FanExpo Tomorrow!

Tomorrow I am off to FanExpo Canada. In a nutshell, it’s Canada’s equivalent to the San Diego Comic Con. Admittedly, it’s not nearly as large, nor does it draw a huge slush of big Hollywood celebrities – but it’s definitely a place I look forward going to every year.

Last year, as if you hadn’t known already, I met the legendary Stan Lee. This year, while Stan Lee will not be there, a huge group of comic artists and writers will be. I’m looking very forward to meeting and talking to a bunch of them. Most importantly, a brilliant writer: Chris Claremont.

But for this year, I’m only going up for two days – Thursday and Friday – due to work obligations and finances. However, that will not stop me from having a ton of fun. Expect tons of pictures when I come back.

In fact, let’s see my schedule for the Con:

People to See/Get Signed:
Chris Claremont #743 (Uncanny X-Men)
Leonard Kirk #P055 (New Mutants)
Mark Brooks #P045 (Uncanny X-Force)
Dale Eaglesham #P066 (Alpha Flight, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulks)
Fred Van Lente #P065 (Taskmaster, Chaos War)
C.B. Cebulski Booth #743 (Marvel VP)
Kelly Sue DeConnick #P002 (Osborn) (Friday)
Jimmy Cheung (Avengers: Children’s Crusade)
Axl Alonso (Marvel Editor-in-Chief)

Panels & Signings:
Thursday:
5pm, Room 714 – Breaking into Comics the Marvel Way
7pm, Room 717 – Redefining the FF – Jonathan Hickman, Steve Epting & Marko Djurdjevic

Friday:
11:30am, Room 716 – Sketching Duel: Marko Djurdjevic & Tony Daniel
1pm, Room 717 – Fred Van Lente & Dale Eaglesham on Alpha Flight
2:30pm, Room 714 – Marvel: Fear Itself
Auto CC 3:30pm – Signing Session: Marko Djurdjevic (NM, SA)

As you can see, there are some major names on that schedule of mine. I’m very excited to talk to Fred Van Lente on how incredible his Taskmaster series was. I also am looking forward to meeting Kelly Sue to express my appreciation for her work on Osborn.

I’m probably going to get some commission work done as well. Leonard Kirk is on the top of my list, while, if at all possible, I’d like to see how much Djurdjevic charges – if he’s doing any at all.

When I’m not in line for, or in the panels and signing sessions, I will be scouring the immense showroom floor; checking out costumes, booths, and other artists. I’m still on the hunt to complete the entire run of Uncanny X-Men, so we’ll see how that goes!

I did say I wasn’t staying the whole weekend for financial reasons, right?

As a side note, isn’t it crazy that Mike Carey is finishing his six-year run on X-Men Legacy?

X-Men Legacy

I’ll see you all when I get back!

Keep on Space Truckin’!

FanExpo Comic Guest List Announced! CGC Stuff, Too!

Being from Southern Ontario, it’s not often that comic conventions come out our way. However, one annual convention called Fan Expo comes to Toronto every year and brings in some of the biggest names in the business. In a nutshell, it’s the San Diego Comic Con on a smaller scale, centered in Toronto.

It focuses on Comics, Horror, Science Fiction, Anime and Video Games. It’s quite a well-rounded event.

Last year, I was able to meet my childhood hero, Stan Lee. Olivier Copiel, Gary Frank, Leonard Kirk, and Steve McNiven, to name a few, all made their appearances too. The year before that, I was lucky enough to meet Joe Quesada. This years list is beyond impressive:

JEFF SMITH (artist/creator – BONE)

JOE KUBERT (Legendary Artist)

ANDY KUBERT (artist – FLASHPOINT, BATMAN)

ADAM KUBERT (artist – ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE)

TONY MOORE (artist – THE WALKING DEAD, VENOM)

MATT FRACTION (writer- FEAR ITSELF, THOR, IRONMAN, UNCANNY X-MEN)

STEVE EPTING (artist – FANTASTIC FOUR, CAPTAIN AMERICA)

JONATHAN HICKMAN (writer – FANTASTIC FOUR, S.H.I.E.L.D, PAX ROMANA)

STUART IMMONEN (artist – FEAR ITSELF)

OLIVIER COIPEL (artist – THOR)

JASON AARON (writer- ULTIMATE CAPTAIN AMERICA, WOLVERINE)

JAMES ROBINSON (writer – SUPERMAN, JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA)

STEVE McNIVEN (artist – CAPTAIN AMERICA, NEMESIS)

SHANE DAVIS (artist – SUPERMAN EARTH ONE)

RON GARNEY (artist – ULTIMATE CAPTAIN AMERICA)

MARKO DJURDJEVIC (artist – THOR, FANTASTIC FOUR, SPIDER-MAN)

JIMMY CHEUNG (artist- AVENGERS:THE CHILDREN’S CRUSADE)

BRIAN AZZARELLO (writer – FIRST WAVE, 100 BULLETS, JOKER)

ETHAN VAN SCIVER (artist – THE FLASH REBIRTH)

MARK BROOKS (artist – UNCANNY X-FORCE)

DAN SLOTT (writer – AMAZING SPIDER-MAN)

ALEX MALEEV (artist – MOON KNIGHT, SCARLET)

DALE EAGLESHAM (artist – ALPHA FLIGHT)

FRANCIS MANAPUL (artist – THE FLASH)

KATHRYN IMMONEN (writer – WOLVERINE & JUBILEE)

DALE KEOWN (artist – HULK, PITT)

JEFF LEMIRE (artist – SUPERBOY, SWEET TOOTH)

KATIE COOK (artist – GRONK, STAR WARS, FRAGGLE ROCK)

DOUG SNEYD (Legendary Playboy cartoonist)

Of course, there’s even more!

Kei Acedara
Attila Adorjany
Sam Agro
Adrian Alphona
Kalman Andrasofszky
Andy Belanger
J. Bone
Kent Burles
C.B. Cebulski
Scott Chantler
Bobby Chiu
Michael Cho
Charlene Chua
Aaron Costain
Wes Craig
David J. Cutler
Willow Dawson
Kelly Sue DeConnick
Valentine DeLandro
Anthony Del Col
Michael Del Mundo
Jason Edmiston
Nick Evans
Ray Fawkes
W. Scott Forbes
Mike Gagnon
Agnes Garbowska
Holly Halftone
Clayton Hanmer
Scott Hepburn
Greg Hyland
Raffaelle Ienco
Jesse Jacobs
Eric Kim
Leonard Kirk
Shane Kirshenblatt
Scott Kowalchuk
Annie Koyama
Drazen Kozjan
Jessie Lam
Marvin Law
Alvin Lee
Kurt Lehner
Leo Leibelman
Nimit Malavia
Steven Charles Manale
Steve Mannion
Marvin Mariano
Nick Marinkovich
John Martz
Richard Maurizio
Conor McCreery
Brian McLachlan
Kagan McLeod
Diana McNally
Alex Milne
Vicki Nerino
Richard Pace
Dan Parent
Ramon K. Perez
Alex Perkins
Nick Postic
Gibson Quarter
Peter Repovski
Ethan Rilly
Benjamin Rivers
Hugh Rookwood
Dave Ross
Riley Rossmo
Salgood Sam
K.T. Smith
Fiona Smyth
Steve Sprayson
Diana Tamblyn
Ty Templeton
Kelly Tindall
Marcus To
J. Torres
James Turner
Alina Urusov
Eric Vedder
Joe Vriens
Tigh Walker
Ken Wheaton
Kurtis Wiebe
Britt Wilson
Steve Wolfhard
Howard Wong
Tory Woollcott
Craig Yeung
Richard Zajac
Jim Zubkavich

Publishes and Studios:

DC Comics
Marvel Comics
Image Comics
Archie Comics
Udon Entertainment
DK Canada
Koyama Press
Imaginism Studios
Transmission-X (TX Comics)

Check out more updates as they come along on FanExpo’s Website.

I’m very excited for Stuart and Kathryn Immonen, Matt Fraction, Steve McNiven, Marko Djurdjevic, Alex Maleev, Oliver Coipel, Dale Keown, Steve Epting, Jimmy Cheung, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Leonard Kirk, and Tony Moore.

It’s going to be a blast!

In other news, CGC Comics just announced that they’ve reached a milestone with 100,000 Signature Series books being certified through them.

“All collectibles certified with the prestigious CGC Signature Series label have been signed in the presence of a CGC representative, and are then submitted for CGC certification. CGC authenticates the signatures and indicates all pertinent information on the prestigious CGC Signature Series label. The Signature Series label includes security features such as an official hologram seal and a unique serial number. The item is then graded and encapsulated in CGC’s patented, tamper-evident holder, to become a treasured part of a collection. Thanks to CGC Signature Series, collectors know their signed items bear the seal of the most-trusted name in collecting.”

I’m proud to be part of that 100,000 with my copy of X-Men #15 signed by Stan Lee. (Who knows why I’m proud – I just am.)

Keep on Space Truckin’!