NY Comic-Con '09: Saturday's Manga & Anime Highlights

The fun resumes on Day 2 of New York Comic-Con 2009 at Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City starting from 10:00 am and it won't stop until 7:00 pm.

Also -- an update if you're thinking of attending on Saturday: If you don't already have tickets, don't bother going to Javits today. The Saturday and weekend passes are SOLD OUT and will not be available for sale at the door. All's not lost if you truly want to go. You may be able to find a retailer who may have some Saturday passes left for sale. Sunday passes are still available online and hopefully, will still be available at the door today and tomorrow. Having a sold out Saturday is a first for NY Comic-Con, an impressive achievement for a relatively new show in a very tight economic climate.

Today's manga highlights? A few meet and greets with global manga artists, including Svetlana Chmakova (Dramacon, Nightschool) from 11:00 am – 12: 00 pm at the Yen Press booth 1921, and Chinese manhua talent Benjamin (Orange) at the TokyoPop booth 1621 from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. Also appearing at the TokyoPop booth today is Amy Hadley (artist and author, Fool's Gold), rem (artist, Vampire Kisses), Ken Faggio (author, Tantric Stripfighter Trina) from 2:00 – 3:00 pm, and some of the creative forces behind the Starcraft and Warcraft manga adaptations from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

Today's other manga-centric highlights are panels where we can expect to hear some new and exciting news about upcoming releases from Del Rey Manga, Dark Horse, Yen Press, Bandai Entertainment, CMX Manga and FUNimation. Or at least that's what I'm hoping to get out of those hour-long fests of slides and patter.

Saturday is expected to be the busiest day of the show, with numerous special guest appearances by comics legends and celebrities from movie and TV land. Here's some of the highlights worth checking out:

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2009

• 11:00 pm - 12:00 pm: Autograph Session with Svetlana Chmakova, Yen Press Booth 1921
  Meet manga creator Svetlana Chmakova and find out more about her current series running in Yen Plus, Nightschool. Nightschool is a supernatural drama-adventure that is starting to pick up steam in the magazine -- so grill Svet about where the story is headed toward next!
• 11:15 am - 12:15 pm: Del Rey Manga Happy Fun Time Hullaballoo!, Room 1A06
  Not content to simply have a panel to announce their new and upcoming releases for 2009, the Del Rey Manga crew are promising a hootenanny of manga fun, plus some fashion tips too. Also, don't forget to drop by the Del Rey Booth #1940 to pick up some fun freebies like Kitchen Princess stickers, X-Men and Wolverine keychains and the latest Del Rey Manga sampler, featuring pages from X-Men: Misfits, Wolverine: Prodigal Son, and Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei.
• 12:15 pm - 1:15 pm: Chip Kidd Presents Bat Manga!, Room 1A21
  Author, graphic artist and Batman memorabilia collector extraordinaire Chip Kidd will chat up Bat-Manga! The Secret History of Batman in Japan with his always entertaining slide presentation as well as a Q & A session.
• 11:15 am - 12:15 pm: Code Geass (anime screening) , Room 1A02
  Bandai hosts a screening of this sci-fi / adventure series, featuring character designs by CLAMP and a story about a futuristic Japan, where this island nation has been invaded by the Holy Empire of Britannia, and of course, there's giant robots involved.
• am - pm: Representation of Women in Comics, Room 1A18
  Again, another panel with a scant tie to manga, but gotta give that shout out to the gals at Friends of Lulu, who'll be schooling y'all on "the effects of the female characters we read about in mainstream and independent comics works." Yeah, I'm not sure what that means either, but it might be interesting to find out.
• 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm: Anime for Comics Fans, Comics for Anime Fans, Room 1A17
  The editorial staff of Anime Insider and Wizard magazines join forces to try to bridge the gap between the cape and spandex side and the big eyes and giant robots side of the comic book shop with their recommendations of graphic novels and anime that deserve a crossover audience.
• 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm: Bandai Entertainment, Room 1A22
  Ooh, now here's a scheduling conflict if I ever saw one. You know that panel I just described happening in Room 1A17 geared to bring together anime and comic book fans? The trouble is, all the anime fans will be hanging out a few rooms down the hall, waiting breathlessly for any new announcements from Bandai Entertainment. Ah well. Comic book détente will just have to wait.
• 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm: D.Gray-Man (anime screening), Room 1A02
  FUNimation presents a few episodes from D.Gray-Man, a steam-punk-styled supernatural drama. Allen Walker has a cursed eye and magical powers that make him uniquely qualified to fight Akuma, supernatural weapons that are out to destroy humankind. But there's a dark secret behind Allen's powers, and as he fights Akuma, he must also fight other forces that threaten to consume him.
• 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm: Autograph Session with Benjamin, TokyoPop Booth 1621
  Meet Chinese manhua artist Benjamin and get him to sign your copy of Orange, his recently released full-color graphic novel. Orange is the first release from TokyoPop's new full-color graphic novels line, and it's got lots of eye-popping art, so take this chance to meet this up-and-coming comics creator.
• 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm: Asian Americans and Super Heroes: Secret Identities, Room 1A18
  Now technically, I know this is not a manga panel. But I gotta give a shout out to the Asian American creators behind Secret Identities, a new comics anthology that spotlights Asian American superheroes who can do more than wave samurai swords and throw ninja stars. At least I hope that's what they've done here, because gosh knows there are more than enough ninjas out there already.
• 1:45 pm - 2:45 pm: Yen Press, Room 1A22
  The Yen Press crew will bring the noise and maybe some new announcements of fun stuff to come in 2009 and beyond. I have yet to attend a Yen Press convention panel that didn't include at least two or three squeal-worthy additions to their publishing line-up, this one's a must-see. I'm also told that they'll be giving away a very cool Soul Eater mystery gift. Also, drop by their booth (#1921) for free copies of the latest issue of Yen Plus, and Soul Eater posters.
• 1:45 pm - 2:45 pm: Robot Chicken, Room 1A08
  Speaking of noise, if you're headed to the Yen Press panel and see lots and lots of people headed the other way? They're going to check out the Robot Chicken panel, starring actual celebrity-type people, Seth Green, Breckin Meyer and Geoff Johns. If you're shaking your head saying "Robot Chicken? Whuuuh?" you've probably never caught an episode of this snarky, merrily low-budget-looking pop culture parody show on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.
• 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm: Autograph Session with Amy Hadley, rem and Ken Faggio, TokyoPop Booth 1621
  Meet the creators behind some of TokyoPop's recent and new releases, including Amy Hadley (Fool's Gold), rem (artist, Vampire Kisses) and Ken Faggio (author, Tantric Streetfighter Trina).
• 2:30pm - 3:30 pm: Disney and Pixar Present UP (movie preview), IGN Theater
  Find out more about the latest movie from Pixar and Disney from UP director Pete Doctor. If you're interested, go early, because this one will likely be pretty packed.
• 2:45pm - 3:45 pm: FUNimation, Room 1A07
  Anime fans in the know will be there early to snag a front row seat to hear the latest news and anime license announcements.
• 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm: Gurren Lagann (anime screening), Room 1A02
  From Gainax, the anime gurus who brought you Neon Genesis Evangelion and FLCL comes another otaku fave, Gurren Lagann. This subterranean to outer space adventure has action! Drama! A girl in hot pants and a flame bikini top! Geezus, what else do you want?
• 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm: Autograph Session with Warcraft / Starcraft Creative Teams, TokyoPop Booth 1621
  Meet Chris Metzen, Vice President of Creative Development at Blizzard Entertainment, Mickey Neilson, Senior Writer and Voice Director, Blizzard Entertainment, Keith R.A. DeCandido, writer of Starcraft: Ghost Academy and Josh Elder, artist of Starcraft: Frontline.
• 4:15 pm - 5:15 pm: Gundam 00 (anime screening), Room 1A02
  The latest installment in this mecha fan favorite, Gundam 00 is full of drama, political intrigue and lots and lots of giant robots! Woo!
• 5:15 pm - 7:30 pm: Afro Samurai Resurrection (movie screening), Room 1A04
  Based on the manga by Takashi Okazaki (which is available from Seven Seas Manga), Afro Samurai Resurrection picks up the action once more as Afro is on a mission to find the fools who have desecrated his father's grave. Starring the voice of Samuel L.Jackson and featuring beats from The RZA, this movie-length FUNimation relase is pretty violent, so take the kiddies somewhere else, okay responsible parents?
• 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm: UP Preview Screening (movie screening), IGN Theater
  Be one of the first people on the planet to see the first 50 minues of UP, the new movie from Pixar and Disney. Director Pete Doctor will be on hand to introduce and talk about this unusual adventure tale of an old man, a boy scout, and a flying house.
• 5:30 pm - 6:00 pm: NYCC Costume Contest, Variant Stage
  You call it cosplay, but in mainstream comics land, it's still a costume competition. I prefer cosplay, don’t you? It sounds so much merrier, somehow. Anyway, Cosclips.com and the World Cosplay Summit Team USA are sponsoring this one, and they know a darn good costume when they see it. If you'd like to get in the running to win some "astonishing prizes" just for coming to NYCC in costume, go to the Variant Stage and register before 5:30.
• 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm: Apes and Babes: The Frank Cho Spotlight, Room 1A00
  Say what you want about Frank Cho, but this guy can draw. Seriously, he knows his stuff. After his brush with doing a syndicated comic strip Liberty Meadows, Cho has taken his talents to the folks who will truly appreciate his way with dynamic figure drawing and hot stuff pin-up girl art. Cho's recent work on Shanna the She-Devil and the Mighty Avengers has got comic books fans agog with fanboy joy. I know! This isn't manga! But check it out if you love comics and you've got a free hour or so before the next anime event.
• 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm: Lucky Star (anime screening), Room 1A07
  Bandai presents the incredibly adorable adventures of Konata Izumi, a high school girl who loves anime to the point of distraction. This one's a huge hit in otaku circles in both Japan and America, so take advantage of this free screening to find out why.
• 6:45 pm - 7:45 pm: CMX Manga, Room 1A06
  CMX Manga editor Jim Chadwick will be on hand to showcase some of the recently released and upcoming attractions for 2009, including Genghis Khan, Fire Inspector Nanase and hopefully a few more new titles too.
• 6:45 pm - 7:45 pm: FUNimation Sneak Preview, Room 1A22
  Aargh. FUNimation or CMX Manga? Why, oh why are both events scheduled in the same timeslot? I'm a manga-phile, so this isn't as painful a choice, but oy, you should see the other anime / manga bloggers scramble when this kind of thing happens. You can actually see the veins on the foreheads throb just like they do in anime. Anyway, if you opt to check out this one, the FUNi-folk will likely spill the beans on something really exciting and new for 2009 and beyond. But you'll have to tell me later, because I'll be down the hall in room 1A06.

Also, here's a short list of exhibitors worth checking out on the NYCC convention floor:

• CMX Manga - Booth 1641
• Dark Horse Comics - Booth 823
• Del Rey Manga – Booth 1940
• Fanfare - Ponent Mon - Booth 2347
• FUNimation Entertainment - Booth 1607
• Gama-Go - Booth 2816
• Giant Robot - Booth 2527
• Kinokuniya Bookstore - Booth 2722
• Organic Hobby - Booth 1112
• Seven Seas Publishing – Booth 1533
• Spicy Brown – Booth 1267
• Square Enix - Booth 1146
• Smith Micro – Booth 1048
• TokyoPop - Booth 1621
• Vertical Inc. - Booth 1626
• Yen Press - Booth 1920

Photos coming soon, as soon as I can catch a breath. And if you'd like to keep up with my latest updates straight from the convention floor at NYCC, follow me on Twitter.