Comic-Con '08: Friday's Manga and Anime Highlights

The second full day of San Diego Comic-Con 2008 promises a full schedule of manga and anime fun, including appearances by manga artists Hiro Mashima (Fairy Tail), Yoshitaka Amano (Vampire Hunter D), Yasuhiro Nightow (Trigun) and Takashi Okazaki (Afro Samurai) plus the Will Eisner Awards ceremony and a screening of Bleach: Memories of Nobody featuring an appearance by Tite Kubo in the evening.

Here's today's manga and anime highlights:

10:00 am - 11:00 am VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump Panel at Room 2
Not only does 2008 mark the 5th anniversary of the U.S. edition of Shonen Jump, but it is also the 40th anniversary of Japan's most popular manga magazine, Weekly Shonen Jump - the mother ship of some of the world's most popular manga. These double milestones mean loads of events and announcements, some exclusive to San Diego Comic-Con! Don't miss out on this opportunity to meet the editors and find out what they've got up their sleeves for 2009.

12:00 noon – 1:30 pm Yoshitaka Amano Book Signing at Dark Horse Booth #2615
Meet legendary manga-ka, artist and illustrator Yoshitaka Amano, and be one of the lucky few to get your books signed, including the latest release in the Vampire Hunter D novels, Vampire Hunter D: Shinjuku. This is a ticketed event, so visit the Dark Horse booth on Friday morning to get a ticket for the drawing for a place in line to meet Amano-sensei.

12:15 – 1:15 pm Takashi Okazaki – Afro Samurai Autograph Session at Seven Seas Manga Booth #2649
Meet the original creator of Afro Samurai, Takashi Okazaki, plus pick up a free Afro Samurai poster, and maybe even get it signed by Okazaki-sensei himself!

12:30 pm - 2:00 pm Comics Arts Conference Session #7: Visual Language at Room 30AB
Neil Cohn from Tufts University explores the visual language underlying the "manga style," how it works and how it differs from the visual languages in comics developed in other cultures. Robert O'Nale Jr. from Henderson State University uses David Mack's Kabuki to illustrate how gestalt can be an important avenue for analyzing design and meaning in comics. Alec Hosterman from Indiana University South Bend demonstrates the dominance of "hyper-reality" in comic art and explains how it can be utilized for further study of the art form.

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Broccoli Books Panel at Room 4
See what's new and coming soon from Broccoli Books, including their latest releases, Sola, Honoka Level Up! and the ultra luxe cosplay mook, Cosmode. If the stars are aligned, maybe we'll even get some new manga announcements for 2009.

2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Fairy Tail: Hiro Mashima Autograph Session at Del Rey Manga Booth #1128
Be one of the lucky fans who gets an exclusive Comic-Con shikishi (autograph board) signed by Mashima-sensei. To pull off this oh-so-cool feat, you must go to the Comic Cellar booth (#806), buy your books there, and if you're one of the early birds, you'll get a ticket for this signing session.

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm VIZ Media's Anime and Manga Publishing Panel at Room 2
From the folks who brought you Death Note, Naruto and Bleach comes the latest coming attractions in manga and anime from VIZ. If VIZ is like most manga publishers, they've been saving up some big gun announcements just for Comic-Con, so this should be good.

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm World of Warcraft Panel at Room 6CDEF
Warcraft warriors, this is your day -- the crew from Blizzard, Upper Deck, DC Comics and Tokyopop will be on hand to share what's coming next from the World of Warcraft gaming, comics, action figure, and manga. And if you didn't already snag enough freebies to fill a giant bag, attendees will receive an exclusive World of Warcraft Comic-Con gift -- while supplies last, of course.

5:00 pm – 6:00 pm Trigun: Yasuhiro Nightow Signing at Dark Horse, Booth #2615
Meet legendary manga-ka, artist and illustrator Yasuhiro Nightow, and get your copy of Trigun or Trigun Maximum signed. This is a ticketed event, so visit the Dark Horse booth on Friday morning to get a ticket for the drawing for a place in line to meet Nightow-sensei.

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm EigoManga Portfolio Review at Portfolio Review Area C
eigoMANGA is reviewing submissions for original manga or manga-inspired works to be published in their line of graphic novels and anthology magazines.

7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Bleach the Movie: Memories of Nobody Screening, with appearance by Tite Kubo at Gaslamp 15 Theater, 701 Fifth Avenue
See the Bleach movie on the big screen, plus see Kubo-sensei in person as he introduces his creation. Tickets are given away at the VIZ booth (#4113) on a first come-first served basis. Doors open at 6:30 with the movie starting at 7 pm.

8:30 – 11:00 pm 2008 Eisner Awards Ceremony at Ballroom 20
(Doors open at 7:30 for professionals, and at 8:15 for general Comic-Con attendees.) See if more than one manga nominee will snag a prize from the superhero-centric Eisner Awards judges. The contenders include Naoki Urasawa's Monster, two from Osamu Tezuka (MW and Apollo's Song), Yotsuba&!, and Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms, plus Jason Thompson's Manga: The Complete Guide. See a gallery of the 2008 Eisner Award manga nominees.

ALL-DAY EVENTS AND PROMOTIONS

Ticketing for Saturday 3:30 pm autograph session with Tite Kubo at VIZ Media booth #4113
Be one of the first 50 people to buy Bleach books, official tees or merchandise at the VIZ Media store and get a ticket and a special shikishi (autograph board) for Saturday's 3:30 pm autograph session.

Ticketing for Friday and Saturday autograph sessions with Hiro Mashima at The Comic Cellar Booth #806
Mashima-sensei will be at two autograph sessions at Comic-Con (Friday from 2:30 – 3:30 at the Del Rey Manga booth, and Saturday at the Comic-Con Autographing Area from 4:30 – 5:30 pm). Both events are limited to fans who have got their tickets by purchasing their copies of Fairy Tail at the Comic Cellar Booth. Tickets are limited, so get 'em early.

Demo and Preview of Manga Studio 4 for Windows at Smith Micro Booth #4516
It's not due in the stores until Fall '08, but get a peek at the new features that'll be available in Manga Studio 4 at the Smith Micro booth. Global manga artist (Rhysmyth) and Manga Studio master Lincy Chan will be on hand to show you how it's done.

11:00 am – 3:00 pm – Dark Horse Comics Portfolio Review at Portfolio Review Area B
Dark Horse editors are looking for new talent, but they're also very keen that you show them sequential art (e.g. actual comic book stories vs. pin-ups, minimum 5 pages from a single story), so look at their guidelines posted on their website, polish up your portfolio and take your shot at a career (or at least a freelance check or two) in comics.

11:00 pm – 4:00 pm Astro Boy "Hair Makeovers" at Imagi Studios Booth #3530
If you ever wondered how Astro Boy gets his hair to point in two directions, well, Comic-Con will give you an opportunity to see how the pros do it. According to info posted on Anime News Network, Imagi Studios is offering free Astro Boy hair makeovers for Comic-Con attendees. Just watch yourself in the crowds – you could take someone's eye out with a dangerous 'do like that...

10:00 am - 1:30 am Non-Stop Anime in the Anime Rooms: 24BC, 25AB and 25C
Need to take a break from the Exhibit Hall madness? Spend a few minutes in the dark, comfy confines of the Anime Rooms. Films include: Emma: A Victorian Romance, Comic Party, Code Geass, Otoboku: Maidens Are Falling for Me. See the online schedule.

Image credit: © Deb Aoki