The Bob Almond/Inkwell Awards 2024 Convention Tour Schedule

UPDATE for the Bob Almond/Inkwell Awards 2024 convention tour schedule! Now that the spring season is passing and a couple of events have been celebrated we have several shows on the docket for those keeping track:
Hershey Comic Con in Grantville, PA on June 29-30 (Inkwell Awards Ceremony host-show)
As of yet unannounced show in August! Once announced I will add it to this schedule and repost.

 

 

 

 

 

As of yet unannounced Bob Almond show in September!

 

Once the August and September shows are announced I will repost the revised schedule.

Bob Almond Interview at Unbuckled Comics Podcast

This was our third take 2 days ago at this after two failed attempts due to tech difficulties in the past week. It was cut down from an hour to 40 minutes so I was conscious of keeping answers condensed without drifting away into digressions. I’ve heard it’s really good so that’s rewarding but, like many, I abhor listening to myself in recordings so I hope the 3rd time’s the charm👍☺️ Half of it is about me and my work & origins and the rest is Inkwell Awards-themed and about the upcoming host-show awards ceremony at Hershey Comic Con. The show’s copy for the post:

ANNOUNCEMENT: special guest Bob Almond will be featured on Unbuckled Comics Podcast today May 21st! Artist Bob Almond worked on publications such as Warlock and the Infinity Watch, Black Panther, and Annihilation: Conquest: Quasar. He is the founder of the Inkwell Awards!
Be sure to follow @unbuckled_comics 💥

Bob reviews BLACK PANTHER by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST V2 OMNIBUS HC

Yesterday I posted about the release of the BLACK PANTHER by CHRISTOPHER PRIEST V2 OMNIBUS HC on my Facebook newsfeed . This was really advance solicited so it felt like eons since the first volume dropped for me. But worth the wait and proud to have it on my shelf of file copies & collections of my career work. I’ll be sure to have my friend Priest sign it for me when next we appear somewhere together. Highly Recommended!

Batman Day @ That’s Entertainment- An Addendum

It’s a little late in the game after my announcement about this previously with the Batman Day signing at That’s Entertainment a measly 3 days from now but better late than never (due to my workload).  Besides the obvious info listed on this promotional banner (you’ll notice that we’re NOT doing the free print giveaway this year) I’ll have all the usual original art for sale and many prints for sale, including for Black Panther fans, that all of my Panther prints are co-signed by my partner Sal Velluto currently while supplies last (plus some other non-Panther Sal&Bob prints)!

 

 

 

 

I will also be selling the Mike Lilly/Bob Almond blueline-inked original art to last years Batman/Joker Neal Adams tribute print signed by both of us which will also include bonus material like a copy of the pencils, one of the 2022 exclusive, limited double-signed That’s Entertainment b&w prints and a 13×19 color print (colors by David Ocampo)!

Lastly, Mike & I have both been the art team for the Monster Hunter Herkules segment of the comic strip for A Kid and a Comic as co-created and written by Chris Ecker and presented by Power Comics. Since we’ll be together we’ll have the first 2 AKaaC papers for sale that we can both sign. And there will also be some original art from that project available as well! I hope to see you there for this event!

TERRIFICON, BATMAN DAY & MORE!

Sorry about the lack of news items lately but I’ve been buried under jobs, commissions, shows and always unexpected miscellaneous crises along the way. So while it’s late on the calendar I wanted to remind folks that I’ll be attending the Terrificon at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT on July 28-30 for the 7th appearance I’ll be making there alongside my Inkwell Awards senior spokesmodel Hailey, Michael J. Prast and new volunteer Hailey’s brother to assist her on the artists alley floor. And this year there’s a rare occurrence: my longtime friend & partner Sal Velluto will be under the same roof! I’ll mention briefly the other developments as bullet notes:
  • After Terrificon I’ll be attending my 3rd appearance with oft-partner Mike Lilly at That’s Entertainment in Worcester, MA for Batman Day on September 16! There’s usually a free print by us for the first 100 attendees and I ink Mike’s sketches for hours. We also have limited items that we can fit on our table for purchase for those inclined to do that. Much kind thanks to manager Sorana Gatej for the annual invites!

    • I’d hoped after some health issues the last 2 years that I’d be able to return to the FanX Salt Lake Comic Con after my impressive experiences alongside local Utah native Sal Velluto in 2018 & 2019 (no 2020 due to Covid). But they have a new person at the helm choosing artists alley guests and it appears Sal & I will not be among them. So no more shows/signing for the year after September 16. But that ok since I’m wrapping up a secret project, working for Michael Finn at Thrilling Nostalgia via Kickstarter, working on the Monster Hunter Herkules with Lilly for John Kanakry’s A Kid and a Comic retro paper (with Power Comics) and a few commissions and odds-n-ends. (A Kid and a Comic is also donating some of it’s income to help raise funds for my non-profit Inkwell Awards.)

EXCLUSIVE Sal Velluto/Bob Almond commission offer

The following was posted on Bob’s Facebook feed 7/8/23:

“TERRIFICON UPDATE: I am now accepting advance requests for a limited amount of commissions with my long-time art partner, Sal Velluto. You can reserve your piece and have it delivered at our appearance at TerrifiCon ™ – Connecticut’s Terrific Comic Con at Mohegan Sun in 3 weeks (July 28-30)!!! Please email me at dmralmond@gmail.com for a spot and your request and I will inform you about payment and related details! Our shared attendance at a show is a rare occurrence so ACT NOW!!!

****CLARIFICATION: these are only valid now, in advance before Terrificon where the completed pieces can be picked up. This offer is not for commissions at the show.”

THE BERNIE WRIGHTSON ARTBOOK: A TRIBUTE

I was ecstatic yesterday to finally receive my comp copy to the Bernie Wrightson Artwork: A Tribute HC Book by Steve Niles & Shannon Eric Denton at Printed in Blood and Monster Forge Productions. At 244 pages it’s a beast of a love letter with written and rendered tributes from over 200 creators to everyone’s favorite Master of the Macabre and gem of a human being! It was produced via a Kickstarter at Wrightsontribute.com or printedinblood.com and can be bought for $45. I was fortunate that my remembrances and an Inking commission I did in blueline over Bernie’s loose sketch for client Sean Marsh back in 2017 (I was working on an assignment at the time and couldn’t do a new piece) made the cut from the several files I sent on for consideration.

There’s also a lot of unpublished and rarely, if ever, seen Bernie art, especially from the private art collection of Allen Milgrom. I poured through the tome but I haven’t had a chance to read it cover to cover yet due to my current work schedule and obligations but can’t wait to do so. In the meantime I’ll proudly display it on my bookshelf. Buy it! You won’t be sorry!

BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER IS HERE!


No, I haven’t had a chance to see it yet. Sal Velluto & I didn’t make the BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER LA World Premiere invitation list this time but thanks to the camera  pic of my long-time friend Craig Rousseau at the Thursday late-night showing, we, along with the brilliantly talented friend & partner Christopher Priest, certainly and thankfully made  the Special Thanks end credits. As I posted on my Facebook feed “It’s always rewarding to be recognized for your work with your talented & legendary creative partners Sal Velluto & Christopher Priest after 20 years have passed. And sending a sincere congrats to everyone else involved and credited here for their own contributions towards the mythology of Wakanda!
 I hope to slip away to see it with my brother this week.” Always a proud honor.

BLACK PANTHER OMNIBUS DELAYED

From my Facebook feed: FYI for those awaiting the Black Panther By Christopher Priest Omnibus Vol. 1 like I am, it’s been delayed twice now. It was originally scheduled for release in September and got pushed back to November 9 to release with The film BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER but my local retailer just informed me that it’s now being released November 23 just before Thanksgiving but the film will probably still be out so the excitement should still be there. However, I have noticed online businesses offering them with a December 6 date, too. I will post an update once it’s actually out and I pick mine up. (Main cover: Mark Texeira, DM cover: Sal Velluto/Bob Almond/Tom Smith)

 

3 PRIEST/VELLUTO/ALMOND BLACK PANTHER STORIES MAKE RECENT TOP 10 LIST

As we countdown to the BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER sequel dropping November 11, Sal Velluto posted the following article link on his facebook page yesterday titled “The best Black Panther stories in all of comics (The 10 best Black Panther stories, celebrating T’Challa and the Wakandan Empire in Marvel Comics)” by Robert Reed from October 10, 2022. In a list that doesn’t even count the Lee/Kirby/Sinnott Fantastic Four 2-part intro/origin or any Silver-age or Bronze-age stories (no Don McGregor Jungle Action??) I was proud to see us make 3 out of 10 possible nominations (and almost a fourth that just missed the count as mentioned by the author) after 20+ years since publication. I always knew what my brilliant and esteemed colleague Priest was way ahead of it’s time at the time of production but it’s an honor seeing lists like this that legitimize those personal