NYCC 08 announces first guests: Mignola, Ross

New York Comic Con (NYCC) has announced its first guests for the 2008 convention which will be held in New York City at the Jacob K. Javits Center, April 18 – 20, 2008. Mike Mignola and Alex Ross will be Guests of Honor and will be joined by several Featured Guests including Neal Adams, Kyle Baker, Amanda Conner, Dean Haspiel, Robert Napton, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Paola Rivera. Many more guests and activities will be announced in the near future as con officials prepare for another major growth spurt for NYCC in 2008.

“Delivering titans of the comic world to our fans is a major part of what New York Comic Con is all about,” notes Lance Fensterman, newly appointed Show Manager for NYCC. “Having direct access to talent of this caliber is what makes our convention such a great experience and we’re looking forward to an all-star list in ’08. These guests certainly represent an impressive first step in that direction.”

The two Guests of Honor:

Mike Mignola is part of the team of creators who formed the Legend imprint at Dark Horse Comics where he created Hellboy. The first Hellboy story line was co-written by John Byrne, but Mignola has continued writing the book himself and, as of this writing, there are six Hellboy graphic novels (with more on the way), several spin off titles, two anthologies of prose stories, several novels, two animated films and a live action film starring Ron Perlman. Hellboy has earned numerous comic industry awards and is published in many countries. In 2001, he also created the award-winning comic book The Amazing Screw On Head (recently adapted into animation) and in 2006 he co-wrote with Christopher Golden the novel Baltimore: or the Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, to be published by Bantam Books in the fall of 2007.

Alex Ross is one of the world’s most pre-eminent and well-respected comic book artists. His big break came in 1993 with Marvels, a graphic novel that took a realistic look at Marvel superheroes by presenting them from the point of view of an ordinary man. Ross followed up Marvels with Kingdom Come, Uncle Sam, and the 60th anniversaries of Superman, Batman, Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman. Ross has also applied his artistic skills to outside projects with comic book roots, including a limited-edition promotional poster for the 2002 Academy Awards, as well as covers for TV Guide. He is currently working on the covers for several series, including Avengers/Invaders and is also the architect behind the new Captain America costume.

The Featured Guests at NYCC so far include:

Neal Adams, a renowned artist who has helped create some of the definitive modern imagery of the DC Comics characters Batman, Green Arrow, and others; Kyle Baker, an award-winning publisher and accomplished graphic novelist; Amanda Conner, a well respected comic book artist and commercial illustrator perhaps best known for Harris Comics’ Vampirella; Dean Haspiel, a comic artist and creator of DOGMA, recognized for his collaborations with writer Harvey Pekar on his American Splendor series as well as the recent graphic novel, The Quitter; Robert Napton, a comic book writer and graphic novelist whose recent graphic novels include Myth Warriors and Tokyo Knights for Top Cow Productions; Paolo Rivera, a painter for Marvel Comics since 2002 who is currently working on Mythos, a series of one-shots featuring the origins of Marvel’s major characters; and Jimmy Palmiotti, a well-known writer of various comics, games and films, currently working on DC Comics’ Countdown series.

Convention organizers are quick to point out that this announcement is only the beginning of many announcements about guests and programming platforms that will take place at New York Comic Con. In total, show officials estimate that there will be well over 100 individual programs presented at NYCC, not including the many activities taking place in Artist Alley, in the autographing area, as well as official events organized in locations other than the Javits Center. Mindful of all this activity, Fensterman states: “Our goal is to create a total environment where our speaker platforms and forums, as well as our web presence, are fully integrated with the business being conducted on the convention floor. New York City is where the business of comics takes place and we want our show to reflect that.”

When it was launched in 2006, New York Comic Con sold out immediately and it has since become one of the fastest growing launches in the history of Reed Exhibitions which manages the event. Greg Topalian, who has been running the show since its inception and is now a Senior VP at Reed, where he continues to oversee NYCC, notes: “The fact that we have grown so fast and so aggressively is certainly an indication of the powerful role that comics play in popular culture. While our show has yet to take over the entire Javits Center, we’re beginning to get close. We will certainly have the look and feel of a major event, with three separate entrances to the show floor, as well as the added benefit of having everything, including our popular Artist Alley and our autographing area, in one central hall.” This year, NYCC will fully occupy both Hall A and Hall B, which are both connected and extend between the north and south ends of the Javits Center. The show will also dominate much of the lobby area of the convention facility itself.