METROCON 2013 - YEAR 11

Florida's Largest Anime Convention!

July 26 - 28, 2013

Tampa Convention Center, Tampa, FL

Theme: East vs West

HOME
REGISTRATION 2013
GENERAL INFORMATION
EVENTS
CONTESTS
GUESTS
Alumni 2011
Alumni 2010
Alumni 2009
Alumni 2008
Alumni 2007
Alumni 2006
Alumni 2005
Alumni 2004
Alumni 2003
THINGS TO DO
INDUSTRY/PROFESSIONAL
ABOUT METROCON
FAQs
Merchants
Galleries
Forums
Contact Us

QUICK LINKS:

Volunteer/Host Panels/Contest Entry Signup

Vendor Account Signup

Aritst Account Signup

METROCON Facebook

AnimeMetro.com

AnimeBelle.com

MyCons Online Login:

User Name:

Password:

Forgot Password Register New Account

Alumni 2010

GUESTS >  Alumni 2010

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 …

IMDB:  http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0573926/

SPIKE SPENCER

Spike Spencer has been a voice actor since the early nineties. He has voiced hundreds of episodes of Anime including such notable titles as Evangelion, Battle Angel, Suikoden, Orphen, Spriggan, Nadesico, Mar, PreTear,  Buso Renkin, Code Geass 2 and Bleach. Spike has lent his voice to many radio and TV commercials. His  video game credits include WOW-The Burning Crusades, Tales of Vesperia, Steambot Chronicles, Star Ocean 2, Lunar: Silver Star Harmony, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger, and many others. An accomplished actor, he has worked with such notable stars as Tommy Lee Jones, Sandra Bullock, Frank Langella, Tia Carrere, and Scott Glenn and has been on set with many other stars. Spike is also an author, including "How to Be A Frickin Genius Voice Actor, Step One," "What Happens At The Con, Stays At The Con?," And "Don't Kill Your Date (And Other Cooking Tips)"-(Coming soon). Spike is also a screenwriter with several projects in various stages. Spike is soon to begin production on his first feature film that he scripted, "Dwindle Down."

Visit his official websites:
www.worldospike.com
www.spikespencer.com
www.almostevilminions.com

Spike teaches Voice Acting around the globe in person and via email and Skype. If you are interested in learning the art of Voice Acting from Spike contact him at: spike@worldospike.com

Website:  http://www.spikespencer.com/

IMDB:  http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0818111/

RICHARD IAN COX

Richard Ian Cox has been acting in film and television since the late 1700’s.  Understandably, work was hard to come by in the early days before the invention of either medium.  It wasn’t until the release of the first talkies in 1927 that Richard’s career started to show signs of life.  He first became known to the viewing public with the airing of “The Adventures of the Black Stallion” in 1990.  Richard’s modern career has included regular stints on “Cold Squad”, “Beggars and Choosers”, “Breaker High”, as well as guest starring roles on “Stargate: SG1”, “Stargate: Atlantis”, “Eureka” and films including “Alive”, “R.V.”, “Battle in Seattle”, “Ghost Rider”.

Richard has also enjoyed a varied career in animation . . . well not the animation part, the talking part.  Roles in “Ranma ½”, “Inuyasha”, “Botsmaster”, “Trouble Chocolate”, “First Gundam”, “Mega Man”, “Gundam Seed”, “Hamtaro”, “Gundam 00”, “Being Ian”, “X-Men Evolution”, “Will and Dewitt”, “Care Bears” . . . and a bunch of other stuff has earned Richard a reputation as a guy who knows which end of a mic to speak into.  These days Richard is hard at work trying to solve the current economic crisis.  He’s pretty sure it involves jelly beans.  Check Richard out on Facebook, Twitter, and on his website at www.richardiancox.com.

Website:  http://richardiancox.dreamstation.com

IMDB:  http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0185214/

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.

Kirby trained in theater and developed his vocal skills on the stand-up comedy stages around the world. He began voicing characters in 1997, amidst his flourishing acting career. Kirby is also an award-winning writer and enjoys directing. His short film, "The Boxing Day Classic" won first prize at the "Whistler International Film Festival" (2005), beating out 98 other scripts for a $20,000 prize.

Kirby had a recurring part on 'Stargate: Atlantis' and can be seen making public appearances at animation/science fiction conventions around the world!

Website:  http://kirbymorrow.com/

IMDB:  http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0607516/

ROBERT AXELROD

Robert Axelrod has carved a career in show business that runs the gamut. Born and raised in New York City, he did commercials and theater as a child and teen, eventually ending up in the Soho Avant-garde Theater scene in a show called “Little Trips”, then Off-Broadway in a play called “The Destroyers”. Axelrod left acting for the world of music. He spent eight years as a working rock musician playing electric bass and singing in folk, rock, and soul bands. Music brought him to Los Angeles where he decided to return to acting, a decision he never regrets.

Since then, Mr. Axelrod has appeared in over thirty feature films including four with Charles Bronson, the Sci-Fi hit remake “The Blob” with Kevin Dillon and many others. Television appearances include guest star roles on “Amazing Stories”, “Star Trek Voyager”, and “The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. He also starred in the Michael Jackson music video “Stranger in Moscow”.

Mr. Axelrod is also a busy voice over artist. He is the voice of Lord Zedd and Finster on the “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers”. The Lord Zedd voice is one of the most recognizable character voices around. He voiced Armadillomon and Wizardmon on “Digimon”, Microchip, The Punisher’s sidekick, on “Spiderman”, Rico on “Robotech”, and has voiced countless Anime features including “Akira”, “The Big O”, “Cowboy Bebop”, “Brain Scratch”, et al. As Lord Zedd, he starred in both the first Power Rangers feature film and the wildly popular live show that toured the country. He was a regular character on Saban Entertainment’s “Wowser” series (as Ratso Catso), “Journey To The Heart of the World” (as Scarface), “Hallo Spencer” (as Elmer), and more. He just finished narrating the mockumentary “Safety First: The Rise of Women and voicing four Anime series, “Gaiking”, “Danguard Ace”, “Captain Harlock”, “The Adventures of Nadja”, and “Fist of the North Star”.

IMDB:  http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0043498/

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 ;)

Website:  http://www.snafu-comics.com/

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.

Website:  http://yayahan.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.

Website:  http://www.availablesound.com

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!!

Website:  http://hellroycorp.com/

KELLYJANE

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

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!

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.

Website:  http://outlandarmour.com/

IMDB:  http://us.imdb.com/name/nm2980908/

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!

Website:  http://www.AnimeBelle.com/

AARON PABON

Narutard's, Trekkie's, Fanboys and girls alike, please welcome Aaron Pabon, the Original Geek Comedian! Unlike most comedians performing at comedy clubs and venues of that manner, he has a personal taste for performing at Anime, Comic Book, Gaming, and Sci-Fi conventions. To date Aaron has played at more then 40 cons in 12 states. Here at METROCON, you can hear Aaron rip on anything, including video games, anime, and anything towards geek popop-culture. Also: a METROCON exclusive! Aaron will be recording his first live CD show!

Website:  http://aaronpabon.webs.com/

ANA'S IKIMARU

Ana's Ikimaru is a Kimono-ya and Japanese Cultural Panelist team founded by Anna Rosato and RJ Schafer of Tampa, FL. Using technology of the modern era, and the history of Japanese textiles, Ana's Ikimaru strives to continue breathing fresh life into the kimono industry to prevent it from fading away.

Anna Rosato is currently a studying nagauta and jiuta shamisen, and has given lectures at events and festivals across the Southeast United States. She teaches a full schedule of subjects from kimono, geisha culture, and Japanese history, as well as workshops on tsumami kanzashi hairpins, and shibori tie-dye. She is also known for her kimono-san persona (stage name “Eiko-san”). She launched her kimono exhibit last fall, “San Maru” featuring highlights of her and her partner's antiquities collection- with some items dating over three hundred years in age.

RJ Schafer manages the Ana's Ikimaru website which includes numerous interactive elements for its visitors such as: an educational forum, press and articles, as well as the first English-speaking Kimono Podcast. In addition, he is responsible for all product displays and photography elements, digital editing, graphics, and the bi-weekly e-Newsletter. He brings modern items into the traditional world of kimono by pairing cyber and graphic elements into Ana's Ikimaru, using innovative items such as memory cards, records, and 8tracks for prints, kimono-inspired artwork and accessories.

Together the pair founded the Tampa Kimono Club, are active members of J-Club in Orlando, and manage the continent's first traveling Geisha & Samurai Henshin Makeover Studio. The latter opened at Metrocon 2009 as a direct result of overwhelming support received by Ana's Ikimaru since its debut in February of 2008.

Website:  http://www.ikimaru.com

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..

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!

Website:  http://RandomEncounterBand.com

Home Contact Us About Location Forums FAQs
© 2009-2013 Team Dynamite Productions, LLC. All rights reserved.