MARK HILDRETH

Mark Hildreth is best known for his role in the Showtime television series The Tudors, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Anime fans know him for his roles as Heero Yuy in Gundam Wing and Mobile Suit Gundam, and Terry Bogard in the Fatal Fury movies. Mark has over 30 credits as an actor in film and television, and over the last 18 years has lent his voice to over 40 animated productions, including X-Men: Evolution, Dragonball Z, GI Joe, Please Save My Earth, Stargate: Infinity, and Action Man. As a singer/songwriter, Mark is becoming known to his fans as an honest and moving musician, with music reminiscent of Stevie Wonder and Elton John. Mark will be performing a live concert this year at METROCON, where you will be able to purchase his latest album, Complex State Of Attachment.

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.

KIRBY MORROW

Kirby Morrow is active as a producer, director, and screen actor. He is also quite busy in the voice-over industry. Some of the anime projects that Kirby has worked on include: Hamtaro, Alienators: Evolution Continues, X-Men: Evolution, NASCAR Racers, Mobile Suit Gundam, Dragonball Z, Vision of Escaflowne, Gundam Wing, and Ranma 1/2.

BRAD SWAILE

Vancouver-born and raised, Brad began acting in elementary school and, once in high school, had his first audition for an animated series. This first voice acting gig took the form of a pony named "Ace" in My Little Pony Tales and soon afterwards, he landed his first anime role as "Mousse" in Ranma 1/2. Some of his more notable characters include Amuro, Quatre, Dearka and Auel (on their respective Gundam series'), Gohan (from Dragon Ball Z), Kicker (Transformers: Energon) and Lan (Megaman: NT Warrior). As well as voicing the role of "Nightcrawler" in X-men Evolution, Brad has worked on several anime series' including Inu-Yasha, Hikaru No Go, Hamtaro, Maison Ikkoku, Infinite Ryvius, Tokyo Underground, Soul Taker, Project Arms, Boys Over Flowers, Kimba the White Lion, Shakugan No Shana, Dokkoida, Saber Marionette J, Video Girl Ai, Arjuna, Zoids and Dragon Drive. Along with voice acting, Brad continues to work professionally as a Graphic Designer/Illustrator and, when not at the hockey rink or on the baseball field, enjoys playing drums and guitar (often while doodling in his sketchbook).

More recently, Brad can be heard as "Light" in Death Note (and the live-action Death Note films), "Rock" in Black Lagoon, "Ryuki" in The Story of Saiunkoku and "Setsuna F. Seiei " in his most recent mecha project, Gundam 00. His latest video game appearance rears its giant, creepy head as the deranged mascot "Slappy" in Capcom's Dead Rising 2. Brad looks forward to discussing his current and recently completed voice projects (but must wait until they've been officially announced...sorry).

BRIAN DRUMMOND

BRIAN DRUMMOND knew his voice would be a big part of his life.  In Primary school, Brian was assigned to write “I will not talk in class” lines so often, he decided to write them (by the hundreds) in advance, knowing he was bound to talk again. Brian still can’t keep quiet. However, instead of writing lines, Brian spends most of his time giving voice to them, as he now voices dozens of televisions most popular animated characters. Brian began his acting career at one of Canada’s foremost theatre schools, Studio 58 in Vancouver. He began acting on stage locally in Vancouver, however, after 3 years of exciting acting work, but less than exciting paychecks, Brian began working in the more lucrative area of film and television. Brian has been seen (albeit very briefly) in numerous TV series such as; X-Files, Stargate, Tru Calling, Smallville, Dark Angel, Taken, Traffic, Davinci’s Inquest, and Dead Zone, as well as films such as: 3000 Miles to Graceland, Ballistic: Ecks vs.Sever, Edison, and Clive Barker’s Saint Sinner.

Unfortunately, Brian wasn’t allowed to ‘talk’ as much as he’d like to on these shows, so he directed his attention towards the booming animation industry. Brian’s first role was Ballistic/EagleEye, on a new G.I. Joe series called G.I. Joe Extreme, and then came the cranky Saiyan Prince Vegeta on Dragonball Z. 

15 years later, and Brian is one of the busiest voice actors in North America, and has lent his voice to hundreds of animated characters.  He can be heard on many traditional and CG animated series, voicing characters such as; Garu on (Pucca), Witch Doctor (George of the Jungle), Dad & Skits (Martha Speaks), Geronimo (Geronimo Stilton), Dr.Claw (Inspector Gadget & the Gadgetinis),  Hermes, Hephaestus & Oracle (Class of the Titans), Streaky (Krypto the Superdog), Floyd & Baby Elmer Fudd (Baby Looney Toons), Sonic Sumo & Buena Dad (Mucha Lucha), Jetstorm (Beastmachines), Twobad & Stinkor (He-man and the Masters of the Universe), Venom (Spiderman Unlimited), Kurt Wylde (Hotwheels), Matau & Onewa (Bionicle), Keo(Yakkity Yak) and Spike(My Little Pony).

Brian has also lent his voice to many popular Anime characters such as: Ryuk (DeathNote), Yasu (Nana), Vegeta & Yajirobe (Dragonball Z), Zechs Merquise (Gundam Wing), Benny (Black Lagoon), Allen Shezar (Escaflowne), Blurr, Shockblast, Jetfire& Jolt (Transformers Armada, Energon, & Cybertron), Renkotsu (Inuyasha), Hambeard (Hamtaro), Andy Waltfeld(Gundam Seed), and Skullman,Whaleman,Snakeman,& Heatman(Megaman NT Warrior) to name a few.

Brian hopes to continue getting ‘lines’, not to write, but to voice, for animated characters yet to be revealed, in stories yet to be told.   

GREG AYRES

Greg Ayres has spent the last year rockin' his way through two new anime series. As the loud-mouthed Hideki in *Nerima Daikon Brothers*, and Koyuki, singing in the the band in *Beck:Mongolian Chop Squad*. He is also thrill to be able to add the role of Kaoru Hitachiin in Ouran High School Host club to his list of new favorite roles. Other recent works include JR. in *Xenosaga*, Roan in *Ragnorok The Animation*, Yamazaki in *Welcome to the NHK*, Nowy, in *Glass Fleet*, and Yukinojoh Tohyama in *The Wallflower*.

The once "Fanboy" turned VA started working in anime a little over five years ago, and within the first two years managed to snag two of his favorite roles in anime. He was thrilled to voice the role of his favorite character Son Goku in *Saiyuki*. Just one year later voiced Kaworu Nagisa in the Director's Cut of *Neon Genesis Evangelion*. Other roles include Chrono in *Chrono Crusade*, Negi Springfield in
*Negima*, Heihachi in *Samurai 7*, Jr. in *Xenosaga:The Animation*, Satoshi Hiwatari in *DNAngel*, Pope Alessandro XVIII in *Trinity
Blood*, Tsuyoshi in *Kodocha*, Leo in *Ghost Stories* , Tsujido in *Speed Grapher*, and Gau Ban in *Shadow Skill*.He can also be heard in other anime titles such as *Super Gals*, *Spiral*, *Macross *, *Mythical Detective Loki*, *Burst Angel*, *Gravion*, *Godanner*, * Pretear*, *Full Metal Panic*, *E's Otherwise* and a whole lot more.

When he's not in a booth with headphones on, you can usually find him sporting headphones of another variety behind *"the decks"*. A veteran nightclub DJ of many years, Greg has really enjoyed the opportunity of
doing something else that he truly loves. From packed rooms at anime conventions, to the legendary stage of *The Knitting Factory (NYC)*, Greg never misses an opportunity to share his love of music with
anyone who will listen.

DAVID WILLIAMS

David Williams is an ADR Director and DVD Producer for Houston-based ADV Films. A long-time fan who has been with the company since his living room was used as the production facility for its first show (Devil Hunter Yohko), he has directed a variety of projects including Angelic Layer, Pretear, Najica, the original Nuku Nuku OVAs, Dirty Pair and Aquarian Age.

ILLICH GUARDIOLA

Illich Guardiola is a young, well-known voice actor and actor for ADV Films. He easily has one of the most recognizable voices, with a unique accent that is hard to pinpoint.

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.

DAVID STANWORTH

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 ;)

YAYA HAN

Yaya Han is a costume designer, model and cosplay entertainer with over 10 years of experience. After discovering cosplay at her first con a decade ago, she quickly absorbed the heart and soul of costume design and creation. To this day Yaya has made a myriad of costumes in the genres of anime/manga, video games, sci-fi and of course from her own original designs.

Her intricate and lavish creations have won awards and acclaim nationwide, most recently the Yume Cosplay Cup with a dream vacation in Japan. She has taught a multitude of panels on costume craftsmanship, presentation, makeup, wigs and more; and judged countless costume contests and performed in front of many peers and fans alike on stage.

Yaya has traveled to over 50 conventions and events within the USA as well as internationally to Italy, Mexico, United Kingdom, Germany and Brazil as a Guest.

ABNEY PARK

Abney Park comes from an era that never was, but one that we wish had been. An era where airships waged war in the skies, and corsets and cummerbunds were proper adventuring attire. They’ve picked up their bad musical habits, scoundrelous musicians, and anachronistically hybridized instruments from dozens of locations and eras that they have visited in their travels and thrown them into one riotous dervish of a performance. Expect clockwork guitars, belly dancers, flintlock bassists, middleastern percussion, violent violin, and Tesla powered keyboards blazing in a post-apocalyptic, swashbuckling, Steampunk musical mayhem. "Abney Park are probably the most visually mainstream band in the genre. With beginnings as a goth act, Abney found their calling as steampunk "airship pirates," and are happy with the musical vagueness of that designation." - MTV [Link]

ARCATTACK!

Creators of the original Singing Tesla Coils, the crew of ArcAttack uses their high tech wizardry to generate a truly 'electrifying' performance. Two custom engineered hand built Tesla Coils throw out electrical arcs up to twelve feet long, each one acting as an instrument with a sound reminiscent of the early days of the synthesizer. A robotic drum set accompanies the spectacle, it's high power LED's flashing bright colors with the stroke of each mechanically actuated stick, while ArcAttack's six members churn out rhythmic instrumental melodies. Live instruments meet drum loops and samples to produce rock, electronica and indie with a splash of punk and a dash of metal served with a side of pop. During the show, the MC engages both the crowd and the Tesla Coils by walking through ½ Million Volt sparks wearing the relatively thin layer of his chain mail Faraday suit. This high power performance is unique in it's elements and energy, being at the same  time mesmerizing and energetically thrilling.

Founded in 2004, Outland Armour is a Georgia based fabrication and production company. Specializing in metal, leather, and wood working, film making, special effects, acting, sculpture, custom prop creation, custom sewing, and all aspects of costume design, the Outlanders have served customers across the US and even overseas. They are constantly expanding to better realize your imagination.

Over the past two years, the crew of Outland Armour has worked to create and constantly improve their original steampunk characters; The sky pirates of the H.M.S. Amaranth. The crew looks forward to hosting various panels around the con throughout the weekend, as well as being involved with several main events throughout the weekend.

RANDOM ENCOUNTER

Random Encounter is a collective of individuals dedicated to the creation and live performance of high energy music. Formed from a series of random encounters, their tendency to switch tempo, time signature, and even genres between songs is reflective of their name. Drawing from its roots as a video game cover band, Random Encounter has progressed to creating original music inspired by video game culture. The reborn Random Encounter now consists of Careless on the accordion, Moose on drums, Rook on bass guitar & synth-bass, and the duo Kit & Konami on electric guitars.

But the band has a dark secret…

In a recent radio interview promoting their first professional album, Unavenged, Random Encounter accidentally let slip that they are actually spies working for the Russian Government as agents of the Russian Bureau of Paranormal Investigation dedicated to the elimination of vampires, werewolves, zombies, and the occult. This accounts for their paramilitary look, Russian accents, and accordion. 

For more information and to hear their music check out http://RandomEncounterBand.com!

SHADOWFAX

Shadowfax is probably most recognized as the DJ for his Saturday night convention Raves, the purveyor of randomly appearing beach balls and spontaneous conga lines and as the disembodied voice and tormentor of con owners, celebrity guests and hosts on stage. What most don’t realize is that he really IS a full-time professional disc jockey and that his company actually provides most of the sound and lighting equipment for the conventions he works.

Shadowfax’s background includes over twenty years in the entertainment industry as everything from camera operator, theater engineer and stage manager to technical writer, walking performer and fire-breather.  Prior to becoming a DJ he worked as a professional video editor and assisted as a network administrator to a webhosting company.

When not holding the fort at Tech Ops during a convention, Shadowfax can usually be found hosting wedding receptions, private parties, Karaoke events or providing sound and lighting for any number of bands and several other prominent Florida-based events. He also owns Outlaw Custom Designs and, along with his minions, enjoys creating and selling decals, patches, T-shirts and embroidery for various fandoms, conventions and professional organizations.

Shadowfax is an avid music collector and enjoys listening to a wide variety of music from Techno/Trance/House/Dance to Chill/Downbeat/Lounge and even relaxing to Tribal/New Age.

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!!

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!

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..

TONY FINKELSTEIN

Tony is a man of many talents with a wide and varied background in music and theatre.  In his teenage years he was one of the top rated drummers in the Tampa Bay area and opened for such legendary acts as Janice Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and went on summer tour with The Rascals.  Although music was his first love, he had a glorious affection for theatre and movie making.  He was even in a couple of films with the late, John Carradene. 

He served with honor in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, and learned the craft of a projectionist, and did camera work for the Army Air Force Motion Picture Service as well as make-up.

In civilian life, he married Glenda C. Finkelstein and encouraged her to return to her first love of writing after the birth of their youngest child.  He was for her, a one man cheering section and promoted her becoming her manager and booking agent.  He soon discovered that he had a knack for bookings and added to his stable of talent, Noel Neill “The Original Lois Lane”, Kenny Miller, and many others.  It was his connections with these talented individuals that gave him an advantage when the opportunity to turn his wife’s short story, “Perfect Copy,” into a film emerged.   He was Executive Producer, talent scout, location scout, prop master, actor, make-up artist, continuity, and promoter. Basically, chief cook and bottle washer. 

GLENDA C. FINKELSTEIN

Glenda has a wide and varied career as a writer having published song lyrics, human-interest articles, poems, short stories, novels, and screenplays.  Her interest in writing was not just a happenstance; having a great-grandfather who was a wonderful poet, aunts and uncles who nurtured her imagination, and inspired by the legendary J.R.R. Tolkien, this art form was a natural course for her to take.