Hollywood Costume Exhibit 2017

Every year I try to get to the annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising's museum (FIDM), located in downtown Los Angeles, which is traditionally held in the spring (it originally coincided with the frenzied run-up to the Academy Awards, but that window has shortened a bit now that the ceremony is held in February). This year marked the show's 25th anniversary. The show features the actual costumes worn by the actors in the films.

Although this year’s exhibit just closed, I nevertheless thought I’d post about it, along with some photos, as inducement for people to attend future shows. Though the exhibition isn’t large, the gallery is FREE and an opportunity to see the clothes and costumes from your favorite films. And afterwards, feel free to explore the regentrifying downtown L.A.! The FIDM isn’t too far from L.A. Live, part of the entertainment and sports complex that houses the Staples Center, Grammy Museum and many restaurants. Personally, I usually use my visit to the exhibition as an excuse to visit the revived Grand Central Market foodcourt cafe, that is across the street from the famed Bradbury Building, prominently featured in films like Blade Runner and 500 Days of Summer! (It also recently appeared as a Willie Wonka-type chocolate factory in a commercial for Twix.)

As you’ll see in the photos, this year’s exhibition included (among others) Batman v. Superman; Suicide Squad; Doctor Strange; Star Wars: Rogue One; Hail, Caesar; La La Land, and Florence Foster Jenkins.

Rogue One

Florence Foster Jenkins

Allied

George Clooney's costume from Hail, Caesar!

Hail, Caesar

La La Land

Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange

1925 souvenir program book for Ben-Hur from the FIDM collection

Rob Hanes Adventures to be Collected in Trade Paperback

NEWS RELEASE - For Immediate Release

The long-running globetrotting action-adventure series, Rob Hanes Adventures, will be collected in trade paperback in 4-issue increments starting this spring, said series creator and WCG Comics publisher Randy Reynaldo.

Rob Hanes Adventures, Volume 1 begins collecting the series with issues 1-4. It will clock in at 128 pages and retail for $14.99, and appear under the WCG Comics imprint.

“Given the growth of the back catalog of the series, it’s time to begin collecting the series in trade paperback format,” said Reynaldo. “I hope it will provide a welcoming entry point for new readers who want to check out the new series but might be intimidated by the number of back issues now in print.”

The stories in the first volume include“Where in the World is Rob Hanes?”; “Back in the Game”; “Rob Hanes: Year One”; “Image is Everything”; and “A Changing of the Guard.” The volume will include reproductions of the original cover art and liner notes about each story. Reynaldo plans to quickly follow the release of volume 1 with volume 2, collecting issues 5-8, later in the year.

Two trade paperback collections of earlier material that pre-date the current series are already in print: the Rob Hanes Archives, which collects the earliest material that appeared in zine format, and Rob Hanes Adventures, Volume 0, which collects the first regular comic-book appearance of the series under the title, Adventure Strip Digest.

About Rob Hanes Adventures:
Rob Hanes Adventures is an action-adventure series about a globetrotting private eye and troubleshooter from Justice International who travels the world on assignment, facing adventure, intrigue and romance at every turn!

Launched in 2000, and preceded by a zine and 4-issue comic-book series run under the title Adventure Strip Digest, Rob Hanes Adventures is one of the longest-running indie comics series still going! Inspired by classic adventure comic strips like Milton Caniff's Terry and the Pirates and Roy Crane's Buz Sawyer but set in the modern day—with dashes of light-hearted humor reminiscent of Will Eisner's Spirit—readers and fans have lauded Rob Hanes Adventures for recapturing the spirit of the classic adventure strip while updating it for modern day audiences. The series has received praise and coverage over the years for its classic, return-to-basic approach, and was listed among the 1000 Comic Books You Must Read  by Tony Isabella.

Though themes and characters recur in the series, every issue of Rob Hanes Adventures is self-contained. The entire series remains in print, including 17 issues to date and two trade paperback collections of earlier work. For more information about the series, previews and to purchase back issues, visit the WCG Comics website at wcgcomics.com or facebook.com/rhadventures.

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Images accompanying this press release may be used for review purposes, with additional downloadable art and images from the comic-book series available here. All art © by Randy Reynaldo. All rights reserved.

The permanent link for this news release is http://wcgcomics.blogspot.com/2017/03/pr-rha-vol01-tpb.html