Last year, Image Comics launched a rare event for a publisher: their own convention. The 2012 Image Expo gathered creators and fans together for a weekend of exclusive announcements, panels and signings. Today at the Diamond Retailer Summit ahead of Chicago's C2E2 show, Image made plans for a return engagement, though the 2013 installment will be coming with a different format.

Earlier this month in a wide-ranging interview that covered digital distribution, creator recruitment, sales and upcoming projects, CBR News asked Image Publisher Eric Stephenson if the company planned for another show in the mold of the first Image Expo. At that time, Stephenson coyly noted, "We don't have any plans to do another convention, no."

And with today's announcement, that statement has proven true -- more or less. The 2013 installment of Image Expo will not be a full-blown convention but a smaller one-day, media-focused event taking place on July 2 at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center. Stephenson explained to retailers that the event would feature creators like "Walking Dead" mastermind Robert Kirkman and "Fatale" writer Ed Brubaker as well as announcements and panels focusing on projects like "Saga," "East of West" and "Jupiter's Legacy."

Though Image's PR for the event doesn't draw the comparison, it appears as though the new Image Expo will follow a similar format to MorrisonCon -the special engagement coordinated in part by Image's Ron Richards. Like that event, a select number of tickets will be made available to the public, and those will go on sale on May 3.

Official Press Release

At the Diamond Comics Retailer summit in Chicago today, Image Comics Publisher Eric Stephenson announced Image Expo 2013, a unique media event that will take place in San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on July 2, 2013.

Image Expo 2013 will be an all-day event featuring announcements from Image Comics, the publisher of the best-selling comic book titles THE WALKING DEAD, SAGA, FATALE, EAST OF WEST and JUPITER'S LEGACY, as well as appearances by superstar creators, including Image partner and THE WALKING DEAD creator Robert Kirkman and Ed Brubaker, co-creator of the Eisner-nominated FATALE, revealing panels, and autograph sessions. Tickets for this exciting event will available to the general public for purchase on May 3, 2013.

Image Expo 2013 follows the publisher's successful 2012 Image Expo convention, which was held in Oakland, California. Image Expo 2013 will be be the most intimate comics event of its kind, offering unprecedented access to creators, exclusive swag, and the first chance to hear what the publisher that has been taking the comics industry by storm has planned for the future.

Image Comics fans can keep on top of all the latest Image Expo 2013 developments at www.imagecomics.com/expo for ticket information and guest announcements.