President Joe Field

Joe Field is the owner/operator of Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff in Concord, California. Field is a recipient of the Will Eisner "Spirit of Comics" Award and a columnist for Comics & Games Retailer magazine.

Field graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in Broadcasting/Marketing and was formerly the Marketing Director for KJOY-AM/KJAX-FM in Stockton, California. In that role, Joe spear-headed a drive to get Marvel Comics to recognize Stockton as "the Official Birthplace of Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four." The successful effort led to Joe doing free-lance public relations work for Marvel Comics' publisher Stan Lee, which in turn led to Field working with, then becoming co-owner of WonderCon, Northern California's largest comic book convention. Field and his WonderCon business partner Mike Friedrich sold the convention to Comic-Con International in April of 2001.

Field has served as a director for the Direct Line Group, the Northern California Comic Dealers' Association (NCCDA), Bay Area Comic Retailers (BACR) and Comic Book Retailers' International (CBRI) trade associations. Field is also the founder of Free Comic Book Day, the industry's only coordinated promotion outreach effort. FreeComicBookDay.com

Vice President Gary Dills
Gary Dills is co-owner of Phoenix Comics and Toys, a chain based in Northern Virginia with recent expansion into Columbus, OH with their acquisition of The Laughing Ogre. Gary has worked in the Direct Market since 1994 and was a member of the ComicsPRO Founding Board. He is also a member of the Free Comic Book Day advisory board and a frequent poster to the Comic Book Industry Alliance forum, sharing his insights into comics retailing to help other retailers improve their businesses. Gary also serves as Chair on the ComicsPRO Outreach Committee, supervising ComicsPRO's presence at trade shows and conventions.

Corporate Secretary / Treasurer Amanda Emmert
As part of the founding board, Amanda Emmert (formerly Fisher) did the legwork for the creation of ComicsPro as a nonprofit organization and works on the Membership Committee handling applications and member files. Amanda began her career in comics at the age of 16, working at The Splash Page in Billings, MT. She helped open a second Splash Page location in Missoula at age 18, and became the manager of that store in 1998. In 2001, Amanda bought the Missoula store with a partner and renamed it Muse Comics. Amanda opened a second Muse Comics location in downtown Missoula in 2006. She has written articles for “Comics & Games Retailer” and is a member of the Free Comic Book Day advisory board. Amanda is always looking for ways to improve her store and her industry, with a focus on small-market comic book stores. She is the proud mother of two energetic little boys.

Recording Secretary Carr D’Angelo
Carr D'Angelo is the co-owner of Earth-2 Comics in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. He started his career in New York as an editor and writer for Starlog, Fangoria and Comics Scene magazines. Moving to Los Angeles, he became a script reader, studio executive and movie producer.

In 2003, D'Angelo partnered with Jud Meyers to open Earth-2, named for the home planet of the legendary heroes of their youth. The shop specializes in collections and graphic novels in addition to periodical comics.

Director Rick Lowell
Rick Lowell is the owner of Casablanca Comics, with two stores located in Portland and Windham, Maine. He has been active in the comics community since the 1970's. Rick and his wife Laura opened Casablanca Comics in 1987. Casablanca Comics has been a finalist in the Eisner Spirits of Retail Awards at San Diego Comic Con multiple times.

Rick is very active working with libraries to promote comics, and currently deals with over 100 libraries on a regular basis. Rick has a background in graphic arts and previously worked as an art director before opening the stores. He has also worked on other industry projects and was part of a focus group at Diamond Comics to discuss graphic novels.

Besides a lifelong love of comics, Rick's other interests include vintage diners, pinball, rock 'n roll and the Boston Red Sox. He lives in Portland, Maine with his wife Laura and two children, Caitlin and Duncan.

Director Brian Hibbs
Brian Hibbs has owned Comix Experience in San Francisco since 1989. In addition to running the store, Brian writes the industry’s longest-running comics retailing opinion column, Tilting At Windmills, originally for Comics Retailer magazine (and collected by IDW Publishing), and now running monthly at Newsarama.

Director Eric Kirsammer
Eric graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a bachelor of fine arts degree. He purchased an existing comic book store in 1991 and renamed it Chicago Comics. They moved into their current space in 1993. Chicago Comics won the Capital City Master retailer award in 1994. It also won the Eisner Spirit of retailing award in 1997, and has been named Best Comic book store by Chicago Magazine, Newcity newspaper and the Reader. Eric purchased Quimby's bookstore in 1997 and moved it to its current location in 1998. Quimby's has been mentioned in Juxtapoze magazine, The New York times and many others.

Director - Calum Johnston
Calum Johnston is the owner of the Strange Adventures bookstore chain in eastern Canada with locations in Fredericton, New Brunswick and Halifax, Nova Scotia. He started selling comics as a teen and continued to do so even while working as a waiter, sales clerk, graphic designer, journalist, and radio programmer, among other things.