Stan Lee and New York Comic Con 2010

STAN LEE TO BE “SPOTLIGHT” GUEST OF HONOR AT
NEW YORK COMIC CON
Lee is First (and Only!) “Spotlight” Guest of Honor at 2010 Show!!
Registration and Ticket Sales for NYCC Are “Live” on Web Site

Norwalk, CT, June 9, 2010: Stan Lee, a comic book legend and a super hero to millions of fans, has agreed to appear at New York Comic Con in 2010 as a “Spotlight” Guest of Honor. This marks Lee’s third visit to NYCC but it will be his first as a “Spotlight” Guest of Honor, a new designation created especially for Mr. Lee to underscore his prominence and status in the pop culture universe. Stan Lee is Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Enterprises, Inc. and is currently overseeing the growth and development of his own company, POW! Entertainment, which will be a Presenting Partner at New York Comic Con this year. Specific details about Stan Lee’s participation at NYCC will be made available in the near future but officials note that the industry icon will be involved in a range of activities including panel appearances and signings.

The 2010 New York Comic Con will now be co-located with the New York Anime Festival (NYAF) and will occupy the entire Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City. The two shows, both of which are organized by the Reed Exhibitions Pop Culture Group, will take place October 8 – 10, 2010. Officials note that registration and ticket sales for NYCC and NYAF are live on the web site.

“Nothing provides more of a statement in the world of Cons than being able to say that Stan Lee is going to be your Guest of Honor,” notes Lance Fensterman, Vice President for the Reed Pop Culture Group and Show Manager for NYCC. “We are enormously grateful to Stan for making this early commitment since it not only proves his allegiance to our show but it allows us to set the bar very high. We are going to do everything we can to live up to this obligation and remain true to our own commitment and standard of excellence. We will be announcing specifics about Stan’s appearance at our show in the near future and we will be making lots more announcements about dynamic guests at New York Comic Con over the next few months. This is just the beginning!”

ABOUT STAN LEE:
Known to millions as the man whose Super Heroes propelled Marvel Comics to its preeminent position in the comicbook industry, Stan Lee's famous co-creations include Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, The Avengers, Silver Surfer and Dr. Strange among many others. Lee first became publisher of Marvel Comics in 1972 and is presently the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Enterprises, Inc. and a member of the Editorial Board of Marvel Comics. In 1977, he introduced Spider-Man as a syndicated newspaper strip that went on to become one of the most successful of all syndicated adventure strips. Spider-Man now appears in more than 500 newspapers worldwide -- making it the longest running of all Super Hero strips.

Without question, Stan 'the Man' Lee has exerted enormous influence over the comicbook industry through his many years. He had a hand in creating many of Marvel's most recognized characters, the majority of which have been successfully licensed and marketed since 1965. The numbers are impressive -- more than 2 billion of his comicbooks have been published in 75 countries and in 25 languages. In Europe alone, Stan Lee's name appears on over 35 million comics annually. Each year, X-Men sells more than 13 million copies.

In 1981 Stan Lee transformed his Spider-Man and Hulk creations into Saturday morning and syndicated television cartoons. When Marvel Comics and Marvel Productions were acquired by New World Entertainment in 1986, Stan's horizons expanded even further, giving him the opportunity to become more deeply involved in the creation and development of filmed projects for both the big and small screen. He supervised such diverse animated series as X-Men, Spider-Man and The Hulk. To date, Stan's characters have populated over 24 separate television series, all of which continue in syndication around the world.

Stan Lee's admirers are not limited to the younger generation -- his avowed fans include Presidents (Ronald Reagan once said he started every day reading Spider-Man comics and George Bush, in presenting Stan with a Medal of the Arts, praised him for encouraging and assisting "millions of young people to broaden their own imaginations"). Media titan Steven Spielberg once explained that "Stan and I do the same thing. Only my pictures move." Even his competitors have only good things to say: "Most of my generation of writers learned our craft from or through Stan Lee. He's an incredible part of the business," states Paul Levitz of DC Comics.

Now, as he enters the 21st Century, Stan Lee is broadening his horizons with his new company, “POW! Entertainment” where Stan is currently developing entirely new franchises for film and television while still proudly cherishing the title of Marvel’s Chairman Emeritus.

Tickets for NYCC and NYAF may be purchased at 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 Fensterman’s blog, www.mediumatlarge.net.

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.

ABOUT POW! (PURVEYORS OF WONDER) Entertainment, Inc. (OTC: POWN):
An advanced media and entertainment company with a first-look deal with Disney, POW! was founded by Stan Lee, together with award winning producer Gill Champion and intellectual property specialist Arthur Lieberman Esq., to create, produce and license original intellectual properties. POW! specializes in franchises for the entertainment industry, including animation and live-action feature films, plus television, DVDs, video games, merchandising and related ancillary markets, all of which contribute to global expansion. Walt Disney Studios entered into a first-look deal with POW! in 2007. Under the new arrangement, Walt Disney Studios expands that relationship through enhanced rights to the creative output of Pow! as well as certain exclusive consulting services. Disney has also taken a 10% equity stake. To find out more, check out www.powentertainment.com.

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New York Comic Con Press Release