SECRET IDENTITIES: THE ASIAN AMERICAN SUPERHERO ANTHOLOGY COMES TO SAN DIEGO WITH AN ALL-STAR LINEUP AT BOOTH #1735

Scheduled Appearances by Kelly Hu, Keiko Agena, Sonny Liew, Ming Doyle, Bernard Chang and More; also Offering an Exclusive, Limited Edition Litho by Cliff Chiang; and Jeff Yang Moderates a Panel featuring Dwayne McDuffie, Gail Simone, Jai Nitz, Stuart Moore and Gene Yang.

July 15, 2009—With Comic-Con International: San Diego just around the corner, the editors of Secret Identities, the groundbreaking Asian American superhero anthology, have announced a full schedule of signings at Epic Proportions’ Booth #1735.

Featuring some of the creative talent behind the stories in Secret Identities, these appearances give fans the opportunity to meet some of the biggest names in comics, television and film!

Leading off the signing schedule at 12:30pm on Thursday, July 23 is the team behind “The Blue Scorpion & Chung,” Gene Yang (The Eternal Smile) and Sonny Liew (Liquid City). On Friday, July 24, the “Learn to Share” creative team of actress Keiko Agena (Gilmore Girls) and artist Ming Doyle (Comic Book Tattoo) will be signing from 2pm to 4pm. Superstar actress Kelly Hu (X2: X-Men United) and superstar artist Cliff Chiang (Green Arrow & Black Canary) are scheduled for Saturday, July 25 at 2pm. In addition, SIUniverse Media will be offering a convention exclusive lithograph of the Kelly Hu-created character JIA, featuring art by Cliff Chiang. Finally, “The Citizen” artist extraordinaire Bernard Chang (Wonder Woman) and "Agent Orange" artist Dustin Nguyen (Detective Comics) wrap up the show on Sunday, July 26 at 2pm.

The editors of Secret Identities—Jeff Yang, Parry Shen, Keith Chow and Jerry Ma—will also be available at Booth #1735 for the duration of the convention. However, the Secret Identities presence at Comic-Con extends well beyond a single booth. The following SI-affiliated artists and creators will be at their own booths throughout the convention center:

• Bernard Chang (#1821)
• Cliff Chiang (#1322)
• Martin Hsu (#G-02)
• Benton Jew (#EE-02)
• Kazu Kibuishi (#2329)
• Sonny Liew (#2329)
• Dustin Nguyen (#FF-04)
• Vince Sunico (#GG-18)
  
• Francis Tsai (#2629 & #1415)
• Anthony Wu (#2329)
• Gene Yang (#AA-4)

To celebrate the gathering of so many contributors in one place, fans can participate in a special Secret Identities Scavenger Hunt! Anyone who has purchased a copy of Secret Identities and is able to collect verifiable signatures/sketches from each of the listed contributors will be entitled to a special prize at the Secret Identities booth!

In addition to celebrity signings and scavenger hunts, Secret Identities Editor-in-Chief Jeff Yang will be moderating a unique panel titled Four Color Reality: Making Comics Relevant to Readers Across Cultures in Room 3 on Friday, July 24 from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. Panelists include Dwayne McDuffie (Milestone Comics, Justice League), Gail Simone (Wonder Woman), Gene Yang (American Born Chinese), Stuart Moore (Wolverine: Noir, The 99) and Jai Nitz (Blue Beetle, El Diablo).

Panel Description:
Four Color Reality: Making Comics Relevant to Readers Across Cultures. Comic book stories have become the core of American pop culture—is there a big-budget spectacular that doesn’t in some fashion owe its existence to comic book roots these days? But sales of traditional-format comic books themselves have been in decline for years. This panel explores one reason for this shrinking market: the divergence between the identities of mainstream comic icons—who are typically straight, white, male and American—and the demographic makeup of a new generation of readers. How can the comic book industry connect with changing audiences—not just of diverse races and backgrounds, but of different cultural and national origins as well?