Season One kicks off January 2022 with eight (8)
comic book professionals in our tournament!
Get ready as comic book professionals square off, pitting their poker skills against one another, and talking about a wide variety of topics from within the comic book industry.
In this new feature, I (Jason Bennett, writer/chief editor at PopCultHQ) will be your host and will interview two comic creators in one Zoom meeting, all while cards are being dealt to my guests who will face off in a heads-up, No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em poker match. These heads-up matches are an opportunity to chat about comic books and the industry, promote the creators’ upcoming projects, and provide a glimpse of their poker savvy as they compete in a wild, new promotion for prizes and bragging rights, and the coveted PopCultHQ “Cards w/ Comic Creators” – Season One trophy.
Please note: We have decided to forego the Qualifying Round of 16 due to the projected length of the first season, as well as making for a much more manageable tournament.
I will reach out this weekend to those chosen via email, provide additional information regarding the playoff format, inform them of their opponents, and coordinate a day/time for each match to take place.
PopCultHQ is excited to announce the creators you can
expect to see in Season One of “Cards w/ Comic Creators”:
Writer/Editor/Publisher David Schrader
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Writer/Editor/Publisher Kayden Phoenix
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Writer Rylend Grant
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Writer/Artist Christie Shinn
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Writer/Publisher Chris Moses
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Writer/Artist/Publisher Steven Prince
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Writer Rich Douek
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Writer/Artist/Colorist Kenny Aitken
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Here is a look at the tournament and prizes…
TOURNAMENT QUARTER-FINAL ROUND
(8 Players)
A random drawing will be conducted of all eight (8) creators to determine their spot in the playoff brackets. This will also establish the road to the finals and potential future match-ups. Each participant will find out this weekend via email whom they will face in the first round.
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*** All participants in the tournament will receive a limited edition “Cards w/ Comic Creators” – Season One Participant custom poker chip, currently being produced. In addition to the custom poker chip, every participant in the quarter-final round will receive a PopCultHQ exclusive variant (1 of 250) of BANJAX #1 – “Demon in a Bottle,” which pays homage to Bob Layton’s iconic IRON MAN #128 cover.
TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINAL ROUND
(4 Players)
After the last quarter-final winner has won and advanced to the next round, the semi-final round will begin with the remaining four participants.
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*** In addition to the custom poker chip & BANJAX #1 variant, every participant in the semi-final will receive a PopCultHQ exclusive variant (1 of 125) of ABERRANT #1 – “Weekend at Cordrey’s” variant, which pays tribute to the Weekend at Bernie;s movie poster.
TOURNAMENT FINAL ROUND
(2 Players)
The finals of the tournament will determine the champion of our first season of “Cards w/ Comic Creators.”
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*** In addition to the custom poker chip, the BANJAX #1 variant, and the ABERRANT #1 variant, both participants in the final will receive a PopCultHQ mega-exclusive variant (1 of 25) of ABERRANT #1 – “Weekend at Cordrey’s” Portugeuse variant, which pays tribute to the Weekend at Bernie’s movie poster seen in Portugeuse-speaking countries.
The winner of the tournament will receive all previous prizes, plus:
~ The Season One Championship trophy with their named engraved
The trophy is an 8-inch crystal, customized with the winner’s name. The base is able to illuminate the crystal in a handful of colors.
~ PopCultHQ will make a $50 donation to any
local comic shop (LCS) of the winner’s choosing.
Upon completion of the final match, I will coordinate with the winner to make a $50 donation to the LCS of his/her choice. The donation will be made to the store in the winner’s name. PopCultHQ is just the intermediator to connect the winner’s $50 prize to their favorite comic book shop.
That being said…I am finalizing the layout for the tournament and will be contacting the Season One players this weekend. “Cards w/ Comic Creators” is part of PopCultHQ After Dark, which will feature interviews with comic creators, published every Saturday night at 5pm PT/8pm ET at PopCultHQ.com and our social media channels. And while the poker tournament will be shown on Saturday evenings, the match-ups will take place at an earlier date (typically during the week prior). So be sure to follow PopCultHQ and me, Jason Bennett, to stay up on the latest of the tournament, cheer on comic creators taking part of this innovative feature, and catch a glimpse of what you can expect for Season Two.
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Get ready to shuffle up and deal!
Follow PopCultHQ online!
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Follow Jason Bennett online!
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