Comics writer Greg Pak is curating the “Making Comics” programming at the Asian American ComiCon, which takes place from 10 am to 5 pm Saturday, July 11, at the Museum of Chinese in America in New York City. The AACC features a slew of amazing guests including Cliff Chiang, Khoi Pham, Misako Rocks!, Derek Kirk Kim, Christina Strain, and Kiyama Award recipient Larry Hama.
Click here to preregister for the event (highly recommended) and click here for program information.
Here’s the latest scoop on the panels curated by Greg Pak:

Making Comics
This track focuses on the art and business of making comics–from alt-comics and literary graphic fiction to mainstream superhero books and syndicated strips. Featured workshops will include a hands-on demonstration by leading creators; explorations of the business side of comics; and other sessions highlighting comics as a profession, a discipline, an art form and a commercial landscape.
Sessions Include:
Visual Storytelling–Hands-On! (10:00-11:00 am, Classroom): A diverse group of acclaimed artists sketch in real time as they discuss their different approaches in making creative choices.
Moderator: Greg Pak, writer, The Incredible Hulk and War Machine Panelists: Bernard Chang, artist, Wonder Woman; Cliff Chiang, artist, Green Arrow/Black Canary; Khoi Pham, artist, Mighty Avengers.
Visual Storytelling–The Art of Collaboration (11:00 am-12:00 pm, Exhibit Hall): Top graphical storytellers share their experiences and tips for making the most of the challenges and opportunities of collaboration between pencillers, inkers, colorists, and writers.
Moderator: Greg Pak, writer, The Incredible Hulk and War Machine Panelists: Derek Kirk Kim, artist/writer, Same Difference; Daniel Ketchum, editor, Marvel Comics; Sean Chen, artist, Iron Man; Khoi Pham, artist, Mighty Avengers; Christine Strain, colorist, Runaways
The Business of Comics (12:00-1:00 pm, Exhibit Hall): For anyone who’s ever dreamed of joining the comics world, here’s your chance to get an insider’s look at the commercial side of graphical storytelling. Comic book pros from every corner of the biz introduce their fields and discuss breaking in, maintaining a career, and keeping up with what the future has in store.
Moderator: Jennifer Lee, former editor, Marvel Comics and DC Comics Panelists: Bernard Chang, artist, Wonder Woman; Fletcher Chu-Fong, manager, Events & Retail, DC Comics; Sharad Devarajan, CEO, Liquid Comics; Kuo-Yu Liang, VP, Sales & Marketing, Diamond Comic Distributors; Christine Norrie, artist/writer, Cheat; Arune Singh, sales coordinator, Marvel Comics; Tak Toyoshima, artist/writer, Secret Asian Man
Writers’ Bloc (1:00-2:00 pm, Exhibit Hall): Writers of indie and superhero comics and a syndicated comic strip discuss the craft of scripting sequential art and their strategies for tackling everyday creative challenges.
Moderator: Greg Pak, writer, The Incredible Hulk and War Machine Panelists: Fred Chao, artist/writer, Johnny Hiro; Larry Hama, creator, G.I. Joe mythology; Christine Norrie, artist/writer, Cheat; Tak Toyoshima, artist/writer, Secret Asian Man

Pak will also sit for a signing session with Cliff Chiang at 12 noon in the lobby.

Greg Pak is helping organize the Asian American ComiCon slated for July 11 in NYC. Here’s the latest news from the official press release about the first recipient of the Henry Y Kiyama Award:

The organizers of the First Annual Asian American ComiCon (AACC), a celebration of the unique contemporary role and historical legacy of Asians and Asian Americans in the world of graphic fiction, have announced the presentation of the Henry Y. Kiyama Award to comics pioneer Larry Hama at the event, to be held on Saturday, July 11, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Museum of Chinese in America (215 Centre Street in New York).
“We want this annual award to recognize the contribution of Asian and Asian Americans to U.S. comic book culture,” says Jeff Yang, co-chair of the event and editor-in-chief of the graphic novel collection Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology. “No one better exemplifies that contribution than Henry Kiyama, whose career represented the convergence of two worlds and industries, and whose work pointed the way to the future of graphic storytelling.”
Kiyama published his breakthrough book The Four Immigrants in 1931. A poignant collection of cartoon stories about life as a Japanese student expatriate in early 20th century San Francisco, it explores the issues these early immigrants faced in a world whose language, culture and traditions were new, strange and confusing. Originally intended for newspaper serialization, Kiyama’s stories were never published in that form; instead, they were ultimately released as a single book-length collection. This publication format, along with the fact that the stories in Four Immigrants featured a group of semiautobiographical characters (based on Kiyama and his friends) who grew, evolved and contended with real historical issues and events, has led some to advocate that it be recognized as the first original graphic novel published in America (arriving a decade before Virginia Lee Burton’s Calico the Wonder Horse in 1941 and nearly two decades before Arnold Drake and Leslie Waller’s It Rhymes with Lust in 1950). Since 1999, Kiyama’s landmark book has been made available by Berkeley, CA–based Stone Bridge Press.
Tickets for the nonprofit Asian American ComiCon are $15 for students, $25 for adults (18 and older), and $75 for a special VIP Pass, entitling the bearer to priority reserved seating at all panels and workshops, a complimentary Asian American graphic novel, signed by its creators, and an original sketch from one of the artists participating in the event’s Artists Alley. Registration will be limited, and is available in advance through the following link: https://www.nycharities.org/event/event.asp?CE_ID=4187 Note: All passes may sell out before the day of the event.