Press Release - June 26, 2012: Top writers and artists will be joining Marvel Comics at New York Comic Con (NYCC) as the renowned comic books and media entertainment company reveals some of its preliminary plans for the 2012 edition of the annual pop culture convention. Marvel will once again have a 3000 square foot booth on the show floor where attendees will have ample room and opportunity to mingle with creators and staff including Joe Quesada, Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment, and Axel Alonso, Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief. Other Spotlight Guests who will be on hand to greet fans will be Kieron Gillen, Jonathan Hickman, Rick Remender, Esad Ribic, Dan Slott and Steve McNiven. In addition to his appearance at the show, Steve McNiven has agreed to create this year’s official NYCC poster.

This year’s New York Comic Con, which attracted over 100,000 fans last year, will take place October 11 – 14, 2012 at Manhattan's Javits Center. The extravaganza attracts top talent and major artists from all areas of the pop culture universe including comics, film, television, music, books, and gaming.

“One of our primary goals at New York Comic Con is to provide major companies like Marvel Entertainment with a venue to feature their top talent as well as a platform to launch and display new content and product,” notes Lance Fensterman, Group Vice President for ReedPOP and Show Manager for NYCC. “Marvel’s booth at New York Comic Con is always a hub of activity reflecting its role as a leader in the pop culture universe. I am certain this year will be no different. I look forward to making this year’s show busier than ever for Marvel and I know that thousands of fans will be eager to meet so many talented executives and creators. As always, I am grateful to Marvel for their continuing support of NYCC.”

Axel Alonso:

A 17-year comics industry veteran, Axel Alonso got his start at DC Comics' Vertigo imprint, where he edited such seminal series such as Preacher, Hellblazer and 100 Bullets, before leaping to Marvel Comics in 2001. Since that time, he has overseen many of the publisher's biggest franchises – including Spider-Man, Hulk and the X-Men – and edited some of its most talked-about series – including Rawhide Kid and X-Statix. In 2011 Axel was promoted to Editor In Chief, a tenure during which he has overseen major events such as the Death of Ultimate Spider-Man and the chart-topping Avengers VS. X-Men. Besides comics, Alonso's passions include basketball, hip-hop, 8-year-old shooting guard Tito "Mr. T" Alonso, Asian food and preparing for the inevitable Zombie Apocalypse.

Kieron Gillen:

Kieron Gillen is a foul writing worm who crawls inside artists' ears and makes them do his bidding. Products of this evil symbiosis include Journey Into Mystery and the award-winning Phonogram. Last fall Kieron launched Uncanny X-Men #1 with Carlos Pacheco & Greg Land. There is no known cure.

Jonathan Hickman:

Jonathan Hickman is the award-winning writer and artist of critically acclaimed indie titles Pax Romana, Manhattan Projects, Secret and The Nightly News, a six-part comic series analyzing the powerful influence of the mainstream media on life in the 21st century. And while Jonathan's Marvel work includes stints on titles like Secret Warriors, Ultimate Thor and the Ultimates, he is probably best known for his extended run on Marvel's first family, The Fantastic Four. A graduate of Clemson University, Jonathan resides in South Carolina.

Seve McNiven:

Steve McNiven has been working at Marvel comics for almost all of his professional career, drawing a wide range of characters including Spider-man, Wolverine and Captain America. He has collaborated with some of the best writers in the business, from Ed Brubaker on the 2011 relaunch of Captain America to Brian Bendis on New Avengers and Warren Ellis on Ultimate Secret. He has worked extensively with Mark Millar on numerous titles including the bestselling Marvel Civil War and Wolverine : Old Man Logan, which won him a 2009 Scream award for best comic book artist. He recently teamed up for another book with Mark Millar, this time a creator owned property titled Nemesis, published through Marvel's Icon imprint. He is currently under an exclusive contract with Marvel Comics working on a new project as well as prepping the second volume of Nemesis.

Joe Quesada:

Joe Quesada wears many creative hats, as both an acclaimed writer-artist and the Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment - the world's largest and most dynamic comics publisher. In this role, Joe is steward of such legendary characters as Spider-Man, X-Men, Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. His tenure as Editor-in-Chief recently drew to a close after 10 successful years – the longest term since Stan Lee himself. Under Quesada's guidance, Marvel underwent a creative boom and became home to the comic industry's greatest talents, which continues to hold true today. He brings this same vision to his role in the whole of Marvel Entertainment across the worlds of publishing, film, and television.

Rick Remender:

Rick Remender is the writer/creator of comics such as Fear Agent, The End League, Strange Girl, Black Heart Billy, Last Days of American Crime, Sea of Red, Sorrow, Night Mary, XXXombies and Doll and Creature. He is also the writer of Marvel's Uncanny X-Force, Secret Avengers, and Venom. Outside of comics he has served as lead writer on EA/EPIC/PCF's Bulletstorm game and was a writer on the Electronic Arts hit game Dead Space . Prior to this, Remender served as an animator on films such as The Iron Giant, Anastasia, Titan A.E., and Rocky and Bullwinkle. During his time wrist grinding as an artist Rick penciled books such as The Last Christmas, Bruce Campbell's Man with the Screaming Brain and numerous issues of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles while also inking books such as The Avengers and The Terminator . He has provided album covers and art for bands such as NOFX, 3 Inches of Blood, Lagwagon and No Use for a Name. He also taught storyboarding, animation and comic art at San Francisco's Academy of Art University for many years. He and his tea-sipping wife, Danni, currently reside in California with their two kids, and a monster known only as Lester Magoo.

Esad Ribic:

Born 1972 in Zagreb, Croatia, Esad started his career in animation, eventually switching over to comics in early 90s. Esad started working internationally with horror comics for the German market. His first work in the US was with Antarctic Press Compan, eventually moving on to DC/Vertigo. He ended up at Marvel where he has worked happily for a decade now on books like Loki, Silver Surfer: Requiem, and The Ultimates. Ribic is also the current cover artist on Uncanny X-Force.

Dan Slott:

Dan is someone who isn't comfortable typing up his own bio and/or talking about himself in the third person. That said, I hear he is extremely modest and would never mention the multiple times he swam the English Channel, piloted clandestine moon missions, or wrestled nuclear-powered mastodons. He is a riddle wrapped in an enigma... and then dipped in a tangy chipotle sauce. You might know him from his work as a writer on Amazing Spider-Man, Mighty Avengers, Avengers: The Initiative, She-Hulk, Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, Batman Adventures, Looney Tunes, or Ren & Stimpy. Or if comics ain't your bag, he's the guy who wrote the Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions game for XBox 360, PS3, and PC.

Tickets for New York Comic Con in 2012 are currently available for purchase at www.NewYorkComicCon.com. Anyone interested in exhibiting at New York Comic Con should contact Larry Settembrini, lsettembrini@reedexpo.com . Other information about the show, as well as news about ReedPOP, which organizes a range of pop culture events, is available at Lance Fensterman’s blog, www.mediumatlarge.net. Organizers note that many more guests will be announced over the next few weeks and months and fans should keep their eyes on NYCC’s website and blog for additional comics, entertainment and anime announcements.