The Lubbock Comic Book Expo kicks off tomorrow!

Alright, friends and neighbors, tomorrow’s the big day.

The Lubbock Comic Book Expo gets started tomorrow, from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. and continues on Sunday, from noon to 5, up in the mezzanine at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center at 1501 Mac Davis Lane, during the annual Lubbock Arts Festival. If you live in Lubbock, or within driving distance of Lubbock, you really should plan on being there.

Probably the biggest single event is the costume contest, which will be held on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Iron Artist competition is scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m.

There are special guests galore, including:

• Ben Dunn, founder of Antarctic Press and creator of “Ninja High School,” “Warrior Nun Areala,” and plenty of other comics;
• Greg Harms, freelance illustrator who’s worked on Lynch Mob, MidKnights, Modus Operandi, Parley, Control Syndicate, and plenty of other comics;
• Grant Sutherland, creator of the “Greetings from Wonderland” webcomic;
• Nate Bramble, creator of “Bramble Vine Comics” and “The Legend of Hermit Hill“;
• CCP Comics, an Austin-based comics company.

Plus a few guests I didn’t mention previously:

• Chris Summers, artist on GI Joe, Dungeons & Dragons, Superman, Nightwing, The Perhapanauts, and Spartacus: Blood & Sand;
• Will Terrell, writer/artist of Super Zeroes, artist on Gargoyles, Goblin Chronicles, and founder of the Lubbock SketchClub;
• The 501st Legion, an organization that creates and wears detailed costume replicas of the bad guys in “Star Wars,” which means you’ll see quite a few Stormtroopers hunting for pesky droids;
• and Daniel Ballard, a local filmmaker who will host a free screening of his short superhero film “Alike in Dignity” on Saturday at 5:30.

Here’s a complete listing of events for the Expo:

Saturday

• 10:30 a.m.: Rob Weiner: Sequential art, comics and long road to respect.
• 11:30 a.m.: Creator panel, featuring visiting artists, moderated by Will Terrell.
• 1 p.m.: Costume contest.
• 2:30 p.m.: Kevin Jones: Intro to 3-D Animation.
• 4 p.m.: Iron Artist Competition.
• 5:30 p.m.: “Alike in Dignity,” 24-minute short film by Daniel Ballard, followed by discussion and Q&A.

Sunday

• 1 p.m.: Rob Weiner: Superheroes on film and television.
• 2 p.m.: Ben Dunn Q&A.
• 3:30 p.m.: Lubbock Comics Panel: Building the Local Scene.

Do I need to say don’t miss it? Fine, I’ll say it: Don’t miss it. This is gonna be a ton of fun.