The year’s last big pop-culture event is upon us this week – only two days left until the start of New York Comic Con. Also a combined part of the event is New York Anime Fest, offering up an assortment of anime and manga related content for con-goers. I’ll be flying to New York on Thursday for the weekend event and like many others I’ve been compiling the list of events I’m making sure I don’t miss!

There’s a variety of manga publishers present this year: Vertical Inc, Kodansha Comics, Viz Media, Yen Press, Bandai Entertainment and Dark Horse. That’s a lot of opportunity for exciting news and new titles. I’m already clamouring to try and be one of the lucky few who can get an early copy of Vertical Inc’s release of Princess Knight and hear the big news from Viz Media that’s been hinted at by Shonen Jump Group’s deputy director, Sasaki Hisashi, who will be in attendance.

“Going to NYCC! Wait for the big announcement VIZ &we make there!”

Ed Sizemore of Manga Out Loud and MangaWorthReading has posted about which panels he’s going to and exhibitors he’ll be visiting. He’s one of several manga bloggers attending the event (a fair number of those in Kuriousity’s blog roll will be there!) and gives short but convincing reasons for adding the times and places he lists to your own NYCC planner.

You can see  the full list of guests, exhibitors and events on the NYAF website and I’ve included the specifically manga-related panel details under the cut of this post. They include some links to learn more about who’s bringing the manga news to NYAF this year.

I’ll be attending these events and writing about them here on Kuriousity throughout the weekend. If curious, you can see my coverage of last year’s event in the Kuriousity archives.

Two days left now… see you there!

Panels

Unusual Manga Genres
Friday, October 14 2011
11:00 am – 12:00 pm

This panel is a testament to the diversity and specialization of the manga market in Japan. Thanks to the popularity of manga in the United States, many of the titles I cover are now available in English. As someone who dislikes superhero comics, I’m amazed at the scope and the breadth of manga titles available. My PowerPoint presentation is broken down into broad categories – “Regular Sports” (manga about track and field) “Unusual Sports” (Hikaru No Go, golf titles), “Quasi-Sports”(fishing manga, yo-yo manga), “Manga for Girls” (ballet manga, pet manga), “Manly Manga” (Pachinko Manga, Mah-Jong Manga), “Food Manga” (Yakitate Japan, Bambino) and the “Uncategorizeable” (manga about tasting junk food, manga about Jesus and Buddha living as roommates).

Speakers: Erin Finnegan, Noah Fulmor

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Yen Press (Publisher website)
Friday, October 14 2011
12:15 pm – 1:15 pm

The Yen Press crew — publishing director Kurt Hassler, senior editor JuYoun Lee, and assistant editors Tania Biswas and Abby Blackman — unveil exciting new projects and take questions from the audience. Also immediately following the panel, creators Svetlana Chmakova and Rem will be hosting a special autographing session to sign copies of their latest works at Autographing Table 1 . Svetlana will be signing copies of her new adaptation of renown author James Patterson’s WITCH & WIZARD while Rem will be signing limited edition comics featuring the first chapter of her adaptation of New York Times bestselling author Gail Carriger’s SOULLESS!

Speakers: Abby Blackman (Editorial Assistant), JuYoun Lee (Senior Editor), Kate Locke (Author), Kurt Hassler (Publisher Director), Svetlana Chmakova (Comic Creator), Tania Biswas (Editorial Assistant)

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Hiro Mashima and Kodansha Comics (publisher website)
Friday, October 14 2011
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm

Join Kodansha Comics as we welcome Hiro Mashima to New York for the very first time! Mashima, the super-popular creator of Rave Master and Fairy Tail, and the artist of Monster Hunter Orage, will talk about what it’s like to be a manga creator, answer questions from fans, and even give a drawing demonstration. Plus, Kodansha Comics will have some very exciting announcements for next year. Don’t miss it!

Speaker: Hiro Mashima, Kodansha Comics Staff

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Vertical, Inc. Industry Panel (publisher website)
Friday, October 14 2011
8:45 pm – 9:45 pm

Vertical, Inc., one of North America’s premiere publishers of Japanese printed pop-culture returns to New York Comic Con to reveal a handful of new additions to what is already a critically acclaimed comic catalog. Currating one of the more eclectic and challenging manga lists Vertical will continue to ask its readers to read differently with titles such as Chi’s Sweet Home, GTO and Osamu Tezuka’s Princess Knight. What will join those ranks? Join us and find out!

Speaker: Ed Chavez

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CBLDF: Defending Manga (CBLDF website)
Saturday, October 15 2011
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Right now a manga fan is facing a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in prison and registering a sex offender because Canada Customs agent alleged that horror and fantasy manga on his laptop were child pornography. The threat to manga has been growing in recent years, as North American authorities misunderstanding of the material leaves innocent readers in the crossfire. Comic Book Legal Defense Fund is fighting these cases, with a need to raise $150,000 to defend the Canada Customs case. Come listen to a discussion on the issues facing manga and what you can do to help.

Speaker: –

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VIZ Media (publisher website)
Sunday, October 16 2011
10:45 am – 11:45 am

VIZ Media’s 25th Anniversary celebrations continue with a special panel packed with exciting news on upcoming releases and prizes for our fans! VIZ Media staff will provide the latest updates on new acquisitions and upcoming releases, as well as give the scoop on groundbreaking new projects!

Speaker: Sasaki Hisashi, Viz Media Staff

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Anime News Network (website)
Sunday, October 16 2011
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Meet the editors behind Anime News Network. The ANN staff will discuss the challenges and rewards of running the world’s most read anime and manga information website. The staff will also discuss upcoming projects and the site’s future direction. This is an opportunity for readers to meet the ANN staff in person.

Speaker: ANN Staff, Christopher MacDonald

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About the Author: Lissa Pattillo

Lissa Pattillo is the owner and editor of Kuriousity.ca. Residing in Halifax, Nova Scotia she takes great joy in collecting all manners of manga genres, regretting that there's never enough time in the day to review or share them all. Along with reviews, Lissa is responsible for all the news postings to the website and works full time as a web and graphic designer.