Annually, at the world’s biggest comic book and pop culture gathering, San Diego Comic-Con, attendees are given a commemorative souvenir book to celebrate the biggest events of the year. Sadly many times, these poor glossy periodicals wind up crushed by other bulky merchandise or simply discarded. Fans may wish to tuck this year’s edition away for safe keeping, though, as it pays tribute to the 25th anniversary of DC/Vertigo’s beloved Sandman series, under a gorgeous cover by the series regular cover artist Dave McKean.
In addition to Sandman, there are many comic book properties also celebrating anniversaries this year and they will each receive tribute articles and artwork within the booklet:
Superman 75th
Avengers 50th
Doctor Strange 50th
Doctor Who 50th
X-Men 50th
ElfQuest 35th
The Tick 25th
Eisner Awards 25th
Bongo Comics 20th
Milestone Comics 20th
Strangers in Paradise 20th
TwoMorrows Publishing 20th
Aspen Comics 20th
Here is SDCC’s official statement regarding the book:
The 2013 edition of the Comic-Con International Souvenir Book will be given out to all attendees (while supplies last) at this year’s event, July 18-21 at the San Diego Convention Center.
This year’s cover was created exclusively for Comic-Con by special guest Dave McKean, and celebrates the 25th anniversary of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman series. The fan-favorite series started in late 1988 with its first story arc drawn by Sam Kieth, with numerous artists to follow in its 75-issue run. Besides Gaiman, one other constant throughout the series was cover artist Dave McKean, who created beautiful, ethereal images through painting, collage, and construction that set the tone for the story inside. Dave’s style of cover art was unseen in the world of comics up to that point.
This 224-page, full-color trade paperback, also presents bios and photos of all of this year’s special guests, and a look back at the past year in award winners and—sadly—appreciations for those we’ve lost.
Remember: This keepsake publication is yours for free if you attend Comic-Con 2013, while we still have them to give out. You’ll want to take this book home as an official souvenir of CCI!
So if you are a Sandman fan, or even a fan of any of these other properties, you’ll want to get to the Con early to make sure you get your copy of this commemorative souvenir book!
Source SciFi Mafia
