The Overstreet Price Guide is turning 40, and to celebrate, the Guide’s founder, Robert M. Overstreet will be a special guest at the San Diego Comic-Con next week. The company will also sign copies at the show, and offer a special edition to support The Heor Initiative.
At Comic-Con, Diamond Comic Distributors will host a signing with Overstreet and Guide staffers from 10:30 to 11:30 AM on both Thursday, July 22, and Friday, July 23, 2010 at Booth #2401. On Thursday afternoon, from 2:30 to 3:30 PM in Room 3, the Guide’s history, its impact, and its future will be the subject of a panel with former CGC president and primary grader Steve Borock, CBG’s Maggie Thompson, historian Jon McClure, Guide staffers J.C. Vaughn and Mark Huesman, and special guests. At 4:30 PM on Thursday, Overstreet will participate in a private fund-raiser for The Hero Initiative.
The standard editions of The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #40 feature a choice of two covers, both of which feature popular, iconic characters that like the Guide itself have stood the test of time. Both cover images will be published in hardcover and soft cover at the same time.
The Batman cover was created by Mark Chiarello, the award-winning artist of Batman/Houdini: The Devil’s Workshop, and cover artist for Two-Face: Year One. Chiarello serves as DC Comics’ Editorial Art Director and is also noted for his work highly regarded on Star Wars, the Negro Leagues, and elsewhere.
The Captain America cover is illustrated by Darwyn Cooke, the award-winning writer-artist of DC: The New Frontier and adapter of Richard Stark’s The Hunter, which became a media sensation. He is also known for his work on Catwoman and his run on Will Eisner’s The Spirit.
There is also a limited edition hardcover created exclusively as a fundraiser for The Hero Initiative. Illustrated by pencil artist John Romita, Jr., inker Klaus Janson, and colorist Dean White, the special edition features a recreation of 1970’s Conan The Barbarian #1. This is the first time an exclusive edition of the long-running industry institution has ever been issued, and all proceeds from its sale will go to the publicly supported not-for-profit corporation under section 501 (c) (3). Limited to 500 hardcover copies, the Hero Initiative edition of the 40th anniversary Guide will go on sale on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at the Hero booth at Comic-Con International: San Diego, the same day the regular editions of the Guide go on sale nationwide.
