Star Wars actors Peter Mayhew and Tom Kane, and Star Trek actor Robert Picardo are just some of the great panels attendees can see at The Great Allentown Comic Con’s MEGA SHOW event in November!

The Great Allentown Comic Con presents the 2011 MEGA SHOW Panel schedule, and a packed show room with 100 tables of artists and dealers this show is the largest “little con” in eastern PA.  All panels will run approximately 1 hour, and many will include multimedia presentations and interactions with attendees as well as prizes!  In addition to the panels below attendees can still expect Door Prizes at 11:30, 2:30 and 5pm both days.

Saturday

Large Room:

10:30 PM Crazy 8 Press - Join NY Times Best Selling Authors and Famed creators Michael Jan Friedman and Peter David as they discuss their new independent publishing venture Crazy 8 Press! With over 200 novels between them already printed, and dozens of universes and genre touched, listen to them discuss the new worlds they plan to visit now that they are independent.

12:30 PM Joint 501^st Legion and Rebel Legion Star Wars Trivia Contest! - Do you know how many parsecs it took the Millennium Falcon to finish the Kessel Run? How many meters long is a womp rat?....What is a womp rat anyway? If you can answer these questions than be sure to come to this Trivia contest...and Win some great prizes!

1:30 PM Costume Contest! - This one is easy...show up in a costume! Just think...Halloween could come twice this year! Cosplay expert Amber Love Delaney will be on hand to help judge the best outfits and hand out prizes!

3:00 PM Star Wars Panel! - Join Peter Mayhew and Tom Kane as they discuss working in one of the most iconic and celebrated franchises in history. With some great stories, and possible spoilers? On upcoming events...this is a can't miss panel for true fans of Star Wars!

4:30 PM Underbelly Media - YouTube sensation and all around geektastic sketch show Underbelly will be presenting a special multimedia show. Sketches, bits, and all around geek cultural explosions can be expected!

Small Room:

10:30 AM Smurftology 101 - Join "Smurfologist" Matt Murray as he puts on his professor smurf hat and presents a history of The Smurfs! Is Papa Smurf actually Carl Marx? Do the Smurfs plan to take over the world? These myths (or truths?) and more will be covered...so be sure to "Smurf" yourself a chair and "Smurf" in!

12:30 PM Comic Greats and Legends Panel - Join Tom Smith, Neil Vokes, and Bob Hall as they discuss working in comics in the modern age...and just what it feels like to have been in the "funny books" for so long. Learn the untold stories about the creation and influences these artists have had on titles from The Avengers to Doctor Strange!

1:30 PM Toteman Panel - November is Epilepsy Awareness Month, and the GACC is proud to be supporting the Toteman Epilepsy Awareness/PSA comic book. But who is Toteman anyway...and why should people support this great book? Join Toteman creator John McLaren and artist RickMan to learn just why you should be helping this great cause!

4:00 PM Disney World! - Former Disney Animator Terry Naughton has influenced and worked on many of the classic Disney films of the last 3 decades. Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Beauty and the Beast are just a few of the things he has done. Currently he has done the artwork for Peter and Angie Mayhew's children’s novels and has his own book out "The Art of Terry Naughton"

Sunday

Large Room:

10:30 AM Hound Comics -

Join the Hound Comics team (Brimstone, Sajad Shah, Mina Sanwald, and Lucious) as they discuss upcoming project, current releases, and just how much goes into creating comics, books, cartoons and video games!

12:30 AM JK Woodward & Peter David - Join the creative team behind Fallen Angel as they discuss working together on one of today's top independent titles. Learn just what goes into the creative process for JK Woodward one of the comic industries most talented up and coming artists, and Peter David, one of its most prolific author/creators.

1:30 PM Star Trek Panel-Join us as we let Robert Picardo have his way with us in this rare solo panel appearance. If prior experiences are any indication expect to catch at least one song and dance number, and quite a few entertaining stories and jokes. Be sure to arrive early to get a good seat!

3:00 PM Pretending to be on TV with Glen Tickle - Comedian Glen Tickle hosts a "late night" style show with attitude. Joined by artists and guests Glen will interview and get to the bottom of this whole "Comic Con" thing.

4:00 PM Toteman Epilepsy Auction - We are proud to be supporting the Toteman Epilepsy comic book and Epilepsy Awareness in general. November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month, and what could be better than supporting a great cause and an up and coming comic book creator. While online bidding has begun prior to the show, this will be the final live auction, and once the gavel lands some great art and items will find new homes...and with your support we will have raised enough to send the Toteman book to print. So...come and Bid High and Bid Often!


Small Room:

12:30 PM How to Draw Smurfs - This one is for the kids! Smurfologist Matt Murray will teach you how to draw your favorite Smurf!

1:30 PM Horror/Zombie Panel - Join Neil Vokes, Tom Schloendorn, Tommy Castillo and Chris Moreno as they discuss the Horror of the past and future, and our current love of all things Zombie.

*All times are approximate, and may change at last minute.

Press Release: Thirteen Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards winners or nominees are among the nearly 150 comic creators already scheduled to attend Wizard World Big Apple Comic Con, part of North America’s largest pop-culture tour, May 21-22 at Penn Plaza Pavilion.

The 13 winners or nominees include Kaare Andrews (“Astonishing X-Men,’ “Iron Man”), Matt Kindt (“Revolver,” “Pistolwhip; Two Sisters”), Percy Carey (“Sentences: The Life Of MF Grimm,” “You Only Live Twice: The Audio Graphic Novel”), Kevin Colden (“Fishtown,” “I Rule the Night”), Jared K. Fletcher (“Batman,” “Captain America), Michael Kupperman (“Deadpool,” “Tales Designed To Thrizzle”), Jason Little (“Bee,” “Jack’s Luck Runs Out”), Mark Morales (“Secret Warriors,” “Avengers”), Laurie Sandell (“The Imposter’s Daughter”), Yuko Shimizu (“The Unwritten,” “The Sandman: The Dream Hunters”), Ronald Wimberly (“Hellblazer,” “Lucifer”),  Brian Wood (“DMZ; The New York Five,” “Northlanders”) and Nick Abadzis, who won the Eisner for his 2007 graphic novel “Laika.”

The creators will be on hand to meet fans, sign autographs and sketch.  Many Metro New York-based artists will be in attendance as well.

The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are considered the “Oscars” of the comic book industry. Established in 1987, they are named for renowned cartoonist Will Eisner (creator of “The Spirit” and several award-winning graphic novels).

Other superstar artists scheduled to attend include Arthur Suydam (“Marvel Zombies,” “Army of Darkness”), Jerry Robinson (“The Joker,” “Robin”), Luke Ross (“Captain America,” “Amazing Spider-Man”), Greg Horn (“Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark,” “Hero for Hire”), Christos Gage (“X-Men,” “Spider-Man”), Ryan Otley (“Invincible,” “The Walking Dead”) and Alex Saviuk (Spider-Man Newspaper Strip,” “Phantom Generations”).

Big Apple Comic Con will bring together thousands of fans of all ages and dozens of celebrities and industry professionals to celebrate the best in pop culture, movies, comics, toys, video gaming, television, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests and more.  Among the celebrities scheduled to attend are Tom Felton, Morena Baccarin, James Marsters and Kristanna Loken.

The Penn Plaza Pavilion is located at 401 Seventh Avenue at 33rd St., in the historic Hotel Pennsylvania.  Big Apple Comic Con Spring Edition is the fifth stop on Wizard World’s 12-city 2011 North American tour.  Hours are Saturday, May 21, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.; and Sunday, May 22, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.  Tickets are available in advance online at http://www.wizardworld.com/newyorkcity.htmlat up to a 15% savings over tickets purchased at the door.  Advance adult single-day tickets are $20; two-day weekend tickets are $35, and tickets are free for children age 10 and under when accompanied by a paid adult (limit two children per adult).  VIP packages with special entry and exclusive items are also available.

About Wizard World:
Wizard World is a producer of pop culture and multimedia conventions across North America that markets movies, TV shows, video games, technology, toys, social networking/gaming platforms, comic books and graphic novels. It has the rights to the names, marks, domains, customer lists and production rights for a portfolio of pop culture and multimedia conventions.

For the most recent event information please visit www.wizardworld.com and become a Big Apple Comic Con Fan on Facebook.
***** SAVE THE 2011/12 DATES *****
May 21-22 – Big Apple Comic Con
June 17-19 – Philadelphia Comic Con
August 11-14 – Chicago Comic Con
September 17-18  – New England Comic Con
September 24-25 – Los Angeles Comic Con
October 22-23 – Mid-Ohio Comic Con
October 28-30 – Central Canada Comic Con (C4)
November 11-13 – Austin Comic Con
January 28-29, 2012 – New Orleans Comic Con
March 23-25, 2012 – Toronto Comic Con
April 27-29, 2012 – Anaheim Comic Con
December 8-9, 2012 – Miami Comic Con

Brimstone and his Borderhounds take Miami by storm in a major way

Miami, Florida, February 28^th, 2011 – Last Saturday morning at 11:30am, Brimstone and his eclectic crew of Borderhounds tore into Wizard World’s Miami Comic Con the only way they know how… with style! Hound Comics, in conjunction with Floating Pear Productions, revealed their highly anticipated Brimstone and The Borderhounds: The Animated Series title sequence to a full house of eagerly awaiting press, fans and curious convention goers. Following the world premiere, the creators entertained attendees with an informative Q&A session and an offering of exclusive Hound Comics wristbands compliments of Bandeez.

Make no mistake; the comic is certainly not playing second fiddle to the animated series – The Borderhounds booth at the convention was packed out with rabid fans looking to score advance copies of Brimstone and The Borderhounds to be signed by a rare appearance containing four of the five creators. “The entire weekend was perfect! The ONLY thing that was missing was our partner Thiago Castro – so although the event went above and beyond our previous expectations; the success was bittersweet without Thiago on site with the rest of us.” says Hound Comics CEO, William ‘Brimstone’ Kucmierowski.

Even gamers had something to enjoy with a first look at the Brimstone and The Borderhounds video game being viewed exclusively at the booth. “Our goal is to have each form of media play a specific role in the success of the brand as a whole!” says Sajad Shah, Hound Comics VP. “Wizard World Entertainment has been very good to Brimstone and the entire Hound Comics team” says Co-CEO, Marcello Carnevali. He adds, “We look forward to continuing to nurture the relationship we have.” “This being my first official convention on the other side of the table; I was humbled by all the amazing fans that showed their love and appreciation for what we’re doing here.” says Allen Chickering of Hound Comics. He continues, “I’m nobody special; I’m just a regular guy who happens to be a part of something extraordinary”

Hound Comics will be following up the Miami premiere with an Issue two Barnes & Noble release party taking place on March 8^th in Manhattan. The semi-private New York City event will offer an exclusive premiere viewing of the animation and celebrity guest appearances from cast members. Privileged guests will be the first to hear the breaking news announcing the pop culture icon, who is the most recent addition to the voice-over cast. When Hound’s Thiago Castro was asked about who the mystery person was, he declared, “All we can say for now is that he’s from a galaxy far, far away! You’ll have to wait until next week!” For press who would like to attend; please contact Amy Di Leo at [email protected]

Official Press Release:

For years, Bat Boy and the other bizarre denizens of the Weekly World News universe have delighted millions in the long-running tabloid newspaper. Now, those same colorful characters are headed to full-color comic books for the first time with IDW Publishing's Weekly World News, a new four-issue miniseries starting in January.

Written by IDW's Publisher/Editor-in-Chief and WWN fanatic Chris Ryall, with art by Alan Robinson, Weekly World News revives the tabloid's best and sees them band together to take on, among other things, the world-destroying threat of Chaos Cloud. Each issue will also feature original articles from the original Weekly World News, and a variant cover that pays insane "tribute" to a classic image.Bat Boy

"Some would say my interest in bringing the Weekly World News characters to comics borders on crazed obsession," said Ryall, "and far be it from me to disagree with them. I'm just happy Bat Boy comic books never happened before, so we could break new ground here. It's been especially gratifying because Alan is well up to the task of drawing every insane thing asked of him ("Draw an angry storm cloud with the face of a former French leader? No problem!"), and the Weekly World News people have been incredibly enthusiastic about bringing their iconic characters to comics."

The series kicks off with a cover featuring Joe Corroney's version of Bat Boy, inspired by Alex Ross's painted Barack Obama pose, and a special retailer incentive Alan Robinson sketch cover of Bat Boy as Rodin's "Thinker." As another added bonus, Issue #1 will feature some of the classic Bat Boy strips by the great Peter Bagge.

"In short, Eisner Award judges, get ready to mark your ballots when you see this series," added Ryall.

This first Weekly World News miniseries gives the world a new vocabulary word in its subtitle, "The Irredemption of Ed Anger." The series unites the beloved Bat Boy with PhD Ape (simian psychologist to the stars), UFO Alien (presidential-predicting pundit from the stars), Manigator (half-man/half-gator good ol' boy), Lemmie (the Lake Erie Monster) as they battle Chaos Cloud (unpredictable weather front with the face of François Mitterand). Caught in the middle of all of this is the far-right-wing columnist Ed Anger ("pave the Rain Forest!"), who thinks inhuman freaks have as much place in America as liberals, female voters and foreign beer. Along the way, the series pays tribute to other comics and numerous other pop-culture visuals and references (so many that Ryall will be offering annotations in the back of each issue, too).

"Everyone at Weekly World New is delighted to partner with IDW on this creative extension of some of American's most loved characters," said Neil McGinness, Weekly World News CEO.

The Weekly World News, which carried the tagline "The World's Only Reliable News" and spent years living up to that description, launched in 1979 as a supermarket tabloid focused on sensational stories. The brand's website www.weeklyworldnews.com is a leading entertainment news website.

Weekly World News #1 (of 4), a 32-page, $3.99 comic book, debuts in January 2010. Diamond order code NOV09 0841.

About IDW
IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro's The Transformers and G.I. JOE, Paramount's Star Trek; Fox's Angel; the BBC's Doctor Who; and television's #1 prime time series CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints; Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studios; and is the print publisher for ComicMix.

IDW's original horror series, 30 Days of Night, was launched as a major motion picture in October 2007 by Sony Pictures and was the #1 film in its first week of release. More information about the company can be found at IDWPublishing.com.

About Weekly World News
Rooted in the creative success of over 30 years of supermarket tabloid publishing, the Weekly World News brand and characters have inspired hit feature films, television shows and musicals since 1979. With a proven library of content and characters, Weekly World News leverages its franchises in publishing, entertainment and consumer product licensing. The company's online hub www.weeklyworldnews.com is a leading entertainment website.