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.

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.

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.

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
(more…)

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!

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.

A few people noted that San Diego’s schedule included a Disney Press panel that included Jordan Mechner, creator of the acclaimed Prince of Persia video game series, and such comics folk as Todd McFarlane. While some might have connected the dots already, we can officially confirm that Disney will be publishing a PRINCE OF PERSIA; SANDS OF TIME graphic novel, to tie in with the film of the same name.

The 120-page book will be written by Mechner and include six interrelated prequel stories set in the world of the game/film. McFarlane provides the cover; Niko Henrichon, Bernard Chang, Cameron Stewart, David Lopez, Tommy Lee Edwards, and Tom Fowler have also signed on for the interiors. The book comes out in April from the Disney Press imprint, as part of a new initiative for graphic novels at Disney. More about all of this at the Disney panel, Friday at 11:30 in San Diego.

The PRINCE OF PERSIA: SAND OF TIMES movie comes out May 2010 and stars Jake Gyllenhaal.

Okay, quick links to people you may want to see. All kinds of exclusives and news stuff…clink links!

§ James Jean and his new Kindling book will be at the Chronicle booth.

§ Zuda Comics

§Paul Dini

§ Greg Rucka

§ Bryan Lee O’Malley

§ Colleen Coover

§ Hope Larson

§ David Malki

Mark Texiera

Brian Wood

Larry Marder 1
Larry Marder 2

Jill Thompson
Marv Wolfman

Jimmy Palmiotti

…and adding…

Archie doesn’t have a booth, but they have lots of stuff going on:

See Archie Creators at the following Panels: 
Thursday, July 23
11:30-12:30 Archie Comics: Archie Marries Veronica— It’s the wedding of the century, but that is just the start, with plenty of surprise announcements about the future of Archie Comics, including the latest news about Archie on television and in feature films! Panelists include Executive Producer of “The Dark Knight”, “Batman Begins”  and Archie writer Michael Uslan, new Archie Comics CEO Jon Goldwater, iVerse CEO Michael Murphy, IDW Publishing COO Greg Goldstein, Archie Comics president/director of circulation Fred Mausser, and Archie Comics vice president/managing editor Mike Pellerito. The panel is moderated by Archie’s public relations coordinator Rik Offenberger and features a Q&A session. An “Archie Marries Veronica” poster will be given to everyone attending the panel. Room 4
 

(more…)

IDW has released their signing schedule, below:

Wednesday
Darwyn Cooke signing, 5 – 7.30 pm
 
 
Thursday
Tony Lee (Doctor Who) signing, 11-12 noon
IDW 10th Anniversary panel, 11-12 noon, Room 10
Ben Templesmith and Chris Ryall (Groom Lake) signing, 12 noon – 1 pm
Robert Atkins signing (G.I. JOE) signing, 1 – 2 pm
Brea Grant (Heroes, Halloween 2) and Zane Grant signing, 2.30 – 3.30 pm
Darwyn Cooke (The Hunter) signing, 3.30 – 5.30 pm
 
 
(more…)

Steven Seagle writes to tell us:

Man of Action Studios, the creative collective of Joe Casey, Joe Kelly, Duncan Rouleau, and Steven T. Seagle – creators of the hit BEN 10 franchise and the upcoming GENERATOR REX both for Cartoon Network as well as countless cult comic books will return to booth 2007 at CCI. MOA will be stocked with all of the BEN 10 DVDS as well as a full selection of this year’s new Man Of Action Comics (published through Image). Series artists Marco Cinello (SOUL KISS), Max Fiumara (Four Eyes), as well as Rouleau (The Great Unknown) will be signing – check the booth for schedules. Kelly and Seagle appear Thursday at 4:30 on the panel: Workshop - Creating Creator Owned Comics The Image Comics Way (Room 7A/B). Casey will appear on the Marvel Comics : Dark Reign panel Saturday at 11:30 (Room 6A). Each Man of Action will be announcing a new series at the con and the company is actively seeking artists for a variety of new projects, so bring portfolios by for review.

Sparkplug Comic Books will be at two shows this week, the Port Zine Symposium (July 24-26)
and San Diego Comic Con (July 22-26). Info below:

We’ll be premiering 3 new books:The Shortest Interval - by David King
Sausage Hand - by Andrew Smith (published with Teenage Dinosaur)
Neptune - by Aron Nels Steinke (published with Tugboat Press)

At the Portland Zine Symposium, we’ll be offering a wide variety of self published books from around the country. Emily Nilsson will be running the table. Aron Steinke, Teenage Dinosaur and Sean Christensen will be sharing table with us and Tugboat Press

At Comic Con we are sharing booth 1531 with Tom Neely’s I Will Destroy You.

We’ll have Sparkplug books as well as books published by Tugboat Press, Teenage Dinosaur, Secret Acres, Bodega Distribution, La Mano, Partyka and other publishers. And, as usual we’ll have the self publishing flee market in full effect with work by artists like Fiona Smyth, Noah Van Sciver, Steve Ditko, Rina Ayuyang, Shaky Kane, Jason Overby, Jason T. Miles, Jesse Reklaw, Vanessa Davis, Renee French, Bobby Madness, Al Frank, Theo Elsworth and many many more.

Artists such as Julia Wertz, Austin English, Damien Jay, Minty Lewis, David King, Ben Catmull, Chris Cilla, Andrew Smith and Tim Goodyear others will be hanging out at the booth.

http://www.sparkplugcomicbooks.com/

Lots of events, swag and great artists!

This week the pop culture world converges at Comic-Con International in San Diego, and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund brings the goods with the biggest slate in the organization’s history!  The Fund is bringing you parties, education events, auctions, live art, exclusive premiums from Neil Gaiman, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and Amanda Palmer, as well as an astonishing selection of signed graphic novels, comics, prints, and original art. Read on for your insider’s guide to all of the amazing things the Fund has happening at Comic-Con!

CBLDF Master Sessions - Comics’ Greatest Artists Show You How They Make The Magic!

Get a view inside the creative process of comics’ most talented artists at the CBLDF Master Sessions. Created in collaboration with Comic-Con International, the CBLDF Master Sessions are a series of art demonstration events where top artists show you how they create masterful comics on the big screen in a large classroom style hall at the Con. Bring your sketchbooks to follow along, and your questions for the Q&A. Participants in this year’s Master Session series include: Dave Gibbons, Mike Mignola, Jeff Smith, Jim Lee, Jill Thompson, Charles Vess, Terry Moore, Camilla D’Errico, and David Mack. All art created during the CBLDF Master Sessions will be auctioned off to benefit the Fund at our Saturday night auction!  For full schedule and details, visit: http://www.cbldf.org/pr/archives/000405.shtml

(more…)

Oh yeah, baby it’s on! Angered after being left out of the WATCHMEN Director’s Cut, jumbo squid are swarming the oceans near San Diego because it’s PAYBACK TIME.

Wow, it’s not only a jumbo squid attack, it’s a HENTAI jumbo squid attack!

Known as giant flying squid, the beasts do not actually fly — but they do possess parrot-like beaks that could easily rip out a chunk of flesh, experts say.

Scientists also claim that the squid are only found in deep waters and so pose no threat to regular swimmers, but we pooh pooh these naysayers and predict that the seemingly placid waters of San Diego Bay are about to become the scene of a savage battle between humans and beasts. Humans — who normally subdue squid using a light, seasoned breading and a few slices of lemon — will this time need squads of Elite Security personnel, armed with harpoon guns.

The attacks are also reminiscent of a 2002 assault, when hundreds of dead squid washed up on San Diego beaches just before con, leading to what was described by many as “a bad smell.”

They’ll keep fighting…and they’ll win!

UPDATED to include tasty Kaluta squid art. More here.