An ICv2 Release.  New speakers have been added to the list of thought leaders at Comics Ahead! – The ICv2 Conference at New York Comic Con, which includes top executives, authors, editors, and comic creators. “Each panel has been assembled to offer a variety of vantage points, differing opinions, and the kinds of successful backgrounds that show an ability to discern trends and capitalize on them,” ICv2 CEO and Conference organizer Milton Griepp said.  “We’ve got a great group this year, and we expect some terrific exchanges as they discuss the profound issues affecting the future.”

The sessions at the ICV2 Conference are:

The ICv2 White Paper
This ICv2 White Paper will present a comprehensive look at the comics and graphic novel market in print and digital for 2012 and 2013, with an analysis of long and short term trends driving the market.
Presented by Milton Griepp, CEO, ICv2

From Creator to Consumer
The path from comic creators to consumer is being disrupted by technology, new business models, and changing tastes.  Webcomics and digital sales, Kickstarter, and closer relationships between creators and their fans are empowering new and emerging business models.  How much will these emerging trends change comics and everything based on them in the years ahead?  We ask our expert panel.
 

• Calista Brill, Senior Editor, First Second Books
• Simon Fraser, artist, runs the ACT-I-VATEcomix Webcomics collective
• Jamal Igle, artist, successful Kickstarter publisher, lecturer
• Dan Manser, Director of Marketing, Diamond Comic Distributors
• John Roberts, Co-founder, comiXology
• Moderated by Heidi MacDonald, comic editor and commentator from The Beat

 
Graphic Novels - Growing in a Digital World
Graphic novels, the key to a larger, more diverse audience for comics, are growing again, in a new world in which both print and digital play a role.  We look at how a wider range of content, the impact of digital distribution, and the rapidly changing landscape at retail and in libraries can work together to reach a broader, bigger market.
 

• Leyla Aker, Vice President Publishing, Viz Media LLC
• Greg Goldstein, President and COO, IDW Publishing
• Trudy Knudsen, Manager eContent Acquisitions, Follett
• Dallas Middaugh, Director, Publisher Services, Random House
• Barry Nalebuff, author; consultant; co-writer, Mission in a Bottle; Milton Steinbach Professor at the Yale School of Management.                
• Rich Johnson, Founder, Brick Road Media, overseeing Penguin's InkLit imprint, Adjunct Professor, Drexel University
• Moderated by Calvin Reid, Senior News Editor of Publishers Weekly

 
The Rise of Geek Culture
The emerging geek culture market is the #1 North American pop culture trend; and as these important, influential consumers flex their muscles, marketers are taking notice.  What does this mean for the future of entertainment, marketing, and the stories that are weaving themselves through American life and beyond?  Join our panel of experts as they look ahead. 
 

• Gerry Gladston, Co-Owner, Midtown Comics
• Shawn Kirkham, Director of Business Development, Skybound (The Walking Dead)
• Steve Rotterdam, co-founder, Bonfire Agency
• Rob Salkowitz, author, writer of Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture
• Intro presentation by Ed Catto, co-founder, Bonfire Agency
• Moderated by Milton Griepp, CEO, ICv2

 
For more information on the speakers at the ICv2 Conference, click here.
 
Comics Ahead! – The ICv2 Conference is a ticketed event for professionals, and will take place at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, October 9.
 
Registration information is available here.
The event is open to press with an RSVP to Mgriepp@icv2.com.
For more details on the event, click here.
 
For more information:
Milton Griepp, ICv2
MGriepp@ICv2.com
608-284-9400, x1
 
ICv2
ICv2 is the #1 industry source on the business of geek culture, including comics and graphic novels, manga and anime, movie/TV products, and hobby games, on its Website, www.ICv2.com, and in its magazine, Internal Correspondence.  For the people on the front lines of the geek culture business, staying ahead of the trends isn't something that can be left to chance-it's a basic necessity for being successful.  That's why ICv2 is the #1 source of news and information for the buyers, gatekeepers, and tastemakers on the front lines.  ICv2 is where trend-watching is a science.
 
Conference Sponsor: Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly is your number one insider's guide for all pre-publication comics and graphic novels.  Register for PW's ComicsWorld e-newsletter for advance listing, reviews and news dedicated to comics and Graphic Novels.  If it is happening at New York Comic Con, then we have already written about it on PublishersWeekly.com.
 
Conference Sponsor: Heidi MacDonald's The Beat
The Beat, now in its ninth year, is dedicated to providing the timeliest and most pertinent news and information about comics, the people who make them, the readers who love them and the world that shapes them.  Heidi MacDonald is an Eisner Award-nominated writer and editor and a veteran entertainment industry journalist. As an editor she has worked for Disney, Warner Bros., and Fox, among many others.
 
Conference Sponsor: New York Comic Con
New York Comic Con is the East Coast's biggest and most exciting popular culture convention. Our show floor plays host to the latest and greatest in comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television.  Our panels and autograph sessions give fans a chance to interact with their favorite creators.  Our screening rooms feature sneak peeks at films and television shows months before they hit either big or small screens.  And with dedicated professional hours, New York Comic Con is a market place, bringing together the major players in the entertainment industry.  New York Comic Con is the second largest pop culture convention in America with over 105,000 attendees in 2011, and the only one that takes place in the comic book, publishing, media, and licensing capital of the world--Gotham City.