Conventions | Several people, including the organizer of a small convention, have been permanently banned from the Javits Center and all ReedPOP conventions after they were filmed removing items from another vendor's booth on the last day of 2016's New York Comic Con. A week after the show ended, the retail sales manager for Eaglemoss Collections reported to the New York Police Department that a number of items had been taken from their booth after the show closed. Photos taken by security cameras showed four people taking models and figures from the Eaglemoss booth to the Vintage Movie Posters booth. The report only named one of those four, Frank Patz, but it also notes that Vintage Movie Posters owner Michael Carbonaro was aware that the thefts were going on. Patz, who is the organizer of the Long Island convention Eternalcon, was arrested by the NYPD, but his case has been adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, which means that if he stays out of trouble for six months the charges will go away. None of the others mentioned in the report were charged, but Bleeding Cool reports that the named individuals have been banned from entering the Javits Center and are permanently banned from all ReedPOP shows, including New York Comic Con, Emerald City Comic Con and C2E2. [Bleeding Cool]
Crime | Surveillance cameras also helped police with another case: The so-called "Comicon Bandit," who robbed five Colorado banks wearing Darth Vader and Black Panther face masks. Police were able to get a license plate number from cameras at a nearby business, which led them to Gary Crider, 49; they arrested Crider last week and have charged him 12 counts of robbery, aggravated robbery, and theft. [CBS Denver]
Creators | Over the weekend, several cartoonists responded to the executive order banning travel from seven Middle Eastern countries by offering to send a free drawing to anyone who donated a certain amount to the ACLU. Sarah Glidden, whose book "Rolling Blackouts" chronicles her trip through the Middle East with a group of reporters who were writing about refugees, explains why she felt it was necessary to take action: “For cartoonists, I guess we feel like using our drawings to join that fight is the best we can do.” Glidden also drew a short comic for The Nib titled "Why the Refugee Vetting Process Is Already Too Tough." [Comic Riffs]
Creators | Vanessa Davis talks about "Spaniel Rage," a collection of her diary comics about living in New York that was first published 12 years ago; Drawn and Quarterly has just published a new edition. [Paste]
Creators | P.M. Buchan pulls out some of the most interesting conversations from an appearance by Jon McNaught ("Birchfield Close"), Luke Pearson ("Hilda and the Midnight Giant"), and Philippa Rice ("My Cardboard Life") at the Plymouth (UK) College of Art. [Broken Frontier]
Graphic Novels | BOOM! Studios announced a new middle-grade graphic novel, "The Not So Secret Society," that is aimed squarely at the bookstore market. The book features five 12-year-olds who get together after school and have adventures, and Arune Singh, vice president for marketing, says the book will have a “multi-level launch that will help to define the Boom! Studios program for the book market.” The book, which is the first in a planned series, already has its own website, and 25 free digital comics will be hosted there before the print book is released in July. [Publishers Weekly]
Comics | IDW Publishing will launch a comic based on the video game "Yo-kai Watch" in April. The comic will be written by Eric M. Esquivel, illustrated by Tina Franscisco, and colored by Dono Sanchez Almara. Viz Media is also publishing a manga series based on the game, which also has toy and anime spinoffs. [Anime News Network]