Bleach Manga Artist Tite Kubo to Appear at Comic-Con

From ICV2, who broke the news late last night: Bleach manga creator Tite Kubo will be VIZ Media's special guest at San Diego Comic-Con International on Friday July 25 and Saturday July 26, 2008. Kubo-sensei will make several appearances over the two days: at a Shonen Jump panel, where he'll talk about "his past, current and future projects," at a Friday night showing of the Bleach movie, Bleach: Memories of Nobody, and two scheduled autograph sessions on Saturday morning and afternoon.

Tickets for the autograph sessions will be limited to 200 lucky fans, 100 for each session. Tickets for the movie showings will also have limited availability and will be available at VIZ Media's Comic-Con booth. Check the Shonen Jump website for more details and updates as we get closer to Comic-Con.

As ICV2's article mentioned, it's a rare that a top-tier manga artist of Kubo-sensei's caliber comes to a U.S. comics convention, so this is a can't-miss-it event if you love Bleach. If you haven't already made your plans to attend this year's San Diego Comic-Con, well, what are you waiting for? Last year's event completely sold out, so this year, the Comic-Con folks are only pre-selling tickets - that means no on-site ticket sales. Avoid disappointment at the door and order your tickets at the Comic-Con website today.

Speaking of pre-sales, you can still pick up tickets for the nationwide showings of Bleach: Memories of Nobody on June 11 and 12, 2008. See a list of participating theaters near you.

Stay tuned for more news about Kubo-sensei's visit to the U.S. and more Comic-Con excitement to come.