ICv2 to Host 'Insider Talks and Happy Hour'

At New York Comic Con

ICv2 has announced that it will host an invitation-only event for business professionals, the ICv2 Insider Talks and Happy Hour, on Thursday afternoon, October 6, in the spectacular 4th Floor Galleria, River Pavilion at the Javits Center, in association with New York Comic Con.

In an electrifying new format, the ICv2 Insider Talks and Happy Hour will present top speakers for brief talks plus Q&A from 3-5 p.m., followed by a cocktail reception from 5-6 p.m.  As those that attended last year's event know, the Happy Hour was a great opportunity to meet, mingle, and network with other leaders of the comics and graphic novel industry.  "We've been looking for a way to bring together the leaders of the business around shorter, more potent discussions of key topics, and we believe we've found it with the ICv2 Insider Talks," ICv2 CEO Milton Griepp said of the event.  "And it's great to be able to host an opportunity to celebrate the first day of New York Comic Con and connect with old and new friends in the business at the ICv2 Happy Hour.  When creators, publishers, retailers, digital execs, press and analysts, and others in the business all come together, good things happen, and we're very happy to be part of that."

The ICv2 Insider Talks are:

Karen Berger:  Expanding Comics Readership Further
Karen Berger is an award-winning editor and founder of Vertigo, the renowned, influential and groundbreaking imprint of DC Comics, a division of Warner Bros., and most recently the editor of Surgeon X.

Milton Griepp:  Current trends and the Future of Retail
Milton Griepp is the founder and President of ICv2, since 2001 the undisputed industry authority on the graphic novel and comic business.

Rob Salkowitz:  Navigating the Fan Con-Vergence: What New Data Can Tell Us about Events and Audiences
Rob Salkowitz is a futurist and consultant specializing the impact of digital technology in business and culture, and the author of Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture and contributor to Forbes and ICv2.

Vivek J. Tiwary:  Business Lessons from The Fifth Beatle
Vivek J. Tiwary is a #1 New York Times bestselling and award-winning author (The Fifth Beatle) and a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer, whose productions have won a combined 25 Tony Awards over 44 nominations.

For more information on speakers and topics, click here.

If you are a business professional and would like information on attending the event, email Conferences@ICv2.com.

If you are press and would like to cover the event, email Conferences@ICv2.com.


This event is free to those attending, thanks to the support of our sponsors.  The ICv2 Insider Talks and Happy Hour is co-sponsored by Europe Comics, and sponsored by comiXology, Diamond Comic Distributors and New York Comic Con.

Co-Sponsor:  Europe Comics
Europe Comics is a joint digital initiative launched in 2015 and run by 13 European comics industry players.  It focuses on the online distribution of European works in English, the promotion of European creators and the setting up of a European comics online directory, with the overall objective of bringing European works and creators closer to an international audience of readers and comics professionals.  www.EuropeComics.com.

Sponsor:  ComiXology
ComiXology, an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary (NASDAQ:AMZN), is a revolutionary, cloud-based digital comics platform.  With content from over 125 publishers as well as thousands of independent creators from around the world, comiXology provides an unrivaled library of comic books, graphic novels, manga and bandes dessinées.  The company's first in class innovations include the exclusive Guided View technology which provides an immersive and cinematic reading experience and a monthly subscription service.  ComiXology is based in New York City, with operations in Seattle, Los Angeles and Paris.  For more information visit comixology.com and follow the company on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.

Sponsor:  Diamond Comic Distributors
Diamond Comic Distributors is at the nexus of comics and pop culture.  Founded in 1982, and based in Baltimore, MD, DCD is the world's largest distributor of English-language comic books, graphic novels, and related pop-culture merchandise, servicing thousands of retailers worldwide.  For more information, visit Diamond on the web at www.diamondcomics.com.

Sponsor:  New York Comic Con
Taking place October 6-9, 2016 at the Javits Center, New York Comic Con is the East Coast's biggest and most exciting popular culture convention.  The Show Floor plays host to the latest and greatest in comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies and television. The Panels and Autograph Sessions give Fans a chance to interact with their favorite Creators, while screening rooms feature sneak peeks at films and television shows months before they hit big and small screens.  New York Comic Con is the second largest pop culture convention in America and the only one that takes place in the comic book, publishing, media and licensing capital of the world--Gotham City.  For more information, please visit NewYorkComicCon.com and NYCC's social media pages (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).

About ICv2
ICv2 is the #1 industry source on the business of geek culture, including comics and graphic novels, manga, geek showbiz, and hobby games, on its Website, www.ICv2.com, and in its magazine, Internal Correspondence.  For the people on the front lines of the geek culture business, staying ahead of the trends isn't something that can be left to chance--it's a basic necessity for being successful.  That's why ICv2 is the #1 source of news and information for the buyers, gatekeepers, and tastemakers on the front lines.  ICv2 is where trend-watching is a science.