Comic-Con International 2011 Souvenir Book cover by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair. © DC Comics

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Comic-Con 2012 Special Themes and Anniversaries

Each year, Comic-Con produces a special Souvenir Book that commemorates the event. Last year's book, which included a beautiful cover by Jim Lee with one of the first looks at DC's New 52 version of Justice League (at right), was a huge, full-color trade paperback featuring bios and photos of all of the guests, plus special articles and art built around Comic-Con's themes and anniversary celebrations. Best of all, each year the Souvenir Book is given free to all attendees (while supplies last), along with the separate show schedule magazine, the Events Guide.

2012's Souvenir Book will be in full color. As in previous years, Comic-Con is soliciting articles and artwork from professionals and fans alike, based on the anniversaries and themes Comic-Con is celebrating this year (see below for a current listing). This is your chance to submit something for consideration in the book.

The deadline for contributions is April 20, 2012. All art should be in color for this year's book. For complete information on how to contribute, including file formats and technical information, please see the section below marked "How to Submit."

This year you can send your submissions (15 MB and below in size, please) to a special e-mail address: ccisouvbook@comic-con.org. Please send all submissions to that address, or follow the instructions below to mail your art or article to our offices. Please note: we prefer e-mailed submissions.

2012 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

100th Anniversary of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan and John Carter of Mars
In 1912 two amazing creations leaped full-born from the vivid imagination of Edgar Rice Burroughs. John Carter's first adventure, A Princess of Mars, was serialized in All-Story Magazine from February through July of 1912 as Under the Moons of Mars; the epic adventures of Tarzan of the Apes began in the pages of that same magazine in October of that year. The two creations of the prolific Burroughs have gone on to appear in numerous novels, movies, television shows, comics, and much more, including a 2012 John Carter movie from Disney and a new Tarzan film now in production from Warner Bros.

75th Anniversary of Prince Valiant
Hal Foster's Prince Valiant in the Days of King Arthur, a beautiful full-page Sunday comic strip, began in 1937. Foster's incredible illustrative style and storytelling ability separated this elegant and exciting strip from pretty much everything else being published at the time (and, one could argue, ever since). The strip continues today by artist Gary Gianni and writer Mark Schultz, who are Comic-Con special guests this year to help celebrate the history and ongoing influence of Foster's great creation.

50th Anniversary of Marvel Superheroes Spider-Man, Hulk, Thor, Ant-Man, and Iron Man
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby set the comics world on fire with The Fantastic Four in 1961. In 1962 the duo-along with artists Steve Ditko, Don Heck, Dick Ayers, and writer/artist Larry Lieber-struck again with the creation of the Amazing Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, Ant-Man, Thor, and Iron Man. These enduring characters have flourished over the past half-century, in comics and on the big screen (with even an Ant-Man movie in production!).

30th Anniversary of Love and Rockets
In 1981, three California brothers took their love of comics, movies, animation and all things pop culture and created their own fanzine, titled Love and Rockets. Gilbert, Jaime, and Mario Hernandez published the first issue, then moved the book to Fantagraphics in 1982, its home ever since. The brothers have had an incredible impact on the alternative comics scene and are currently producing some of their best work ever. All three Hernandez Brothers are guests at both Comic-Con and APE in 2012.

20th Anniversary of Image Comics
In 1992, seven popular artists stopped doing freelance comics work and formed their own imprints under a new company, Image Comics. Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon), Jim Lee (WildC.A.T.s), Rob Liefeld (Youngblood), Todd McFarlane (Spawn), Whilce Portacio (Wetworks), Mark Silvestri (Cyberforce), and Jim Valentino (Shadowhawk) took the comics world by storm, proving once again that the creators were just as popular as the characters they drew. Since then, Image has gone on to be a major force in the comics industry, with such modern-day hits as The Walking Dead (created by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard) and Chew (created by John Layman and Rob Guillory).

Additional anniversaries and themes may be added . . . check back for updates!

HOW TO SUBMIT
We're looking for quality articles and art submissions for the 2012 Souvenir Book. Please note that due to space limitations, not all submissions can be featured in the book. Submitting an article or a piece of art is not a guarantee that it will be used.

If your article or art is accepted, we'll send you a FREE copy of the 2012 Souvenir Book (whether you attend Comic-Con or not)!

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING
ARTICLES AND ART

Please read these guidelines CAREFULLY before submitting art and articles. Some changes have been made from previous years.

ALL SUBMISSIONS

Please include your complete mailing address with all submissions, so we can send you a copy of the Souvenir Book if your art or article is used.

While you can submit multiple times, we cannot guarantee that all submissions will make it into the book due to space limitations. We highly recommend you narrow down your art to what you consider your best piece and send that as your official submission.

ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS

Articles must relate to the above-mentioned anniversaries and should be in the 1,000-1,500 word range. All articles should be of a historical, nonfiction nature. Do not submit fictional stories about the characters being celebrated. Please e-mail your submissions to ccisouvbook@comic-con.org in Word format (.doc or .docx formats). Include your name and city, plus a short (50 words or less) bio at the end of the article. Do not include any e-mail or website addresses in the bio.

ART SUBMISSIONS

1. Artwork must relate to this year's themes. Artwork should be no larger than 7" wide x 9" tall. We prefer COLOR art.
2. Please send art submissions as electronic files. For all art submissions, we prefer an electronic file to ensure that your art maintains the color look you intended.
3. PDF is the preferred file format. If you're sending an electronic image, it should be a 300 dpi color (CMYK) TIF, JPG, or PDF file. If it's a TIF file, please make sure all layers are flattened. If it's a PDF file, embed all fonts.
4. We prefer e-mailed files. Please e-mail your art to ccisouvbook@comic-con.org
5. When signing your name on your art, do not include e-mail or website information. Any piece of art with this info on it will immediately be disqualified for consideration.
6. Please do NOT include a copyright notice on your art. Comic-Con will print the proper copyright notice below or near each piece of art used. While the artwork itself is copyrighted by the artist, we will include a copyright notice for the characters the artwork portrays.
7. Please do not combine characters from different companies. For example, we cannot use art that includes Spider-Man with Spawn or other companies' characters (however, characters from the same company, such as Spidey, Hulk, and Thor together, are fine).
8. Please do not include your own characters or congratulatory messages that advertise your company. The art should be a tribute to the anniversaries being celebrated, not an advertisement for your own properties.
9. No nudity, adult situations, or profanity will be accepted. The Souvenir Book is given free to all attendees (while supplies last) and is intended for an all-ages audience.
10. Mailing artwork. If your electronic file is over 15.0 MB, please mail it on a nonreturnable CD. If you're not sending an electronic file, please send only high-quality printouts. Do not send your original art. Please print your name and city, as you would like it to appear in the Souvenir Book, on the back of your submission and mail it to:

Comic-Con International
2012 Souvenir Book Submissions
P.O. Box 128458
San Diego, CA 92112-8458
All mailed submissions must be postmarked by April 20, 2012.