Denver's Independent Comics & Art Expo
The artist-centric event, Denver's Independent Comics & Art Expo (DiNK), is a celebration of independent artists, writers, creators, zine makers and publishers, and will be taking over all three floors of the McNichols Civic Center Building April 14 & 15, 2018. The event is comprised of entertainment, panel discussions, craft sessions, adult coloring, art auctions, comedy shows and the Mountain-West's first Comic and Art Awards ceremony 'The DINKy's.' This year, Dink Denver welcomes screen actor, creator and writer John Leguizamo of HBO series Ghetto Klown. Fans will get to meet Leguizamo through a series of meet & greet opportunities, panel discussions and even selfie sessions!
"Sophisticated yet never dull, DiNK sources talent that has both wit and grit, with topics ranging from social justice to the antisocial and everything in between." More than art, displayed works include published books, manuscripts, zines, paintings and graphic novels. DINK provides an outlet for a talented cast of independent artists, creators, urban and tattoo artists, zine creators and graphic novelists to showcase their work for two days in the Mile High City each representing the counter-culture and the independent spirit of art in its many languages and styles.
Loaded with late night and adult programming, cocktails, and two complete days of activities, DINK prides itself in providing a vessel for fans to converse and imbibe with the art creators in a unique, intimate environment. Free admission for ages 17 ans under. For adult 2-day passes, VIP upgrades and additional experiential ticketing opportunities check out DinkDenver.com
Denver Comic Con Continues To Grow | Review and Photos
Wonder Woman cosplay was a big hit this year. Photo by Jason Pendleton
Mike Colter and Finn Jones. Photo by Jason Pendleton
Another year, another Denver Comic Con in the books. The three day festival took over the Colorado Convention Center this past weekend much to the delight of over thousands of eager fans. The con which continues to grow year after year had it's usual exhibitors, vendors, celebrity guests, and fans dressed in their finest cosplay. Highlights included the celebrity kids of the hit show Stranger Things. Millie Bobby Brown (see below) had a separate panel from her costars Gaten Matarazzo and Caleb McGlaughlin. Other notable panels included Jon Heder and Micheal Rosenbaum, as well as Nathan Fillion and the cast of Luke Cage (Mike Colter) and Iron Fist (Finn Jones). Most of the panels were well attended during all three days. Kids had a chance to participate in many of the on-site activations (labs) ranging from Lego building to drawing, after all the con was setup from its initial beginning to promote and support Pop Culture Classroom.
The setup at this years con was a bit confusing to many of the attendees as evident across many message boards and those in attendance. In the past years the front of the convention center (Blue Bear) lobby has always been open to those attending. It made for a great meet up spot and easy navigation to the main hall. This year due to booking another event the main area was closed off and attendees had to walk around the building in order to enter. Aside from that the convention went off without a flaw. Exhibitors and artist from all over the country setup shop in the main hall slanging everything from one of a kind art to Superman t-shirts to posters. Our good friends at Breckenridge Brewery once again had their traditional beer on hand with plenty of pint glasses this year to go around. The after party scene got things started off Friday night with Planet Cosplay at Summit Music Hall, Breck Brew had their hand in two parties both Friday (at The Paramount) and Saturday (at The Hard Rock Cafe). Kudos to the amazing staff and hundreds of volunteers that make this event happen each year. Always one of our favorite events to cover we hope to continue to see the con grow in the future.
-Robert Castro
Photo by Robert Castro
Photo by Jason Pendleton
Photo by Jason Pendleton
Photos courtesy of Jason Pendleton contributing photographer to Ultra5280 and Robert Castro Editor-in-Chief. All images are reserved do not use without permission.
Denver Comic Con Set To Invade Denver Once Again | June 17-19 | Colorado Convention Center
In what is to become the busiest weekend in Denver next week, Denver Comic Con is back and better than ever at the Convention Center. Downtown Denver will be transformed with superheroes, villains, cosplay, and everything you might imagine. This will be our first year officially covering the event and we have some awesome coverage coming your way (be sure to check out our Instagram and Snapchat all next weekend). One of the best parts of the DCC is the amazing guests that are on hand to mingle with us common folk, tv and movie stars, comic book authors and illustrators, awesome vendors and more. This year the DCC has the honor of hosting four of the best authors around. They will be available at Author Alley as well as presenting a few panels. Info can be found here.
CR Richards:
A huge lover of horror and dark fantasy stories, C. R. Richards enjoys telling tales of intrigue and adventure. Having began writing as a part-time columnist for a small entertainment newspaper, Richards has worn several hats: food critic, entertainment reviewer and cranky editor. She has now published a handful of novels, including Phantom Harvest - book one in The Mutant Casebook Series - which took home the EPIC eBook Award for Fantasy in 2014. Richards beat out entries from the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and other English speaking countries. In January, Richards releases her epic fantasy novel The Lords of Valdeon, the first installment in the Heart of the Warrior series. Through her storytelling, Richards aims to reach lovers of fantasy who are exploring alternatives to the traditional status quo. Her message is simple: One person can be a catalyst for change.
Amalie Howard
*This is her 3rd year at DCC
Having landed publishing deals with three presses in just a span of one month, Howard is a sought-after novelist with her finger on the pulse of young adult readers. After the release of her first book "Bloodspell," she earned a stellar reputation as an engaging writer with a sixth sense for what young readers are really looking for in literature. Howard as been honored by the Royal Commonwealth Society and is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrates.
Sue Duff:
*This is her 2nd year at DCC
Sue Duff has dreamed of dragons and spaceships before she could even read, so it's only natural that she now combines both fantasy and science fiction as her favorite genre. Having written since high school, Duff never took it seriously until a skiing accident laid her up for an entire summer and she turned on the word processor to combat boredom. A couple years later, her first urban fantasy novel Fade to Black was one of the five finalists in the RMFW Colorado Gold Writing Contest and in 2015, Duff's writing earned her the PEN Award. Sue is a member of the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and The Pikes Peak Writers. She calls Colorado home and when not saving the world one page at a time, she can be found walking her great dane, getting her hands dirty in her garden, or creating something delicious in her kitchen.
Corinne O'Flynn
Corinne O’Flynn writes stories with magic, mystery, and sometimes creepy stuff. Author of The Expatriates series, Corinne follows teenager Jim Wales as he comes to grips with his family’s lies and learns someone’s been hunting him for his power. The sequel, Promise of the Scholar releases this June and delivers even more suspense and adventure for fantasy lovers of all ages. In addition to her young adult series, Corinne has also collaborated with author Toby Neal on two novellas as part of the Lei Crime Series Kindle Worlds Project; Half Moon Girls (April 2015) and Tell the Truth (December 2015). Her speculative fiction is featured in the anthology Tick Tock: Seven Tales of Time (March 2016), which combines O’Flynn’s tale of adventure and mystery with six other writers in the Denver writing community.