The DARK SHADOWS convention season begins!

Can't attend the annual DARK SHADOWS FESTIVAL in June? Never fear! You've got a few more chances this summer to meet some of the stars of the original series, because they have personal appearances set to take place around the country throughout the rest of the year. See that little tab at the top right that reads EVENTS? Click on it for a full list of public appearances from DARK SHADOWS cast members in 2014. (Or just click HERE if it happens to be closer to your mouse pointer.)

Representatives for The Collinsport Historical Society will be appearing at some of these events during the summer. And by "representatives," I mostly mean myself. I'll be getting the convention seasons started May 3 at SCRATCH N SPIN RECORDS in Columbia, S.C., as part of Free Comic Book Day. SCRATCH N SPIN also has a robust selection of monthly comics, and is the store where I currently buy my books. I'll have copies of The Collinsport Historical Society's MONSTER SERIAL for sale. Space permitting, I might even have a few items from my DARK SHADOWS memorabilia collection on display. Stop by and say hello!

The Collinsport Historical Society's next stops will be at ConCarolinas on the weekend of May 30 (an event which will also feature Kathryn Leigh Scott and Lara Parker) in Charlotte, N.C., followed by MonsterCon on the weekend of July 18 in Greenville, S.C. Sharon Smyth Lentz will be making of first South Carolina convention appearance at MonsterCon.

- Wallace McBride 

UPDATE!

SCRATCH N SPIN RECORDS is adding additional guests to FREE COMIC BOOK DAYS EVENTS on May 3. Here's who else you can expect to meet:

Sean McGuinness is better known as THAT GODZILLA GUY. I first met him a few weeks back at Mad Monster Party in Charlotte, N.C., where his Kaiju art caught my attention. One of his pieces is currently on display at my favorite restaurant, THE KRAKEN. You can find him on Facebook.

Laura Buff makes one-of-a-kind, fully poseable dolls and figures including props and clothing, which you can find HERE. She also draws chibi characters on art cards.

Chad Bowers is a comic book writer, and co-creator of the Oni Press graphic novel, DOWN SET FIGHT and the Monkeybrain Comics series SUBATOMIC PARTY GIRLS (with Chris Sims). He lives in South Carolina with his wife and son, and co-hosts the weekly comics game show podcast The Hour Cosmic. His favorite Beryllium Steel album is Leather Dominators (Vol. II). Follow him on twitter at @ChadBowers.

Chris Sims is a comic book writer and critic from South Carolina. He is the writer and co-creator of DRACULA THE UNCONQUERED and the co-writer (with Chad Bowers) of AWESOME HOSPITAL and the Oni Press graphic novel DOWN SET FIGHT. He enjoys pro wrestling and sandwiches, both frequent topics on Twitter @theisb.

William Suddeth is an up-and-coming artist making his first Free Comic Book Day appearance as a guest. He studied art at Mid-Carolina Tech and will be doing free sketches and selling prints of his other artwork.