KAPOW! COMIC CONVENTIONMedia Release -- KAPOW! COMIC CONVENTION is once again hosting the annual Stan Lee Awards on Saturday 19th May, and the list of nominations is now in! Compiled by a variety of expert judges from the world of comics, movies, TV, gaming, publishing and entertainment – the shortlist of nominations is now open to public vote at http://www.kapowcomicconvention.com/awards

KAPOW! is taking place at the London Business Design Centre on 19th & 20th May 2012, and visitors will be amongst the first in the world to get an exclusive look at various upcoming comics, movie blockbusters and hit TV shows from the biggest publishers and studios in the world.

Stan Lee is honoured to have these awards in his name explaining "this is a fantastic platform to reward the cream of comic book talent for all their creativity and imagination".

This year Spider-Man, Daredevil, Batman and Wonder Woman battle it out for the Best Comic Hero award, Sara Pichelli is up for two awards Best Newcomer and Best Artist, and Best Film looks set to be close contest between Captain America, thor, X-Men: First Class and Rise of the Planet of the Apes. the Walking Dead is up for Best TV Show again this year, can they win this prestigious award two years running? the full list of nominations is now live on the Kapow! website http://www.kapowcomicconvention.com/awards and voting will close on Thursday 12th April 2012.

The announced comic guest list is unrivalled, and includes many creators who haven't attended UK conventions in almost 20 years. Joe Quesada, Marvel's Chief Creative Officer, will be taking part in panels and a signing, plus portfolios reviews with Marvel's talent scout C.B. Cebulski. Frankie Boyle and Jimmy Carr, who both contribute to UK news stand magazine CLiNT, will be doing a Q&A. Warren Ellis (the Authority, Planetary), Frank Quitely (Batman), Dave Gibbons (Watchmen), Olivier Coipel (the Mighty thor), Bryan Hitch (the Ultimates, the Authority), Mark Millar (Kick-Ass, Civil War) and many, many more will all be signing autographs, speaking on panels and giving exclusive previews of upcoming works.

Tickets are on sale now at www.kapowcomicconvention.com only available in advance. there will be no on the door ticket sales. Please join us on Twitter @KapowCon and Facebook to receive regular updates and announcements on the show.

For further information on the event please contact press@kapowcomicconvention.com

THE STAN LEE AWARD JUDGES
This year the judging panel includes Jeffrey Renaud and Brian Cronin from Comic Book Resources, artist Klaus Janson, director James Gunn, Josh Wilding from Comic Book Movie, Adrian Hieatt from AICN, Iron Man screenwriter Drew Pearce, lettering legend John Workman, Lev Grossman from Time Magazine, John Mosby from Impact magazine, former Marvel and DC editor Jenny Lee, comic journalists Jill Pantozzi, Chris Arrant, Ryan Lindsay and Emma Jeffers, former Atomic Comics owner Mike Malve, Richard George from IGN, film and music journalist Billy Chainsaw, geek journalist Rick Marshall and Simon Brew from Den of Geek.