San Diego Comic Con Starts Today

Actually, today is Preview Day, but as Comic Con has grown to attract crowds of 100K+, Preview Night is often the best night. It's reserved for industry "insiders" or at least those who have a badge that says they are. You can actually move around on the floor, see people and stuff, and it's not yet so manic, but energy levels start ramping up.

Tomorrow, the true unveiling of Comic Con happens, as the doors open to the adoring nerd public. I'm not sure anymore what year the tide turned, and Comic Con went from being a real geek fest, mostly just a place that facilitated the interaction between comic creators and those who love their work. And a few miscellaneous others.

It was probably about 5 years ago, when the city remodeled the convention center floor (AGAIN) that the population size grew substantially and shifted. Around that time (or because of it?) Hollywood realized that if they could get supports from the geeks - especially those who are connected to legions of other geeks/nerds/dweebs - for their current project, they could turn over a hefty profit. And bringing in more Hollywood naturally brings in more fans and more media attention. And the cycle has continued so that Comic Con is one of the most covered events of the year.

For 2010, 4-day passes sold out in October. October. That is crazy. I believe individual day passes sold out soon after. Hotels - which the SD Gaslamp is sorely short on - typically sell out early in the year. I think this year it was around February. But you know what? Despite all that, it's still fun. Maybe it's out of habit more than anything else, but Comic Con serves as a "family reunion" of sorts with some of my favorite folks in the world. We get to talk about art, comics, movies, super heroes, costumes, and celebrity sightings. And we get to do it while working a booth, over drinks, in the hotel bars, at Masquerade, during a Zombie parade, or mingling with the other geeks as well as the SD locals.

So, I am a ginormously sad panda this weekend to be missing it. With Twiter and Facebook I am able to monitor the whole thing, but it's not the same. Actually, it's worse. Because I know how crazy and awesome and overwhelming it all is, and it's just not the same. Sniff.

A few images of what I'm missing this weekend.

The booth where I should be working Thursday - Sunday (mad props to the folks @ Allen Spiegel Fine Arts. miss you guys)




An awesome commissioned Mr. Freeze piece by my hugely talented friend, Scott Morse:



And a scene only Hollywood could create -- a huge movie banner for Scott Pilgrim "wrapping" the SD Hilton (via SuperHero Hype):

More Movie Costumes

More images coming out from upcoming Marvel movies. Just wait - the next week will be ridiculous for this kind of stuff.

This time, it is Anthony Hopkins as Odin, from Thor (via The Beat).



I know they've "re-worked" some of the costuming on this one, but I tend to agree with the other bloggers and comments that it all looks a little too plastic-y. How can the armor in 300 be so right, but this feel so wrong? (Totally disregard that these are completely different historical periods. These are not the droids you are looking for...) However, I dig the hair and the beard.

Looking for Your 2010 Comic Con Costume?

The good folks over at io9 have some suggestions for your 2010 Comic Con costume here. Remember, there are big prizes to be won at the Masquerade!

A few of my favorite suggestions include pretty much anything from Venture Bros (or Archer, though not mentioned here) (and h/t to Rich for introducing me to both).



Dressing up small children will make them much more tolerable as you hold up the packed aisles with strollers and screaming babies. I'm all for indoctrinating the young, but it's a tough scene for adults, let alone the newbs.




Finally, anything that is just ahead of the curve or right on time is always good. This year, it's gotta be costumes inspired by Kick Ass and Scott Pilgrim. If you're lucky, you might get some Walking Dead zombies (oh yeah, be on the lookout for the zombie parade through the Gaslamp!). However, this also means that anything that was over-exposed in the last year or 2 is O-U-T (Watchmen, Heath Ledger Joker, others?).



Take and post some of the best costumes you see, please! It's one of my favorite parts of Comic Con -- there are some really creative, talented geeks out there, and this is their time to shine.

Red

SuperHeroHype posted images of two new promo posters for the movie, "Red" based on the Warren Ellis comic book of the same name.





The primary characters of the story are ex-CIA agents who are now targeted by the Agency.

Now framed for assassination, they must use all of their collective cunning, experience and teamwork to stay one step ahead of their deadly pursuers and stay alive. To stop the operation, the team embarks on an impossible, cross-country mission to break into the top-secret CIA headquarters, where they will uncover one of the biggest conspiracies and cover-ups in government history.

The movie stars Helen Mirren (featured above, looking stunning!), John Malkovish (also above), Morgan Freeman, and Bruce Willis, and is anticipated in theaters ~10/15. I'm sure we will hear more about it via Comic Con next week...

Looks like I will take in late August to start getting caught up on my comic book/graphic novel reading, so I'll be adding this one to the list!

New Green Lantern Photo

There are a bunch of neat gems coming out in preparation for Comic Con (or "Nerd Prom" as Warren Ellis termed it years ago), which takes place in San Diego next week. After 14 years, I can't make it this year (*@#*$#**%$#) so I have to live vicariously through the Internets, Twitters, and random news/images I can glean.

Entertainment Weekly's Comic Con preview issue is out tomorrow with a new pic of Ryan Reynolds as Green Lantern.



I give it an "ehhhh." I don't love this picture, maybe because the suit looks a little too "human bodyish" or muscley. Also, too CGI. I hope the images from the actual movie are better.

More Tid Bits

Well, it's that kind of night, I guess. Random stuff you find on the Internet and it amuses you, and must be shared.

Another gem from the purveyors of geek over at ThinkGeek.com. Have you seen the wall graphics that are popular for the young people? I'm going to live in the delusion that they come off as easily as advertised, because it's a great idea and relatively easy/quick/cheap way to decorate a room.

Anyway, I've started seeing some cool wall graphics that could be on the walls of big kids with disposable income. I'm just sayin'...

Is it Really Summer?

Portland "summer" weather really loves to fake you out. One day it will be cold & pouring rain, and the next it is like 82F and you can't get the fans on high enough to cool off your apartment. Or so I've heard.

But, I'll try to be optimistic for a moment, and believe that the weather we have today might last us until September. And in that spirit of optimism, the fact that it is technically summer, and that there is a major BBQ holiday coming up, I present you with this:

The Death Star Watermelon!



Festive and healthy. I bet it would be great if you drilled a small hole and poured some vodka in it. Mmmmm, liquored fruit...

More Retro-Inspired Posters

It must be a theme this year, as another set of retro-inspired posters are available, this time on ThinkGeek.com (via @wilw). This time, the subject is classic video games. Awesome.

Here's my favorite:



I really am going to need more/bigger walls!

From the WTF Files

I'm starting a new series (a la Stephen Colbert, meaning whenever I have something to say and/or feel like it) here on the ol' blog.

Here is my first WTF?! entry. Are you ready?


EW.com notes that DreamWorks Animation grabbed movie rights for Troll dolls. They've also hired writers to pen the "movie script" for this dream project. I wonder what celebrities they will get to voice the trolls...


Seriously. WTF? I can pretty much guarantee right now that this movie will be a disaster. Maybe the kids will love it? Somehow I doubt it. As a pencil topper? Maybe. A whole movie? No thanks.

Jonah Hex Starts Tomorrow

I think I need something to distract me this weekend. I think Jonah Hex might be that something. I like this trailer -- gives a little more of the back story than what I've seen on TV so far. I don't think the general public will "get" Jonah Hex. That's fine with me. They should go see Toy Story 3 (No slam against TS3 - I want to see it, just not opening weekend with the little folk).



Besides Josh Brolin and John Malkovich (oh, and Megan Fox, but whatevs), I think I saw the dude from Fringe in this trailer. And maybe Will Arnett? Anyway, looks like it could be fast, action filled, and fun. That's what I'm looking for!

PS - In case you didn't know, the movie is based on a DC comic book.