Visionary Illustrator Yoshitaka Amano to be Spotlight Guest at NYCC

VISIONARY ILLUSTRATOR YOSHITAKA AMANO
TO BE SPOTLIGHT GUEST AT NEW YORK COMIC CON

Amano To Attend In Cooperation With
Dark Horse Comics

Norwalk, CT, September 7, 2012: New York Comic Con (NYCC) is today proud to announce Yoshitaka Amano, the illustrator most known for sculpting the worlds of Final Fantasy and Vampire Hunter D, will travel from Tokyo to attend this year's NYCC as a Spotlight Guest. New York Comic Con, which will take place October 11 - 14, 2012 at NYC's Javits Center, is one of New York's largest annual events, last year attracting over 100,000 attendees. Amano joins a broad spectrum of already-announced guests including Brian K. Vaughan, Mike Mignola, Christopher Lloyd, Joshua Gates and Anne Rice. Amano's appearance at New York Comic Con is in partnership with Dark Horse Comics, who will release The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy, a giant-sized collection of Amano's art, on October 17.

Yoshitaka Amano, born in 1952 in Shizuoka, Japan, got his start as an illustrator working as a character designer at Tatsunoko Productions in the 1960s. At Tatsunoko, he lent his pen and spirit to create the looks of such iconic anime series as Gatchaman and Time Bokan. In the 1980s, Amano began his work on Final Fantasy, creating the visuals of the ever-evolving series's characters and worlds, and Vampire Hunter D, defining the appearance of the world-famous vampire slayer. Amano's work began to attract serious international acclaim in the next decade, and the 1990s saw the start of global exhibitions of Amano's creations in cities including New York, Los Angeles, France, Germany and Hong Kong. The year 2000 saw Amano -- now known the world over -- partnering with Neil Gaiman for the Eisner-Award Winning Sandman: The Dream Hunters. At present, Amano is at work on a computer-generated film, Deva Zan.

Amano will participate at New York Comic Con speaking about his career -- specifically his groundbreaking work on Final Fantasy -- and signing autographs for attendees. Full details about his panel and signings will be made available in the near future.

"I am very honored to welcome Yoshitaka Amano to New York Comic Con," notes Lance Fensterman, Group Vice President for ReedPOP and Show Manager for NYCC. "Amano is a legend and inspiration for fans and professionals on both sides of the Pacific; his illustrations have shaped careers and sculpted dreams. We're uniquely excited, as well, as while Amano was born and lives in Japan, he set up a studio in SoHo in 1996, so NYCC is a little bit of a homecoming. We look forward tremendously to his return to New York City!"

Tickets for New York Comic Con 2012 are currently available for purchase at www.NewYorkComicCon.com. Companies interested in exhibiting at New York Comic Con should contact Larry Settembrini at Larry@ReedPOP.com. Other information about the show, as well as news about ReedPOP, which organizes a range of pop culture events, is available at facebook.com/NewYorkComicCon and twitter.com/NY_Comic_Con. Previously announced guests at New York Comic Con include: Anne Rice, Sean Astin, Joshua Gates, Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, Joe Quesada, Axel Alonso and Brian K. Vaughan, among others. Officials note that many more guests will be announced over the coming weeks and fans should keep their eyes on NYCC's website for additional announcements.

ABOUT SKY: THE ART OF FINAL FANTASY: Yoshitaka Amano is one of the world's foremost fantasy artists and the limited-edition The Sky: The Art of Final Fantasy boxed set is a giant-sized, signed collection of five books plus bonus items that showcase Amano's ethereal illustrations for the first ten Final Fantasy games! The 12'" high, 11" wide and 3 1/2" deep box that encloses The Sky has a hinged lid featuring artwork from Amano inside and out. Its contents include: * Three 11 3/4" x 10 1/2" hardcover books, printed on high-quality stock. Volume 1 (144 pages) contains Amano's work for Final Fantasy I-III. Volume 2 (276 pages) contains his contributions for Final Fantasy IV-VI, and volume 3 (156 pages) features his art for Final Fantasy VII-X. * All About Yoshitaka Amano, an 8 1/4" x 8 1/4" 128-page softcover full of photographs and images, the most extensive look ever in English at the artist, including an interview with Amano, a timeline of his career, a glimpse into his studio in SoHo, his favorite places in New York, a visual index of each illustration that appears in the three The Sky hardcover art books, and more! * A 2 1/4" x 4 3/4" Final Fantasy animation flip book designed by Amano, containing two different "movies." * A 10 1/4" x 11" acetate print with silver ink. * Two 5 3/4" x 8 1/4" postcards featuring the interior and exterior artwork used on the box. * And finally, a 5 3/4" x 8 1/4" card signed by Yoshitaka Amano! Sky releases on October 17, 2012 through Dark Horse for a price of $139.99.

~~~

New York Comic Con Press Release