Marvel Comics has announced a number of significant additions to its list of celebrities who will be participating in the inaugural New York Comic-Con, which will be held at the Jacob K. Javits Center from February 24 to 26.  Brian Michael Bendis, winner of five Eisner Awards and the writer of Ultimate Spider-Man, Daredevil and New Avengers, will be a Guest of Honor at the convention, and he will be joined by a host of other Marvel creators including Bryan Hitch (The Ultimates), Jae Lee, Mark Bagley, Sean Chen, Chris Claremont, Scott Hanna, Klaus Janson, Michael Avon Oeming, Tom Palmer, Tom Raney, John Romita, Jr., and John Romita, Sr.

Terry Chu, the anime-programming organizer for the New York Comic-Con, is finalizing plans for a wide range of anime-related activities including guest appearances, screenings, musical performances, seminars and public events.  Mari Iijima and Greg Ayres will lend their talents to a special evening of entertainment called Anime Exodus that will take place at The Knitting Factory on Saturday February 25 starting at 8 pm.  Mari Iijimi will sing at 10pm and Greg Ayres will be spinning music for the entire evening.  Tickets for Anime Exodus will be $15 with a New York Comic-Con badge and $25 without a badge.

Cosplayers will undoubtedly enjoy making the scene at the Anime Exodus event, but there will also be a public stage in the main lobby of the Javits Center where there will be musical performances as well as a Cosplay on Stage event, where cosplayers may go to the viewing stage to show off their costumes.  There will also be plenty of screenings and anime panels and AnimeNEXT is bringing more than 250 volumes of manga, which will be available in a comfortable environment at the Javits Center where convention-goers can relax and read manga.