New England Comic Con

I'm going to throw out a little formula that has a few moving parts. If you like Buffy and will be in the Boston area this weekend you'll be super-excited? Why? Because it's Buffyfest 2010...I mean, New England Comic-Con...I mean, Wizard World Boston! All three refer to the event going down this weekend and will be chock full of Buffy alumni, comic creators and other pop media sensations.

The weekend starts of with the "Drink & Draw" event at The Pour House Friday night with legends Alé Garza and Shane Davis drawing and auctioning off original sketches to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. The actual convention starts Saturday and the programming kicks off at 11 AM with a Q&A with James Marsters. That is followed at noon by a discussion with superstar artist and Wizard fan favorite Ethan Van Sciver. Then at 1, the popular “Greg Horn Art School” offers a tutorial on how the famed digital artist and comic book star creates his striking cover images at DC Comics. At 2 PM, Nicholas Brendon discusses his role on Buffy and other shows. Charisma Carpenter follows at 3 PM. Adam West and Burt Ward, take over at 4 p.m. for a “Bat-Panel” on the iconic 60's TV series. Following that will be a preview of The Walking Dead AMC series at 5 PM, chased by a nice Costume Contest at 6:30.

Sunday programming starts at 11 a.m. with a screening of Amber Benson's independent film Chance, which stars stars Benson, Marsters and the late Andy “Lorne” Hallett. At 1 p.m., Clare Kramer and Mercedes McNab, “Glory” and “Harmony Kendall” on “Buffy,” share their stories and memories of the series. Kids take center stage at 2 PM with the Kids' Costume Contest, in which children 10 and under can win great prizes and giveaways. The Inkwell Awards will take off at 3 PM, followed from 4-6 PM by the NYC Horror Film Festival's Killer Short Sudden Death Competition, in which filmmakers will have their short films viewed by a live audience and voted into the NYC Horror Film Festival program, Nov. 10-14.

The show is at the Hynes Convention Center and you can get tickets here. Full press release after the jump.

Buffy, Batman Panels, Marsters Concert, “drink & Draw” Highlight New England Comic Con Programming

Charisma Carpenter Q&A, Artist Panels, Kids' Costume Contest, Also Set

BOSTON – A variety of entertaining and informative panels and comic industry sessions are among the programming offerings scheduled at Wizard World New England Comic Con, Friday through Sunday at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

New England Comic Con programming gets off to a fun start with the new “Drink & Draw” event at The Pour House, 907 Boylston St.- just across the street from the Convention Center. Comic legends such as Alé Garza and Shane Davis will be on hand to draw and auction off original sketches to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association.

Day programming begins on Saturday at 11 a.m. with a Q&A with James Marsters, who has starred in numerous television series including “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer” and “Caprica” and who played the villain in the pilot of the new “Hawaii Five-0.” That is followed at noon by a discussion with superstar artist and Wizard fan favorite Ethan Van Sciver. Then at 1, the popular “Greg Horn Art School” offers a tutorial on how the famed digital artist and comic book star creates his striking cover images at DC Comics. At 2 p.m., Nicholas Brendon, best known for playing “Xander Harris” on “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer” discusses his role on that and other shows. Charisma Carpenter follows at 3 with talk of her role as “Cordelia” in “Buffy” and other work.

The Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder, Adam West and Burt Ward, take over at 4 p.m. for a “Bat-Panel” on the iconic 60's TV series. Horror takes the stage at 5 with a preview of behind-the-scenes footage of AMC's new series “The Walking Dead,” based on Robert Kirman's classic comics. Halloween comes a little early at 6:30 with the popular Costume Contest, with crazy outfits and huge prizes the norm.

Marsters returns to the stage at 8 with a one-hour concert, with music from his debut solo album “Civilized Man” and more recent “Like a Waterfall.”

Sunday programming starts at 11 a.m. with a screening of Amber Benson's independent film CHANCE, which stars stars three Whedonverse favorites: Benson, Marsters and the late Andy “Lorne” Hallett. At 1 p.m., Clare Kramer and Mercedes McNab, “Glory” and “Harmony Kendall” on “Buffy,” share their stories and memories of the series. The kids take center stage at 2 p.m. with the Kids' Costume Contest, in which children 10 and under can win great prizes and giveaways.

Sunday continues with The Inkwell Awards, as some of comics’ finest creators pay tribute to the underappreciated field of inking, at 3 p.m. Inkwell Awards committee members and ambassadors will be in attendance as well as spokesperson “Ms. Inkwell.” The day concludes from 4-6 p.m. with the NYC Horror Film Festival's Killer Short Sudden Death Competition, in which filmmakers will have their short films viewed by a live audience and voted into the NYC Horror Film Festival program, Nov. 10-14.

The Hynes Convention Center is located at 900 Boylston Street in the Back Bay section of Boston. New England Comic Con is the sixth stop on Wizard’s eight-city 2010 North American tour. Hours are Friday, Oct. 15, 5-9 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 16, 10 a.m. - 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 17, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. (all times Eastern). Tickets are available in advance or by calling 1-866-882-5860 and online at www.wizardworld.com/newengland.html at up to a 15% savings over tickets purchased at the door. Advance adult single-day tickets are $25; three-day weekend tickets are $45, and tickets are free for children age 10 and under when accompanied by a paid adult (limit two children per adult). VIP packages with special entry and exclusive items are also available.

About Wizard Entertainment:
Gareb Shamus founded Wizard Entertainment in 1991. Today, Shamus publishes consumer magazines Wizard, ToyFare, FunFare and numerous books about pop-culture’s top talent, comic books and toys. Shamus also produces a North American Comic Con tour.

***** SAVE THE 2010 DATES *****
October 15-17 – New England Comic Con
November 12-14 – Austin Comic Con
December 4-5 – Atlanta Comic Con

***** SAVE THE 2011 DATES *****
March 18-20 – Toronto Comic Con
April 29 - May 1 – Anaheim Comic Con
May 21-22 – Big Apple Comic Con ‘Spring Edition’
June 17-19 – Philadelphia Comic Con
August 11-14 – Chicago Comic Con
Fall 2011 – Big Apple Comic Con
Fall 2011 – New England Comic Con
November – Austin Comic Con
December – Atlanta Comic Con
TBA – New Jersey Comic Con
TBA – Cincinnati Comic Con
TBA – Cleveland Comic Con
TBA – Nashville Comic Con