Registration opens today for Silicon Valley Comic Con, Steve Wozniak’s pop culture convention that also carries a fair bit of tech weight. Grown from the Big Wow Comics Fest, Wozniak took control three years ago, and each year gets bigger and better. Scheduled this year for April 6-8 at the San Jose Convention Center, SVCC 2018 (aka SVCC 3.0) also marks the return of Stan Lee. Tickets are available here.
Among the other guests announced in the first wave are Andy Weir (The Martian), Jewel Staite (Firefly), Simon Bisley (ABC Warriors, Slaine, Lobo), and the man who saved Marvel and launched Valiant, [amazon text=Jim Shooter&asin=1496811798]. I don’t know if Stan has the stamina (or quite honestly, hearing) for panels anymore, but a panel with him and Shooter talking about their eras of Marvel would be amazing.
Stan and Jim in 1986 – photo by Jackie Estrada
From SVCC:
Registration is now open for Silicon Valley Comic Con (SVCC) 2018. The first guests for the April event were announced today by SVCC, including special guest of honor Stan Lee. Other guests announced were Sean Astin, Matthew Lewis, and Jewel Staite.
“We are excited to launch SVCC 3.0 with such an amazing group of guests, including the legendary Stan Lee”, said Trip Hunter, Chairman of SVCC. “This is just the first of a long list of exciting announcements about guests and events that we will be adding to our lineup to make SVCC the best science, technology, and pop culture event for our fans – whether they’re a new attendee or an alumni.”
“Our theme for this year is “What does it mean to be human?”, continued Hunter. “This allows us to embrace not only the latest trends in sci-fi and pop culture, but the latest trends and technologies in science and tech, including AI, and robotics. It is a line that is getting more or more blurry, and we are excited to give leaders in their respective fields a platform on which to discuss such an important topic.”
SVCC will be held April 6 – 8, 2018, at the San Jose Convention Center. Tickets are now on sale and can be accessed at www.svcomiccon.com. A free special edition SVCC t-shirt will be available with the purchase of a 3-day pass ($99, t-shirt quantities are limited and will be provided first come, first served; pick-up onsite).
Additional artists and authors also announced today include; Andy Weir, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of The Martian and Artemis; Jim Shooter, former Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics and founder of VALIANT, DEFIANT, and Broadway Comics; Simon Bisley, best known for his work on ABC Warriors, Lobo and Sláine; and Glenn Fabry, winner of numerous “Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards” as Best Cover Artist.
artwork by Simon Bisley
Stan Lee is an American comic-book writer, editor, and publisher, who was formerly executive vice president and publisher of Marvel Comics. Lee co-created Spider-Man, the Hulk, Doctor Strange, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, Thor, the X-Men, and many other fictional characters, introducing a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. In addition, he challenged the comics’ industry’s censorship organization, the Comics Code Authority, indirectly leading to it updating its policies. Lee subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation. In July 2017, Lee was named a Disney Legend, a hall of fame program that recognizes individuals who have made an extraordinary and integral contribution to The Walt Disney Company.
Sean Astin is known for such iconic roles as Mikey Walsh in “The Goonies,” the title character of “Rudy,” Samwise Gamgee in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, and Bob Newby in “Stranger Things 2.”
Matthew Lewis is best known for his role as “Neville Longbottom” in the Harry Potter films. Most recently, he played the character of “Patrick” in the movie “Me Before You” (2016).
Jewel Staite starred as ‘Kaylee’ in the gone-too-soon Fox show “Firefly,” as well as the follow-up film “Serenity.” Prior to that, Jewel played the role of ‘Dr. Keller’ in the SyFy Channel hit series “Stargate:Atlantis”.
Silicon Valley Comic Con brings together America’s two greatest superheroes: Pop Culture and Technology. Presented by Steve Wozniak and featuring top celebrities, comics, independent artists, cosplay, video games, consumer electronics, music and apps, Silicon Valley Comic Con is where entertainment and our electronic worlds intersect. The event will be held April 6 – 8 at the San Jose Convention Center. For more information, please visit www.svcomiccon.com.
In addition to running Fanboy Planet, Derek has written for ActionAce, Daily Radar, Once Upon A Dime, and The Wave. He has contributed stories to Arcana Comics (The Greatest American Hero) and Monsterverse Comics (Bela Lugosi's Tales from the Grave). He has performed with ComedySportz and Silicon Valley Shakespeare, though relocated to Hollywood to... work in an office? If you ever played Eric's Ultimate Solitaire on the Macintosh, it was Derek's voice as The Weasel that urged you to play longer. You can buy his book "I Was Flesh Gordon" on the Amazon link at the right. Email him at [email protected].
