Albuquerque Comic Expo

With the recent release of The Avengers movie, and the upcoming superhero movies The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man, comic books are the hottest thing in pop culture. If you want to learn more about comics and other related genres, then head on over to the upcoming second annual Albuquerque Comic Expo which will be held at the Albuquerque Convention Center on June 8th-10th. 

There are some great media guests scheduled to attend:

Kevin Sorbo from Hercules:The Legendary Journeys and Andromeda

Adam Baldwin from Firefly, Serenity and Chuck

Katee Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica

Billy Dee Williams from The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and Batman

Peter Mayhew from Star Wars,Episode IV, A New Hope, Star Wars, Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back, Star Wars, Episode VI, Return of the Jedi and Star Wars, Episode III, Revenge of the Sith.  He also appears in a recent released horror film called Killer Ink

Julie Caitlin Brown from Babylon 5 and has also appeared in JAG, and Star Trek: The Next Generation

Kevin Smith and Jason Mewes from Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back.  An extra bonus will be Kevin and Jason doing a live show on Saturday evening at the Kiva Auditorium! 

Jim Kelly from Enter the Dragon and Three the Hard Way


From the world of comics there are over 50 artists that will be set up at the Artist's Alley.  Some of those attending are:  Joe Eisma--Morning Glories; Whilce Portacio--creator of the X-Men character Bishop, Hulk #18 with Jeph Loeb; Keven Gardener--12 Gauge Comics; Greg Horn--Artist on Emma Frost, Elektra and She-Hulk; and Len Wein--creator of The Swamp Thing, writer on several Marvel titles such as The Incredible Hulk and The Mighty Thor. The special guest from the world of comics is none other than Stan Lee, who helped create some of our favorite superheroes, Spider-Man, The Hulk, Thor, X-Men and Fantastic Four!

Some of the other exciting events going on will include: an Anime Room; Tromadance New Mexico; Gamers Anonymous Retro-Gaming Tournaments; ACE Costume Contest, a huge event with the entire room filling up to see all the great costumes; gaming tournaments; and other panels, screenings and workshops. You can view the full event calendar on the website.

There will also be many exhibitors and artists all over the convention floor, including: 501st Dewback Ridge Garrison--the local 501st Stormtrooper unit; 7000 BC--Independent Comic Book Publishers; the Albuquerque Browncoats--the local Firefly and Serenity chapter; the Batmobile; Beeman's Rare Comics; Kaboom Test Labs and more!

The library catalog has quite a few comics, graphic novels. non-fiction works and videos to read and watch before heading off to the convention:

1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die by editor Paul Gravett

Stan Lee's How to Draw Comics: From the Legendary Co-Creator of Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, X-Men and Iron Man by Stan Lee

The Marvel Comics Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to the Characters of the Marvel Universe by editor Alistair Dougall

The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe by Scott Beatty

Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean by Douglas Wolk

Our Gods Wear Spandex: The Secret History of Comic Book Heroes by Christopher Knowles

Star Wars: The Comics Companion by Ryder Windham and Daniel Wallace

Superhero Comics of the Golden Age: The Illustrated History by Mike Benton

500 Manga Heroes and Villians by Helen McCarthy

500 Essential Graphic Novels: The Ultimate Guide by Gene Kannenberg, Jr.

Secret Origin: The story of DC Comics-DVD

Comic Books Unbound-DVD

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

100 Bullets, First Shot, Last Call by Brian Azzarello

The Odyssey: A Graphic Novel by Gareth Hinds

Hope you are able to check out the wonderful event!  And singletons-don't miss Sci-Fi Speed Dating! "Sci-Fi Speed Dating, the stars of TLC’s show Geek Love, are bringing their awesome speed dating event to ACE 2012! Sign-up now and stop looking for love in ‘Alderaan’ places! Check it out and sign up early!"