Official Press Release
Organizers of the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) have revealed more guest appearances for the new pop culture convention which is being launched April 16 – 18, 2010 at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center. Geoff Johns, the critically acclaimed New York Times bestselling comic book author, and a writer and producer for television and film, will be a Guest of Honor. Other Featured Guests who will be joining Mr. Johns for appearances at C2E2 will be Mike Norton, Mike Perkins and Jill Thompson. Ms. Thompson, a multiple Eisner award-winning comic book creator, is a Chicago area resident and hometown celebrity; both Mike Perkins and Mike Norton are accomplished and popular artists who have wide and loyal audiences.
“Geoff Johns is one of the biggest, greatest, most impressive names in comics today,” notes Lance Fensterman, who oversees C2E2 and is Vice President of the Reed Exhibitions Pop Culture Group. “We are enormously pleased to have him joining us, to say nothing of Jill Thompson, Mike Norton and Mike Perkins. All these guests are at the top of their game and reflect the strength and depth of the programming and appearances that we are putting together for C2E2. We have already announced some significant guests for our show and we plan to announce even more before the first of the year. Of course, we wouldn’t be able to do this without the support and consideration of our incredibly talented guests, many of whom have been willing to make a commitment to us very early on. We are hugely grateful and honored to have their participation at C2E2.”
Show organizers have been eager to announce guests and other programming features of the convention as early as possible so that fans may make plans accordingly. Officials also note that while guests will be coming from all over the country, there will be an added focus on artists and creators who live in the Chicago area. Other notable guests who have already been announced for C2E2 include: Jackson Guice, Steve McNiven, Mike Mignola, Alex Ross, Jeff Smith, and Ben Templesmith.
GEOFF JOHNS:
Geoff Johns originally hails from Michigan, where he attended Michigan State University, earning a degree in Media Arts and Film. Geoff has quickly become one of the most popular and prolific comic book writers today. His current re-imagining of Green Lantern has pushed the character to the height of its popularity in its decades-long publishing history, rivaling Spider-Man and Superman. He has also worked on such titles as The Flash, Teen Titans, Action Comics, Justice Society of America, Infinite Crisis, and the experimental breakout hit series 52 for DC with writers Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, and Mark Waid. In television, Geoff developed Blade: The Series with David S. Goyer, and penned the acclaimed “Legion” episode of Smallville. He also wrote for the fourth season of the Emmy Award-Winning Robot Chicken, and co-produced the first season of Titan Maximum. In film, Geoff is currently working with Warner Brothers on development within their DC Comics library. Geoff has also written the story for Sony’s unprecedented DC Universe MMO. Geoff recently won the 2009 Spike Scream Award for Best Comic Book Writer, and is currently writing DC Comics’ 2009 blockbuster event, Blackest Night.
MIKE NORTON:
Mike Norton has been working in comics for over 10 years now, gaining recognition on early projects such as The Waiting Place and Jason and the Argobots. After becoming Art Director for Devil’s Due Publishing in 2001, he drew the first Voltron mini-series and worked on several G.I.Joe related projects. He’s been working on his own since 2005 making a name for himself working on books like Queen and Country, Gravity, Teen Titans Go!, Runaways, and All-New Atom. Most recently is the penciler for Blue Beetle and Green Arrow/Black Canary.
MIKE PERKINS:
Beginning his comic career in the esteemed pages of 2000 AD, Mike went on to illustrate sequential storytelling – in both pencil and ink – for Caliber Comics, Marvel UK, DC Comics and Dark Horse. In 2001 Mike moved to Florida to work in the studio environs of CrossGen relinquishing his pencil for inking opportunities on the multi award-nominated Ruse alongside Mark Waid and Scott Beatty, Butch Guice and Laura Martin. After a while his penciling fingers started itching again and he created Archard’s Agents and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang to showcase his abilities. After CrossGen, Mike moved to Marvel, illustrating District X, Spider-Man Unlimited and the Elektra movie adaptation. This work lead to the co-creation of Spellbinders, collaborating with the magnificent Mike Carey. Whilst penciling this project Mr. Perkins was also inking Captain America and went on to pencil and ink alternate arcs on the highly acclaimed run alongside Steve Epting, Ed Brubaker and Frank D’Armata – resulting in multiple Eisner nominations, Harvey and Eagle awards. Alongside his work on Captain America Mike also illustrated mini series runs on Union Jack, X-Men: Endangered Species, House of M: Avengers and Annihilation: Conquest as well as contributing to the Secret Invasion: Who Do You Trust? One-shot. His most recent work has been illustrating Marvel’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand.
JILL THOMPSON:
Jill Thompson has been drawing comics for well over half her life and is proud to have collaborated with many of this industry’s great talents. She has garnered acclaim for her work on titles such as Classics Illustrated, Wonder Woman, Sandman, Finals, the Badger, Death: At Death’s Door, The Little Endless Storybook and Beasts of Burden. She is best known for creating and illustrating The Scary Godmother Series of books which not only have been adapted for the stage, but for television as well. The Scary Godmother and The Revenge of Jimmy have enjoyed yearly places on The Cartoon Network’s Halloween holiday rotation. In 2008-2009 Harper Collins released Magic Trixie, Jill’s latest all ages series chronicling the tales of the little witch Magic Trixie, her cat Scratches and the pupils at the Spectral Park Monstersorri School. Jill loves being an ambassador of comics to libraries and schools across the country and often conducts workshops and participates as a guest speaker whenever her schedule allows. Jill has won numerous Eisner Awards.
As noted, convention organizers will be announcing many more guests in the coming weeks and months in order to keep fans fully informed of the top tier talent which will be participating in the new show. For more information about C2E2, visit the web site at www.C2E2.com. For the latest announcements and news about C2E2 as well as news about all of Reed’s Pop Culture activity, please visit the group’s official blog, www.mediumatlarge.net, or follow C2E2 on Twitter at www.twitter.com/C2E2.
ABOUT REED EXHIBITIONS POP CULTURE GROUP:
The Pop Culture Group at Reed Exhibitions owns and operates the New York Comic Con (NYCC), the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), and the New York Anime Festival (NYAF). New York Comic Con was launched in 2006 and quickly became a dominant presence in the pop culture world of public events. In 2009, 452 companies exhibited at NYCC for a total of 84,000 square feet of paid exhibit space, and it has been ranked by Crain’s New York Business as the second-largest annual event in NYC. C2E2, which will debut April 16 – 18 at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center, is modeled after NYCC and will provide fans the opportunity to meet and greet their favorite writers, creators, and artists, as well as to see, hear and learn about the latest and greatest in comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television. The Pop Culture Group also operates the recently-launched UFC Fan Expo in partnership with the UFC – the world’s leading professional mixed martial arts organization – and it formed a strategic partnership with Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in 2008 and will work closely with PAX on the launch of PAX East in Boston in 2010.
