If panels are a big yawn, how will that impact us?

 10 JULY 2023

So! We've seen what SDCC has to offer for the most part. I'm not going to bother summarizing Saturday and Sunday because you've seen them, you've seen the summaries, and I don't have anything to add. 

Overall, this is a humdrum year. It's definitely good for certain demographics like Star Trek fans or people who want to talk about mental health or people who prayed Chuck D or Bollywood would come to Comic-Con. 

But overall... let's not pretend this is business as usual, as I've seen some people insisting. It's also not "how it used to be," unless you're going back to the 1990s or earlier. (Wasn't around then; can't say.) This is not a rich or enthralling year, and it's okay to say that. You can love SDCC and point out when a year is less than exciting. Even the people I know who are thrilled with the programming (about 3 so far) acknowledge it's not a great year for most attendees. 

So! What's the real impact of all of this? I'll try to mix in the good with the bad:

We'll have more time to spend with our friends.

I guess this is only a win if you actually have SDCC friends. I know many of you don't, which I will address later this week. But if you do, this is the year to enjoy a long, leisurely get together.

On that note, you can actually see San Diego. 

Maybe you've always wanted to go to the famous zoo or take a ghost tour or take the ferry to Coronado Island or go surfing. You should be able to carve out a few hours to do so this year. And don't forget the museum exhibits.

The Exhibit Hall will probably be crowded.

The big rooms draw off crowds in two ways: the people who are inside the room and the people who are waiting to get inside the room. With both those radically reduced (math), I imagine more will drift toward the Exhibit Hall. Will it be capped? All I know is I will be grabbing everything I need on Preview Night. I suspect Friday and Saturday will be unbearable.

Some people will probably arrive late or leave early.

I'm probably going to jet out on Saturday night; I know of other people who cancelled their PTO request and will only come for the weekend. (Remember - you can't get your hotel deposit back but you can cancel the other nights.) This could provide some breathing room but it will also impact the city in terms of lower revenue than normal.

People may cancel altogether.

I don't know anyone who has but I'm hearing about it. This I can't really understand - it's still Comic-Con! There's still a lot to do!

Maybe the 2024 badge sale will be slightly easier.

I don't know about this one. I think most of us understand this lethargic year is tied to temporary factors and next year could look quite different. I'm sure the badge sale will be quite competitive. But if we are trending down year over year, yes, eventually it will be slightly easier to get a badge.

Tough times for sure. I hope you're still excited; I hope you dig into the entire sphere of SDCC and find something to covet and crave. I really do think that once we're there, we'll feel differently.

Maybe.

A few words on panels and programming for SDCC first-timers

3 JULY 2019

These are exciting days if you have a badge for San Diego Comic-Con - especially if it's your first time. However, the next four days are going to be extra exciting because they're 2 weeks before actual SDCC - and that's when SDCC has historically published their programming.

If you're a first-timer, or you're used to other Cons/events, I think you'll be taken aback when you see how many options there are. So, assuming you're a complete noob, here are a few words of advice.

There is far, far more programming than has been announced already - so you do want to check the official schedule.
You know this, right? But I have met first-timers before who didn't; they genuinely thought Hall H was pretty much the only line-up at the Con, which is so adorable it almost hurts. If you're that new to Comic-Con, you should know that most media coverage is Hollywood-centric and ignores the other, less glamorous, 90% of SDCC: the comic book nerds, the hardcore collectors, the MTG fanatics, the backyard astronomers and robotics geeks, the anime fans and aspiring artists and game designers - and all the panels that cater to us.

So please don't think that the mainstream SDCC river streaming through social media is the whole story. It doesn't scratch the surface. Check out the programming because it's highly likely you'll spot something that caters to your specific fandoms or niche interests.


Document everything that catches your eye - even if they conflict. 
CCI offers an app for this, but you can also create your own spreadsheet, phone list, etc. If you're working with a group to split up line waits and nab Exhibit Hall items on Preview Night, you'll especially want some kind of coordinated reference point.

I know this may sound tedious, but once you're there in the thick of the lights and thunder and roaming Wookies, it'll be difficult to remember all your panel choices, times and locations. And because some panels will be too crowded to get into, or you'll realize your 1st choice panel eliminates two others and happy hour with your friends, you'll want to keep track of your 2nd and 3rd choices as well.


Attack SDCC as a team.
Attendees are a lot like spotted hyenas. We may not be the most charismatic megafauna, but we're bold and smart and we team up to get what we want.  Like scavengers we feast on other's leftover swag; we can go for long distances without getting tired. We target both the Hall H wildebeest and the obscure Exhibit Hall booth lizard.

And we take down our prey in packs, because it brings us richer spoils. Have someone save your spot in the Ballroom 20 line while you go pick up tickets to a Horton Grand screening. Make deals and trades, be generous and helpful. There are so many panels and tournaments and waits running concurrently that it's very hard to do it all alone.


Factor in travel time and line waits when you plan your schedule.
As a first-timer, you probably have no idea when to get in line for the Batwoman pilot or how far room 28DE is from room 7 or what a fulfillment room even is for that matter. You won't know how long it takes to go get a late breakfast at Broken Yolk and come back to the convention center. So for now, just assume that you won't be able to hop between back-to-back panels except in rare cases - that you'll need to build in some padding between events. The convention center is easy to navigate, but it will be crowded and some stairways/escalators/halls can be blocked for mysterious staff reasons.

Just something to keep in mind as you ponder lines and your choices.

 

Finally, don't write off panels as a whole because you think they're boring.
For one, they're a chance to put your feet up and escape the frenzy and fever of SDCC for an hour.  For another, they're a great way to expand your nerd universe and discover new comic books, TV shows, upcoming game releases and such. And panels aren't necessarily dry - many are interactive or instructive and some get quite boisterous. Just putting that out there, in case you assume the only worthy panels are in Ballroom 20, Indigo Ballroom or Hall H.


We'll see what tomorrow brings. Have a fun 4th of July Eve.

It's Programming Eve. Be excited.

6 JULY 2016

Something adorable happened today; I prodded 2 first-timers to see if they were hyped for the announcement of SDCC Wednesday & Thursday programming tomorrow. (Tomorrow through Sunday, each corresponding Comic-Con day's panel schedule will be announced on the site.) And they surprised me by saying no, not really, they already knew most of the panels that were coming.

It turns out they thought that SDCC panels were just the big Hollywood ones that have been getting promoted these last few weeks. They knew of Hall H and Ballroom 20 and that became Comic-Con in their minds.

But - as the rest of you know - SDCC is so much more. While the hype focuses on big Hollywood panels, there are in fact hundreds of panels on obscure fandoms, comic books and creators, science, gaming, cosplay and much more. Pop culture history, creative workshops, explorations of geek culture, children's activities - it's a selection that blankets almost every corner of the nerd multiverse.

So here's my point. If for some reason you haven't realized how all encompassing Comic-Con programming is, and assumed it was TV/movie stuff that didn't interest you - you may be surprised at finding a few panels that cater to your most offbeat interests. Please take a good look at the list of panels published the rest of the week. Now is when you'll really be able to finalize your agenda and figure out your "good" days for doing offsites and seeing friends and those other days and nights when you'll be obsessed with penetrating your dream panel.

So what do we think of ECCC's panels?

2 MARCH 2016




Let's break this down day by day. At a glance, there are a lot of panels for creatives, a lot of feminist and progressive panels and a decent division between small and mainstream fandoms. Please note I'm only focusing on regular panels here and not the deities in the Main Hall.


Thursday

We knew comics would dominate Thursday and wow, they really will. Comic book nerds: Thursday tickets are the only ECCC tickets left and this should prove to you that they're worth getting.

The obligatory "How to Break into Comics" panels kick off the day, with other panels on marketing your comics, freelancing in comics, teaching comics, working with licensed characters, etc. And an overarching panel on the business of writing. Also, the 1st of several panels on Tumblr.

Readers get some good panels too from DC, Aspen, Space Goat, Valiant, Boom and Image.


Friday

Onto the first full day of Emerald City.

We get several sci-fi, science, speculative fiction and tech panels; not a terribly hard science day, but there's enough to satisfy.

We also have a few cosplay and fashion discussions and quite a few gaming panels.

Predictably there are more creative panels - the stress of freelancing (preach it), writing romance, writing female characters, LGBTQAI characters in all-ages media, painting, VR in storytelling and so on.

There are also fandom panels for Supernatural, Whedon, Star Trek and others, and comic panels on Dark Horse, Vertigo, The Wicked + the Divine and Rat Queens.

Discussion panels include harassment in the industry, women in horror, creating porn comics and more; and finally the evening wraps up with some stand-up nerd comedy.


Saturday 

The busiest day of the Con, there's a diverse panel selection here.

Like discussions on fandom (book, comics, movies), female characters, "engaging with problematic media" (that is such an ECCC title), spooky comics, queer comics, gay comics (not necessarily the same thing), a panel on Windows 95, becoming a "celebrigeek" and other burning issues.

Fandoms again get their due with panels on Star Trek, Sailor Moon, Star Wars and others; comic lovers have panels on IDW, Image, Dark Horse and more.

Cosplayers get several specific panels on topics like wigs, armor, gloves, LED, silicone prosthetics, as well as general advice on becoming the best cosplayer ever and maybe even making money at it.

There are a few more comedy panels and of course, the cosplay championship that night.


Sunday

The very first panel is about restoring vintage pinball and arcade games. I love nerds so much.

There's also a Doctor Who round-up, a panel for Star Wars collectors, several panels on geek parenting, more queer comics, several master classes for visual artists, a showcase of Angry Robot books and a few more panels on gaming and cosplay.

Mouse Guard, Peanuts, Marvel, Wayward, IDW and Image (again) have panels.

There are also more panels on comics/fan careers, creating characters, and an interesting-looking panel on seeking heroes with autism, blindness and other issues that go beyond standard portrayals.

There will be an open ECCC discussion where you can offer feedback to the team, the art auction, a trivia game and a panel on nerd fitness.

And... Emerald City Comicon is over.


So what do you think? Again, I didn't list the Main Hall people because I consider them their own category. And anyhow there are quite a few open slots, indicating big guest announcements we just haven't gotten yet.

But as for the panels proper, it all feels as expected. Nothing blew me away and while I'm looking forward to many of these panels, there aren't any that have me on the edge of my seat. At this point, we're getting a good idea of what a ReedPOP-driven Emerald City looks like: a lot like previous years.

Designing your Comic-Con agenda

28 JUNE 2015

We still don't know everything about Comic-Con - but we know a lot. All four days of panels have been announced, which empowers us to start thinking about how we want to spend our SDCC days and nights. Yes, a variety of last-minute parties and activities will still be announced. But in general, you can start figuring out how to strike a good balance of panel attendance, off-site events, Exhibit Hall shopping and hanging out with your friends.

I say "good" and not "perfect" because there is no such thing at Comic-Con. Too many unpredictable forces are in the mix, tugging you hither and yon. You won't be able to control a lot of the influences shaping your SDCC experience, so it's best to surrender all rigidity right now. Which brings me to my first point.

#1. Pick your top 4-5 things for the entire Con and make those a priority.

Be relaxed about everything else. Obviously it's easy to run up a list of several dozen collectibles, panels, autographs and events you want to attain. And sometimes you can pull off getting the majority of them. In general, though, it's very easy to go off course and wind up getting hardly any. A certain booth is sold out of an item and tells you to come back tomorrow morning. So now you have to choose between that and a panel you were going to line up for in the a.m. Delays and obstacles abound at SDCC. It's best to have a very small number of must-haves and move heaven and earth to get them. If you're successful, then you can attend to your second-tier objectives.

#2. After recognizing what you want, recognize what you'll have to give up to get it.

Hall H is an obvious example - you won't be sleeping in your bed Thursday night if you want to get in  Friday. And by the time you emerge on Friday night, you probably won't be in shape for any events that night. Maybe it's worth it, maybe it's not - but remember that you can see most trailers on YouTube after the panels and that Hall H & Ballroom 20 playback is an option. (This is in the Omni 4th floor ballroom.) And that sometimes you get into a big room and you're sitting so far back that you can barely see the people on stage. Many attendees come out of their first all-day Hall H or Ballroom 20 experience thinking it wasn't worth it. (And others come out saying it was a life-changing experience - so maybe there's no way to call this one ahead of time.)

#3. Know when to do the Exhibit Hall.

The Exhibit Hall is generally most manageable first thing in the morning and right before closing. If you want to do a photo op or VR experience on the floor or buy a certain item, don't wait until the middle of the afternoon - get in as soon as the doors open. Some activities hand out tickets first thing in the morning and those go immediately.

#4. Factor travel time into your panel and event plans.

That includes crossing the street - which, if you haven't heard, is an epic undertaking at times. Even just maneuvering within the convention center can take some time. By the time the crowd clears from your current room and you move through crowded halls, dodging people photographing cosplayers, wait in line for the escalator, then work your way through a different crowded floor, an amazing amount of time may have passed.

#5. Be strategic about going back to your room.

Some people think they'll be able to swing by their room at the La Quinta to drop off their bags, then come right back. Again - it's usually more of an undertaking. Traffic is intense around the convention center. Shuttles and taxis get stuck in stop-and-go crawls. Be ready for delays and generally sluggish travel times. You won't be able to flit from the Xbox Lounge to lunch to a panel in 6BCF to your room as easily and casually as you might like. Also, if you're doing a Conan show, take into account that you'll have to pick up the tickets and that the actual taping will eat up most of your afternoon.

#6. Don't necessarily count on Nerd HQ.

While you might be banking on gobbling up Nerd HQ panels to compensate for whatever you miss at SDCC, remember that those tickets are just a few hundred in number and go very fast. You can't count on getting every ticket you want. So don't necessarily write off an SDCC panel.

#7. Be aware of line surprises.

Of course the big panels will have ginormous lines. But even smaller panels can have unpredictable line dynamics. If you're orchestrating a complex line scheme with your friends, keep that in mind. Last year I knew someone who was moving from a panel ending at 1:45 to a panel starting at 2 - which he thought he could do because his friend was holding his place in line. Alas, that panel let people in early and his friend was already seated and inside when he arrived. And the remaining line was too long for him to get in.

#8. Don't overestimate the number of panels you can sit through.

Some panels are just really dull, no joke. It's better to mix panels and roaming time than sit through 5 in a row, and wind up so restless that you end up skipping the late afternoon panel that was originally your #1 choice.

#9. In fact, it's good to be generally aware that not all panels are going to deliver.

I'm going to do a separate post on how to maximize the creative panels available to you, but for now, I'll just say that some panels have great descriptions and middling execution. So don't view the practical advice panels as some kind of make-or-break career opportunity - some are great, but quite a few just give out advice that you could pick up in any online forum. Every year I see attendees treat a certain panel as their big break to become a voice actor or publish a screenplay or sell their game, and it's just not the case. That isn't to criticize the panelists, just to set realistic expectations.

#10. Sample widely.

If you've never been to a big Con before and don't know what to expect, I'd advise mixing up your first day. Try a panel or two, prowl through the Exhibit Hall, take in a gaming tournament if that's your thing, and get outside to enjoy the off-sites. Go into the Gaslamp for a meal and check out Nerd HQ. Do that and you'll understand which parts of the Con you naturally enjoy and the parts that don't work for you.

#11. Remember to build downtime into your day.

Comic-Con is like Vegas meets Mardi Gras cranked at high speed inside your brain. I'll stereotype here and say a lot of us attendees are natural introverts who need a certain amount of alone time to recharge. Being in the midst of too many humans and too many demands on our attention can turn a fun Con into an overwhelming experience. Leave yourself some breathing room to swim in your hotel pool or catch a movie/screening and isolate in the dark for a few hours. The last thing you want to do is book every hour of the day.

#12. Make time for people.

If you're super-driven, it's easy to view every person around you as some kind of impediment to the booth, toy, book or panel you want. Or you and your boon companion can stick together to the point where you block everyone else out. That's an option, but remember that you're surrounded by thousands of people who are intelligent, creative, friendly and share your interests. Take time to get to know the people in line with you. Chat up a booth vendor. Go ahead and tell a small press artist how much you admire them. The friends you make at Comic-Con will be one of the aspects you remember long after the Game of Thrones panel has faded from memory - and you'll often get invites, inside scoops and assistance you wouldn't have otherwise. 

 #13. In general, don't be too ambitious about the Con you're going to have.

It might seem at a glance that you can see all your favorite show panels while getting a photo with John Barrowman and buying up multiple Dark Horse exclusives for your friends back home - in addition to the 2-3 parties you'll swing by each night. The reality is often quite different. Set your top priorities, then relax and enjoy whatever happens. Most attendees find their plans disintegrating at some point. But sometimes the best things at Comic-Con are a complete and utter surprise - so try to enjoy the ride whatever happens.

 

Book a Fan Meeting Room now

17 JUNE 2015




How exciting - Comic-Con has grown. Not in numbers (god forbid) but in the venues and opportunities open to fans. And one of the changes helps attendees create the Con they want to be at - the introduction of Fan Meeting Rooms.

These are over at the Hyatt and you can schedule a session in one of them by emailing programs@comic-con.org. Include your first, second and third options for time and date and they'll send you an email confirmation if you get in. These could obviously be great for setting up a fan meetup or some other kind of mingle, especially if you don't see your particularly fandom represented yet in or out of the convention center. So don't wait - these will probably book up fast.

A few other changes:

• Marriott Marquis did away with some of our old stomping grounds, so a lot of external resources are at the Hyatt now. That includes the Hospitality Suite, the International Film Festival, most gaming tournaments, one of the main film tracks, and....

• The Fulfillment Room, now called Programming Premiums. First-timers, this is where you'll go to pick up the free t-shirts and other swag certain panels will bestow on you. These range from cheap trinkets to really generous merchandise packs.

• The San Diego Central Library will have 2 programming tracks - one devoted to education and literacy and one devoted to podcasts and web series.

It can't be denied that SDCC is starting to look like the alternative suggested when the expansion financing got shot down - an event that sprawls over multiple city blocks and venues. It might not be as convenient as having all programming on site, but it shouldn't be too much of a hardship either. Just be ready - as always - to do a lot of walking.

More comic books are coming to TV

27 FEBRUARY 2015

We comic book fans and our nerdly dollars have been making TV executives salivate for a while now. Obviously The Walking Dead is a comic book show juggernaut; we also have Gotham, The Strain, Agents of SHIELD, Arrow, Peggy Carter, iZombie, Constantine and others. Looking into the future, comic book TV gets even more intense. How many of these will show up at SDCC? Probably quite a few. 


Netflix has 4 Marvel-based shows focusing on Daredevil, Iron Fist, Luke Cage and Jessica Jones.

Preacher is coming to AMC, Outcast to Cinemax and of course Titans has landed at TNT. 

Powers is debuting 10 March on the PlayStation network.

The Archie universe will allegedly come to TV in Riverdale.


And in just the last few days, we've found out that:

The Flash/Arrow spinoff coming next season is going to feature Caity Lotz, Brandon Routh, Victor Garber and Wentworth Miller.

A Lucifer pilot has been ordered.

Sex Criminals is being adapted as a series for Universal TV. 

Supergirl has gotten a series commitment and firmed up casting.


It's worth noting these shows aren't always successful; does anyone even remember Witchblade? So it's a safe bet that some of the above will probably sputter into obsolescence fairly quickly.

And of course there are the shows that aren't made. For many fans, that's Sandman and Y The Last Man. Personally I'd sell my grandmother to get a intensely morbid live action adaptation of Death Note on cable and I'm leaning that way as well for the Wicked + Divine. But it's inescapable that TV executives feel safer betting on the basics: superheroes and zombies.

Regardless, SDCC's TV panels should look pretty interesting this year - and it'll make it harder for attendees to complain that it's more about Hollywood than comic books. Actually it'll be about both.

Single day badges for first-timers

19 FEBRUARY 2015




Given the stampede for Preview Night badges, it's easy to forget that some people actually don't want to go all in when it comes to SDCC. Some just want to pop in for a day or two and that's enough for them.

If that's you, and this is going to be your first year at SDCC, you might want to take a look at last year's programming for an idea of what is offered on what day. There's no guarantee that most patterns will repeat, but Comic-Con does tend to follow a basic framework.

Preview Night is your chance to explore the Exhibit Hall and try to get exclusives before all attendees are let in. (That's the theory, anyway; in reality Preview Night has gotten more crowded every year, to the point where it doesn't look much different from Thursday.) There are also a series of pilots screened upstairs in Ballroom 20. But if you don't catch them then, they're usually shown during their own panels later on.

And as far as exclusives, many vendors bring a certain number each day to ensure that people with every kind of badge have a shot - so don't think Wednesday is it for you. I'll tackle the subject of exclusives as we get closer because it's gotten incredibly complicated in recent years, with tickets and rules and multiple rooms and pre-orders. If you're a first-timer who has your heart set on getting some (once they're announced) I'd advise really doing your homework online on the best strategies. It's very easy to miss out otherwise.

Thursday, Friday and Saturday have the biggest panels, especially Saturday. I hesitate to make any solid predictions, because any of this could be swirled around, but you can usually count on Friday being animation day over in the Indigo Ballroom, and Walking Dead/Game of Thrones in Hall H. Marvel will probably colonize Hall H on Saturday. That said, I know many of you are excited over Star Wars and Marvel more than anything else. I'd imagine we'll see both having multiple panels spread over the days. But the footage and cast announcements and other stuff that people live and die for - that's usually Hall H, Friday and Saturday.

Sunday is slightly more manageable in terms of breathing room in the Exhibit Hall. Maybe everyone is hungover or just sick of the Con at that point. In any case, you can usually get good deals from vendors so it's worth making the rounds. In terms of panels, Supernatural, Sons of Anarchy and Doctor Who own Hall H - assuming Doctor Who returns to us this summer. Because Sunday is officially Kids' Day, there are a lot of panels for kids of all ages - interactive, workshops, entertainment and so on.

There's just too much for me to summarize here, so again - go hunt around last year's listings and look at your areas of interest, whether that's gaming, Hollywood panels, film festivals, etc. You'll have a better understanding of what's on the docket every day. And if it turns out you do just want a single day badge or two, as opposed to the whole enchilada, that's all the better for your budget. Plus you're opening up a 4-day badge for an attendee who really wants it.

Hollywood predictions: San Diego Comic-Con 2015

2 JANUARY 2015

If you're one of the SDCC attendees grousing about the Hollywood presence, go ahead and skip this post. You can stay pure and self-righteous over by the Mile High Comics booth, pawing through back issues. (I'm not being glib - give Mile High your support if you can.) But for those of you who are excited about all of the big blockbusters coming to theatres this year, let's speculate on what we might see at Comic-Con.

Please note: the below is pure conjecture. I'm only listing movies that come out post-Con - no Avengers, Terminator or Jurassic World here.

 
The #1 pick - Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Can't you already feel the adrenaline? The cosplay, the action figures, the panels, the revelry. The repetitive jokes about feeling a great disturbance in the Force during the next badge sale.
 
Ant-Man comes out July 17 and Crimson Peak comes out in October. These have already made SDCC appearances but I'm sure the studios will flex their promotional chops. Ditto for Hunger Games, out in November.
 
The Fantastic Four reboot hits in August. No question here.
 
Thoughtful sci-fi tale The Martian comes out in November. I'm already planning to be at this panel, so don't put it in Hall H, Fox.
 
Jem and the Holograms is out in October. Panel-worthy? No doubt. Ditto Mission Impossible 5 and Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, out in December.
 
Pan comes out July 17, just a week after the Con. This is a live action film based on Peter Pan - as you no doubt were smart enough to guess, but I assumed it was about the hoofed and horned flute-playing god when I first saw the title. So if you're as literal as I am, there's your clarity.
 
Also on the live-action front:  Jungle Book comes out in October. I'm on the fence as to whether this would show up at SDCC, but I know the world will be a better place if Christopher Walken does Comic-Con.
 
Spectre, the next James Bond flick, probably won't be at SDCC but I may stand in my first autograph line ever if the beautiful Monica Belluci shows up.
 

 
 
Similarly, Everest probably won't be there either but you can never tell. Comic-Con attendees can definitely empathize with the tale of reaching goals against incredible odds. Maybe Universal will bring it.
 
Gangster movie Black Mass and Steven Spielberg's untitled Cold War movie may also seem atypical SDCC fare, but crime/war dramas have been creeping into the panel programming more and more in recent years. I wouldn't be terribly surprised to see them.

Are you anticipating anything I didn't list?

ETA: People asked about Suicide Squad, Batman vs Superman and the Harry Potter movie, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. All of those come out in 2016, but we'll obviously see content for some of them.

Sunday Programming is up

10 JULY 2011


Sunday traditionally features a lot of panels and workshops for kids; this year has everything from a children's film festival to Disney and Nickelodean panels, teen comic discussions and YA fiction panels. Tom and Jerry and The Wizard of Oz is screened. (That's one movie, just to be clear.)

There are Jewish and Christian comic panels, and several more DC New 52 panels. There's also a Watchmen panel - no Alan Moore but you do get Dave Gibbons.

The Comic Con Independent Film Festival Awards are held.

Scott Westerfield, Jordi Bernet, Joelle Jones, Jeff Lemire, and Jim Lee all have panels. Max Brooks is at 2:00 and will probably be packed. George R.R. Martin will dispense his wisdom in a sci-fi prose panel.

Hall H has Glee, then Supernatural, then Dr. Who, then Sons of Anarchy, then Buffy the Musicial. Those are disparate audiences, but it's a safe bet that Dr. Who fans will be en force and early on so fans of all shows should get there early.

The Masquerade is replayed from 2:00 - 5:00 in room 8 if you missed it Saturday night.

And that's about it... no night events or panels on Sunday. The Con is over and everyone goes back to the real word, albeit with more credit card debt.

Read the entire listing here.

Saturday Programming is up

9 JULY 2011

Here it is.

Saturday has for us many things. Attack of the Show! is there. So is CBDLF.

Most of the writing, art and production workshops take place today, and there are several panels on getting media coverage, acing a pitch meeting and other practical pursuits.

There are also several philosophical panels, including one on immortality and a panel with Deepak Chopra and Grant Morrison - you read that right - on The Seven Spiritual Laws of Superheroes. There's another DC New 52 panel and the annual  Fables panel.

There are spotlight panels and such for Terry Moore, Jim Lee, Peter Tomaso, Yves Bigerel, Anders Nilsen, Christopher Moore, Robert Kirkman, Garth Ennis, J. Michael Straczynski, Mell Lazarus, Joss Whedon, Kevin Smith and Sherrilyn Kenyon.

Chuck, Terra Nova, Being Human, Futurama, Fringe, Community, Grimm Vampire Diaries and Family Guy are all featured. The Secret Circle, Person of Interest and Alcatraz pilots are screened again.
Knights of Badassdom is in Hall H in the afternoon.

And there is not only yet another Lost panel, but a panel on the new show Once Upon a Time that manages to name itself "Calling All Lost Fans." Are people really still this interested? Lost seems to live on across the Internet these days mainly as an argument/reference lesson on dysfunctional TV writing. I really don't think people are invested anymore.

In the evening, CBDLF has an auction at the Hilton Bayfront; the day's panels are being shown in Hall H and Ballroom 20 from 8:00 - 11:00; and of course, there's the Masquerade in Ballroom 20, with overflow simulcast viewing in rooms 5AB and 6A.

*Thanks to tip from Anonymous - there's a "mystery FX pilot screening" at 9:30 that is widely believed to be Powers.

An intense day, and a busy one for TV fans, but Friday is looking a little more covet-worthy.

Friday programming is up

8 JULY 2011



Read it here.

Friday highlights include the DC Talent Search and Jaime Hernandez's Master Session. Chester Brown, Ed Benes, Jeff Smith, Dave Finch, Alan Davis, Kim Harrison and Dave Stewart have panels.


There are also quite a few writing/production/art workshops and a lot of Star Wars panels.

There's a big ONI Press panel, a Dark Horse panel, and a DC: The New 52 panel, which should be entertainingly contentious. One panel that sounds cool is Indie Creators on Marvel's Strange Tales, where Jhonen Vasquez and Jeffrey Brown and others talk about their Marvel love.

On the nostalgic side of things, there's a panel celebrating the 60's Batman TV show, with Julie Newmar and Adam West. Dark Shadows also returns to the Con, this time blending the stars of the original show with Tim Burton's upcoming movie.

Torchwood, Underworld, The Big Bang Theory, Bones, Eureka, Falling Skies, Alphas, Warehouse 13 and Green Lantern all have panels. Oddly, so does Lost. Is it 2007?

One of most anticipated events is the Locke and Key pilot screening at 10:30 am, following by a panel with Joe Hill at 11:30. Luckily it's being shown again Friday night at 9:15 in room 6DE, meaning you can still go out Thursday night without rising at 4 am to get in line.

Or you will get up early anyhow to see the other big Friday blow-out: The Walking Dead panel. It's at 11:15 in Ballroom 20..... And following is True Blood at 5:30 in Ballroom 20, with the cast. Given that True Blood had the identical timeslot last year, and Ballroom 20 was at seating capacity by dawn, I'm pretty sure that the Walking Dead/True Blood combination line will start sometime on Monday.

Another panel that's getting buzz: the screening of new show The River, shown at 2:15 in room 6A. It's by the same people who brought us Lost and involves a "limited edition Con exclusive giveaway." Also known as a t-shirt.

At 4:00, Sony is rolling out a line-up of films in Hall H that include Ghost Rider, Total Recall, 30 Minutes or Less and of course, Spiderman. That will be hugely popular and I'd like to say it will draw off some of the Ballroom 20 crowd, but realistically, there is a fine difference there demographically.

At night there are the Eisners, Spike and Mike's Sick and Twisted festival, along with screenings of Eureka, Haven and Mercury Men, the encore Locke and Key screening, and an encore screening of Batman: Year One. In the start of a new tradition, Hall H is being turned into a "drive-in" from 6:00 - 7:00 pm with two indie horror films. And of course, the day's panels are being shown again in Ballroom 20 and Hall H from 8:00 - 11:00.


Busy day.

Thursday Programming is up

7 JULY 2011


Highlights:

Breaking Dawn gets in and then out of the way at 11:15 am. This is good news.

Grant Morrison, Stan Lee, Todd McFarlane, and the Hernandez Brothers have panels.

Game of Thrones is at 3 in Ballroom 20; Awake screens at 3:45; Beavis and Butthead is at 5; Stitched premieres that night. There seem to be more night panels than before.

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Rise of Planet of the Apes are in Hall H.

Replays: The most popular/packed panels of the day will be broadcast for everyone who missed them in Ballroom 20 and Hall H from 8:00 - 11:00. One caveat: only the actual panel will be played, not any film clips or trailers that were shown. Basically, you'll be seeing a huge and higher res version of what's on YouTube. Let's assume they're doing this all four days of the Con.

What sucks: they listed the pilot screenings for Preview Night - that would be Alcatraz, Person of Interest, The Secret Circle and Supernatural: Anime - but didn't list the times. For now, assume they are listed in order which means you'll have to choose between seeing Alcatraz and pillaging the Exhibit Hall in its freshest, most abundant state.

Read the whole thing here.