Bone: 20th Anniversary Full Color One Volume Collector's Box SetMedia Release -- The Baltimore Comic-Con is excited to announce the addition of renowned cartoonist Jeff Smith to the growing line-up of creators for this year's show, taking place August 20-21, 2011. As a pioneer of self-publishing, the Harvey and Eisner Awards-winning Smith is best know for his classic all-ages fantasy epic, Bone, an award-winning adventure about three cartoon cousins lost in a world of myth and ancient mysteries, as well as his current science-fiction series, RASL.

Debuting in July 1991, Bone is now a New York Times bestselling series published by Scholastic Books. July 2011 marks the 20th Anniversary of Bone #1 and to celebrate this momentous achievement, Smith's own Cartoon Books is releasing a limited edition slipcase collection. The Bone: 20th Anniversary Full Color One Volume Collector's Box Set will make it's East Coast debut right here in Baltimore.

In 2009, Smith was the subject of the Emmy Award-winning documentary, The Cartoonist: Jeff Smith, Bone, and the Changing Face of Comics, and he is currently working on his creator-owned series, RASL, a sci-fi noir tale about an inter-dimensional art thief.

In addition, the Baltimore Comic-Con also welcomes Steve Hamaker, the artist responsible for supplying Smith's 1344-page masterpiece with vibrant color. Hamaker joined Smith at Cartoon Books in 2000 and was tasked with the mission of bringing Bone from black and white to full-color for Scholastic Books. His work on the series has been nominated for the Harvey and Eisner Awards for Best Coloring.

"We couldn't be more pleased to have Jeff Smith and Steve Hamaker here in Baltimore," said Marc Nathan, show promoter for the Baltimore Comic-Con. "Jeff paved the way for self-publishing and practically conceived the modern American graphic novel. His work was made that much better by Steve's amazing coloring."

Other confirmed guests for the show including: Jason Aaron (Scalped, PunisherMAX); Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead); Cliff Chiang (Greendale); Frank Cho (Jungle Girl, Hulk); David Finch (Brightest Day, Batman: The Dark Knight); Ron Frenz (Spider-Girl); Mike Grell (Action Comics, The Pilgrim); Jamal Igle (Supergirl, Zatanna); J.G. Jones (Doc Savage, DC Universe Legacies); Barry Kitson (Secret Invasion, Amazing Spider-Man); David Petersen (Mouse Guard); Brandon Peterson (Ultimate Vision, Strange); Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo); and Nick Spencer (Morning Glories, Iron Man 2.0).

In coming weeks, look for more announcements from the Baltimore Comic-Con. We are looking forward to highlighting our guests, the Harvey Awards, industry exclusives, and programming. The latest developments can always be found at our website, Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace pages.

This year's Baltimore Comic-Con will be held August 20-21, 2011. Convention hours are Saturday 10 AM to 6 PM and Sunday 10 AM to 5 PM. The ceremony and banquet for the Harvey Awards will be held Saturday night, August 21th.