November 22-23: Virginia Comicon
“Since we’ve had our two-day shows, fans in the Richmond area have asked us to get Jae Lee as one of our creator guests for the Virginia Comicon. This year, I’m happy to say we’re answering those requests with a resounding ‘Yes!” said show promoter Brett Carreras.
Jae Lee first rose to prominence illustrating Namor, The Submariner at Marvel and WildC.A.T.S Trilogy at Image, then scored his first huge hit with The Inhumans, on which he collaborated with writer Paul Jenkins for Marvel’s Marvel Knights imprint. Its critical and financial success vaulted him to superstar status, leading to numerous cover gigs, work on Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series, and eventually more recent stints on Before Watchmen: Ozymandias and Batman/Superman.
The Virginia Comicon’s two-day show will be held Saturday and Sunday, November 22-23, 2014 at the Richmond International Raceway, 602 E. Laburnum Avenue, Richmond, VA 23222. VIP and MegaVIP tickets are available online.
“From his interior work on projects like The Inhumans and Batman/Superman and his creator-owned Hellshock, to his diverse covers for the likes of DC’s Manhunter, Dyanmite’s Dead Irons and even Realm Press’ Battlestar Galactica, his distinct artwork has reached millions of fans. We’re so happy to finally be able to bring Jae Lee to the Virginia Comicon,” Carreras said.
“I am excited to make the VA Comicon my first East Coast convention appearance since 2007. I’m thrilled to be returning to my home state,” said Jae Lee, whose last trip east was the 2007 New York Comic Con. He will be accompanied to the show by his wife, June Chung, and his dog, Loki. This will be his only scheduled east coast comic book convention appearance this year. He will be accepting a limited number of quick sketch commissions at the show.
Wolverine co-creator and veteran Incredible Hulk artist Herb Trimpe, longtime G.I. Joe writer-artist Larry Hama, and Nexus co-creator and artist Steve Rude head up the previously announced guest roster that also includes (in alphabetical order) Steve Bird (Pacific Rim), Brian Clevinger (Atomic Robo), Sam Ellis (Archer), Dan Fogel (Fogel’s Underground Price Guide and Grading Guide), Danielle Frazetta (Frazetta Books and Prints), Randy Green (Witchblade), Rick Ketcham (Amazing Spider-Man), Tom King (Grayson), Dan Nokes (Impossible Space Tales of The Last Pit Stop), Dan Parent (Archie), Alex Saviuk (Web of Spider-Man), Brian Shearer (GI Joe), Matt Slay (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Louis Small, Jr. (Vampirella), Rick Spears (The Auteur), Billy Tucci (Shi), and John “Waki” Wycough (Vitriol). Additional guests will be added soon.
The cosplay component of the weekend will be the biggest in the show’s storied history. In addition to the presence of top cosplayers such as Ivy Doomkitty, Abby Normal and Patrick Ian Moore, and cosplay groups like Mad Love, cosplayer Eddie Newsome will kick off the brand new book project he’s co-authoring, The Overstreet Guide To Cosplay, with the amazing opportunity to be featured in a photo shoot for this new book. There’s also $1,000 in cash prizes across a variety of costume categories for Sunday’s costume contest, and White Tiger Filmz will be on hand to document cosplay at the show for Viva La Cosplay, their new web series about the ins and outs, ups and downs of cosplaying. The locally-based crew will be following a number of cosplayers, including last year’s Virginia Comicon Grand Prize winner, as they prepare for the show and participate in it. The second episode was just posted.
The show has a full slate of independent comic book creators, horror TV legend Count Gore DeVol, film and TV replica cars, media guests, and much more. There will be panel discussions and more.
The show’s first exclusives, special red foil logo (1,000 copies) and gold foil logo (only 250 copies) show exclusive variants of IDW Publishing’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Ghostbusters #1, were announced recently. Please check the show’s site and Facebook page for regular updates.
