NC Comicon expands with Kung Fu Panda short premiere, comics guests

The NC Comicon will be held this year November 15-16 in Durham, NC. I’ve attended the last two years and to be blunt, it’s a blast: a comics focused show in a great setting with lots of artists and enthusiastic fans. The show is expanding this year with more animation screenings—including the US premiere of a Kung Fa Panda short— as part of the second ComiQuest Film Fest. But there are also a ton of great comics artists including Fiona Staples, Sean Murphy, Bob Fingerman and John Paul Leon. John Barrowman provides nerdlebrity appeal. The show is run by retailer Alan Gill and artist Tommy Lee Edwards, and they put the effort in to make this a well rounded event.

This looks to be another really enjoyable show—sadly I won’t be there this time, as I’m “conned out,” but I’m sure it will be a swell time.

PR below:

The North Carolina Comicon is adding an exciting new animation dimension to this year’s event. Rodolphe Guenoden, director of Dreamworks’ highly-anticipated short KUNG FU PANDA: SECRETS OF THE SCROLL, will present the film as a U.S. premiere exclusive. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Mr. Guenoden and Stephan Franck, who will present Sony Pictures Animation’ s THE SMURFS: THE LEGEND OF SMURFY HOLLOW, which earned him an Annie Award nomination for Best Director. Franck will also introduce a screening of fan-favorite THE IRON GIANT, on which he was supervising animator. Another NCCC exclusive will be Film Roman’s unveiling of a new animated action-comedy written, directed, and presented by renowned illustrator Tommy Lee Edwards called THE VINDICATOR.

This event will be part of the the NC Comicon second annual ComiQuest Film Fest, which includes rare screenings of the animated gems AKIRA and NAUSICAA, alongside the live-action comic book inspired classics TIM BURTON’S BATMAN, FLASH GORDON, CONAN THE BARBARIAN, and more.

Meanwhile, NCCC 2014 also features an exciting line of comics creator panels, with A-list guests such as Fiona Staples, Sean Murphy, Bob Fingerman, John Paul Leon, and INVADER ZIM & MST3K writer Frank Conniff. John Barrowman of DOCTOR WHO and ARROW fame will be greeting fans and conducting a panel with his HOLLOW EARTH and TORCHWOOD co-writer Carole E Barrowman, who is leading a workshop for aspiring writers. With a focus on talent development, NCCC will also provide priceless access to key industry players for aspiring creators, with Valiant Entertainment, Action Lab, and Dark Horse Comics editor-in-chief Scott Allie conducting portfolio reviews alongside other seasoned industry professionals.

“My goal is to make this the kind of convention I dreamed about attending when I was starting out,” says NCCC senior director & co-owner Tommy Lee Edwards. “Comics and fandom are at the heart of NC Comicon, but we also want to celebrate all mediums of creative storytelling with fellow creators who drift from comics to animation to film and everywhere in between. There’s something for everybody at our show- Comic book readers, collectors, cosplayers, and film fans, with many of the industry’s top writers, illustrators, animators, and directors accessible to everybody who wants to visit.”

NC Comicon and the ComiQuest film fest hit historical downtown Durham NC November 15 & 16. For more information, please visit nccomicon.com.