VCS Artist Azim Akberali Nominated for Two Eagle Awards! SAN DIEGO, CA – Visionary Comics Studio is proud to announce that Visionary Artist Azim Akberali has been nominated for two Eagle Awards! Coming in with nominations on Favorite New Artist and Favorite Painted Artwork. Azim has been a member of VCS almost since its inception and the studio has been proud to be associated with such a quality talent! Some of Azim's earliest US work can be found in the VCS online comic Gangland Avalon. We managed to get an interview out of Azim just as he hit celebrity status. So what got you started in art? I've been drawing and painting since childhood. All kids love to draw and color with their crayons and markers. But as they get older, they find new hobbies and somehow forget about the artist that once resided in them. I guess I just never found a better hobby and so never stopped drawing and painting. What drew you (sorry, pun intended) to comics work specifically? Comic books aren't readily available in my country, but I did own a few Superman, Batman and Spider-man comics and so was familiar with the characters and the medium. More than anything, I think its the ability of comics to tell a story using pictures is what really drew me to the medium. I remember reading a comic strip which didn't have any dialogue and yet anyone could understand the scenario based only on the drawings. Such versatility means that comics aren't really limited by language, culture or borders. A man slipping on a banana skin is funny, irrespective of what language the reader speaks or what country he or she resides in. Give us an overview of your career in art and comics I have been regularly exhibiting and selling my paintings at the local art galleries in my hometown for many years and still continue to do so. Not wanting to limit myself to doing just fine art, I was looking to try my hand at something new and initially I was thinking about illustrating children's story books. I searched the net incase anyone might be looking for an illustrator and ended up on a website where people were looking for comic artists. So I thought I'd give drawing comics a shot and immediately fell in love with it. I did work on a few webcomics and short stories at first and people who noticed my work on these offered me more comic work and I kept on going. So far I've done covers and short stories for Visionary Comics, Orangutan Comics, Bluewater Productions, and Approbation Comics. How does it feel to be nominated on nothing less than two categories for Eagle Awards? It feels amazing!! Almost surreal. Its an honor to be nominated alongside some of the greatest comic creators of today. I was thrilled when my name appeared on the first nomination list. I never thought I would make the final list. What's your dream in comics? I guess my dream isn't much different from what many other new comic artists dream and that is to one day work for a big comic publisher like DC or Marvel. But more than anything, I would really like people from all over the world to read the comics that I've worked on and to really enjoy them. Because basically, that's what comics are all about. We certainly wish Azim all the best in his run. Check below for links to his work for VCS, his online gallery and to go and vote for this exceptional young talent. Relevent Links: Read Gangland Avalon online, by award-winning writer A. David Lewis and Eagle nominated Azim Akberali... http://www.visionarycomics.com/v2/pages/webcomics.php?book=ganglandavalonpreview Check out Azim's full online portfolio... http://azimart.rain.prohosting.com/Comics-pg.htm and his VCS Gallery... http://azimart.rain.prohosting.com/Comics-pg.htm And, now that you've been blown away, go vote for the man! http://www.eagleawards.co.uk/vote.asp Apr 23, 2008 11:28pm by C. Edward Sellner

Sellner makes the Shadowline / Image Finals! SAN DIEGO, CA – Visionary Comics Studio is proud to announce that Creative Director C. Edward Sellner has made the final cut in the Shadowline / Image Create a Super-Heroine Contest! The contest was announced on Newsarama, the web's largest comics media site and is sponsored by Shadowline, Jim Valentino's arm of the publishing giant, Image Comics. Valentino, along with Shadowline's Editor Kris Simons opened the contest to writers, knowing how hard it is for word-artists to break into the comics industry these days. It was also intended to bring a new, and fresh super-heroine character into the market. The first round of the contest was the submission of single paragraph synopses which brought in over 5,000 entries! From those 10 semi-finalists were selected. The next round included five pages of script to be turned in, which then led to another round of cuts, leaving five to remain. The grand prize winner will see their character developed into a 3-issue series, with art being done by super-star artist Franchesco! who has graciously committed to the winning series and whose beautiful artwork will certainly make the series stand out visually. The five finalists chosen were just announced on Newsarama this week. The final round will involve the five finalist synopses being posted on Kris' Korner Forum on Monday, March 10. Fans will be able to vote for the series they think is best through the Forums. Voting will run until April 10. At that time, the winner will be named and production will begin! Interest in the contest has been high and the sense of community among many talented creators and the incredibly open presence of Shadowline's crew and artist Franchesco has made the contest more than a competition, but a positive and wonderful experience in creative fellowship. Sellner adds: "It was wonderful to get this shot period, to have a publisher and studio of this caliber offer something like this was enough. To see my name on the top ten list was awesome! To find out I made the final five was spectacular! If this goes any further, I'm afraid I may run out of adjectives! Seriously, I just want to thank Kris, Jim and Franchesco for their willingness to endure the craziness and the floods of emails all in order to help out writers! I hope they keep doing this in the future!" The synopses will be listed without the names of their creators and contestants are sworn to secrecy, so when you go to vote, vote for the best and let the best series win! (We'll of course let everyone know if that ends up being a certain...Visionary title!) Relevent Links: Kris' Korner (Shadowline's Main Forum Community) http://www.kris-korner.com/forum/index.php This is where the synopses will be posted. Fans will be required to go to the site, register (its free and safe), then you will be able to go into the thread for the finalists and vote on your favorite synopsis! The Announcement of the Final Five on Newsarama: http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=148935 Image Comics Main Site http://www.imagecomics.com/ Artist Franchesco's Site http://www.franchesco.com/index.html?_ret_=return Mar 06, 2008 11:59pm by C. Edward Sellner

Pat Broderick: Visionary! SAN DIEGO, CA – Visionary Comics Studio is proud to announce that legendary artist Pat Broderick has joined VCS and brings with him his creator-owned projects, starting with the post-apocalyptic series T-Rex. Visionary debuted as the world’s first teaching studio, and with names like Brian Augustyn, Lou Manna and Dave Lanphear brought a wealth of experience in the industry. Their roster grew with other top talents including Gary Yap, and award winning writer A. David Lewis. They also debuted some of the most talented newcomers in comics as creators. Lately, they’ve gotten many accolades with their first full book published from AAM/Markosia, the dramatic series Headlocked: Work of Art which has been hailed as “one of the best books of the year” and “groundbreaking” in its “excellence”! But Visionary is just getting warmed up! More publishing announcements will be coming for 2008, but in the meantime…”We just couldn’t sit on it any longer,” said Creative Director C. Edward Sellner, “WE GOT PAT BRODERICK! Pat Broderick has been one of the top artists in the industry, with a unique style that has graced the pages of such classic titles as Micronauts, Iron Fist, Fury of Firestorm, Doom 2099, Swamp Thing, Green Lantern and Detective Comics, among many others! He left the industry to work on advertising and video game design, but now intends to return to his roots and Visionary will pave the way. “We’re incredibly excited about having Pat Broderick come on board, and his stuff has only gotten even more incredible,” said new VCS managing editor Ben Chafe. Why Visionary? From the man himself… “I’ve missed comics intensly over the past few years, even though I’ve worked on some of the top advertising accounts and a couple of animation projects ,as rewarding and challenging as they were to do still they’re just not quite the same. So during this time I developed a few properties of my own to satisfy that need. T-Rex is the first of those properties to be released. The industry today is different. It has become stronger and more diversified. I understand that one must also change with it. After finding Visionary I felt that this promising young company could be the perfect starting point. After the first exchanges of E-mails with C. Edward Sellner I had total confidence that they are the right organization. They’re a dedicated group of professionals and I couldn’t be happier with them representing me. I look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.” “We’re honored and thrilled that VCS’ quality and commitment to excellence in comics is now attracting talent of the caliber and status as Mr. Broderick,” added Charlie Hall VCS’ Business Manager. “His project T-Rex will make his return to comics a truly in-your-face and hold-onto-the-seat-of-your-pants ride!” T-Rex, being actively represented for a publishing deal now, is a post-apocalyptic horror-adventure. “It’s Mad Maxx on steroids and it has absolutely nothing to do with dinosaurs,” Sellner laughs. The book will be a mature readers adventure that follows the saga of a hard-nosed former Dog-Soldier (Rex) who is cybernetically connected to his dog (T). Harsh and brutal does not begin to describe this book which will be a very dark and gritty series. The most exciting news about the series is that it won’t just feature Broderick’s famous line art, but is a series created, written, penciled, inked and beautifully digitally colored all by the man himself! This will be the series that puts Pat Broderick’s name on the A-list of creator / storytellers who can bring a fully defined vision to comics! “We’re early in the process of finding T-Rex a home, but the book is finished and ready to go,” Hall added, “so, any top quality publishers who might be interested should let us know!” The book will soon be making its formal debut with a limited collector’s edition ashcan which Broderick will be selling at his upcoming shows and conventions, where he will also be promoting his Visionary status! “Of course, Pat Broderick has long been a Visionary in comics,” Sellner finished with, “we’re just thrilled to make it official!” More news on upcoming T-Rex shows will be forthcoming! The official, full T-Rex sneak peek is now LIVE on the Digital Visions Web Comic Library! Dec 16, 2007 05:22pm by C. Edward Sellner

A Visionary Teaser... Look for a VERY special announcement from Visionary Comics Studio coming soon! But, to spark your interest...here's a little teaser of our soon to break headline! Enjoy. Dec 08, 2007 08:26am by C. Edward Sellner

Headlocked: Now In the Mix! Comic Mix Interview by Mike Raub Hey, check out the interview with creator Mike Kingston now up on ComicMix! Silver Bullet Comics Review by Kevin Powers We just received a 5-Bullet Rating, meaning "An exceptionally good comic book…an entertaining story that exceeds expectations and is a terrific example of the artform of comics!" Kevin says in the review... "This is one of the best comics I’ve read all year. Just like a live WWE event, there is something different about this comic, something special. As a comic book reader and reviewer and as a wrestling fan, I have to encourage you to read this book. It’s extremely well done; the story is clear, coherent, easy to follow and fresh. Find this book, order it if you have to, it’s really worth it. This is my Pick of the Week." Wrestling Observer by Joe Babinsack Of course, we can't forget, Joe Babinsak already gave us high marks on The Wrestling Observer... "I got a PDF version to review, and it has me even more interested in the project – and the potential for this ground breaking series." "With a full-blown professional wrestling company as the backdrop, Headlocked has a unique ability to take various controversies, stories and realities of the business and make great stories out of them. In conversing with writer Michael Kingston over the past few months, I am very sure he will do the industry justice, and word of mouth, appearances at large conventions (both for comics and wrestling) and the quality of the book prove to me that this is both a series of note and a series that will prevail." "The crossover potential between professional wrestling fans disillusioned with the current products, and the availability of comic books in local direct market stores, is one that should propel this book to prominence. If you haven’t ordered it, you need to stop by one of those local stores and try and find it. If you can’t, then pleasantly ask the person at the counter if they can order you one." We thank these folks for their accolades on our initial efforts! Just wait until you all see what we have lined up for 2008! Nov 04, 2007 07:08pm by C. Edward Sellner