We were a panelist at this fest last year, and it’s a fun dday in the park surrounded by books andthe people who make and read them. This year’s comics programming line-up is stellar:

COMICS GO HOLLYWOOD
(11:00-Noon)
Robert Burnett (Superman Returns, Living in Infamy)
Mike Mignola (HELLBOY, The Amazing Screw-On Head)
Tone Rodriguez (The Covenant, Violent Messiah)
Moderator: Ryan Liebowitz
Signings – Golden Apple Comics

Did you know there are many comic books written by Hollywood professionals? Did you also know that comic pros are now working in Tinseltown? Currently, actors, producers, directors, and writers of movies and television shows are trying their hand in the comic book industry. This panel includes a few of these talented individuals who dabble in both mediums:
Featured autho Mike Mignola, whose Hellboy franchise took both the comic and movie worlds by storm, is joined by Robert ‘Superman Returns’ Burnett and Tone ‘The Covenant’ Rodriguez.

TOKYOPOP’s ‘MAKING MANGA’
(12:15-1:15)
Felipe Smith (MBQ)
Wes Abbott (Dogby)
Ireve Flores (Mark of the Succubus)
Amy Kim Ganter (Sorcerers and Secretaries)
Tim Beedle (Editor)
Moderator: Lillian Diaz-Przybyl
Signings – TOKYOPOP

TOKYOPOP editors and artists will discuss both the process of localizing black and white graphic novels from Japan and Korea for the American market as well as the rising popularity of American artists and writers producing work in a similar style. Editors will also be on hand following the panel to do portfolio reviews for aspiring manga artists.

PULP, GRIND, MANIFESTO: Writing the Monthly Comic
(1:30-2:30)
Devin Grayson (Nightwing)
Allan Heinberg (Young Avengers)
Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man)
Mark Waid (Legion of Super-heroes)
Moderator: Christine Boylan (Superman: Secret Files)
Signings – Golden Apple Comics

Summer movie season is increasingly dominated by superheroes. A best selling novelist explores the American immigrant experience through the eyes of fictional comic book creators. Fine artists use comic book imagery to explore ideas of post-modern relativism. Even advertising now uses the graphic tools comics created. As the subjects, style and innovations of comics are “legitimized” by other media, how can comic creators keep the traditions of serialized pulp narrative alive while still breaking new ground and staying fresh? By writing a damn manifesto, fool!

Four firmly entrenched writers in popular comics, Devin Grayson (Nightwing), Allan Heinberg (Young Avengers), Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man), and Mark Waid (Legion of Super-heroes) are called upon to create the first ever Comic Book Writer’s Manifesto! Ten questions will format a spirited discussion on topics as diverse as the relevance of comics in broader culture, personal creative process, gender politics in the medium and the perceived aesthetic mandates of the comic book mainstream. Each discussion topic will be distilled into a single manifesto bullet-point whose language must be agreed upon by all four of these very different creators.

Don’t miss the engaging, smart and above all, fun panel moderated by Christine Boylan (Superman: Secret Files).