bulletproofheeb

So sorry that this took so long to post. I hope you forgive me, but I was trying to clean up some audio recordings of the panels and reading I went to. It turns out that the sound from a panel in a large room with poor acoustics recorded from a single point microphone in the audience doesn’t sound too great. Who knew? Well, I’ve taught myself some basic mixing techniques and have cleaned them up immensely. In my last post I told you all about movie news. Now let me tell you about the con itself. This post is broken down into 3 sections:

1. The Panels
2. Neil Gaiman's Reading
   
3. More Movie News
4. The Con
5. Summary with pictures and whatnot
   

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The Panels – all with full audio

Scott McCloud and Doug Rushkoff - My recording crapped out part way through but you can go to The Daily Cross Hatch and pull the whole thing off their site.

This was the best panel I went to so it may seem odd that it was held during industry hours on Friday, before the doors opened to the public. That’s rights, when I went to this the only people in the convention hall was retail reps, industry people and press. It was held in one of the smaller rooms and it wasn’t even all that crowded. Which suited me fine as it just seemed all that much more personal.

For those that don’t know, let me introduce these people.

These guys were great. They tackled issues regarding comics from the mainstream attention of late to schisms in intent of the medium to the affect of the internet on comics. Here are some highlights:

• On selling out. It’s not an issue of compromising one’s self, at least not as a general rule. Rather, it’s an issue of legitimacy. They mentioned a snow boarder who gave up millions in endorsements when he refused to go to the Olympics the first year they had snowboarding. This wasn’t because he didn’t want to go mainstream specifically. His reasoning was that snowboarding was still a young sport and had a lot of growing to do. Once you go mainstream, whether it’s participating in the Olympics or getting mainstream attention from publishers, people and production studios, the medium cements. The rules become less fluid and the boundaries harder to break. This is my example, but film was the same way. When film was first invented it was almost all experimental. Magicians and artists picked up the format to try their hand in a new world of images. Once Edison and others set up commercial production studios art films were pushed to the side and stories aimed at commercial success became the norm. Scott McCloud said that right now it seems to be working to the advantage of comics. The audience for comics is growing with shows like Heroes and all the movie adaptations. But it will get nasty. Already we’re seeing people write comics and graphic novels an intent to get them produced as movies or TV shows (Virgin/Sci-Fi, I’m looking at you).

• On web comics. This was where the splits in opinion kicked in and the fun started. Scott thinks that the internet is a medium that comics can be presented in but it looses that physical component and adds a factor of coldness and alienation. Doug, on the other side, argued that in the past you’d write a comic, publish it, get response mail, publish that and respond. That would take a long time. Now you can write and draw and post and then in minutes get a comment that says, “I think your art is great and it’s bee inspiring me to create. By the way, you spelled ____ wrong.” What could be more personal than that? So it really depends on what your expectations are. With the web there’s a faster connection with the audience and greater chance for two way conversation. With print you knew there was a certain level of effort put into each publication because of the time and cost. When you got a response to that it might be more sincere.

It was just such an honor and a rush to see these two go at it. I really recommend listening to the whole panel.

Comics, Concepts and Copyrights - download here

I was a little shocked at how interesting this was. I figured it would be dry but necessary to know about. I had fun. They covered the DC/Schuster/Superman issue in better detail while rushed than most publications do at leisure. I have also become paranoid regarding my current project and am writing up contracts at this moment. Since it’s all carefully worded I’d say just give it a listen rather than me risk screwing something up in a description

Comics Experience: How to Write a Pitch - download here

What a waste of time. I had a tough time trying to figure out which panel to go to at this time: how to write a pitch or the Vertigo discussion. I chose very very poorly. I’m including the audio just so you can hear these industry people talk. Don’t expect to get any good advice out of this on writing a pitch, just some moderately interesting anecdotes. It took them a awhile to get to the actual topic and here’s what they had to say:

• Not a single publication represented had an open submission policy. This means they don’t take any work unless they have contracted for it already.

• They recommend having inside connections. Some of the people there had to work in smaller subsets of the company they wanted to submit to for years before they threw their pitch.

• After making your connections and managing to break in then they started talking about how to pitch. So once you already know people and are on the inside then their advice kicks in.

I think they skipped the important part of the pitch process. That’s like NASA telling the astronauts how to use the lunar-lander for the Apollo missions without giving them a rocket or shuttle. Thanks a lot, guys.

AMERICA: Through the Eyes of the Graphic Novel - download here

Even though Howard Zinn was a no show this was another amazing panel. Sid Jacobsen and Ernie Colon (the two behind Richie Rich and Casper) discussed their graphic novel version of the 9/11 report as well as their ongoing work specifically made to inform troops about events as well as options when coming home.

Women in Comics - download here

This was pretty interesting although it felt like new people saying the same thing I’ve been hearing for a long time. On a panel called “Women in Comics” it seemed strange that they almost all said they did not want to be thought of as women in comics but rather people in comics. They brought up the feminist question and the fact that the term “feminist” has taken on, almost reverted back to, a negative connotation. For the record I am a feminist. I just got an incomplete feeling from this panel. They didn’t talk about their role as women in comics, but tried to just focus on trying to shed that label. They touched on feminism but really only to say that it’s feminism by default and that feminism is just another way of saying you’re for equality. In the end it felt like they spent the panel talking about how there wasn’t really much for them to talk about without adding to the woman/person in comics split. I was hoping for something more in depth either way. Either focusing on the issues they had faced or perceived or heard of as women or perhaps discussing feminism in the comic industry in regards to both men and women. It was nice to hear these women (people) talk about their jobs and all but I left this panel unfulfilled in my yen for hard analysis.

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CBLDF Presents: An Evening With Neil Gaiman

Download/Listen here:

CBLDF intro
Bill Hader intro
Neil Gaiman part 1
Neil Gaiman part 2

Sure, I had to buy my ticket for this (c’mon, press pass. No?) but it was worth it. The line went down the hall and part way out into the food court. It was nuts. By the time I got inside I was about ¾ of the way towards the back but managed to get a seat not obstructed and still on the aisle so I could pop up to take pictures.

The introduction was by Bill Hader from SNL and a handful of movies. He was funny enough. What really impressed me was that everything he said was actually pertinent t to Neil Gaiman. A lot of the time you’ll hear people do “introductions” and use it as a mini presentation of their own. Here Bill Hader actually talked about how he first came across Neil’s works and how it’s affect him and his employment history. Apparently it’s responsible for his job on SNL and explicitly responsible for his partnering with Seth Rogan. Who knew? Well, now we all do. Towards the end he does some failed SNL pitches involving Gaiman’s work. Very funny and an exclusive straight from me to you.

Next up was the man himself. He took his time with the material he brought, starting first with an actual discussion of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Then he went on to his reading proper. Part one has him reading a number of already published stories. They are all entertaining and his speaking voice is wonderful. In case you didn’t know he does most, if not all, of his own audio books.

Part two has him reading new material from his upcoming publication, The Graveyard Book. It’s an expansion of his short story "The Witch's Headstone". I apologize if it seems to cut off suddenly at the end but my sound recorder died and I wasn’t near an outlet to plug it in. Take heart in the fact that it died between sentences and he was nearly done at that point. It probably gave out maybe 10 minutes from the end of the reading, if that.

So I need to include this picture.  During the Q&A Neil read a card that said "That girl in the center with the really good Delerium wig is cute.  Can you get me her phone number?"  She stood up.  Neil prompted the writer of the question to stand up.  He did.  They met in the middle aisle and she gave him her phone number.  Neil is the bringer of love.

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More Movie News

Once again I found myself camping out in the movie presentation theatre the whole day long. What did I see? I’ll tell you.

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay

I’m really disappointed I didn’t get to ask my question to the writers: “What the hell was up with the Jersey geography in the first movie? You two are from Jersey. you should know better.” That was my only disappointment with this panel. Even when someone stood up and asked of the coke Neil Patrick Harris snorted in the first movie was real I was elated by NPH’s response: “Yeah. Twenty takes and it was all real.” The clips from this movie only went to prove what I already expected. I held off on seeing the first movie expecting a dumb American Pie style flick. It was much funnier than I thought it would be. The sequel looks like it’s going to try and one-up the first film with rudeness, drugs and pure NPH content. What more could you want? Pictures? Sure.

PS If you’re not watching How I Met Your Mother (Mondays at 8:30 on CBS) then you’re not just missing out on Neil Patrick Harris; you’re missing out on a hilarious show. On the show Barney (played by Harris) makes a “Get Psyched Mix” which becomes a running joke in the episode. I burned myself a copy of his mix and managed to get him to sign it. I was the last autograph he signed and he did it while being dragged away by to stay on schedule. I don’t doubt for a second that it was the fact that I’m so tall so my CD was still at eye level for him as he was standing that managed to bless me with this legendary souvenir.

Journey to the Center of the Earth: 3D

Directed by Eric Brevig, who’s done special effects for. Starring Brendan Fraser. This looks like a really fun entry into the retro-camp genre that includes movies such as The Mummy and The Core. It was refreshing to hear Fraser say that the original script “sucked” and how he and other people involved went back to the source material and fixed the movie. It was also interesting to hear how this movie was made. The cameras they used were straight HD digital cameras, shooting through cables onto computers rather than onto tape or film. While you might think this was just an excuse to use fancy new technology Brevig and Fraser spoke on how the project was designed to push things past the toys and use newER technology. Fraser seems very involved in new production technology, which was a nice surprise. Admittedly this movie was made for fun and plays with gimmicks that only HD 3D can give an audience, but they see it as more than that. This movie was made to push the standard on movie entertainment. No one had illusions of it being high cinema but they also didn’t sell it as a glorified movie ride. This looks like fun and I’ve been sold on the project’s integrity to being the most it can be as a movie and not just a spectacle.

Igor

Chris McKenna (American Dad) and Director Anthony Leondis were here to talk about this project. I hadn’t heard about this movie until the NY Comic Con but wow! The voice cast is amazing: John Cusack, Eddie Izzard, Steve Buschemie, Molly Shannon, Arsineo Hall, . How could I have missed this big name venture into animation from the Weinstein company? I don’t know. That said, the movie looks interesting. I’m 100% sure it will get numerous Tim Burton comparisons in upcoming reviews. Not only is the content “Burtony”, dealing with a mad scientist country called Malaria and having monsters in slice of life situations, but the character design is not the norm. They actually wanted a slightly off look and that’s why they went to France for an animation studio rather than staying in the states. My hat goes off to them for not trying to make this another bland “offbeat” cartoon in the vein of many Shrek rip-offs. Not only is the animation strange but the group putting this movie together went with the Weinstein company specifically because they wanted to get away from Disney constructs. For instance, one of the sidekicks has been brought back to life and isn’t too happy about it. Throughout the film he repeatedly kills himself, only to return to life, still unhappy. I can’t really see that in a Pixar project.

As good as the movie sounded the panel was a little off. After a while kids started to take the panel off track with poor Q&A. The people on stage started focusing more and more on the video game and less on the movie and how it got made or what was going to be in it. When the question of DVD extras came up (regarding a movie that has yet to hit theatres) I got a little fed up and left to go into the booth/shopping area. Still, I’m not sold on Igor but very interested. I guess the buzz and reviews will make up my mind in the end for this one.

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The Con

I went to the first NY Comic Con but missed the second. This was con number 3 and was run much cleaner than the first one. Of course, during the first year they had to shut the doors to ticket holders because of fire code violations regarding the sheer number of attendees. This was no where near that, partly because they booked the larger room this time. Friday was surprisingly empty. OK, maybe not empty but no where near as crowded as I expected. Saturday was pretty thick, but I managed to stay tucked away in the screening theatre the whole day. Sunday… well, Sunday was insane by comparison. In the shopping/booth/exhibitor hall the crowds were thick. It struck me as odd, but the shopping sections were much worse than the industry booths. Both Marvel and DC had big booths but didn’t seem as full as in other conventions. The only time I saw them get swamped was during signings from artists and writers.

Perhaps the shopping sections seemed so chaotic was because the set up was done so poorly. The first year there was a clear grid with shops grouped by type. If you wanted to buy books you stick to this area. Statues and art would be over here. T-shirts and other tie-ins in another place. This year everything was all mixed together, with small booths and large retail representation randomly put together. I’d be looking for a place to buy single issues of recent books and BAM, there was Gavin Blair, co-creator of Reboot. So I stopped, got an autograph and a picture, and then continued shopping. But I don’ think the exhibition hall was organized in a great way.

Other things I noticed? There was a disproportionate presence of toys at this convention. Not just tie in figures but random toy companies. Also, a lot of TV networks were here. Nickelodeon and A&E had pretty fair sized presentation areas which was strange. I’m used to movie studios being here but not general media. I don’t know if this is due to it approaching San Diego size and status or just a new “all media” take now that comics are getting more and more mainstream. Oh, and girls! There were lots of girls walking around. I’ve read that this is possibly due to a larger manga/Asiaphile showing but I didn’t see that. To be fair, I was off the floor for most of the convention until Sunday so I can’t say that for sure. What I do know is that comic conventions are changing and shifting. Perhaps a few years ago the Scott McCloud and Doug Rushkoff debate would have been much larger and held during open convention hours, if not a headliner. I sure hope that in the next few years debates like that won’t be pushed off in favour of a larger movie and TV presence.

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Summary

Great time
Awesome panels (except the How to Write a Pitch panel)
A lot of the actors and directors are much nicer than you’d expect. And a lot more involved in their medium than I thought (I’m looking at you, Brendan Fraser).
Neil Gaiman is still amazing. I guess that’s not news, but rather just a confirmation that things haven’t changed
Autographs I got

• Gavin Blair

• Neil Patrick Harris

• (Inara from Firefly)

• (Book from Firefly)

• Franco (writer of Tiny Titans)

Celebrities I met, if ever so briefly

• Doug Jones

• Neil Patrick Harris

Conclusion: A successful convention. Hope to make it next year.

Of course, you’ll get a mini report from my one day at Wizard World when I go there June 1^st.

I know I didn't do a big post for my Friday experience.  I will, but I want to actually upload audio from that day, like Neil Gaiman's reading and Q&A.  I think you can appreciate that.  What I know you can't wait for is exclusives.  Movie news exclusives.  And I have these things for you.
Wall-E
Let's start with Wall-E.  A lot of people think that it looks cute.  Pixar has a good track record and the CG looks crisp in the previews.  People, you have no idea.  The CG is jaw dropping, which is something by itself.  Since the movie is about... machines the CG doesn't have to be good.  But the landscapes and particle physics will astound you.  And Wall-E.  Wow.  He's so articulate and his expressions are so easy to interpret.  In fact, they've got the motion down to some completely new level.  This isn't some sort of motion capture advance.  It's experience.  Wall-E's pet cockroach, at one point, becomes sad.  While I was watching I thought to myself: "I'm looking at a cockroach.  Now I am sad."  It took me a moment to realize that even without a face I was getting emotion from the character of the roach.  They showed about a total of about 10 minutes of film.  I'm in love.  I figured I'd see it and like it.  I've seen a little and love it.

News about the movie?  Well, apparently during or after the end credits there's a bonus animation of some kind.  And the closing song will be done by Peter Gabriel.  On IMDB it lists Sigourney Weaver as a rumored voice.  She's the voice of the computer.  Yeah, in Aliens she fought Mother and in this movie she is Mother.  Also, be on the lookout for tons of little in jokes about sci-fi and computers.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
I saw the new trailer and it has a tag for pre-ordering your tickets.  A little pushy.

I may be in the minority, as I know many people didn't like the first movie, but I'm looking forward to this.  If Wardrobe was sort of a shiny and mystical Metropolis then this movie would be it's dark cousin, Gotham.  If you don't know by now the books by Lewis are very very very Christian.  He and Tolkien were pals.  Tolkien wrote with the soul of pre-medieval paganism.  Lewis reveled in historical Christianity.  In that vein, Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe was the crusifiction story.  Aslan dies and comes back.  He forgives and yay.  Prince Caspian is much more a crusade story.  There's decay in the land and now there's a return to the old values that have been gone for just over 1,000 years to fight for what is "right".  Of course a crusade story will be darker.  But has the group making this risen from the soft handling from the first movie?

I think so.  They actually stated that they did make mistakes with the creatures (CG, not WETA) in the first movie.  For this one they switched companies.  The short bursts I saw in the preview weren't enough for me to make a proper judgment but at least they admit to one of the weak points from the first installment.

The cast?  Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian), William Moseley (Peter Pevensie) and Peter Dinklage (Trumpkin) were all there and are extremely personable.  When asked what their favourite part of filming was Moseley told about how he refused to let a stunt double do a scene where he had to chase a horse, sheath his sword, knock someone over and then swing up onto the running horse.  He managed 2 out of 7 times which is damned impressive.  Dinklage said he "loved watching them get physical" and then quickly realized how bad that sounded.

You should all be aware that they are already planning the 3rd movie, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, to begin shooting in October and is slated for a 2010 release.  There are no plans as of yet to continue on, which would most likely be The Silver Chair.

Lucasfilm Presentation
I love Star Wars and yet hate Lucasfilm.  Conflicted, I sat through this panel which was mostly an energetic commercial for Star Wars in general.  The panel started with a statement from Steve Sansweet, quoting Lucas.  The quote was that after Lucas finished Return of the Jedi he was asked what was next for Star Wars.  His reply was that Star Wars was a book that he had finished and closed and was now going to put it back on the shelf.  Unless you ask him, and then he had Episodes 1-3 planned all along...  Whatever.  Sansweet then quoted Lucas again, this time after the wrap on Episode 3, saying that there would be no more Star Wars movies.

Guess what's coming out on August 15th?  Yes, a Star Wars: Clone Wars movie will be hitting theaters.  But don't cringe and vomit just yet.  It's going to be a CG clone wars feature, continuing from the Cartoon Network series.  Then, after the movie premiers, Cartoon Network and TNT will be airing the continuing animated Clone Wars series.  To be honest the clone wars cartoon was the best thing to come out of the Episode 1-3 fiasco so I'd say this will be worth your time.  I saw some footage and it looks great.  There's still the super smooth and ultra-stylized design going on, and the technology is much cooler than anything from the prequils.  It's also made by someone who loves and respects the Star Wars movies (Dave Filoni), and not George Lucas.  Click over here to watch the mini documentary they showed at the Con.  It'll really let you get a feel for both the director's feelings and the art of the project.

After that was an interview with Robot Chicken creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich.  Green is single, by the way.  They talked about how Robot Chicken got started and how their love for Star Wars is eternal.  They then talked about the process of getting their Robot Chicken Star Wars Special made.  I can tell you that George Lucas plays himself in a short scene and it's pretty funny.  His acting is slightly better than that of Hayden Christensen.

The only Indiana Jones info was about the new set of Young Indiana Jones episodes coming out.  Bummer.

Trenches
There was a trailer for a new ABC series called Trenches.  Either the trailer was terrible or this movie will just  offer a less fun version of Starship Troopers spread out over a longer period of time.

Wanted
For those of you who follow me and my love/hate relationship with Mark Millar know that I've had a certain level of dread about this film.  I love Timur Bekmambetov, the director of this as well as Night Watch and Day Watch.  On the other hand I hate the source material by Mark Millar (who did not show up at the panel).  From the full scenes that they showed me I can see Bekmambetov's heavy style of slow motion, super saturated but dark colouring and object tracking shots.  He said he signed on because he feels it's the same split reality genre of Nigh Watch and Day Watch.  I tried to ask about the whole rape and abuse towards woman that the comic champions but was cut off before I got to the mike.  I'm still not completely convinced on this one.  I mean, Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie both seem to play characters far enough removed from the source that there might not be that misogynistic taint but...  I'm not sure.  I looks good but feels wrong.  Jolie didn't sell it in the clips I saw.  She seemed more set on looking hot and smug than caring about the destiny of the main character.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
I loved everything about this panel.  The movie looks incredible!  Imagine the rough and well rounded characters from the first movie.  Now imagine their world is bigger.  Like, expanded to Harry Potter proportions.  Now imagine that world full of gorgeously designed monsters and demons.  That's what this movie looked like.  There wasn't a lot of specific news on this movie other than the long clips but they were enough to sell the audience.  Oh, that and the 9 monsters that they brought out.  Take a look.
Want to know a secret?  Guillermo del Toro wasn't satisfied with any of the voices he got for the character of Johann Krauss until he settled on Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy.  That's right.  He voices the German monster.

Other del Toro news? He's still not sure about the status of The Hobbit.  All the industry reports that say it's go are just being optimistic.  He expects to know for sure in about a week but as of now it's not concrete.

If del Toro goes back to independent film he has one more childhood horror story left in him.  It's called Saturn and the End of Days.  The movie (when he gets to it) will be about a child named Saturn and how Saturn experiences the rapture while simply shopping for groceries.

del Toro swears like a sailor.  Every 2nd or 3rd word out of the man was "fuck" or some variation.  During Q&A a kid gets to the microphone and says "I'm only 15-".  Suddenly he's cut off.  del Toro shouts "The Pubes are popping!  The furture is open to you!  Fucking a!  I envy you, my friend."  Honestly.  He said that.
Of course he let the kid go on.  The kid wants to be a film maker and del Toro did nothing but encourage him.  In fact, he told the kid to give his name after the panel and he'd be in touch.  And then he told everyone something wonderful.  He wants your portfolios.  If your a character designer he wants you to send him stuff, hand him stuff and talk to him.  He will pick one or two people from his submissions and either hire them on or take them in as an intern for a movie.  Contact him at abe_sapien@hotmail.com.  How awesome is this guy?!

Doug Jones (Silver Surfer, Abe Sapien) will be starring in a movie AS A HUMAN!  For a famous actor it's strange to realize that you've never heard or seen him before.  He provides the bodies to many fantastic characters but hasn't actually shown himself in his lead roles.  My Name Is Jerry will change that when he stars as Jerry, a middle aged man going through a mid-life crisis.  Also, when he signed on for the Silver Surfer it was a 3 movie deal so wait for that Silver Surfer movie.  And he hopes as much as anyone else that J. Michael Straczynski pens it.   During publicity shots everyone was shouting for him to strike a Silver Surfer pose.  I was the only one who asked for a mid-life crisis pose, but he kindly obliged.  Here are both:
The Incredible Hulk (no pictures allowed)
That brings me to my last panel of the day, The Incredible Hulk.  Like Wanted I have mixed feelings on this.  Unlike Wanted I don't feel that invested in this movie.  The Abomination (played by Tim Roth) was picked as a villain to make bigger fight scenes.  The CG looks pretty cartoony.  The Hulk looks a bit liquid and not mean muscle.  And I can't for the life of me figure out what this movie is supposed to t the audience loved the scene we saw.  Roth was good in his part but if he's the only pull that's no reason to go, since he disappears into a CG monster part way through the film.

Secrets I can share?  Both Edward Norton and Tim Roth did motion and facial capture for this movie.

Lou Ferrigno will be doing the voice of the Hulk.

Robert Downey Jr. will be in this movie as Tony Stark.  How can I be 100% sure?  Because I saw the footage of Stark and General Ross myself.

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And that's all from Saturday.  I think it's a lot.  I'll put a post together tomorrow on "convention" type stuff, like crowds, costumes and cosplay.  But I figured you would want the movie news as soon as I could type it and put in the pictures.

09:30 Off to NYCC.

11:27 I'm here.

11:46 WOw, people treat press so different compared to coming as a normie.

11:51 I think Gaimn tickets are still available solely due to the fact no one knows where to buy them.

12:09 Andromeda Strain trailer: so many dead birds!

12:23 I've seen like 3 costumes. where are the freaks?

12:59 Sitting down for the Scott McCLoud panel.

13:43 Disasterbation.

14:55 I forgot to leave enough time in my schedule for food or water. DOne with copyright. Zinn, tell me of America through comics!

15:10 Zinn isn't here. And the moderator is talking about comics as an accessible medium. Mixed feelings, esp. after hearing McCloud & Rushkoff.

15:11 The guy who created Richy Rich wrote the GN version of the 911 report. How cool is he?!

15:29 Listening to these old pros (richy rich and casper) is heart wrenching and inspiring. These are great and humble men.

16:01 There are almost twice as many people at the How To write A COmic Pitch than the McCloud & Rushkoff debate. Selfish pricks.

16:15 Wow. In 15 minutes I have heard nothing original from the EIC from oni, virgin, image, boom or top cow.

16:26 Comics isa closed industry. "Let's assume you've networked, know people and have an in. Now you can write a pitch." Hope... BANG.

16:34 Guy in front of me:"Strunke and White? Write that down Let's find that." Yeah, great fucking secret manual... ass.

16:48 Women in comics. Description no longer lists Jenna Jameson. That's a set of two large, firm, surgically enhanced shames.

17:02 Stuck next to 3 dinguses talking about how special and awesome their project is. All of our comics are fantasic and world changing. Shut up.

17:43 "If you want to be remembered as a rebel commander stay out of a bikini. Watch Anchorman." Nice.

18:04 Neil Gaiman if this line ever moves.

18:45 Neil Gaiman just read "The day the saucers came". He is a mighty fine reader.

18:55 There's someone snoring. At the Neil Gaiman reading.

19:14 10 minute break. Then Q&A. Then Graveyard Book (as yet unpublished).

19:39 Some kid used his Gaiman question to get a girl's phone number. Briliant.

19:45 Looks like I'll skip the X-Files 2 sneak peak to stay at the Gaiman reading. Priorities. PS "Gaiman reading" now shows at every word prompt.

20:45 Gaiman's over. I'm off to a show now. Blog it all lagter with audio.

I came home today and found a large padded envelope waiting for me.  What could it be?  It turned out that Fantasy Prone sent me a free copy of the first issue of United Free Worlds.

So the day I get turned down for an interview with Neil Gaiman he gets hit in the face and looks like this:

And by extravaganza I mean I'm covering the New York Comic Convention for Buzznet and you're all invited to tag along using the power of the internets!  What will I be covering?  Just the latest and greatest news presented in one of the largest east coast comic conventions.  How can you keep up?  Let me count the ways.

1. I'll be doing live picture posts that you can follow from my photo stream.
2. I'll be posting constant commentary and updates to my twitter account over here.
3. I will be posting more detailed write ups with more pictures on my blog each night when I return.  Won't that mean staying up late?  Of course, but I'm skipping work the next day just to do more convention stuff so I don't care!

What will I be covering?  Well, Friday is still pretty much up in the air.  I might go watch an exclusive Will Eisner documentary or I might see Scott McCloud and Doug Rushkoff talk about... comics.  Seriously, McCloud has written 3 graphic novel text books (text books about comics in comic form).  What else would he talk about?  Later on I'll be listening to Howard Zinn lead a discussion about America through the eyes of current graphic novels.  There's also a chance I'll see the Women in Comics panel, if only for the chance to make Jenna Jameson answer for her current comic, Shadow Hunter.  What I'm 100% sure to be at is the Neil Gaimain reading and auction, though I might pop out early to catch a sneak peak at some X-Files 2 footage and news.  I haven't seen enough, you say?  Well, that's crazy but don't fret.  That's just day one.

On Saturday you'll want to set your twitter to text as I'll be posting the newest information on Wall-E and Disney's Prince Caspian.  After a spotlight on Hellboy creator Mike Mignola I'm off for a long set of movie panels.  I'll tell you all about Indiana Jones IV and whatever else Lucasfilm is working on (perhaps the Clone Wars cartoon or even the live action series?).  After that is something I'm personally psyched for: a Hellboy 2 panel with Mignola, Del Toro, Ron Pearlman, Selma Blair and Doug Jones.  The other half of that panel is about Wanted.  Mark Millar will be there (yay?) as well as Timur Bekmambetov (YAY!  He directed the Nightwatch trilogy).  There's no time to catch my breath as I'm bombarded with Gamma-Previews of The Incredible Hulk.  This movie has been fraught with mixed signals.  It's a bit soon to be remaking Ang Lee's dud and sources say Ed Norton has been butting heads with the production about editing choices.  I'll let you know how it really looks since director Loise Leterrier will be there to elucidate all.  Then I take a deep breath and pray as I see what's up with Frank Miller and his new movie, The Spirit.  There's the great cast (Samual L., Scarlett Johansson) and source material but has Frank Miller jumped the shark (read All-Star Batman and Robin.  On second thought, don't!).  After that I'm headed home for seder.  Yeah, the NY Comic Con accidentally scheduled the convention over passover (that's the flat bread holiday for you gentiles).  But that's OK because I think I might need a short brake before...

Sunday!  Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!  $30 will buy you a seat but you'll only need the edge.  Because even though it's kid's day at the Comic Con there's still some fantastic stuff for those of us who can dress themselves (most of the time).  Check back with rapt attention as I tell you all about Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.  I will see John Cho and Kal Penn in all of their glazed glory.  I will beg Neil Patrick Harris to sign my "Get Psyched Mix" (and here's why).  Then I'll see Brendan Fraser along with clips from his new movie, Journey to the Center of the Earth.  I've actually been looking forward to this as it looks like another send up of classic pulpy fantastic fiction.  Then I'll get a sneak preview of Igor.  If you haven't herad about this I'm not surprised.  It's the Weinstien's project to move into the ever-so-hard-to-break-into animated movie market.  John Cusack plays Igor in his attempt to with 1st place at the annual Evil Science Fair.

Is that all?  Probably not.  I'll check out Artist Alley.  I'll pop into other panels to see what's the happy-hap.  And you're all invited to follow my updates to hear the latest news.  After all, there'll be news from Realbuzz Studios (they publish the Firefly/Serenity comics), Grant Morrison, Stan Lee, Vertigo, Marvel, Joe Quesada and so many more.

Got all that?  It's going to be a busy weekend.  Anyone else from the Land O' Buzz going to be there?

P.S.  I just looked back over the post.  There're so many names in bold it looks like my post is splotchy.

And here I thought I would be immune to the drama that I hear oh so much about.  I supposed incorrectly.  I hope that this coming weekend will reinvigorate my zest for posting but right now I'm just too exhausted from dealing with excessive stupidity and bull-headed bitching.

Hell, I'll try and pound out something grand tonight.  Until then I'll simmer and stew.  Feel free to post comments or links to remind me why people aren't completely worthless.

Just a heads up to everyone, I have been assigned to cover the New York Comic Con in 2 weeks.  My press pass is processing and if all goes smoothly I shall be giving you live and expanded 3 day coverage.  I will post more on that and how to follow my up to the moment posts later on.

But for now, to get everyone in the mood, I'm going to tell you about some new stuff.

Stuff #1
There's a new Hellboy 2 trailer out.  And it looks good.  It looks damn good.  Hopefully this will get a better reception than the first.  Personally, I love the first Hellboy movie.  It's an everyman story where the everyman happens to be an apocalypse bringing demon rather than a traveling salesman.  There's a quiet loneliness to him that most anti-heroes don't have.  Now that Del Torro has a "From the director of Pan's Labyrinth" tag rather than a "From the director of Blade 2" credit I hope it gets a fairer chance.

Stuff #2
New The Spirit posters.  I'm starting to get a little nervous.  It looks just like Sin City and while Sin City was great... well, The Spirit is by Eisner and not Miller.  Miller tends to write every character as either a "badass hitman" or a "badass whore", depending on the gender.  I want this project to rock my world but if his current All-Star Batman and Robin is any indication of how much his writing has developed this is going to be terrible.  But who knows.  Maybe the source script and the actors will overpower his sexist vision of grime and grit, making way for a fantastic adaptation.  Here's hoping.

Stuff #3
The MySpace Comics site has been re-launched with tons-o-fun.  Joe Quesada will be putting his Cup O' Joe column up on it too, but don't hold that against the site.  Joe has frat-boy issues that I'll address (at length) in a post unto itself.  But right now there's a couple of Minx posts and that Buffy Season 8 that I linked to a little while back.  Check it out.  It's not an end-all, be-all comic resource but it should defiantly make it into your comic book reading list if you have one.


And that's all for now.  Once I get my press pass I'll put up a concrete list of what I'll be covering and all the many ways you can follow me (in real time and in posts).  I'm freaking out here.  I really am.  Stay tuned for more.