Tag: San Diego Comic Con

Comic Con 2012: Saturday Panel Highlights

by Shawn Madden

So we’ve given highlights for the rest of the days. Now on to the main attraction. Make sure and pack your bags and get in line for Hall H early because it looks like it’s going to be a good year in there.

10:00-11:00 After Earth

Enter the world of After Earth with an in-depth panel that gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the universe of the upcoming film and comic book. With the film now in post-production and set to hit theaters next June, screenwriter Gary Whitta (Book of Eli) and director of photography Peter Suschitzky (The Empire Strikes Back) will discuss the making of the film. They will be joined by comic book artist Beni Lobel (Spanish horror comic anthology Cthulu; G.I. Joe comic books; Torchwood: Web of Lies motion comic), and writers Robert Greenberger (Iron Man, Batman, and Hellboy novels) and Michael Friedman (Star Trek and X-Men novels) — the creators of the comic book After Earth: Innocence, which will introduce Kitai and Cypher Raige (played by Jaden and Will Smith in the After Earth film). Also joining the panel is Eisner Award winner Peter David (Star Trek novels and comic books; The Incredible Hulk), who is writing the After Earth prequel novel and also created the After Earth bible with Greenberger and Friedman – Room 6A

10:00-11:00 DC: The New Wave With DC Comics

The New 52, Before Watchmen, and The New 52, Wave 2, DC Entertainment is running on all cylinders! But you haven’t seen anything yet-find out about the next exciting event from DC Comics with DC Entertainment co-publisher Dan DiDio (Phantom Stranger) and creators Brent Anderson (Phantom Stranger), Tony Bedard (Sword of Sorcery), Scott Snyder (Talon), and James Tynion IV (Talon) – Room 6DE

10:30-11:30 Marvel Television Presents

Marvel’s head of TV, Jeph Loeb, brings the scoop on season 2 of the hit animated series Ultimate Spider-Man, along with a never-before-seen episode…and a glimpse of the other heroes joining Marvel Universe on Disney XD! Plus, get the update on other hot Marvel Animation Studios projects, including Marvel Knights Animation, Marvel anime-and more surprises from Marvel Television – Room 6BCF

11:30-12:30 Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained

The Weinstein Company presents a sneak peek at the highly anticipated new film from acclaimed director Quentin Tarantino. Fans will get to see exclusive footage from Django Unchained and take part in a special discussion with Tarantino and the cast. You won’t want to miss this – Hall H

12:45-1:45 DC Comics: Before Watchmen

It’s not the end of the world. It’s the beginning! You don’t want to miss this panel about the most talked about comic book series of 2012! DC Entertainment co-publisher Dan DiDio, VP/art direction and design Mark Chiarello, senior editor Will Dennis, and creators Amanda Conner (Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre), Darwyn Cooke (Before Watchmen: Minute Men), Adam Hughes (Before Watchmen: Dr Manhattan), J. Michael Straczynski (Before Watchmen: Nite Owl), Len Wein (Before Watchmen: Ozymandias, Curse of the Crimson Corsair), and others talk about this game-changing event! Hurm – Room 6DE

12:45-1:30 The Simpsons

Now entering its 24th season, The Simpsons is a living animation legend. Join moderator David Mirkin, creator Matt Groening, executive producer Al Jean, supervising producer Mike Anderson, and the voice of Lisa Simpson, Yeardley Smith, for a lengthy look at the upcoming Treehouse of Horror, a sneak (2D) peek at Simpsons theatrical short The Longest Daycare, and much, much more (okay, 45 minutes’ worth). Ballroom 20

1:45-2:45 Marvel Video Games

Learn all about Gazillion’s Marvel Heroes MMO, Ubisoft’s Avengers: Battle for Earth and more future Marvel games-including an announcement from Activision and High Moon Studios that is sure to be a hit! Q&A will follow – Room 6A

2:00-3:00 Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Onto Season 5

The aftermath of season 4 has left the Star Wars galaxy a very dangerous place: Darth Maul is alive, Asajj Ventress is a bounty hunter, and the Mandalorian Death Watch is deadlier than ever. How will these threads continue in season 5 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars? Find out in this behind-the-scenes panel, which will feature new clips, new insights, and more. Join the discussion with supervising director Dave Filoni and head writer Matt Michnovetz (who wrote season 4’s powerful Umbara arc). Moderated by Star Wars author Pablo Hidalgo – Room 6DE

2:00-3:00 Alphas

Alphas are among us…especially at Comic-Con. A panel featuring the stars of Syfy’s Alphas discuss the show’s exciting new season. Moderated by Geoff Boucher (Los Angeles Times) – Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront

2:30-5:00 Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures Preview Their Upcoming Lineups

Legendary Pictures: Pacific Rim-From acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro comes Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ epic sci-fi action adventure Pacific Rim. When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes — a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi) — who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse. Pacific Rim also stars Idris Elba, Ron Perlman, and Charlie Day.

Warner Bros. Pictures: Man Of Steel

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey-From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Jackson returns to Middle-earth in an adventure that begins 60 years before the events depicted in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The first of two films adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien’s enduringly popular masterpiece, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey follows titular Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who-along with the wizard Gandalf (Ian McKellen) and a band of 13 Dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage)-is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. The film’s ensemble cast includes Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Evangeline Lily, and Andy Serkis as Gollum – Hall H

2:45-3:45 Marvel: Avengers vs. X-Men

The battle between the Avengers and the X-Men rages on in this cosmos-shattering event! All your favorite superheroes enter-and only one team will emerge victorious. You’ve got questions, and these people have the answers! Editor-in-chief Axel Alonso, chief creative officer Joe Quesada, X-Men editor Nick Lowe, SVP of creator and content development C.B. Cebulski, and others are on hand to lay out what’s going on with the epic battle surrounding the X-Men’s Phoenix Five and the Avengers – Room 6BCF

6:00-7:00 Marvel Studios

Producer Kevin Feige and special guests provide an inside look at the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe – Hall H

7:15-9:15 Comi-Kev: Q&A with Kevin Smith

For like the millionth year in a row, Saturday at Comic-Con’s not over ’til the fat lady sings…and that fat lady is @ThatKevinSmith! Taking the the Hall H stage like he takes the desserts off your lunch tray, the guy in the hockey jersey will A all of your Qs! Query about Comic Book Men, Spoilers, SModcast.com, his book Tough Sh*t, Jay & Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie, his Fat Man on Batman podcast, or just ask him about stuff he’s got nothing to do with! But get ready to listen because this fatty is chatty! Warning: Kevin Smith throws around adult language like it’s clever. It’s not, but he loves it. A lot – Hall H

Source: Comic Con

Exclusive: Official My Little Pony: FiM Inspirational Posters and Trolley for SDCC

by Shane O'Hare

The super rad fine folks over at The HUB have clued the Geekscape team in on some of the special things they have planned for this years San Diego Comic Con. They have made eight official “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” inspirational posters that will be part of the decor at their booth and their special Trolley car! Check out the awesome below!

They also let us know that they will have an “MLP:FiM” trolley that runs on the San Diego Trolley lines! It is a special trolley car called The Friendship Express. It starts running on the city trolley tracks this Saturday, June 30th, and runs through the entire month of July!

Also, SDCC released their Friday schedule today and there IS a pony panel going on.

10:00-11:00 Hasbro Studios: My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic— Panelists from Hasbro Studios and The HUB TV Network’s My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic share details of the making of the animated series and how the “friendship” and “magic” are brought to life. Fans won’t want to miss it! Also includes Q&A time. Room 23ABC

So if you are going to be at the convention, make sure you get a ticket to ride with the Mane 6!

Walt Disney Animation And Marvel Studios First Project Has Leaked

by Shawn Madden

And it’s not what you expect it to be.

 

Ok, many of you wanted to know this and now you shall…

 

I promised my Bothans that I wouldn’t reveal much about the Marvel project that Walt Disney Animation Studios was working on, that I would only allude to it until something else broke about it. Well, now a website has let the cat out of the bag. Remember that I mentioned that the property would be unlike anything the Mouse had done before? I also mentioned to some that inquired about it, that Marvel owns 4000+ characters and everyone was thinking it was an animated “Iron Man” or “X-Men” or even “Power Pack.” Well, it’s not. It’s not one of the top 100 or 200 characters even. The actual title is much more obscure than most people know. In fact, most comic book fans will not even know the title, or most of the characters. So, what is the title/characters that Disney is adapting into an animated film?

 

Big Hero 6.

 

Some of you may be asking who that is.

 

 

Big Hero 6 is a superteam in the Marvel Comics universe. They technically first appeared in Sunfire and Big Hero 6 #1 (September, 1998), though they were created by Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau in the pages of Alpha Flight, volume 2. When the Japanese government wanted a team of state-sanctioned super-heroes at their disposal, a top-secret consortium of politicians and business entities known as the Giri was formed to recruit and train potential superhuman operatives for “Big Hero 6.“

 

‘Big Hero 6’ most recently appeared in the ‘End Of The Earth’ storyline in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’. With members such as Sunfire and Silver Samurai on the team…this could be interesting. While the project has not been officially green-lit, the story is boarded and has been deemed strong enough to go into production. As usual…sound off in the box below.

 

Source: Blue Sky Disney

Comic Con 2012: Preview Night & Thursday Programming Released

by Molly Mahan

Comic-Con 2012 Programming for the Preview Night and Thursday have officially been released on San Diego Comic Con’s official website and there is already a smattering of awesome panels and screenings that my little fangirl mind is about ready to explode from the awesome. I love fantasizing and making schedule mock-ups of the panels I plan to attend (and then going to none of them, due to time and line constraints) each Convention season and this year looks pretty amazing. The worst part, however, is seeing my two favorite subjects being discussed during the same time slot and on opposite sides of the convention hall.

So far, there are two panels I am already squealing with delight for and they are:

Censorship and the Female Artist— Attacks on women’s speech are on the rise in the current cultural climate in realms including politics and pop culture. This panel examines how censorship affects women artists, in realms including library challenges, community dialogue, and the larger cultural conversation. ModeratorAdaPia d’Errico is joined by panelists Anina Bennett, Camilla d’Errico, and Olivia for a freewheeling discussion of their experiences with censorship and observations on how women’s speech is treated in the cultural conversation.

The Future of Superhero Studies— Superhero scholarship has exploded over the past few years. Professors Ben Saunders (CCI 2012 special guest and author of Do the Gods Wear Capes?) and Charles Hatfield (author of the Eisner Award-nominated Hand of Fire: The Comics Art of Jack Kirby) invite you to join them for a frank, free-spirited discussion of superhero studies: its history, challenges, and possibilities. What has been done in the field, what can be done, and where do we go from here?

Also, I just about cried reading that Stallone will be there Thursday promoting Expendables 2. Regrettably, in Hall H, so I doubt I’ll be able to make it. But, you know, a girl can dream …

Oh, and if there’s time I MAY just make it over to see our fearless leader own the stage with some other awesome and (actually) funny dudes for the Comics on Comics panel that evening:

Comics on Comics LIVE! with Jon Schnepp and Chris Gore— Producers Vito Lapiccola and Juan-Manuel Rocha and The Hollywood Improv host another amazing edition of Comics on Comics LIVE at Comic-Con. Host Jonathan London(Geekscape.net) welcomes the return of fan-favorite writer/producer/director Jon Schnepp (Metalocalypse, The Venture Brothers), film guru Chris Gore (Attack of the Show, PodCRASH), and the always-controversial comics journalist Rich Johnston(BleedingCool.com) for another hilarious episode of the podcast where the greatest comic minds meet the greatest minds in comics! And if that wasn’t enough, Comics on Comics presents the world premiere of Schnepp’s Grimm Fairy Tales animated trailer, produced in association with Zenoscope Entertainment and funded via Kickstarter.com. Comics on Comics  debuted in 2008 and quickly gained popularity and praise due to its high concept format and memorable guests (including Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof, Dark Knight Rises producer Michael Uslan, and DC Comics CCO Geoff Johns). Find out more at www.ComicsOnComics.com.

What about you guys? Please take a look at the panels and let us know which ones you’re most excited about, so we can be sure to cover it!

 

Brian Gilmore Will Crush You! The “Geekscapepod” For June 24th, 2012!

by Jonathan

Geekscape mainstay Brian Gilmore visits the Geekscape couch to talk some serious news and reviews! We discuss spammy Russian sex dealers, rural Chinese sex toys and reminisce about the growth of Geekscape! “Taken 2” and “Dredd” get trailers but which is worth watching? Jonathan talks “Safety Not Guaranteed” while Gilmore tears up at “Brave”! Are Firefly fans the most pathetic fans in Geekdom? The Nintendo 3DS XL sounds lame while a Castle Greyskull card holder sounds awesome! PLUS! How 60s TV Batman saved Batman, Marvel Mania Hollywood menus revealed and a Pixar artist draws R Rated movie scenes!

Subscribe to the show on iTunes!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 42:53 — 26.1MB)

San Diego Comic-Con 2012: Special Firefly 10th Anniversary Panel Announced

by Scott Alminiana

Here’s some great news for all you Browncoats out there! There will be a special Firefly panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2012 in celebration of the  tenth anniversary of the short-lived but much loved show from Joss Whedon.

Executive producer Tim Minear confirmed the panel on his Facebook page, but for now no other details have been announced.

You can be gorram sure that as soon as we have more information on this that you will be the first to know.

They are  leaves on the wind – watch how the Browncoats soar to this panel!

Source: sdccblog

Walking Dead Invade San Diego Comic Con: Zombie Obstacle Course At Petco Park

by Shane O'Hare

Today The Walking Dead Escape website went live giving us geeks an idea of what the AMC hit has in store for SDCC this year.

The show will be renting out the Padre Stadium in downtown San Diego and will be turning areas of the park into a zombie obstacle course. Attendees will be able to choose from three different roles. A survivor running from zombies. A zombie chasing survivors or Spectator. Me being in the peak psychical condition I am, I wouldn’t want to give the other people a unfair game so I will be watching from the side.

So for $70 bucks more on top of the already expensive ass Comic Con adventure you can get all sweaty OUTSIDE of the convention center.

Check out the official site for more details.

A Geekscapist’s 1st WonderCon: Day One

by Scott Alminiana

Today the happiest place on earth was not Disneyland, but was actually across the street at the Anaheim Convention Center, home to this year’s WonderCon. It managed to be everything I love about Comic Con in San Diego, but without the massive crowds. Sure, there were cosplayers galore and plenty of comic book industry people walking about, but one could walk around without feeling claustrophobic and being bumped into constantly by a bunch of B.O. reeking mouth-breathers.

Upon arriving, I went downstairs to the basement to pick up my badge, from there I made my way up the escalator which spat me directly out onto the exhibit hall floor, where I took in the beautiful sights of geekery all around me. At last, I was at home amongst my fellow geeks and nerds. I walked around the convention floor, letting my eyes take in everything around me and checking out the booths. Before too long I found myself walking down autograph alley, slowly taking in the faces of the pseudo-celebrities all around. There was Lou Ferrigno, the Incredible Hulk himself; sitting across was Cassandra Peterson AKA Elvira (she still looks super-hot at 60), John Saxton (Nancy’s dad from the original Nightmare on Elm Street), Cindy Morgan (Yori from Tron), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Ray Park (Darth Maul, Snake Eyes) and more. I actually gave into my inner fan-boy and got an autograph and picture with Ray Park,  a genuinely nice guy who could no doubt kick my ass and yours at the same time.

Despite the smile, I was terrified for my life ...the man is a sith lord, a ninja and an evil mutant after all

 

After making my way to the Geekscape booth and shooting the proverbial geek-shit for a while with a few of my fellow Geekscapists, I decided it was time to go check out some of the panels the Con had to offer. I went to site in on a spotlight panel on J. Michael Straczynski but was a few minutes early so I took a seat in the back to wait. After a few minutes, a girl walked up to an elderly gentleman sitting directly in front and said, “excuse me, but I just had to tell you that I’m a huge fan and absolutely love Babylon 5”, she then proceeded to shake uncontrollably in a geek frenzy before asking if she could take a picture with JMS, himself. Holly crap, JMS was sitting directly in front of me?! Had I known this prior, I too would have probably been in a geek frenzy. This is the kind of stuff that can only happen at conventions such as this. His spotlight panel was pretty good,  but I only sat in on half of it before I left to catch a Marvel Panel on Amazing Spider-Man. The panel consisted of artist Humberto Ramos and ASM editor Tom Brevoort, and they talked a little about what’s in store for Spidey’s 50th anniversary. First up was the next major story arc on ASM, titled ‘Ends of the Earth’. It will pit Spider-Man against Doctor Octopus and the rest of The Sinister Six. After a brief discussion about ‘Ends of the Earth’ and a preview of covers for the arc, they talked about some of the other things in store for Spidey. The most shrouded in secrecy thing happening in the Spider-verse this year is Spider-Men which the panel said they couldn’t say anything about other than it will debut in June and will be a historic event for Spider-Man. Rumor has it though that this will be the first crossover between the classic Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Marvel U.

Spider-Man, rumored to be the first Classic Marvel/Ultimate Marvel crossover

The last thing I went to for the day was the premiere of the new DC animated movie Superman vs. The Elite. While it was not DC’s best effort to date it was also not its worst. I did not care for the character design for Superman, and the over-all story seemed to drag a bit, but the last 20 minutes or so were pretty bad ass. Also, it did have perhaps the coolest opening credits sequence of any DC animation that I’ve seen; it was like the love child of Super-Friends and The Sex Pistols’ Never Mind the Bollocks . Followed by the movie was a pretty lame panel which I will spare you the details of, but was capped off with the first trailer for what is perhaps the most anticipated DC animated movie to date…The Dark Knight Returns. It was only a minute or so long, but it looked amazing and had me drooling for more.

 

All in all, my first day at WonderCon was a great success and I can’t wait to go back for more. I wish that WonderCon was going to stay in Anaheim for years to come, because as an Orange County local, only having to drive ten minutes to get my geek on at a convention is pretty badass. And now this geek had best get his beauty sleep, so he can get his geek on for Day 2. More to come…

Frustration! San Diego Comic Con Sells Out In One Hour!

by Scott Alminiana

And so another year of trying to get San Diego Comic Con tickets has begun, and ended. A few days ago this geek, along with every other geek who signed up for “pre-registration” at Comic Con, received an email notifying us that tickets would officially go on sale at 8:00 AM PST on March 3rd. The email included a link for ticket purchases but informed users that it would not be active until 8:00 AM when ticket sales started. Not wanting to miss out on yet another year of Comic Con I set my alarm for 7:45 AM so that I could be ready to get my place in the EPIC waiting room. Although to be fair, there was nothing ‘epic’ to be found in that room.

At precisely 8:00 AM PST, I clicked the link… but nothing happened. Refresh, still nothing, close the browser and try again, still nothing. This continued for the next few minutes with my rage slowly building and flashbacks to last year’s Leap Frog ticket sales disaster running through my mind. After finally just going to Comic Con’s website I was able to get in the waiting room and started the wait with my place being around #35000 in line. Every few minutes the browser would automatically update with my place in line slowly dwindling down. Around the time I became #25000 in line the 4 day passes had all been sold out. ‘That’s okay’ I thought, as long as I can go for 2 or 3 days I’ll be happy. Time slowly passed and so did the number of tickets. After being in the waiting room for about an hour and getting down to #3000 I was informed that ALL tickets were sold out. NO WAY CAN THIS BE HAPPENING. No, not now, not again this year!!!! I was James T. Kirk screaming “Connnnnnnnnnnn!!!!” from the rooftops. My quest for Comic Con had come to an end; and this geek was one sad panda.

As it turns out, that link that was in the email was a dead link and many a geek/nerd are bitching about this in various online forums as I write this. More tickets might go on sale at a later date according to the Con website, but I imagine those will be far and few between. Once again, Comic Con International has managed to mess up the ticket sale process. Oh, and it should be noted that whomever runs their website doesn’t know the difference between ‘their’ and ‘there’. Looks like it’s time to prepare my “will work for Comic Con tickets” sandwich sign for when I go to Wonder Con. The next step after that of course is taking a page out of the IMF playbook and pulling some espionage-type shenanigans trying to get into Comic Con. I’ll keep you posted…

DENIED.