Garden State Comic Fest is this weekend, June 29th & 30th at the Mennen Arena in Morristown starting at 10:00 AM each day and ending at 6:00 PM Saturday and 5:00 PM Sunday.
“We are proud to say that the Fest is the only New Jersey comic con of its size that let’s in kids 11 and under for Free.” says co-owner, Sal Zurzolo.
The Fest’s founder and a Navy Vet, Dave O’Hare adds, “We are also proud to provide free admission to my fellow Vets and Active Military as a way of saying ‘thank you for your service.’ All you have to do is bring a valid Military ID or a copy of your DD-214 form to Will Call and show our staff June 29-30th at Mennen Arena in Morristown NJ.”
The Fest has been known for giving its attendees lots of free goodies, including comic books, posters, t-shirts, and toys in the past and this year is no different. “One of our sponsor’s Mid-Town Comics, the biggest comic shop chain in the northeast, has provided a free comic, a special Mid-Town edition of DC’S ‘Year of the Villain’ #1, for the first 1,000 attendees,” says General Manager, Evan Goldstein.
Incredi Kids, a group of talented comic book artists, will again feature fun and creative events for attending children at no additional costs. “Children will be taught how to draw the comics with fun lessons like ‘The Shape Challenge,’ ‘Snack & Sketch,’ and ‘The Sound of Comics,’ says Danielle Pierson, Director of Vendor Liaison.”
“The kids (and adults) can also attend a free Light Saber class taught by the Jedi’s of the Saber Guild’s Corellia Temple, a Lucas Film’s preferred lightsaber performance organization,” says Zurzolo.
Panels are free to attendees who can take a break from visiting their favorite artists, comic, toy and collectible dealers by sitting in on one like, ‘Wolverines Don’t Howl: What Comics Get Wrong (And Right) About Animal & Plant Abilities’ lead by a couple of real professors, ‘Skeletor Tackles A GI Joe! A Voice-Over Acting Q & A’ with renowned voice actors Alan Oppenheimer and Michael Bell, and ‘A Last Encounter with Stan Lee’ as related by Stan Lee’s first successor at Marvel Comic, Roy Thomas.
“We are also bringing back our Charity Art Auction featuring donated pieces of art from our featured artists,” according to Bill O’Donnell, the Fest’s Artist Liaison.
Parking is Free and VIP ticket holders will get a Swag Bag with show exclusive prints and some other great surprises. “Tickets are going fast and VIP tickets are almost sold out, so get yours now”, advises O’Hare. For more information, including free admission details, contests and panel schedules go to:
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