Featured Guests
Vic Mignogna
voice actor
Vic has been acting for stage and screen since he was 8 years old. But he started his career in anime about ten years ago as Vega in Streetfighter II. Since then Vic has been in more than a hundred and fifty shows and video games, known for such roles as Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist, Tamaki Suou in Ouran High School Host Club, Fai in Tsubasa Chronicle, Dark in DN Angel, Kurz in Full Metal Panic, Broly in Dragonball Z, Kougaijji in Saiyuki, Ikkaku in Bleach, Yukito in Air, Takanaga in Wallflower, Tatsu in Peacemaker, Luciano in Code Geass, Virgil Walsh in Trinity Blood, Hikaru in Macross and many more. He is currently back in the role of Edward in Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, playing Death Scythe in Soul Eater, and several others. Vic has also voiced roles in a large number of video games including Soul Calibur, Disgaea, Persona III, Project Sylpheed, DBZ, Bleach, FMA and more. But even longer than his voice acting, Vic has been a professional music composer / singer / producer who has written and produced hundreds of songs for TV, radio and CD. He sings the themes for shows like One Piece & DBGT, and has produced several CDs of his own original music. And finally, in addition to anime and music, Vic has a degree in film and works regularly writing, producing and directing video and film productions.
Carl Macek
director
Carl Macek has been involved with various forms of entertainment media since the mid-1970’s. Graduating college with a degree in “The Theory and Criticism of the Visual Media” his career began as a journalist and West Coast editor for several publications but he soon he moved into marketing and promotional co-ordination. Starting with grassroots promotional work on milestone films such as STAR WARS and ALIEN, he eventually divided his time between development and promotional efforts for companies such as MGM and COLUMBIA PICTURES and worked for numerous industry icons including Dino Di Laurentiis and Ivan Reitman. Along the way, Macek wrote or co-edited several books on filmmaking. Eventually he became a “genre expert” specializing in science fiction and animation.
In 1984, Macek began his association with Japanese animation. He worked with Harmony Gold, U.S.A. to develop the groundbreaking anime series ROBOTECH that has been credited with igniting the still growing anime movement outside of Japan. Following his success with ROBOTECH, Macek began working for D.I.C. to develop original animation and merchandising properties. This led to his association with John Kricfalusi and later Bill Kroyer. Macek worked with Kroyer as a writer/producer and then split off with Kricfalusi during the period in time leading up to the start of an independent animation studio that later became SPUMCO.
In 1988/89 Macek joined with Jerry Beck to create STREAMLINE PICTURES – a distribution company dedicated to bringing Japanese animation into North America. After a few years, Beck left to pursue other opportunities in animation, but Macek and STREAMLINE continued bringing such classic anime films as AKIRA, VAMPIRE HUNTER D, FIST OF THE NORTH STAR, ROBOT CARNIVAL and WICKED CITY (among others) into theaters, television broadcast and home video for over a decade. One of his most enduring projects during this period was the English-language adaptation of the Miyazaki classic MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO.
In the late 1990’s, Macek returned to original animation production and was instrumental in developing several projects (HEAVY METAL 2000 and later LADY DEATH). However, he still maintains his interest in anime. Most recently, he has adapted, produced and directed English–language versions of Tomino’s classic 49-episode fantasy AURA BATTLER DUNBINE. He continues to adapt Japanese anime for the North American market – most recently with GALAXY RAILWAY, NARUTO, BLEACH and KYO KARA MAOH!
Currently Macek has been working in on a slate of original projects as well, including: WAR EAGLES – a novel and screenplay inspired by Merian C. Cooper’s unrealized masterpiece set just prior to the start of World War II; THE D’ARC – a high adventure tale set in pre-WWII Europe that falls somewhere between Raiders of the Lost Arc and The da Vinci Code; GIRL IN THE IVORY TOWER – an oriental fable - and several others. Creating strong compelling stories and unforgettable characters is the hallmark of Macek’s unique brand of storytelling. Some of his recent science fiction short stories can be read at storyleap.com. His efforts and output have been both praised and criticized with equal zeal over the years. But one undeniable fact remains – the current acceptance and growth of Anime would certainly be different had it not been for Macek’s groundbreaking work bringing Japanese animation to the largest possible audience.
Tommy Yune
designer, director, writer
Tommy Yune has worked for over a decade in the comic book and video game industries. His early game development experience includes character design of the pioneering 3D fighting game FX Fighter for the Nintendo SuperFX chip and conceptual design of the award-winning Journeyman Project series. He also wrote and illustrated hit comic book titles such as Speed Racer, Racer X, Robotech, and Danger Girl: Kamikaze which were published by DC Comics' Wildstorm and Cliffhanger labels. His first work in feature animation was creating the computer-generated opening sequence of Kevin Altieri's Gen13.
Tommy grew up on a steady diet of anime, watching as much Prince Planet, Gatchaman and Casshan as he could in Asia and the United States. Then he shunned television and went back to being a responsible student to the delight of his parents. However, right before entering the UCLA School of Engineering, Robotech brought anime back into his life and he eventually found himself at the ArtCenter College of Design instead. His parents wept.
Tommy first worked in an official capacity for the Robotech universe by helping design Robotech.com for its launch in 2001. He has since come aboard as Harmony Gold's creative director and oversees new development, including Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles which completed production in 2006.
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles Art Book and Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles Comic
Steve Yun
producer
While still a young college student and part-time hacker in 1998, Steve got his first job at an anime company as a digital animator. It was a dream come true for any fan who grew up on Robotech and Macross to be working somewhere in the anime industry. After slaving away through 80 hour work weeks and one really bad 100 hour work week where he started hallucinating from being awake too long, Steve called it quits and went back to Riverside where he got his B.A. in Creative Writing. Stay in school, kids!
Since becoming part of Harmony Gold, Steve Yun has had fansites and fanclubs devoted to him, as well as internet stalkers, convention stalkers, petitions to get him fired and websites devoted to exposing the "real" Steve Yun. Steve has co-produced and associate-produced several other projects as well, including the Macross restoration, the Robotech:Battlecry video game, the Robotech: Invasion video game, Robotech Remastered and Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. Steve has also been featured in an anime documentary called Geeks, which he has still not had a chance to see.
Since its launch, Robotech.com has constantly been one of the busiest anime-related destinations on the internet, being the subject of a Slashdot article, a Conan O'Brien feature and mentioned on countless anime websites. You can email Steve at info@robotech.com to send him Robotech-related fan mail, complaints, constructive criticism and suggestions.
Doug Smith
artist, voice actor
Doug Smith is an accomplished freelance artist and voice actor who has performed many roles for ADV and Funimation, including the lead, Kintaro Oe, in "Goldenboy". One of his lesser known but more powerful roles that of Squeebo, the poor blind orphan in the OVA series "Splendid Eyeball Gremulak", which, unfortunately for fans everywhere, doesn't actually exist.
Doug is a man of adventure, travelling the country and globe, working to hone his artistic skills and always in search of the elusive American Dream. There’s no place he won’t go, the jungle, desert, the highest mountain peaks, the depths of the ocean and the silent void of outer space to reach that elusive dream.
His artwork has been used for CD album covers, magazines, comics, posters, anime con program guides, badges, DVDs, TV and is currently working with Outlaw Entertainment L.L.C. illustrating / designing their titles. Doug is also the Art Director for non-profit Voices For, an organization which works with talented people in the anime/manga industry to create products, the profits of which are donated to charity.
Be sure to stop by Doug's table, view his art and say hi and buy some art lest the CURSE OF THE PHAROA--- wait,… sorry. There's no curse. But please buy some art anyway. It will make you happy.
Haze-man
artist
Haze Studios is the personal creation of the Haze-man, a comic book artist from New Jersey. Haze-man is on a mission to ensure that comics take their rightful place in the world of communication. Haze-man works for an era where comics are regarded as a medium and not a genre and are enjoyed by people from all walks of life. Welcome to Haze Studios Workshops! The Haze-man has been traveling from con to con since 1998 giving his presentation on Manga Drawing. Some of the conventions he has presented at include: Otakon, Katsucon, A-kon, Ani-Magic and others. He'd be happy to come you YOUR con and give his presentation, free of charge.
Chisuji
artist
biography coming soon . . .
Robert V Aldrich
author
Robert V Aldrich was born in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in 1980. Growing up around the entire Southeast, with a short stint in Salt Lake City, Utah, he now calls Raleigh, North Carolina home. He was briefly educated at North Carolina State University before pursuing other educational avenues in Louisville, Kentucky and currently Johnson City, Tennessee. A passionate martial artist and toy collector, Aldrich spends most of his days torn between writing, training, and playing too many video games.
Growing up on shows such as Transformers, Robotech, Voltron, and even the short-lived Dragon Warrior cartoon, Aldrich became a huge anime fan very early on. But while the remarkable story-telling and worlds of anime existed and endured through innumerable art forms, there was never any 'real' attempt at an original anime story within the literature world. Starting as a simple story to keep in touch with friends, Crossworld soon became the first anime-style novel published in the United States.
Taking inspiration from anime greats such as Yukito Kashiro andMasamune Shirow, as well as more traditional western writers like RobertHeinlein and Colleen Doran, Aldrich has fused the anime story-tellingstyle into western-style writing. With the rerelease of Crossworld, as well as the launch of the weekly serial Teach the Sky, Robert V Aldrich hopes to contribute to the anime world by leading the way for an anime genre of literature.
X-Strike Studios
film makers
Tired of sub-par Hollywood video game movie adaptations? Who isn't really? For far too long Hollywood has churned out embarrassments of everyone's favorite video games. Enter X-Strike Studios, an independent movie company out of Western New York, destined to make quality, live action, video game parody films. They are committed to making these video game movies to excite and inspire the fan and the general viewer alike. As one of the first to take on this incredible mission, they find their duty is to stay true to the source material while expressing their own twist of humor. Between full length parodies and short videos, X-Strike Studios has taken on such titles as River City Ransom, PaRappa the Rappa, Rampart, Final Fantasy, Eternal Darkness, Silent Hill, and Metal Gear Solid. Come check out their table, panels, and join in the discussions on their online forum, all for an inside scoop on what makes X-Strike unique.
Dave Lister
webcomic artist
Some say that Dave Lister is made of Legos. This is false. Composed mostly of coffee, Dave has learned to work without unnecessary things like sleep. This made him a perfect fit for the world of freelance illustration and manga. Striving to create a traditional, yet unique style of manga, Dave has contributed to books, magazines, businesses, and even radio stations. A veteran of webcomics, Dave is currently producing Paradox Lost, an online manga filled with space pirates, ninja hordes, crazy alien girls, and more caffeine than the FDA recommends in a lifetime. You can find Dave's comics and art at: www.paradox-lost.com. Dave likes rice.