SJS Promotions Rings in the New Year at Arisia

Warwick, RI, January 06, 2011 --(PR.com)-- After a two month hiatus in the comic book and science fiction convention schedule, creators represented by the Rhode Island-based promotions firm announced today their first convention of the year. Susan Soares, publicist at SJS Comic Promotions, joined by Rick Silva of Dandelion Studios, Dirk Tiede of the web comic Paradigm Shift and Everett Soares from Jolly Rogue Studios are all scheduled to appear at Arisia, a science fiction and fantasy convention in Boston, MA. In its 22nd year, Arisia, held at the Westin Waterfront Hotel, is happening during Martin Luther King Day Weekend, January 14 through 17, 2011.

In addition to featuring over fifty vendors, Arisia’s main attraction is the wide variety of panels that are scheduled of the course of the weekend. Soares and her clients are slated to participate in a number of these panels, ranging in topics from marketing to self-publishing to fandom.

Rick Silva has been involved in small press publishing since his college days. He published and edited Kinships magazine. Along with his wife Gynn, Rick is a partner in Dandelion Studios (www.dandelionstudios.com), a small press comic book company. Rick co-writes the Dandelion Studios comics Zephyr & Reginald: Minions for Hire, Stone, Kaeli & Rebecca, Stone, and Perils of Picorna. Attendees of Arisia will find Rick on the following panels:
· Sat 12:30pm - Challenges of Self-Publishing
· Sat 3:30pm - Comic Book Creation from Creators' Perspectives
· Sun 2:00pm - Marketing Independent Media
· Mon 11:00am - The Care and Feeding of the Young Fan
· Mon 2:00pm - Other Cons: What Else is Out There?

Everett Soares is the creator and writer of the steampunk comic book series, Sky Pirates of Valendor. Publishing his first miniseries within the world of Valendor through Free Lunch Comics, Everett has traveled the country promoting his series for the last three years. Beginning in 2011, Everett has taken on publishing duties of Sky Pirates of Valendor under the Jolly Rogue Studios label. Everett is also the writer for DarkBrain.com's Mirror, Mirror. Everett will be lending his expertise in comic book writing and appreciation to the following discussions:
· Sat 2:00 pm - Race & Gender Politics in Comics
· Sat 5:00pm - Comics: Not How You Start, But How You Finish!
· Sun 3:30pm - The Best Webcomics You're Not Reading
· Sun 8:00pm - How to Write a Comic

Web comics pioneer Dirk Tiede is the creator of the graphic novel series, Paradigm Shift. In addition to print collections, he continues to serialize his comics online and is a founding contributor to the premier comic portal Modern Tales. His work is also showcased in the books Toon Art: The Art of Digital Comics and Webcomics, and appears in the documentary Adventures in Digital Comics. Dirk can be found at comic and anime shows around the country promoting his books. Besides participating in the following panels, Dirk is also a member of the Arisia staff this year:
· Sat 12:30pm - Challenges of Self-Publishing
· Sat 2:00pm - Tools for Digital Art
· Sat 5:00pm - Comics: Not How You Start, But How You Finish!
· Sat 6:30pm - Comics Fight! Live! Loud! And Wacky!
· Sun 2:00pm - Marketing Independent Media
· Sun 3:30pm - The Best Webcomics You're Not Reading
· Sun 8:00pm - How to Write a Comic

SJS Comic Promotions is owned and operated by Promotions Consultant, Susan Soares. Opening its doors officially in 2009, Susan has been working in the comic book industry since 2007 as a part of Jolly Rogue Studios. The purpose of SJS Comic Promotions is to provide support and guidance to comic book creators in the areas of marketing and promotions of their properties. Currently SJS Comic Promotions represents Dandelion Studios, Dirk Tiede Cartoons & Illustration, Fallenmage Productions, Dark Brain Comics, Jolly Rogue Studios, Shapeshifter Studios, Three J Productions LLC, TLA Productions and Unstoppable Comics. Joining with Rick and Dirk on a couple discussions, Susan will participate in the following Arisia panels:
· Sat 11:00am - Comics as Spin-Off
· Sat 3:30pm - The Best International Comics
· Sun 9:30am - Time Management for Creative People
· Sun 2:00pm - Marketing Independent Media

Convention attendees will be able to meet these creators in the Dealer Room at Arisia throughout the entire weekend. For more information on Arisia, please visit their website at http://2011.arisia.org/. For more information on SJS Comic Promotions or their clients, please visit http://www.sjscomicpromotions.com.

###