Vegas Valley Comic Book Festival

Programming Room A 11:30 a.m.: Kids (And Parents Too!) You CAN Draw! | Spencer Brinkerhoff III Love Comics? Wish you could draw like a pro? Join “Star Wars” artist Spencer Brinkerhoff and make your own comic book while learning to draw the Adam West Batman using his drawing system, “Drawing Is Simple.” 12:30 a.m.: Making Your Own Art Book | Ryan Claytor Ryan Claytor, university professor and award-winning comics creator, guides you through the process of creating his Eisner and Ringo award-nominated art book, “One Bite at a Time,” shares lessons learned from his five-year assembly process, and helps set you on a path to success for creating your own art book...in a lot less than five years. 1:30 p.m.: Anime Your Way | Brian Lopez A comprehensive step-by-step drawing program using simple shapes and easy to understand instructions. Working artist Brian Lopez will teach you how to create and modify an anime character from scratch, no matter what your drawing level is!

Programming Room B 11 a.m.: Beyond Superheroes: The Many Genres of Comics | Zack Davisson , Cara O’Neil , Jody Houser , Violet Karim In the popular imagination, colorful caped characters and comics go hand in hand, but they aren’t all that is to the medium. Join Zack Davisson (“Ultimate X-Men,” “Demon Days,” “Cats + Gamers,” “The Ultimate Guide to Japanese Yokai”), Jody Houser (”Generation X-23,” “Stranger Things,” “Orphan Black,” “Miss Marvel: Fists of Justice,” “Faith”), Cara O’Neil (Mad Cave Studio’s Director of Marketing, formerly VP of Marketing for Dark Horse Comics), and Violet Karim (“Death of a Pop Star,” “Summer Vamp”) as they explore genres outside of superheroes. Is there one that flat-out beats all the others? Or do they all actually complement each other? Find out as our panelist expand the borders of comics. 12 p.m.: The Ink of Time: The Intersection of History and Comics | Mark Russell Discover how history is told through the prism of comic books. From comics based entirely on historic events like “Age of Bronze” and “Maus” to popular DC and Marvel titles like “Superman” and “Captain America,” Eisner and Ringo award-winning comic book writer Mark Russell (“Dog Tag,” “Superman: Space Age,” “Not All Robots,” “The Flintstones”) presents how comic books and graphic novels have dealt with history as it happens and in the aftermath of world events. 1 p.m.: The Mechanics of Comics | Jeff Parker and Gabriel Hardman How do you make a living in comics? When should you start your first book? (Is AI cool?) What makes comics, y’know, good? Jeff Parker (“The Interman,” “Batman 66,” “Thunderbolts,” “The Stitch Book”) & Gabriel Hardman (“Invisible Republic,” “Batman/Green Arrow/The Question: Arcadia,” “Green Lantern: Earth One,” “Kinski”) may not have all the answers, but they do have a unique perspective on the comics industries, strong takes on the very best of storytelling, and advice on effectively collaborating in comics. 2 p.m.: The Comic Roots of Batman | Joe Keatinge Writer and Editor-in-Chief of “COMICS! The Magazine” Joe Keatinge (“POPGUN,” “Shutter,” “Marvel Knights: Hulk”) traces the comics roots and evolution of Batman, from his early noir-inspired beginnings to the many reinventions that have shaped the Dark Knight across decades of storytelling.

Free and open to the public. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information, call 702.507.3459.