METROCON 2013 - YEAR 11

Florida's Largest Anime Convention!

July 26 - 28, 2013

Tampa Convention Center, Tampa, FL

Theme: East vs West

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GUESTS

JANET VARNEY

Janet has been active in the comedy world for over 10 years. She co-created and continues to co-produce SF Sketchfest, the biggest comedy festival in the US now, which was born out of her original SF based improv group Totally False People. These days, Janet tours festivals around the country with her troupe Theme Park which includes a rotating cast of talented performers such as Oscar Nunez from the Office, Scott Adsit from 30 Rock, and Danny Pudi from Community. Janet has appeared on such shows as Bones, Hot in Cleveland, Psych, How I Met Your Mother, recurred on HBO's Entourage and as a panelist on Chelsea Lately and BBC America’s Would You Rather with Graham Norton. She also co-hosted TBS's Dinner and a Movie for 7 years and is the voice for the titular character on Nickelodeon's new Last Airbender series, The Legend of Korra. Janet writes and records for Mystery Science Theatre 3000's Michael J. Nelson at Rifftrax.com with Cole Stratton. Currently, Janet is a host/producer on Huffington Post Live in LA.

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PHIL LAMARR

Actor/comedian Phil LaMarr is best known as a cast member of Fox's "Mad TV" and as the guy who got his brains blown out in PULP FICTION. He has also appeared in the films, IT'S PAT (the writers are friends from the Groundlings), BIO-DOME (the director's a friend from college) and EAT YOUR HEART OUT (no reason).

A native of Los Angeles, Phil was a member of The Groundlings, the award-winning sketch and improv comedy group. In addition, he has studied improv at Second City and at the ImprovOlympic in Chicago with Del Close. Phil has also improvised with Cold Tofu, Off the Wall, and the Purple Crayon of Yale University of which he was a founding member. 

His television credits include guest starring on “Happy Endings,”  “State of Georgia,” “Castle,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Big Time Rush”  "Cold Case,""Reno 911," "Without A Trace," "The Bernie Mac Show," "NYPD Blue," "Living Single," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Murphy Brown." His stage credits include: THE TEMPEST, AS YOU LIKE IT, GUYS AND DOLLS, ASYLUM at The Actors Gang, and South Coast Repertory's MAKE THE BREAK and Sacred Fools Theatre's inaugural production of THE FATTY ARBUCKLE SPOOKHOUSE REVUE.

Phil was profiled in TV Guide for his voice-over work as well, which includes featured roles in HOODWINKED TOO!, ZAMBEZIA and MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA; regular roles on the animated series "Futurama," "Kaijudo," Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends," "Static Shock," "Ozzy & Drix," "Evil con Carne," "Samurai Jack" and "Justice League Unlimited" as well as recurring roles on "King of the Hill," "Family Guy," "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," "Young Justice” "The Proud Family," and "The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron."

Phil has had a good time doing voices for video games as well. He can be heard on such projects as METAL GEAR SOLID 4, DOOM 3, JAK 3, MERCENARIES 2, MEN OF VALOR, DARKSIDERS, RAGE, INFAMOUS 2, and DEAD ISLAND.

On the big screen, LaMarr has also appeared in the comedies STEP BROTHERS, KILL THE MAN, FREE ENTERPRISE, CHERISH and MANNA FROM HEAVEN. As well as SPEAKING OF SEX with Bill Murray and Catherine O'Hara and Rodney Dangerfield’s BACK BY MIDNIGHT. Phil also played the lead role in director Tim Russ’ A NIGHT AT THE BIJOU, had a supporting role in QUID PRO QUO, a 2008 Sundance Film Festival selection in the Spectrum category and a cameo in SPIDER-MAN 2, which will wind up paying more in residuals than all of the others combined.

Recently, Phil took on the role of “Cowboy Curtis” in THE PEE-WEE HERMAN SHOW both on Broadway and in the  Emmy-nominated HBO special and appeared in the Dreamworks feature REAL STEEL with Hugh Jackman.

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D.C. DOUGLAS

DC’s first break came in 1996 when he landed a small role in Boston Common, an NBC pilot. When the show was picked up for a season he returned in ten additional episodes as the character D.C., the antagonist to Hedy Burress’s character.

Film credits include Black Ops with Lance Henriksen and Universal Remote: The Movie with Charles Q. Murphy; Hallmark Channel TV movie Final Approach with Dean Cain; and the Lindsay Lohan “comeback” film Labor Pains on the ABC Family channel.

Television credits include The Bold and the Beautiful, 24, Star Trek: Enterprise, NYPD Blue, ER, Charmed, Without A Trace among others. He most recently appeared in CBS’s Criminal Minds, NCIS: Los Angeles, ABC’s Castle, Comedy Central’sWorkaholics and Fox’s Raising Hope.

D.C. Douglas’ voice over career encompasses video games, anime, television and radio commercials, film and voice-matching celebrities like Val Kilmer and Kevin Spacey. He was part of the first wave of “internet age” voice over artists at the beginning of the 21st century who built and worked from home studios.

Voice over credits include The Master in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer video game, Albert Wesker in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, Resident Evil 5 and Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Raven inTekken 6, AWACS Ghost Eye in Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, Commandant Alexei in Tales of Vesperia, Legion in Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3, Grimoire Noir in Nier, as well as several national campaigns (including the GEICO Celebrity campaign from 2006–2008, the McDonald’s Be The Sizzle campaign from 2009–2010, and Radio Shack’s Holiday Hero campaign in 2010).

Douglas is the voice of Chase in The Hub’s Transformers: Rescue Bots.

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DANTE BASCO

 With a career spanning over two and a half decades, DANTE BASCO is a Hollywood actor who has become a cult classic and pioneering figure in Asian American cinema. He was first introduced in Steven Spielberg’s fairytale movie Hook, as “Rufio”, the leader of the Lost Boys. He quickly jumped to leading roles like Newline’s Take the Lead, opposite Antonio Banderas, and The Debut, which became the voice of a Filipino American generation. 20th Century Fox executives were so mesmerized by the uniqueness of Dante’s look and ability that they gave him a development deal for his own series and he starred in a pilot for Touchstone/ABC, The Chang Family Saves the World, written and produced by John Ridley and directed by Paris Barclay. Ever versatile, he’s “Jake Long” in Disney’s animated series American Dragon: Jake Long as well as “Prince Zuko” in Nickelodeon’s phenomenal hit, Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Born and raised in the City by the Bay, Dante started out breakdancing with his three brothers at the age of 8, calling themselves “The Street Freaks”. Quickly they became one of the top groups in San Francisco, opening for acts like Ice-T and Vanity and performing during half-time shows for the 49ers and the Oakland A’s.

Dante and his family moved to Los Angeles in the mid-80s where he started to work immediately. By the age of 16, Dante was fencing against Dustin Hoffman and flying with Robin Williams in Hook. He’s found success on the small screen as well on from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and recurring on Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper and Moesha in the 90’s to prominent spots on Nash Bridges, Touched by an Angel, and Providence in the early 2000’s and hit shows today like CSI: Miami, Entourage and Hawaii Five-0.

A young man of many talents, Dante is the founder of on e of the largest weekly poetry venue in the country, “Da Poetry Lounge” in Los Angeles and he has also shared his spoken word poetry on Russell Simmons’ HBO Def Poetry Jam. He has also begun writing and producing his own features with his production company Kinetic Films, including Hang Loose, a (hilarious buddy) comedy with YouTube sensation KevJumba, winning the 2012 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Special Jury Prizes for “Best Actor” and “Best Newcomer” respectively.

From breakdancing in the streets of San Francisco to starring in movies on the silver screen, Dante Basco has become one of the most recognizable faces in Hollywood and truly an Asian American icon.

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SCOTT MCNEIL

Easily one of the busiest voice actors in the world, millions of fans know him as the voice of Duo Maxwell from Gundam Wing and Gundam: Battle Assault 2 as well as Koga from the hit series Inuyasha. Older fans may be familiar with his work as Piccolo in Dragon Ball Z and/or his work as Deadeye Duck in Bucky O'Hare and The Toad Wars.

Fans of Transformers know Scott well, as his voice talents have brought countless memorable characters to life, including Dinobot, Waspinator, Rattrap, Silverbolt and Dinobot II in Beast Wars/Beast Machines; Jetfire in Armada; and Jetfire and Strongarm in Energon. He can also currently be heard as Snarl and Backstop in Transformers: Cybertron.

Scott’s voice work has earned him the adoration of fans worldwide. Fans find Scott’s work everywhere, both in anime and domestic animation, including lending his vocal talents to Hohenheim in Full Metal Alchemist; Wolverine/Logan in X-Men: Evolution; Ace – The Bathound and Ignatius in Krypto: The Superdog; Destro and Gung Ho in G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom / Spy Trooops; Beast Man, Clawful, Mer-Man, Ram Man, Stratos, and Kobra Khan in He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe; Senor Hasbeena, Francisco of the Forest, Mino-Toro, El Perrito, and Heavy Traffic in ¡Mucha Lucha!; Vulture, Electro and Lester in Spider-Man Unlimited.

Other notable voice work in anime includes King Aston and Jajuka in The Vision Of Escaflowne; Jajuka in Escaflowne: The Movie; Zoids Battle Announcer, Deed #1, Rastani Sr., and Serge in Zoids Fuzors; and Harlock in Galaxy Express 999/Adieu, Galaxy Express 999. His work can also be heard in series and movies such as Johnny Test, Bionicle, Scary Godmother, Barbie: Fairytopia, Barbie Of Swan Lake, Candyland: Great Lollipop Adventure, Dragon Booster, Gundam Seed, Gundam Seed Destiny, Under The Skin, Master Keaton, Ben Hur, Yakkity Yak, The Christmas Orange, Frogger Beyond, Reboot, Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer & The Island Of Misfit Toys, Nascar Racers, Casper's Haunted Christmas, Weird-Ohs, Shadowraiders/War Planets, Jin Roh: The Wolf Brigade, Warriors Of Virtue, The Wacky World Of Tex Avery, Ranma ½, Hamtaro, and many more too numerous to list!

Aside from his voice work, Scott is also an accomplished live-action actor, whose credits include The Green Chain, Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, Stargate Sg-1, Strange Frequency, The Outer Limits, Ladies And The Champ, Viper, Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, Extreme Dinosaurs, Highlander, Hawkeye, Final Fight, Someone Else's Child, Seasons Of The Heart, Crackerjack, and Sleeping With Strangers.

More recently Scott has been lending his vocal talents to characters like Stork, the lovably neurotic Merb in Stormhawks, Grumpy Bear in the newest Care Bears and Wasabi (yes, a burbling ball of wasabi!) in Sushi Pack. In the past two years Scott has also contributed his voice to characters in Eon Kid, Ricky Sprocket, and the Warhammer 40,000 videogames

Scott is currently exercising his evil genius in Gundam 00 as the dark and enigmatic Ali AlSaachez, and Voltar, the truly maniacal evil genius, in League of Super Evil. Some of his other present projects include Powerpuff Girls Z, Maryoku Yummy, Rollbots, and Twisted Whiskers. … and when his busy schedule permits he can be found playing his level 70 Blood Elf Priest on World of Warcraft …

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BRITTNEY KARBOWSKI

Brittney Karbowski is an Anime Voice Actress and a popular personality at anime conventions across the U.S.

She had done a number of voices for many Funimation and ADV releases including: Soul Eater(Blackstar), Xenosaga (M.O.M.O.), Pani Poni Dash! (Himeko), Coyote Ragtime Show (Franca), Kanon (Ayu Tsukimiya), Yumeria (Mone),Godanner (Momoko), Gilgamesh (Fuko), Ouran High School Host Club(Hinako), Negima!? (Anya), Sasami: Magical Girls Club (Anri Misugi), Air Gear (Reng Fa), One Piece (Apis), Le Chevalier D’Eon (Anna Rochefort), Claymore (Riful), Hell Girl (Minami Shibuya) and more.

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DOUG SMITH

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, traveling 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 and badges, exorcisms, DVDs and TV. 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.

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DAVID STANWORTH - Snafu Comics

David Stanworth has been interested in video games and animation for his entire life.  When he realised he's FAR too worthless to do either, he stuck with comics. Snafu-Comics started in the summer of 2002 and has quickly grown to incorporate over a dozen seperate comics, Snafu, PowerPuff Girl Doujinshi, Grim Tales, Sugar Bits, Tin: The Incompetent Ninja, Ever After, Sticky Floors, and many more.  With more to be added soon!

Snafu has constantly been an evolving comic often drastically changing art styles and directions comic to comic.  The subject matter could range from anime, videogames, politics, social commentary or fart jokes (mostly fart jokes.) But what Snafu really excells at is a strong forum community of active participants. Snafu wouldn't exist without the the fantastic support from the online community. We're excited to meet everyone at Metrocon so come by our table and say hi! Plus we have some pretty cool T-shirts and prints ;)

WILLIAM GREGORY

William Gregory has been drawing since he was able to hold a crayon, but his first web comic was "Skull-Boy".  After working on his own for many years, he met "David Stanworth" of Snafu-Comics fame and was given his own spot on Snafu-Comics.com for his Skull-Boy comics, which was renamed "The New Adventure of Skull-Boy".

He greatly enjoys making comics and loves to please his fans, so feel free to ask him for his artwork, sketches, shoe size, whatever... seriously, the poor guy is starved for attention, it's kind of sad. His web comic centers around the title character, Skull-Boy, who uses his demonic powers for unspeakable evil, such as delivering pizzas, watching TV and changing the channel without a remote control.  Accompanied by his cat chasing brother, Psycho Kid, and his half witch, half mad scientist sister, L.D.G., they spread chaos and evil all across the land... or just to the local grocery store, if it's a slow day.

Their reign of terror continues in the latest Skull-Boy collaboration with the popular Snafu-Comics artist known as "Bleedman" in a mini-series titled "Deliver Us Evil". The line art is done by Bleedman himself, and William is doing the coloring and dialogue. William is also working on an upcoming web comic series titled "Fish Quarry" which can be found at FishQuarry.com. William is very passionate about all kinds of comics as well as animation and is eager to collaborate with others to bring more entertainment to his fans.

AMELIE BELCHER

Amelie "Ami-Chan" Belcher was born in Baton-Bloody-Boring-Rouge Louisiana where the combination of chemical plant fumes and river water did major damage to her fragile little mind at an early age.

By all accounts, she started drawing at the age of five (when she figured out that the pencil goes on the paper and not up your nose) and didn"t stop drawing until she ran out of paper"twenty years later.

She is the artist behind the manga "Loud Snow" and the web comics "the real life adventures of Ami-chan" and "Bounty Haunters".

She now travels the country selling her award winning art, doing one of a kind commissions for con goers, giving the best damn panels on earth, and being paid tribute to by her army of fans known as the "Ami Army" in the form of Pocky and manga.

KELLYJANE - Parle Productions

A cosplayer, performer and panellist from the United Kingdom, KellyJane has been cosplaying for around five years from a variety of sources, ranging from tv shows, video games, movies, books and comics. She is part of the performance group Parlé Productions, a large group of English cosplayers and actors who have recently gained over 50,000 subscribers on YouTube. Their shows range from their completed Kingdom Hearts series, to ongoing parodies based around The Avengers, Left4Dead, Harry Potter and Final Fantasy.  Within the group, she is often the one organising their events and filming dates, as well as making some of the costumes and props for other members. 


When not working, KellyJane's either gaming, or working on one of the groups costuming and video projects. As well as this, she is also a staff member in a professional costuming group, using their hobby to raise money for charitable causes around the UK. As a group, Parlé Productions also do one major charity drive a year to raise money for a charity of their choice, often broadcasting the event live as it happens. 


This is Parlé Productions fifth year at Metrocon, and they're thrilled to be returning once again! As well as their staple In-Character and Out-Of-Character Q&A's, they will also be running some informative panels too, so be sure to check them out!

TEALPIRATE - Parle Productions

A cosplayer, performer and panellist from the United Kingdom, TealPirate (aka Jenn) has been cosplaying for around six years from a variety of sources, ranging from tv shows, video games, movies, books and comics. She is part of the performance group Parlé Productions, a large group of English cosplayers and actors who have recently gained over 50,000 subscribers on YouTube. Their shows range from their completed Kingdom Hearts series, to ongoing parodies based around The Avengers, Left4Dead, Harry Potter and Final Fantasy.  Within the group, Jenn is primarily responsible for filming and editing the videos, enjoying being behind the camera just as much as being on it!


Jenn has now achieved a Masters degree, and is entering full-time work. When not doing this, most of her free time is spent doing editing, editing, and more editing! Not only does Jenn take part in Parlé's cosplay videos, she also does Let's Plays of games such as Amnesia, which have proved popular. As well as this, she is also a member of a professional costuming group, using their hobby to raise money for charitable causes around the UK. As a group, Parlé Productions also do one major charity drive a year to raise money for a charity of their choice, often broadcasting the event live as it happens. 


This is Parlé Productions fifth year at Metrocon, and they're thrilled to be returning once again! As well as their staple In-Character and Out-Of-Character Q&A's, they will also be running some informative panels too, so be sure to check them out!

PIKABELLECHU

PikaBelleChu has been cosplaying for over 12 years and has over 80 costumes to date ranging from original Pokemon inpired gowns to Disney, Sci-Fi and other anime characters. She is most famous for her continuing passion for Pokemon though and has appeared at many Pokemon events and tours, appeared on several televison shows, appeared in magazines and newspapers but is most known for gaining a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the World's Largest Pikachu collection with over 12,000 items of the famous electric mouse. She does many children's events and has done charity work for Make-A Wish foundation and also teaches classes on how to draw cartoons at a craft store. Also a big naruto fan she also is gaining quite a collection with that as well and hosts many Naruto based panels at conventins, most known as Itachi to many and gained a new nickname ItaBelleChu..

ASHLEY CLARK

ASHLEY CLARK (Anna May Belle) is a multi-media artist and writer, and has been working in the anime style for nearly a decade. Her first webcomic, 'Shades of Red', debuted in 2003. She has since turned her attention to her newest literary project, 'Tales of Asajima'. You can enter the world of Asajima through the webnovel 'Nowaki', and continue your journey with the first of her print novels, 'The Yukari'.

Ashley has won numerous awards as not only an artist, but also as an AMV creator, cosplayer, and film editor. Within the anime community, Ashley is widely known as Anna May Belle, webmistress of AnimeBelle.com, one of the most highly regarded and popular anime websites in the south. AnimeBelle hosts a gallery containing over 24,000 photos with hundreds more added after every convention she attends. The website also hosts forums, guest interviews, event reporting, and a convention schedule of southern anime conventions. If it's of interest to southern anime fans, it interests AnimeBelle, y'all!

DJ HELLROY

DJ Robert VanWest FT. Zoe VanWest & Synthwulf

This Dutch Madman is one of the busiest men in the entertainment Industry. CEO of the Hellroy Corporation, Robert's day to day functions include Graphic, Clothing , Environmental Design as well as Club Creative and Music Production. By night he can be found tearing up DJ booths across the Country and Decimating the stages as lead singer of Empakt. Locally he can be found at Warehaus21 where is the Club Creative and one of the resident DJ's at their all ages KABOOM Sunday parties!

Robert is known for his aggressive HIGH BPM stylings that span across Hardcore, Hard Trance, Hard Style, with a touch of EBM. Much like last year Robert will be joined on stage Friday Night by His Wife Zoe ( the Original studio vocalist of some of Happy Hardcore's biggest hits) and DJ Synthwulf for some live vocals and synths. making this the biggest Friday night METRO Rave Party EVER!!

CRISTINE PEÑA - Kapalaka

Cristine Peña, who goes by the cosplay handle "Kapalaka," is a veteran cosplayer based in Florida. Her love for video games and anime led her to the community in 2005, where she has since earned 4 "Best in Show" trophies and many smaller awards for her cosplays. She enjoys spreading the fun of cosplay and shares her craftsmanship knowledge through panels and online tutorials, always encouraging new cosplayers to tap into their talents. Most of her skills are self-taught and her strengths lie in technical sewing, wig crafting, sculpting, and armor/prop making. Her attention to detail for her costumes frequently lands her a place as an MC and judge, as well as features, interviews, and media publications. These days she is working on a garment to be featured in the Tampa Museum of Art come September 2013. She believes that cosplay is the ultimate form of fanart and looks forward to seeing your cosplays at METROCON this year.

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