Shonen Jump Announces Two Contests to Meet Tite Kubo at Comic-Con '08

The bad news: 4-day and Saturday-only passes for San Diego Comic-Con are sold out. The good news: if you already have your passes for Saturday, July 26 at Comic-Con 2008, you have several opportunities to meet and get an autograph from Bleach manga creator, Tite Kubo. Here's the dealio:

• Saturday, July 26, 2008 is Bleach Day at Comic-Con
  Come in your Bleach cosplay or Bleach t-shirts to give a warm welcome to Kubo-sensei on his first visit to an American comics convention.
• VIZ Media and Shonen Jump Present Tite Kubo Saturday, July 26, 1:00 – 2:00 pm, Room 7AB
  Join the Shonen Jump magazine crew as they lead a Q&A session with one of Japan's leading shonen manga creators, Tite Kubo. As an added bonus, all attendees will get a limited edition Bleach poster, created just for Kubo-sensei's visit to Comic-Con.
• Special Appearance by Tite Kubo at a screening of Bleach: Memories of Nobody
  This'll be held on Friday night, July 25 at a theater and time to be announced soon. Stay tuned for more on this.
• Autograph Sessions on Saturday, July 26, 10 am – 11 am and 3:30 – 4:30 pm at the VIZ Media booth (#4113)
  Tickets are limited for the autograph sessions, with more details to come about how to score a ticket at the show.

But if you've already got your tickets to attend Comic-Con on Saturday, you have two chances to jump ahead of the line to get a special signed shikishi board from Kubo-sensei:

Feeling artistic? Draw your favorite Bleach characters and enter the Bleach Fan Art Contest. The top 10 entries will get a guaranteed place in line for an autograph, and get a chance to show Kubo-sensei their creations.

Feeling lucky? Enter the Tite Kubo Autograph Contest online by submitting your name, contact info and your date of birth. You may be one of 20 lucky winners who'll get a ticket to meet and get an autograph from Kubo-sensei.

Both contests are open to entrants age 13 and up, and you must already have tickets to attend Comic-Con on Saturday. Get crackin', because the entry deadline is July 10, 2008.

Image credit: © Tite Kubo, Shueisha / Shonen Jump