The New York Comic Con has announced that Takashi Okazaki, Fuminori Kizaki, Taito Okiura, and Eric Calderon -- the creator, the director, and co-producers of the Afro Samurai anime series will appear as part of the New York Comic Con's Anime Program, discussing their work and showing never-before-seen clips from the five-part series that began airing on the Spike TV cable network on January 4th.

Eric Calderon, who was the Director of Development at MTV before he joined Gonzo, was the prime mover behind taking Afro Samurai from an obscure dojinshi manga (created and self-published by Takashi Okazaki) to a major anime project at one of Japan's leading anime studios.

Set in a futuristic, yet feudal, Japan, the first episode of Afro Samurai attracted over 1.66 million viewers during repeated showings on Spike TV (see 'Afro Samurai Premieres Strong').  FUNimation plans to release the first Afro Samurai DVD on May 22nd and DC Unlimited plans to release Afro Samurai action figures, bust and statues next fall (see 'DC Unlimited Lands Afro Samurai License').