VISIONARY ILLUSTRATOR YOSHITAKA AMANO TO BE SPOTLIGHT GUEST AT NEW YORK COMIC CON
Amano To Attend In Cooperation With Dark Horse Comics
Norwalk, CT, September 7, 2012: New York Comic Con (NYCC) is today proud to announce Yoshitaka Amano, the illustrator most known for sculpting the worlds of Final Fantasy and Vampire Hunter D, will travel from Tokyo to attend this year's NYCC as a Spotlight Guest. New York Comic Con, which will take place October 11 - 14, 2012 at NYC's Javits Center, is one of New York's largest annual events, last year attracting over 100,000 attendees. Amano joins a broad spectrum of already-announced guests including Brian K. Vaughan, Mike Mignola, Christopher Lloyd, Joshua Gates and Anne Rice. Amano's appearance at New York Comic Con is in partnership with Dark Horse Comics, who will release The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy, a giant-sized collection of Amano's art, on October 17.
Yoshitaka Amano, born in 1952 in Shizuoka, Japan, got his start as an illustrator working as a character designer at Tatsunoko Productions in the 1960s. At Tatsunoko, he lent his pen and spirit to create the looks of such iconic anime series as Gatchaman and Time Bokan. In the 1980s, Amano began his work on Final Fantasy, creating the visuals of the ever-evolving series's characters and worlds, and Vampire Hunter D, defining the appearance of the world-famous vampire slayer. Amano's work began to attract serious international acclaim in the next decade, and the 1990s saw the start of global exhibitions of Amano's creations in cities including New York, Los Angeles, France, Germany and Hong Kong. The year 2000 saw Amano -- now known the world over -- partnering with Neil Gaiman for the Eisner-Award Winning Sandman: The Dream Hunters. At present, Amano is at work on a computer-generated film, Deva Zan.
Amano will participate at New York Comic Con speaking about his career -- specifically his groundbreaking work on Final Fantasy -- and signing autographs for attendees. Full details about his panel and signings will be made available in the near future.
"I am very honored to welcome Yoshitaka Amano to New York Comic Con," notes Lance Fensterman, Group Vice President for ReedPOP and Show Manager for NYCC. "Amano is a legend and inspiration for fans and professionals on both sides of the Pacific; his illustrations have shaped careers and sculpted dreams. We're uniquely excited, as well, as while Amano was born and lives in Japan, he set up a studio in SoHo in 1996, so NYCC is a little bit of a homecoming. We look forward tremendously to his return to New York City!"
Tickets for New York Comic Con 2012 are currently available for purchase at http://www.NewYorkComicCon.com. Companies interested in exhibiting at New York Comic Con should contact Larry Settembrini at [email protected]. Other information about the show, as well as news about ReedPOP, which organizes a range of pop culture events, is available at http://facebook.com/NewYorkComicCon and http://twitter.com/NY_Comic_Con. Previously announced guests at New York Comic Con include: Anne Rice, Sean Astin, Joshua Gates, Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, Joe Quesada, Axel Alonso and Brian K. Vaughan, among others. Officials note that many more guests will be announced over the coming weeks and fans should keep their eyes on NYCC's website for additional announcements.
ABOUT SKY: THE ART OF FINAL FANTASY: Yoshitaka Amano is one of the world's foremost fantasy artists and the limited-edition The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy boxed set is a giant-sized, signed collection of five books plus bonus items that showcase Amano's ethereal illustrations for the first ten Final Fantasy games! The 12" high, 11" wide and 3 1/2" deep box that encloses The Sky has a hinged lid featuring artwork from Amano inside and out. Its contents include:
ABOUT REEDPOP: ReedPOP is a boutique group within Reed Exhibitions which is exclusively devoted to organizing events, launching and acquiring new shows, and partnering with premium brands in the pop culture arena. ReedPOP is dedicated to producing celebrations of popular culture throughout the world that transcend ordinary events by providing unique access and dynamic personal experiences for consumers and fans. The ReedPOP portfolio includes: New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) Prime & East, Star Wars Celebration, Fantasy Football Fest and the UFC Fan Expo. The staff at ReedPOP is a fan-based group of professionals producing shows for other fans, thus making them uniquely qualified to service those with whom they share a common passion. ReedPOP is focused on bringing its expertise and knowledge to world communities in North America, South America, Asia and Europe.