When we first heard word that Comic-con was coming down under last year, we were pretty damned excited. After that, we sat her in Melbourne and had to live vicariously off the photos and run downs of the inaugural event over in Adelaide – but now, finally, its Melbournes turn.

If you haven’t heard of Comic-con, in whichever incarnation it takes, and you’re reading this website, then there is something seriously strange going on. Comic-con is now a world wide phenomenon, garnering legions of fan of comics, movies, animation and all things super, horror, scifi and fantastical. That this event is now running down here in Oz is a big thing – proving that our fandom is just as mighty as any other countries!

Patrick Stewart. Stan Lee. Artists. Writers. Editors and everything else in between – read on for the press release, and check it all out …

“After the success of their inaugural Oz Comic-Con event in Adelaide last March, DCA Enterprises heads to Melbourne to present the second round of Oz Comic-Con on Saturday 30^th June and Sunday 1^st July, 2012.

Over two days, the Oz Comic-Con event will feature international and local film and TV stars; with legendary actor Sir Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier in The X-Men Series, Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation) and comic icon Stan Lee (original creator of Spiderman and other comic icons such as The Hulk, X-Men, Fantastic Four, Iron Man and Thor) heading the stellar line up.

In the spirit of Comic-Con events worldwide – Oz Comic-Con will be a pop culture expo like no other in Australia. Melbourne fans will be among the first to experience the event in Australia, with Oz Comic-Con expanding further into Australia throughout 2013 and 2014.

Sir Patrick Stewart and Stan Lee will be joined by other international and local comic, film and TV guests; including Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones, Stargate: Atlantis), Julie Benz(Dexter), Mitch Peleggi (The X-Files, Sons of Anarchy), Sean Maher (Firefly, Serenity),Armin Shimerman (Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and in an exciting new twist – two stars from The Hunger Games movie; Willow Shields (‘Primrose Everdeen’) and Dayo Okeniyi (‘Thresh’) among others.

In an Australian first, aspiring comic creators will be able to submit their work for professional review, with Scott Allie (Dark Horse Comics, Senior Managing Editor) in attendance at Oz Comic-Con Melbourne and scouting for new talent.

There will also be comic book and anime artists, gaming demonstrations and cosplay competitions (a unique type of performance art in which participants don costumes to reflect cultural ideas and concepts, often from Japanese popular fiction).

“After the overwhelming success of Adelaide – we cannot wait to see what Melbourne has in store for us…,” said Carissa Avenhouse, of event organisers DCA Enterprises. “Oz Comic-Con is the perfect place for fans to share their love of pop culture, get up close and personal with celebrities, enter contests with fantastic prizes or gain tips on how to break into the industry.”

Oz Comic-Con is brought to Melbourne by DCA Enterprises (http://www.thehubproductions.com/), a Sydney-based company who specialise in popular culture events, bringing some of the world’s most loved stars to Australian shores. Recent DCA Enterprises events include Twilight 2008, 2009 and 2010 (featuring Taylor Lautner, Kellan Lutz and Nikki Reed), Star Trek 2010 (featuring William Shatner and Scott Bakula), Gleek-On 2010 (featuring Kevin McHale) and Stargate 2010 (featuring Richard Dean Anderson and Chris Judge).”

What more could you possibly want, really? After heading to Supernova a few months back, and having an absolute blast, we’re really looking forward to getting down to Comic-con – no longer do we need to spend thousands to get over to San Diego or New York – its right here in our own backyard.

We also just did a special interview with Dark Horse editor Scott Allie in the lead up to the event!

So, so good – check out some of the pics from the Adelaide event, and head here to grab some tickets!

Who: Stan Lee, Patrick Stewart, Scott Allie, Jason Momoa, Dayo Okeniyi, Willow Shields, Armin Shimerman and so many more stars and artists – check here for the full run down.
What: Oz Comic-con Melbourne
Where: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre,1 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf, Melbourne
When: Saturday June 30th and Sunday July 1st 10am to 6pm.

Check out the Oz Comic-con website and the Facebook page for more info on the entire show – so much going on.