Comic Conventions: C2E2 Announces Guest Writers!!

C2E2 ANNOUNCES LINE UP OF WRITERS!

Massive Guest List Keeps Growing as Pop Culture Event Focuses on All Areas of Artistic and Creative Talent


Officials at C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo), which is set to debut in April 2010, have announced another round of guest appearances, further adding to a burgeoning guest list that now includes top talent from all areas of artistic and creative expression in the pop culture world. The most recent guest announcement focuses on preeminent writers including Peter David, Dan DiDio, Michael Easton, Seth Grahame-Smith, Paul Levitz, Greg Pak, and Daniel Way. Many of these notable writers have had stellar careers which have extended well beyond their talent as writers and which have impacted all areas of the comic and pop culture world. C2E2 will take place at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center, April 16 – 18, 2010.

“This latest announcement includes guests who are in a class by themselves,” notes Lance Fensterman, Vice President for the Reed Pop Culture Group and Show Manager for C2E2. “These are people who have enormous talent, they are great writers, and they have made a huge contribution to defining our pop culture world. Of course, they are joining other incredible creators and artists who have already been announced and there is still much more to come. I am incredibly impressed by the strength, depth and scope of the talent that is coming to C2E2 and – as always – I am hugely grateful to all our guests for making a commitment to our show.”

Some of the other guests who have already been announced for C2E2 include Alex Ross, who will be a Keystone Guest of Honor, Jackson Guice, Steve McNiven, Mike Mignola, Gail Simone, Jeff Smith, Ben Templesmith and Ethan Van Sciver, among many, many others. Convention officials note that they will be announcing Artist Alley appearances at C2E2 in the next few days.

The new guests include:

Peter David: Peter David, self-proclaimed "writer of stuff," is probably best known for his award-winning twelve year run on "The Incredible Hulk." He currently writes "X-Factor" and "Stephen King's The Dark Tower."

Dan DiDio: Dan DiDio is the Senior VP-Executive Editor, DC Universe for DC Comics. Since 2003, he has spearheaded such bestselling titles as Identity Crisis, Infinite Crisis, 52, and Final Crisis. Prior to joining DC, Dan worked in television for CBS on creative affairs and development and at ABC on publicity, development and programming. His writing can also be seen in The Outsiders.

Michael Easton: Michael Easton is the author of the critically acclaimed Soul Stealer trilogy. Featuring the art of Christopher Shy, the final chapter in the series will be released in April. Bestselling author Peter Straub collaborated with Michael on the graphic novel The Green Woman for Vertigo. Easton's face is perhaps best known for his role as John McBain on the daytime drama One Life to Live, as well as Ally McBeal, VR5, and the Philip K. Dick inspired Total Recall 2070. He lives in New York City.

Seth Grahame-Smith: Seth Grahame-Smith is a film and television writer/producer, semi-frequent blogger, and New York Times bestselling author. He grew up in the wilds of Connecticut, eschewing the outdoors in favor of Stephen King novels and a worn-out VHS copy of Aliens. After college, he moved to California, where he wrote everything from narration scripts for History Channel documentaries to lyrics for Flava Flav. No, really. He also wrote several non-fiction humor books, including How to Survive a Horror Movie and the much-funnier-than-it-sounds Big Book of Porn. In 2007, he produced the innovative CBS internet series Clark and Michael, starring Michael Cera (Superbad, Juno). In 2009, his Jane Austen-meets-the-undead mash-up Pride and Prejudice and Zombies debuted at #3 on the New York Times bestseller list. It has sold over half a million copies to date. Seth is also the Co-Creator/Executive Producer of the MTV comedy series, The Hard Times of RJ Berger. He received a B.S. in Film from Emerson College. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife and son.

Paul Levitz: Paul Levitz was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1956 and entered the comics industry in 1971 as editor/publisher of The Comic Reader, the first mass-circulation fanzine devoted to comics news. He continued to publish TCR for three years, winning two consecutive annual Comic Art Fan Awards for Best Fanzine. His other fan activities included editing the program books for several of Phil Seuling's legendary New York Comic Art Conventions, running the dealers' room of the first Creation Cons, and organizing the programming for DC's one and only comic convention, in 1976. He received Comic-Con International's Inkpot Award in 2002 and the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award in 2008. Levitz also serves on the board of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Levitz is primarily known for his work for DC Comics, where he has written most of their classic characters including the Justice Society, Superman, and The Legion of Super-Heroes, a series he's recently returned to write. Readers of The Buyers' Guide voted his Legion: The Great Darkness Saga one of the 20 best comic stories of the last century. As a staffer from 1973, Levitz was an assistant editor, the company’s youngest editor ever, and in a series of business capacities, became Executive Vice President & Publisher in 1989 and then served as President & Publisher from 2002-2009. He is now concentrating on his writing, including a new run on Legion.

Greg Pak: Greg Pak is a filmmaker and comic book writer best known for directing the award-winning feature film Robot Stories, writing the epic Planet Hulk and World War Hulk comic book storylines, and co-writing (with Fred Van Lente) the fan favorite Incredible Hercules series for Marvel Comics. He was named one of 25 Filmmakers to Watch by Filmmaker Magazine and described as "a talent with a future" by the New York Times. Pak's numerous Marvel mini-series include Magneto Testament, which IGN named the Best Mini-Series of 2008. Pak's feature film, Robot Stories, won 35 awards, played in 75 film festivals, and is now available on DVD from Kino.com. Pak's latest short film is Mister Green, a science fiction tale starring Tim Kang and funded by ITVS as part of its FutureStates series. Pak studied political science at Yale University, history at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, and film production at the NYU graduate film program. For the latest about Greg Pak's work, visit PakBuzz.com.

Daniel Way: After being hired immediately following publication of his Xeric award-winning miniseries, Violent Lifestyle, in 2000, Daniel Way has gone on to write some of Marvel's most well-known characters. Known for re-inventing characters for a new generation, he has launched such successful series as Ghost Rider, Wolverine: Origins, Dark Wolverine and the current sales juggernaut, Deadpool.

For more information on guests, tickets, or C2E2 in general, visit www.C2E2 or check out the show’s official blog, MediumAtLarge at www.mediumatlarge.net, or follow C2E2 on Twitter at www.twitter.com/c2e2.