Will everyone stop moaning about how bad Saturday will be? EVERY DAY of the con has been sold out thus far and from the folks we talked to, Preview Night was actually the most crowded time on the floor.

Last night’s Eisners at the new Hilton venue were more a tighter show — the elimination of several categories and a bit brisker format had the show come in 20 minutes shorter than last year. This still left time for a lot of amazing speeches, including MAD writer Frank Jacob’s memories of Bill Gaines, Sergio’s Antonio Prohias tales, and Mike Royer recalling Russ Manning’s brisk manner.

Big ups to ALL the winners, but a special shout out to Rantz Hoseley for the COMIC BOOK TATTOO win and Jonah Weiland for CBR. While all the contenders in the Best Comics Journalism presentation are great, Weiland has been at it a long time, and his win was definitely a popular one.

The after party was better, as well, although most people still split quickly to get to the various industry/agency bashes. There were, by all accounts, a bunch of fabulous, star-studded parties but we ended up staying at the Hilton for the duration, talking of Russ Manning, Alex Toth and Frank Frazetta with the likes of Steve Leialoha, Mark Buckingham, Paul Power and the aforementioned Royer. We also got the REAL story of those Michael Jackson & family photos from Sharon Liebowitz of the Golden Apple. We finally got to meet Gerard Way, and it turned out we had been at DC at the same time, which was kind of funny. Other fabulous folks chatted at/learned from: G. Willow Wilson, Jacq Cohen, the 5 crew of Cloonan, Bá, Moon and Lolos, Rick Parker, J.C. Vaughan, Chip Mosher, Jim Pascoe and of course hostess Jackie Estrada.

Elsewhere, it was a fantastic night of faboo parties, with wrestling, the Mighty Boosh, PetCo Park, and the casts of just about every TV show at the con wandering around one rooftop or another. We had many entreaties to go to the Hyatt scramble, but sensibility compelled us to stay put at our own hotel.

Before that, it was the usual scrum. On the way back to the hotel for the Eisners, we couldn’t resists popping into the line-less Hall H for the Peter Jackson/James Cameron conversation. Both these visionary gentleman occasionally lapsed into tech talk — with one punch line about a 16-millimeter camera going kinda flat to the crowd. Even more disturbingly, the panel was interrupted when some yahoo jumped on stage and poured himself a glass of water and drank it! Video here. At first it seemed that this could be, say, Steven Spielberg or George Lucas or Jerry Lewis in costume for a surprise visit, but apparently it was a real goober. (We haven’t googled everything, however, so it is possible that it was really Ashton Kutcher or some other Punked type stunt.)

It struck us as more than a little ironic that this came after we (and everyone else) had spent the day being prodded and poked and “move along now”-ed by security. It seems that there are only three things you can do at Comic-Con:

* stand in line
* wander dispiritedly to another line, guided at each step by security
* sit glumly on the floor in a state of exhaustion

If you are an industry professional, there is a fourth activity:

* stand around yapping about how many people are waiting in line, walking around and sitting on the floor.

Of course, all the security is for the safety of the huge crowd, and it’s an absolute necessity. However, while law abiding citizens are being hassled about standing in one place for more than 10 seconds, a complete gonzo was able to breach the stage of Hall H while two of the greatest directors in history were talking. Nobody’s perfect.

UPDATE: Apparently the crasher was Keith Apicary, some kind of professional crasher. Whoop te fucking do.

A special report by Zena Metal

Day Two of San Diego Comic-Con 2009 was a star-studded affair as dozens of Hollywood elites came down to pander their wares. A-list actors like Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Cameron Diaz, Megan Fox, Josh Brolin, and Robert Downey Jr. were among the bigger names making appearances whilst promoting a variety of films, including SHERLOCK HOLMES, DISTRICT 9, THE BOX, JONAH HEX and THE BOOK OF ELI.

- Folks seemed to have embraced the trailer for the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET reboot, which features WATCHMEN’s Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy Krueger.

- Other talent making the rounds on Twitpic include Felicia Day, Zoe Bell, Eliza Dushku, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Dominic Monaghan, Emily Deschanel, Kiefer Sutherland, and the ubiquitous Bruce Campbell. And sometimes, it just pays to be Eric Wareheim.

- The oddly titled HOT TUB TIME MACHINE, starring John Cusack, also debuted this red band trailer at SDCC.

- Daft Punk are scoring the forthcoming TRON movie and are considering touring to support the soundtrack.

- My girl crush on Diablo Cody continues. For video footage of her latest pixyish ‘do, check out this press clip for JENNIFER’S BODY.

- Peter Jackson got punked at the Entertainment Weekly panel. According to EW Pop Watch’s Marc Bernardin: “EW’s panel just got punked by a crazy thirsty guy who came on stage and drank Peter Jackson’s water. Security prevailed.” Anybody have video?

- Pop Culture Geeks have uploaded a great collection of photos from the Con, giving special attention to action figures. Meanwhile, Parka Blogs focuses in on cosplayers.

- The big talk of last night’s party scene was the free Gwar concert sponsored by Vice. According to Zuda Comics’ Andy Belanger, it was “arguably the greatest metal show of all time… Walked out covered head to toe in fake blood, gross!”

Wonder how it’ll compare to tomorrow night’s Robot Chicken Skate Party. Tonight’s entertainment: Daughtry. Really.

- One of the big revelations at today’s Dollhouse panel was that revered comic artist John Cassaday will be directing an episode of the show’s second season. For more Dollhouse dirt, check out this recap. Spoiler alerts abound for this one.

- Everyone was abuzz about The Mighty Boosh panel. Have you seen this exclusive T-shirt?

- On the media gearhead tip, I’m happy that the hashtag [#sdcc] has finally taken off… far more elegant than the “Comic-Con” that’s been trending.

OK, time to drown my sorrows in a tall boy of Sapporo.

*Photo courtesy of Jimmy Palmiotti (who else?)

OH YEAH! Finally found a spot in the Indigo Ballroom where I could get Wi-Fi! It’s on!

Here’s where we stand ….winners in BOLD!

Best Publication for Kids

* Amulet, Book 1: The Stonekeeper, by Kazu Kibuishi (Scholastic Graphix)
* Cowa! by Akira Toriyama (Viz)
* Princess at Midnight, by Andi Watson (Image)
* Stinky, by Eleanor Davis (RAW Junior)
* Tiny Titans, by Art Baltazar and Franco (DC)

Best Publication for Teens/Tweens

* Coraline, by Neil Gaiman, adapted by P. Craig Russell (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
* Crogan’s Vengeance, by Chris Schweizer (Oni)
* The Good Neighbors, Book 1: Kin, by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh (Scholastic Graphix)
* Rapunzel’s Revenge, by Shannon and Dean Hale and Nathan Hale (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
* Skim, by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood Books)

Best Coloring

* Steve Hamaker, Bone: Ghost Circles, Bone: Treasure Hunters (Scholastic Graphix)
* Trish Mulvihill, Joker (DC), 100 Bullets (Vertigo/DC)
* Val Staples, Criminal, Incognito (Marvel Icon)
* Dave Stewart, Abe Sapien: The Drowning, BPRD, The Goon, Hellboy, Solomon Kane, The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse); Body Bags (Image); Captain America: White (Marvel)
* Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #19 (Acme)

Best Lettering

* Farel Dalrymple, Omega: The Unknown (Marvel)
* Jimmy Gownley, Amelia Rules! (Renaissance)
* Scott Morse, Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! (Red Window)
* Nate Powell, Swallow Me Whole (Top Shelf)
* Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #19 (Acme)

Best Digital Comic

* Bodyworld, by Dash Shaw,
www.dashshaw.com
* Finder, by Carla Speed McNeil,
www.shadowlinecomics.com/webcomics/#/finder/
* The Lady’s Murder, by Eliza Frye,
www.theladysmurder.elizafrye.com
* Speak No Evil, by Elan Trinidad,
www.theoryofeverythingcomics.com/SNE/ | Mirror Site
* Vs. by Alexis Sottile & Joe Infurnari,
www.smithmag.net/nextdoorneighbor/2008/12/08/story-18/

Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team

* Gabriel Bá, The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse)
* Mark Buckingham/Steve Leialoha, Fables (Vertigo/DC)
* Olivier Coipel/Mark Morales, Thor (Marvel)
* Guy Davis, BPRD (Dark Horse)
* Amy Reeder Hadley/Richard Friend, Madame Xanadu (Vertigo/DC)
* Jillian Tamaki, Skim (Groundwood Books)

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist

* Lynda Barry, What It Is (Drawn & Quarterly)
* Eddie Campbell, The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard (First Second)
* Enrico Casarosa, The Venice Chronicles (Ateliér Fio/AdHouse)
* Scott Morse, Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! (Red Window)
* Jill Thompson, Magic Trixie, Magic Trixie Sleeps Over (HarperCollins Children’s Books)

Spirit of retailing award winner: Tate’s Comics Ft. Lauderdale, Fl.

Best Cover Artist

* Gabriel Bá, Casanova (Image); The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse)
* Jo Chen, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity (Dark Horse); Runaways (Marvel)
* Amy Reeder Hadley, Madame Xanadu (Vertigo/DC)
* James Jean, Fables (Vertigo/DC); The Umbrella Academy (Dark Horse)
* Matt Wagner, Zorro (Dynamite); Grendel: Behold the Devil (Dark Horse)

Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism

* Comic Book Resources, produced by Jonah Weiland (www.comicbookresources.com)
* The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, Michael Dean, and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics)
* The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon and Jordan Raphael (www.comicsreporter.com)
* Comics Comics, edited by Timothy Hodler and Dan Nadel (www.comicscomicsmag.com) (PictureBox)

Best Comics-Related Book

* Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front, by Todd DePastino (Norton)
* Brush with Passion: The Art and Life of Dave Stevens, edited by Arnie and Cathy Fenner (Underwood)
* Drawing Words and Writing Pictures, by Jessica Abel and Matt Madden (First Second)
* Kirby: King of Comics, by Mark Evanier (Abrams)
* The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America, by David Hajdu (Picador/Farrar, Straus & Giroux)

Best Publication Design

* Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*! designed by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon)
* Comic Book Tattoo, designed by Tom Muller, art direction by Rantz Hoseley (Image)
* Hellboy Library Editions, designed by Cary Grazzini and Mike Mignola (Dark Horse)
* What It Is, designed by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)
* Willie and Joe, designed by Jacob Covey (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips

* The Complete Little Orphan Annie, by Harold Gray (IDW)
* Explainers, by Jules Feiffer (Fantagraphics)
* Little Nemo in Slumberland, Many More Splendid Sundays, by Winsor McCay (Sunday Press Books)
* Scorchy Smith and the Art of Noel Sickles, (IDW)
* Willie & Joe, by Bill Mauldin (Fantagraphics)

Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books

* Breakdowns: Portrait of the Artist as a Young %@&*! by Art Spiegelman (Pantheon)
* Creepy Archives, by various (Dark Horse)
* Elektra Omnibus, by Frank Miller and Bill Sienkiewicz (Marvel)
* Good-Bye, by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn & Quarterly)
* Herbie Archives, by “Shane O’Shea” (Richard E. Hughes) and Ogden Whitney (Dark Horse)

Best Humor Publication

* Arsenic Lullaby Pulp Edition No. Zero, by Douglas Paszkiewicz (Arsenic Lullaby)
* Chumble Spuzz, by Ethan Nicolle (SLG)
* Herbie Archives, by “Shane O’Shea” (Richard E. Hughes) and Ogden Whitney (Dark Horse)
* Petey and Pussy, by John Kerschbaum (Fantagraphics)
* Wondermark: Beards of Our Forefathers, by David Malki (Dark Horse)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material

* Alan’s War, by Emmanuel Guibert (First Second)
* Gus and His Gang, by Chris Blain (First Second)
* The Last Musketeer, by Jason (Fantagraphics)
* The Rabbi’s Cat 2, by Joann Sfar (Pantheon)
* Tamara Drewe, by Posy Simmonds (Mariner/Houghton Mifflin)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material—Japan

* Cat Eyed Boy, by Kazuo Umezu (Viz)
* Dororo, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)
* Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz)
* The Quest for the Missing Girl, by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)
* Solanin, by Inio Asano (Viz)

RUSS MANNING AWARD WINNER:
Eleanor Davis!

Hall of Fame:

Harold Gray
Graham Ingels
Matt Baker
Reed Crandall
Russ Heath

Best Writer

* Joe Hill, Lock & Key (IDW)
* J. Michael Straczynski, Thor, The Twelve (Marvel)
* Mariko Tamaki, Skim (Groundwood Books)
* Matt Wagner, Zorro (Dynamite); Madame Xanadu (Vertigo/DC)
* Bill Willingham, Fables, House of Mystery (Vertigo/DC)

Best Writer/Artist

* Ricky Geary, A Treasury of XXth Century Murder: The Lindbergh Child (NBM); J. Edgar Hoover (Hill & Wang)
* Emmanuel Guibert, Alan’s War (First Second)
* Jason Lutes, Berlin (Drawn & Quarterly)
* Cyril Pedrosa, Three Shadows (First Second)
* Nate Powell, Swallow Me Whole (Top Shelf)
* Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library (Acme)

Best New Series

* Air, by. G. Willow Wilson and M. K. Perker (Vertigo/DC)
* Echo, by Terry Moore (Abstract Studio)
* Invincible Iron Man, by Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca (Marvel)
* Madame Xanadu, by Matt Wagner, Amy Reeder Hadley, and Richard Friend (Vertigo/DC)
* Unknown Soldier, by Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli (Vertigo/DC)

Best Limited Series

* Groo: Hell on Earth, by Sergio Aragonés and Mark Evanier (Dark Horse)
* Hellboy: The Crooked Man, by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben (Dark Horse)
* Locke & Key, by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez (IDW)
* Omega the Unknown, by Jonathan Lethem, Karl Rusnak, and Farel Dalrymple (Marvel)
* The Twelve, by J. Michael Straczynski and Chris Weston (Marvel)

Best Continuing Series

* All Star Superman. by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC)
* Fables, by Bill Willingham, Mark Buckingham, Steve Leialoha, Niko Henrichon, Andrew Pepoy, and Peter Gross (Vertigo/DC)
* Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz)
* Thor, by J. Michael Straczynski, Olivier Coipel, Mark Morales, and various (Marvel)
* Usagi Yojimbo, by Stan Sakai (Dark Horse)

Best Short Story

* “Actual Size” by Chris Ware, in Kramers Ergot 7 (Buenaventura Press)
* “Chechen War, Chechen Women,” by Joe Sacco, in I Live Here (Pantheon)
* “Freaks,” by Laura Park, in Superior Showcase #3 (AdHouse)
* “Glenn Ganges in ‘Pulverize,’” by Kevin Huizenga, in Ganges #2 (Fantagraphics)
* “Murder He Wrote,” by Ian Boothby, Nina Matsumoto, and Andrew Pepoy, in The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror #14 (Bongo)

Best Anthology

* An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, and True Stories, vol. 2, edited by Ivan Brunetti (Yale University Press)
* Best American Comics 2008, edited by Lynda Barry (Houghton Mifflin)
* Comic Book Tattoo: Narrative Art Inspired by the Lyrics and Music of Tori Amos, edited by Rantz Hoseley (Image)
* Kramers Ergot 7, edited by Sammy Harkham (Buenaventura Press)
* MySpace Dark Horse Presents, edited by Scott Allie and Sierra Hahn (Dark Horse)

Best Reality-Based Work

* Alan’s War, by Emmanuel Guibert (First Second)
* Blue Pills: A Positive Love Story, by Frederik Peeters (Houghton Mifflin)
* Fishtown, by Kevin Colden (IDW)
* A Treasury of XXth Century Murder: The Lindbergh Child, by Rick Geary (NBM)
* What It Is, by Lynda Barry (Drawn & Quarterly)

Best Graphic Album—Reprint

* Berlin Book 2: City of Smoke, by Jason Lutes (Drawn & Quarterly)
* Hellboy Library Edition, vols. 1 and 2, by Mike Mignola (Dark Horse)
* Sam & Max Surfin’ the Highway anniversary edition HC, by Steve Purcell (Telltale Games)
* Skyscrapers of the Midwest, by Joshua W. Cotter (AdHouse)
* The Umbrella Academy, vol. 1: Apocalypse Suite deluxe edition, by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá (Dark Horse)

Best Graphic Album—New

* Alan’s War, by Emmanuel Guibert (First Second)
* Paul Goes Fishing, by Michel Rabagliati (Drawn & Quarterly)
* Skim, by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (Groundwood Books)
* Swallow Me Whole, by Nate Powell (Top Shelf)
* Three Shadows, by Cyril Pedrosa (First Second)

That’s all she wrote…pics later!

Joe Quesada made a big announcement at his Cup o’ Joe panel, marking the return of one of the most contended characters in comics history: Marvelman. Ironically, the venerable Brit character was called Miracleman in its Alan Moore/Gary Leach incarnation because Marvel made Eclipse change the title back in the day — an act that so angered Moore that he vowed to never work for Marvel.

The character has since been in a rights battle between Todd McFarlane (who purchased Eclipse’s assets), Neil Gaiman, and the original character creator, Mick Anglo. While the Marvel announcement makes it sounds like the rights matter has been cleared up, there was amazement on the show floor that this had actually happened, the event being roughly analogous to ice cubes freezing in Satan’s back yard. Developing, but PR below:

The biggest news of Comic Con International in San Diego was revealed moments ago and jaws are still on the floor—the world-renowned super hero Marvelman is now part of the Marvel Comics family! Marvel Comics has purchased the rights to Marvelman from creator Mick Anglo and his representatives, finding a home for one of the most sought after heroes in graphic fiction!“It is an honor to work with Mick Anglo to bring his creation to a larger audience than ever before,” said Dan Buckley, CEO & Publisher, Print, Animation & Digital Media, Marvel Entertainment Inc. “Fans are in for something special as they discover just what makes Marvelman such an important character in comic book history.”

Originally created in 1954 by Mick Anglo and appearing in some of the most celebrated comic stories of all time, Marvelman is Micky Moran, a young reporter gifted with the power to save the world by simply uttering the word “kimota”!

“I did not think it would ever happen,” said Mick Anglo. “It’s a wonderful thing to see my creation finally back.”

Marvelman is back and he’s found a new home at Marvel Comics! What’s next for Mick Anglo’s legendary creation? Stay tuned to Marvel.Com (http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstories.8869) for all the news on Marvelman and this exciting new addition to the Marvel family!

And to join in the celebration, visit the Marvel Shop (http://shop.marvel.com) to purchase limited edition Marvelman t-shirts! Plus, this September, don’t miss the Marvelman by Quesada Poster exclusively at comic shops everywhere!

Wow, finally made it to the Wired Cafe where free Wi-Fi, music and Tequila cocktails prevail. Also, some of the kids from Twilight are sitting at the next table. The Wi-Fi and phone signals on the show floor and in the press room are JAMMED, Lt. Uhura, and this cafe for media is definitely a godsend. We’re not quite ready to hit the tequila though.

We never thought we’d say it, but maybe just sitting behind a booth is the way to go if you can’t be at the Wired Cafe. We made the mistake of going to Hall H after the Image panel and perhaps it was best described as Cosplay pandemonium, and long queues to get anywhere and sad files of attendees shuffling off to supposed nerdvana.

This morning we went to the Image Comics Show to support FMB and Ben Templesmith as they announced CHOKER, and it was a star-studded panel with, in addition to the always dapper Mr. Templesmith., Frank Cho, annoucning 50 Girls 50, Tyrese Gibson talking about….uh….something….and Image partners Robert kirkman and Rob Liefeld. As the panel went on, Todd McFarlane and even Jim Lee showed up. While much of the Image Show was the Tyrese Show — “I’ve never been around people who were so passionate about something,” he enthused — McFarlane, Liefeld and Kirkman took over the second half of the panel, talking about the process of creating IMAGE UNITED — a six-issue crossover featuring art by 6 of the 7 image founders and a script by Kirkman. McFarlane joked that he would do a lot of the finished inking and that an “anal” Erik Larsen would notice every line and sometimes white the extra inks out.

Lee showed up for a brief cameo of his wraparound cover for MAYHEM #2, prompting McFarlane to say that Tyrese had gotten Lee to draw more in a week for MAYHEM than he had drawn for IMAGE UNITED.

A new Image book by Ben McCool and Ben Templesmith. More promo art below.
(more…)

Twitpicced from the Hyatt last night.

BTW, welcome Special Beat Correspondent Zena Tsarfin, who has already done a bang-up job of actually seeing what went on at the con while we were busy making history, or pie something like that.

We love this quote from Lev Grossman spotted by Robot 6:

Spend any time at all at Comic-con and it’s hard not to go all Hunter Thompson. There’s just so many damn people. Nerd culture has gorged and gorged, and then bloated, then collapsed under the weight of its own flesh. The excess flesh has turned septic and begun to necrotize, and that is the stench in the air in San Diego. This isn’t nerd Woodstock, it’s nerd Altamont.

There were some folks camped out for Hall H last night on the greensward, — nothing like Camp Twilight, maybe a dozen yurts. The fellows at the front were male nerds, surly and uncomfortable. “What are you here for?” we asked.

“Hall H. Just Hall H,” we were told, crankily.

Well, nertz to YOU, too, buddy!

Adding to their slate of classic comics reprints, Dark Horse is set to publish the Archie Archives, hardcover reprints of every Archie story starting from the very beginning, starting early next year. According to Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson, the series will run indefinitely. “The first story, some readers may not recognise the style,” he told The Beat. “It evolved quite a bit after that, but even the earliest stories are fun to look at and read.”

The books will be in the hardcover, dust jacketed format used for other Dark Horse reprints such as Tarzan.

Richardson said he’s looking at reprinting other Archie characters, as well.

In addition, Dark Horse is also putting out more material from the Harvey Comics historical archives, with a Casper 60th Anniversary Special Edition, a hardcover reprinting of the very first Casper story. Dark Horse has already published several collections of Harvey characters, including Richie Rich and Hot Stuff, and more is on the way. Richardson said he’s happy to put out more material for younger readers, and this classic material has been well received by kids and collectors alike.

Via PR, Drawn & Quarterly will publish the next graphic novel by Dan Clowes, WILSON. While the move assures the book of having black diamond level production values, it does come as a bit of a surprise as Clowes had enjoyed a very long, successful publishing history with Fantagraphics. Perhaps the takeaway is that even in the world of literary graphic novels, authors are free to choose the best deal, as they should be.

Drawn & Quarterly has acquired world rights to the original graphic novel, WILSON, by award-winning cartoonist, Oscar-nominated screenwriter and NEW YORKER illustrator Daniel Clowes. WILSON is the author’s first novel not to be originally serialized in his seminal comic book series, EIGHTBALL, and his first book with D+Q.“As a long-time fan of Eightball, it is thrilling to be able to publish Dan,” said Chris Oliveros, Drawn & Quarterly Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. “WILSON is signature Clowes as the cartooning is seamless. It is funny, poignant and leaves an indelible impression on the reader. Wilson will take his place right alongside Enid Coleslaw, David Boring, and Dan Pussey.”

One of the most important cartoonists of our time, Clowes has been hailed as a “bona-fide cult hero” by THE NEW YORKER and the “country’s premier underground cartoonist” by NEWSWEEK. In WILSON, Clowes creates a thoroughly engaging, complex and fascinating portrait of the modern egoist-outspoken and oblivious to those around him, but who sincerely wants to find his place in the world. Working in a single-page gag format and drawn in a spectrum of styles, the cartoonist of GHOST WORLD, ICE HAVEN and DAVID BORING gives us his funniest and most deeply affecting novel to date. The full color graphic novel will be published in North America by D+Q in May 2010 and distributed in the U.S. by Farrar, Straus & Giroux and in Canada by Raincoast Books. International rights will be represented by Samantha Haywood of the Transatlantic Literary Agency.

Hm, well…not really sure what happened Thursday or whether Robert Pattinson was dreamy or not…our day began with a fine breakfast with Jeff Smith and FMB. Then we raced off to our only panel of the show, the Marketing Indie Comics Panel. Shannon Wheeler’s plane has been delayed, so Beaucoup Kevin took over for him. Chip Mosher and Sam Humphries filled out the panel. Much to The Beat’s surprise, the panel was standing room only. The discussion was lively and much frank advice about marketing and moxie was dispensed. The panel featured Mosher’s Three Rules, which were

Be Shameless
Be Aggressive

…and he never got around to #3, but I’m sure he’ll chime in soon.

After that, we caught up with some peeps, found a quiet spot behind a tray of gravy to charge our phone, and discovered that the Wi-Fi in the hall is completely jammed, just like everything else. Our World War game is going to shit!

Then we hit a few booths for some interviews, grabbed some snacks where possible, and soaked it all in. Highlight of the day, as usual, was catching up with animation legend Floyd Norman, whose wisdom on all things is boundless. Norman mentioned that the worst thing in the world is working with a wimpy director. “I’d rather work with a tyrant who knows what they want. When a director isn’t in charge, it’s a disaster.”

A couple of people today suggested that the crowd looked dispirited. Nikki Finke’s blog suggests that buzz is down, and it’s definitely true that the big Studio City booths are less spectacular this year — no giant Disney pirate ship or Owlship or Spirit blasting snow this year. The SciFi’s shiny thing is gone (we heard it was structurally unstable) and has been replaced by a very authentic SyFy Cafe out on Fifth Street which we hope to check out later.

Has the air gone out of the hall? We know our 6 pm walk from the IDW booth to Hall G was the smoothest yet…the Twilighters leaving the hall seems to have taken a lot of the crowd with it. And that’s not so bad. It’s a lot more fun when everything isn’t ruled by crowd control.

The evening progressed to the Circle of Confusion/IDW party, followed by an evening at the Hyatt where the people who create your fantasies were milling about. We spotted everyone from Stan Lee to Jill Thompson to the Hurricane, and everyone in between. At one point we wondered if there was another spot on Earth where you could see so many cool people in one spot. The answer may well be “no” and that is why Comic-Con is still the bomb.

BTW, the job that the folks running the San Diego Comic-Con have done of keeping 125,000 people moving and fed and safe is nothing short of incredible. We have had some run-ins with security that were unpleasant and unnecessary, but that an event of this size DOES run so smoothly is amazing and a testament to the amount of planning that goes into it.

Paste Pot Pete by Colleen Coover

[Special to The Beat by Mark Coale]

As I told a number of people, I stopped coming to SD in 2003 because it had gotten too big. And after one day, I’m glad I’m leaving tomorrow.

Exhausted is just the word that came out of most people’s mouths. And those were from people with booths, who presumably weren’t constantly on the go the entire day.

I love how staffed the show is now, but it seems a smidge too draconian. You couldn’t go more than 10 feet without a Con volunteer or red-shirted security person making sure you only went out the exits and kept lines from turning into quagmires.

Man, the lines. Even the short ones were long. Long lines upstairs to get into panels. Long lines downstairs to get free nick-nacks or books signed, be it comics pro or C-list celebrity. Lines at the ATM, lines at the food court. And then there’s the rumored two-mile line for the Twilighters.

Let it be said I can’t recall a bad incident today with a Twilighter. Maybe they all did leave after the panel and never even set foot in the hall.

I vented in an email to a few people last night about Preview Night and won’t repeat them all here but just wanted to say that “real weapons” are banned from the convention center (although I saw an Elektra apparently brandishing sais), the “fake ones” that are oversized could be just as much of a hazard.Costumers, please leave your giant novelty Manga Swords or Death Scythes at home next year.

On the plus side, it was great catching up with people probably not seen since the last time I was in SD. Had some wacky conversations about goofy 1960s villains a couple times today. Got a couple books to peruse. But still missed many people I knew were in the hall and never saw once. Hopefully, they’ll be at one of the more intimate shows like Baltimore or Charlotte soon.

And now, a vacation from this vacation.

In the immortal words of Kimbo Slice, “I’m done Gus.”

A special report by Zena Metal

Day One of San Diego Comic-Con 2009 has come and gone, and though my heart feels a little bit heavier for not being a part of it, I’ve resigned myself to playing armchair critic in addition to my role as The Beat’s second-string reporter this weekend.

Just think of me as a pop-culture Watcher: I observe and compile knowledge, but I can’t actually cause any of the fun trouble I’ve been known to evoke in past years. Below are some dispatches from the Con that made me feel a little warm inside.

- Not surprisingly, Comic-Con is trending highly on Twitter. If you want to personalize your own well-rounded SDCC-related feed, I suggest you follow these fine folks: Comic News Insider’s Jimmy Aquino, the ever-witty Ben McCool, mistress of Adult Swim Liz Mackie, Geeks of Doom, and Entertainment Weekly’s well-scrubbed Michael Ausiello.

- Here are some giant display movie posters for the JONAH HEX film, featuring Josh Brolin and Megan Fox.

- Star Trek cologne. Really? I never even knew the stuff existed, but apparently Khan got his own exclusive scent this week. It’s called (what else?) “Khaaann!”

-  An exclusive 25-minute trailer of James Cameron’s AVATAR seems to have made quite a good impression; there’s been a lot of chatter from attendees thrilled to see him collaborating with Sigourney Weaver again.

- Johnny Depp crashed Tim Burton’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND panel. I wonder if anyone asked him about his next role as principle in the Carol Channing biopic. Here’s a wrap-up with photos.

- Adult Swim creators recount their most awkward Comic-Con moments.

- John Lithgow will guest star in season four of Dexter, portraying the Trinity Killer, widely heralded as “the most dangerous serial killer ever.” Lithgow is perfect for the part; seriously, the dude has creeped me out ever since that one Twilight Zone episode with the doll. Eek! For more on the Dexter panel, check out EW’s coverage.

- Big ups to Twilight’s Kristen Stewart for rocking what looks like a Minor Threat T-shirt. I must say, even at twice her age, the real Joan Jett is still foxier.

-  Nathan Fillion is threatening to “whip Comic-Con into a frenzy” if he gets 100,000 followers on Twitter by Saturday. We get the feeling he’ll try either way.

- Someone can easily win my love by picking up this Voltron exclusive for me. Truly, this sexy black Designer vinyl is one of the quickest ways to my heart. Incidentally, this is the primary-colored metal god’s 25th anniversary.

- Seems that overcrowding is already an issue, as this quote of the day exemplifies: “Comic-Con is so packed, one bonehead thought it wise to yell ‘I have diarrhea! I have diarrhea!’ to try and part the crowd. It didn’t work.” - EW Pop Watch via Twitter

And it was just Day One…

P.S.: Photo courtesy of Parka Blogs.

Ted Adams’ all-star line-up gained a heavy hitter with the official announcement of Bob Schreck joining IDW as senior editor:

Newsarama: Bob, how did this position with IDW come about? Bob Schreck: Soon after I became available on the market again, that is “laid off,” IDW and several other interested parties reached out to me to see if I might be interested in joining their teams.

From the start IDW was the frontrunner and seemed a perfect fit for my next journey in the comic book publishing field. I am very happy and very exited to get started in October.

NRAMA: What drew you towards working with the company?

SCHRECK: So many good reasons. First, Ted Adams. I’ve known Ted for years – back when he was working with Dean Mullaney at Eclipse Comics, then soon after he and I worked together doing the marketing of Dark Horse Comics in the early 90s, and I’ve kept my eye on his publishing journey ever since. He’s a very sharp fellow with a keen eye for quality and has a solid understanding of business.

That said, the second reason is obvious… IDW is on fire! Who wouldn’t want to be a part of a company that is so on the move and so in tune to today’s comics’ readers and pop culture? They choose their projects carefully and haven’t lost their identity as a publisher, which is no easy task when trying to appeal to as broad an audience as possible. I feel like the sky’s the limit there creatively speaking and that I will be able to achieve some very interesting and exciting results.

From our hotel window, we can see that Camp Twilight has folded its tents and moved inside, after a grueling night spent sleeping on concrete and swatting giant cockroaches with shoes. Seriously, boys, could YOU handle spending a night outside fighting bugs and rats just to meet Kevin Smith?

Hope the panel is as good as they all hoped.

Also, someone, please link to the blogs of the campers…those are what we’re dying to read!

Technorati Tags: Twilight

Our report for PW Daily on Day 0 is up here, with some notes on the ICv2 conference.

The big news, via PR, is that there will be more BONE material on the way from Scholastic, written by creator Jeff Smith and Tom Sniegoski and drawn by Smith.

Elsewhere, it was announced that Jeff Smith will continue to create and publish new stories for Bone, his immensely popular epic fantasy adventure graphic novel series, for Scholastic. He’ll collaborate with writer Tom Sniegoski on Bone: Tall Tales, coming next summer. Next comes expansion of the Bone world—the Quest for the Spark Trilogy. Overseen by Smith, the trilogy will be written by Sniegoski and illustrated by Smith. The first book in the trilogy will be out in Fall 2010 and represents the first time Smith has continued Bone’s adventures beyond the original series. Scholastic has sold more than 4 million copies of the Bone series.

Reprinted material will include such things as the never-before-reprinted Bone story from Disney Adventures.

We managed to catch up with Smith this morning and he confirmed that the first volume of the trilogy will include Smiley Bone and Bartleby in a series of “Bone Scout” stories, with a trio of young scouts telling tale tales (in the grand comics tradition of the Junior Woodchucks.) More will be told at this afternoon’s Jeff Smith/Terry Moore panel.

iGoogle has just unleashed a huge slate of Comics Themes for users’ home pages. Themes include Vertigo, Zuda, Daniel Clowes, Mutts, Jaime Hernandez, Renee French, Jeffrey Brown, Rumiko Takahashi, Children of the Sea and more. In honor of the day, Jim Lee has the artwork on the Google homepage, which, as he twittered, “It will be the single most viewed image I have ever drawn!200 million hits+.”

Check out the page there are LOTS more cartoonists involved, from every stream of the industry.

Just in time for Comic-Con!

Today at Comic-Con International, Iconology Inc. announced the launch of its Comics by comiXology App on the App Store. The Comics by comiXology App is a digital comic store, library and reader for iPhone and iPod touch that is launching with over 100 titles available from twenty popular comic publishers and many independent comic writers.“The stunning display and innovative multi-touch user interface of iPhone and iPod touch have finally made comics appealing in a digital format,” said David Steinberger, CEO of Iconology, Inc. “By combining great comics with iPhone OS 3.0’s In-App Purchasing and location awareness features we are creating a revolution in the way comics are sold and read which could only happen with iPhone and iPod touch.”

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Former Radical Comics EIC Dave Elliott is suing the comics publisher/movie company, claiming a litany of breaches:

David Elliott has filed a lawsuit against Blatant (which also owns the film arm Radical Pictures) and shareholders Barry Levine, Jesse Berger and Matthew Berger in California Superior Court. Elliott says he’s the co-founder, co-publisher, and former editor-in-chief of the company and its various publishing efforts, and that it terminated him in April. Elliott alleges that Blatant hasn’t given him his full salary, failed to properly credit him on several projects including Hercules and Aladdin, and is exploiting properties without consideration where Elliott owns a portion of the copyrights.

THR has a copy of the complaint, and the most interesting thing is this:

“Blatant’s management failed to have any of its employees sign work-for-hire agreements and/or assignments of copyrights, thereby clouding title to all of Blatant’s projects, and making it impossible for Blatant to provide proper chain of title documents and guarantees to investors, production companies, studios, and insurers, to the detriment of its shareholders.”

If true, this would come as quite a shock to the many players around town who have signed various sorts of deals with Radical. Talk about a ready made topic for cocktail party chatter!

Speaking of Radical, they have a huge booth on the floor and are the latest company to sport oversized giveaway bags.

Beat Action HQ is The new Bayfront Hilton this year, a hotel that it is impossible to gain ingress or egress to unless you are “IN THE KNOW.” Seriously, we’d heard some people telling us it was hard to find the entrance, but we didn’t expect to have to wander around for two minutes before we could find a way to get out. That said, it’s a gawgeous location, right next to the Twilight Tent City and with a charming faux-salt marsh to bury bodies in. Plus Crabtree & Evelyn toiletries!

Did we mention the Twilight tent city? Some 2000 Twilight fans — overwhelmingly female — are literally camped out next to Hall H. They are spread out on blankets, sitting in bathrobes in tents, talking, communing. Some mothers and fathers are also present, as well as a few loner male Twilight fans. It’s pretty fucking amazing and anyone who says these people don’t belong are idiots. This is fandom as powerful and focused as anything. You haters just don’t understand!

Interestingly, a few folks suggested that IRON MAN 2 was the biggest thing at the con — and in terms of superhero movies which are in short supply, that may be true. But everything is dwarfed by TWILIGHT and luckily tomorrow at 1 it will all be over!

We spent the day at the ICv2 conference after a nice breakfast at Cafe 222 with FMB and Mark Coale, our able assistant and official Lost blogger. After that it was off to the ICv2 Comics and Media conference…although there were great soundbites from all the participants, the main takeaway seemed to be the usual: a good comic makes a good movie, and as long as the ideas are flowing, Hollywood will keep a courtin’. Or as Jeff Katz put it “They need us more than we need them.”

The line for badges was long but moved swiftly. Actually getting a badge was as easy as swiping a UPC code. After that, we experienced about 20 minutes of con floor scrum…people were lined up like crazy for any kind of giveaway and as much as we admired the oversized Harry Potter bags from the WB booth, it wasn’t worth the agony. We spotted a few old pals and talked to James Owen about how he had gotten the rights back to his Imaginarium Geographica fantasy series after it had languished in an option. He feels he’ll be in a way stronger position now that even more books are out and all have had strong sales.

Elsewhere the DC and Dark Horse booths were mobbed. We spotted Tyrese Gibson at the Image booth, where he was enthusiastically signing and hyping.

Other takeaways? Lots of conversations with friends engaged in new ventures, new ideas. There’s a real feeling, in the larger universe, that the old model is changing forever, and the smart people are surfing the waves of change. Looking around, it’s hard not to think that comics will be at the very center of the wave.

UPDATE 1:30 am….just toured Camp Twilight…wow…all those girls, sleeping on concrete with only a blanket beneath them. Huddled masses in sleeping bags. Gotta read these TWILIGHT books someday.

Some pictures below the fold
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Only a little time to check in here, so no time to go to a news roundup. Last night was a peaceful one, as folks straggled into town. But cabdrivers are dreading the oncoming crush. Much talk about the future of the con, as you can imagine.

We’re off to the ICv2 conference for the afternoon but will have some reports from the conference later on.

ALSO, if you see me and I don’t shake your hand, please don’t think I’m rude — I seem to have developed a bone bruise from over-shaking already and fist bumps are the way of the future.

As we walk around and read our email and check Twitter tag #sdcc, maybe it’s just because of the explosion of the social networking, but this year, like no other, it seems comics have been left sitting by the side of the road waiting to get a ride to the big show. Of course it isn’t true — everyone we know in comics has been slaving away for a month to get ready, tons of books are debuting, there are tons of announcements in the works, and tons of programming — but the movie/TV/entertainment media has really taken over the popular imagination. We’re probably a bit too jet-lagged right now to put this all down in any coherent way but it’s the only time, we’ll have so here goes.

We’ve been suggesting for a few years — ever since we started getting the press releases that the entire SD press corp gets — that comics companies have their own press conferences and media availabilities. Having seen the list, and naming no names, we can guarantee that there are many cartoonists that would make for better copy and would be more popular than some of the dubious “nerdlebrities” who are being offered up every hour on the hour.

This year, exactly one comics company has done this — Radical. Their media event includes not only comics personnel like Steve Niles, Jim Steranko, and Jimmy Palmiotti, but their Hollywood contingent, like Gene and Nick Simmons and director Sam Sarkar.

Say what you will about Radical’s comics output and business plan, but this seems like they’re trying to keep up with the Joneses and Jacksonses. Maybe more comics companies don’t do it because they’re afraid no one would show up, or other, better reasons, but we’re guessing this will eventually become much more common.

From the other side, many con vets are just wondering when the Hollywood contingent of San Diego Comic-Con is going to do an “E3″ and try to scale back. Our own concept of one possible course is that in a few years, Hollywood is going to wake up and wonder why they are spending so much money on giving fans tchatchkes and try to scale down to a press-only event, just like E3 tried to do. However, everyone hated it and eventually the video game conference came back bigger and louder than ever. If SDCC’s space issue doesn’t resolve itself, maybe the con WILL go to Vegas..or part of it, anyway.

Or maybe EVERYONE loves Nerd Prom too much. You can see a little of the future of the con unfolding in this piece from Variety on how going to the Con has gone from being a dreaded task to a much-loved perk for Hollywood stars. According to the piece, it was Angelina Jolie’s appearance to tout TOMB RAIDER 2 in 2002 that really touched off Starapalooza:

In the years since, “They all want to go,” says one studio marketing exec. “Any actor who is fighting against going to Comic-Con doesn’t have any friends who have been down there. They have no idea how great it is.”Genre consultant Jeff Walker, who has bridged the gap between the convention and Hollywood for decades, says it’s always an “eye-opening” experience for first-time attendees (this year’s debutantes include Tim Burton, Robert Zemeckis and revered Asian filmmakers Park Chan-wook and Hayao Miyazaki, with rumors swirling about possible appearances by Jim Carrey and Denzel Washington). “Very few have come away saying, ‘That’s the worst experience I’ve ever had,’” Walker insists.

Now, stars have to be actively dissuaded from coming to the show if they have nothing to promote. And the unthinkable can happen, even in Hall H:

Regardless of the star caliber in attendance, Comic-Con crowds expect to see footage or other assets, and when that material isn’t ready in time, it can potentially damage a film’s reception. And as one veteran publicist notes, “If you can’t ‘eventize’ your panel, why allow the talent to come down anyway? (Dwayne Johnson’s) panel for ‘Witch Mountain’ was half empty last year.”

While the Hollywood Factor seems more unavoidable than ever this year, let’s not forget that it’s Comics’ own “Big Tent” that someone makes this possible. No matter what happened, there is still some core of comics that shines through, like the phoenix feather in the core of Harry Potter’s magic wand. Seth Green of Buffy and Robot Chicken has a nice piece on this in the EW Comic-Con issue:

Over the years, the craziest thing I’ve experienced has been my transition from attendee to professional. My friends and I used to wait in long lines to sit in a huge room full of equally stoked fans just to catch a fleeting glimpse of the next big flick, or hear Eastman and Laird explain how the Ninja Turtles aren’t selling out by saying “cowabunga.” Now I’m a part of those panels, explaining to a room of our supportive fans how we’re the same as them and we’re making stuff we love.

You could do worse.

§ One of several posts we’ve seen Twittered purporting to be First Images from Comic Con 09 Floor!!

§ The authors urged us to blog this post from the SF Weekly on 10 Must See Panels at Comic-Con 2009 and we’ll oblige because several of them are actually about comics!

Some things you really should read!

§ The A.V. Club tackles 21 artists who changed mainstream comics (for better or worse) , and posting this before SDCC means there will always be something to talk about at cocktail parties. Seriously, it’s great to see Carl Barks on the list–Barks and the funny comics tradition in general have been slipping down the charts in recent years. (It’s obvious that Barks and other Disney comics had a huge influence on Robert Crumb, for one.) Some of the other choices are odd or debatable, but that’s what lists are for, right?

§ From Geekations, a useful list of cheap food around the San Diego Convention Center.

§ Another list! Another debate! Complex presents The 40 Most Violent Comics Ever…Devil Dinosaur? If you say so…

§ Phil Yeh is relaunching Uncle Jam and other things.

§ Scott McCloud reviews ASTERIOS POLYP and puts it in a whole new light. Honest.

§ Paola Loriggio at the Toronto Star investigates Supergirl’s new (under)clothes in a well-written wide-ranging piece, even though we weren’t quoted. But see also Chris Butcher’s unedited comments. Maybe we’ll run ours someday.

Been on the ground for a while, following a flight that was jammed with Comic-Con personnel…many of them unknown to me, and working for street teams and book publishers and so on. Well, even The Beat can’t keep track of 125,000 people. By pure chance, our row on the plane included the charming John Nee, so good times were had. Currently bunkered at the hotel, eating some sushi from Ralphs, so for everyone keeping score, the meal count is at 0.

Took a little wander around and things are very quiet–on the streets anyway. Plenty of sushi and pasta salad at Ralphs! It is worth noting that when we stopped for a reviving mocha blast at a coffee kiosk the young lad there asked if we were shopping or what, and when we replied we were in town for Comic-Con, he got very enthusiastic. It seemed that a friend of a friend had promised to “hook him up” with tickets, but never came through, so now he was going for just two days, but was volunteering to get the full experience. “It should be a lot of fun!” he said. So at least, in one incredibly unscientific poll, one local likes the show!

We did have a Thomas Wolfe moment that has nothing to do with comics but much to do with our own con history. We went off to Horton Plaza for a few forgotten staples, but to be honest, we forgot them just so we could go to Long’s Pharmacy. We’ve been going there as long as we’ve been going to the con, and have seen it go from an old timey pseudo Schwab’s complete with a soda fountain, to a still kinda weird drug store of the kind we call “Old Californian Lady Stores” because they have huge cosmetics sections with all kinds of strange elixirs in never heard of brands, and hair dye for the rockers and jewelry and everything else. Rexall Square across from the Beverly Center is (or was last time we checked) still this kind of drug store, but they are, on our experience, only found in Cali, and nowhere else…it’s something to do with looking good in the blazing sunlight, we guess.

Anyway, it looks like Long’s has been purchased by some other consortium or is undergoing a radical makeover…all the shelves bare or being rearranged and the make-up section is no different than what we’d find at a Duane Reade. Sniff…you can’t go home again…or go away, either, it seems.

JetBlue’s direct flights to San Diego are popular amongst the comics crowd headed to con and we’re on the 9:40 am. Unfortunately, it’s delayed, and we’re stuck at the gate while they put in a new onboard computer. HOWEVER, the Wi-Fi from the terminal reaches all the way out here! For the first time ever, live blogging FROM A PLANE STUCK AT A GATE! The internet is getting more exciting every second.

Sadly, there isn’t that much to blog about when you’re stuck on a plane. Taking a caffeine nap in a bit.