FanCons.com Press Releases


June 24, 2010

News for New York Comic Con 2010:

Japanese rock band VAMPS to be guests at New York Anime Festival

Popular Rock Stars to Appear at Convention for Q

Norwalk, CT, June 23, 2010: Officials at New York Anime Festival (NYAF) have revealed their first guest announcement for this year's show which will be co-located with New York Comic Con (NYCC) and which will take place October 8 – 10 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City. The guest will be the musical group VAMPS who will appear at NYAF on Friday, October 8 for a Q & A session with fans, followed by a concert at Roseland Ballroom in midtown Manhattan on Saturday, October 9. Tickets for the concert must be purchased separately from tickets to NYAF and NYCC. As noted, this is the first guest announcement for NYAF. Convention officials recently disclosed that Stan Lee will be the Spotlight Guest of Honor for NYCC.

"VAMPS is a huge act and we are very pleased that they will be able to make an appearance at our show," notes Lance Fensterman, Vice President for the Reed Pop Culture Group and Show Manager for NYAF and NYCC. "We have a custom of welcoming popular musical acts to New York Anime Festival and this continues that tradition in a major way. VAMPS is an acclaimed act and I know that their many fans will be eager to meet them in person at NYAF."

HYDE, from the famous Japanese band L'Arc~en~Ciel, and K.A.Z, from the groups Oblivion Dust and HIDE with Spread Beaver, will be returning to NYC after VAMPS' 2009 sold-out show at New York's Irving Plaza. Now on their third consecutive year of touring, VAMPS will be playing a 40+ show tour in Japan this summer which will extend into their VAMPS Live 2010 World Tour this fall. First stopping in Los Angeles (Oct. 1), then San Francisco (Oct. 3), VAMPS will be performing at New York's Roseland Ballroom on Oct. 9.

The jointly-held New York Comic Con and New York Anime Festival 2010 will occupy virtually the entire Jacob K. Javits Center in 2010. Both shows will maintain distinct guests and programming space but will share a common show floor. Most importantly for attendees, fans will be able to attend both shows for the price of one -- a ticket to NYCC 2010 will also provide access to NYAF 2010 and vice versa.

Tickets for NYAF or NYCC may be purchased at www.nyanimefestival.com or www.nycomiccon.com. Other information about the shows, as well as news about the Reed Pop Culture Group, which also organizes Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), is available at Lance Fensterman's blog, www.mediumatlarge.net.

Tickets for VAMPS Oct. 9 show at New York's Roseland Ballroom are on sale now, and may be purchased online at www.livenation.com.

ABOUT THE NEW YORK ANIME FESTIVAL:

The New York Anime Festival takes place at the Jacob K. Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan and is organized by Reed Exhibitions, the creators of New York Comic Con. The New York Anime Festival showcases the best of anime pop culture, including the latest anime, manga, Japanese cinema, music, and games, and anime-influenced comics, animation, and films from around the world. The festival features exclusive and extensive screenings, a gala cosplay masquerade, sessions with the some of the biggest names in anime from Japan, Asia, and America, and explores the Japanese cultural experience with displays of both traditional and cutting-edge Japanese life.

ABOUT NEW YORK COMIC CON:

New York Comic Con is the East Coast's biggest and most exciting popular culture convention. Our show floor plays host to the latest and greatest in comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television. Our panels and autograph sessions give fans a chance to interact with their favorite creators. Our screening rooms feature sneak peeks at films and television shows months before they hit either big or small screens. And with dedicated professional hours, New York Comic Con is a market place, bringing together the major players in the entertainment industry. New York Comic Con is the second largest pop culture convention in America and the only one that takes place in the comic book, publishing, media, and licensing capital of the world -- Gotham City.

ABOUT REED EXHIBITIONS POP CULTURE GROUP:

The Pop Culture Group at Reed Exhibitions owns and operates the New York Comic Con (NYCC), the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2), and the New York Anime Festival (NYAF). New York Comic Con was launched in 2006 and quickly became a dominant presence in the pop culture world of public events. In 2009, 452 companies exhibited at NYCC for a total of 84,000 square feet of paid exhibit space, and it has been ranked by Crain's New York Business as the second-largest annual event in NYC. C2E2, which will debut April 16 – 18 at Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center, is modeled after NYCC and will provide fans the opportunity to meet and greet their favorite writers, creators, and artists, as well as to see, hear and learn about the latest and greatest in comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television. The Pop Culture Group also operates the recently-launched UFC Fan Expo in partnership with the UFC – the world's leading professional mixed martial arts organization – and it formed a strategic partnership with Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in 2008 and will work closely with PAX on the launch of PAX East in Boston in 2010.