Hello All, it is that time again! The Comic-Con schedule is slowly becoming available, at long last, for the fans/attendees of Comic-Con 2011! Last week we saw the release of the CCI-IFF schedule and this week the full program is finally seeing the light on our glowing computer screens. Now, there is a good reason to wait until the schedule is posted to speculate on “who will be attending” and “what will be hyped” this year. The BEST reason to wait until the schedule is posted online is because fewer changes are made when the THOUSANDS of attendees finally gain access to the print schedule. But, as frequent CCI attendees well know, the schedule does tend to change and SURPRISE appearances and SECRET panels, do always squeeze their way into the schedule, usually unpublished and previously unannounced!
For weeks, various news sources have been buzzing about what they think WILL and WILL NOT be at The Con. There has been a growing concern that the Studios have lost interest in The Con and that films will not be as thoroughly represented. From what I can see of the schedule now, there are still a fair number of film panels at The Con. Also, the most exciting thing about actually attending The Con is The Surprises! If everything was as clear as day, the excitement would take on a minimalistic vibe. More often than not, surprises DO occur. In fact, most panels have surprise appearances that are UNDOCUMENTED in the schedule. This especially pertains to FILM and TELEVISION panels. The easiest way to get hype for an event is to bring in a big name or slip in a secret sneak-peek.
My all-time favorite Con surprise was the appearance of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp at the “Alice in Wonderland” Panel. Also, the floating Tea Party that occurred Downtown was an exciting traveling PROP/SET exhibit that was showing off pieces of the “Alice in Wonderland” set, costumes, and props! Almost directly across from the Tea Party exhibit was the exclusive “TRON” Arcade which was only available for certain special attendees who were given a secret coin to enter during the “TRON” panel that included the members of the band DAFT PUNK who made the soundtrack for the recent film.
I just love how the city becomes part of The Con. Last year there was the “Machete” Taco Truck, the “Dexter” Crime Scene, the Adult Swim Floating Ice Cream Van, the Comic Gallery on 5th, The Cartoon Network Pizza Place, The Pirate Party on the Boat and the Carpe Diem Cafe from “Eureka ” to name just a few! Things just keep growing from year-to-year and the parties and After-Con events are becoming bigger and more extreme
Here are a few great things that the schedule has to offer so far:
Some highlights of the schedule revolve around TV Panels and the occupants of Ballroom 20. Ballroom 20 seems to be a hit for various television shows, including: “Game of Thrones,” “True Blood,” “Bones,” “Burn Notice,” “The Walking Dead,” “Psych,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Ringer,” “Covert Affairs,” and “Battlestar Galactica.” Last year, Ballroom 20 was primarily booked with television panels. In previous years the room has been more versatile.
FOX’s Animation Domination always seems to be in direct competition with the Ballroom 20 TV line-up. In a different room altogether on the other side of The CON is where shows like “The Simpsons” and “Bob’s Burgers” have their panels. One new series will be added to this line-up and they will be presenting at The Con on Thursday. It looks like “Napoleon Dynamite” is coming to FOX’s Animation Domination! The cast and creator will be at The Con to talk about the new show! It looks like the cast has remained intact from film to animated series, so we can look forward to more adventures with those familiar off-beat characters!
Ballroom 20 aside, one thing that really excited me on the Schedule was a panel set up by FOX. There will be two Screenings of the “LOCK and KEY” Pilot which was adapted from the original Comic Book Series that is published through IDW (A local, and fast-growing, giant!). This show was supposed to be out in the fall but now things have fallen through. All of you who love “Lock and Key” will be super stoked to watch the Pilot/Adaptation of “Welcome to Lovecraft.” The Con is even holding two screenings in case the time slot is inconvenient. There will also be a panel with creator and IDW execs to talk over the show and the upcoming arc for the “Lock and Key” Comic Book Series.
Another uplifting schedule point is the late-night replay panels. It seems that The Con is privy to the fact that even their BIG ROOMS cannot accommodate all the niche fans at the Con. Re-play panels will be held each night to screen bits and pieces of the most exciting panels from the current day. This is for the fans that are more active during The Con, the fans who choose to roam the halls and visit the industry booths, talk to artists, play the games, network, and attend classes on drawing, marketing, writing, portfolio overview, technique, and online publishing! This is a great feature for the eager Con-goers who are more concerned with learning how to become a great than how to watch a great!
Another thing to get amped about is the fact that Legendary Pictures will be having their FIRST EVER Comic-Con pre-production panel! I am sure that you have all seen Legendary Pictures on the floor of the Exhibit Hall at one point or another but this is their first ever preproduction presentation and they boast a big list of potential panelist (including big names like Guillermo Del Toro, Jeff Bridges, and Bradley Cooper). One thing that Gamers will be excited about is the fact that Legendary Pictures is planning to promote their film “MASS EFFECT” at The Con. If it is listed in the Schedule you are pretty much guaranteed a sneak-peek and a big show!
There are also many other films to be pumped about! Here is a list of some of the films on the schedule so far: “Raven,” “Fright Night,” “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Pt. 1,” “Arthur Christmas,” “The Pirates! Band of Misfits,” “Underworld 4,” “Batman: Year One,” “Sushi Girl,” “Total Recall,” “Ghost Rider-Spirit of Vengeance,” “30 Minutes or Less,” “The Amazing Spiderman,” and “Haywire.”
A film that looks humorous to me is, “Attack of the Block.” From the producers of “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz,” “Attack of the Block” revolves around a group of tough inner-city youths, from London, who take on a home-turf battle with invading aliens!
For the Manga fans, VIZ is having their 25th Anniversary! Hopefully this will mean a little bit more in terms of floor representation. The past few years have been very light for Manga fans. Samples have been few and small and representation has even waned. But this year there seems to be a positive resurgence. I can understand the lack of presence since the AnimeExpo was held recently in Los Angeles. For Comic-Con, Shonen Jump will be having a panel on Friday. Also, there will be a Friday panel consisting of Manga creators who came all the way from Japan for the Con to talk about JMANGA in general (aka Manga from Japan). Del Rey will also hold a panel on Friday where they will likely talk about their upcoming “Game of Thrones” Comic, among other new titles.
For those of you who like to get your geek on, there are already many panels posted that revolve around discussing certain aspects of geek/nerd culture! There seems to be a growing number in panels that are just dedicated to discussing the female geek and what she represents. But, I am more interested in the Zombie Panel myself.
A curious event that may interest you will be held on Friday afternoon. The panel will consist of librarians who will discuss where Comic Books fit-in at the Library. It seems that this panel will focus on how to convince your colleagues that Comic Books can, in-fact, be noteworthy literature that should be supplied for the community at a Library near you. The panel will, most likely, strike home with anyone who has tried to borrow Comic Books, Graphic Novels, or Manga from their hometown book source. Also, I am sure there will be a mention of the new technology available to most public libraries. San Diego has been lucky enough to have libraries with online borrowing, on digital editions, as an option. Though, I have yet to see a wide selection of Comic Books in my local library search browser, this option is still a welcome advancement!
One of the events/panels that I am most excited about will be a screening of the new “Supernatural” Anime Series. It is not often that you hear of an American Television show being turned into an Anime Series in Japan. The whole idea sounds absolutely backwards! But, this is exactly what is happening with our two favorite boys! I cannot wait to see the Winchesters in pen and ink! And the Con is providing a premiere screening of the “Supernatural” pilot on Preview Night!
Getting back to the Comics, it looks like there will be a “Love and Rockets” panel on Thursday with Gilbert, Jaime and Mario Hernandez! Love and Rockets is quickly approaching its 30th Anniversary!
One silly show that I am excited to learn more about is called “Death Valley.” MTV recently picked up the show and it looks to be “The Walking Dead” meets “Reno 911” meets “Teen Wolf.” The horror comedy will be having a panel on Friday night. Friday will also hold the annual WORST CARTOONS EVER panel and the annual SPIKE AND MIKE’S SICK AND TWISTED panel that usually consists of the most absurd/disgusting/messed up animation around.
Other Friday night screenings will include a back-to-back NEW EP-FEST put on by Sy-Fy to promote “Eureka,” “Haven,” and “The Mercury Men!” “Haven” just came out recently on DVD and I highly recommend it!
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SO! As you can see, the program is heavy, the program is versatile, and the program sounds exciting! I would like to take this opportunity to recommend that you peruse the program yourself on Comic-Con.org.
Just CLICK HERE to be redirected to the Comic-Con site!
I have highlighted just a few of the events that are going to be occurring from Wednesday-Friday of the Con! There are many more on the program so don’t just take my word for it!
Stay sharp, more updates to come!