Gail Borden to unite comic lovers at July 18 convention

Avengers Assemble! And don't forget your cape, because Gail Borden Public Library is bringing back its Comic Book Mania Convention for the sixth year on Saturday, July 18, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the main building, 270 N. Grove Ave., Elgin. Nearly 1,000 people attended last year.

Guests are welcome to attend the free event dressed up as their favorite character while winning prizes, browsing through thousands of comics for sale, free face-painting, and taking classes in Comic Book Storytelling, or with the folks from We Are Cosplay.

There also will be many photo opportunities with superheroes. Meet the artists and writers of your favorite comics, including Jeffrey Moy ("X-Men," "Star Wars"); Philip Moy ("Powerpuff Girls"); Angel Medina ("Spider-Man"); Russell Lissau ("Old Wounds"); Serena Guerra ("Mice Templar"); Jim Terry ("The Crow," "Sundowners"); Rich Kunz ("Game of Thrones," "The Hobbit"); Jim Nelson ("Magic the Gathering"); Cory Carani ("Legionnaires"); Jim Mcclain ("Solution Squad"); Terry Pavlet ("Strange Detective Mysteries"); Tom Kelly ("Sword of the Savage Samurai"); Wally Lowe ("Boxninjas"); Justin Castaneda ("Kinder Guardians"); Scott Beaderstadt ("Trollords"); Rich Perez ("The Infinium"); Ron Ong (The Infinium); Rage Ledbetter ("The Infinium"); Rose Mcclain ("Mae"); Matthew Hansel ("Knight Watchman"); Trevor Mueller ("Albert the Alien"); Adam Fotos ("Dragon and Goat"); Alejandro Rosado ("Aw Yeah! Comics"), as well as Instant Press Comics, Keith's Komix, and Modern Age Comics. The guest list is subject to change.

You can barely draw stick figures? No problem. Join Solution Squad creator Jim McClain at 11 a.m. as he shows you how to tell comic stories with the most basic drawing skills. He'll take you through his process of writing comics stories from layouts to lettering and everyone who attends will walk away with the ability to make a comic that they can call their own.

Hear about the "Secret History of Kids Reading Comics" at 1 p.m. Comics researcher and historian Carol Tilley will reveal the hidden history of young comics readers in the 1940s and '50s. You will learn about young fanzine creators, letter writers, amateur cartoonists and more who read, wrote and played with comics during this time, including Ople Noble, who traded letters with Dr. Fredric Wertham, the man most responsible for comic books being put on trial by the federal government in 1954. Don't miss these secret stories of the kids who helped make comics the most important print media of the 20th century.

Interested in becoming a cosplayer? Learn from the pros. The folks from We Are Cosplay will be on hand to give you the information you need at 3 p.m.

And whatever you do, don't forget your camera!

For a more detailed list of events and their times, find it at gailborden.info/library-info/1639-comic-book-mania-convention.