Media Release -- Denver Comic Con unleashes their second wave of special guest announcements with a star studded line up. The inaugural event, set to take place at the Denver Convention Center over Father's Day weekend 2012 will play host to a diverse group of Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonists, literary giants, and Hollywood celebrities including the latest additions of Scott McCloud, Michael Uslan, Greg Weisman, Barry Kitson, Michael Zulli, Mike Keefe, Ed Stein, David Uslan, and Laura and Mike Allred. The two-day benefit event has already sold out its Artist Alley exhibitor tables, pointing toward a positive future in the Mile High City.
Denver Comic Con, in conjunction with Denver's newest literacy program for children – Comic Book Classroom - is making big moves on the Front Range. The locally powered organization has already launched a successful after-school pilot program in the Denver Public School system, teaching children literacy and arts through comic books. Already showing marked results for the students involved in the program, Comic Book Classroom just announced a new national partnership with the prestigious Stan Lee Foundation to help bring the program into school systems nationwide, beginning with 7 new Denver area schools serving 200 students this winter. With lofty goals and an inspirational vision, the proceeds from Denver Comic Con will benefit the growth of this innovative approach to learning.
With education at its backbone, Denver Comic Con will feature all the traditional cosplay, costumes, and Hollywood sci-fi stars along with a unique educational aspect of a literary conference. The 2012 Keynote speaker for Rocky Mountain Conference on Comics and Graphic Novels (RMCCGN) will include the comic book literary giant, Scott McCloud. Known for his work on the non-fiction series Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics and Making Comics, his awards include numerous Eisners, Harveys and a Jack Kirby Award. McCloud is also the creator of the 24-Hour Comic that birthed the 24-Hour Comic Challenge, a one-day comic drawing and writing phenomenon that takes place yearly in comic stores around the globe.
Denver Comic Con will also feature Michael Uslan, best known for his Hollywood credits in the Batman franchise. He is a perfect fit for the event as he is an authority on comic book history as instructor of both the first accredited college course and correspondence course on comic books (Indiana University 1971) as well as the first textbook on comic books (The Comic Book in America). His film credits as an executive producer include, The Dark Knight Rises (Warner 2012); The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Batman, Batman Returns, andwon The Emmy Award for bringing Carmen Sandiego to TV. His writing credits include The Shadow (DC Comics), Batman: (DC Comics) Terry and the Pirates (comic strip), Will Eisner's The Spirit (DC Comics), as well as his latest personal memoir titled, The Boy Who Loved Batman.
Emmy award winner Greg Weisman is also scheduled for the two-day pop culture event. Weisman has directed and written some of the most popular animated series, including Young Justice, The Batman, The Spectacular Spider-Man, and cult-favorite, Gargoyles. His writing credits include comic adaptations of Gargoyles and work on characters like Black Canary (DC Comics) and Captain Atom (DC Comics).
Other guests include Pulitzer Prize winning political cartoonist, Mike Keefe (Running Awry, Keefe-Kebab and The Ten-Speed Commandments), UK based Barry Kitson (Fantastic Four, Uncanny X-Force, Spider-Man), Michael Zulli (Sandman, Grendel, Sweeney Todd, Puma Blues, and The Fracture of the Universal Boy), Film and TV producer & Vice President of Business Development for Graphicly David Uslan (Mob's Greatest Hits, AMC's Mob Week, Billy The Monster Hunter, Honor Thy Father, The Factor, Money To Burn, and Mascot To The Rescue), Armando Durruthy (Superman, Star Wars, Ghostbusters,G.I. Joe,Transformers), nationally syndicated cartoonist, Ed Stein (Freshly Squeezed), Laura Allred (Colorist - X-Force, Thor, Wednesday Comics, Madman), and Mike Allred (Madman, X-Force, Fables).
Denver Comic Con is the first show of its kind to come to downtown Denver. Hours are Friday, June 15th, 2012, 6 p.m.-midnight; Saturday, June 16th, 10 a.m.-midnight. and Sunday, June 17th, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tickets and discount rooms at the Hyatt are available in advance online at http://www.denvercomiccon.com.
ABOUT DENVER COMIC CON: DCC/LC is Denver's premiere fan experience, covering the worlds of comic books, film, and related media, taking place June 15-17, 2012 at the Colorado Convention Center. For the latest news and information, visit www.denvercomiccon.com
ABOUT THE LITERACY CONFERENCE:
The Rocky Mountain Conference on Comics and Graphic Novels serves as the literary conference component of Denver Comic Con and will take place from June13-15, 2012. RMCGG is devoted solely to the scholarly study and teaching of the sequential arts, and is currently accepting proposals from nearly any field of study and across the disciplines, such as art, theory, history, and pedagogy. Please see http://www.denvercomiccon.com/literarycon/call-for-papers/for more details.
ABOUT COMIC BOOK CLASSROOM: Comic Book Classroom is a nonprofit organization that educates through alternative approaches to literacy, learning, and character development. CBC creates programs for underserved students, schools, and communities via comic books, graphic novels, and related media. CBC's Executive Director, Illya Kowalchuk, M.Ed., will run the educational programming for the convention. CBC is the organizer and producer for the DCC/LC. www.comicbookclassroom.org
