Prism Comics, the premier organization for LGBT comics, creators, and readers, will be returning once again to Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, which takes place on March 13th and 14th. Prism will also be sponsoring an offsite mixer which will take place Saturday, March 13th at The Bottleneck Lounge at 2328 East Madison Street.

Special guests this year include Jeff Krell, creator of the groundbreaking gay comic strip Jayson, and Chris Lange, creator of the Seattle-based webcomic The Capitol Hillbillies.

Prism gathers a wide selection of comics and related items that are of interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender readers and makes them available for sale at their convention booth. They also provide a free drop-in space for comics artists and writers who do not have their own exhibition space, so that they can sell their books and meet with their fans.

This is the sixth Emerald City Comic Con for Prism, whose founder and past President, Charles "Zan" Christensen, is a Seattle resident and organizes Prism's appearance at the show every year.

"It's always great doing a hometown show and meeting all the local comics fans," said Christensen. "I'm also really glad we're going to be partying at the Bottleneck this year. They recently expanded and made the bar a great, homey space that's really geared toward meeting and mingling. I'm sure a whole lot of Seattle comics fans are going to meet new friends and have a lot of fun."

Prism was founded in 2003 and is funded by donations from the LGBT and comics communities. Its flagship project is an annual guide and anthology called Prism Comics: Your LGBT Guide to Comics, which has grown significantly over the years. The first Guide was a 48-page black-and-white pamphlet and it has evolved into a perfect-bound magazine/anthology/resource guide with sometimes as many as 160 pages. The most recent edition is a budget release at 64 pages for $3.99, with an included digital anthology.

Prism Comics attends many other conventions during the year, including Comic-Con International in San Diego and WonderCon and Alternative Press Expo in San Francisco. They have also attended New York Comic-Con, MegaCon in Florida, and Stumptown Comics Fest in Portland, Oregon.

Prism Comics promotes the works of the LGBT community in comics. It does not implicitly endorse any other material or products associated with those works. Any opinions expressed are those of the author(s).