you a big dose of fantasy and adventure! Just like every week, we are bringing your favorite comics in and making them just a click away. Want to read one of our comics before it comes out in print? Well now you can, with Archaia’s Digital First comics, only available at comiXology. 

Digital Firsts: Titles That Are Available Digitally Before the Print Edition’s Release.

Rust Vol. 2: Secrets of the Cell, Part 2: 
Writer/artist: Royden Lepp

In this follow-up to the critically acclaimed Rust Vol. 1: Visitor in the Field, the dysfunctional Taylor family continues to rebuild their farm lives after the devastating loss of a recent war, and the appearance of the mysterious jetpack-wearing boy, Jet Jones. Jet’s behavior continues to raise youngest brother Oswald’s suspicion, particularly when the appearance of another robot invader puts them all in danger!

In this part 2 of Volume 2, Oswald might finally be figuring out the secrets behind Jet! Little does he know, he’s about to learn a lot more than he planned, not only about Jet, but about the war as well.

Iron: Or, the War After, Part 4:
Writer/artist: Shane-Michael Vidaurri 

It is the aftermath of a long war, in a world of constant winter. An intelligence spy from the Resistance—the rabbit, Hardin—steals secret information from a military base of the Regime. His actions set off a chain of events that reverberates through the ranks of both sides, touching everyone from Pavel the crow to Giles the goat, from the highest-ranking officials to the smallest orphaned child. When the snow finally settles, who will be the true patriot and who the true traitor?

In Part 4 of Iron: Or, the War After, Engel convinces James to take the stand against Pavel. James must decide whether to say the words he knows Engel wants him to say or if he should tell the truth. But what will happen to him, and what has happened to his sister? Is there anyone who can help James, or will Engel finally get his way?

Spera, Vol. 2, Part 2:
Writer: Josh Tierney
Artists: Afu Chan, Giannis Milonogiannis, Kyla Vanderklugt, and Timothy Weaver

Lono’s life as a princess consisted of sitting, reading, and dreaming—until the day Pira, princess of a neighboring kingdom, arrived with news of a waking nightmare! With the help of Pira’s best friend—a fire spirit in the form of a dog named Yonder—the princesses now find themselves in a race against evil. The goal: Spera, a magical realm of which the princesses had only ever heard the tallest tales. The prize: their very lives!

In this next installment of Spera Vol. 2, Pira and Lono have lost the monster but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a normal relaxing day in the city…right? Lono and Pira are going to have a harder time than they thought with monsters showing up behind every corner, not that Pira minds. Will Lono ever get her day of relaxation?

Look forward to next week! Archaia and comiXology will team up again to give you more Digital Firsts! Next week we will have space adventures with Space:1999 - Classics Remastered, action-filled adventures with The Dare Detectives! and The Grand Duke, as well as the complete first volume of Jim Henson’s The Storyteller ready to be downloaded.