THE THIRD ANNUAL SAN DIEGO COMIC FEST

August 5, 2014 (San Diego's East County) - The third annual San Diego Comic Fest will be held October 17-19 at the San Diego Town & Country Resort and Convention Center. The guest of honor is Neal Adams, the legendary artist for such super-heroes as Batman, X-Men, Deadman, Green Arrow and Superman.

Comic Fest calls itself “the friendly comic book convention with a casual atmosphere and an intimate scale – it is Comic-Con unplugged” without lines or crowds. Lakeside resident Larry Zintner is one of the board members of San Diego Comic Fest, to add more of a local flavor to this event.

Back in 1969, when he was a teen-aged San Diego comic dealer, Mike Towry was part of the small group of fans who founded what became known as the San Diego Comic-Con. He served as Chairman of the 1972 Comic-Con, the first held at the legendary El Cortez Hotel. After the celebration of the 40th Comic-Con in 2009, he thought it would be fun to have an old-school comic convention in San Diego. In autumn 2011, with the 40th anniversary of the first El Cortez Comic-Con coming up in the next year, he decided time was right, so he started talking to some other Comic-Con veterans about it, and the San Diego Comic Fest was born.

Like Comic-Con, comic Fest emphasizes comics, science fiction and movies, served up with a sense of community among professional writers and artists in an environment of creative exchange.

On Friday night, Oct. 17, the Fest will throw a 100^th birthday party for Jerry Siegel, the co-creator of Superman. Laura Siegel Larson, Jerry’s daughter, will join the festivities along with her sons and Siegel’s grandsons, James and Michael.

One unique aspect of Comic Fest is the Comic Fest Café. This year, the Comic Fest Café will pay tribute to Rod Serling's Twilight Zone including guests with connections to the show: Anne Serling, Rod Serling’s daughter and author of As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling, and George Clayton Johnson, who wrote several Twilight Zone episodes. The Café will feature musical entertainment, good conversation and an array of reasonably priced and delicious food, coffee, and other beverages.

The Fest is teaming with the Geekie Awards this year. The Geekie Awards is a Hollywood awards show for indie creators in entertainment, gaming, comics and art. The winner of this year’s Geekie for Comics & Graphic Novels will receive from the Fest two Fest memberships, his or her own program slot, autograph session and a complimentary hotel room at the venue. He or she also will be featured on the Fest’s Geekie Awards panel, which will be moderated by Geekie Awards creator Kristen Nedopak.

The Fest will celebrate the 30^th anniversary of Ghostbusters and the 25th anniversary of Ghostbusters II with guests Richard Edlund, the visual effects supervisor; Bill Bryan, Stay Puft Marshmallow Man creator and actor, Michael C. Gross, producer of both films and designer of the iconic “no ghosts” logo; and Henry Mayo, storyboard artist on Ghostbusters II.

The Comic Fest guest list (http://www.sdcomicfest.org/special-guests/) includes:

• Neal Adams – Guest of honor and legendary artist for such super-heroes as Batman, X-Men, Deadman, Green Arrow and Superman.
• Richard Edlund – winner of four Oscars for visual effects for his work on the original Star Wars trilogy and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
• Greg Bear – Award-winning science fiction author and Science Fiction Guest of Honor
• John Rogers – President of Comic-Con International and Fan Guest of Honor.
• Liam Sharp – British comics creator and head of Madefire, groundbreaking digital storytelling company.
• Vivek J. Tawry -- Author of the award-winning The Fifth Beatle, member of the Board of Directors of Valiant Entertainment and award-winning producer of Broadway shows, movies, and television shows.
• Andrew Robinson – Long-time independent artist who has worked for all of the major comic companies; winner of the National Cartoonist Society’s 2014 Reuben Award for Best Graphic Novel for The Fifth Beatle.
• Lucas Marangon: International Comics Guest from Mexico City, best known for his work in comics based on the Star Wars saga, such as the acclaimed Tag & Bink series.
• Kristen Nedopak: Showrunner, producer, writer, one of Comic Con’s “Most Dangerous Women,” advocate for independent entertainment and art and founder of The Geekie Awards, for achievement by for indie creators in entertainment, gaming, comics and art.
• Scott Shaw! -- Award-winning cartoonist/writer of comic books and animation.
• David Brin – Award-winning science fiction author, as well as a scientist, inventor and public speaker.
• Anina Bennett & Paul Guinan – co-creators of Heartbreakers and the streampunk classics  Boiler­plate: History’s Mechanical Marvel and Frank Reade: Ad­ventures in the Age of Invention.
• Phil Yeh – Founder of Cartoonists across America & the World and publisher of Uncle Jam.
• Three-day memberships are available for purchase at www.sdcomicfest.org. Three-day and one-day memberships will be sold at the door as well.
  
  • $50 full adult membership
  • Half-price full membership: youth (13-17)
  • Half-price full membership: students (w/ID)
  • Half-price full membership: active military (& spouse)
• To purchase a membership on-line, go to www.sdcomicfest.org and click on the Registration button.
• For a summary of what occurred at the 2013 Comic Fest, visit http://www.sdcomicfest.org/good-times-at-san-diego-comic-fest-2013/.