BIG WOW! ComicFest Returns this Weekend…May 17-18, 2014

Press Release:

Big Wow! Comic Fest Returns to San Jose on May 17th & 18th, 2014, bringing two great days of Comic Book, Art, Anime, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Gaming and Cosplay FUN! Many of the country’s best vendors of all things cool and collectible will tempt your wallets with the perfect gifts for Geek, Nerds, Fans and True Collectors, everywhere!

Founded in 1979 as “Super-Con”, Big Wow! Comic Fest is not only Northern California’s Longest-Running Comic-Con, but is this year’s Only Major Comics Event in the San Francisco Bay Area!

As the Original Artist-Friendly Show, we have Fantastic Comic Book Creator Guests spanning all decades and genres! This year we are pleased to welcome as our Featured Guests: Charlie Adlard (Artist for the popular “Walking Dead” series), Legendary Illustrator Neal Adams (Batman, X-Men, Avengers), Hellboy Creator Mike Mignola, Fan-Favorites… Travis Charest (Weapons of the Metabarons), Art Adams (X-Men, Godzilla), and more Special Guests including: Dan Brereton (Nocturnals), Mike Zeck (Punisher, Spider-Man, Secret Wars), Joe Linsner (Dawn), Bill Morrison (The Simpsons, Futurama, Disney Poster Artist), Alex Nino (Dead Ahead), Sergio Aragones (Mad Magazine, Groo the Wanderer), Liam Sharp (Gears of War), and many more confirmed and added to our website! Over 200 Comic Creators!

Meet, get autographs, and learn the secrets of Show Biz from our spectacular CELEBRITY GUESTS:

GODZILLA is in the House…Meet Kenpachiro Satsuma, in 1984’s RETURN OF GODZILLA, he would land the title role of Godzilla and continue as the King of Monsters for the next 11 years. This is first time to America in over 20 years.

Also from Japan, meet Satoshi Furuya he enthralled generations of children with his portrayal of the original Ultraman.

Jane Wiedlin is the sexy and charismatic guitar player for The GoGos! One of the best known Rock/Pop groups to emerge from the 1980′s, Jane is back at work, creating a stage production for her self published comic series “Lady Robotica”.

Also Appearing will be: Kevin Bernard Grevioux (Co-Writer, Producer and actor in “Underworld”, “I, Frankenstein” and comic book writer), Damion Poitier (Avengers (in the last 2 minutes, he was the surprise Villian), Star Trek, Hunter Prey…and the son of Sidney Poitier). Also, C. Andrew Nelson (Darth Vader), Parker Stevenson (Hardy Boys), Richard Kiel (007 “Jaws”), William Katt (Greatest American Hero, House)…and more

COSPLAY Guests Jessica Nigri, Riddle (star of “Heroes of Cosplay”), Ivy Doomkitty, Anthony Misano… and many more will all be on site. Along with hundreds and hundreds of amazing fans all in costume.

Super-Star Cartoonist and Big Wow! Bigwig Frank Cho (Liberty Meadows, 50 Girls 50), will teach a 90-minute Figure Drawing Workshop with a live model, demonstrating fundamentals of technique and style. Any aspiring artist is welcome to sit in the audience and work along with Frank, who will provide priceless tips and critiques! And Inker Extraordinaire Mick Gray (Starman, Promethea) will once again provide a weekend-long inking demonstration as he works on his current comic book assignment at his booth! Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see professional comic artists at work!

In conjunction with San Francisco’s Cartoon Art Museum, Big Wow! Comic Fest proudly presents “BATMAN!, 75 years a Hero” Featuring Seven Decades of Original Art and Memorabilia from the DC Comics world-famous Super Hero. Also, there will be 2 additional shows, “The Art of MIKE ZECK!” And “The ART of FAMOUS MONSTERS”.

And Speaking of Famous Monsters… We are hosting the 1st Annual “Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi Film Festival” with the legendary Famous Monsters Magazine… who are also hosting our Japanese guest, and presenting the “Famous Monsters of Filmland” Pavilion with guests, props, make-up and costume designers and more.

And no Big Wow! ComicFest is complete without our:

Live Art Auction, Costume/Cosplay Contest (Saturday night directly after the show), Gaming, Card & Role-Playing Games, “Creature Features Live” with host: John Stanley, showing the original “Night of the Living Dead.”

Panel Discussions, including: Creating Comics, The Art of Self-Publishing, and how to Design and Create Your Own Costumes! There will be 5 rooms of programming going on, throughout the show.

Tickets are available on the website. And we have tickets available at over 30 participating comic book stores around Northern California.

Admission is only:

1 Day Adult $25.00 (at the door)

2 Day Adult $35.00 (at the door)

1 Day Child (8-14) $10.00 (at the door)

2 Day Child $15.00 (at the door)

CHILDREN UNDER 8 ARE FREE!

*Save $5.00 Off Admission! Buy tickets online, or at many local Comic Book Stores!

FOR MORE INFORMATION we will always have guest and programming updates for the show at: www.bigwowcomicfest.com. Also, most of our Guests will be available before the show for online, phone and in some cases, personal appearance Interviews.

Check us out on Facebook and Twitter!

Hartford Comic Con 2014

GA – Cosplay & Consoles

Press Release:

LSE Entertainment’s premier public event on Thursday February 20th will be an unforgettable experience. The combination of video games, geek culture décor/themes throughout the venue and cosplay superstars in attendance will make this an incredible event. During the course of the night there will be prize giveaways, mini game tournaments, and an exhibition match by some of the top fighting game players in Atlanta. Special guests and VIP attendees will enjoy their own section with a separate bar, server staff and seating for the game stations. Regular admission patrons can enjoy the open play area and dancing all night! Cosplay is encouraged! For tickets visit this link… (21+ only)

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LSE ENTERTAINMENT

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LINDZE A’ LA MODE
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KATIE COSPLAYS
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MONIKA LEE
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BACKWARD COMPATIBLE
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RSVP on Facebook!

CosmoLava
45 13th Street, Atlanta, Georgia 30309

NC – Free Comic Book Day 2013

Adam Hughes, Brian Stelfreeze, Tony Harris, Jason Latour, Cully Hamner, Francesco Francavilla, and many more sign at Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find on Saturday May 4, 2013 for Free Comic Book Day!

Free Comic Book Day 2013 @ Heroes is going to be our biggest and best yet! Come out on May 4th to meet more great comic creators than we have ever had at this fun annual event! Also, it says it right there in the name but in case you missed it, there will be lots of FREE COMICS to choose from too! Check out our awesome guest list and save the date!

• CHRIS BRUNNER – Artist: Loose Ends, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, The Ride

• IAN FLYNN – Writer: Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man

• FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA – Writer/Artist: Black Beetle Artist: Captain America & Black Widow, Detective Comics

• SANFORD GREENE – Artist: Rotten Apple, Deadpool, Wonder Girl, Method Man GN

• CULLY HAMNER – Artist: Red, The Question, Detective Comics, Black Lightning

• JOHN HAIRSTON JR. – Painter

• DUSTIN HARBIN – Writer/Artist: DIARY COMICS, Nutted!, DHARBIN!

• TONY HARRIS – Artist: JSA: Whistling Skull, Ex Machina, Starman, War Heroes

• ADAM HUGHES – Artist: Before Watchmen: Doctor Manhattan, Fairest, Wonder Woman, Catwoman

• JUSTIN JORDAN – Writer: Legend of Luther Strode, Superboy, Deathstroke, Green Lantern: New Guardians

• JASON LATOUR – Writer: Winter Soldier, Loose Ends,Wolverine: Japan’s Most Wanted Artist: B.P.R.D., Django Unchained

• JACKIE LEWIS – Artist: Play Ball

• TRADD MOORE – Artist: Legend of Luther Strode, Legends of the Dark Knight

• ERAKLIS PETMEZAS – Writer/Artist: Last Cigarette

• JAY POTTS – Writer/Artist: World of Hurt

• RIDDLE – Cosplayer

• BUDD ROOT – Writer/Artist: Cavewoman

• ANDY SMITH – Artist: The First, Weapon X, Green Lantern, WWE Heroes, Flex and Tone

• BRIAN STELFREEZE – Artist: Domino, Matador, Batman: Shadow of the Bat

NOTE that free sketches are at the discretion of the artists, and are not guaranteed. So, mark that date on your calendar folks! Get here early on Saturday, May 4th at Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find will be a great time and you won’t want to miss it!

Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find 
1957 E. 7th Street, Charlotte, NC 28204

Las Vegas Comic Expo Relocates to the Riviera

Las Vegas Comic Expo, previously announced to be held at the Alexis Park All Suite Resort, will be relocating to a new venue, the Riviera Hotel and Casino, directly located on the Las Vegas Strip!!!

Due to the flash floods from the recent rain storms, the original hotel and halls located at the Alexis Park Resort were damaged beyond immediate repair to house Las Vegas Comic Expo. Drywall, carpet and a lack of power proved too much to repair in such a short window, thus making the shift to the Riviera necessary.

We sincerely apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused any of our guests, vendors and attendees. But oddly enough this unfortunate circumstance actually has led to an expansion for the show with a larger convention hall and plenty of space for attendees to browse and shop. The new location at the Riviera will be able to showcase and accommodate the entire guest list of over 50 of the top names in comics and entertainment all united with the exhibitors and artist alley in one grand exhibit hall. The gaming, panels and programs will be conveniently located adjacent to the main hall as well.

The dates of the convention hours remain the same for Las Vegas Comic Expo: Saturday, September 29 (10AM to 7PM) and Sunday, September 30 (10AM to 5PM).

All tickets previously issued will be honored and redirected to Las Vegas Comic Expo at the Riviera. Tickets are still available for sale in advance as well as at the door on the days of the event.

Located on the Las Vegas Strip, The Riviera Hotel and Casino is just a quick cab or shuttle ride from McCarran International Airport (LAS) and only minutes away from downtown Las Vegas and the Fremont Street Experience.

The hotel offers guests amenities of many dining options including a buffet, food court and steakhouse as well as the Oasis Pool, a barber shop, beauty salon, tattoo parlor (What happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas), gaming casino and other forms of entertainment and conveniences. The hotel has ample free public parking, and is also a short walk to the public monorail system.

The Riviera is located at 2901 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV 89109.

For more information about Las Vegas Comic Expo, including latest updates, please visit us at:

Website: http://www.LasVegasComicExpo.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/LasVegasComicExpo
Twitter: http://twitter.com/lvcomicexpo

HOTEL INFORMATION
RIVIERA HOTEL AND CASINO INFORMATION:

We are making arrangements with the Riviera Casino and Hotel to offer our guests of Las Vegas Comic Expo similar room rates as we had offered to our guests at the Alexis Park All Suite Resort.

We will have updated information to reserve hotel rooms within the next day.

Once we have that information, we will send it out to everyone.
FOR THOSE BOOKED THROUGH THE ALEXIS PARK ALL SUITE RESORT:

If you used the “Las Vegas Comic Expo” promotional rate, you have two options.

OPTION 1:

You can maintain your reservation at the Alexis Park Resort.

The Alexis Park All Suite Resort will run a 14 seat shuttle service, complimentary to and from the Riviera Casino and Hotel, taking our guests door to door. The shuttle service will run on Saturday and Sunday from the Alexis Park every 2 hours at 8:00am, 10:00am, 12:00pm noon, 2:00pm, 4:00pm, 6:00pm, and 8:00pm.

They will also continue to have complimentary shuttle service for their guests between the airport and the Alexis Park All Suite Resort.
OPTION 2:

You can cancel your room at the Alexis Park All Suite Resort and opt to make a reservation at The Riviera Hotel and Casino. The deadline to cancel at The Alexis Park Resorts without penalty is 48 hours prior to the date of your reservation.
For those who made reservations at Alexis Park outside of the Las Vegas Comic Expo promotions, you will need to discuss with Alexis Park about your options.

THE CONFIRMED 100 OFFER:

If you took advantage of the “Confirmed 100 Offer”, your free admission to Las Vegas Comic Expo, as part of our free pass promotion will still of course be honored as long as the following applies:

If you keep your Alexis Park reservation, you will still receive the free admission pass(es).

If you transfer your reservation to the Riviera Hotel and Casino, you will still receive the free admission pass(es).

We will cross check all reservations made with Alexis Park and the Riviera.

With the current situation, the easiest way to claim your free admission is to bring a government issued photo ID (driver’s license, passport, etc…) to the Will Call area during the pre-registration or show times.

HeroesCon 2011 Event Schedule

HeroesCon has released the full schedule for next week’s convention! HeroesCon takes place on June 3 – 5, 2011 at the Charlotte Convention Center (501 S. College St, Charlotte, NC 28202). For the full guest list and more details about the convention, please check out their website at the link!

Press Release:

THURSDAY, JUNE 2nd

PRE-REGISTRATION BOOTH OPENS
Attendees who have purchased advance 3-day passes may pick up their wristbands, badges, and other incentive materials at this time at the Pre-Registration booth located on the College St. Concourse in the convention center.

GUEST, SMALL PRESS, & EXHIBITOR REGISTRATION OPEN
Invited guests, persons who have purchased space in Artists Alley, and exhibitors may pick up their registration materials, including the badges they will need to get on the convention floor for setup, at the Pre-Registration booth located on the College St. Concourse in the convention center.

GUESTS, SMALL PRESS, & EXHIBITOR SETUP OPEN
The convention floor will be open until 8pm for SETUP ONLY. Only persons with the appropriate badges will be allowed onto the convention floor.

SETUP CLOSES
All persons must be done with their setup and OUT OF THE HALL by 8.00pm. NO EXCEPTIONS. All night security will be provided, but we strongly suggest that you make sure your booth is secure before you leave for the night.

REGISTRATION CLOSES
Registration for advance ticket holders, guests, exhibitors, etc., will reopen at 7.00am in the morning.

SETUP OPENS
Guests, Small Press, & Exhibitors will be allowed onto the floor for setup at this time. Only persons with the appropriate badges will be allowed onto the convention floor, and only once a member of the convention’s upper management is on-hand to open the doors, for security purposes. NOTE: All items MUST be out of the aisles before the hall opens to the public at 11.00 am. No exceptions!

HEROESCON DAY ONE OPENS TO ADVANCE 3-DAY PASS HOLDERS ONLY
Note this is ONLY for those who purchased a 3-day pass on or before May 31.

HEROESCON 2011 DAY ONE OPENS TO GENERAL PUBLIC
All ticket holders will be allowed onto the floor at this time.

SCAD-Visualizing Dynamic Anatomy
Room 201
SCAD Professor Dove McHargue and artist for the Oni Press book “All Saints Day” will be offering a workshop on Drawing Dynamic Anatomy. Dove will demonstrate how to use real world anatomy to make figures kinetic, and how to use anatomy to be able to create realistic figures that are unique and dynamic. Dove will also examine how to use those dynamic figures to effectively act in sequential art. Bring supplies to draw with and on and prepare to have fun!

Green Lantern Panel
Room 207BCD
Green Lantern has been around since 1940 and after thousands of comic books, Hollywood has finally come calling. Please join Joe Staton, Joe Quinones, Shane Davis, and Neal Adams as they discuss their various takes on the character and how he has remained popular over the years. NOTE: Anyone wearing yellow or wooden clothing will not be allowed to enter the auditorium for obvious security reasons. Nice try Sinestro.

Teaching Comics
Room 203A
In the past decade or so, Graphic Novels have invaded the syllabi of many colleges and Universities throughout the country. Join moderator Shawn Daughhetee and Professors Craig Fisher, Mike Kobre and Alan Rauch as they discuss what is involved in teaching comics at the college level. We will be taking attendance

Art of Akira
Room 209
Join Joe Peacock as he presents some exciting pieces from his massive collection of still art, storyboards and animation cells from the ground-breaking Anime masterpiece Akira.

Comic Twart
Room 206
Every monday one of the members of Comictwart picks a subject for the group to draw over the course of the week.  In the last year and and a half, using that very simple formula, Comictwart.com has become one of comics’ most popular art blogs.  Join “twartists” Dan Panosian, Francesco Francavilla, Ron Salas, Tom Fowler, Declan Shalvey, and Dave Johnson, with moderator Chris Sims of Comics Alliance, for an entertaining Q&A while the group sketches a subject taken from you the audience! All sketches to be donated to the HeroesCon Annual Art Auction!

Storytelling with Michael Golden
Room 208AB
Plan to spend an hour with one of the best storytellers in the business Michael Golden as he is interviewed by his biographer Renee Witterstaetter (Excess: The Art of Michael Golden)

QuickDraw
Room 203B
A HeroesCon tradition. We give you #2 pencils and Bristol board; you give us 20 minutes and your feverish inspiration. Then we have an Art Instructor judge the results and we, in turn, give the winner some fabulous prizes. It’s a win-win. Prizes are awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the following age categories 0-10, 11-15 and 16 to 99. Any participant over the age of 100 is an automatic winner! The Quickdraw is held on all three days, so we need those pencils back!! Be there!

Nick Cardy- A Golden Artist in a Silver Age
Room 207BCD
Come celebrate with us as we look back on the fabulous 60 plus year career of one of the great comic artist as we delve into an hour of all things Nick Cardy. Please join us as we say thanks and examine why his fabulous art endures! Join Moderator John Coates along with Nick himself, Todd Dezago, Tony Harris, Adam Hughes, Cully Hamner and others.

Taking over the Property- The Comic Books
Room 203A
Well, we can’t take a topic this juicy and just leave it for the comic strippers. So we are going to discuss the challenges involved in taking over and re-imagining existing comic book characters. Our list of creators is so exciting this panel requires no other descriptions : Richard Case (Doom Patrol), Tony Harris (Starman) and Jim Starlin (Warlock, Captain Marvel)

Everything ARCHIE
Room 206
HeroesCon All Ages Celebration continues on as Comic News Insider’s Jimmy Aquino brings together Paul Kaminski, Jon Gray, Ian Flynn and Jim Amash to discuss the creative process from the folks who bring us all things Riverdale as well as all things SONIC!!!!

Comics Goes to Movies: Working for the Movies and Television
Room 209
Hoo-ray for Hollywood! What’s it like working for the movies? Find out by joining The Beat’s Heidi MacDonald as she talks Tinseltown with Tommy Lee Edwards (Batman Begins) Nick Derington (Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly), Peter Krause (storyboarding) and Geof Darrow (The MATRIX)

SCAD-Composition & Clarity
Room 201
For a comic to succeed, artistically or commercially, it needs to read clearly, and at the heart of clarity in comics is strong composition. Chris Schweizer will teach you about clarity in composition, from using value to define planes and visually invest your reader in a scene, to identifying and avoiding any of the six types of compositional tangents that can pop up in even the best artist’s work to ruin a panel

Project: Rooftop –Superhero Fashion
Room 203B
Project: Rooftop is where cartoonists and illustrators bring their costume design skills to task in tribute to the superheroes and villains we’ve grown up with. P:R is intended to promote the idea of superhero costume redesigning as a skill, specific to superhero media.  Join Dean Trippe, Joel Carroll and Ming Doyle as they discuss why there’s more to looking super than wearing your underwear on the outside of your pants.
ALSO: Look to 4:00 PM for a special Project: Rooftop feature!

COVER ART: The ART of the First Impressions
Room 207BCD
What sells a comic? How do you incorporate 22 pages of story
and art into one single illustration? Dollar Bin’s Adam Daughhetee will ask a group of masters: Adam Hughes, Cliff Chiang, Chrissie Zullo, Skottie Young and Frank Cho. Looking at the HeroesCon Guest list, this particular panel topic became top priority for all. Be there.

Project: Rooftop-QUICKDRAW SPECIAL
Room 203B
Plan on joining us for a first time ever Project: Rooftop/Quickdraw where we civilians can try our hand at redesigning specific character. The winner will get their drawing posted on the Project: Rooftop web site.

Kickstarter: A New Way To Fund Personal Projects
Room 206
Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every month, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of comics, music, film, art, design and other creative fields. Join Dustin Harbin, Tony Harris, Jay Potts, and Jeremy Bastian as they discuss their experiences using this new resource to publish comic projects.  www.kickstarter.com

Taking over the Property-The Comic Strips
Room 203A
The Comic Strips—As always, this is another great year for the classic comic strips at HeroesCon. How do you follow a cartooning legend and take those already established characters and work to make them your own? Mike Rhode will ask veteran cartoonists Jim Scancarelli (Gasoline Alley), Marcus Hamilton (Dennis the Menace), Alex Saviuk (Spider-man) and we will be joined by welcome veteran newbie: Joe Staton (Dick Tracy)

Heroes Discussion Group #30 Superman Earth One
Room 209
This was one of the best selling graphic novels of the past twelve months. Join the Heroes Discussion Group as we take the opportunity to pose as many questions as we can to the GN’s super-star artist Shane Davis! Copies of the book will be available after the discusion for brief signing.

SCAD-Mini-Comics: The Whole Package
Room 201
David Allan Duncan, cartoonist and professor of Sequential Art at SCAD-Savannah, offers insight, tips and instruction in the creation of one of the most popular stepping stones into the comics industry: mini-comics. David’s workshop focuses on the medium, production and distribution of mini-comics as well as the planning, storytelling, and drawing that goes into their creation. Materials will be provided, so come join the fun!

A Tribute to Joe Simon
Room 208AB
Join Titan Books Editor and special friend of HeroesCon Steve Saffel (Spiderman: The Icon, The Best of Simon & Kirby, Simon & Kirby Superheroes) as he discusses the career of Joe Simon. In addition to a ton of fun stories about Mr. Simon, Steve will present three short films about the life of this pioneer comic artist.

Drink & Draw Social Club Preview
Room 203B
The Drink and Draw Social Club will convene tonight at 7:30 PM at FUEL Pizza (right across the street from the convention center). Meet D.D.S.C. founders Dave Johnson, Dan Panosian and Jeff Johnson as they give a brief history of the club. Nobody is going to be driving, however drawing is a different thing altogether! Please draw responsibly.

HEROESCON DAY ONE CLOSES TO PUBLIC
At this time all ticket-holders must leave the hall for the evening. Hall will reopen to the public Saturday at 10.00 am.

HALL A LOCKED DOWN
All persons, including exhibitors, guests, and staff, must be off the hall floor at this time. Please be sure your booth is secured. We cannot be held responsible for your items, although we will provide overnight security for the hall.

DRINK AND DRAW SOCIAL CLUB
@ Fuel Pizza
Dave Johnson, Dan Panosian, and Jeff Johnson, the founders of D.D.S.C. invite everyone to join us across the street at Fuel Pizza for a night of drinking, drawing and who knows what else!

SCAD-Visualizing Writing
Room 201
There is a lot of information on how to structure story, but how do you get a reader to invest in your story? Good storytelling in sequential art starts with a written story that utilizes visualization and pacing, and results in writing to draw. Anthony Fisher will walk you through the steps of visualizing story in writing by using emotion, action and design of characters, as well as scene staging to visually pace story.

Richard Thompson: A Celebration
Room 209
Is Cul-De Sac the best comic strip being published today? Perhaps, but one thing is for certain, it is the best drawn and the funniest. Okay, that’s two things. Please join Mike Rhode and some fellow strip creators as we sit down and examine the art of Mr. Thompson. In addition to discussing craft and daily deadlines, we will see if Richard can provide any insight as to whether poor Petey will make it through the entire soccer season without having a psychotic breakdown. Ahhh, total Bliss (haven).

Heroes Discussion Group #31: Wednesday Comics
Room 208
The break-away hit from last year is being featured at HeroesCon 2011. Plan to join guest moderator Swain Hunt and creators Joe Quinones, Ryan Sook, Shawn “Cheeks” Galloway, John Arcudi and Brian Stelfreeze as they discuss the challenges of a unique page size, the pressure of a weekly deadline and how they approached their particular characters. Don’t miss this! Copies of the book will be available after the discusion for brief signing.

C’mon People: There’s a War Comic On
Room 203A
Pull up a bunk us and join the platoon as we examine War Comics in their myriad of forms. Joining moderator extraordinaire John Coates will be Nick Cardy (The Artist at War), Michael Golden (the NAM), Matt Kindt (Superspy) and Becky Cloonan (Northlanders)

Approaches to Humor
Room 209
Sure the convention is HeroesCon, but let’s never forget the funny side of the comic book world. Join The Beat’s Heidi MacDonald as she sits down with three of the very best cartoonists in the business. They are able to me us smile and even laugh out loud: Richard Thompson (Cul De Sac), Roger Langridge (The Muppets, Fred the Clown) and Evan Dorkin (Milk & Cheese, Yo Gabba Gabba!) are three of the wizards who put the comic in comic.

Matt Fraction: FEAR Itself
Room 207BCD
Join us for a scintillating conversation between HeroesCon’s very own Doug Merkle and the master-mind behind Marvel’s summer Magnum Opus Fear Itself, Matt Fraction. This will be a panel you’ll look back upon often as the summer wears on.

Color Me Talented
Room 203A
Join Dollar Bin’s Adam Daughhetee as he sits down with Laura Martin (Planetary, Astonishing X-Men), Rachelle Rosenberg (Captain America), Charlie Kirchoff (Hellraiser, Doctor Who), Matt Wilson (Thor), Brian Reber (X-Men) discuss this integral aspect of comic art—the coloring.

Frank Cho Draws Sexy Women
Room 208AB
Don’t be misled by the Title! This presentation is all about Frank Cho drawing sexy women. The audience selects a character for Frank to draw. Then Frank spends the hour drawing it and you the lucky audience gets to watch the creative process unfold through the miracle of A/V technology. The session ends with a live auction of the finished piece. Frank has done this in several other cities and it has always been a big hit. Charlotte will be no exception

Designing Comics
Room 203A
What is it that draws your wandering eye to one particular book on a shelf that is brimming with loud, look-at-me, multi-colored covers? It is the design of the book that makes that first impression count. Join cartoonist Rich Barrett (Nathan Sorry) as he dissects the art and function of Design with some of the most important and innovative names in the business: Jonathan Hickman (FF, The Nightly News), Chris Pitzer (all things Adhouse) Matt Kindt (Superspy) Drew Weing (Set to Sea) and Jim Rugg (Afrodisiac)

4th Annual Inkwell Awards        1st live awards ceremony
Room 209
Host: Bob Almond presents this year’s winners of the coveted Inkwell Awards. After the live presentation, there will be a special Q & A with the winners. Ethan Van Sciver will be our auctioneer for the previously mentioned small, live auction following the ceremony.

Heroes Discussion Group #32—Cinderella-From Fabletown with Love
Room 207BCD
Please schedule your weekend properly
so you will have time to join writer Chris Roberson and cover artist, Charlotte’s own Chrissie Zullo as they discuss everyone’s favorite secret agent and shoe provocateur. At last year’s HeroesCon we discussed Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall. This will be the perfect follow-up.
Copies of the book will be available after the discusion for brief signing.

SCAD-Creating Maquettes
Room 201
Maquettes are a large part of the entertainment industry in film, animation, video games, sequential art, toys, and toy design for all of these markets. Professor John Larison will talk about and show you the different media applicable to sculpting maquettes, and go over the basics of maquette building during his workshop. Sculpting is not easy, but it is definitely fun. John will let those who come to his workshop play with the material and tools and learn about the cost involved for each material.

Comics Alliance
Room 206
Comics Alliance is a comic website owned by AOL. If you’re not familiar with us, we’re currently the #1 most visited comics site in America and were awesomely nominated for an Eisner this year! Come see why this is one of the most popular site on the web.

The Master of Screaming Metal: A Tribute to Moebius
Room 209
He’s one of the greatest comics’ artists of all time, a man who’s given us vistas of the Old West and of science-fiction planets unsurpassed in their beauty and elegance. He’s Jean Giraud—pseudonym “Moebius”—and for this year’s Heroes Con, cartoonist Ben Towle and blogger Craig Fischer have teamed up to celebrate Moebius’ art and 50-year career. This “mega-panel” will include a number of events. First is a screening of Moebius Redux (Hasko Baumann, 2007, 70 minutes), a documentary chronicle of Moebius’ life that covers his role in Les Humanoïdes Associés and the radical revitalization of French comics in the 1970s and his contributions to such films as Alien (1979), Tron (1982), and Alejandro Jodorowsky’s unproduced adaptation of Dune. The panel will continue with Craig’s playful analysis of a scene from Moebius and Jean-Michel Charlier’s Blueberry—simply the best comic-book Western ever—and conclude with Ben interviewing stellar writer and artist Geof Darrow (Hard Boiled, Shaolin Cowboy), himself a friend and admirer of Moebius. Join us for a wild ride on an alien pterodactyl, won’t you?

FF: Retooling the Flagship
Room 208AB
Pull up a pew and join Heroes’ own Doug Merkle as he sits down with the dynamic creative team of Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting and they describe the challenges of retooling a legend: The Marvel Universe flagship the Fantastic Four or should we say, the Future Foundation? (Yes, yes we should)

Comics Goes to Movies–Adapted Work
Room 203A
Big Budget movies developed from comic properties is a cottage industry unto itself. But what do the comic creators really think about the adaptations of their concepts? Please join The Beat’s Heidi MacDonald as she questions Cully Hamner (Red), Roy Thomas (Conan), Jeff Parker (X-Men: First Class) and John Arcudi (The Mask) during this exciting hour.

QuickDraw
Room 203 B
A HeroesCon tradition. We give you #2 pencils and Bristol board; you give us 20 minutes and your feverish inspiration. Then we have an art instructor judge the results and we, in turn, give the winner some fabulous prizes. It’s a win-win. Prizes are awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the following age categories 0-10, 11-15 and 16 to 99. Any participant over the age of 100 is an automatic winner! The Quickdraw is held on all three days, so we need those pencils back!! Be there!

SCAD-Manga Studio
Room 201
From panel layout to finished inks, Manga Studio is the most powerful software there is that specifically caters to the needs of comic book artists. It has amazing tools to layout panels, its drawing and inking tools are extremely natural using a tablet or Cintiq, and you can create and manage entire projects with astounding ease. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Follow along with SCAD professor, Pat Bollin, as he demos his digital drawing techniques using Manga Studio, and discusses the pros and cons of using digital techniques vs. good old-fashioned ink on paper.

Costuming: How To Make It Work
Room 208AB
Open discussion about costuming; from character selection to reference to supplies to fabric choices to construction, and now that you have the costumes: storage, cleaning and maintenance. Chris Donio and Riki Riddle LeCotey will give a general  overview on how they approach costuming.

Portfolio Review
Room 203B
Bob Scheck is the Editor-in-Chief of Legendary Pictures’ new line of comics & graphic novels, Legendary Comics. Bob and Greg Tumbarello his Assistant Editor will sit down and take the time to look at your art
portfolios.

Taking on the Property—ICONOGRAPHY
Room 207BCD
Comic News Insider’s Jimmy Aquino sits down with Tim Sale, Ed McGuinness, Darwyn Cooke and Don Rosa as they discuss the challenges of taking a comics icon and putting their own original stamp on the characters yet still remaining true to the original vision. What a way to end HeroesCon Day Two!

HEROESCON DAY TWO CLOSES TO PUBLIC
At this time all ticket-holders must leave the hall for the evening. Hall will reopen to the public Sunday at 11:00 AM.

HALL A LOCKED DOWN
All persons, including exhibitors, guests, and staff, must be off the hall floor at this time. Please be sure your booth is secured. We cannot be held responsible for your items, although we will provide overnight security for the hall.

HEROESCON ANNUAL ART AUCTION
Westin Ballroom
The HeroesCon Annual Art Auction is one of the most well-known and enduring traditions on the convention circuit. Fans come from all over the country for the chance to bid pieces of original art not available anywhere else, donated by our guests to help defray the incredible cost of putting on the convention!
And best of all, the Art Auction is a great chance to hobnob with pros in a relaxed, fun environment–it’s just one of the things that have made us so popular with fans and pros alike! Event scheduled to begin close to 8.00–seriously!

The number of donations we get is so immense, this year we’re going to try and pick a representative group of pieces to take to the “live” Art Auction. But if you can’t make it to the Art Auction, you can bid on the other pieces in our new Silent Auction all weekend long! Check at the Info Booth or at the Art Auction stage for more details!

SETUP OPENS
Guests, Small Press, & Exhibitors will be allowed onto the floor for setup at this time. Only persons with the appropriate badges will be allowed onto the convention floor, and only once a member of the convention’s upper management is on-hand to open the doors, for security purposes. NOTE: All items MUST be out of the aisles before the hall opens to the public at 11.00 am. No exceptions!

HEROESCON DAY ONE OPENS TO ADVANCE 3-DAY PASS HOLDERS ONLY
Note this is ONLY for those who purchased 3-day passes on or before May 31.

HEROESCON DAY THREE OPENS TO PUBLIC
All ticket holders will be allowed onto the floor at this time.

Historical Comics
Room 203A
Blending real historical facts and humor based comics into something provocative and highly entertaining is no feat. Join Chris Schweizer (Crogan’s )as he leads the discussion with Ben Towle (Amelia Earhart), Matt Kindt (Superspy) and Don Rosa (Uncle Scrooge) as they explain the intricacies of the creative juggling act.

SCAD–Story-Driven Character Design
Room 201
Well thought out character creation is essential to the comic making process. In this workshop SCAD Community Education Instructor, Rashad Doucet, will examine a variety of popular characters and show just how much strong, original story concepts are visually expressed in our favorite heroes and villains. Participants will also be given the fundamental processes needed to form and/or enhance their own creations.

WEB COMICS–Group Effort
Room 206
Meet the Small Press groups who have developed their own multi-strip brand: Curt Franklin, Chris Haley, Mike Maihack, Kevin Church, and Benjamin Birdie will sit down and talk to Comic News Insider’s Jimmy Aquino about creativity in the Small Press World.

HAMMER TIME (or more specifically it’s Mjolnir Time)
Room 207BCD
Did you hear there is a mega budget movie about The Mighty Thor featuring Oscar-winners Hannibal Lecter, Padme Amidala and directed by Professor Lockhart (on Amnesia leave from Hogwarts). Well, let’s remember that Thor started as a comic book long before the Nordic folk were offering tithes to the Nordic Thunder God. So plan to join Dollar Bin’s Adam Daughhetee as he sits down with Matt Fraction, Roger Langridge, and Jonathan Hickman to discuss their various takes on the superhero that is so popular they named Thursday after him.

Heroes Discussion #29–The Outfit
Room 209
A few years ago, the Heroes Discussion group covered Darwyn Cooke’s The Hunter and we had so much fun, we thought we should discuss The Outfit next. Join us as we discuss this fabulous graphic novel with its creator Darwyn Cooke! Copies of the book will be available after the discusion for brief signing.

Inking Panel
Room 208AB
The inker is the true MVP of any comic book creative team. They make the finished product look finished and professional. They need to add their own individual touch to the art but still maintain the flavor of the original pencil work. How do they accomplish this? Join Big Dog Studio’s Brandon Padgett along with Tim Townsend, Art Thibert, Mark Morales, Bob McLeod and Bob Almond as they discuss the fine art of the fine line; the tools they use, the challenges they encounter; the variety of penciling styles they need to negotiate. This panel will be a must see before…

Portfolio Review Portfolio Review
Room 203A
Bob Scheck is the Editor-in-Chief of Legendary Pictures’ new line of comics & graphic novels, Legendary Comics. Bob and Greg Tumbarello his Assistant Editor will sit down and take the time to look at your art portfolios.

Adam Hughes & Kevin Nowlan: One on One
Room 208AB
Let’s take two great artists, both known for their draftsmanship, their design and their pure drawing talent, put them in the same room and talk for an hour about their art. This will be one enlightening and entertaining conversation.

Family Friendly Comics
Room 209
This panel has become a yearly tradition at HeroesCon. We take pride in this convention being for the entire family and what better way to celebrate Shelton Drum’s vision than by spotlighting comics the entire family can read. Comic News Insider’s Jimmy Aquino will interview Andy Runton (Owly), Chris Schweizer (Crogan’s Vengeance), Chris Giarusso (Mini Marvels), Jamie Cosely (Cody the Cavalier) and come see what all the
buzz is about

Horror Comics
Room 207BCD
Horror comics are more popular today than practically any other genre (okay besides the spandex crowd). We are having a group of specialists sit down and explain to us why horror endures and what makes a great horror product. Join Dollar Bin’s Adam Daughhetee as he discusses with Bernie Wrightson (Swamp Thing), Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) what is under the bed and why we should fear it.

SCAD-Comics in PaintTool SAI
Room 201
Sarah ‘Pickles’ Dill, a sequential art graduate student at SCAD, will be demonstrating the advantages of PaintTool SAI, a comprehensive and affordable alternative for beginning comic artists. Using SAI, an artist can create comics of all sizes, styles, and colors. Coloring, sketching, inking, vector demos and instruction will be included.

QuickDraw
Room 203B
A HeroesCon tradition. We give you #2 pencils and Bristol board; you give us 20 minutes and your feverish inspiration. Then we have an Art Instructor judge the results and we, in turn, give the winner some fabulous prizes. It’s a win-win. Prizes are awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in the following age categories 0-10, 11-15 and 16 to 99. Any participant over the age of 100 is an automatic winner! Last day—but we still need those pencils back!

THE WEB COMICS: Solo Shocker
Room 207BCD
Join Rich Barrett, Tom Scioli, Jay Potts and Drew Weing as they tell Dollar Bin’s Adam Daughhetee what it’s like go it alone making some of the most exciting Web comics out there in the ether.

ANIMATION NATION
Room 209
We have an unusually large amount of professional animators lurking in our artist alley. It is only fitting we ask them to join us to discuss the Animation Industry and what it’s like to earn a living in this fast paced exciting world. Plan to join Eric Canete, Sean Galloway, Jeff Johnson and Dave Johnson for a spirited (and animated—sorry) hour of conversation

SKETCH CHARLOTTE
Room 203B
Who are SKETCH Charlotte and what are they doing loitering in Showmars every Thursday evening? Find out as we wind down on Sunday afternoon as we are invited to eaves drop on a special meeting of the Queen City artists as they discuss Comics in general and HeroesCon 2011 in the specific. What a great way to end a memorable weekend.

SCAD: Breaking down Breakdowns
Room 201
The most important stage in the creation of sequential art is the development of breakdowns, where the visual planning of sequential art originates. To have successful breakdowns, a structured philosophical approach is necessary. Through this approach, Doug Dabbs wills show you how to create sequential art that is successful in telling a clear story that emotionally engages the reader.

Adapting Licensed Properties to Comics
Room 209
Since the era when the great EC Segar produced the Charlie Chaplin Comedy Capers comic strip for the Chicago Herald, licensed properties have been joined at the hip with comic books. Working with already existing characters and concepts create their own set of artistic challenges. Please join Roger Langridge (The Muppets), Amy Mebberson (Disney) and James Silvani (Darkwing Duck) Georges Jeanty (Buffy) as they enlighten us on the internal workings of this important comic niche. Moderated by Heroes’ in-house counsel Heather McKinney, we may have saved the best for last!

HEROESCON CLOSES TO PUBLIC
At this time all ticket-holders must leave the hall. Thanks for attending HeroesCon 2010. Before you leave, please be sure to pick up your advance tickets for Heroes Convention 2012 (Our 30th Anniversary Extravaganza!). You will be first in line for any incentives or other special offers we feature throughout the year!

LOADING DOCK OPENS
At this time the door to the Loading Dock (located on Stonewall between Brevard and College) will open for persons possessing dock passes. ACCESS TO THE DOCK WILL NOT BE ALLOWED DURING THE DAY! We strongly suggest that you begin queuing for the dock well before this time.