New York Comic Con, the country's second biggest pop-culture convention - after San Diego Comic-Con - rolls into the Jacob Javits Center this weekend. Starting tomorrow, the world of superheroes, classic comics, cults and sci-fi is met by some of the most sophisticated narrative art being created today. The three day event also features presentations by legends of the trade including former Marvel Comics president Stan Lee, award-winning writer Neil Gaiman, and X-Files creator Chris Carter, to name a few.

Cover and inside panel from Pigeons From Hell #1, by Nathan Fox.

Several DART subscribers will be presenting their latest projects, including Nathan Fox, who flies in from Kansas City, Missouri to launch Pigeons from Hell. In a recent email, he described the project. "It's based on an old Robert E. Howard story, adapted by Joe Lansdale for Dark Horse Comics. Howard created Conan and a bunch of other characters that are crazy famous in the comics and movies world.

"Dark Horse is releasing an entire cycle of Howard books this year, including mine on April 16th. The famous colorist Dave Stewart, who does the Hellboy series, colored my cover," he said, "and the writer who did the adaptation is more of a novelist than traditional comic book writer. So the story, which deals with slavery, house haunting and standing up against tough odds, reads more like a film script than an episodic comic." Nathan will be at the Dark Horse Comics booth on Sunday, April 20, between 1:00 and 2:00 pm.

Viktor Koen, whose studio overlooks the School of Visual Arts just a few blocks away from DART, alerted me to the U.S. publication of his book, Plug in the Quest for Mug. Already available in Koen's native Greece, where the book's author Melanie Wallace lives, Plug has received several important awards in Europe and has been adapted to a series of skateboards for Fun4U.

Two images from Plug in the Quest for Mug, by Viktor Koen.

In an email last month, Viktor wrote, "Plug is the techno-mutation of a child and a bug, who battles evil corporate executives that return to life as insects. Set in a post-apocalyptic landscape, Plug and his sidekick, Mug, inhabit a sinister world of greed, oppression, and vengeance. But," he continued, "Plug will win out. He personifies everything that is good about technology - he is positive, full of light and hope." Viktor will be signing copies at Baby Tattoo Books on Saturday, April 19, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm.

Word recently came in from Tomer Hanuka that the 10-page story he and his twin brother Asaf created for Meathaus S.O.S. (with a cover by Tomer) will be featured at Comic Con. This is a new edition of the anthology that sparked a mini-industry of its own when it first came out in 2000. I asked how he and Asaf, who lives in Tel Aviv, worked together at such a distance.

Tomer replied, "We develop a thumbnail layout by sending different versions of the script back and forth. Then Asaf creates the pages with tightly detailed pencil drawings, which he scans and emails back to me. I print the pages and ink over them with a brush and then scan and color them." Tomer plans to be signing copies of the book on Saturday from 2:00 to 3:00 pm, with fellow contributors Farel Dalrymple, Thomas Herpich, Jim Campbell, and Chris McD, at the Totally Nerdcore booth.

Two panels from Meathaus S.O.S. by Tomer Hanuka and Asaf Hanuka.

Sunday at NY Comic Con has been designated Gamers' Summit, with previews of video games, movies, and products scheduled to launch during the summer. According to Wired.com, Konami, Namco Bandai, Square-Enix, and Ubisoft are just some of the game companies taking part in this year's event. The summit will also host panels and discussions on topics such as videogame journalism and starting a career in the video game industry.

New York Comic Con runs from Friday April 18 to Sunday April 20 at the Jacob Javits Center. Please visit the website for information and directions.