[Press] - Real-Life Heroes Meet Sgt. Rock at SDCC
July 30, 2008
For Immediate Release
Real-Life Heroes Meet Sgt. Rock at SDCC
Bayport, NY — Comic Con International, the world renown comic book
and pop culture convention, made its annual presence known in San
Diego, California this past Thursday, July 24 as it opened to a
record-breaking 125,000 attendees and selling-out passes for all four
days. This is a stark contrast to the first Comic-Con in 1970 that
gathered 140 attendees.
This year, amid the previews, non-stop parade of costumed characters
and the never ending fawning of “stars,” Comic-Con entertained
some very special attendees — the real-life Heroes of World War II.
Three extraordinary men of the US Army’s 442nd Regimental Combat
Team quietly made their presence at the show — Medal of Honor
recipient George “Joe” Sakato (E Company), David Katagiri (F
Company) and Jim Yamashita (I Company).
The 442nd was made of Japanese American soldiers, who were heinously
labeled “4C — Enemy Alien” by their country in the aftermath of
the Pearl Harbor attacks. Everyone of the “Nisei” volunteered to
fight for another’s freedom in Europe and Asia while their families,
under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, were stripped of
their homes and businesses and incarcerated behind barbed wire in
“internment camps.”
William “Billy” Tucci invited the veterans. The writer/artist is
in the process of revising DC’s iconic hero, “Sgt. Rock” which
will be released this November to coincide with Veterans Day. The six
issue miniseries, “Sgt. Rock – The Lost Battalion” is dedicated
to the 275 trapped men of the 141st Infantry Regiment who fought off
a German Army ten times their size and the 442nd soldiers sent on the
suicide mission to rescue them. At Billy’s booth, Sakato and
Yamashita were greeted by fans wanting to meet these heroes, and one
man immediately noticed the Medal of Honor around Mr. Sakato’s neck
and was awestruck that a true MOH recipient was an attendee. Mr.
Yamashita said he had never experienced anything similar to Comic-Con
and felt this was a great opportunity to expose a new and different
group of people to the 442nd history.
Billy has spent the past year researching the 141st and the 442nd. He
traveled to France and walked the actual battlefields with French
historians Hervé Claudon and Gerome Villain and is determined to
portray history accurately and has interviewed many of the 442nd
veterans as well as the Lost Battalion survivors. A veteran and
former paratrooper himself, Billy stated that he never knew what they
endured for our country and feels Sgt. Rock can educate the public on
the experiences of these special men. “In my heart I feel that this
comic book series can serve as a bridge that spans generations, and
brings attention to a true story of heroism, humanity and
sacrifice.” The cartoonist stated.
These incredible men, along with their escorts, Leslie Sakato
(daughter of George Sakato), JA Living Legacy’s Susan Uyemura and
the Hon. Bryan Yagi, joined Billy and several other comic
professionals at Tabule for an unforgettable dinner afterwards.
Judge Yagi, an avid Comic-Con alumnus himself, commented that this
was truly a special experience citing, he felt like a “little kid”
around these men. Yagi’s uncle, the late Tom Yagi, was a medic
assigned to the second platoon of L Company, 442nd RCT. For Judge
Yagi, Comic-Con was a chance to combine his two passions: comic books
and his new found admiration of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
The event was made extra special as Billy’s college buddy, USMC
Captain Paul Krumenacker, having just returned from his 3rd Tour of
Duty in Iraq joined them. “The owners and staff at Tabule really
went out of their way for our heroes as they offered on-the-house
drinks and desserts to match the excellent food, service and
atmosphere.” Billy continued, “To be befriended by these brave
and amazingly humble warriors of yesterday and today is an honor for
me that no words can express. Many of the patrons (apparently big-
wig guests of the con) also paid their respects and that just added
to an incredible evening of food and drink — we had so much fun that
we ended up closing down the place!”
Mr. Yamashita probably said it best as to why the vets kept on going
all through the night, “When I got home from the war, I not only had
one life to live, but three or four lives for my friends who never
made it back.”
It must be noted that despite fighting not only the enemy, but also
malicious prejudice from their own countrymen, the 100th/442nd
remains the most decorated single unit in US military history, with
680 paying the ultimate sacrifice while another 67 remaining missing
to this day.
On a final note Mr. Yamashita hopes to bring in 30 442nd veterans to
next year’s Con. Billy thinks it’s a great idea, as he “would
love the fans to experience just what I did and meet these giants who
fought and defeated the forces of racism and tyranny — both at home
and abroad!”
Written and illustrated by Billy Tucci, DC Comics’ “Sgt. Rock –
The Lost Battalion” will debut November 5, 2008. Several members of
the 442nd RCT will also be special guests at this year’s Baltimore
Comic Con. Special thanks to the SDCC, Tabule Restaurant, DC Comics
and Michael Solof for contributing the photographs for this release.
For more info please contact Deborah Tucci @ debtucci@optonline.net
William Tucci
Ambassadeur, De La Region De Bruyeres, Vosges, France
Crusade Fine Arts, Ltd.
429 Middle Road
Baport, NY 11705
[Press] - Dark Horse 2008 SDCC Roundup!
Filed under: Convention News, In case you missed it, Press Releases
WEDNESDAY
AppleGeeks vol. 1- A collection of the webcomics published on
applegeeks.com in 2003 and 2004. Drawn by Mohammad F. Haque (Hawk)
and written by Ananth Panagariya, AppleGeeks falls in the category of
computer humor about college students and their homemade robots. The
book will include creator commentary and other bonus material,
including a pinup gallery. It will be printed in full color and will
go on sale in June 2009 for $14.95.
Mister X Archives and New Series- Dean Motter’s alternative comics
masterpiece Mister X is being reprinted and bound in a brand-new
hardcover archives series, along with brand-new stories to be
written. Mister X Archives will feature the artwork of young
superstars Jaime Hernandez and Dave McKean. And now, after 25 years
of waiting, fans get a new taste of Mister X. Motter returns to write
and draw an all-new story starring his most influential creation.
Archives will be released in the fall of 2008.
Spawn of Domo- This spring saw the release of an 8″ limited-edition
flocked vinyl Domo in a myriad of custom colors (including the SDCC
Exclusive Yellow Domo) that was met with extreme enthusiasm from the
vinyl toy community-in many cases selling out before they hit the
shelves. This fall, Dark Horse will release a new collection of
brilliant custom-colored flocked Domo in 5.5″ vinyl figures. In
addition to the Classic Brown Domo, the 5.5″ figures will be
available in Olive Green, Ruby Red, Earl Grey, and Polar White. Each
of the custom colors will be limited to 800 pieces worldwide, except
the white variant, which is capped at only 500 pieces. Look for
additional custom color variants from at least two selected retail
partners.
The Life and Times of Martha Washington in the Twenty-First Century-
A masterpiece nearly twenty years in the making, this hardcover
volume contains the complete life story of Martha Washington, the
twenty-first century freedom fighter created by comic book megastars
Frank Miller (Sin City, 300) and Dave Gibbons (Watchmen). It is a
collection of every Martha Washington story and features an extensive
behind-the-scenes section. The Life and Times of Martha Washington
Omnibus will be released in the summer of 2009.
Vampire Hunter D Bust- Dark Horse Deluxe has just announced they will
be releasing a black-and-white variant of the Vampire Hunter D bust
scheduled for release in November 2008. Based on the character by
Japanese author Hideyuki Kikuchi and illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano,
the 8.5″ variant bust will be limited and numbered and will include
a certificate of authenticity. Edition size to be determined.
THURSDAY
B.P.R.D.: 1947- After the overwhelming praise from fans and critics
alike, Josh Dysart returns to the Hellboy universe for B.P.R.D.:
1947, the follow-up to this year’s acclaimed B.P.R.D.:1946 series,
chronicling the early exploits of this organization, founded by
Professor Bruttenholm-occult investigator and guardian of the infant
Hellboy. This new series picks up the following year, after the Nazi
Project Vampir Sturm threatened to destroy the fragile peace
following the end of the second World War. A year later, the
fledgling B.P.R.D. learns that there are creatures far older-and far
more dangerous-than Hitler’s creations, as a lone vampire nobleman
ruthlessly hunts the survivors of the Third Reich. Mike Mignola,
along with Josh Dysart, plot out the next chapter in the history of
comics’ not-so-secret organization. This time, sequential
heartthrobs Gabriel Bá (Umbrella Academy) and Fábio Moon
(Sugarshock) come on board to handle the artistic duties. Arriving on
shelves in June 2009.
Boris Karloff’s Tales of Mystery- Dark Horse will be collecting this
long-gone, but not forgotten, Gold Key series, bearing the namesake
of one of the earliest and most recognizable faces of horror. The
newest addition to the Dark Horse Archives program, and following on
the heels of the legendary Creepy and Eerie, these highly sought-
after comics are most well known for their stunning cover art. All 97
issues will eventually be collected in a series of beautifully bound
hardcover books. The first volume hits the shelf in 2009.
Cages TPB- Dark Horse Comics is reprinting Dave McKean’s
masterpiece, Cages, in a ten-issue comic book limited series. It was
originally released between 1990 and 1996 and Cages is the only work
that McKean has both written and drawn. McKean is possibly the most
widely known of the current artists creating comics for adults; he
painted the covers of all 75 Sandman issues and has also drawn The
Black Orchid and Violent Cases. Cages is due to be released in the
summer of 2009.
Eerie Archives vol. 1- The first volume of the Eerie Archives will
collect the first five issues of the classic Eerie horror series.
This first volume will include stories by Archie Goodwin, Alex Toth,
Reed Crandall, John Severin, Gene Colan, Gray Morrow, Angelo Torres,
Steve Ditko, Roy Krenkel, and others. Eerie vol. 1 will be released
in February 2009.
New Creepy comic- The new Creepy will be a quarterly black-and-white
anthology closely mirroring the aesthetic of the original magazine,
but in standard comic-book size. This will be the first new Creepy
story in more than 25 years and will be published on MySpace Dark
Horse Presents in October. The comic book will come out in the spring
of 2009. There will also be a two-page introduction to the newly
extended “Creepy family,”illustrated by Jeff Preston.
The Marquis- Guy Davis’s creator-owned masterpiece comes to Dark
Horse, with a new deluxe edition collecting both of the previously
released Oni volumes. This upcoming collection, entitled The Marquis:
Inferno, collects both TPBs, Danse Macabre and Intermezzo, and will
feature a new cover design, as well as an introduction by Mike
Mignola. Dark Horse will also announce the upcoming third volume, The
Marquis and the Midwife, to be released in 2010.
FRIDAY
Frank Miller: The Spirit Storyboards- Dark Horse proudly presents an
insight into what promises to be one of the hottest films of the
year, and the directorial mind of Frank Miller. This book will
collect every single storyboard drawn by the comics legend himself,
as well as the full screenplay for the film. Featuring beautiful,
fully inked and detailed artwork in Frank’s inimitable, larger than
life style, this book will be an essential edition to any collection.
Arriving in stores in 2009.
Shinjuku- Dark Horse Comics is proud to introduce Shinjuku, the first
totally original project by Yoshitaka Amano in nearly a decade. Set
in the year 2020, Shinjuku is the story of Daniel Legend, an American
Special Forces soldier turned licensed private bounty hunter. He is a
loner who travels the globe capturing criminals and now must journey
to Shinjuku, Tokyo, to save his sister. Armed with his wits, metal
storm pistol and a mysterious, cryptic five-year-old postcard, Simon
sets out to save his family and accidentally saves the world.
Shinjuku is set for release in the summer of 2009.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars- Dark Horse Comics will showcase the first
look at the highly anticipated The Clone Wars comics
Just been too busy..
Filed under: Commentary, On a personal note.., Random Thoughts and Information
to post that much here. Work, the book (which is on hold yet AGAIN), and life in general has kept me busy for a while now.
Add to all that, I have had my final comic shop crisis, as the only comic shop in town closed a few months back. It didn’t really surprise me, but I was just getting used to going every week again. So I am back to getting comics through the mail again (since the closest shop is almost two hours away), and I am using midtowncomics.com right now after using mycomicshop.com for a month. By the time I get stuff all the rest of the blogverse has already commented and reviewed the hell out of all the comics for any given week.
MyComicshop.com has great prices if you buy a lot of comics like I do (even if they don’t bag and board them), but I you have to pay for everything up front. If I had that kind of money lying around each month, I would have probably stuck with them, even though their customer support was a little lacking.
Midtowncomics.com has been done great so far (except for one problem that hasn’t been fixed yet). I like the way I can just go on to their site and start and stop subscriptions anytime I want. I just wish their website was a little faster on that part of their website. What can I say, I am impatient ;-) In any case, 15% of off new and back issues is a good deal, and you can subscribe to a title with just a click. They ship fast, and the service has been great so far. I recommend them if you are looking for a new place online for comics.
On another note, for some reason its really bugging me that I am not on my way to SDCC this year after going through updates on the New Comic Weblog Updates page, even though I know the size of the crowds would bug the hell out of me. It might have something to do with going to MMS in the same convention center as SDCC for two years in a row, plus the fact that I really liked San Diego and would really like to go back. It really was a nice place to spend a week, even though the area around the convention center closed up by 10pm. Any of you bastiges convention goers that are there, go have some fish tacos at the Tin Fish right in front of the Omni Hotel would ya? Just tell them Moz sent you. After they are done with their blank stare and say “who?” you can enjoy a nice meal and know I am there with you in spirit. If that doesn’t creep you out, that is.
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