San Diego Comic-Con 2012

[Dan]

It's Comic-Con season. The schedule for Day One has been announced and here are some notable highlights:

The Day One schedule for Comic Con has been announced. Here are some panels of note:

- Epic Games: Fortnight Revealed
Cliff Bleszinski and Tanya Jessen will provide a look into the upcoming Epic Games title Fortnite. Moderated by X-Play's Jessica Chobot.

- Stan Lee's World of Heroes
Stan Lee introduces his upcoming YouTube series along with Mark Hamill, Adrianne Curry, Peter David, Jace Hall, and Bonnie Burton.

- Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Celebration
Producers Yoshinori Ono and Tomoaki Ayano will discuss the past 25 years of Street Fighter along with what's coming up and conducting a trivia contest where winners will score prizes while losers will be shamed before everyone.

- 100th Anniversary of Tarzan and John Carter of Mars
- Mark Evanier, Ron Ely, Tom Yeates, and David Lemmo celebrate 100 years of Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic characters.

- Power Rangers: 20 Years and Beyond
Brian Ward moderates the 20th Anniversary of Power Rangers with Saban Brands president Elie Dekel and actor Paul Schrier.

- Walt Disney Studios
Disney will dish out three programs: A Q&A with Tim Burton regarding the full-length claymation remake of his classic live-action short Frankenweenie; Sam Raimi drops by to discuss Oz The Great and Powerful; John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman join director Rich Moore to talk about the next Disney animated feature Wreck-it Ralph.

- CZ12
Jackie Chan drops by to talk about the upcoming film he produced, directed, and starred in.

- Assassin's Creed III: Live Stage Demo
Creative director Alex Hutchinson will give an exclusive look at the next chapter in the Assassin's Creed series.

- Image: The Walking Dead
Moderated by Sina Grace, Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard talk about all things Walking Dead from the comics (which will hit Issue #100 shortly), the TV series, the TellTale video game, and more.

- Wilfred: Screening and Q&A
Elijah Wood and Jason Gann return with co-stars Fiona Gubelmann and Dorian Brown as well as producers David Zuckerman and Randall Einhorn to talk about what's to come in the present season of the FX series.

- The Expendables 2 - Real American Heroes
The Expendables return to Comic Con. This time, Sylvester Stallone, Doulph Lundgren, Randy Couture, and Terry Crews will be joined by none other than Jean Claude Van Damme and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

- Archer: Screening and Q&A
The animated FX series returns with creator Adam Reed joined by cast members H. Jon Benjamin, Aisha Tyler, Chris Parnell, Judy Greer, and Amber Nash.

- Showtime: Dexter
Ralph Garman moderates the latest Comic Con appearance for the show. He will be joined by Michael C. Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, Yvonne Strahovski, and executive producers John Goldwyn, Sara Colleton, Scott Buck, and Manny Coto. Plus, producers Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa will be giving a look at the upcoming season of Homeland.

- RiffTrax Live
Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett return to riff another short film as well as discuss their upcoming projects, including the latest on a live riffing of Manos: The Hands of Fate.

- Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope
Director Morgan Spurlock will screen his documentary in its entirety and will be joined by special guests in the post-show Q&A.

Plus Marvel will be all over the place taking about their latest comic projects and DC will have a number of Batman related panels be it an anlysis of the Batmobile, the psychological state of the character going into The Dark Knight Rises, and more.

[Randall]

Man, I'd love to see Tim Burton. Not the best speaker, certainly, but he's one director I always am interested in.

[Dan]

Friday schedule, which looks absolutely nuts, has been posted. Here are some of the noteworthy ones:

- The Black Panel
Michael Davis moderates another round of African-American culture along with Steve McKeever, E. Van Loew, Reginald Hudlin, Missy Geppi, Jamie Kennedy, and making his Comic-Con debut Shaquille O'Neal.

- Community: School is Back in Session
Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Alison Brie discuss what's coming up in the fourth season.

- Adult Swim: The Venture Bros.
Jackson Publick, Doc Hammer, and James Urbaniak return to discuss the latest on their hit animated series.

- Join the Revolution! Nickelodeon's Legend of Korra
The hit follow-up to Avatar: The Last Airbender returns, moderated by Rich Magallanes and featuring Bryan Konietzko, Mike DiMartino, Joaquim Dos Santos, Andrea Romano, and stars Janet Varney, David Faustino, PJ Byrne, and Seychelle Gabriel.

- Firefly 10-Year Anniversary Reunion
What will surely be come of the most packed panels all year, Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher, and Summer Glau are reuniting to celebrate the cult TV series.

- AMC's The Walking Dead
Chris Hardwick moderates this year's panel featuring Robert Kirkman, Gale Anne Hurd, Greg Nicotero, Glen Mazzara, and stars Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies, Norman Reedus, Laurie Holden, Steve Yeun, Lauren Cohan, and new additions Danai Gurira (Michonne) and David Morrissey (The Governor).

- Tron: Uprising
Josh Dickey moderates on the upcoming Disney DX animated series with Charlie Bean, Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, and stars Elijah Wood, Bruce Boxleitner, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and Tricia Helfer.

- Game of Thrones Panel and Q&A Session
George RR Martin moderates the panel for the show based on his epic fantasty series with Carolyn Strauss and stars Emilia Clarke (Daenerys), Lena Headey (Cersei), Michelle Fairley (Catelyn), Kit Harington (Snow), Richard Madden (Robb), and Alfie Allen (Theon).

- Arrow Screening and Q&A
The pilot episode to the upcoming Green Arrow television series Arrow will be screened before hitting Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, David Nutter, and stars Stephen Amell and Katie Cassidy with questions.

- Sony
Sony will present three panels in one. First, it's another round for Total Recall with director Len Wiseman and stars Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, and Bryan Cranston. Then is sci-fi thriller Looper with writer/director Rian Johnson and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Emily Blunt. Finally, there's the long awaited first look at Elysium with writer/director Neill Blomkamp and stars Matt Damon and Jodie Foster.

- Optimus Prime: Up Close and Personal
In what will surely be the most surreal panel at Comic Con this year, Larry King, yes Larry King, will be conducting an special interview with Peter Cullen.

- AMC's Breaking Bad
Mike Schneider moderates a special look at the final season of the series will be presented by Vince Gilligan and stars Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte, and Jonathan Banks.

Plus three panels dedicated to Resident Evil, more Marvel and DC goodness, more pilot screenings, the Eisner Awards, and more. Did I mention more?

[Dan]

*Deep breath* Okay. Here's the Saturday schedule:

- Once Upon a Time
William Keck moderates what the plans for season two are with co-creatores Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz as well as cast members Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, Josh Dallas, Emillie de Ravin, and Meghan Ory.

- Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained
Quentin Tarantino returns to Comic Con with yet-to-be-announced cast members to talk about his upcoming film.

- Quick Draw!
It wouldn't be Comic Con without the hilarious Quick Draw! Mark Evanier oversees Sergio Aragonés, Scott Shaw!, and this year's guest illustrator Keith Knight in drawing faster than the speed of light.

- Comic-Con How-To: Supercharge Your deviantART Profile Like the Masters
deviantART CEO and co-founder Angelo Sotira moderates a very special panel featuring Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch creator), Adam Warren, Dave Ellion, Jim Zubkavich, Mark Brooks, and Yuumei Yan in how to build up an attention-grabbing deviantART page.

- Futurama
Here's all you need to know: Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, and Maurice LaMarche along with Matt Groening and David X. Cohen.

- Phineas and Ferb
Creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh join voice cast Vincent Martella, Alyson Stoner, and Dee Bradley Baker for another round of discussing what's new with the hit Disney Channel animated series.

- The Simpsons
David Mirkin moderates Matt Groening, Al Jean, Mike Anderson, and Lisa Simpson herself Yeardley Smith in going over what's new with the series and a sneak peek at the upcoming theatrical short The Longest Daycare.

- Cartoon Voices I
Mark Evanier returns to oversee the first round of cartoon voicing greatness with Steve Blum, Matthew Mercer, Debi Derryberry, April Winchell, Fred Tatasciore, Jack Angel, and Chuck McCann.

- TV Guide Magazine: Fan Favorites
TV Guide editor-in-chief Debra Birnbaum moderates the latest all-star panel to discuss what's new in TV featuring Nathan Fillion, Joel McHale, David Giuntoli, Tyler Posey, Maggie Q, and Matt Smith.

- Family Guy
Here's all you need to know: Seth MacFarlane, Alex Bornstein, Mila Kunis, Seth Green, and Mike Henry are joined by showrunners Mark Hentemann and Steve Callaghan.

- American Dad
Seth MacFarlane returns with little sister Rachael MacFarlane, Wendy Schaal, Scott Grimes, Dee Bradley Baker, Mike Barker, and Matt Weitzman.

- Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures Preview Their Upcoming Lineups
Warner Brothers and Legendary Pictures are bringing out the big guns: Pacific Rim, The Hobbit, and Man of Steel.

- The Following Screening and Q&A
The pilot episode of The Following will be screened followed by a Q&A with Kevin Williamson, Marcos Siega, and stars Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy.

- EPIX Originals: William Shatner and Roger Corman
Kevin Smith moderates a special panel with William Shatner and Roger Corman as they present their EPIX projects, Shatner's Get A Life! and Corman's Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader.

- Person of Interest Screening and Q&A
Christopher Nolan may not be coming to Comic Con, but brother Jonathan Noaln returns to talk about the latest on his hit CBS series with Greg Plageman and stars Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson, Taraji P. Henson, and Kevin Chapman.

- Marvel Studios: Iron Man 3
Nuff said.

- Vertigo: Fables
The best comic book series being published right now returns with Bill Willingham along with Mark Buckingham, Lauren Beukes, Adam Hughes, Steve Leialoha, Shelly Bond, and others to talk about what's new.

- MythBusters
What would Comic Con be without MythBusters? Adam Savage, Jamie Hyneman, Tory Belleci, Grant Imahara, and Kari Byron return for another round of discussing what's it like to blow stuff up for for the sake of science.

- Comi-Kev: Q&A with Kevin Smith
It's a Comic Con tradition and it's bigger than ever as Kevin Smith is given two hours to yak it up like only he can.

- HBO Presents the Comic-Con Masquerade
The celebration of cosplaying continues as only Comic Con can showcase it.

Plus all kinds of Star Wars goodies, some Kickstarter panels, and more pilot screenings.

[Dan]

The full schedule is up now. Here are the notables for Sunday:

- Fringe Screening and Q&A
JH Wyman joins stars Anna Torv, Josh Jackson, Lance Reddick, Blair Brown, Jasika Nicooe, and John Noble to discuss what's coming up in the critically acclaimed thriller.

- Supernatural Screening and Q&A
Jeremy Carver and Ben Edlund joins stars Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Jim Beaver, and Mark A. Sheppard to discusses the upcoming season of the popular series.

- Cartoon Voices II
Mark Evanier returns for round two with Rob Paulsen, Dee Bradley Baker, Audrey Wasilewski, Jim Ward, Gregg Berger, and Misty Lee.

- Marvel: Amazing Spider-Man
Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso teases what's in store for the web-head as he appraches his 50th Anniversary in August.

- BBC America's Doctor Who
Steven Moffat and Caroline Skinner join stars Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, and Arthur Darvill to discuss what's new for Doctor Who on telvision, literature, and more.

- Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
Warren Spector, Becky Cline, Marv Wolfman, and Peter David give an inside look at the sequel to the hit Nintendo Wii title going multiplatform as well as a look at the upcoming graphic novel and a celebration of Oswald The Lucky Rabbit.

- The Cleveland Show
Seth MacFarlane, Mike Henry, Kevin Michael Richardson, Reagan Gomez, and Rich Appel not only discuss what's new with the Family Guy spin-off, but also screen the season four premiere Menace II Secret Society.

- Buffy Turns 20: Celebrating 20 Years of Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The original Buffy herself Kristy Swanson joins TV series stars Nicolas Brendon and Clare Kramer, Dark Horse editor Scott Allie, writer/producer Jane Espenson, illustrator Georges Jentry, and some surprise guests to celebrate the anniversary of the cult phenomenon.

- Sons of Anarchy
Kurt Sutter returns with stars Charlie Hunnam, Katey Segal, Ron Perlman, Maggie Siff, Kim Coates, Mark Boone Junior, Tommy Flanagan, Theo Rossi, Ryan Hursy, and Dayton Callie to discuss what's coming up with the hit FX series.

- Drew: The Man Behind the Poster
Drew Struzan drops be to be honored for creating some of the most popular movie posters in history and is joined by Thomas Jane, Erik P. Sharkey, Charles Ricciardi, Ryan Shore, Greg Boas, Jeff Yorkes, Stephen Saffel, and Zack Martin as well as the first look at the feature-length documentary about him.

Plus Starship Smackdown, Kids day fun, and the annual screening of the popular Buffy The Vampire Slayer episode Once More with Feeling.

[Dan]

Warner Bros. will be putting up a free (as in completely open to the public at no cost) outdoor event at Bayfront Park (situated in-between the Hilton and the Convention Center) running from July 12-14. They're be doing new panels for Fringe, Big Bang Theory, Vampire Dairies and others, live music performances, screenings, and more.

Plus they'll have a playable demos of upcoming Lord of the Rings games Guardians of Middle-earth and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey along with Planet Streetpainting putting together a LEGO Lord of the Rings 3D street art that will begin on July 13 and finish on July 15.

But I think what will really be the fun part of this "Extra" stage WB is putting together is the Batman exhibit. They're going to build a replica Batcave and show off all six Batmobiles from the films: Adam West's 1955 Lincoln Futura, the Tim Burton Batmobile, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, The Tumbler, and the unveiling of the Camouflage Tumbler.

The event schedule will be updated between now and Comic Con here: http://comiccon.thewb.com/

[Randall]

Ooooh.... That sounds nifty.

[GeorgeC]

God willing,

I'm going to try to make it to a Comic-Con within the next two years...
In the meantime, I'll probably stick to nearer (area) cons and try to build my own contacts for personal/professional reasons.

I'll be honest -- I think you have to be brave and half-crazy to go to Comic-Con if you don't have a professional or vested fan(atic) reasons to be there. It's over 100,000 people over 3 days, sweltering hot, full of bad body smells and people who don't bathe regularly (not a myth!), cosplayers whose concepts of fantasy and reality are more than a bit blurred, and is freaking crowded. It's expensive as heck if you don't go in a group and make plans well ahead of time. It's also not the most pleasant environment for people who HATE big crowds (that would be me) and people who aren't as enamored with exclusive collectibles (ditto!) and waiting in line for autographs (again, me).

I've been to the second and third largest comic/pop culture conventions in the US and there's a huge drop-off in sizes, retailer presence, and sensory overload between the cons. SD Comic-Con makes Chicago C-Con (#2) look like an intimate get-together by comparison. Chicago made Orlando Mega-Con (#3) look like a kid's lemonade stand. SDCC is just nuts by comparison to pretty much anything else this side of Dragon-Con.

Don't go to buy stuff or hear news -- you'll save a lot more NOT traveling even if you have to go through the usual e-tailer sites and you can generally get the same reports and "exclusive trailers" on the web/YouTube within a day of the Con. Also, a bunch of the exclusive SDCC collectibles turn up over the next 2-3 years on auction sites for a lot cheaper in many cases than they were at SDCC.

[Randall]

Some good points made in the last paragraph, but... some of us still LOVE going. Going there in 2008 was a life highlight for me. I dig crowds, actually, and enjoy the whole atmosphere. But for someone not into that scene, it'd be miserable.

There is something to be said for smaller cons. Having been to Calgary's the past few years (though 50,000 attended this year, causing a few nigthmares for unprepared organizers), I find myself having less of an "itch" to head to San Diego.

[Dan]

The experience is what drives me back year after year. To be able to ask Bruce Campbell a goofy question, walking side-by-side with Quentin Tarantino while checking out exclusive figurines, shake hands with Robert Downey Jr. as the MACH-ONE Iron Man armor is revealed for the first time, getting your picture taken with Kenneth Branagh, get a sketch from Yoshitaka Amano, seeing a fan shake hands with Steven Spielberg while Peter Jackson is taking pictures. It's one of those things that just gets more addictive and worth the effort of getting in. To me, at least.

[Randall]

I'd certainly like to go back sometime. I just wish I lived closer. I'd also never go there again on a family vacation at SDCC time--- too expensive. I'd want to share a hotel room with 2-3 other guys in order to share expenses.

[Ben]

Count me in!

[Randall]

Awesome. Not sure which year it will be, but I'd love to go back sometime.

[Ben]

Oh yeah, it's definitely in "the plan"...just not sure when either. Hopefully we can both afford to go the same year, but it won't be for a while for me and I'll likely see you over here first!

[Randall]

Yep, I'd agree! This year we've got Orlando (despite blowing our vacation budget on new windows and doors), next year (budget pending) a smaller trip to Vancouver/Victoria, and hopefully England and a Mediterranean cruise in 2014.

SDCC looks to be a way's off! But yeah, we should go again.