Press release:

The Albany Comic Con will host an auction of original comic book artwork to benefit the local chapter of the Capital District Ronald McDonald House Charities. Local comic book professionals have donated original sketches to the Albany Comic Con which will be auctioned the day of the convention in a silent auction. The auction will run from 10am to 3pm, Sunday, June 10th, 2012. Sketches of famous comic book characters including Batgirl, Supergirl, The Thing (from The Fantastic Four), Black Widow (from The Avengers), and more will be the highlights of the auction.  Sketches have been donated by such notable longtime artists as Joe Staton, Joe Sinnott, Lee Moder, Paul Abrams, Fred Hembeck, and many others. This is the third charity auction that the Albany Comic Con has held, and it is expected to be the largest in terms of the number of pieces of original comic book art available.

The mission of Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) is to create, find and support programs that directly improve the health and well being of children. The charity’s core values include:

* Focusing on the critical needs of children.

* Celebrating the diversity of the programs and staff, volunteers and donors who make them possible.

* Staying true to a heritage of more than 36 years of responsible stewardship.

* Operating with accountability and transparency.

There is no charge to enter the auction and all of the proceeds from the auctioned artwork will be donated directly to the Albany Ronald McDonald House. The Albany Comic Con will be held Sunday, June 10th. Admission to the convention is $5.00. We invite local media to come out for this event, and we thank you for helping spread the word about the charity auction for a very worthwhile organization. 

What: Albany Comic Con  Silent Art Charity Auction

When:  Sunday, June 10th, 2012    Time:  10am to 4pm.

Where:  Albany Comic Con, Holiday Inn, 205 Wolf Rd., Albany, NY 12205

Please be aware that a rumoured “Adirondack ComicFest” is bad news, and Google its “organizer” Rick Olney for all the details on why. I live in the foothills of the Adirondack region, and as a resident it really grinds my gears to see Olney trying to ply his toxic wares in my backyard (literally; I can see the Adirondacks from my backyard). Tony Isabella often reminds people of why they should shun Olney and his many various fictional “shows” and “companies,” and his column today prompted me to add my voice to the choir, with a far better idea for anyone interested in comics that might have been sucked in to Olney’s latest scam.

You might consider attending the REAL comic book show of the Adirondack region, the Albany Comic Con. It’s run by honest people that I have personally dealt with for years, and features great guests twice a year, including Fred Hembeck, Joe Staton, Matt Smith, Ron Marz, Joe Sinnott, and this fall, Jim Starlin. Folks like Staton and Hembeck have attended twice a year for years now, so I assume they get paid and are happy with the show, unlike many people who have been victimized by Rick Olney in the past. I write this now in the hopes of preventing future pain to people who love comics. So forget Olney’s latest scheme and plan to attend the Albany Comic Con this October. Details are here:

http://www.albanycomicbookshow.com/

The Albany Comic Con is only an hour or so from the Adirondacks and the Adirondack Park, so anyone who had been excited about Olney’s show before finding out the truth about him might want to consider coming to the October Albany Comic Con. Please note that the show is an occasional advertiser on this site, but even if they weren’t, I would urge you to attend because it’s a great show, a good time and a wonderful chance to see all the comics-oriented people in the upstate New York/Adirondack region; and I would still urge you to avoid anything at all that is connected in any way to Rick Olney.

— Alan David Doane 

Thanks to John Belskis at Excellent Adventures in Ballston Spa, NY (an occasional advertiser here on the site), here’s a look at the Argonauts Albany Comic Con Variant, which will be available at the convention at the Holiday Inn on Wolf Road in Albany on October 24th.



The comic is written by Keith Dallas, and the cover was done by Christian St. Pierre. It features Nipper, a well-known downtown Albany landmark. Hope to see you at the show!

— Alan David Doane

From the official press release:

The city of Albany’s instantly recognizable skyline will be featured on a special edition cover of Magdalena #1, published by the Image Comics imprint Top Cow Productions. The exclusive, variant edition cover will only be available at the Albany Comic Con, to be held 10 a.m.-4p.m. on April 25 at the Holiday Inn on Wolf Road in Colonie. Admission is $3.

The special cover was created by local artists Matthew Dow Smith of Saratoga and Terry Austin of Woodstock, both of whom will appear at the comic con. Local author Ron Marz, who wrote Magdalena #1, will also appear. Only 250 copies will be made available at the show, and all three creators will be signing the issue. Convention promoter John Belskis worked with Marz, Smith and Austin to make the cover a reality.

  “Usually a convention exclusive cover is a pin-up of the main character. We really felt like this was an opportunity to create an image specific to Albany itself, and Matt and Terry  did a beautiful job of bringing it to life,” Marz said.  The Magdalena #1 cover features the title character, in her signature red-and-black costume, framed against the Albany skyline.

  “The cover shows the state towers and the Egg, a very nice perspective of the city,” said Belskis. “It’s great to see the capital city on a comic cover, and the Albany Comic Con is honored to have a small part in making it happen.”

The Los Angeles-based Top Cow Productions worked directly with the convention and the local pros to bring the cover to life. Last year’s Albany Comic Con featured a special cover of Top Cow’s Witchblade #131, also drawn by Smith. “I’ve been attending the Albany Comic Con since it began a few years ago, and it’s one of my favorite conventions,” Smith said. “I was happy draw something like this special cover to help bring attention to the show, and the city of Albany. I’ve always admired Ron’s work, and I’m a big fan of Terry Austin. Having Terry ink my pencils on this cover is a dream comes true.” 

For additional information on the cover and the convention please go to www.myspace.com/comicbookshow or http://ronmarz.com.

To see a larger scan of the cover, click here. Note: The Albany Comic Con advertises on Comic Book Galaxy.