Local Artists Premiere Their Talent for the Comicbook Artists Guild

LOS ANGELES - Hot on the heels of a very successful membership drive conducted at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, the LA Chapter of the Comicbook Artists Guild continues its march into the comics arena with a celebration of their labors at the South Bay area's best known comic dealer.

The gathering will be held at The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach on Wednesday, August 15th. The guild will debut CAG's WEST COAST ANTHOLOGY #6, produced solely by west coast members of CAG, and to honor the work of the CAG members participating within its pages. This issue is the first of its kind in CAG's seven-year history to feature exclusively west coast creators, and is the result of a labor of love exactly one year in the making. Under the vigilant guidance of CAG Vice President and West Coast Chairman Philip Clark, with CAG Los Angeles Chapter Coordinators Michael De Lepine and Mike Wellman (who is also the co-owner of The Comic Bug), the idea of producing a west coast version of the CAG Anthology series was carefully developed and nurtured by writers and artists from all over the Los Angeles County area. "We founded CAG-Los Angeles one year ago," Clark says, "and the chance to publish our own anthology was based on the suggestion of CAG Creative Director Mark Mazz and the blessing of CAG President Keith Murphey." Over the past year, Clark and CAG-LA developed a theme, accepted pitches, formed creative teams, and edited the book.

Clocking in at 48 pages of story and art, the West Coast Anthology provides enough variety to satisfy both mainstream and indie audiences. CAG Anthology #6 was unveiled July 26th - 29th at Comic-Con International in San Diego, where it was extremely well received.

“We’ve all worked extremely hard for this,” says LA Coordinator Michael De Lepine, “and though our efforts are paying off now, this is clearly only the beginning for CAG-LA, and for the Guild as a nationwide whole. On behalf of all our CAG members, we welcome everyone to come to celebrate and share in our success.”

The Comicbook Artists Guild West Coast Celebration will be held at The Comic Bug, the South Bay’s premiere comic book and fantasy emporium, located at 1832 Manhattan Beach Boulevard, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266. The festivities will be held on Wednesday, August 15th from 5:00 PM until 8:00 PM. Refreshments will be served. CAG WEST COAST ANTHOLOGY #6, featuring the writing and artistic talents of the membership of CAG-Los Angeles, will be on sale at the event and thereafter for the cover price of $5.95, featuring a full-color cover and 48 pages of black-and-white art. Many of the creators will be on hand to autograph copies sold at the event.

For more information on this event and on the Comicbook Artists Guild, please call LA Chapter Coordinator Mike Wellman at The Comic Bug at (310) 372-6704.