Ahoy, I'm Peter Tatara. In brief, I'm left-handed, a vegetarian, and my blood type is A. I work for the New York Comic Con and New York Anime Festival and have a cute girlfriend and a Space: Above & Beyond boxset. I'm generally a happy guy.

See Reni! Be on Japanese TV!

Reni-chan is NYC's own singing cosplay maid, and since debuting, she's made some major waves, appearing at cons across the country and attracting attention in her native Japan. And, now, Japanese TV network NHK is shooting a documentary on her.

Want to get on Japanese TV? All you need to do is attend one of Reni's upcoming shows...

Jan 16 – 4:30 PM at Drom (85 Avenue A) $10
Featuring Reni-chan plus Uncle Yo, Promise, CD-3, and Myu to Yu

Jan 24 – 5 PM at Top Tunes (303-305 East 53rd Street) $10
Featuring Reni-chan plus MaeMae, Elderberry, Promise, and CD-3

Yatta!

Superglorious Celebrates 2010 with a Free Show!

Our friends at Superglorious -- who've co-presented musical guests at NYAF for the past two years -- are kicking off 2010 with a free show for all their fans in NYC.

Superglorious's first 2010 event will be held at Spike Hill in Williamsburg on January 14 and features five bands plus a DJ...

Me & Mars: www.myspace.com/metomars
Libel: www.myspace.com/libelmusic
Houston Bros.: www.houstonsmusic.com
Sakura Madams: www.myspace.com/sakuramadams
Superfortress: www.myspace.com/superfortress
and DJ Zivist

Spike Hill (www.spikehill.com) is located at 184/186 Bedford Avenue in Williamsburg Brooklyn. The show begins at 8 PM sharp on January 14! 21 plus with ID. And, remember, it's free!

For more details, visit www.superglorious.com/free-fun-for-the-new-year!

Planet Hulk Premieres on Your Computer Screen

On Thursday, January 14th, Newsarama and NYCC are co-presenting a bi-coastal screening and panel celebrating the debut of the Planet Hulk animated feature. But what if you're not in NYC or LA? Newsarama and NYCC will be bringing the event into the homes of Hulk fans around the world.

Beyond the physical events, we'll together digitally premiere the first official extended clip from the movie, followed by live, real time coverage of both the New York and Los Angeles panels, and we'd like fans everywhere with a comic book, film, or animation website, blog or forum to share in the coverage.

Any fan with a website, large or small, will be able to stream this exclusive scene during its online premiere and follow along with the New York and LA panels in real time, debuting the clip and the coverage simultaneously with Newsarama.com and NewYorkComicCon.com.

To be a part of this global, digital event, send an email to [email protected] before 12am EST on Thursday, Jan. 14 with your website’s name, URL, and short description. Websites will receive an HTML code for placement on their sites later in the day on Jan 14. As long as you've got the code on your site, you'll be streaming the coverage.

Digital coverage of the NYC event begins at approximately 8pm EST/5pm PST. Online coverage of the LA event starts at approximately 11pm EST/8pm PST.

Be a part of the Planet Hulk premiere from the safety of your computer screen. Planet Hulk and Bunny Slippers. Could it get any better?

Yume Cosplay Prize comes to Houston

Do you dream of going to Japan? Well, how'd you like to make that dream come true -- as that's exactly what NYAF is doing with the Yume Cosplay Prize (www.YumeCosplay.com). A cosplay masquerade unlike any other, its winners take home a week-long trip to Japan and VIP tickets to the Tokyo Anime Fair.

NYAF's 2009 winners were Yaya Han and Anna Raper, who'll be traveling to Tokyo shortly for this year's TAF, and we're already putting our 2010 contest together. The Yume Cosplay Prize's finals take place this October in NYC as part of the New York Anime Festival, but there's no need to wait to enter, as NYAF and the Yume Cosplay Prize are coming to select convention across the country in the Spring and Summer.

We hosted a regional at MetroCon late last year, and we're proud to reveal our next regional contest will be at Anime Matsuri (www.animematsuri.com), April 2-4, 2010 in Houston, TX. The winners of Anime Matsuri's masquerade will win two tickets to NYC and guaranteed entry into the Yume finals -- where they'll compete for a trip to Japan!

Live in the South West? Wanna go to Tokyo? Start putting your costume together and get down to Anime Matsuri!

AniFusion - Dec 20

Our friends at Kinokuniya host a number of anime-themed events, including a J-Pop Holiday Party coming up on December 19th. Perhaps the good guys at Forbidden Planet took notice, as Forbidden Planet is hosting a special anime event of their own on December 20th. Titled "AniFusion NYC", it's being held from 2-5 PM at Forbidden City (212 Avenue A, New York, NY 1009, between 13th and 14th), just a few blocks from the Forbidden Planet store.

AniFusion NYC will be hosted by cosplay performance artist Mario Bueno and otaku stand-up comedian Uncle Yo. Guests include Patrick W. Galbraith, author of “The Otaku Encyclopedia”, and musical performers Emi and Promise.

The whole day wraps up with a cosplay competition, with the first place winner taking home a $75 Forbidden Planet gift card, the 2nd Place winner being awarded a $25.00 Forbidden Planet gift card, and the 3rd Place winner getting a copy of “The Otaku Encyclopedia”.

To enter the cosplay contest, you must pre-register at [email protected], including your name, age, and costume.

To attend AniFusion NYC in general, there's a $3 charge at the door that includes a free soft drink, a 15% off coupon for Forbidden Planet, and a 15% off coupon for Forbidden City.

AniFusion NYC is presented by Forbidden Planet Kodansha, Mario Bueno, Forbidden City, and MIE Inc.