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

Sunday is Kids' Day on Day 3 of New York Comic-Con 2009 at Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City starting from 10:00 am and keeps going until things wind down at 5:00 pm. Single day passes are $40, with kids under 12 allowed in for free (provided they're accompanied by a paying adult attendee).

While yesterday's crush of comics-crazed fans gave more than a few folks flashbacks of San Diego Comic-Con's mayhem (It's still not at that level yet -- but it's certainly busier than last year), today's festivities are bound to be a bit more low-key. The must-sees for manga fans today are the VIZ Media panel at 11:00 am, the Brian Lee O'Malley panel at 1:30 pm and a signing event with Sveltlana Chmakova (Dramacon, Nightschool), rem (Vampire Kisses) and Amy Hadley (Fool's Gold) from 1:00 at the TokyoPop booth #1621.

Here's the short-list of manga and anime highlights.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2009

• 11:00 am - 12:00 pm: VIZ Media, Room 1A23
  Find out more about new and upcoming anime and manga releases from VIZ Media. They've already mentioned in the latest issue of Shojo Beat that the Nana anime will be released soon -- maybe we'll get some actual release dates? That'd be cool, huh?
• 11:00 am - 11:30 am: Mail Order Ninja, Variant Stage
  Mail Order Ninja creator Josh Elder will lead a participatory reading of his kid-friendly comic about a boy who orders a ninja to help him fend off some bullies.
• 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm: Svetlana Chmakova, rem and Amy Hadley Signing, TokyoPop booth #1621
  Meet the artists who brought you Dramacon, Vampire Kisses and Fool's Gold, chat them up and maybe get a sketch! Free posters and postcards are also available at the booth.
• 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm: Scott Pilgrim vs. The Panel!, Room 1A14
  To celebrate the release of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, creator Bryan Lee O'Malley will chat up his comics creation and reveal what he's got planned for his next adventures.
• 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm: Aria (anime screening), Room 1A02
  From FUNimation: In this version of the future, Mars has been terraformed into a water planet that reproduces the romantic buildings and canals of Venice. In Neo-Venezia, a young undine (female gondolier)-in-training discovers the many joys of her new job and her new home.

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

• 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
• Smith Micro (Manga Studio) – Booth 1048
• Square Enix - Booth 1146
• Top Shelf Productions - Book 1620
• TokyoPop - Booth 1621
• Vertical Inc. - Booth 1626
• Yen Press - Booth 1920

Thanks to my pal the head cold, I've been a bit lax in posting reports. Hopefully, I'll catch up soon -- but for a quick fix, follow me on Twitter.

Image credit: © Deb Aoki; © Reed Exhibitions