Comic-Con International 2010: An event of gods and monsters
Chris Hemsworth, who plays Thor, signs for a fan at Comic-Con International in San Diego. (Photo by Annette Price)
WORD BALLOONS
SAN DIEGO — Every year, Comic-Con: International is a window to a new world of gods and monsters — and this year was perhaps even more so.
While the convention was marred by an on-site stabbing incident, the parade of conventiongoers was overall friendly and outgoing. San Diego itself seemed more enamored of Comic-Con this year. With the convention having the option to move in the near future, downtown businesses seemed to be more welcoming to fans, perhaps realizing the value of the 126,000-plus attendees. For instance, an upscale hotel restaurant had tweaked its interior by covering its framed artwork with superhero posters, and clerks at the downtown grocery hot spot were wearing comic-book shirts to show support for the event.
Marvel Comics debuted its latest god, Thor, the god of thunder, who will be played by Chris Hemsworth in both the “Thor” movie and the superhero team-up film “The Avengers.”
And Marvel also has a new monster: Mark Ruffalo was announced as Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, for the “Avengers” film, replacing Edward Norton in the role. Also set for “The Avengers” is Chris Evans as Captain America; he’ll star in “Captain America: The First Avenger,” which fans also got a brief glimpse of in a Comic-Con panel. Assembling all these “Avengers” will be Joss Whedon (“Serenity”), who was confirmed as the film’s director.
Con-goers got their first look at Ryan Reynolds as the emerald space warrior Green Lantern; Reynolds received an ovation for his recitation of the oath of the Green Lantern Corps for a young fan.
“In brightest day, in blackest night; no evil shall escape my sight,” Reynolds said to feverish crowd cheers. “Let those who worship evil’s might, beware my power! Green Lantern’s light!”
Another green hero, the Green Hornet, was on hand, as Seth Rogen promoted his film based on the former radio hero, also known as Britt Reid, in a Comic-Con panel. A nearby former factory was reworked into “Britt Reid’s Garage,” where con-goers received rides in Black Beauty, the Green Hornet’s famous car.
“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” Michael Cera’s comedy/drama about a 20-something slacker who discovers he must battle his new girlfriend’s seven evil exes, was a Comic-Con hit, with multiple screenings delivering good buzz. The sixth and final volume of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series, “Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour,” went to a second printing over the weekend, after selling 100,000 copies in its first week of release.
Proving that Comic-Con is still about comics, Stan Lee announced he was working on three new titles with Boom! Studios (see sidebar), as well as new projects with Archie Comics and Viz.
Geoff Johns of DC Entertainment announced that Wally West, the popular Flash of the 1980s and 1990s, would again star in an ongoing series, tentatively titled “Flash: Speedforce.”
Grant Morrison will write a new “Batman” title, called “Batman, Inc.,” starring Bruce Wayne.
John Constantine, who stars in the “Hellblazer” comic and was the focus of the “Constantine” film, will attempt to get married in an upcoming issue of the series.
IDW announced new comics from the popular 1980s series “The Rocketeer,” which will be worked on by an array of all-star talent. “John Byrne’s Next Men,” a 1990s science-fiction series, will also return from IDW.
Jonathan Hickman (“Fantastic Four”) will write “Ultimate Thor” for Marvel, and Mark Waid (“Irredeemable”) will write a Captain America miniseries called “Man Out of Time.”
In television news, Bruce Campbell excited fans by announcing a prequel TV movie for his “Burn Notice” character, Sam Axe. And DC’s Johns announced that superheroes Booster Gold and Blue Beetle would guest-star in the final season of “Smallville.”
- By Matthew Price
From Friday’s The Oklahoman
Blue Beetle footage officially hits the Internet
The footage shown at the DC Nation and other panels for a proposed Blue Beetle live-action series is now available on the internet. Perhaps coincidentally, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold will appear on the final
season of “Smallville.” Is this a new push for the Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle? Might he return in comics soon?
Would you like to see a new Blue Beetle TV or comics series? Share your thoughts in the comments!
- Matt Price
Megamind Comic-Con footage
Check out the footage shown at Comic-Con International for Megamind, an animated 3-D film starring Will Ferrell, Tina Fey and Brad Pitt. The film is directed by Tom McGrath. What do you think? Are you interested in seeing “Megamind”?
- Matt Price
Tina Fey, Will Ferrell and Tom McGrath.
Guinness World Records Comic-Con roundup
Multiple Guinness World Records were given out at Comic-Con: International in San Diego in 2010. The book’s Editor-in-Chief, Craig Glenday, traveled from the London headquarters to present these achievements in advance of the Guinness World Records 2011 release on Sept. 15.
“Comic-Con remains the premier destination for pop-culture enthusiasts and is host to all of the biggest names in entertainment. That’s exactly the kind of place that Guinness World Records wants to be,” said Glenday in a news release.
Guinness World Records presented the following records at Comic-Con (information from Guinness World Records):
Most Successful Horror Movie Series – SAW – Producers Oren Koules and Mark Burg accepted the Guinness World Record for the ‘Most Successful Horror Movie Series’ with $732 million total global box office sales.
Most Successful Sports Movie Franchise – Rocky – Stars of the upcoming theatrical release The Expendables and co-stars of Rocky IV, Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren, accepted the Guinness World Record for the ‘Most Successful Sports Movie Franchise for Rocky’, grossing $1,251,372,491 throughout its six installments, running from Rocky (November, 21 1976) to Rocky Balboa (December 20, 2006).
Largest Comic Book Convention – Comic-Con International in San Diego, garners over 125,000 attendees, making it the largest comic book convention in the world. David Glanzer, Director of Marketing and Publicity for Comic-Con, accepted the record.
Highest Rated Animated Sci-Fi Television Series – Airing on Cartoon Network, the popular CGI series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, received the record for the ‘Highest Rated Sci-Fi Animation Show on TV’ averaging a viewership of 4 million at its launch. On hand to accept the award were Supervising Director Dave Filoni, CG Supervisor Joel Aron and Lead Designer Kilian Plunkett.
Most Ultimate Fighting Championships Heavyweight Championship Bouts Won – With seven wins between 1997 and 2008, Randy Couture accepted the Guinness World Record for the ‘Most Ultimate Fighting Championship Heavyweight Championship Bouts Won’.
Most WWE Royal Rumble Championships Won – ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin was presented with the Guinness World Record for the ‘Most Wins of the World Wrestling Entertainment Royal Rumble’ with three wins in 1997, 1998, and 2001.
Most Chocolate Bars Eaten in One Minute – The record-breaking bonanza continued with THQ setting the record for the Most Chocolate Bars Eaten in One Minute. The record of 3 Milky Ways was set jointly by Pat Bernaletti and Joey Chestnut to highlight the release of THQs Red Faction: Armageddon.
Highest Rated Animated Series (Current) – Futurama – With a favorable 80% rating on Metacritic.com, FUTURAMA creator Matt Groening (pictured, with John DiMaggio and Lauren Tong) and executive producer David X. Cohen accepted the award for the highest rated animated series currently on television.
Most Eisner Awards in One Category – Todd Klein accepted the record for the most Eisner Comic Award wins in one category. Klein received 15 wins in the Best Letterer/Lettering category from 1993 to 2008.
Tallest Structure Built With Interlocking Bricks – LEGO – Julie Stern, Brand Relations Manager for LEGO, accepted the award for the tallest structure built with interlocking plastic bricks. The structure was 99 ft 1 in high and was constructed by children and adults at an event organized by Lego Norway in Oslo, Norway, on April 24, 2010.
- Matt Price
Comic-Con International: Saturday and Sunday photo roundup
Photos from the rest of the weekend at Comic-Con International 2010.
Ryan Reynolds recites Green Lantern oath at Comic-Con International
At the Comic-Con panel for “Green Lantern,” star Ryan Reynolds recited the Green Lantern oath for a young 
fan. Reynolds also talks about the energy of Comic-Con and his take on Hal Jordan in this clip. Blake Lively talks about Carol Ferris’ role as someone who both loves, and eventually will battle, Hal Jordan. Other good news from the panel – Kilowog will appear in the Green Lantern film.
- Matt Price
Smallville at Comic-Con: Series to welcome Booster Gold, Blue Beetle in Geoff Johns episode
SAN DIEGO – Geoff Johns announced at the “Smallville” panel in Ballroom 20 of Comic-Con International that he will bring Booster Gold and the Blue Beetle to the series in the final season. The Blue Beetle will be the Jamie Reyes character, and Skeets, Booster’s robot sidekick, will appear, Johns says.
(I wonder if the test Blue Beetle footage shown at DC Nation at Comic-Con, and this news, could mean this Blue Beetle could spin off after “Smallville” ends?)
Johns moderated the panel, which featured Tom Welling and Erica Durance, Cassidy Freeman, and Justin Hartley, along with showrunners Kelly Souders and Brian Peterson. A clip shown at the beginning of the panel showed a brief glimpse of a “Superman” costume, which has been teased for years on “Smallville.” With this being the final season, it appears that wish will finally come true for many Superman fans. Will he fly? Peterson says, “We all know how the comics turn out.”
Fans wondering if Cassidy Freeman, who plays Tess Mercer, will return have good news – Freeman says her appearance today at the panel is a good sign. That’s good, because she’s a Nerdage favorite. Another character who may not be dead? John Schneider, who makes a surprise (to me) appearance, saying “rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated.”
The villain this year will be Darkseid, which sounds like a fantastic way for the series to go out. Like Doomsday, he’ll be somewhat different from his comics incarnation.
- Matt Price
Linda Hamilton to star as Chuck’s mom
SAN DIEGO — “Chuck” creators/executive producers Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak announced at Comic-Con International that Linda Hamilton (the “Terminator” films) will join the series in season 4. She’ll play Mary Bartowski, the long-missing mother of Chuck (series star Zachary Levi) and Ellie (series star Sarah Lancaster). Hamilton will be a recurring guest star in the program.
Season four of “Chuck” premieres Monday, September 20, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Chuck: The Complete Third Season will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 7.
- Matt Price
Archie Comics highlights at Comic-Con International include Titans crossover, Archie Babies
Among the upcoming projects discussed at Archie Comics’ Friday panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego were the Archie/Tiny Titans crossover, which will be produced by DC Comics.
Other highlights include:
- Life with Archie, which continues the Archie Marries Betty and Archie Marries Veronica storylines, will be on sale Aug. 10. In addition to direct market stores, the magazine will be on sale in Walmart and Toys R Us.
- Kevin Keller will make his first appearance in Sept. 1′s Veronica #202, and will also appear in “Veronica” 204 and 205.
- Sabrina, Little Jinx and Katy Keene will relaunch with new series. Little Jinx will age up from 7 to 13 and be called simply “Jinx.”
- President Obama & Sarah Palin will come to Riverdale to support candidates for President of Riverdale High.
- A new monthly series, “Archie Babies,” featuring the Archie characters as babies, is set for 2011.
- Michael Uslan will reintroduce Pureheart and the Super Teens.
Archie will also continue its program of high-end reprints in partnership with Dark Horse, IDW, and Abrams.
- Matt Price
The Rocketeer to return from IDW
IDW is bringing back Dave Stevens’ famous character, The Rocketeer. A four-issue miniseries is set for 2011 release, and will include contributions from Mike Allred, Kurt Busiek, John Cassaday, Darwyn Cooke, Michael Golden, Gene Ha, Michael Kaluta, Garry Leach, Bruce Timm, Bill Willingham, and more. Alex Ross will be the cover artist for the series.
The Rocketeer, first published in 1982, was an indy comics sensation despite an infrequent publishing schedule. The character was adapted into a Disney movie in 1991. Stevens died in 2008 after a battle with leukemia.
A substantial portion of profits earned from this new mini-series will be donated to Hairy Cell Leukemia research by the estate of Dave Stevens, the creators involved, and IDW Publishing.
“Dave Stevens was an incredibly talented artist and a wonderful person,” said IDW Special Projects Editor Scott Dunbier in a news release. “I would like to think that he would be happy with a book like this, one that pays such loving tribute to his greatest creation.”
- Matt Price
