On Saturday night, August 28th, the comic book industry, including professionals, retailers, and fans, will gather at the Hyatt Regency Baltimore to honor the 2010 Harvey Award Nominees for 2009 comic work and present the Harveys to their recipients. This is an exciting evening, highlighted by our host Scott Kurtz and our Keynote speaker Mark Waid, Chief Creative Officer of BOOM! Studios. There are only 2 short days to purchase your ticket to the Harvey Awards!

This evening would not be possible without the sponsors of the Harvey Awards.

Gold Level Sponsors:

• comiXology
• DC Comics

Silver Level Sponsors:

• IDW Publishing
• Insight Studios Group

Friends of the Harvey Awards:

• Brett's Comic Pile
• Painted Visions Comics, Cards, and Games
• Richmond Comix

As part of the sponsorship package, each attendee of the awards will receive a gift bag, including the following contributions:

Abrams : Al Jaffee's Tall Tales
Adhouse Publishing : 4x8 S & N original print by Jim (AFRODISIAC) Rugg
Archaia Entertainment : Harvey-Nominated Mouse Guard Vol. 2 : Winter 1152
BOOM! Studios : A Surprise From BOOM! Studios
Dark Horse Comics : Robert E. Howard Chronicles Slipcase
DC Comics : DC Archive Edition (Variety)
Eva Ink Publishing : 2011 Magnetic Calendar & Collectible Trading Card
IDW : Fishtown HC, by Kevin Colden
Popfun Merchandising : Toon Tumbler
Lasermach : Harvey Awards Keychain
Stylin' Online : T-Shirt
Top Cow : Delicate Creatures HC by Straczynski & Zulli

Harvey Awards tickets are on sale NOW!. Tickets to the event, which includes full cocktail hour (cash bar), full service dinner, awards ceremony, and gift bag are now available for $100. Tickets are available by calling Cards, Comics & Collectibles in Reisterstown, Maryland at (410) 526-7410. Major Credit Cards will be accepted for payment. Dinner tickets must be purchased by Wednesday, August 25th and will not be available at the door. Each ticket holder for dinner will receive one of these great gift bags.

In recent years, the Harvey Awards has also been the location for an Awards presentation by the Hero Initiative. This year, the Hero Initiative will present 2 awards.

The Hero Initiative was established to aid comic creators with a financial safety net when in need of emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. In the years since its inception, the board has created an award to recognize those individuals in the industry that have dedicated their talent over the lifetime of their careers to the comic book community at-large, achieving the status of Hero. Previous recipients include John Romita, Joe Kubert, Nick Cardy, Neal Adams, and George Perez. Who will be this year's lifetime Hero?

The Dick Giordano Humanitarian of the Year Award will make its debut at the Harvey Awards Banquet at the 2010 Baltimore Comic-Con on August 28. Giordano, who passed away in early 2010, was part of Hero Initiative's Board of Directors. He was also a legendary artist, a guiding force at Charlton Comics and DC Comics for many years, a mentor to his colleagues, and a friend to all who knew him. His legacy epitomizes the caring and commitment Hero Initiative strives to achieve. In his honor, The Dick Giordano Humanitarian of the Year Award will recognize one person in comics each year who has demonstrated the generosity and integrity Dick brought to the charity, and to the comic book community at large.

In the coming week, look for more announcements from the Baltimore Comic-Con. We are looking forward to highlighting our guests, the Harvey Awards, industry exclusives, and programming. The latest developments can always be found at our website (http://www.baltimorecomiccon.com/), Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/baltimorecomics), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/baltimorecomiccon), MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/baltimorecomics), and ComicSpace (http://www.comicspace.com/baltimorecomicon) pages

This year's Baltimore Comic-Con will be held August 28-29, 2010. Convention hours are Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM and Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM. The ceremony and banquet for the Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, August 28th.

Press Release for August 24, 2010