SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2013 Well I survived another year at Comic-Con, even though I was very on the fence about even going this year. Partly because of money and partly because of how fans camping out for Hall H and Ballroom 20 really takes the fun of Comic-Con. I would have loved to have seen the panels for Marvel, Fox and Warner Brothers! Here are the highlights for me this year: I started things off right with a trip to Ghirardellis after I got my Comic-Con credentials and devoured a “Cable Car”. (If there was a Ghirardellis in L.A., I’d be in a lot of trouble.) Went to watch the WB pilots on Preview Night, which has become a tradition. Saw The Tomorrow People, Almost Human and The 100. Almost Human is one to watch for sure. And I will probably give The 100 a try when the series launches. Thursday, I attended a bunch of panels – Anatomy of Superhero Film Music, DreamWorks Animation, Superman: The Julie Schwartz Era, Creature Design, We Still Love the ‘80s: 1983, The Digital Bits and First Look: Necessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics. Stopped by Artists Alley and saw the lovely and talented Scott Harben and Sarah Wilkinson and got to catch up with both of them. Poor Sarah had to sit next to that Hunky Harben all week. Paid a visit to the RAW Booth and saw dear friends Michael Hess and Tony Adivari. I also saw James O’Barr there. Hadn’t seen him for years. In 1996, my first full Comic-Con, I roomed with Tim and Grant and we spent the week hanging with James on the verge of the release of THE CROW: CITY OF ANGELS. Those were great times! Thursday night I chowed at Joe’s Crab Shack. Friday was more panels – most notably Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD, which I got into after a reasonably long wait in line, and they showed the entire pilot, which was a huge highlight of the con! Roger Rabbit’s 25th Anniversary panel was a blast, especially with the hysterically funny Charles Fleischer in attendance. The Dark Horse: Joss Whedon panel was basically Joss taking audience questions and it was a riot! And the world premiere of Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox was definitely worth seeing – very strange alternate take on some of the DC mainstays and surprisingly dark. Saturday was more panels including one on Production Design, Ray Bradbury – where I got to say hi to the great Joe Mantegna – and Superman’s 75th Anniversary with a killer lineup on stage – Henry Cavill, David Goyer, Tim Daly, Jim Lee, Dylan Sprayberry, Grant Morrison, Dan Jurgens, Jack Larson and Paul Levitz. And I got to see Dana Sprayberry, Ellery – who I haven’t seen since I worked with her when she was nine and now she’s a teenager! – and Grandma. It was really great to see them all. Paid a visit to the RAW Booth and saw Mike & Tony again as well as dear friends Tim Bradstreet, Missy Bradstreet and darling Lydia. Saturday night was dinner with David Blanchard, Rebecca Sanchez and Philip Barrett at Chianti’s. The lasagna and meatballs was absolutely delicious, but the company was even better. I was so stuffed I couldn’t even handle walking right across the street to devour some more Ghirardellis! Went to a local theater and saw Drew: The Man Behind the Poster on the big screen. And the legend himself, Drew Struzan, was there doing a Q&A before the film! While it’s not a great doc, if you’re a fan of Drew, it’s well worth seeing. And Tom, Tim and even Mr. Hess are in the doc! Sunday I ran into pal Mark Walters on the shuttle and got to attend the very first Comic-Con panel that he moderated – Spotlight on Adam Hughes. I’m a huge fan of Adam’s and have met him many times – I have about 6 sketches by him from years ago when I could afford them. It was great to see Adam again and the panel was a riot, which I filmed for Mark and will hopefully be on his site in the near future. Spent some time at the RAW Booth and got to catch up with Tom Jane and see his daughter Harlow. Saw the rest of the gang again as well as Missy and Lydia. Saw the 50th Anniversary panel of Avengers, X-Men, Dr. Strange and Sgt. Fury, which really had no focus and was way off topic, but the creators on the panel had great stories to tell about their careers. And I even got into Hall H for the final panel of the show: Sons of Anarchy, which included Kurt Sutter and virtually all of the principal cast. The sizzle reel that they showed for Season 6 is bone crunchingly brutal! Sunday ended with Tim and I watching Mike break down the booth and cart it all away all by himself. Then off to the Sunday night hang for dinner and spirits. And then I got to attend the Dead Dog Party for the very first time. Got to meet Tim’s old friend Todd, an actor I recognized from JUSTIFIED and REVOLUTION and got to see the amazingly funny Jimmy Palmiotti hold court and introduce us to Lazy Sally! Monday was lunch at the Corner with Tim, Mike, Mark Hay and Mark’s friend Chris and then I made a quick stop at Ghirardellis for Midnight Reverie before I hit the road! This year really flew by and I saw a bunch of other friends, but only for quick conversations. There is so much going on at every moment that there are a bunch of friends I rarely even get to see. Hope everyone who went had fun! Great seeing you all!
Posted on: Tue, 23 Jul 2013 02:09:25 +0000
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