VIZ Media Plans for San Diego Comic Con 2014

By Staff Reports

VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), the largest distributor and licensor of anime and manga in North America, delivers a cornucopia of anime and manga delight to fans of all ages this year at the 2014 Comic-Con International. Attendees are invited to join a fun weekend in San Diego jam-packed with special events, in-booth giveaways, informative panel discussions, and other fun activities and convention exclusives.

Comic-Con International is the nation’s biggest comic book, science fiction and pop culture event, and takes place July 23rd-27th at the San Diego Convention Center, in San Diego, CA. VIZ Media will be located in Booth 2813. Complete details on Comic-Con are available at: www.comic-con.org.

VIZ Media will host an array of panel discussions detailing a host of forthcoming releases, new acquisitions and other surprises from the company’s animation and publishing teams. Fans will not want to miss a very special appearance by Junko Takeuchi, the Japanese voice actress who provides the original voice for Naruto in the popular anime series. She will join the staff of VIZ Media’s WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP for a special panel discussion on NARUTO on Thursday, July 24th. Fans are also invited to attend the official SAILOR MOON panel, which will offer new information on the return of the legendary animated series to North America!

VIZ Media’s Booth 2813 on the Main Show Floor will be a continual hub of activity with special in-booth photo opportunities with an UGLYDOLL on Thursday, July 24th and everyone’s favorite cat-type robot from the future, DORAEMON, on Saturday July 25th. Fans can also catch freebies and promo item giveaways throughout the convention including posters, temporary tattoos, posters, postcards, buttons and more for popular series such as BLOOD LAD, DEADMAN WONDERLAND, SAILOR MOON and ONE-PUNCH MAN. And don’t miss the return of the VIZ MEDIA convention tote bag, FREE with any purchase, available in four amazing designs (while supplies last)!

Collectors also can browse an array of limited edition items and special convention exclusives that will be offered for sale in the VIZ Media booth throughout Comic-Con (while supplies last). Notable items include ONE PIECE Exclusive Replica Manga Art ($15.00); Limited Edition BRAVEST WARRIORS: THE SEARCH FOR CATBUG ($35.00), with foil-accented slipcover and gilded page edges only 250 made – don’t miss the chance to have it signed by the artists at the exclusive in-booth signing; BRAVEST WARRIORS: CATBUG’S TREASURE BOOK ($15.00); HELLO KITTY, HELLO 40 Commemorative Art Book (50.00) only 250 printed with foil-accented slipcover and gilded page edges – don’t miss the chance to have it signed by HELLO KITTY artists at the exclusive in-booth signing; exclusive Gecco NARUTO SHIPPUDEN figure ($150.00); and Cryptozoic’s NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Trading Card Game Presale ($50.00).

Also catch special advance pre-sales of several forthcoming new VIZ Media titles including FOOD WARS, Vol. 1 ($10.00), BLACK ROSE ALICE ($10.00) and THE ART OF PRINCESS MONOKOE ($35.00) ahead of their street date releases later this summer.  Don’t miss the latest WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP Jump Pack ($20.00) that contains more than 100 pages of the world’s most popular featured series and a limited edition YU-GI-OH! card “Black Luster Soldier – Envoy of the Evening Twilight,” as well as a special bonus exclusive game mat free with purchase (while supplies last)!

VIZ Media Comic-Con Panels & Special Events:

Thursday July 24th

10:00AM and 4:00PM    UGLYDOLL PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
VIZ Media Booth #2813
Drop by the VIZ Media booth for a photo with an UGLYDOLL pal!

10:00AM – 11:30AM             SHONEN JUMP PRESENTS: NARUTO
Room 8
NARUTO is one of the world’s most popular manga series, with over 60 best-selling volumes published. Get all the latest news and more at this super-sized panel, featuring guests from VIZ Media, Bandai Namco Games (Daisuke Koumoto, producer of the upcoming NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ULTIMATE NINJA STORM REVOLUTION) and a special guest Junko Takeuchi, Japanese voice of Naruto!

4:00PM – 5:00PM         VIZ MEDIA PANEL
Room 7AB
Get the latest updates & exciting news from VIZ Media staff on your favorite manga and anime! There will be free manga for attendees (while supplies last)!

Friday July 25th

10:00AM – 1:00PM      CATBUG VOICE ACTOR SAM LAVAGNINO
In-Booth Signing & Personal Appearance
VIZ Media Booth #2813
Meet the voice of Catbug, the breakout star of YouTube hit Bravest Warriors, and get a signed art card!

10:00AM – 11:00AM    VIZ MEDIA ANIMATION PANEL Feat. NEON ALLEY
Room 25ABC
Find out all that’s new and awesome with the VIZ Media animation team and the free streaming site Neon Alley! Bring all your anime questions because they will be there to answer them!

Saturday July 26th

12:30PM – 1:30PM      OFFICAL SAILOR MOON PANEL
Room 5AB
VIZ Media is releasing the complete classic SAILOR MOON series for the first time on Blu-ray and with an all-new English dub! Join members of the VIZ Media animation team and learn all about this legendary anime series!

12:30PM                        DORAEMON PHOTO OPPORTUNITY
VIZ Media Booth #2813
Get a hug and take a picture with everyone’s favorite cat-type robot from the future, DORAEMON!

Sunday July 27th

2:00PM – 3:00PM         PERFECT SQUARE PRESENTS – MAKING KIDS COMICS AWESOME
Room 32AB
Bring your kids along, or just your inner child, and join an eclectic group of creators and editors for a lively roundtable that will get you laughing, learning and looking at the craft of all-ages comics in a whole new way!

Other Notable VIZ Media In-Booth Events:

NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Deck Building Game Demo
Check the daily booth schedule for a chance to try out the new card game debuting from Cryptozoic at SDCC!

In-Booth Signing and Photo-Op: HELLO KITTY
Join Hello Kitty herself and graphic novel artists for a special signing and photo opportunity!
Saturday, July 26th 10AM: features Jenni Holm, Matt Holm, Art Baltazar, Franco Aureliani, Lark Pien
Sunday, July 27th at 10AM: features Brianne Drouhard, Stephanie Gonzaga, Martin Hsu, Chynna Clugston Flores, Susie Ghahremani
Jacob Chabot will also be available Sunday July 27th at 1PM!

In-Booth Signing: BRAVEST WARRIORS
Meet the talented contributors for the brand new books based off of the YouTube smash-hit series and get your VIZ Media BRAVEST WARRIOR book or comic sampler signed!
Friday, July 25th at 4:00PM: features Stu Livingston, Tom Warburton, Jon Chad, Ian McGinty
Sunday, July 27th at 1:00PM: features Corin Howell and Inori Fukuda Trant,

In-Booth Signing: NARUTO Figure Sculptor Shin Tanabe
Thursday, July 24th & Friday July 25th at 2:30PM
Meet Gecco figure Sculptor Shin Tanabe, creator of the Comic-Con exclusive NARUTO SHIPPUDEN figure and get your limited edition figure signed!

RANMA ½ Plinko
Available Throughout Comic-Con
Try your luck at our RANMA ½ Plinko board for a chance to win a limited edition Comic-Con only RANMA ½ water bottle! Check the daily booth schedule for times to play!

For more information on VIZ Media, please visit www.VIZ.com.

About VIZ Media, LLC
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, VIZ Media distributes, markets and licenses the best anime and manga titles direct from Japan.  Owned by three of Japan’s largest manga and animation companies, Shueisha Inc., Shogakukan Inc., and Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions, Co., Ltd., VIZ Media has the most extensive library of anime and manga for English speaking audiences in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland and South Africa. With its popular digital manga anthology WEEKLY SHONEN JUMP and blockbuster properties like NARUTO, BLEACH and INUYASHA, VIZ Media offers cutting-edge action, romance and family friendly properties for anime, manga, science fiction and fantasy fans of all ages.  VIZ Media properties are available as graphic novels, DVDs, animated television series, feature films, downloadable and streaming video and a variety of consumer products.