ComicsPRO.org

ComicsPRO is the only trade organization dedicated to the progress of direct market comic book retailers.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

2010 Director Election Candidates

Full Members to ComicsPRO will receive a ballot (with instructions) for the 2010 Director Election in the mail.


The 2010 Director Election Candidates are:


Carr D’Angelo

Carr D'Angelo is co-owner of Earth-2 Comics, the only multi-store chain in the Los Angeles area with stores in Sherman Oaks and Northridge.

He started his career in New York as an editor and writer for Starlog, Fangoria and Comics Scene magazines. Moving to Los Angeles, he became a script reader, studio executive and movie producer.

In 2003, D'Angelo partnered with Jud Meyers to open Earth-2, named for the home planet of the legendary heroes of their youth. The Sherman Oaks store received the 2007 Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award. In 2009, they partnered with comic book writer Geoff Johns to acquire the Northridge store.

Eric Kirsammer

Eric Kirsammer graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a bachelor of fine arts degree. He purchased an existing comic book store in 1991 and renamed it Chicago Comics. They moved into their current space in 1993. Chicago Comics won the Capital City Master retailer award in 1994. It also won the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award in 1997, and has been named Best Comic book store by Chicago Magazine, Newcity newspaper and the Reader.

Eric purchased Quimby's bookstore in 1997 and moved it to its current location in 1998. Quimby's has been mentioned in Juxtapoz magazine, The New York times and many others.

Rick Lowell

Rick Lowell is the owner of Casablanca Comics, with two stores located in Portland and Windham, Maine. He has been active in the comics community since the 1970's. Rick and his wife Laura opened Casablanca Comics in 1987. Casablanca Comics has been a finalist in the Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Retailer Award at San Diego Comic Con multiple times.

Rick is very active working with libraries to promote comics, and currently deals with over 100 libraries on a regular basis. Rick has a background in graphic arts and previously worked as an art director before opening the stores. Casablanca Comics is the host for the Maine Comics Arts Festival held in the spring of each year.

Besides a lifelong love of comics, Rick's other interests include vintage diners, pinball, rock 'n roll and the Boston Red Sox. He lives in Portland, Maine with his wife Laura and two children, Caitlin and Duncan.

Ralph Mathieu

Ralph Mathieu has owned Alternate Reality Comics, "The Nexus of Entertainment & Enlightenment", Las Vegas' oldest comic book store, since 1995. In addition to introducing people to the diversity that comics has to offer, his goal for the store consists of finding loving homes for great comics and graphic novels.

Ralph has been a long time sponsor of the Eisner Awards, a member of DC Comics' RRP since 2002, and has been on the planning committee for the Las Vegas Clark County Library Book / Comicbookfest the past two years. Ralph lives and breathes sequential art and shares this passion for this medium with his wife, Katherine Keller, who is one of the founders of, and a regular contributor to, Sequential Tart.


Thank you to all of the retailers who volunteer their time and energy to serve on the ComicsPRO Board of Directors!