Comic Con Friday Summary

13 JULY 2012


Happy Friday the 13th, all.  I know there are a trillion parties going on tonight so hopefully you're not too tired.

I didn't do Hall H, so this is hearsay - but people seem satisfied with Game of Thrones, Paranorman and Walking Dead. (See WD Season 3 trailer here.) WD promises to keep up the accelerated pace, and with the Governor and the prison jumping into the mix, it sounds like a good season.

As for GOT, apparently everyone knew but me that Diana Rigg is going to be the Queen of Thorns. Emma Peel is an excellent casting choice. This seems like it was a great panel; there was no new footage but if you went, you got to see a brunette Emilia Clarke (Dany) and Hodor was in the audience. (Which I have trouble picturing - Hall H chairs aren't that big.)

The OZ trailer?  Reactions were mixed. Maybe it's James Franco, maybe it's me, but I'm not seeing success in this movie's future. Unless someone does a mashup between these flying monkeys and the Planet of the Apes, because that would be box office gold.



Comic news: Gaiman is doing a Sandman prequel. While many fans grovel at his altar, others (including me) think his recent work hasn't been quite as mesmerizing. But I think we're all hoping this brings back the old Sandman magic.

My cosplay impressions: I'm not especially interested in cosplay but even I have been impressed with the effort and talent demonstrated this year. There are some really flawless and unusual costumes walking around.

The Walking Dead does yet another killer photo op with Michonne and her pet zombies. This is the photo you want taken of yourself to make all your friends at home jealous.

Apparently the Firefly reunion was very emotional and made people cry. The Community panel was also a huge success, with a compilation of old and new footage. I'm actually hearing more about those panels than Hall H.

I thought people would be talking a lot about the Twilight fan death, but that was yesterday's controversy; everyone has moved onto how Tosh (or his people, really) is desperately removing all rape references from his Comic Con "Brickleberry" footage after being lambasted all over the Internet for an offensive rape joke.

And just like DC's New 52 was last year's comic book conversation, the hot topic this year seems to be digital distribution. iVerse Media is launching Comics Accelerator, a crowdfunding site to help get more digital work out; Archaia is teaming up with Comixology to launch digital graphic novels; other publishers and vendors announced similar plans.

Other graphic novel wisdom was dropped at the Graphic Novel panel with Kate Beaton, Alison Bechdel (who's starting to look like Rachel Maddow), Brecht Evans and Jason Shiga: namely the business and cultural transition of comics into literature, including publishing, distribution and academic changes.

Speaking of comic books, I've been told by someone who should know that Kevin Smith's Comic Book Men panel is indeed happening tomorrow night at 10:00 in Hall H. This is in addition to his earlier panel that evening.

Lastly, if you're having trouble charging your devices in the convention center, it's not just you. Those hallway lounges in the North Tower at the Marriott are a good place to collapse for a while and charge your phone, tablet and so on. Don't bother waiting around an outlet at the convention center for an hour if you're not getting results.


Oh, and apparently newbies don't know about bag check; you don't have to lug your bags of books and toys everywhere you go in the convention center. Bag check is in the lobby near A and E and costs just $2 - a low price to roam around free and unencumbered.

And finally - if you're at Comic Con mainly out of movie/TV fandom (and there's nothing wrong with that) and you don't read comics at all, take a stroll over to the comic aisles at some point and browse around Drawn and Quarterly or Fantagraphics. You might find something you like. I think a lot of people who don't read comic books would be shocked to realize the talent and variety that is out there, and there's no better place to discover something than the Con. And hey, you'll have something to read while you're in line.

2 comments:

  1. Ballroom 20 was the place to be today. Community was hilarious enough to make me want to start watching, Firefly was not to be missed, with the laughing and the crying. Bones was so-so compared to other years, but still funny. Got into Falling Skies, with Will Wheaton moderating - he is always snarky. Cast and footage was great. Fun day!

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    1. Yeah, I thought Hall H was going to be the star attraction today, but it sounds like Ballroom 20 affected people much more. I know it will be hopping with tomorrow's lineup.

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