IMAGE COMICS FOUNDERS REUNITE AT WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO!

Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, Rob Liefeld, Erik Larsen, Whilce Portacio And Jim Valentino Will All Attend

Congers, NY (June 11, 2008) - Six of the seven founders of the highest-selling independent comic company, Image Comics, will appear at Wizard World Chicago for a rare reunion. They will also meet their fans and give them a sneak preview at some of their upcoming high-profile releases!

Formed in 1992 by the seven most influential and popular artists of their time, Image Comics provided a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created. The comics initially released by Image Comics, including Spawn, Savage Dragon, Youngblood, WildC.A.T.s, Cyberforce Shadowhawk, PITT and Wetworks, have become mainstays of the comic industry created and inspired an entire generation of artists. Later series like Gen 13, Witchblade and The Darkness heightened Image Comics' profile.

The Image Founders will participate in a two-hour panel on Saturday, June 28 from 2-4 p.m. that promises to be a memorable event, featuring a rare glimpse into one of the most groundbreaking launches in comic history. Don't rule out an exciting announcement or two from the group. The panel will be a ticketed event, with the free tickets distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

"Getting the Image founders to reunite at Wizard World Chicago promises to be a memorable event," said Wizard Senior VP/Operations Joe Yanarella. "The electricity when the group gets together is amazing and should create a must-see atmosphere."

The founders of Image were responsible for some of the most successful comics of the early '90s. Additionally, the top three selling comics of all time, X-Men #1, X-Force #1 and Spider-Man #1 were all illustrated by Image co-founders Jim Lee, Rob Liefeld and Todd McFarlane, respectively.

Todd McFarlane has sold millions of comics and his entrepreneurial skills helped create Image Comics and McFarlane Toys. He rose to superstardom in the 1990s while penciling Amazing Spider-Man. His creator-owned comic for Image, Spawn, has become a cultural icon.

Rob Liefeld created long-lasting characters Cable and Deadpool for Marvel Comics before publishing his own series, Youngblood, for Image. Youngblood is currently enjoying a critically successful relaunch.

Erik Larsen, the current publisher of Image Comics, continues to illustrate The Savage Dragon, the title he started sixteen years ago when Image began. Prior to that, he worked on fan-favorite runs on Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man.

After a successful stint at Marvel as the penciler on Uncanny X-Men and X-Factor, Whilce Portacio brought Wetworks to Image. He recently illustrated Batman Confidential.

Marc Silvestri penciled successful runs on Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine before helping found Image Comics and creating Cyberforce. His Top Cow imprint, which he is also the publisher of, is home to Witchblade and The Darkness.

After working on Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, Jim Valentino helped create Image Comics and launched his own title for the company, ShadowHawk. Valentino also served as publisher for Image from 1999-2004 and made the company more stylistically diverse.

Wizard World, the largest family-friendly comics and pop culture convention in the central US, returns to Chicago June 26-29 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. For a complete list of events, registration forms, guests, panels, ticket prices, and times, please visit www.wizardworld.com.

About Wizard

Wizard Entertainment is the industry leader in the comic book and collectibles market that publishes Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture, ToyFare: The Toy Magazine and Anime Insider, as well as Toy Wishes: The Ultimate Guide to Family Entertainment and Special Operations. Wizard's publications have a monthly national readership of more than two million and are currently sold in 25 countries and five languages. Wizard World, the convention division of Wizard Entertainment, is a four city tour that brings the best in comics, film, television, anime and collectibles to Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago and Texas. WizardUniverse.com is the online for all of Wizard's publications and its content spans the full range of Wizard's pop culture subject manner. For the latest news of interest to readers of all Wizard publications, Wizard Universe can be found online at www.wizarduniverse.com.