Comicpalooza, the Texas International Comic Con, Announces 2013 Expansion, Guests, and Plans to Share Space with GalactiCon

Press Release:

Comicpalooza the Texas International Comic Con Announces Expansion Plans & 2013 Guest Lineup

HOUSTON, TEXAS – Comicpalooza once again posted high growth for their 2012 event, with over 10,600 attendees and an 88.5% increase in paid registration over 2011, which was up from a 55% growth rate the previous year. The high growth makes Comicpalooza one of the fastest growing comic & pop-culture conventions in the south. Attendance for 2013 is expected to top 20,000. Comicpalooza has begun attracting high-profile sponsors including McDonald’s, Best Buy, TimeGate Studios, the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, Houston Community College, and Bedrock City Comic Co. (7^th largest comics retailer in the US) and has led to ambitious expansion plans. These are among their plans for next year:

• It’s so BIG! - Exhibit and event space will increase from the 380,000 square feet available in 2012 to over 500,000 square feet for 2013. This increase will allow more programming, including educational seminars, workshops, and panel discussions as well as entertainment such as concerts, film screenings, and other events.
• Level up! - Comicpalooza 2013 will double the amount of vendor and exhibit space that was available in 2012, including adding a large number of booths for tech and video gaming companies. The tech and video gaming area in Comicpalooza 2012 was very successful and demonstrated the vibrant interest Texas has in those fields.
• Comicpalooza & GalactiCon III – GalactiCon III is the once-every-five-year Battlestar Galactica anniversary celebration. It is the largest BSG fan event in the world and already features almost a dozen celebrity guests from the BSG universe. In 2013 Comicpalooza and GalactiCon will be sharing space and guests to create the largest sci-fi fan event in the Texas/Louisiana region.
• Austin Spotlight – In 2013 Comicpalooza will be spotlighting Austin and its amazing selection of artists, writers, and innovative companies in the fields of comics, film, animation, and video gaming. Companies like Samantha Inoue-Harte’s Austin-based animation studio Animetropolis will be working with Comicpalooza to show off some of the awesome projects brewing in the Texas capitol.
• Guests - Comicpalooza’s initial guest list includes more than one legendary artist: Boris Vallejo, Julie Bell, Michael Golden, Mark Texeira, and Joe Jusko. It also features actor Peter Mayhew (Star Wars), voice actor & animator Samantha Inoue-Harte, and Tesla-powered musical group ArcAttack! The current list of participating GalactiCon III guests is Edward James Olmos, Michael Hogan, Alessandra Torresani, Richard Hatch, Dirk Benedict,Herbert Jefferson Jr., Anne Lockhart, Aaron Douglas, Leah Cairns, Luciano Carro, and Jack Stauffer.

The Comicpalooza 2013 website goes live on Aug. 3, 2013!

For the most up to date information on events, guests, admission prices and schedules, visit www.comicpalooza.com. For information on GalactiCon, visit www.galacticon3.com.

Comicpalooza 2011 to Feature the Weasley Twins

Press Release:

Sci-Fi & Fantasy Week Brings Magic and Aliens to Texas

Houston, TX – Feb. 21, 2011– Proving that Texas really is a magical place, Comicpalooza organizers began Sci-Fi & Fantasy Week by announcing that James and Oliver Phelps –the twins who play George and Fred Weasley in the blockbuster Harry Potter movies—will be attending this year’s event. Comicpalooza 2011 will take place May 27-29 in Houston, Texas, less than two months before the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2, the final installment in the Harry Potter movies.

Announcements involving guests from other major sci-fi & fantasy franchises such as Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Star Wars, and Firefly will be released Monday, Feb. 21 through Friday, Feb. 25, which has been designated by Comicpalooza organizers as Sci-Fi & Fantasy Week. The announcements will appear on the Comicpalooza website, Facebook, and Twitter. Events, games, activities, and entertainment will also be announced throughout the week. “Sci-Fi & Fantasy Week is an opportunity for us to give our sci-fi and fantasy fans a taste of what a weekend at Comicpalooza has to offer,” said company spokesman John Simons.

While fans of the science fiction and fantasy genres will have a lot to get excited about, other groups should not feel left out. Comicpalooza is aimed at a diverse audience with eclectic tastes. Say Simons, “We are planning special announcement weeks for other audiences as well. We’re putting together Gaming Week, Violence & Mayhem Week, Horror Week, Anime Week, and Steampunk Week. It’s a lot to cram into one weekend. I don’t think we could do it without magic.”

Comicpalooza is an annual multi-genre convention held in Houston, Texas, and features comics, sci-fi, anime, horror, steampunk, film, and celebrities. The next Comicpalooza will be held May 27-29, 2011 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Sponsors for Comicpalooza include the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, McDonalds, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Splatterfest.com, FUNimation, Bedrock City Comic Company, and the Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP).

Startling Events, LLC is the organizing events company for Comicpalooza. Startling Events, LLC is incorporated in Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston, Texas.

Sci-Fi & Fantasy Week Brings Magic and Aliens to Texas

Event name: Comicpalooza

Event date: May 27-29, 2011

www.comicpalooza.com

www.twitter.com/comicpalooza

www.facebook.com/comicpalooza

Scene on Twitter 11/5/10

Just trying out something new here. Let us know in the comments below if you would like to see it as a regular feature.

Top Wizards of the Coast Creators at Comicpalooza 2010

Press Release:

Top Wizards of the Coast Creators Come Together at Comicpalooza

Houston, TX – Oct. 28, 2010– Comicpalooza, Houston’s largest multi-format convention, welcomes some of Wizards of the Coast’s top creators Larry Elmore, Bruce Cordell, and Chris Sims to its ever expanding guest list. Larry Elmore is one of the most well-known artists to ever shape the image of the Dungeons and Dragons line. Beginning in the 1980’s, Elmore’s highly detailed larger than life fantasy paintings fed the imaginations of millions of gamers. Recently, Elmore has returned to illustrating for D&D, giving a new generation his lustrous vision of the world’s most popular tabletop RPG. Bruce Cordell is not only a key creator of D&D adventures and settings, he’s also a writer who has published novels and short stories in the Forgotten Realms shared universe. After spending years in editing and design and also on the WoTC Insider team, Chris Sims’ credits include Dark Sun, D&D Encounters Season 3: Keep on the Borderlands, and Heroes of Shadow. In addition to drastically expanding its gaming offerings, Comicpalooza will be adding panel discussions and industry events aimed both at players and hopeful game designers.

Comicpalooza (Trademark pending) is an annual multi-genre convention held in Houston, Texas, and features comics, sci-fi, anime, horror, steampunk, New Media, film, and celebrities. The next Comicpalooza will be held May 27-29, 2011 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Sponsors for Comicpalooza include the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, FUNimation, and the Southwest Alternate Media Project (SWAMP).

Startling Events, LLC is the organizing events company for Comicpalooza. Startling Events, LLC is incorporated in Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston, Texas.

Top Wizards of the Coast Creators Come Together at Comicpalooza

Event name: Comicpalooza

Convention date: May 27-29, 2011

www.comicpalooza.com

www.twitter.com/comicpalooza

www.facebook.com/comicpalooza

Comicpalooza (May 2011)

Event Details:

• Category: Comic Book Convention
• Location: Texas
• Date: Friday, May 27th 2011 - Sunday, May 29th 2011
• City: Comic Book Convention in Houston
• Event: Comicpalooza
• Address: George R. Brown Convention Center, 1001 Avenida de las Americas
• Country: US
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Convention Name
	Comicpalooza
Convention Website Address
	http://www.comicpalooza.com
This convention will take place:
	over multiple days.
Start Date
	05/27/2011
End Date
	05/29/2011
About This Convention
	2011 is the Year of the Zombie! Comicpalooza is a multi-format convention featuring comics, science & sci-fi, horror, anime, gaming, celebrities and steampunk. Our events include hundreds of hours of programming, including a comic book live art charity event, a 3-day film festival, anime screenings, panel discussions and workshops on the comics industry, breaking into comics, anime, special effects make-up, movie combat, costuming, acting, directing, and financing your film, and many, many other topics. Entertainment includes laser tag vs. stormtroopers, roller derby scrimmages (including humans vs. zombies!), costume contest with a cash prize, martial arts, sword, and lightsaber combat demonstrations, belly dancers, DJs and live music, kids events, video game tournaments, celebrity RPGs, boardgames, miniatures games, the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and much, much more!
Venue Name and Address
	George R. Brown Convention Center 1001 Avenida De Las Americas Houston, TX 77010 United States Map It
Number of Dealer/Exhibitor Tables
	130
Projected Attendance
	10000
Please select the Category that best describes the convention
	Comic Books
Additional Categories
	Anime Gaming Horror Science Fiction and Fantasy

Choker Creators Coast-to-Coast Tour

Comic artist Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night, Fell) and writer Ben McCool are on tour to promote their new title, Choker. Templesmith writes on his blog, ”This year, you pretty much won’t be able to escape me. (Sorry.) In addition to all these dates for CHOKER #1 and #2, I’ll also be around Chicago for C2E2 as well as NYCC and Heroes Con down in North Carolina. And of course, the big one, SDCC.” He goes on to say that McCool will be on hand for several of the appearances as well. There’s a guarantee of at least one Ben per signing!

 Larry’s Comics in Lowell, MA commissioned an exclusive variant cover of the first issue (pictured at right). It has been delayed because of a printing error but New England fans should be on the lookout for it to get signed at Templesmith’s appearance at Boston Comic Con in April.