Artists Wanted and Novemeber Events at CNJComics

Since 2013 we’ve hosted a Holiday Art Show to benefit the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, where local artists create custom comic book covers that are won in a basket raffle system where one dollar gets you one ticket towards the cover of your choice. We’re excited to announce that this year’s theme is “Homage (to a classic comic book cover)!”

Here’s how you participate! Please stop by the shop and pick up a blank comic cover from us. They are free of charge and you can do two if you like. Please complete the cover with any medium you choose. (This includes digital. Many people now print their art out on cardstock and glue it to the book’s cover.) Give us your interpretation of the theme, which we see as a tribute to a classic comic book cover. This can have a holiday component, or not, that’s all up to you as the artist. The artwork must be turned in by Sunday, December 15th at 5pm. Please keep artwork to the front of the cover only, we only have the ability to display them this way. When you return your artwork, please have your name and contact info on the back, along with the link to any URL you might have of your artwork. Artwork is displayed from December 18th to the 21st and won through the aforementioned basket raffle system where one dollar gets you one ticket towards the cover(s) of your choice. Winners will be drawn live at our Holiday Party on the night of December 21st,  all are welcome to attend! This is your chance to turn your artistic skills into food for those in need during the holidays.This is you being and doing something good within your community while being part of a bigger whole. Please share this info with any artist friends you may have. This art show is a big deal to us, people need to have food security during the holidays and all year long. We are incredibly grateful to you all for your support of our endeavors.

When the event is over we put together a gallery of all the covers, here’s a few from last year’s “Marvel Vs DC” theme to inspire you:

Art by Hope Gonzalez

Art by Kelsey Cretcher

Art by Len Peralta

Save the date for that Holiday Customer Appreciation Party on December 21st! It runs from 8 pm to 11 pm, and we draw the winners live at 10:30 pm. Free refreshments, we brew our own beer, and everyone gets 50% off any one item coupon to use at the party! I love our Holiday Party, sincerely, and I love to see everyone having fun while working towards a great cause.

The Greater Cleveland Food Bank has the ability to turn one dollar into three full meals for those in need, and last year we set an event record, collecting $6296 dollars and creating 18,888 meals! This brought our lifetime event total up to 159,496 meals. This was all possible due to your creativity and talent, we just provided the infrastructure for the event.

So please consider helping us out this year if you have the time! We see you and we appreciate you.

NOVEMBER EVENTS

Next Thursday, November 21st, will be the next installment of ‘Late-Nite Comics’. From 8 pm till Midnight, you’ll be able to dig through over sixty long boxes of dollar stock, that will be only 50 cents each if you buy a hundred or more. All back issues will be 50% off. We have also decided to allow customers to film for their social media channels, something we typically don’t allow for a myriad of reasons. So have at it! Come out and share in the camaraderie that is late-night comics!

We’ll be closed for Thanksgiving on November 28th, to be with our friends and families. Fear not! We’ll be back in business on Friday for our Black Friday Weekend Sale!

During our normal weekend hours (Friday 12-8, Saturday 10-7, and Friday 12-5) We’ll again be offering 50% off all back issues, and remember, new back issues are added daily! We’ll also give 10% off everything else in the shop. (Yes everything, even supplies, which only happens three times a year.) We also fill the foyer with dollar stock (way more than the standard late-night comics) which will again be 50 cents each for 100 or more.

Saturday is Small Business Saturday, and we’ve got a special treat in conjunction with Genghis Con this year. Shelly and Phillip Bond will be joining us from 5 pm to 6 pm, for a free signing and to really just hang out and get to meet everyone.

Shelly and Phillip have a really rich comic book history, with Shelly being a huge part of DC’s Vertigo imprint in the 90’s and beyond, with over two decades as an editor on that imprint. Phillip is a British Artist who worked on many Vertigo titles alongside the likes of Grant Morrison and Ed Brubacker. He also lent his talents to Tank Girl and his distinct exaggerated line work has been used by many indie bands of the 90’s. I’m a huge fan of his cover work for Deadenders, and he even did a cover for American Splendor when it was briefly at Vertigo.

They plan to bring some stuff from their publishing company, Off Register Press, so check them out Here. (I really want a copy of Geezer and Filth and Grammer.)

So stop by and meet a classic couple from the heyday of Vertigo Comics, it’s an honor to have them both in the shop.

Check out their Wikipedia bio’s here for more info:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelly_Bond

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Bond

Sunday will be the final day of the sale, and we’ll also be set up at Genghis Con from 11am to 5pm.

Genghis Con 2024 | December 1, 2024 | 11Am – 5pm | The Pivot art center | 2937 W 25th St, Cleveland, OH 44113

Cleveland, Ohio’s much loved Small Press and Independent Comic Convention returns to bring together so many prolific practitioners of independent print media! Cartoonists, zinesters, printmakers, authors, illustrators, small press publishers, educators and advocates converge to exhibit their work, converse about their processes, and celebrate the independent print community thriving throughout the greater rust-belt region and beyond!

Genghis Con’s greatest strength has always been our wide spectrum of great exhibitors. From seasoned professionals who have been in the game for decades to fierce rookies exhibiting their first show, we curate our roster to bring together the best possible convention we can for everyone.

Ben and Andrea will be there and it’s also a great place to pick up your blank cover for the art show, they’ll be sure to have them there for you. Phillip and Shelly will also be there as guests, and Shelly will be teaching a class on editing comics.

That’s it! We will do our part to make this years art show as great as we can, and thank you to all for your support!