IMAGE COMICS OFFERS SEVEN PANELS AT COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL

Star-studded conversations to take place at San Diego event

The Image Comics programming for Comic-Con International have been announced! Six panels, ranging from an Eisner-nominated creative team’s conversation to star-packed discussions of genre and what’s next for Image Comics, will take place over the four-day convention taking place from July 18 through July 21. The first Image Comics panel of the convention is A Conversation with Steven T. Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen on Thursday from  2:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. in room 23ABC. The acclaimed creative duo partnered on THE RED DIARY/THE RE[A]D DIARY, for which Kristiansen is nominated for an Eisner Award in the Painter/Multimedia Artist category. A packed pool of talent will talk about science fiction on Friday at Image’s Rocket Ships, Laser Guns, and Dystopias panel at 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. in room 23ABC. Nick Dragotta (EAST OF WEST), Joe Harris (GREAT PACIFIC), Joe Keatinge (GLORY), Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare (ROCKET GIRL), Ales Kot (CHANGE, ZERO), and Matt Hawkins (THINK TANK, APHRODITE IX) will discuss what inspires their visions of the future.   Twenty-one years of Marc Silvestri’s Image Comics imprint Top Cow will be celebrated on Saturday at 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in room 9 as Top Cow president and special guests join Silvestri to talk about the shared universe of  ARTIFACTS, THE DARKNESS, and WITCHBLADE, as well as creator-owned titles like THINK TANK and RAVINE.   On Saturday at the Image Comics and the Genre Fiction Renaissance, taking place from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. in room 7AB, Eisner nominee Ed Brubaker (FATALE) will be joined by Frank Barbiere (FIVE GHOSTS), Tim Seeley and Mike Norton (REVIVAL), Kurtis J. Wiebe (PETER PANZERFAUST), and Ron Marz (WITCHBLADE, RAVINE) will discuss horror, adventure, and fantasy in the comics medium. Image will keep the buzz from their groundbreaking Image Expo event with the What’s Next panel on Saturday from 4:30 to 5:30 in room 6DE. Image Publisher Eric Stephenson will talk to Ed Brubaker, Joe Casey, Nick Dragotta, Amy Reeder, and Rick Remender about their upcoming projects at Image Comics. Image Comics partner Robert Kirkman is heading up two panels during the convention to talk about his flagship title THE WALKING DEAD as well as developments at his Image imprint Skybound. The first is The Walking Dead 10th Anniversary on Thursday at 4:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. in room 6A. Kirkman will reveal the exciting plans for celebrating the independent, black-and-white zombie apocalypse comic that has grown into an empire and take questions from the audience. Then, on Saturday, Joshua Williamson (GHOSTED), Matteo Scalera, and others will join Kirkman on stage at the Skybound Panel from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in room 7AB to announce new project and discuss the future of the Image Comics imprint. Creators on the Image Comics panels will also be signing at the Image booth (#2729) and Top Cow booth (#2629). A complete signing schedule will be released before the convention is underway.   Here are the complete listings for the Image Comics Comic-Con International panels: A Conversation with Steven T. Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen, Thursday, 7/18/13, 2:00p.m. - 3:00p.m., Room: 23ABC The fruitful collaboration between Steven T. Seagle and Teddy Kristiansen began in 1996 with House of Secrets, blossomed with 2004’s it’s a bird, for which Kristiansen won an Eisner Award, and continued to grow with the experimental The Red Diary/The Read Diary, for which Kristiansen is again up for an Eisner. Seagle and Kristiansen will talk about their long relationship as collaborators and what it takes to be a successful creative team — even when an ocean and a language may separate you. THE WALKING DEAD 10th Anniversary, Thursday, 7/18/13, 4:15p.m. - 5:15p.m., Room: 6A Robert Kirkman discusses the evolution of The Walking Dead and his plans to celebrate its 10th anniversary this year, in a lively Q&A forum. Rocket Ships, Laser Guns, and Dystopias, Friday, 7/19/13, 12:00p.m. - 1:00p.m., Room: 23ABC Science fiction runs the gamut from splashy space opera to dusty dystopias, and Image Comics has been on the forefront of releasing the newest and most exciting visions of the future in the market. Join some of Image’s finest futurists to hear about how they develop worlds and technology in comics like East of West, Great Pacific, Rocket Girl, Think Tank and Aphrodite IX. Moderator: David Brothers Panelists: Nick Dragotta, Joe Harris, Joe Keatinge, Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare, Ales Kot, and Matt Hawkins Twenty-One Years of Top Cow, Saturday, 7/21/13, 11:00am - 12:00pm, Room: 9 Celebrate 21 years of Top Cow with founder Marc Silvestri and president Matt Hawkins along with a bevy of Top Cow creators and special guests! Be the first to hear exclusive information about the future of Cyber Force, Aphrodite IX, Witchblade, and the rest of the Top Cow Universe- in both the printed comics and other media. Get the inside scoop on the books that will comprise the next wave of Top Cow's Minotaur Press imprint to follow in the wake of the smash hit Think Tank. And for those itching to break into comics and make a name for themselves, announcements concerning Top Cow's Fall Talent Hunt will be unveiled. And if all of that wasn't enough, as an added bonus, all attendees will receive a special limited-edition mini-lithograph! Image Comics and the Genre Fiction Renaissance, Saturday, 7/20/13, 1:00p.m. - 2:00p.m., Room: 7AB In the Golden Age of comics, readers devoured comics of every conceivable genre — Western, romance, war, fantasy, and horror. Some of Image’s top creators discuss the rise and fall — and the new rise — of genre comics and how they’re revitalizing and revolutionizing diversity in the comics canon with titles like Fatale, Five Ghosts, Revival, Peter Panzerfaust, Rat Queens, and Ravine. Moderator: Ron Richards Panelists: Ed Brubaker, Frank Barbiere, Tim Seeley, Mike Norton, Kurtis J. Wiebe, and Ron Marz Robert Kirkman’s Skybound Panel, Saturday, 7/20/13, 2:00p.m. - 3:00p.m., Room: 7AB Join Robert Kirkman as well as Skybound writers and artists including Joshua Williamson, Matteo Scalera and Justin Jordan as they announce new Skybound titles and discuss what's coming up in The Walking Dead, Invincible, Thief of Thieves, Ghosted, and more. What’s Next at Image Comics, Saturday, 7/20/13, 4:30p.m. - 5:30p.m., Room: 6DE Image Comics dropped some huge announcements earlier this month at their Image Expo media event. Now’s your chance to get up close and personal with the creators and titles added to the increasingly legendary Image catalogue! Join Image Publisher Eric Stephenson and a panel of talent to find out what the country’s largest independent comics publisher has in store for the end of 2013, 2014 and beyond. Moderator: Eric Stephenson Panelists: Ed Brubaker, Joe Casey, Nick Dragotta, Amy Reeder, Rick Remender

ABOUT IMAGE COMICS

Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of best-selling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has five partners: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri and Jim Valentino. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline, Skybound and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

 

ABOUT SKYBOUND

Skybound is the home of Robert Kirkman's creator-owned work including his Eisner Award-winning comic book series, THE WALKING DEAD, long-running Invincible, all-ages SUPER DINOSAUR, THIEF OF THIEVES, and CLONE, as well as WITCH DOCTOR and INVINCIBLE UNIVERSE. Since its inception, Skybound has created television shows, merchandise and a wide spectrum of platforms, games (The Walking Dead: Assault iOS app), and entertainment events (The Walking Dead Escape). Skybound's successes include the comic behind the hit Emmy®-winning television show, AMC's The Walking Dead, the highest-rated basic cable drama of all time in the U.S, also an international success in 122 countries and 37 languages. Skybound/Kirkman frequently top the hardcover and paperback bestseller lists. Your destinations for all news and merchandise from Robert Kirkman, THE WALKING DEAD, and all Skybound titles are www.Skybound.com and www.TheWalkingDead.com.

 

ABOUT MAN OF ACTION STUDIOS

 

Man of Action Studios, the bi-coastal entertainment company started in 2000, created the megahit Ben 10, a three billion dollar boys' action empire that has been called the most successful superhero launch of the past decade and a hit across every platform, making it the ultimate transmedia success story. Man of Action Studios consists of creators and acclaimed comic book writers Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau and Steven T. Seagle. The quartet collectively worked on the largest franchise characters in comics from Superman to X-Men before refocusing on creating worlds/characters for their own original comic books and graphic novels published through their Man of Action imprint at Image Comics. They also created cult favorite series Generator Rex for Cartoon Network and are co-executive producers and writers for Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man on Disney XD, the network's #1 rated animated show. For their new show, Marvel's Avengers Assemble, Marvel again called upon Man of Action Studios as the writers and executive producers for their biggest launch yet. Man of Action Studios are also executive producers on the new international Gormiti series as well as their upcoming original animated series, The 7Cs, produced by Sam-Zag.  Beyond the world of animation, Man of Action Studios has created wildly successful video games, toy lines, comic books, stage productions, as well as forthcoming feature films and live action television shows, some of which are based on their own original comic book series and graphic novels. Upcoming films based upon Man of Action creations include New Line's The Great Unknown, and Big Hero 6, announced as Disney's first animated feature based on a Marvel property featuring the team of characters created by Man of Action. A large contingent of international content creators also seek the MOA expertise to bridge the culture gap on projects ranging from SpinMaster’s highly successful Bakugan franchise to Nickelodeon’s new series, Monsuno. Man of Action Studios has been called "The Beatles of boys' action projects… minus the internal strife." If you want to know more about Man of Action, you can follow them at their not-so-secret headquarters on the Web at http://www.ManOfAction.TV. Facebook:http://www.Facebook.com/ManOfActionStudios Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/ManOfActionNow