Generally speaking, Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con International 2009 is considered the biggie - the day when a lot of the big celebs sightings happen and major panels are scheduled.
But for manga fans, Saturday is IKKI day, with the IKKI spotlight panel at noon and a IKKI launch party at 3:00 pm at the nearby San Diego Model Railroad Museum. There are also panels featuring new offerings from Del Rey Manga and Dark Horse today. Be sure to say hello to manga artists NaRae Lee (Maximum Ride), Yoshinori Natsume (Batman: Death Mask) and Nina Matsumoto (Yokaiden) at their respective autograph sessions. Be especially sure to visit Matsumoto's session so you can congratulate her on her recent Eisner Award win for Best Short Story (for "Murder He Wrote," a Simpsons Death Note parody)
The Exhibit Hall opens at 9:30 am and stays open until 7:00 pm for your shopping and schwag-grabbing pleasure. The panels and anime showings start at 10:00 am and keep going until midnight.
This isn't all that's going on at Comic-Con today, but it is a manga-centric guide to some noteworthy events that are worth your while to check out.
- 10:00 am - 11:00 am: How to Get a Job in the Video Game Industry
Capcom presents an insider's look at how a video game is made from concept through development and marketing, featuring a panel of Capcom professionals who will explain what they do in the whole process and, most important, how they got their job in the video game industry so you can gain insight for your own possible entry into the business. Featuring Motohide Eshiro (Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth), Mona Hamilton, Melody Pfeiffer, and other Capcom staff. Moderated by Francis Mao. Includes an in-depth Q&A session. - 11:00 am - 12:00 am: Women in Manga at Room 24
Newsflash! Women read manga! We all know that teenage girls have been driving much of the manga boom, but did you know that women are making massive contributions to fandom, the industry, and beyond? Moderated by Eva Volin, this panel will feature Leyla Aker, Robin Brenner, Becky Cloonan, Lillian Diaz-Przybyl, JuYoun Lee and myself as we discuss the state of women in the manga industry, female fans within the manga community, and just where women go from here in supporting and advocating for the media they love. - 11:00 am - 12:00 noon: Dark Horse: We Love Comics, Too! at Room 2
Join director of public relations Jeremy Atkins and senior managing editor Scott Allie, along with a cast of top creators, for an exclusive preview of all that Dark Horse has to offer in the coming year. This is the big one! Dark Horse breaks the mold with a format you've never seen! With breaking news on all of your favorite Dark Horse titles, major announcements and surprise guests, be the first to know about heroes, horror, and more! - 12:00 noon -1:00 pm: VIZ Media's IKKI at Room 3
Introducing IKKI, a monthly magazine published in Japan that has established itself as the home of some of the most innovative, bold, and compelling series in the world of contemporary manga. VIZ Media has partnered with IKKI magazine to bring their groundbreaking manga to North American readers through free chapter previews at www.sigikki.com. Meet Mr. Hideki Egami, the editor-in-chief of IKKI magazine in Japan, and find out why IKKI means Comix. - 12:00 noon - 1:00 pm: Nunzio Defilippis & Christina Weir Autograph Session at Seven Seas Manga Booth 2649
Meet the creators of Amazing Agent Luna & Destiny's Hand, and pick up your copy of the Amazing Agent Luna Omnibus edition. - 1:00 pm - 2:20 pm: Bryan Lee O'Malley Autograph Session at Oni Press Booth 1833
Meet the creator of Scott Pilgrim, chat him up and ask him whether he's making a cameo appearance in the upcoming feature film adaptation of Scott Pilgrim, directed by Edgar Wright (Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) - 1:00 pm-2:00pm: Derek Kirk Kim, Jason Thompson Autograph Session / Sketch-O-Thon at Cartoon Art Museum Booth 1930
See Kim and Thompson in action as they draw for a good cause -- San Francisco's own Cartoon Art Museum. - 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm: IKKI Launch Event: IKKI-TRAIN-A-PALOOZA at San Diego Model Railroad Museum at Balboa Park
Meet Hideki Egami, Editor-in-Chief of IKKI magazine Japan & Yuji Sato, Editor of Bokurano: Ours, Kingyo Used Books, and I'll Give It My All...Tomorrow. Free admission, shuttle bus runs from the fountain of San Diego Marriot Hotel & Marina from 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm. - 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm: Autograph session with Nina Matsumoto at Del Rey Manga Booth 1128
Meet the creator of Yokaiden and congratulate her on her Eisner Award win for Murder He Wrote by Matsumoto, Ian Boothby and Andrew Pepoy, in The Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror #14 from Bongo Comics. - 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm: Autograph session with Yoshinori Natsume at CMX Manga / DC Comics Booth 1915
Meet the artist of Togari and Batman: Death Mask amidst the madness of the very big and very busy DC Comics booth. - 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm: Lela Lee Autograph Session - Abrams Booth 1216
The actress and creator of Angry Little Girls will be on hand to sign your copies of Angry Little Girls and Angry Little Girls in Love, and maybe listen to your tales of angry girl-hood. - 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Del Rey Manga...& Del Rey Comics! at Room 4
Join the team for the Del Rey Happy Funtime Hullabaloo Comic-Con 2009 edition! Hear about the newest manga acquisitions from Japan, along with other exciting new licenses and partnerships. Also, hear directly from some of the masterminds behind Del Rey Comics - a fun, new venture that's launching with the comics adaptation of Stephen King and Peter Straub's bestselling novel The Talisman. Get those questions ready now, and Dallas Middaugh (associate publisher), Ali Kokmen (marketing manager), Mutsumi Miyazaki (director of licensing and acquisitions) and Tricia Narwani (Del Rey editorial) will do their best to answer and/or dodge them! - 5:30 pm - 6:50 pm Bryan Lee O'Malley Autograph Session at Oni Press Booth 1833
Here's your second chance of the day to chat up the creator of Scott Pilgrim, and perhaps get your book signed too. - 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm Adam Arnold Autograph Session at Seven Seas Manga Booth 2649
Meet the author of Aoi House and ask him about what's new and coming soon from Seven Seas Manga. - 6:00 pm - 7:00pm: Jason Thompson and Lanny LiuAutograph Session / Sketch-O-Thon at Cartoon Art Museum Booth 1930
See Liu and Thompson in action as they draw for a good cause -- San Francisco's own Cartoon Art Museum. - 8:45 pm - 11:45 pm: HBO's True Blood Presents: The San Diego Comic-Con International Masquerade at Ballroom 20
Fabulous original and re-created costumes crafted by talented Comic-Con attendees appear on stage before an audience of thousands, with impressive awards and cash prizes bestowed to those judged most outstanding. Doors will open for audience seating at 8:15 PM, but the line will start much earlier! Tickets will be required for seating and will be given out free to those lining up near Ballroom 20 beginning at 4:30 PM. Masters of Ceremony are writers/artists Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio of Studio Foglio, and halftime entertainment will feature special advance movie previews, behind-the-scenes films, and more. (Overflow seating available in Rooms 5AB, 6A and in the Sails Pavilion.) - 8:45 pm - 1:30 pm Masquerade Party at the Sails Pavilion
Party the night away while the Masquerade plays on the big screen!
Want to escape from the teeming masses of humanity for a while? Check out some of the anime showings in rooms 24BC, 25AB and 25C from 10 am through midnight. Here's a link to Saturday's schedule of anime showings, which include screenings of Higurashi: When They Cry, Buso Renkin, Code Geass, Silent Moebius Movie.
Also, here's your guide to where to find manga and graphic novel publishers at Comic-Con 2009.
If you're eager for updates and photos fresh from the convention floor, follow me on Twitter!
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