We may not be at Comic-Con this year, but we can still celebrate comics! For the duration of San Diego Comic-Con, we’re giving away the first Kid Beowulf iPhone app for free on iTunes! The giveaway ends with Comic-Con, so get it while you can.

For fans of the Bowler Hat book reviews, the good news just keeps getting better. As some of you know, our reviews are written by interns and volunteers for the press. To date, these reviewers have remained by and large nameless. But due to popular request, we’re changing this with our newest reviewer. Allow me to introduce Lucy Softich, the newest book reviewer for Bowler Hat Comics!

Over the course of the next several months, Lucy will be the primary reviewer of the books you find in our “Have You Read … ?” feature. Having a sense of what she has in store for you, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed! To welcome Lucy into the fold, we’ll launch her reviews this friday with a double feature. Stay ‘tooned!

As before, our comment section continues to be closed, although we are considering opening them for future reviews. In the meantime, feel free to drop us a line with your feedback and suggestions. What books would you like to see reviewed? What reviews motivated you to read something new? How has this feature changed your life for the better?

Drop us a line; let us know what you think.

Starting this week our reviews section will be changing its look. Love it or hate it? Let us know what you think!

En Garde Fencing proudly presents the first annual Kid Beowulf Open–a graphic novel fencing tournament! Saturday, June 12, cartoonist Alexis E. Fajardo will bring his all-ages graphic novel series, Kid Beowulf, to the En Garde Fencing Club in Santa Rosa, California. The event begins at noon and club owner and fencing instructor Jim Liebich will be conducting a free class for all attendees.

“I’m very excited,” says Jim. ”Kid Beowulf is a great story, and hosting this fencing tournament is going to be so much fun.” En Garde Fencing marked its one year anniversary in its new location in May and continues to bring the sought after Olympic sport of fencing to the North Bay. The club features a wide range of students and fencing prowess; girls and boys, all ages and every level from beginner to seasoned amateur. It’s a diverse group of swash and buckle!

Among those fencers is cartoonist Alexis Fajardo, creator of the graphic novel series Kid Beowulf, which features it’s own brand of swords and sorcery. Inspired by the epic poem BEOWULF, Kid Beowulf follows the journey of 12-year-old twin brothers Beowulf and Grendel as they travel to distant lands and meet fellow epic heroes therein. Published through Bowler Hat Comics, book one Kid Beowulf and the Blood-Bound Oath debuted in 2008 and this spring marks the release of book two, Kid Beowulf and the Song of Roland–which features fencing.

“Part of the story for the second book is Beowulf learning how to swing a blade, so I incorporated some fencing into the book,” states Fajardo. “I’ve been fencing almost as long as I’ve been drawing Kid Beowulf, in fact I based one of the lead characters in the new book on my old fencing instructor and I’ve also got a few well-placed cameos of my fencing buddies from the club here. It seemed like a great way to cross-promote the club and the books. I’m looking forward to the event!”

The Kid Beowulf Open takes place Saturday, June 12 from noon to 1:30pm at 917 Piner Road in Santa Rosa. The event is free and open to the public. Fajardo will be sharing his work with attendees, signing books and doing sketches, while Moniteur Jim Liebich will conduct a free class for all attendees. And winners of the beginner tournament might just walk away with the much sought after Kid Beowulf Open Trophy!

For more information please visit www.kidbeowulf.com or www.egfencing.comor call: 415.613.3110

Download Press Release

Check out the latest TALL TALE FEATURES podcast with Tom Racine with a live check-in with Alexis E. Fajardo, creator of KID BEOWULF, at WonderCon 2010. Skip to around minute 45 for the good stuff, and feel free to ignore the rambling publisher preceding Lex.

I have a report from Wondercon in San Francisco, that took place on April 1-3rd. The ever-versatile Jonathan Lemon of “Rabbits Against Magic” plays roving reporter as we checked in on the phone to see what was up. Justin Thompson of “Mythtickle” was there with his very first table selling his very first book. (Buy it here!) And we caught up with the artist/writer of the newest Kid Beowulf book, “The Song of Roland,” Mr. Lex Fajardo. We also talk with his publisher at Bowler Hat Comics, and learn some interesting things about what publishers are looking for when they meet you at a Con.

Whiteout (Vol. 1), by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber

Whiteout is like a mix between The Hunt for Red October and CSI: Miami, with a dash of The Thing thrown in for good measure. US Marshal Carrie Stetko is exiled to Antarctica and charged with enforcing United States law at the bottom of the world.  And that’s when the bodies start piling up. Whiteout is a classic whodunit, developed by Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber at the beginning of their careers. The series has been consolidated and republished by Oni Press. The simple–yet detailed–black and white drawings highlight the stark and unforgiving landscape that the story is set in. There are no men in tights or backpack helicopters in this one. Just a single US Marshal trying to do her job, seeking vindication in the process. A true classic of the genre.

This comic is recommended for Mature readers, ages 18 and up.

The Legend of Zelda, Vol. 1 and 2, Akira Himekawa

If you (unrighteously) missed the famous video game classic “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” on the good ol’ Nintendo 64, then there’s still hope for you in the manga version of the “Game of the Century.” While staying true to the gaming roots, Himekawa adapts the original Ocarina of Time story into a sword-swinging comic worthy of its hero, crammed with the necessary fairy tale elements that charmed gamers to begin with. Just as the game progressed into two parts, so is the manga broken up into two volumes, one following child Link and the other, adult Link.

The manga is the perfect accompaniment for the gamers looking for more media with their favorite hero, but is still an enjoyable read for those who have never even heard of the game (for shame!). Kid-friendly while still engaging for teen readers, both volumes of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time are adventures of fantastic proportions.

Also don’t forget the original Zelda comic, which was published by Valiant after the original Zelda game.

This comic is recommended for Young readers, ages 10 and up.

Comics make great video games. The story AND the art are already there; now all we need is a little animation and BAM—comics that you control. It’s also not a huge leap to go to movies from there. Really the order is completely mixable; it doesn’t matter what kind of media comes out first because the same building blocks are always there and easily transferrable to one another. Of course there are the big dogs: Batman, X-Men, Mortal Combat, The Incredible Hulk … the list goes on.  We’ve even thrown classic literature into the mix with “Dante’s Inferno” or our very own Kid Beowulf.

With all these different media for the same story, it makes it easy for readers/viewers/gamers/etc to get immersed into their chosen obsession, and for readers to become viewers, and for viewers to become gamers, until no one is confined to a single world anymore.

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya:Vol. 1, Nagaru Tanigawa

Not the average high school student, Haruhi Suzumiya is uninterested with ordinary humans and obsessed with finding aliens, espers (ESP-ers), and time travelers. In her quest for the supernatural, she is unaware that she herself is a supernatural entity, having the power to manipulate her surroundings to her liking. Unbeknownst to her are supernatural secret agents sent to keep an eye on her activities, who also just happen to be an alien, an esper, and a time traveler, which brings up the question, Are the agents there simply for surveillance, or because Haruhi has unconsciously used her powers to create them?

The answer is intentionally ambiguous, leaving room for arguments both ways and creating an amusing journey with Haruhi’s spicy personality.

This comic is recommended for Teen readers, ages 16 and up.

In January 2010 Yen Press will publish Cecily von Ziegesar’s New York Times best selling series into Gossip Girl: For Your Eyes Only, which is to be serialized in Yen Plus manga anthology. The goal of the manga series is to draw in a female audience in the same way that the original Gossip Girl books created a craze of female readers in 2002. Publishers around the world are now prioritizing the creation of women both as strong characters in comics and as faithful readers:

“There are few series in the publishing world that have been as impactful or successful as Cecily von Ziegesar’s Gossip Girl,” said Kurt Hassler, publishing director for Yen Press. “The novels have captured the imaginations of young women around the world, and we look forward to demonstrating with Gossip Girl: For Your Eyes Only that graphic novels as a medium can be just as welcoming to girls as it is to boys.” –Manganews.net