Press Release
This Saturday, May 11, children, parents, teachers, and comic fans will be transported to a world of wondrous imagination, fun and learning as the KIDS COMIC CON 7 (KCC 7) rockets to earth at Bronx Community College from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The annual event has an out-of-this-world theme this year: Sci-Fact to Sci-Fiction, Where Creativity and Technology Meet.
Over the past month, the KCC team has been working overtime to make this their biggest event ever! Additional guests, workshops, activities and more have been added since KCC 7 was originally announced.
Among the added guests are international comic artist Samba Ndar Cisse’ all the way from Africa. Another international superstar, graphic novel author Shira Frimer from Israel can’t make it to the convention, but has participated via a special pre-convention podcast interview that will be available to fans on the KCC 7 official website and Facebook page.
Previously announced guest Scholastic Books is bringing a “mini book fair” to the event, so the KCC 7 team thought it would be great to raise funds (http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kcc-bucks-4-books) allowing underprivileged kids attending the show to purchase books from Scholastic. At this writing, more than $1,000 has been raised, to be given to children as $5 vouchers to buy books the day of the show.
Another fun addition is a raffle offering some amazing prizes. From original art by popular illustrator Dan Parent to signed photos of The Neighbors star Toks Olagundoye, from an Iron Man Build-a-Bear to a copy of the New Crusaders paperback collection autographed by the creative team and an Archie Archives hardcover autographed by Batman movie producer Michael Uslan (who wrote the foreword), there’s something for everyone!
Speaking of Batman, this will be the first-ever KCC with cosplayers! Costumed characters expected to appear include the Caped Crusader himself as well as his nemesis, The Riddler; Avengers Captain America and Thor; Sailor Mars, and Mario from Super Mario Bros.
As if all the above weren’t enough, KCC is thrilled to announce that two of this year’s guests were actually inspired by the event to create an all-new comic book series! Joe Endres and Jesus Marquez will debut pages from their work-in-progress, Space Scamps, at KCC.
“The inspiration was the audience we’ve enjoyed the most since hitting the comic scene again last summer – kids,” explained Endres. “Reflecting upon how we’ve connected with kids at Kids Comic Con events at Ronald McDonald House, a homeless shelter, and at the big shows, we realized that we really love working with kids. After booking Kids Comic Con, we decided this was our opportunity to really try something new. I really wanted to produce something that we could give to our favorite people with no doubts about content in my head.”
For Space Scamps, Endres took the alien characters from his acclaimed series, Colossians and sent them back in time to their teen years, where they deal with all the typical problems kids on earth encounter – from unrequited crushes to missed homework assignments to teasing and more.
In addition to Endres and Marquez, kids will be able to meet with over 30 acclaimed artists who use different forms of science and technology to create comics, animation, video games, puppets, and more. And this year admission is totally FREE — making the KIDS COMIC CON one of the best entertainment values around!
Featured events include:
First International Screening: “The Comic King of Guatemala” Is a carload of comics heading from the U.S to Guatemala, a dream or a disaster? In a country where illiteracy rates are high, a bookshop owners Dan and Sarah are on a mission … and comics are at the core. The acclaimed short film screens at KIDS COMIC CON at 12:15, 1:45, and 3:45.
KCC 7 Patrolled By NEW CRUSADERS! The creators of Archie Comics’ sci-fi superheroes will be there to answer questions, sketch, and share an inside peek of their creation.
Around the Corner to SESAME STREET! Come meet members of the Jim Henson/Sesame Street creative team. Learn how they work with the Muppets, and much more.
Joan Hilty’s panel, Creating Comics from Real Life! The renowned freelance editor leads an insightful panel on using comics to tell true stories, illustrate educational topics, and give teens a way to talk about their lives.
Notable guests at this year’s event include veteran editors Jim Salicrup and Danny Fingeroth; Louis Mitchell and Diana Leto from Sesame Workshop, Karen Falk from the Jim Henson Company and a variety of writers, artists and editors from Archie Comics including Suzannah Rowntree, Jamal Peppers, Alitha Martinez, Ryan Jampole, Angelo DeCesare and Paul Castiglia.
“KCC’s primary goal is to promote reading, creativity, and exploration in kids’ lives,” KCC organizer Alex Simmons stated. “Now more than ever it is imperative that young people embrace a continuous flow of positive ideas, skills, and outlets for their thinking as well as self-esteem. This year we’ve found even more people who share these ideas and goals so come share the day and the magic.”
The 2013 KIDS COMIC CON is set for May 11 at Bronx Community College, 181st Street and University Avenue, Bronx, NY from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is FREE. For additional information and up-to-the-minute programming updates, please visit www.facebook.com/KidsComiCon.
