ABOUT THE LONG BEACH COMIC CON
Martha Donato is the President of MAD Event Management, which is an all-purpose event planning facilitator. Donato has over 13 years of experience producing annual large-scale comic book and pop culture conventions around the country, including Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Dallas, as well as smaller seminars and conferences. Martha is the Executive Director of Long Beach Comic Con.
Phil Lawrence is the President of InPrint Media, a full service agency dedicated to creating original content for clients for promotional needs, as well as advertising in the top comics in the industry. Lawrence has over 18 years of experience in marketing and advertising and the comics field. Lawrence has been involved in the comic book business most of his adult life, and continues to enjoy it personally and professionally. Phil is the Sales Director of Long Beach Comic Con.
Mike Scigliano is a freelance sales, marketing, writing, web development and events manager. He has over 10 years in the events production field that encompasses not only the event management side but the exhibitor side as well. This unique situation helps Long Beach Comic Con to keep both the needs of the event as well as the needs of the exhibitor in mind in all aspects of show management. Most of the industry simply knows him as Scig and he he provides floor management, exhibit sales, logistics, programming & guest relations for the Long Beach Comic Con.
Caterina Toscano is a student at Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC. She has been attending and working at comic-cons since she was a teenager. You can find her working in the Information or Registration areas at Long Beach Comic Con!
Steven Hoveke is the owner of Square 1 Press, an independent comics and art books publisher. He started in this industry in 2003 working for Palisades Toys. He has also worked as an independent contractor for Gentle Giant Ltd., Top Cow and Devil's Due, to name a few. A "jack-of-all-trades", his talents are seemingly limitless, from guest relations to personal security to booth construction, he does it all. He has been reading comics since he was seven.
Quick Facts about 2009 LBCC:
Inaugural show held October 2-4, 2009
Attendance of 6,300 unique individuals
Stan Lee and Long Beach City Councilmember Robert Garcia open the show with a ribbon-cutting ceremony
Hundreds of thousands of media impressions by newspaper, radio, television, internet and podcast sites
City of Long Beach support from the Mayor's Office, Council of the Arts and the Chamber of Commerce
Local comic book shops promote the event and sell tickets
Thomas Jane screens two films, Dark Country in 3D technology, and attends the show all three days
Berkeley Breathed, Creator of Bloom County, makes a rare public appearance
Seth Green and many of the creative staff from Robot Chicken entertain hundreds of fans in a rousing Q&A session Saturday afternoon
Anthony Michael Hall and Elizabeth Rohm sign autographs, as does Lou Ferrigno, along with dozens of other celebrities
Dozens of comic book publishers exhibit
Over a hundred talented artists and writers exhibit
Film screenings, Q&A sessions, panel discussions fill the meeting rooms
Live bands perform during evening events (Kirby Krackle)
Nintendo launches its "World of Nintendo" tour at Long Beach Comic Con
