Update Magazine 2007 #2 - (now Comic-Con Magazine) by Comic-Con International

Exclusive Interviews! Special Guests! And Much More!

UPDATE

Your Complete Guide to Comic-Con International

JULY 26-29, 2007

•

SAN DIEGO

•

ret u r n s to Comic-Con! INSIDE: All About the Country’s Premiere Comics Convention!

Fast Facts!

When: July 26-29, 2007 (Preview Night: July 25)

Hours: Wed., July 25: 6:00-9:00 PM (Preview Night) Thu., Fri., and Sat., July 26-28: 10:00 AM-7:00 PM* Sun., July 29: 10:00 AM-5:00 PM *Additional nighttime events and programming run until after midnight Where: San Diego Convention Center 111 W. Harbor Drive San Diego, CA 92101 Registration fees: 4-Day Membership: --By June 7, 2007: Adults: $55, Juniors/Seniors*: $27 --By June 21, 2007 and at the door price: Adults*: $65, Juniors/Seniors: $30 *Children under 12 free with PAID adult membership. Juniors are 12-17 years old and Seniors are 60 or more years old. Active military will pay the Junior/ Senior price. This offer does not extend to dependents.

1-Day Memberships are available in advance only online at www.comic-con.org. They are also available onsite. See page 53 for complete registration information including our new 3Day Membership, also available only online.

• Programming and events

All event and program rooms have limited capacity as set by the Fire Marshall. Even though your badge is needed to get into all events, it does not guarantee you access to any event if it has reached its capacity limit. We do not clear rooms between events. If an event or program interests you, we recommend you get there early.

• No smoking!

No smoking is allowed in the Convention Center or at any Convention event at any time and in any location. You are welcome to step outside to smoke, but please be considerate of others when you do. This policy is in place not only for the comfort

of attendees but also to comply with San Diego city ordinances prohibiting smoking at public events. Please comply with this policy; noncompliance may result in being ejected from the convention. The Convention Center has designated smoking areas outside which are indicated by the presence of canister ashtrays.

• Always wear your badge

and hang onto it! You will need your badge to attend any Convention function, including visiting the Con Suite or going to Convention-sponsored parties. If you’re asked to show your badge, please do so. Please do not give away your badge to people outside the Convention Center when you leave Comic-Con. You may think you’re doing someone a favor, but most of the badges given away end up being resold on the street, sometimes for an even higher price than what you would pay at Comic-Con. Hold on to your badge!

• No paging! Arrange a time and place to meet at the end of the day or if you get separated. Please keep in mind that there will be no personal pages over the P. A. system. To get messages to people, leave them on the message area of the Information Board in the Main Lobby, Hall C.

• Holster that weapon, citizen!

If you wear a costume that includes a replica weapon, please keep it attached to the costume. Don’t draw it or aim it.

• Keep Fido and Fluffy at home. If you have pets, including iguanas, parrots, boa constrictors, or other nonhuman critters, please leave them at home. The Convention Center will

Important Information For Your Comic-Con Visit

not allow animals into the building, except for service animals.

• Not-so-Hot Wheels.

Please be aware that handcarts, trolleys, oversized strollers, rolling luggage and wheeled backpacks are not allowed on the Exhibit Hall floor.

• Turn off that camera!

No video or audio recording is allowed at movie studio presentations. Each program and presentation has its own rules when it comes to what can and cannot be photographed or recorded. Please abide by those rules when they are stated. These rules also apply to cell phones that contain cameras and video recorders.

• Silence your cell phone.

Please turn your cell phones and pagers off or to vibrate when you’re in programming and event rooms. If you must take or make a call, please step outside. • Headquarters Hotel The Marriott Hotel and Marina, next to the Convention Center, includes additional gaming rooms, nighttime films and the Con Hospitality Suite .

Start Show’s Over! But Comic-Con will return JULY 24-27, 2008! See you then!

Tip

Bring cash and avoid the ATM lines!

SAVE MONEY! Pre-register for next year onsite! Check the EXHIBIT HALL for last minute bargains!

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Welcome to Preview Night!

EXCLUSIVE

you covet! See page 44 for details!

REST UP! Tomorrow’s the first big FULL DAY!

W E D N E S DAY • P R E V I E W N I G H T S

N D A Y •

Wear comfortable shoes!

Hey kids, Comics!

Check your Events Guide for great comics programming!

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Comic-Con A Concise Field Guide to

Consult your onsite Events Guide for complete information!

Sunday is

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Bring the whole family!

for that cool

Make a list and bring it with you!

For pre-registered See page 54 attendees and pros for how to attend! ONLY!

Arrange a place to meet. No paging!

Kids’ Day!

FIRST CHANCE

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EXHIBIT HALL OPEN 6:00-9:00 PM

J U LY 2 6 -2 9 , 2 0 0 7 • S A N D I E G O, CALIFORNIA, U. S. A.

Bring a knapsack or backpack.

Did you get your

EXCLUSIVE

Bugs Bunny figure?

Y •

World Premiere! Superman Doomsday

D Ballroom A Y

20 8:30

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Carry a sketch book for art & autographs!

Where’s Neil? Check your Events Guide!

The

Masquerade!

Visit the

Ballroom 20 8:30 PM

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Always wear your badge! Don’t miss

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Always carry a bottle of water!

ANIME ROOMS and catch an old--or NEW favorite!

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Quick Draw!

with Sergio and Mark!

Consult your Events Guide daily! Visit the

Y Film Festival S

Movie Madness! OR Spend the day Spend the day in Hall in one of the GAMING ROOMS on the Mezzanine!

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Don’t forget to eat!

Room 26AB

D A Y 2 Comics’ Oscars! Catch a Will Eisner late-night Comic Silence your film in the Industry Awards cellphones & Marriott pagers! Ballroom film room! 20/8:30

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Contents

page 10

page 28

page 30

Fast Facts Inside Front Cover Concise Field Guide to Comic-Con 1 Cover Story/Heroes 3 WonderCon 2007 8 WonderCon Panel: Cover Story 10 APE Alternative Press Expo 2007 13 Comic-Con 2007 14 --Introduction 14 --Program Themes and Anniversaries 15 --Programming 16 --Film Festival/Film School 20 --Anime/Gaming/Films 21 --Big Event: Superman Doomsday 22 --Big Event: Eisner Awards 23 --Big Event: The Masquerade 26 --Masquerade: Anatomy of A Costume 28 --Darywn Cooke Interview 30 --Special Guests 33 --Laurell K. Hamilton Interview 40 --Exhibit Hall 43 --Exclusives 44 --Attending Professionals 46 --Art Auction/Artists’ Alley 48 --Art Show/Autographs/Portfolio Rev. 49 --Hotels 50 --Disabled Services 50 --Volunteers/Freebie Tables/Con Suite 51 --Blood Drive/Child Care 52 --Registration 53 --Preview Night 54 --Multi-Purpose Form 55 --Parking/Transit Info 56 --Parking Map Inside Back Cover San Diego Comic-Con International is a nonprofit educational corporation dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture.

Comic-Con International P. O. Box 128458, San Diego, CA 92112-8458 Fax: 619-414-1022 • Comic-Con Hotline: 619-491-2475 www.comic-con.org Comic-Con International: San Diego 2007 Update #2 Published by Comic-Con International. All material, unless otherwise noted, is © 2007 Comic-Con International and may not be reproduced without permission. All other artwork is ™ and © 2007 by respective owners. Printed in Canada.

Board of Directors President: John Rogers Secretary: Mary Sturhann Treasurer: Mark Yturralde VP, Events: Robin Donlan VP, Exhibits: Beth Holley VP, Operations: William Pittman Directors at Large: Frank Alison, Ned Cato Jr., Dan Davis, Luigi Diaz, Eugene Henderson, Martin Jaquish, James Jira Executive Director: Fae Desmond Director of Marketing and Public Relations: David Glanzer Director of Programming: Eddie Ibrahim Guest Relations: Sue Lord Talent Relations Manager: Maija Gates Exhibits Manager: Justin Dutta Exhibitor Sales and Customer Service: Rod Mojica Exhibitor Registration: Sam Wallace Professional Registration: Heather Lampron, Anna-Marie Villegas Eisner Awards Administrator: Jackie Estrada Assistant to the Executive Director: Lisa Moreau Assistant to the Dir. of Marketing and PR: Damien Cabaza Assistant to the Director of Programming: Tommy Goldbach Office Staff: Patty Campuzano, Janet Goggins, Glenda Moreno Events: At-Show Newsletter: Chris Sturhann Films: Josh Glaser, Steve Brown Gaming: Ken Kendall Japanese Animation: John Davenport, Josh Ritter Masquerade: Martin Jaquish Technical Services: Tristan Gates Exhibits: Art Auction/Artists’ Alley: Clydene Nee Art Show: LaFrance Bragg Autograph Area: Katherine Morrison Convention Services: Taerie Bryant Exhibit Floor Manager: Andy Manzi Operations: Archivist: Eugene Henderson Disabled Services: William Curtis Hospitality Suite: Mikee Ritter Logistics: Dan Davis Materials Chief/Blood Drive: Craig Fellows Registration: Frank Alison, John Smith Volunteers: Luigi Diaz, Jennifer Diaz Information Coordinator: Bruce Frankle Update: Editor/Designer: Gary Sassaman Fae Desmond, David Glanzer, Tommy Goldbach, Martin Jaquish Contributors/Special Thanks: Kristy Chan, Jackie Estrada, Maryelizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy, Kent Elofson, Valerie Perez

In 2006, Comic-Con introduced the world to the new hit NBC-TV series, Heroes. Since then, the show has gone on to be one of this season’s major hits. We talked to creator/ executive producer Tim Kring, actor Masi Oka, and comic artist Tim Sale, who produces the artwork that Isaac, the artist who can peer into the future, paints in the show. Heroes returns to Comic-Con in the giant Ballroom 20 on Saturday, July 28 (time TBA).

were so large, it didn’t seem like your normal cop or law or medical show was going to be able to deal with them. And that is what lead me to the idea of superpowers. I wanted to have characters that people related to and the more ordinary (they were) was a more relatable way to tell this. I’m used to telling stories about ordinary people with ordinary lives. These are ordinary people whose lives become extraordinary.

CCI: Every great super hero story has an origin. What’s the origin of Heroes for Tim Kring?

CCI: What was your plan going in to keep the story moving along and fresh for viewers?

TK: I have a show on NBC called Crossing Jordan. Along with my responsibilities on that show, I have a development deal with the network to come up with another show. I wanted to do something that was a large ensemble serialized show. It couldn’t have been done five years ago as they didn’t do that kind of show then. I started looking around for the kind of show I wanted to do in this arena, thinking about what would connect with people and looking around the world at how difficult and complicated it is now with issues that are so huge. I was trying to address something that would really connect in a kind of international and global way. Because I knew I wanted the show to bridge cultures and borders, I started thinking about what those issues were. They

Cover Story

There Shall Be

TK: It was always the plan to try and move faster than other shows. I think one of Tim the things Heroes has going Kring for it is a very broad premise, the idea of these ordinary people discovering their powers and how it affects their lives and being called to something great. We didn’t start off with a central mystery that defines the show, the way a lot of other shows do. Also, the huge number of characters allows you to tell a tremendous amount of story. When you’re telling those stories you can always find one or two moments within each episode that are a fairly big

Heroes cast: NBC Photo: Mitch Haaseth; Tim Kring: NBC Photo: Paul Drinkwater

Cover Story

reveal. But it’s been both a blessing and a curse to be a show that reveals things quickly. One of the things that became important for us is this idea of revealing secrets. One of the main differences between Heroes and other shows is there’s no one secret that is precious enough not to reveal. CCI: Which characters took on lives of their own and most surprised you as they evolved during the season?

Jack Coleman as HRG.

TK: Well, many did. But what comes to mind immediately is Jack Coleman’s character of HRG. That character started with three or four lines in the pilot and grew to such an extent that we dedicated an entire episode to him, which was not fully foreseen.

But the flip side of that question is that on most shows you have an attrition rate with your cast based on the fact that you cast them in a not particularly detailed process to begin with. Because you only have one script you’re working on which is the pilot, you really only see them when they come in and audition off of a couple of scenes. So, you follow your gut and you go with it, and many times you end up with a cast that doesn’t meet your expectations. This show, in a weird way, was the opposite. I assumed there was going to be people that really popped and we’d go in that direction, and people that wouldn’t. On most shows you’re very limited by what your actors are capable of doing. This is really not the case on this show. Everybody has been just really terrific. CCI: Hiro seems to be the heart and soul of the group, and the only character who willingly embraces his powers. TK: Well, he is the most stripped down to what the essence of the classic Joseph Campbell hero myth is. In many ways he does embody a lot of what the themes of the show are. But in terms of the actual scale and size and scope of the series, he’s no larger

Jack Coleman: NBC Photo: Chris Haston; Ali Larter: NBC Photo: Paul Drinkwater

a character than any of the others. Yes, he is the one character who willingly embraced his powers. But if you lined up ten people you knew and suddenly they all woke up with extraordinary abilities, I can’t imagine that more than one or two would embrace them. I tried to show the reality of what would really happen. CCI: Ali Larter’s character, or characters, seem the most mysterious and can certainly go either way to be a hero or a villain. Is there a spin off series in the future called Villains? TK: (Laughs) Well you know the truth is in order to have heroes you definitely need villains. One of the original concepts of the show for me was

Ali Larter as Niki ... or is it Jessica?

that these powers would play into the characters’ free will and if the character was predisposed to be good then they would use these powers for good. And if you were predisposed to do evil, then you would use these powers for evil. But Ali Larter’s character is the most complex to wrap your brain around. I’ve always thought that if you looked at it like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or like the Incredible Hulk, then you really weren’t too far off. CCI: What kind of extras can we expect to see on the Heroes DVD? TK: It’s really going to be an amazing set. I think the highlight of it will be the original 72-minute “Tim Kring version” of the pilot. The one that was shown at Comic-Con was never mixed or scored or colortimed, so this will be a beautiful polished version of that with commentary. The DVD is also going to be the first television show released in HD-DVD and will allow you access through the Internet to all sorts of different components. We’re even putting in a few new scenes and the idea of some new characters that will kind of preview the next volume.

TK: The idea is that volume one of Heroes is this season, and it just happens to be twenty-three episodes long with a season-ender. Volume two may not last an entire season. It will pick up a few of the questions that will be left hanging in volume one. But you can look forward to the introduction of a new character and a villain. The idea of the show having a kind of global feel is only increased in volume two. Volume three will start in the middle of next season or toward the end of the season. There is a complete season next year, with about twenty-three episodes, but the show is told in volumes and each one is sort of looked at as one book in a series of books, and then we move on to another volume. CCI: Comic-Con was proud to premiere Heroes last year to the world. What was your experience like at the event?

TK: Extraordinary. I had never been so I didn’t know what to expect at all. You know you have to realize we were a show that wasn’t on the air, we had no idea that there would be the kind of reception awaiting us when we walked in. We had booked a 2,000-seat room, and I had thought foolishly so, and I was prepared to kind of have a “Spinal Tap” moment, where we were all going to be there and staring at each other and say, “Okay, let’s go get a drink and get on out there.” Jeph Loeb had the great quote of the day when he turned to me and said, “We’re going to need a bigger boat.” When we come back this year, it’ll be a giant thank you to Comic-Con and we’ll bring as much exclusive stuff that we can for the audience there. We’re going to try to make a big splash.

Cover Story

CCI: What do viewers have to look forward to in the future?

An extended version of this interview appears on our website at www.comic-con.org

masi oka hiro nakamura While Heroes is chock full of fan-favorite characters, Hiro Nakamura has certainly captured the hearts and imaginations of many of the show’s fans. We talked with Masi Oka, the actor who portrays Hiro, about his role and his other surprising connection to some of the movies Comic-Con attendees love so much, working on special effects for various films with Industrial Light and Magic. CCI: How much of the real you do we see in Hiro Nakamura? MO: I think with any role, especially a TV role, there’s definitely a big part of you in it. Especially after you create a role, the writers start running the two together. They see who you are as an actor and they try to include some of you in the role. We grow together with the characters as actors and as human beings, and the writers also grow as well and we find a rhythm. CCI: Are you still working at ILM (Industrial Light and Magic)? MO: I am, but to be perfectly honest with you, my role at ILM has diminished greatly because I don’t have the time to commit to it like I used to. Masi Oka: NBC Photo: Paul Drinkwater

Cover Story

CCI: Is your career path now to be a full time actor?

the most powerful because he can suck up everyone’s powers and choose what to use.

MO: You know, I love doing both sides of the work. Eventually I would like to go into writing or possibly directing. I mean, directing is my ultimate goal because it allows me to use both sides of my brain. I definitely love my roots at ILM, unfortunately I can’t develop anything new like write new programs for them because of my time constraints.

CCI: If you had the ability to control time and space, what is the one thing you’d go back and change?

CCI: What were some of the films you worked on? MO: I worked on over twenty films: Pirates of the Caribbean, The Perfect Storm, the Star Wars films, I hopped around quite a bit over there. I was a programmer. My technical title was Lead Research and Development Technical Director. CCI: How did you go from working at ILM to acting? MO: After The Perfect Storm, which was my first big movie, I kind of got a little burned out and thought I should give this acting thing a shot. I only gave myself a year to make it, which of course is very naive. But I made a bet with ILM that if I didn’t get a recurring role in a pilot or a supporting role in a film during my first year in L. A., then I’d go back up to San Francisco full time. As it turned out I did get a recurring role in a pilot that unfortunately didn’t get picked up, but that fulfilled my contract, but I was still delivering stuff for Star Wars II and they were happy with my work so they realized this is a win-win situation, so we just kept at it. And here it is now, five years later, and I’m on Heroes. CCI: Some think of Hiro as the leader of Heroes. Is Hiro the character that the group revolves around? MO: Oh, I don’t know. That’s a writer question. Tim Kring is the one who created the character Hiro, who was actually the last character to be created, and there’s a reason why his name is Hiro. It wasn’t just a pun. I think of it as an ensemble show so everybody is a piece of the puzzle. Though my personal opinion, as an actor, is that Peter is kind of the leader because he’s kind of like the one, kind of like Neo (from The Matrix) in a sense. And I think he is

Masi Oka: NBC Photo: Chris Haston

MO: Oh man, I’d totally go back to my sophomore year. I’d go back and tell myself not to ask that girl out. I mean, that was ten years of therapy there (laughs). CCI: What was your experience at Comic-Con like last year? MO: It was fantastic. It was still a little inconspicuous as a lot of people didn’t know us, but there were diehard fans who knew who we were. CCI: What is the fame thing like for you now? MO: It’s definitely surreal. It’s fantastic that we have such passionate fans. We have a show that people like and, with me, a character that people can connect to. I had kind of hoped it would occur in steps, because it really is going from obscurity to people recognizing me everywhere I go. Can you please thank the fans for their generous support? We make the series for them, and we’re so grateful that they’re enjoying the show and we’re having a blast making the show for them. So please let them know. CCI: You just did!

An extended version of this interview appears on our website at www.comic-con. org

Cover Story

Tim Sale:

The Artist Behind the artist

Tim Sale is a name known to almost every superhero comic fan. His twenty-plus year career in comics is marked by his incredible collaborations with writer Jeph Loeb. Together the duo have created such memorable tales as Superman for all Seasons, Batman: The Long Halloween, Daredevil Yellow, and Spider-Man Blue. And it was Jeph Loeb that brought Tim into their latest collaboration, the NBC-TV series Heroes, where Tim creates the art that Isaac paints in his clairvoyant visions. CCI: How did the Heroes job come about for you? TS: A little over a year ago, Jeph Loeb called and said there was this guy named Tim Kring, who had one of the few hit shows on NBC called Crossing Jordan, and had written this pilot called Heroes and it had comic book overtones. Tim called Jeph and said ‘You know a bunch of artists, and I want to get some art to help illustrate the script.’ I spoke to Tim and read the script. I thought it read like a Jeph Loeb comic, actually, and when it sold, they asked me to meet with Kring and a couple of the guys involved in filming the pilot. They asked me if I could paint and I said, ‘No. I’m color blind, but I can show you how I get around that doing comics.’ I showed them some Catwoman and some Daredevil: Yellow stuff, both of which people assumed were painted, but they’re actually created in shades of gray. And that’s what led to it. I got involved in the pilot and the pilot was picked up. CCI: How are you adjusting to the change in size, technique and obviously color, now, too?

TS: Dave Stewart does the coloring, as he does for (my work on) Superman Confidential. I draw the original artwork on comic book paper, 11 x 17 inches, scan it at a high resolution, and send that file to Dave. Dave colors it and sends it to NBC and they blow it up and print it on canvas. CCI: How much freedom do you have in the interpretation of each scene? TS: The descriptions in a TV script aren’t anywhere near as complete as the descriptions in a comic book script. I mean, it can say ‘Hiro with a sword versus a dinosaur’ or even versus a specific dinosaur. I usually have all kinds of questions about it: What are they wearing, what’s in the background, the mood, should I play it straight or scary, all that kind of stuff. CCI: If you put all the paintings you’ve done sideby-side, would they tell the whole story arc of Heroes? TS: Actually, no, not in and of themselves. My goal when I’m drawing a comic is to have the story be able to be followed just by the pictures alone. I don’t think anything like that would be possible with the paintings from Heroes. Having said that, one of the things that I think is a learning curve for everyone—and is very much a part of why I’m excited to work on the series—is our work tells a much bigger part of the story and it drives the plot in a much bigger way than art ever did on any TV show. An extended version of this interview appears on our website at www.comic-con.org At left, Tim’s original ink and wash drawing for Heroes, featuring Hiro vs. the Dinosaur, used on our cover as colored by Dave Stewart. Art ©2007 NBC Universal, Inc.; Photo ©2007 Tim Sale

WonderCon 2007

Bay Area Show Celebrates Its 21st Year in Style!

WonderCon Takes San Francisco by Storm! WonderCon 2007 blew into town March 2, 3 and 4 and rattled the roof on Moscone Center South. The event has continued to grow in each of its six years in San Francisco, from around 9,000 attendees in 2002 to this year’s record high of over 20,000. The Bay Area has embraced this annual event in an amazing way. And why not? WonderCon featured a giant Exhibit Hall filled with pop culture’s finest, and an impressive list of exclusive programs and events to keep people enthralled all weekend long, including anime screenings and gaming, the first-ever San Francisco Children’s Film Festival and the popular WonderCon Masquerade in its third big year. The World of Comics WonderCon featured a spectacular guest list that included Sergio Aragonés, Nick Cardy, Gene Colan, Mark Evanier, Al Feldstein, Pia Guerra, Tony Harris, Phil Jimenez, Jeph Loeb, Patrick McDonnell, Linda Medley, Michael Turner, Brian K. Vaughan, Matt Wagner, Greg Weisman and Judd Winick, each featured in special spotlight programs and other events. Industry giants DC Comics, Vertigo, WildStorm, CMX, Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, Aspen, SLG Publishing, IDW Publishing, BOOM! Studios, VIZ Media and Abstract Studio’s Terry Moore all offered special presentations. Attendees were treated to great comics-oriented programs such as the National Cartoonists Society, the CBLDF Live Art Jam, Scott Shaw’s Oddball Comics, and Cover Story, featuring seven of our special guests talking about the art of comics covers (see page 10 for more on that event). Hollywood Moves North The WonderCon audience witnessed an incredible schedule of movie and television oriented programs. On Friday, March 2, close to 600 lucky WonderCon attendees got to see a sneak preview of 300, the blockbuster movie based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel. Almost 300 pairs of tickets were given out to 3-day and Fridayonly attendees for this exclusive IMAX event, introduced by director Zack Snyder. Saturday featured the return of WonderCon’s “Big Movie Saturday.” Disney-Pixar led off the day with an exclusive look at this summer’s animated feature Ratatouille, featuring director Brad Bird and actor/comedian Patton Oswalt live on stage. The magic continued with Academy Award winning actress Hilary Swank and producer Joel Silver talking about The Reaping. Writer/director Kevin Munroe offered a preview of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And then, all hell broke loose—in a good way!—as 300 took the stage. Director Zack Snyder was joined by stars Gerard Butler and Lena Headey for a rollicking panel that converted every audience member into full-fledged Spartans. Next, stars Ali Larter and Oded Fehr talked about their new film, Resident Evil: Extinction. A sneak peek at the summer animated film Surf’s Up was next, followed by an exclusive new trailer for Spider-Man 3, shown only at WonderCon and introduced with a special video hello from producer Avi Nathan Fillion greets a fan at Arad. The day ended with another exclusive: a look at the first DC Comics the Drive autograph signing.

Photos: (top) Tom DeLeon; (bottom) Valerie Perez

WonderCon 2007 WonderCon’s big programming room, the Esplanade Ballroom, was packed, as fans got to see stars such as Gerald Butler talk about his new movie, 300, and Oded Fehr and Ali Larter with a sneak peek at their upcoming film, Resident Evil: Extinction.

animated movie, Superman/Doomsday, due out on DVD in September. Animation legend Bruce Timm shared the stage with DC’s Dan DiDio and Gregory Noveck. Sunday offered a whole new realm of programming at WonderCon, a day devoted to television! “Big TV Sunday” debuted with a TV Guide panel looking at “2007 and Beyond,” featuring Jeph Loeb (Heroes), Billy Campbell and Ira S. Behr (The 4400), Chase Masterson (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) and Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica). The hit CBS series Jericho took the spotlight with an exclusive previously unseen episode and stars Skeet Ulrich and Ashley Scott. Fan favorite Nathan Fillion, along with co-star Kristin Lehman, then introduced the audience to their new FOX show, Drive. All three “Big TV Sunday” panels were moderated by TV Guide West Coast Bureau Chief Craig Tomashoff. WonderCon also hosted the first-ever San Francisco International Children’s Film Festival. The event attracted more than 1,000 visitors to the private upstairs theater at the Moscone Center. These film fans and families viewed more than 90 films from around the world, including animation, live action and documentaries. The festival also offered free animation workshops. Numerous filmmakers from the Bay Area and around the world attended the festival, and interacted with the audience. Also debuting in March, the WonderCon/Robert A. Heinlein Blood Drive collected 74 pints of blood. These much-needed units were separated into three critical blood components that were used to treat over 200 Bay Area patients in need.

The Fun Went On Into the Night WonderCon nighttime programming featured the Best of the Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival on Friday night. A packed room of attendees viewed six of the “Best of” winners from the 2006 event. Saturday night once again featured the WonderCon Masquerade in its third big year. Over 1,200 attendees were treated to an amazing presentation of costumes and spectacle. Twenty-three entries competed in the event, adding up to forty-five costumes crossing the stage. Writer/artist Phil Foglio was once again the Master of Ceremonies and the judges included costumer/filmmaker Valerie Perez, Gayley Carillo, Marketing Director for DC Comics, and Stuart Shreck of DC Comics Direct Sales. Live entertainment was provided by sci-fi movie TV host Mr. Lobo of Cinema Insomnia. For a complete list of winners, check www.comic-con.org.

Clockwise from upper left: Special guest Brian K. Vaughan at his spotlight panel; Jim Lee drops in on the DC Universe event; the Masquerade Best in Show winner: “Darth Maul and Qui-Gon Jinn” (Lego versions!), made and worn by Mette Hedin & Bryan Little.

WonderCon returns to San Francisco February 22-24, 2008! Be the first to get breaking news of next year’s show! Subscribe to our RSS feeds by visiting www.comic-con.org/rss Photos: (Butler, Fehr and Larter) Al Ortega; (ballroom, Vaughan, Lee, masquerade) Tom DeLeon

WonderCon 2007

Cover Story

The Art of the Cover

On Sunday, March 4, fans at WonderCon 2007 were treated to an amazing panel about the art of the comic book cover. Mark Evanier interviewed six of WonderCon’s special guests and talked to each of them about some of the very special covers they’ve illustrated in their careers. Taking part in the panel were Nick Cardy and Gene Colan (pictured above, left to right, with Evanier), Al Feldstein, Tony Harris, Phil Jimenez and Michael Turner. We’ve selected one cover from each of the artists with their comments. Evanier: These gentlemen have drawn wonderful covers and we’re going to talk about what it means to draw a great cover, what goes into designing a memorable cover. (Let’s) start with Gene Colan. This is a Daredevil cover (#38) that you did. Did you like it better at the time at Marvel when they were letting other people do covers on your books? Gene Colan : No. I’d preferred doing them, but I never made a fuss over them if I didn’t get the cover. I would really rather do the story itself, but every now and then I would get a cover to do. In this particular case, what you’re seeing up there, I think that I composed that cover myself. It’s kind of a way-out composition. And I think that Stan (Lee) was very straightforward in what he wanted with a cover. ME: This is a story about Daredevil imprisoned in Doctor Doom’s body. Colan: I conceived Doctor Doom’s image chained together with Daredevil’s and I tried to indicate he was in prison without showing prison bars. In this case, all the elements came together and I did it with a very modern approach. I wanted to superimpose the elements, one over the other, and put together something quite dramatic. Evanier: Al Feldstein was in a little different situation than some of the other people we’re talking to, because he was the editor of this book. Al Feldstein: I’d submit my rough to me and approve it (laughter), and then I’d submit my pencils to me and I’d approve it, and then I’d ink it and give it to Bill (Gaines) and he’d approve it. Evanier: Here’s a very striking Weird Fantasy (#15) cover. What do you remember about this? Feldstein: We were starting to be successful with the horror comics and Bill said, “What do you know about science fiction?” And I said I never read science fiction. And he gives me two copies of Astounding Science Fiction,

Al Feldstein

WonderCon 2007

John Campbell’s pulp, and I go home and read it and it’s got Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov, and I think, “I can write this stuff.” (Laughter) We were introducing sci-fi to a comic book audience and I had problems. How would we do this? On the first few issues I did laboratory scenes. I think this was the first alien cover, and I figured I better put a little sex in it. Who’s going to be turned on by a monster with a brontosaurus’ face?

Phil Jimenez: This is one of my favorite covers from the X-Men run I did recently (#140). I’m a big, big fan of the George Pérez Crisis on Infinite Earths #5 cover, which is like seventy faces. I’m very, very keen on comics with characters that have distinct facial features, so you know, if you put one set of hair on another it doesn’t look like the same person, but wearing a wig. I’m very proud of this image, because I felt I captured each of the X-Men. Phil Jimenez

Tony Harris: This is from Ex Machina, my current series (#20). Does anyone here watch The Colbert Report? You know the opening from the show, where’s he standing and goes like this? That’s where this cover came from. (Laughter) This was a blast, this was a really, really fun cover. And the cog on the floor, underneath his feet, that’s another piece that I actually drew as a separate illustration and scanned it in, because that is a repeating thing throughout the series and on the covers. A lot of people think I do the circuitry digitally, Tony Harris but every one of those is hand-drawn.

Michael Turner

Michael Turner: This is one (Justice League of America #0) that was Brad Meltzer’s idea, a pretty ominous-looking shot of these guys looking down at who is going to be the next members of the Justice League. It looked a little scary to me, but when Peter (Steigerwald) colored it, it was awesome. I’m very fortunate to have a colorist working right next to me. Sometimes I’ll do something completely different and I have no idea exactly what I’ll get, so I’m very fortunate to have him. There’s a lot of attitude in this. I don’t know if that was intentional or not. Evanier: Nick, this woman (Girls’ Love Stories #139) is “young, beautiful and alone.” Why? Nick Cardy: (Laughter) Well, I was mainly concerned with drawing a beautiful woman and the design was the thing I wanted to set her in, that little diamondshaped design, that would capture your eye. I didn’t even know what the hell the story was. They say she was looking at an ex-boyfriend, but I put them in silhouette, because she was the important thing. I think that’s one of my favorite covers, because of the simplicity of the design. I always felt when you do a cover, you have hundreds of covers stacked along each other and you have two or three seconds to decide which cover (they’ll) pick. You had to put something very simple that strikes the eye, right off the bat.

WonderCon 2007

Fans Flock to WonderCon 2007!

And A Good Time Was Had By All! WonderCon has a reputation of being a fan-friendly convention. Here’s a couple of quick chats with some of this year’s attendees about what they love about WonderCon!

Dylan

Garrett

Who are you? Dylan from Sonoma, CA, and Garrett from Vacaville, CA. Dylan works for Industrial Light and Magic, Garrett is an IT person for a major law firm in San Francisco. First time at WonderCon? Garrett: This is my first WonderCon. I brought my wife with me, too. Dylan: This is my third. My daughter is here as well and she will be doing both days, today and tomorrow. She’s dressing up as “Tank Girl.” It’s one of her favorite characters. Looking for anything in particular? Garrett: I’m a fan of almost everything here. Star Wars, Star Trek, Anime, a lot of the Japanese die-cast stuff. I collect a lot of that stuff, so that’s what I’m really here for. What did you see today? Garrett: Trekked around downstairs and went to see the Resident Evil thing. Dylan: I got to see the interview with the horror hosts earlier with Elvira, Mr. Lobo, John Stanley and those guys. That was cool. They all had a really good sense of humor, fans asking them questions, things like that. Really played along well. It was a good time.

Who are you? Donna from Healdsburg, CA and Lois from Fresno, CA First time at WonderCon? Yes for both. What did you see today? Lois: 300. Donna: Yeah, we both came for 300. But I spent yesterday in the Exhibit Hall, had a great time. Do any shopping? Donna: Oh, yeah! (Laughs) I had to go to the ATM twice. I got this T-shirt. I bought my first comic book, actually, in my adult life. Anita Blake Vampire Hunter. I was just thrilled to see they have it as a comic. There are actually four of them. I’ll probably go back and buy the other three today. I almost bought some earrings. I was amazed that there was jewelry in there.

Lois

Lois: Really? I gotta go check that out!

12 Photos by Valerie Perez.

Donna

2007 Alternative Press Expo

The Nation’s Largest Alternative Comics Show Celebrates Its 14th Year!

APE: On the Loose In San Francisco!

This year’s special guests included Kevin Huizenga, Karl Christian Krumpholz (courtesy SLG Publishing), Hope Larson, Francoise Mouly, Bryan Lee O’Malley, art spiegelman, and Gene Yang. Mouly and spiegelman spoke to a standing room only audience on Saturday, April 21, about their lives and careers for close to two and a half hours. Art also took part in a “Graphic Novels Now” panel on Sunday, along with special guests Huizenga, Larson, O’Malley, and Yang, moderated by the Cartoon Art Museum’s Andrew Farago. Other panels included “Socially Relevant Comics,” “The Bay Area’s Young Cartoonists,” and APE’s annual “Queer Cartoonists” event, along with individual spotlights on each of the special guests.

APE special guest art spiegelman signs at the Fantagraphics table.

APE

APE, the Alternative Press Expo, roared back into San Francisco’s Concourse Exhibition Center on Ape-ril 21 and 22. Featuring an Exhibit Hall bigger than ever before, APE also boasted an impressive special guest list and programming schedule.

Above: the APE Exhibit Hall; at right, the 2007 poster with art by special guest Gene Yang.

The Exhibit Hall was filled to the rafters with an amazing assortment of comics, art, books, stuffed toys and figures, posters and prints, and much more. APE’s exhibitor roster grew once again this year to include 307 exhibitors filling over 335 separate tables. In its 14th year, APE remains the country’s premiere alternative comics event, attracting the major indie publishers such as SLG, Fantagraphics, Drawn and Quarterly, Top Shelf, IDW, Oni Press and AiT/Planet Lar and an incredible line-up of self-published comics and artists. The APE weekend in San Francisco once again featured a full schedule of nighttime parties and gallery openings. Check www. comic-con.org for a complete rundown of who participated in this year’s show and, coming soon, information on next year’s event.

APE special guests art spiegelman, Kevin Huizenga, Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O’Malley at the Graphic Novels Now panel on Sunday, April 22.

Comic-Con 2007

Ready...set...go! Comic-Con 2007 Is Coming Your Way! It’s hard to believe, but Comic-Con 2007 is right around the corner. It seems like only yesterday when 123,000 of our closest friends descended on the San Diego Convention Center for the four-day celebration of all things pop culture. In our 38th year, we once again carve four days out of the warm summer to celebrate all things comic, with a good measure of the popular arts added in. That’s right: we’re doing it again and you’re invited! Just look at our guest list and programming schedule: Comics is what makes Comic-Con tick. And this is what makes us different from every other convention: It’s our mission to present comics to a larger audience. Yes, it sounds corny, but it’s true. We love this stuff as much as you do, and we want everyone out there to realize what an intense joy the world of comics is. Everyone who sees Spider-Man 3 or Superman Returns should sit down and read the comic books where they originated, and from there go on to discover what an incredible world awaits them in reading comics. From Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home to Gene Yang’s American Born Chinese, comics have never been better. On the following pages, you’ll get a sneak peek at what we have planned for this year’s big event. As always your best source for updated Comic-Con information is our website, www.comic-con.org. We’re constantly adding to it and improving it. One of our newest features is a searchable programming database that allows you to find the topics you’re interested in and enables you to print out your own personalized program schedule. This feature kicks in once our complete schedule is posted, about two weeks before the event. And now you can subscribe to our RSS feeds and get Comic-Con news delivered via email! Visit www.comic-con.org/rss for complete details. Be the first to get the latest news on Comic-Con 2007!

You are here.

Comic-Con 2007

Comic-Con’s Official Themes and Anniversary Celebrations

Theme Song(s) Comic-Con is once again celebrating comics and pop culture oriented anniversaries as special themes for programming and/or featured articles and art in the Souvenir Book. given free to each attendee. 100th Birthday of Milton Caniff Milton Caniff was an artist and master storyteller of almost unparalleled skill. In his 54 years with two top strips—Terry and the Pirates from 1934 to 1946 and Steve Canyon from 1947 until his death in 1988—Caniff thrilled newspaper readers on a daily basis. 2007 also marks the sixtieth anniversary of Steve Canyon. 100th Birthday of Robert A. Heinlein Robert A. Heinlein is one of the most influential and popular science fiction writers of all time. The author, whose books include Starship Troopers and Stranger In A Strange Land, died in 1988. In 1977, Heinlein, who suffered from a rare blood disease, appeared at Comic-Con as a guest, under the stipulation that he would sign autographs only for those that donated blood. 2007 is also the 30th anniversary of Comic-Con’s Robert A. Heinlein Blood Drive. 30th Anniversary of Star Wars It’s a pop culture phenomenon, a whirlwind of space ships and archetypes in a galaxy far, far away. Star Wars turns 30 this year, and shows no signs of slowing down. Lucasfilm first introduced Star Wars to a ComicCon audience in 1976. Thirty “official” years later, the saga continues.

10th Anniversary of Buffy The Vampire Slayer on TV She made her first appearance in a movie in 1992, but when Buffy moved to the small screen she captured our heart (without a stake). Joss Whedon’s fan-favorite characters may be off TV, but their tale continues with Dark Horse’s new comics series, which takes up after the show ended.

25th Anniversary of Groo They call him the Wanderer, and Sergio Aragonés’ popular barbarian has found a home at numerous comics companies. Sergio, and Mark Evanier (not even Evanier is sure of what he does with Groo, but he does something), talk about 25 years with the character and the future. Is that a movie on the horizon? 25th Anniversary of Love and Rockets Arguably the book that launched the alternative comics scene, Love and Rockets was first published by Fantagraphics Books in 1982. Los Bros Hernandez, Jaime and Gilbert, tell their own separate stories throughout the run of this series, which ended with #50 in 1996 and restarted five years later. 25th Anniversary of The Rocketeer Dave Stevens’ retro character, The Rocketeer, first appeared in the pages of Pacific Comics Presents in 1982. Known for his lushly rendered art, this 1930s based series was an amalgamation of Stevens’ interests: aircraft and flying, movie serials, and, most importantly, Bettie Page. The Rocketeer went onto become a great Disney film in 1991 and has had a lasting effect on comics and pop culture fans. 25th Anniversary of Grendel Matt Wagner’s anti-hero was first published by Comico in 1982 and moved to Dark Horse in the early 90s. The Grendel story has included two crossovers with Batman (another character Wagner is intimately familiar with), and numerous mini-series with collaborators such as Tim Sale, the Pander Brothers and Greg Rucka, who wrote a Grendel prose novel. 100th Birthday of Hergé The creator of one of the world’s most beloved and recognizable comics characters, Tintin, Hergé was born George Remi in Brussels, Belgium in 1907. From 1929 on, Hergé produced 23 separate Tintin books filled with adventure, intrigue, thrills and one of the most charming and endearing art styles to ever grace a page. Tintin ©Hergé/Moulinsart 2007; Steve Canyon ©2007 Milton Caniff Estate; Star Wars ©2007 Lucasfilm Ltd.; Buffy ©2007 Fox Television; Groo ©2007 Sergio Aragonés; Love and Rockets ©2007 Gilbert and Jamie Hernandez; The Rocketeer ©2007 Dave Stevens; Grendel ©2007 Matt Wagner.

Comic-Con 2007

Comic-Con Programming Celebrates the Many Facets of Comics and Pop Culture

The Medium Is The Message! Whether it’s comics, movies, television, animation, anime and manga, science fiction and fantasy, action figures and toys, or videogames—just to name a few!—ComicCon’s programming will once again have you covered with the largest slate of events of any convention in the country! In 2006, Comic-Con featured over 400 separate events over the four-day weekend, with 15 programming rooms running simultaneously. Everything from animation to writing for young readers was covered, but our first love remains comics. The Complete World of Comics The heart and soul of Comic-Con is comics. The convention showcases the vast spectrum of the medium like no other event. We celebrate everything about comics, from the rich history of the Golden and Silver Ages to the most popular mainstream comics of the current day. We shine the spotlight on the alternative, indie and self-published gems that make comics such an intense and vibrant medium. We cover everything from newspaper strips to web comics, from manga to European comics, from graphic novels to comic blogs and podcasts and everything in between. We’re still working on this year’s programming

Tobey Maguire—and almost the entire cast of Spider-Man 3—made a surprise appearance at Comic-Con last year, proving once again that you never know who will show up!

schedule, but some things are certain: when it comes to comic publisher announcements, you can expect Comic-Con to once again be “Breaking News Central,” all weekend long. There’ll be spotlights on all of our guests (see page 33 for

A whole other world exists upstairs at Comic-Con: The world of programming!

16 Photos by (top) Tina Gill and (bottom) Tom DeLeon

Comic-Con 2007

2006 special guest Daniel Clowes (left) shares a moment with Eric Reynolds of Fantagraphics Books at his Spotlight panel. Clowes accepted Comic-Con’s Inkpot Award for Excellence in Comics at this event.

a complete list), in addition to featuring them in other programming. Our special themes will have dedicated panels, too, including ones spotlighting the 100th birthday’s of comic legends Hergé (Tintin) and Milton Caniff (Terry and the Pirates and Steve Canyon), along with the centennial of the birth of science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein, the originator of Comic-Con’s blood drive, celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. In addition, there’s a plethora of 25th anniversaries of fan-favorite characters and titles this year that will be saluted in panels and events, many featuring the actual creators (see page 15 for a complete list). Comics and pop culture historian and longtime Comic-Con friend, Mark Evanier—part of a programming theme this year himself, the 25th anniversary of Sergio Aragonés’ Groo—will be back with some of his fan-favorite panels, including Quick Draw, the Jack Kirby Tribute, and Cartoon

Voices and will once again be moderating the majority of our panels devoted to Golden and Silver Age comics. Our educational mission expands with a whole Sunday track dedicated to events such as graphic novels in libraries, and the popular “Secret Origin of Good Readers,” which unites teachers with comic retailers for a great reading experience. The Comic Arts Conference, one of the country’s leading academic events, returns for its 15th big year, in an expanded new location, with panels and seminars all four days of Comic-Con. The Big Picture Show Comic-Con is currently talking to the major Hollywood studios and the following films are under consideration for presentations at this year’s event. It’s important to note that this part of ComicCon programming is worked on up to the last

In one of Comic-Con’s most popular programs last year, famed author Deepak Chopra and award-winning comics writer Grant Morrison talked about the nature of heroes, the impact of comics and art on our lives, and the spirituality behind superheroes. Photos by (top) Adrian Velazquez and (bottom) Al Ortega

Comic-Con 2007

Ray Bradbury

Neil Gaiman

possible minute, so expect changes and plenty of surprises. Please note this is only a preliminary list and definitely subject to change. Alien vs. Predator 2: No Peace On Earth, American Gangster, Babylon AD, Balls of Fury, Beowulf, The Bourne Ultimatum, Coraline, Fred Claus, Get Smart, The Golden Compass Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, I Am Legend, The Incredible Hulk, Indiana Jones 4, Invasion, Iron Man, National Treasure 2, Resident Evil: Extinction, Speed Racer, The Strangers, Stardust, Star Trek XI, Sunshine, Sweeney Todd, 30 Days of Night, Trick ‘r Treat, Wanted, Where The Wild Things Are, White Out

Cory Doctorow

As always, Comic-Con’s attendees will be treated to panels and, in some cases, sneak peeks at exclusive footage from these films months before they debut on neighborhood theater screens. In addition to the major motion picture studios, Comic-Con is once again talking with the major TV networks about their most popular shows appearing at this year’s event. We’ve already told you about the return of Heroes (see page 3), but another Comic-Con favorite, Lost, returns in its traditional Saturday morning slot in Ballroom 20. In addition, we’ve just learned that SCI FI will once again feature Battlestar Galactica as part of their programming. And Comic-Con has a proud tradition of premiering brand new shows, months before they debut on TV. We did it with Lost, Heroes and

From SCI FI’s Battlestar Galactica panel last year (l to r): Aaron Douglas, James Callas and Lucy Lawless talk to a packed audience in Comic-Con’s giant Ballroom 20.

Neil Gaiman photo by Sophia Quach; Photo (bottom) by Kevin Green

Everything else you can imagine … Science fiction and fantasy is well represented this year with special guests such as Ray Bradbury, Neil Gaiman, Cory Doctorow (pictured on the page opposite), Laurell K. Hamilton (see our exclusive interview with the Anita Blake creator beginning on page 40), and suspense/thriller writer David Morrell. You can expect numerous panels, including spotlights on each of these authors and signings with them and many more of your favorite science fiction, fantasy and horror/suspense writers. Our seminar and workshop room—always

Comic-Con 2007

Jericho. Who knows what new shows will debut this year? Animation is another perennial favorite for our attendees, and this year will be no exception. You can look forward to panels from Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney, Fox, and many more, along with more breaking news and sneak peeks from the major studios on their new animated films on our informal Thursday “Animation Day” program, a big hit last year. Plus, we’ll have the world premiere of the eagerly awaited, first “DC Universe” DVD animated film, Superman Doomsday. See page 22 for complete details!

a popular destination for our classroom style programs—moves to a new location this year to allow for larger attendance (see the box below for more details). Once again, Comic-Con will feature an incredible schedule of how-to and hands-on events, including Michael Lovitz’s popular “Comic Book Law School,” writing and drawing seminars and demonstrations, and our popular Kids’Day drawing classes on Sunday, July 29. In addition, we’re considering panels on many fan-favorite topics, including videogames, action figures, podcasting, blogging, voice-acting … you name it, it’s probably on our list! Nighttime programming continues to grow with some of your favorites returning, including the “Kung-Fu Superhero Extravaganza” and Spike and Mike’s “The Gauntlet.” Plus, check out the feature articles on our nighttime “Big Events,” starting on page 22. As always at Comic-Con, you never know who will show up, so expect more announcements, especially as we get closer to the event (via www. comic-con.org), plus surprises onsite. New for this year: Sign up for our RSS news feed updates (see page 14 for more details)!

Comic-Con Adapts to Tremendous Interest in Programming

Ch-ch-ch-changes! Always a popular destination for Comic-Con attendees, the programming rooms and events upstairs at the Convention Center saw an explosive increase in attendance last year. We’re introducing a few new things this year to help you have a better experience at Comic-Con. • A 15-minute break will be introduced between panels in our bigger programming rooms. We will NOT clear the audience in these four rooms, Hall H (6,500 seats), Ballroom 20 (4,250 seats), and Rooms 6AB and 6CDEF (each 2,000 seats), but we will utilize the 15-minute break period to allow people to leave and come in. If you want to “camp” all day in Hall H or any of our program rooms while they’re open, it’s okay. (We love the campers, but you can’t stay overnight. Sorry.) • We’re introducing larger programming rooms for two of our more popular tracks, the Comic Arts Conference and our “Comic-Con Classroom” series of workshops and seminars. These rooms will be located in the bayside hallway of the newer section of the Convention Center, above Hall H. The CAC’s new home will be Room 30AB, which seats over 330 people. The workshops will be located in Room 30CDE, which will contain over 300 seats in a “classroom” style setting, with tables and chairs, to better facilitate note-taking and drawing. • You can expect to see better signage and separate hallways dedicated to entering and leaving programming in rooms 1 through 10 at the Convention Center, above Halls A through C. Check your onsite Events Guide for important information on attending programming and the complete schedule, plus a detailed map. And … always IMPORTANT to remember when attending programming: All event and program rooms have limited capacity as set by the Fire Marshall. Even though your badge is needed to get into all events, it does not guarantee you access to any event if it has reached its capacity. We do not clear rooms between events. If an event or program interests you, we recommend you get there early.

Comic-Con 2007

Popular Indie Film Event Returns for Seventh Big Year!

Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival Strikes Back! Comic-Con once again presents four full days of the finest in independent genre films. The Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival returns as a juried event, complete with awards and prizes to be given out on Sunday, July 29. The Festival showcases the very best in genre filmmaking, featuring both feature-length and short films in seven categories: Action/Adventure, Animation, Comics-oriented, Documentary (pop culture-oriented), Horror/Suspense, Humor/Parody, and Science Fiction/Fantasy. 2006 saw close to sixty entries screened over the four-day event, in Room 26AB, devoted solely to the Film Festival. This year’s Festival also includes the return of the Comic-Con Film School. This popular series of seminars will take place each of the four days and focus on valuable information for the indie filmmaker, newbie and pro alike. Both Sean Rourke and Valerie Perez will once again head up the daily discussions. A brief look at the schedule shows that Thursday will be devoted to pre-production and production, part one, and Friday will be production part 2 and post-production. Saturday will cover directing, and working with actors and a crew, while Sunday will be a unique day with a discussion of the future of Internet content.

2007 Film Festival Judges Named Collins

Jane

Rourke

Max Allan Collins wrote the New York Times-bestselling graphic novel Road to Perdition, the basis of the Tom Hanks film, and prose sequels Road to Purgatory and Road to Paradise, as well as the graphic novel follow-up Road to Perdition 2: On the Road. His comics credits include a long stint writing the Dick Tracy comic strip and his own innovative Eisner-nominated crime comic book, Ms. Tree (co-created by artist Terry Beatty). His Nathan Heller thrillers are multiple Shamus winners and his CSI novels (Pocket Books) USA Today bestsellers. He and wife Barbara (as “Barbara Allan”) recently authored Antiques Roadkill, first of a new series. As an indie filmmaker, Collins adapted Eliot Ness: An Untouchable Life from his Edgar-nominated play and his films Mommy, Real Time, Mommy’s Day and Shades of Noir have been collected as the “Black Box” by Troma. His current mystery, A Killing in Comics, utilizes comic-book elements in a prose novel. Thomas Jane has a solid raft of film and major TV credits to his name and has worked with some of the international film industry’s most acclaimed directors including Frank Darabont, Renny Harlin, Paul Thomas Anderson, John Madden, Terrence Malick, John Duigan and John Woo. Notable appearances include Boogie Nights, The Thin Red Line, 61* The Sweetest Thing, Dreamcatcher and Stander, but Jane’s role as the lead in The Punisher is the one that brought him most acclaim. More recently, he has starred in John Madden’s Killshot, Frank Darabont’s The Mist and The Tripper, which is directed by his brother-in-law David Arquette. Jane’s next project is a reprisal of his role as Frank Castle in The Punisher 2. Sean Rourke has worked as an editor in the Visual FX world for ten years. His credits include such films as The Legend of Zorro, Road to Perdition, Red Planet, The Time Machine, and Freddy vs. Jason. He is also a veteran filmmaker of the CCI: IFF, and is heading-up the Comic-Con Film School for its fourth year in a row. Check www.comic-con.org for a complete schedule of films screening in this year’s Festival, as we get closer to the event.

20 Max Allan Collins photo by Bamford Studios

Comic-Con 2007

Comic-Con’s Popular Destination Programs Continue to Pack ‘em In!

Anime: Four Full Days x Three Big Rooms = One Killer Schedule! Anime returns to Comic-Con in 2007 with screenings of over 130 different titles courtesy the major U. S. distribution companies. The schedule will include fan favorites as well as newer releases, including Ah! My Goddess 2, Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Tsubasa, Karin, and the popular Le Chevalier D’Eon (pictured). The Anime schedule is still a work-in-progress, with the Anime Department working up to the last minutes before Comic-Con to bring you the very best in Japanese Animation. A handy printed schedule, featuring brief synopses of the titles being shown with icons identifying their theme and subject content, will once again be available. The complete Anime schedule also appears in the onsite Events Guide and on www.comic-con.org, as we get closer to the event. Le Chevalier D’Eon © TOW UBUKATA € Production I.G./Project Chevalier 2006

Films: For Your Nighttime Viewing Pleasure! Comic-Con’s films program is back with an ambitious new schedule of fan-favorite screenings. This year, the late-night screening room moves to the Marriott Hotel and Marina, our headquarters hotel for 2007. If you aren’t staying at the Marriott don’t worry … you can take the shuttle from your hotel to the Convention Center and walk right down the sidewalk to the Marriott. While the films schedule is a closely-guarded secret until the onsite Events Guide comes out, pre-registered attendees can get a sneak peek at the schedule online, by visiting the “log-in area” page on www.comic-con.org, clicking on the “Attendees” link, and entering the proper info, as we get closer to the event. A complete schedule of screenings will also appear in the Events Guide, given free to every attendee.

Gaming: A Convention Within the Convention! Comic-Con’s gaming schedule offers such a diverse amount of gaming opportunities—live-action demos, premieres of new games and products, and company-sponsored tournaments featuring cash and merchandising prizes—that it’s almost a convention in itself! A preliminary list of 2007 tournaments includes The Spoils “Seed” Launch $5K Event from Tenacious Games and Shonen Jump’s Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG World Championship 2007 from Upper Deck. Gaming will also feature Vampire: The Requiem LARP (Live Action Role Playing). Anachronism will be holding a World Championship Qualifier and fan-favorite Pokémon will be returning this year as well. Comic-Con offers gaming in a relaxed atmosphere (so relaxed that many visitors spend their entire day in the gaming rooms!), where both the newbie and the seasoned vet can play. Many companies offer live demos on the Exhibit Hall floor, and some include playing areas in their booths where you can get both beginning training and advanced tips on how to play various games. Gaming will once again take place on the Mezzanine level of the Convention Center and also move into more spacious digs in our new headquarters hotel, the Marriott Hotel and Marina, right next door to the Center. Consult your onsite Events Guide for a complete gaming schedule at Comic-Con and also for the exact locations of the gaming rooms. The schedule will also appear on www.comiccon.org before the show.

Comic-Con 2007

T H E

B I G

E V E N T:

T H U R S D A Y

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World Premiere: Superman Doomsday It’s the main event: Superman vs. Doomsday in a no-holds-barred fight to the finish! And Comic-Con attendees get to see it first, almost two whole months before it debuts on DVD! Thursday night’s big event in Ballroom 20 is the world premiere of the eagerly awaited first-ever DC Universe animated movie from DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation. Produced by Bruce Timm (Justice League Unlimited, Batman: The Animated Series) and written by Duane Capizzi (The Batman), Superman Doomsday is inspired by the best-selling graphic novel of all time, DC’s The Death of Superman. The complete 70+ minute movie will be shown along with a panel featuring the film’s creators. Superman Doomsday features the voices of Adam Baldwin (Firefly, Serenity) as Superman, Anne Heche (Men In Trees) as Lois Lane, and James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as Lex Luthor, and is rated PG-13. We talked with producer and animation legend Bruce Timm about this new film. CCI: How did the PG-13 rating and the extended time impact the way you told the Superman Doomsday story? BT: We had done direct-to-video features before, so that wasn’t a major issue in terms of the length. The PG-13 thing was interesting. Honestly, on Justice League and pretty much all of our shows, we really hadn’t been trying to limit the kinds of stories we’ve been telling just for a kid audience. We always had to keep in mind that our core demographic was 6-11 year-olds. At the same time, however, in our hearts we were actually making the shows for ourselves. So here, knowing that we’re actually going for a much more adult tone across the board, and not being worried about being restricted to kid friendly subject matter, it was actually quite liberating. And in a weird kind of way, we actually found

ourselves almost having to force ourselves to “ageup” some of the story elements, because our first couple of pitches on the storyline, everybody kept saying, ‘Well this is fine, but it still doesn’t seem any more extreme than what you could get in an episode of Justice League.’ CCI: In Superman Doomsday, you’re telling an epic story that was serialized over many comics. Which elements can fans expect to see? BT: It follows the basic structure of the entire story arc (The Death of Superman, World Without A Superman and The Return of Superman). The first third of the movie pretty much covers up to the actual death of Superman storyline pretty closely, with certain modifications just because of time limits or whatever. From that point on, it stays true to the structure of the storyline but a lot of the details had to be changed. Again, because of the short amount of time we had to tell the entire story. It’s tough to talk about without spoiling it, but you’re definitely going to see some of the most giant scale brutal battle scenes that we’ve ever done in animation, both at the beginning and end of the movie. The core emotional heart of the story is basically seen through Lois’ eyes, but in the second and third acts, the main part of the story is how did the world react to the loss of Superman.

CCI: Are there other DC heroes in it? BT: No. We were pretty much treating this as if it was a stand-alone Superman movie, not connected to any other continuity. Superman is the only hero in this movie. It just makes the story stronger and more focused. Superman Doomsday premieres at Comic-Con on Thursday, July 26 at 8:30 PM in Ballroom 20. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.

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Eisner Award Nominations Overwhelm with Variety by Jackie Estrada, Eisner Awards Administrator After poring through the thousands of books, and there, manga works can be found in the archival comics submitted, a five-person blue-ribbon panel category (Tezuka’s Ode to Kirohito, Tatsumi’s of judges have arrived at the 2007 nominees for the Abandon the Old in Tokyo) and in the nomination of Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, considered the Naoki Urasawa’s Monster for Best Continuing Series “Oscars” of the comic book industry. And they’ve and Project X Challengers: Cup Noodle for Realitycome up with quite an eclectic mix. Based Work. The judges’ choices, in 29 categories, encompass The diversity of the nominations can also be seen the full spectrum of the comic artform, from new in the publishers with the highest number of takes on the traditional superhero (Ed Brubaker’s nominations: indie publisher Fantagraphics Books Daredevil and Captain America for Marvel and Grant and venerable “mainstream” publisher DC Comics. Morrison’s All Star Superman and Paul Pope’s Fantagraphics can claim 22 nominations (plus 1 shared), Batman: Year 100 at DC) to experimental (Brian while DC and its various imprints have 18 along with Chippendale’s Ninja graphic album, the Kramers 7 shared (in such categories as coloring, lettering, and Ergot anthology). The nominations also range cover art). from highly acclaimed graphic novels published by Over 40 other publishers can boast of nominations this noncomics houses (Houghton Mifflin’s Fun Home, year. Marvel Comics had one of its best years ever with First Second’s American Born Chinese, Abrams’ Mom’s nine nominations and a share of two others. Dark Horse can claim five nominations Cancer) to such relatively of its own and a share of five unknown small-press titles others. Top Shelf’s seven as Onion Head Monster nominations include three for Attacks, Truth Serum, and The French’s The Ticking and three Preposterous Adventures of for Lost Girls. Ironhide Tom. This year’s judges made a Perhaps the most noticeable few changes in the categories. trends in this year’s choices are In addition to splitting the many more female nominees Foreign Publication category and greater representation of The 2007 Eisner judges are (l to r): comics into two in order to create manga. writer Christopher P. Reilly (Punch & Judy), a separate category for Led by multiple nominations pop culture blogger Whitney Matheson (Pop manga, they dropped the Best for Alison Bechdel (Fun Candy at usatoday.com), fantasy author/critic Jeff VanderMeer (bookslut.com), retailer James Serialized Story category, they Home), Renée French (The Sime (Isotope Comics, San Francisco), and reinstated the Best Humor Ticking), and Tove Jansson librarian Robin Brenner (noflyingnotights.com). Publication category, and they (Moomin), female creators garnered more Eisner Awards nominations this year changed “Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition” to than in any previous year, with some 24 nominations “Special Recognition.” for 20 creators. One of the female creators, 9-year-old Ballots will be going out in May to comics creators, Alexa Kitchen, is the youngest Eisner nominee ever; editors, publishers, and retailers. The results will be her Drawing Comics Is Easy (Except When It’s Hard) announced in a gala awards ceremony on the evening is up for Best Publication for a Younger Audience. At of Friday, July 27 in Ballroom 20 at the San Diego the other end of the age spectrum, octogenarian “goodConvention Center. girl” artist Lily Renée Phillips is on the ballot in the Sponsors for the 19th annual Eisner Awards include Hall of Fame category. Some of the women on the mycomicshop.com (major sponsor); Century Guild, ballot are past nominees and winners (Jill Thompson, Comickaze Comics, Diamond Comics Distributors, and Imaginary Friends Studios (principal sponsors); Linda Medley, Melinda Gebbie, Ellen Forney, and Alternate Reality, Atlantis Fantasyworld, Comic Becky Cloonan), but many are newcomers, including Relief–The Comic Bookstore, Comics Unlimited, Gabrielle Bell, Hope Larson, Danica Novgorodoff, Flying Colors, Golden Apple, Isotope Comics, and Lilli Carré, Svetlana Chmakova, and Lark Pien. Strange Adventure Comics (supporting sponsors). The growing presence of Japanese comics in Jackie Estrada has been administrator of the Awards American publishing is reflected in a new category since 1990. She can be reached at jackiee@mindspring. created by the judges: Best U.S. Edition of International com. Material—Japan. Besides the five titles nominated

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Comic Industry Awards Best Short Story ”The Black Knight Glorps Again,” by Don Rosa, in Uncle Scrooge #354 (Gemstone) “Felix,” by Gabrielle Bell, in Drawn & Quarterly Showcase 4 (Drawn & Quarterly) “A Frog’s Eye View,” by Bill Willingham and James Jean, in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (Vertigo/DC) “Old Oak Trees,” by Tony Cliff, in Flight 3 (Ballantine) “Stan Lee Meets Spider-Man,” by Stan Lee, Oliver Coipel, and Mark Morales, in Stan Lee Meets Spider-Man (Marvel) “Willie: Portrait of a Groundskeeper,” by Eric Powell, in Bart Simpsons’s Treehouse of Horror #12 (Bongo) Best Single Issue (or One-Shot) Batman/The Spirit #1: “Crime Convention,” by Jeph Loeb and Darwyn Cooke (DC) A Late Freeze, by Danica Novgorodoff (Danica Novgorodoff) The Preposterous Adventures of Ironhide Tom, by Joel Priddy (AdHouse) Skyscrapers of the Midwest #3, by Joshua Cotter (AdHouse) They Found the Car, by Gipi (Fantagraphics) Best Continuing Series All Star Superman, by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely (DC) Captain America, by Ed Brubaker, Steve Epting, and Mike Perkins (Marvel) Daredevil, by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, and Stefano Gaudiano (Marvel) Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz) The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman and Charles Adlard (Image) Young Avengers, by Allan Heinberg, Jim Cheung, and various inkers (Marvel) Best Limited Series Batman: Year 100, by Paul Pope (DC) The Looking Glass Wars: Hatter M, by Frank Beddor, Liz Cavalier, and Ben Templesmith (Desperado/ Image) The Other Side, by Jason Aaron and Cameron Stewart (Vertigo/DC) Scarlet Traces: The Great Game, by Ian Edginton and D’Israeli (Dark Horse) Sock Monkey: The Inches Incident, by Tony Millionaire (Dark Horse) Best New Series Criminal, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Marvel Icon) East Coast Rising, by Becky Cloonan (Tokyopop) Gumby, by Bob Burden and Rick Geary (Wildcard) Jack of Fables, by Bill Willingham, Matthew Sturges, Tony Akins, and Andrew Pepoy (Vertigo/DC) The Lone Ranger, by Brett Matthews and Sergio Cariello (Dynamite) Best Publication for a Younger Audience Chickenhare, by Chris Grine (Dark Horse) Drawing Comics Is Easy (Except When It’s Hard), by Alexa Kitchen (Denis Kitchen Publishing) Gumby, by Bob Burden and Rick Geary (Wildcard) Moomin, by Tove Jansson (Drawn & Quarterly) To Dance: A Ballerina’s Graphic Novel, by Sienna Cherson and Mark Siegel (Simon & Schuster)

Best Humor Publication Flaming Carrot Comics, by Bob Burden (Desperado/ Image) Onionhead Monster Attacks, by Paul Friedrich (Hellcar) Schizo #4, by Ivan Brunetti (Fantagraphics) Tales Designed to Thrizzle, by Michael Kupperman (Fantagraphics) Truth Serum, by Jon Adams (City Cyclops) Best Anthology Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall, by Bill Willingham and various (Vertigo/DC) Hotwire Comix and Capers #1, edited by Glenn Head (Fantagraphics) Japan as Viewed by 17 Creators, edited by Frédéric Boilet (Fanfare/Ponent Mon) Kramers Ergot 6, edited by Sammy Harkham (Buenaventura Press) Project: Romantic, edited by Chris Pitzer (AdHouse) Best Digital Comic Bee, in “Motel Art Improvement Service,” by Jason Little, http://beecomix.com Girl Genius, by Phil and Kaja Foglio, www.girlgeniusonline.com Minus, by Ryan Armand, www.kiwisbybeat.com/ minus1.html Phables, by Brad Guigar, www.phables.com Sam and Max, by Steve Purcell, http://telltalegames. com/community/comics/samandmax Shooting War, by Anthony Lappe and Dan Goldman, www.shootingwar.com Best Reality-Based Work Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin) I Love Led Zeppelin, by Ellen Forney (Fantagraphics) Mom’s Cancer, by Brian Fies (Abrams) Project X Challengers: Cup Noodle, by Tadashi Katoh (Digital Manga) Stagger Lee, by Derek McCulloch and Shepherd Hendrix (Image) Best Graphic Album—New American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang (First Second) Billy Hazelnuts, by Tony Millionaire (Fantagraphics) Fun Home, by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin) Ninja, by Brian Chippendale (PictureBox/Gingko Press) Scrublands, by Joe Daly (Fantagraphics) The Ticking, by Renée French (Top Shelf) Best Graphic Album—Reprint Absolute DC: The New Frontier, by Darwyn Cooke (DC) Castle Waiting, by Linda Medley (Fantagraphics) Mom’s Cancer, by Brian Fies (Abrams) Shadowland, by Kim Deitch (Fantagraphics) Truth Serum, by Jon Adams (City Cyclops) Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips The Complete Peanuts, 1959–1960, 1961–1962, by Charles Schulz (Fantagraphics) Mary Perkins On Stage, by Leonard Starr (Classic Comics Press) Moomin, by Tove Jansson (Drawn & Quarterly) Popeye: I Yam What I Yam, by E. C. Segar (Fantagraphics) Walt & Skeezix, vol. 2, by Frank King (Drawn & Quarterly) Best Archival Collection/Project—Comic Books Abandon the Old In Tokyo, by Yoshihiro Tatsumi (Drawn & Quarterly)

James Jean, Fables, Jack of Fables, Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (Vertigo/DC) Dave Johnson, 100 Bullets (Vertigo/DC); Zombie Tales, Cthulu Tales, Black Plague (Boom!) J. G. Jones, 52 (DC)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material A.L.I.E.E.E.N., by Lewis Trondheim (First Second) De:TALES, by Fábio Moon and Gabriel Bá (Dark Horse) Hwy 115, by Matthias Lehmann (Fantagraphics) The Left Bank Gang, by Jason (Fantagraphics) Pizzeria Kamikaze, by Etgar Keret and Asaf Hanuka (Alternative)

Best Coloring Kristian Donaldson, Supermarket (IDW) Hubert, The Left Bank Gang (Fantagraphics) Lark Pien, American Born Chinese (First Second) Dave Stewart, BPRD, Conan, The Escapists, Hellboy (Dark Horse); Action Comics, Batman/The Spirit, Superman (DC) Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #17 (ACME Novelty)

Best U.S. Edition of International Material— Japan After School Nightmare, by Setona Mizushiro (Go! Comi) Antique Bakery, by Fumi Yoshinaga (Digital Manga) Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, by Naoki Urasawa (Viz) Old Boy, by Garon Tsuchiya and Nobuaki Minegishi (Dark Horse Manga) Walking Man, by Jiro Taniguchi (Fanfare/Ponent Mon)

Best Lettering Ivan Brunetti, Schizo (Fantagraphics) Todd Klein, Fables, Jack of Fables, Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall, Pride of Baghdad, Testament (Vertigo/DC); Fantastic Four: 1602, Eternals (Marvel); Lost Girls (Top Shelf) Clem Robins, BPRD, The Dark Horse Book of Monsters, Hellboy (Dark Horse); Loveless, 100 Bullets, Y: The Last Man (Vertigo/DC) Richard Sala, The Grave Robber’s Daughter, Delphine (Fantagraphics) Chris Ware, Acme Novelty Library #17 (ACME Novelty)

Best Writer Ed Brubaker, Captain America, Daredevil (Marvel); Criminal (Marvel Icon) Bob Burden, Gumby (Wildcard) Ian Edginton, Scarlet Traces: The Great Game (Dark Horse) Grant Morrison, All Star Superman, Batman, 52, Seven Soldiers (DC) Bill Willingham, Fables, Jack of Fables, Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (Vertigo/DC) Best Writer/Artist Allison Bechdel, Fun Home (Houghton Mifflin) Renée French, The Ticking (Top Shelf) Gilbert Hernandez, Love and Rockets, New Tales of Old Palomar (Fantagraphics); Sloth (Vertigo/DC) Paul Pope, Batman: Year 100 (DC) Joann Sfar, Klezmer, Vampire Loves (First Second) Best Writer/Artist—Humor Ivan Brunetti, Schizo (Fantagraphics) Lilli Carré, Tales of Woodsman Pete (Top Shelf) Michael Kupperman, Tales Designed to Thrizzle (Fantagraphics) Tony Millionaire, Billy Hazelnuts (Fantagraphics); Sock Monkey: The Inches Incident (Dark Horse) Lewis Trondheim, A.L.I.E.E.E.N. (First Second); Mr. I (NBM) Best Penciller/Inker or Penciller/Inker Team Mark Buckingham/Steve Leialoha, Fables (Vertigo/ DC) Tony Harris/Tom Feister, Ex Machina (WildStorm/DC) Niko Henrichon, Pride of Baghdad (Vertigo/DC) Michael Lark/Stefano Gaudiano, Daredevil (Marvel) Sonny Liew, Wonderland (SLG) Steven McNiven/Dexter Vines, Civil War (Marvel) Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (interior art) Nicolas De Crecy, Glacial Period (NBM) Melinda Gebbie, Lost Girls (Top Shelf) Ben Templesmith, Fell (Image); The Looking Glass Wars: Hatter M (Desperado/Image); Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse (IDW) Jill Thompson, “A Dog and His Boy” in The Dark Horse Book of Monsters; “Love Triangle” in Sexy Chix (Dark Horse); “Fair Division,” in Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall (Vertigo/DC) Brett Weldele, Southland Tales: Prequel Saga (Graphitti); Silent Ghost (Markosia) Best Cover Artist John Cassaday, Astonishing X-Men (Marvel); The Escapists (Dark Horse); The Lone Ranger (Dynamite) Tony Harris, Conan (Dark Horse); Ex Machina (WildStorm/DC)

Comic-Con 2007

Absolute Sandman, vol. 1, by Neil Gaiman and various (Vertigo/DC) Art Out of Time: Unknown Comics Visionaries, 1900–1969, by Dan Nadel (PictureBox/Abrams) The Eternals, by Jack Kirby (Marvel) Ode to Kirihito, by Osamu Tezuka (Vertical)

Special Recognition Ross Campbell, Abandoned (Tokyopop); Wet Moon 2 (Oni) Svetlana Chmakova, Dramacon (Tokyopop) Hope Larson, Gray Horses (Oni) Dash Shaw, The Mother’s Mouth (Alternative) Kasimir Strzepek, Mourning Star (Bodega) Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism Alter Ego, edited by Roy Thomas (TwoMorrows) Comic Art 8, edited by Todd Hignite (Buenaventura Press) The Comics Journal, edited by Gary Groth, Dirk Deppey, Michael Dean, and Kristy Valenti (Fantagraphics) The Comics Reporter, produced by Tom Spurgeon and Jordan Raphael (www.comicsreporter.com) ¡Journalista!, produced by Dirk Deppey (Fantagraphics, www.tcj.com/journalista/) Best Comics-Related Book The Art of Brian Bolland, edited by Joe Pruett (Desperado/Image) Cartoon America: Comic Art in the Library of Congress, edited by Harry Katz (Abrams) Dear John: The Alex Toth Doodle Book, by John Hitchcock (Octopus Press) In the Studio: Visits with Contemporary Cartoonists, by Todd Hignite (Yale University Press) Wally’s World, by Steve Sarger and J. David Spurlock (Vanguard) Best Publication Design Absolute DC: The New Frontier, designed by Darwyn Cooke (DC) Castle Waiting graphic novel, designed by Adam Grano (Fantagraphics) Lost Girls, designed by Matt Kindt and Brett Warnock (Top Shelf) Popeye: I Yam What I Yam, designed by Jacob Covey (Fantagraphics) The Ticking, designed by Jordan Crane (Top Shelf) Hall of Fame Judges’ Choices (2): Robert Kanigher and Ogden Whitney Four will be chosen from: Ross Andru & Mike Esposito, Dick Ayers, Bernard Baily, Matt Baker, Wayne Boring, Creig Flessel, Harold Gray, Irwin Hasen, Graham Ingels, Joe Orlando, Lily Renée (Peters) Phillips, Bob Powell Gilbert Shelton, Cliff Sterrett

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Comic-Con’s Masquerade Returns for its 33rd Big Year! There’s a reason why some of ComicCon’s attendees spend at least part of their time at the convention in costume. Why walk around in bland everyday clothes, when you can wow others while dressed as a favorite character or as a clever creation from your own imagination? But the grandest display of costuming at the convention will be Saturday evening, when the curtain rises on yet another fun and fabulous Comic-Con Masquerade. The Masquerade is an on-stage costume competition, with a Master of Ceremonies (once again the very talented and entertaining writer/artist Phil Foglio), a panel of judges, impressive trophies and cash awards, giant video screens providing great close-up views, and a very large audience. Over 4,200 people packed Ballroom 20 last year for the event, with well over a thousand more watching the show on large video screens elsewhere. Most entries present their costumes with music, bits of drama, humor, or unexpected twists, some quite elaborate. Some entries are solo costumes, others are large groups with a shared theme, and all genres of costumes are welcome. No purchased costumes are allowed, of course, as it is a contest of creativity and skill, not shopping ability.

Trophies, as bestowed by the panel of guest judges, will be presented in categories of Best In Show, Judges’ Choice, Best Re-Creation, Best Original Design, Best Workmanship, Most Humorous, Best Presentation, Most Beautiful, Best Novice, and Best Young Fan. In addition, the following companies and organizations will be presenting their own awards to outstanding costumes that their representatives select: Frank and Son Collectible Show, of Industry, CA, will present a cash prize of $1,000 to the audience favorite. Capcom, the international video game developer and publisher, will present to the Best Video Game character a $250 Best Buy gift certificate, plus a gift package of games and other collectibles. DC Comics will present $300 cash to the finest costumed entry portraying a DC Comics character or characters. Lucasfilm Ltd. will once again reward the best Star Wars costumers in the Masquerade with fabulous items from their Licensing Archives.

Winner of 2006’s Most Humorous award, “Ninetendon’ts,” made and worn by Kimberly and Lily Gruenke, Wayne Carter, Hal and Huy Pham, Darryl Huang, Melanie Arayama, Brian Lee, Wendy Colon, and Courtney Lorenz.

26 Photo by Kevin Green

Anime Pavilion will present to their favorite anime costumes in the show, $150 booth credit for their first choice, $50 credit for runner-up, and $40 credit to the best Young Fan entry. The Testmarket Evolution will award $100 each for their choice of both the best anime costume and the best video game entry.

Winner of 2006’s Best Novice award, “Alien,” made and worn by Mike Moore.

Century Guild will present a choice of either $200 cash or up to $500 credit at their booth to the best fantasy or Art Nouveau costume. The Comic Gallery Stores of San Diego will present $125 cash to the entry they select as their favorite, and $75 cash to their favorite Young Fan costumer. ConDor & Conjecture, San Diego’s annual science fiction conventions, will present to the best firsttime, solo entry a “Con Tour” prize. The winner will receive $100 cash, plus free memberships to

Masquerade

Comic-Con 2007

Conjecture VI on September 28-30, ConDor XV on February 29 - March 2, 2008, and Comic-Con International in 2008.

Lynn Perry of Dark Desires will award $150 cash to the best costume entry inspried by horror or other dark genres, such as vampires, demons, creatures of the night, gothic monsters, and so on. AgentSakur9 Entertainment, dedicated to providing the best coverage and highest quality images of Cosplay and costuming, will bestow $200 cash plus a trophy to their choice for Most Outstanding Costume. Warner Home Video will present to the best costume entry based on Babylon 5, the new made for video film: Babylon 5: The Lost Tales, plus complete DVD sets of the entire five seasons of the television series and Babylon 5: The Movies. A complete list of prizes, including those added after this publication went to press, can be found at www.comic-con.org.

Fast Facts

When and where: Saturday, July 28, at 8:30 PM in Ballroom 20 of the Convention Center. Doors open at 7:45 PM for audience seating (but the line will start forming much earlier!) Running time is about 3 hours. Tickets are required for ballroom audience seating, and are given out free beginning at 4:30 PM to people waiting in line, until all tickets have been distributed. Overflow seating will be available in the Sails Pavilion and in Ballroom 6AB, where the show will be simulcast on large screens. Program participants, press, and exhibitors may get their tickets before Saturday afternoon at the Masquerade Desk located near Ballroom 20. Reserved seating is available for special guests of the convention and the disabled. No flash photography is allowed at the event! Personal cameras are welcome, but all photos and video taken must be for personal use only. Videos taken of the show cannot be shown or shared for profit. Flash photography is permitted only in the Photo Area outside the Ballroom where contestants pose after their presentations. Photographers wishing a reserved spot in that area should write to the Masquerade Coordinator, as spaces are limited. How to participate? It’s free for anyone with a Comic-Con membership, but contestants should obtain a copy of the rules and submit an entry form as soon as possible. There is a limit on the number of entries, and the Masquerade fills up a month or more before the convention, so don’t delay! For complete information, rules, and an advance entry form, download the form at www.comic-con. org or mark the Masquerade box in the multi-purpose form on page 55. To contact the Masquerade Coordinator, email cci-info@comic-con.org. Please type “Masquerade” in the subject line of your email. Photo by Kevin Green

Comic-Con 2007

Each year, Comic-Con’s Masquerade is filled with costumes showcasing amazing workmanship. Many hours of hard work go into the painstaking design and construction of these works of art. We talked with Kent Elofson of 2006’s Best In Show entry, “Dancing With Celebrities From The Stars,” to get his take on two of the costumes in this award-winning troupe, which included six characters from various fan-favorite films. WIG • Purchased wig custom styled with Aquanet and a teasing comb. Don’t buy cheap wigs!

LIGHTNING BOLT INSIGNIA • Made of fun foam with vinyl glued on top, and pin glued on the back.

EPAULETTES AND GAUNTLETS • Made of wet-look vinyl over a layer of “Headliner” for body and shape.

BELT BUCKLE • Made of wooden dowels pegged together and painted.

QUILTED TUNIC • Constructed with backing layer of muslin, cotton batting and gold tissue lame. The quilting design is not just simple squares: hours of research went into getting the exact right design.

BOOTS • Purchased and customized by cutting the top edge into points, with a silver lame lining glued in, and painting the heels silver with spray paint. Hosiery and garter belt purchased.

“Magenta” Sa Winfield Left to right: Dawn Rose (Martian Girl from Mars Attacks), Nicole Roberts (Barfolemew from Space Balls), Danica Lisiewicz (Barbarella), Kent Elofson (Zaphod from Hitchhiker’s Guide), Sa Winfield (Magenta from Rocky Horror), and David Rose (Ming from Flash Gordon).

28 Magenta and Ming Photo by Nick Lococo; group photo by Kevin Green

Comic-Con 2007 • HEADPIECE Made from customized buckram hat frames, edged with hat wire, padded with cotton, then covered in spandex. Prosthetic beard and eyebrows.

• DETACHABLE COLLAR Made of buckram edged with wire for strength, covered with vinyl. Edged with lame and trimmed with red metallic elastic.

• INSIGNIA (On plastron and belt buckle.) Meticulously researched, sketched, scaled and then decorated with thousands of hand-applied Bugle Beads in black, red, and gold.

• GAUNTLETS Made of appliquéd gold lame and vinyl over “Headliner.”

• COSTUME Make of an unusual satin-finish spandex denim in 5 basic pieces; trousers, apron, tunic, cape, and detachable plastron. The entire costume uses giant snaps for the closures.

• BOOTS Purchased from thrift store.

“We work on the costumes for a group entry collectively. By the time we are done, most everybody will have worked on every costume to some degree,” says Kent Olofson. For each costume, they took into account: • Choice of costume itself: Is it challenging enough for consideration of an award? Will it read from the audience? Is it impressive close up? “Emperor Ming” David Rose

• Research: Very important if you’re building a replica of a movie costume. • Make-up: A great deal of time was spent researching, purchasing and applying make-up.

Comic-Con 2007

Comic-Con Special Guest Spotlight

The Spirit of

Darwyn Cooke

One of the most stylistic cartoonists working today, Darwyn Cooke has tackled one of the hardest jobs in comics: creating new stories based on Will Eisner’s classic character, The Spirit. A special guest at Comic-Con 2007, we talked with Cooke about stepping into those big shoes, and also his other high-profile project: adapting his epic work, DC: The New Frontier as an animated film. CCI: How much of New Frontier will we see translated to the movie version?

DC: We were all pretty daunted by trying to compress this material down to a 70-minute video. But (writer) Stan Berkowitz did a great job of objectively going through the story and finding out what needed to stay and what could go. It was really kind of difficult and hard to let go, but in the end we were all pretty amazed at how much of the story actually made it into the video and how much does feel like the book. CCI: New Frontier is very much of a particular era, the late 1940s through the 50s. Is that maintained in the movie? DC: We certainly did our best and all in all the entire crew really embraced the challenge of trying to put that together. What we tried to do was use techniques that will make it clear that this was made before 1955. We want it to feel like it was made with the resources and technology available at the time. Granted we are using digital to support what we’re doing everywhere we can, but we want it to look traditional. I did design most of the characters, so I was able to control the wardrobe and things like that. I think we got it. I mean, until you see the footage you just don’t know. CCI: How did the Spirit job come about for you? DC: It’s funny. DC and Will Eisner talked about this forever, and apparently just before he went in for his heart surgery, they all made a real effort to kind of get this in order. I think Denis Kitchen was instrumental in coordinating the actual deal with DC. And then of course the worst happened and it was shortly after that that Mark Chiarello called me about the project and it was a very difficult thing to sign on for. The only way I can describe this is,

Comic-Con 2007

are we going to make them actually read it? The other thing was, from a purely selfish point of view, New Frontier completely pigeonholed me into retro, and I knew that if I went ahead and did The Spirit that way, that would be it for me. I would forever be pigeonholed that way With New Frontier there was a purpose to going back and doing it that way. But with The Spirit, to go back and do it in (Will’s) time frame is like copying the best stuff there. And yes, it became a challenge because we have a trademarked character here and he has to have a blue hat, the mask, and the whole look of the guy is not modern. So we’re playing with that in a small way with the characters who encounter him. Nobody calls him “The Spirit.” He’s “Mr. Blue,” he’s “Gainsborough,” he’s all these different things to these people. CCI: Are going to be continuing on with The Spirit? there’s this old Harvey Kurtzman MAD cover, and it shows this African safari and they’re standing in the footprint of this giant ape, and the guy says something like, “I’m telling you guys, I don’t see a giant ape anywhere around here.” And that’s like Eisner’s footprint and I’m this little bug standing in it looking up. I mean, he’s the most beloved creator in the industry and he created a character that’s not been screwed up in the 40 years it’s been in existence. So there’s a lot of pressure. There are a lot of people who don’t even feel it should be done let alone by who. And I kind of knew that would be the case so it took a while to come around to it. First off, I can’t top what Eisner did, so what would be the purpose of doing it? And secondly, how much crap am I going to have to take for having the balls for doing it? And casting about in desperation because I was so afraid of the job, it occurred to me that if it could take place today, there were a whole new bunch of social conditions and story ideas and graphic treatments that I could bring into it.

DC: Yeah, as a matter of fact, I will be involved with this book for at least two years, and if things are going well, who knows? The minute I found out we were allowed to do present-day stories, we got forty story ideas in a week. I mean all I have to do is turn on Fox News for five minutes and I get so pissed off that I’ve got another story to write. It’s remarkable. The way I sold it to Dennis and DC was, look at The Spirit (and a story of Eisner’s such as) “Olga Bustle, The Girl With Those Big, Big Eyes,” the Jane Russell parody he did. We all look at this now and we think it’s quaint and it’s old-timey, but this came out when the movie (The Outlaw) came out. Something was happening in the news and he’d do

CCI: I think you threw everyone a curve by setting it in the present. DC: I think it had to be. The question is what is the purpose of relaunching this character at all? To me, the answer is it’s going to introduce a new generation of readers to Will’s work. So it was like, “How are we going to capture 20-year old readers with a retro book about 1945?” Whether they think it’s pretty or not is one issue, but how Mad ©2007 E. C. Publications, Inc.; The Spirit ©2007 Will Eisner Studios, Inc.

Comic-Con 2007

it all fell into my understanding of what a short story would be to a modern reader. When Will was doing the 8-pagers, it was the norm. These days, a 6-issue arc is the norm. I thought psychologically for a modern reader, the 8 pages and the 22 pages equate. By the time you put in all the character beats that people expect these days, it works out about the same. But I’m telling short stories and in this format I can take two pages for the splashes. In that regard, I can at least not compositionally duplicate anything Eisner did before. And frankly, we have the room to have the artwork shine there. CCI: Frank Miller is writing and directing The Spirit movie, but if you were going to cast The Spirit, who would you cast? DC: Gosh, I really don’t know, that’s a tough question. I know I’m going to sound old now, but I guess in my head I always pictured a young James Garner. My girlfriend, Marsha, thinks Josh Cooke’s take on DC’s classic heroes in this cover painting to DC: Duhamel (from the TV show, Las The New Frontier Volume 2 Vegas). Maybe Chris Noth (Law a strip about it. He wasn’t looking at the good old and Order) would have been great ten years ago. days, he was dealing with the here and now. The character needs to have a certain familiarity, but also an almost other worldly calm. To think he CCI: How daunting is the monthly schedule (Denny Colt, The Spirit) is running around with no for you? ID, people think he’s dead, and he’s just getting into crazy stuff ... it would take a very particular person DC: You know, in regard to things like the schedule, to pull The you’re only as good as the crew you’ve got. I mean, Spirit off. it’s the guys you work with who are keeping it together to be quite honest. I work with the most talented people in the business. My artistic partner An extended J. Bone, is so much more than an inker really, now version of after so much time of working together. (Colorist) this interview Dave Stewart, Jared Fletcher, our letterer, and Scott appears on Dunbier and Kristy Quinn in editorial, they’re our website at keeping it together, so we’re not going to ship late. www.comicAnd yeah, it’s pretty thrilling, I can sit down with con.org this book and I don’t get stuck. CCI: One thing we’ve noticed ... you’ve kept the Eisner tradition of splash pages and evocative title treatments. DC: I wanted to continue that tradition, and I think

2007 Special Guest List

• Sergio Aragonés The world’s fastest cartoonist returns to Comic-Con once again, but this time it’s even more special. It’s the 25th anniversary of his fan-favorite character Groo! Sergio Aragonés brings his own special brand of cartoon MADness to the show each year, including the wildly popular Quick Draw, along with host Mark Evanier and fellow artist Scott Shaw!

Captain America in 1942 and worked on other Timely characters and titles, such as The Patriot, The Destroyer, Human Torch, Sub-Mariner, Blonde Phantom, All Winners Comics, Marvel Mystery, Young Allies and many more. He also contributed to pre-Code horror, crime, war and western tales for Atlas and created the back-up feature, “Let’s Play Detective.” After leaving comics in the early 50s, Bellman joined the art department of a major daily newspaper, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. His photography work has won many national contests. This is his first time at Comic-Con.

• Kyle Baker The writer/artist of thirteen graphic novels, Kyle Baker is one of the most prolific cartoonists in comics today. This year, he moves over to Image Comics, which will publish Nat Turner, The Bakers: Babies & Kittens, Important Literary Journal and

• Ray Bradbury The dean of American science fiction writers returns to Comic-Con as one of the show’s most beloved guests. Bradbury is the author of such classics as The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, Something Wicked This Way Comes, and Fahrenheit

Comic-Con’s guest list has grown by leaps and bounds! Here’s who’s confirmed for 2007. Guests added since the last Update have a blue dot • and are typed in blue.

Sergio Aragonés

Allen Bellman

two other books. Baker’s work includes Why I Hate Saturn, Plastic Man, Cartoonist Volume 1 and 2, and a color hardcover collection of his popular cartoons based on his family, The Bakers: Do These Toys Belong Somewhere? He’s won both numerous Harvey and Eisner Awards in the past, including the Eisner for Best Reality-Based Work in 2006 for Nat Turner. Alison Bechdel Part soap opera and part op-ed column, Alison Bechdel’s comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For visually chronicles modern life, queer and otherwise, with an unnerving amalgam of kindness, deadon accuracy, and nitpicking detail. It’s become a cultural institution for lesbians and discerning non-lesbians all over the planet. In 2006, Bechdel’s haunting memoir of her childhood, Fun Home, was published to universal acclaim. • Allen Bellman Allen Bellman worked at Timely Comics as a penciler and inker during the Golden Age of Comics. He started doing backgrounds for Syd Shores on

Comic-Con 2007

Comic-Con Guest List Grows By Leaps and Bounds

Dan Brereton

451, many of which are continually adapted into comic book and cinematic form. He was given The National Book Award in 2001 for his contribution to American Literature, and President Bush awarded him The National Medal of Arts in 2004. His latest books include Farewell Summer, an “extension” to Dandelion Wine, and The Homecoming, illustrated by Dave McKean. Bradbury received a special citation from the Pulitzer Prize board this year. • Dan Brereton The Nocturnals, Dan Brereton’s masterpiece of pulp fiction-styled horror, celebrates its spooky 13th anniversary in 2007. One of the first comic titles to employ fully painted interiors, the phantasmagorical adventures of the Nocturnals earned universal critical acclaim. After diverting his attention toward such high profile projects as Legends of the Worlds Finest and Batman: Thrillkiller, Brereton’s Nocturnals are resurrected in 2007 with a new series of remastered large format hardcover reprints from Olympian Publishing and a planned relaunch of the series, just in time for Halloween. Courtesy Century Guild Sergio Aragonés photo by Tom DeLeon

Comic-Con 2007

• Daryl Cagle The daily editorial cartoonist for MSNBC.com, Daryl Cagle is the world’s most widely syndicated and reprinted newspaper cartoonist with close to 900 subscribing newspapers. Daryl’s site with MSNBC (www.cagle.msnbc.com) has millions of loyal fans and is the most widely used site in Social Studies classrooms around the world. For the past thirty years, Daryl has been one of America’s most prolific cartoonists and he also edits and designs an annual compendium of editorial cartoons, The Best Political Cartoons of the Year (Que Publishing). • Cecil Castellucci Cecil Castellucci, the author of The Plain Janes, the inaugural title from DC Comics’ new Minx imprint, grew up in New York City, is French Canadian and makes her home in Los Angeles. She’s the author of three young adult novels, Boy Proof, The Queen of Cool, and Beige, coming in June 2007. Cecil is also an indie rock musician, an independent filmmaker and a playwright. Courtesy Minx

Daryl Cagle

• Guy Delisle Born in Québec City in 1966, Guy Delisle now lives in the South of France with his wife and son. Delisle has spent ten years, mostly in Europe, working in animation, which allowed him to learn about movement and drawing. As the majority of animation is now done in Asia, Delisle is currently focusing on his cartooning. In addition to Drawn & Quarterly, Delisle is published by Editions de L’Association and Editions Dargaud in France, and Editions de La Pastèque in Montreal. Daryl Cagle photo by Greg Preston

• Roman Dirge The creator of the popular Lenore, The Cute Little Dead Girl comics series, published by SLG, Roman Dirge has been nominated for four Eisner Awards. Lenore was animated in 26 short episodes by Sony, written, directed and overseen by Roman Dirge (Dave Hartman co directed as well). The episodes were released by Sony Screenblast, receiving “Best Animated Work on the Web” at the World Animation Celebration awards. Roman has released several other books including Something At The Window Is

Cecil Castelluci

• Darwyn Cooke Starting his career with Warner Bros. Animation, Darwyn Cooke first came to comic fans’ attention with his one-shot, Batman: Ego. He went on to reinvent Catwoman along with writer Ed Brubaker. His magnum opus, DC: The New Frontier has recently been republished as an Absolute edition and is being adapted into an animated movie by WB. Currently, Cooke is writing and drawing a brandnew series based on Will Eisner’s classic The Spirit, for DC Comics. Read our exclusive interview with Darwyn starting on page 30!

• Paul Dini With a singular career that spans animation (Batman: The Animated Series), live television Lost), and comics (Detective, The World’s Greatest Superheroes), writer/producer Paul Dini is currently masterminding DC Comics’ 2007 weekly event Countdown, as well as writing his own series for Top Cow, Madame Mirage. His other creations, Jingle Belle and Mutant, Texas, continue to appear frequently from Dark Horse, Oni Press and other publishers. Courtesy DC Comics

Guy Delisle

Scratching, The Monsters In My Tummy, and The Cat With A Really Big Head. He’s currently working on a new Lenore, and other books, in addition to a short film, a novel, and a short animated project. Courtesy SLG Publishing • Cory Doctorow Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction novelist, blogger and technology activist. He is the co-editor of the popular weblog Boing Boing (boingboing.net), and a contributor to Wired, Popular Science, Make, the New York Times, and many other newspapers, magazines and Web sites. He has won the Locus and Sunburst Awards, and been nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and British Science Fiction Awards. His latest novel is Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town and his latest short story collection is Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present. In 2007, Entertainment Weekly called him, “The William Gibson of his generation.” • Ann Eisner The wife of the late writer/artist, Will Eisner, Ann Eisner was a constant presence and source of

• Warren Ellis Warren Ellis writes comics and graphic novels. He’s got something like fifty graphic novels in print now, including award-winning works like Transmetropolitan, Planetary, Ministry of Space, and about forty-seven others that didn’t win anything. This year, he’s launching several new projects for Avatar Press, including Doktor Sleepless, Black Summer and Crecy. Also this summer his first prose novel, Crooked Little Vein, will be released in hardback. He continues to produce Internet-related

Warren Ellis

sketchbook. Her other works includes The Soap Lady and Grit Bath, and she does a weekly comic strip for the New York Press, an alternative newspaper. • Gary Friedrich The first writer recruited by Roy Thomas to join the Marvel Age of Comics in the mid-60s, Gary Friedrich produced a memorable body of work for the publisher. Collaborating with artists Dick Ayers and John Severin, Friedrich wrote a fan-favorite run of Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, featuring World War II stories that leaned towards an anti-war stance during the turbulent Vietnam War years. Friedrich also launched the motorcycleriding version of Ghost Rider at Marvel, which was made into a hit movie this year starring Nicolas Cage, and wrote numerous other titles, including The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, and The Monster of Frankenstein. This is his first appearance at Comic-Con. • Christos N. Gage Christos N. Gage has written television TV shows

Mark Evanier

journalism for Reuters, and writes videogames, TV and films. Ellis is 39 years old, lives in southeast England, and has been so broken by comics that he walks with a cane. Co-sponsored by Avatar Press • Mark Evanier Recognized as an expert in the fields of comics, animation, and pop culture, Mark Evanier is most recognizable to Comic-Con attendees as the moderator of numerous panels, including Quick Draw, Cartoon Voices, and the annual tribute to Jack Kirby. His popular blog, newsfromme.com, attracts thousands of readers each day. Evanier has written comics, TV shows, and cartoons throughout his career and is at least partially responsible for the 25th anniversary of Groo, along with creator Sergio Aragonés. Renée French Renée French’s ethereal, detailed, and sometimes disturbing approach can be seen in her latest graphic novel, The Ticking, published by Top Shelf. It’s the dark, coming-of-age story of a young, deformed man who captures the world around him in his

Comic-Con 2007

inspiration in her husband’s work. Eisner’s work continues to be published and treasured by new fans. His signature creation, The Spirit, is currently appearing in a new series written and drawn by Darwyn Cooke and published by DC Comics, also the home of the ongoing Spirit Archives, reprinting all of Will’s Spirit stories in chronological order. His graphic novels are currently available in brand new editions by W. W. Norton, and a Spirit movie, written and directed by Frank Miller, is in the works. Ann joins Comic-Con to celebrate Will’s work and his commitment to the Eisner Awards.

Christos N. Gage

Law & Order: SVU and Numbers, and comics including Stormwatch: PHD and Deadshot for DC Comics and, for Marvel, Union Jack, Iron Man/ Captain America: Casualties of War, World War Hulk: X-Men, and Quasar. He’s been featured in Newsweek and the Philadelphia Daily News and was named Wizard Magazine’s “Writer To Watch” for 2007. Neil Gaiman One of Comic-Con’s most popular guests returns to talk about the three films coming out in 2007 that he’s involved in: Stardust, Beowulf, and Coraline. Neil Gaiman remains one of the leading writers of comics and fantasy fiction, with his take on The Eternals finishing up its run at Marvel and Vertigo’s Absolute Sandman representing the original series, which brought him to the world’s attention. Rick Geary His graphic novels mine the serious weirdness of Victorian times. Rick Geary’s books include The Beast of Chicago, The Murder of Abraham Lincoln and his latest, The Case of Madeleine Smith. He’s

Comic-Con 2007

also the artist on the new Gumby comics series written by Bob Burden and contributes a weekly cartoon illustration to the San Diego-based alternative newspaper, The Reader. • Gipi Italian comics creator Gipi has emerged as a world-class artist and writer. He teaches in fine arts academies, directs short films, illustrates for the popular newspaper La Repubblica, and proves time and time again that he is a virtuoso of the graphic novel. His work is exhibited in museums and has won him countless honors. He has received major awards at the Lucca and Naples comics festivals, and in 2006 The Innocents earned him an Eisner Award nomination. His Notes for a War Story (upcoming from First Second) won the 2005 Goscinny Prize for Best Script and was proclaimed Best Book at Angoulême the following year. This extraordinary voice now rings out with five graphic songs in Garage Band. George Gladir George Gladir has been working as a freelance

Gipi

• Gilbert Hernandez Also known as Beto, the co-creator of Love and Rockets joins Comic-Con to celebrate the seminal alternative comics title’s 25th anniversary. Gilbert Hernandez’s “Palomar” saga (also known as the “Heartbreak Soup” stories), serialized in L&R, is currently in new trade paperback editions by Fantagraphics Books. Gilbert’s other work includes the graphic novel Sloth, from Vertigo, and the upcoming Dark Horse series Speak of the Devil.

George Gladir

writer for Archie Comics since 1959. He created Sabrina the Teenage Witch for Archie’s Madhouse in 1961, and continued to do Sabrina stories (drawn by Dan DeCarlo) for that comic until 1969. Meanwhile, he was also writing stories for Cracked magazine—some 2000 pages worth, many of them illustrated by John Severin. His latest project is Cindy and Her Obasan, a fantasy adventure that takes place for the most part in Japan, co-created by artist Stan Goldberg. The book was published by Rorschach Entertainment in October 2006. Laurell K. Hamilton Laurell K. Hamilton is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of two series that mix mystery, fantasy, magic, horror and romance. Her Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter novels from Berkley Books began with Guilty Pleasures (now a hugely successful graphic novel from Marvel/ Dabel Brothers — the first sexy paranormal comic ever!), and continues with the recently released The Harlequin, number fifteen in the series, in which Anita’s complex personal and professional

relationships with a master vampire and an alpha werewolf continue to evolve. There are now more than 6 million copies of Anita in print worldwide, in 16 languages. Hamilton’s Ballantine series features Fey princess and private investigator, Merry Gentry, and there are now five novels exceeding one million copies in print. Mistral’s Kiss, the fifth in the series debuted this past December. Ms. Hamilton is thrilled to be attending her first Comic-Con. She lives in St. Louis County, Missouri with her husband, daughter, two pug and two part pug dogs. Read our exclusive interview with Laurell beginning on page 40!

Jamie Hernandez

• Jaime Hernandez The writer/artist of the memorable “Locas” stories in Love and Rockets, featuring Maggie and Hopey, Jaime Hernandez also comes back to Comic-Con to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the comic book that many claim started the alternative comics scene. The Locas stories were collected in a massive 700-page book; Jaime’s other work includes his L&R cast in books such as Penny Century and Whoa Nellie. Adam Hughes One of comics’ leading cover artists, with memorable runs on Wonder Woman, Catwoman, and Tomb Raider, Adam Hughes remains one of the most popular artists to appear in Comic-Con’s Artists’ Alley and this year he has his own booth. He’s currently writing and drawing the new All Star Wonder Woman series for DC, set to debut sometime in 2007. • Joe Jusko One of the best known fantasy, pin-up and comic artists working today, Joe Jusko’s career has spanned almost 30 years, starting with the sale of his very

Miriam Katin After a career working as a background artist for animation studios such as MTV and Disney, Miriam Katin became a graphic novelist at the age of 63 with her book, We Are On Our Own, published by Drawn and Quarterly. The biographical story is based on Katin and her mother’s escape from the Nazi invasion of Hungary and their subsequent lifelong struggles with their faith.

Joe Jusko

created a fan favorite character with Dawn. Linsner’s lush, painterly style has illustrated the adventures of his signature creation for almost the past 20 years, since the character’s inception in 1989. Dawn represents Linsner’s interpretation of the Mother Goddess, prevalent in modern and ancient religions and his mix of heartfelt writing and beautiful art has struck a chord with fans around the world. Joe Matt Everyone and everything is fodder for Joe Matt’s autobiographical comic series, Peepshow. With a list of flaws a mile long, Matt’s biggest target for ridicule is himself. This humiliating honesty has made Matt a comedic genius, hilariously and shamelessly chronicling his often pathetic existence for close to twenty years. Matt was born in Philadelphia, and now lives in Los Angeles, where he has spent the last four years seeking “Hollywood Money” and neglecting his comics. After a four-year hiatus from drawing, he’s finished his latest chapter of Peepshow, which will be collected as his new graphic novel Spent. Courtesy of Drawn and Quarterly.

Mel Keefer

Karen Palinko

Mel Keefer Best known for his work in comic strips (Perry Mason, Mac Divot and Rick O’Shay), Mel Keefer also drew for comic books. His work included war comics such as Monty Hall of the US Marines and stories based on Disney properties ”Zorro” and “The Swamp Fox.” Mel holds the distinction of being the artist behind Jack Lemmon’s comics in the movie How to Murder Your Wife. He also worked in layout and character design for TV animation on shows such as Jonny Quest and The Superman-Batman Hour.

David Morrell His first novel, First Blood, created a pop culture powerhouse: Rambo. David Morrell’s 28 novels since then have thrilled and chilled audiences all over the world. His The Brotherhood of the Rose was made into a popular TV mini-series starring Robert Mitchum. He’s a co-founder and co-president of the International Thrillers Writers organization. Morrell’s most recent books are Creepers and Scavenger. In 2007, Morrell brings his own take on Captain America to Marvel Comics in a brand new mini-series.

Scott Kurtz One of the most popular webcomics of all time, PvP (Player vs. Player) regularly scores over 100,000 visitors per day. Its creator, Scott Kurtz, comes to Comic-Con as a first-time special guest and the winner of the 2006 Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic.

• Karen Palinko Karen Palinko is an award-winning sculptor who works exclusively for DC Direct. Recent projects have included collectible statues and action figures based on the work of Alex Ross, and Superman figures based on the art of Adam Kubert. Her relationship with DC dates back several years, and has included sculpting merchandise for the Warner Bros. Studio Stores. Her Justice League Animated Batman Maquette was named “Collectible Statue of the Year” in 2002 by Diamond. Courtesy DC Direct

Joseph Michael Linsner With a distinctive and stunning art style that focuses on the female form, Joseph Michael Linsner has

Comic-Con 2007

first cover to Heavy Metal in 1977 at the age of 17. Jusko has worked for almost every major comic book publisher, producing hundreds of images for both covers and interiors. His work has appeared on paperback book covers, calendars, posters, tshirts, toy packaging and innumerable trading cards, including the multi-award winning 1992 “Marvel Masterpieces” and the1995 “Art of Edgar Rice Burroughs” sets. His current work includes a fully painted graphic novel based on the Tomb Raider video game and the hardcover book, The Art of Joe Jusko book, to be released by Desperado Publishing.

Comic-Con 2007

Lily Renée Phillips Lily Renée Phillips is known to Golden Age comics collectors as one of Fiction House’s primo “Good Girl” artists. From 1943 to 1948 she drew covers and such features as “The Lost World,” “Senorita Rio,” and “Werewolf Hunters” for Planet Comics, Rangers Comics, and Fight Comics. With her then-husband Eric Peters, she also drew covers and interior stories for a number of Abbott & Costello Comics. Comic-Con 2007 will be her first appearance at a comic convention of any kind! • Mike Ploog Starting his career in animation at Hanna-Barbera and in comics illustration with Will Eisner on P*S Magazine for the military, Mike Ploog first broke into mainstream comics with work for Warren Publications. He became one of Marvel Comics’ most popular horror artists of the 70s, penciling titles such as Werewolf By Night, Monster of Frankenstein, Ghost Rider, Man-Thing and the fantasy-oriented Weirdworld. After working in

Lily Renée Phillips

J. Michael Straczynski J. Michael Straczynski is the Hugo, Eisner and Inkpot Award winning writer of such books as The Amazing Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, Supreme Power, The Book of Lost Souls and, starting this summer, Thor. He has just finished work as writer/ producer/director of Babylon 5: The Lost Tales, and

Mike Ploog

the movie industry, he returned to comics with Abadazad, written by J. M. DeMatteis, and currently being published by Hyperion Books. Paul Pope Paul Pope’s groundbreaking self-published work THB debuted in 1995. Since then, he’s produced work for DC and Vertigo (Batman: Year 100, Heavy Liquid, 100%), Dark Horse (One-Trick Ripoff) and manga publisher, Kodansha (Supertrouble). This year, Pope won the Eisner Award for Best Short Story for “Teenage Sidekick,” published in Solo (#3) by DC Comics. His upcoming work includes a major collection of his work, Pulphouse: The Art of Paul Pope, to be published by Adhouse Books and a new graphic novel from First Second, Battling Boy. Rowena Rowena’s two-decade career as one of the top and best-known science fiction and fantasy artists includes hundreds of book covers, magazine illustrations, calendars, and more. Her work has been collected into several books, such as The Fantastic Art of Rowena, Rowena, and other editions.

• George A. Romero He was the cool indie filmmaker who made us realize how cool indie films are! George A. Romero spawned a cottage industry of memorable zombie films with his 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead. Its sequels, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead and Land of the Dead, firmly established the zombie film as a genre. Romero’s films include Creepshow and The Dark Half, both based on stories by Stephen King. His upcoming projects include an additional movie in the Dead series, Diary of the Dead. Romero also oversees an officially licensed comic series based on the Dead movies, written by co-writer John Russo and published by Avatar Press. Co-sponsored by Avatar Press

Roy Thomas

has written three films for major studios in the last year: World War Z for Paramount/Brad Pitt, Goliath: The Story of David for Universal/Akiva Goldsman, and Changeling for Imagine Entertainment, which is being produced by Ron Howard, starring Angelina Jolie, and directed by Clint Eastwood. Ben Templesmith One of comics’ fastest rising stars, Ben Templesmith is best known for his work with Steve Niles on 30 Days of Night, the horror/vampire series published by IDW and soon to be a major motion picture produced by Sam Raimi. Templesmith’s stylish art has set a new standard in comic horror in works like Warren Ellis’s Fell (for which he received an Eisner Award nomination), Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, and Singularity 7. Roy Thomas A guiding light of the Silver Age of Comics, especially at Marvel Comics (he was Stan Lee’s hand-picked replacement on many titles and as editor-in-chief), Roy Thomas is most famous for his work on Conan, Avengers, X-Men, and just about every other Marvel title. Moving over to DC, he

• Morrie Turner Best known for creating the long-running comic strip Wee Pals, Morrie Turner had the first nationally syndicated strip to not only be written and drawn by an African-American artist, but also to feature an integrated cast of characters from diverse backgrounds. At 83 years young, Turner still draws Wee Pals from his home and continues to work with children in cartooning programs in the inner city. He was awarded the National Cartoonist Society’s Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.

Morrie Turner

an ornate and detailed style heavily influenced by Art Deco. Recently he penciled the Warren Ellis– scripted miniseries, Desolation Jones for WildStorm and the two bookend issues of Seven Soldiers of Victory, written by Grant Morrison, for DC. Kent Williams A painter and illustrator whose work includes comics, Kent Williams’ latest is a graphic novel adaptation of Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain. Among Williams other comics work are Blood: A Tale, with J. M. DeMatteis and Havok/Wolverine: Meltdown for Marvel. Williams’ paintings and illustration work have been featured in gallery showings around the country. F. Paul Wilson This popular writer of science fiction (Healer, Wheels Within Wheels) and horror (The Keep, The Tomb) is best known for his “Repairman Jack” series of books. F. Paul Wilson is a child of pop culture, brought up on comics, science fiction and fantasy books and New York based radio and television. His

Matt Wagner

Mark Verheiden Mark Verheiden’s early comics career included The American, Aliens, and Predator for Dark Horse Comics, which launched him into a film writing career, with scripts for The Mask and Time Cop. Most recently Verheiden has been working in television, most notably as a writer/producer on Smallville and now as a writer and co-executive producer of the SCI FI series, Battlestar Galactica. And if that isn’t enough he’s currently writing the Superman/Batman title for DC. • Matt Wagner The writer/artist behind Mage, Trinity, and Batman and the Mad Monk, among others, comes to Comic-Con to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his signature creation, Grendel. Matt Wagner’s anti-hero has been thrilling comics fans for two and a half decades and both Matt and Dark Horse have big plans for him in 2007! J. H. Williams III Best known for his work with Alan Moore on the 32issue run of Promethea, artist J. H. Williams III has

Comic-Con 2007

brought new attention to the company’s Golden Age heroes in books such as All Star Squadron and Infinity, Inc. Having started out as a fan, editing the popular 1960s fanzine Alter Ego, Thomas has gone full circle and currently edits the TwoMorrows magazine Alter Ego, dedicated to the Golden and Silver Ages of comics. He is also writing Anthem for Heroic Publishing and several classic titles for Marvel. He is the author of the 2006 hardcovers Stan Lee’s Amazing Marvel Universe and Conan: The Ultimate Guide to the World’s Most Savage Barbarian, both currently in bookstores everywhere.

Brian Wood

work has garnered several awards, including the Bram Stoker Award for short fiction, the first-ever Prometheus Award and the Porgie Award. • Brian Wood Brian Wood released his first series, Channel Zero, in 1997 and has gone on to become one of the most important indie creators of the last decade. Standout works include his Couriers and Channel Zero series, Fight For Tomorrow, Demo, Local, Supermarket, DMZ, and covers for Warren Ellis’ Global Frequency. Wood continues to write his unique brand of eclectic creator-owned work, such as the upcoming Northlanders, due from Vertigo in late 2007. Courtesy Vertigo We regret to announce that Allan Heinberg and Joann Sfar, both originally announced to appear at Comic-Con 2007, will be unable to attend. Check www.comic-con.org for updated guest information and a complete programming schedule as we get closer to the event.

Comic-Con 2007

Comic-Con Special Guest Spotlight

Anita,Merry,

& Laurell

An Interview with Laurell K. Hamilton

Laurell K. Hamilton’s writing is characterized by vivid prose, erotic sensuality, and complex character and world building which can be seen in both her New York Times bestselling series: Anita Blake— Vampire Hunter and Meredith Gentry (a fairy princess/private eye). The Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series is published by Penguin Group (USA), under their Berkley Books imprint. Anita’s adventures span 15 novels with over 7 million copies in print worldwide and are available in over sixteen languages. The Harlequin (book fifteen), debuted this past June. There is no end in sight for the professional necromancer and licensed vampire executioner. Marvel Comics and Dabel Brothers Productions have worked closely with Hamilton to adapt Guilty Pleasures, the first novel in the Anita Blake series, into comic book form with a stunning amount of success. The first issue, illustrated by popular comic book veteran Brett Booth (Backlash, Thundercats: Dogs of War, Magician: Apprentice), sold out on day one to rave reviews from critics and fans alike, and is currently in its third printing. Subsequent issues have enjoyed similar success, and a collected version in hardbound graphic novel form will be released in June. Meredith Gentry is published by Ballantine Books, with over 2 million copies in print. Meredith Gentry is a part-human, part-fey private investigator. Under orders from her aunt Andias, Queen of the Unseelie Court, Meredith is in a race to become pregnant and ascend the throne before her cousin Cel does. The cost of failure will be Merry’s own life and that

of those who follow her. A Lick Of Frost, Merry number five will debut this October. Laurell K. Hamilton was born in Heber Springs, Arkansas but grew up in Sims, Indiana. Today, she resides in St. Louis County, Missouri with her husband, daughter and four dogs. For more info on her writing or Laurell herself, please visit www. laurellkhamilton.org Comic-Con talked to Ms. Hamilton about her work and her upcoming appearance at this year’s event. CCI: For readers new to your work, can you give us the “Hollywood high concept” description of the Anita Blake series? LKH: (It’s as) if we woke up tomorrow, and all the monsters of movie and legend were real, and everyone knows it. Anita Blake raises the dead for a living, and is a legal Vampire Executioner. Over the course of the series, she has gone from what amounts to a rookie cop to almost a fiveyear veteran of a violent crimes unit. She has also gone from thinking that all vampires are monsters to dating several of them. Not to mention the wereleopards she lives with and the werewolves that drop by. CCI: How about the Merry Gentry series? LKH: The only change in Merry’s world is that the creatures of Celtic Myth are real. Most live in a sort of fairie reservation, but some live among the humans. Merry Gentry is a faerie princess who is hiding out in LA, working as a private investigator. She fled fairie when the assassination attempts got too serious to survive. Now her royal bodyguards

CCI: You brought Anita’s adventures to comics this year with the assistance of Marvel Comics, the Dabel Brothers and artist Brett Booth. Can you talk a little about that experience, and the pros and cons of a different medium?

you find more challenging—working with the rules of the “real world,” or working with the rules of the fantastic? LKH: My imagination thrives by taking the real world and throwing fantastic elements into it. Most mixed genre writers strive to make the ordinary fantastic. I take the fantastic and make it ordinary. So I don’t really find the mix hard. What’s hardest for me is to write straight with no fantasy element. It just doesn’t interest

Comic-Con 2007

are both trying to keep her alive and help her conceive an heir. The high court fey are dying out. The throne goes to whoever gets pregnant first. No baby, no throne. If she loses not only will she be killed, but so will everyone she loves.

LKH: It’s been wonderful seeing visuals to go with my words for the first time. I am very visually oriented, and I can’t draw, so I’ve really enjoyed that part of it. My husband, Jonathon, is a comic book geek from way back, so he was able to help me through this very different medium. When we first started I could not ‘see’ the script and the art together. He had to help me visualize it all. Now I can switch back and forth, and I can see the script in art form in my head before the visuals get here. It’s like story boarding a movie really. Except the visuals are all static, so the words and the art have to do more work to tell the story. I’m told some novelists have trouble writing in comics, but I love it. I don’t have to describe everything in minute detail, I do a broad view and the artist does the rest. It’s mostly writing dialogue. I’m really good at dialogue, and Jonathon is really good at putting it into script form and helping me see it as a script, and as a comic while we’re working. (We’re currently working on) a comic special that we’re doing together. It’s an original Anita Blake story set about a year before Guilty Pleasures happens. CCI: As a crossgenre author writing urban fantasies based in places like St. Louis and Los Angeles, which do Photo by Richard Nichols

Comic-Con 2007

my imagination. So I guess for me the real world would be harder, because it doesn’t interest me without the mix of the fantastic. CCI: Last year you released a novel focusing on Micah. Are there other characters who might be spotlighted in future novels in this manner? LKH: Yes, other characters have come forward with stories for themselves. Jason, for one. Nathaniel. Richard had a couple, but the one idea may turn into a more complicated novel that would not be so entirely about him and Anita. I’d love to do one about Jean-Claude or Asher, but they haven’t come up with an idea that would fit an entire book yet. CCI: Imagine that you are out on the town for a girls’ night out with Anita and Merry. What woman-to-woman advice would you share with them? LKH: Oh, you don’t want me to give either of them advice. Anita wouldn’t welcome it, and Merry would ignore it. Don’t all friends ignore relationship advice? I don’t really think that Anita and Merry would get along all that well. CCI: And how long could you reasonably expect the three of you to visit peacefully before supernatural disaster struck and broke things up? LKH: I think Anita and Merry, or Anita and me would be arguing long before any supernatural bad guy got in on the fight. CCI: In the past, you’ve written books set in the Ravenloft and Star Trek universes. What other universes would you enjoy writing licensed fiction for? LKH: I write exactly what I want to write. I do not dream of other people’s worlds, only my own. I’m very lucky that way. I don’t really have a desire to play in other people’s worlds. If I could simply visit someone else’s brainchild, it would be the Harry Potter universe early in the series. The only job that actually might lure me away from writing would be to teach at Hogwarts. CCI: Are you excited about your first appearance at Comic-Con? LKH: I’m thrilled to be coming to Comic-Con for the first time. And a little intimidated at being at a convention the size of a medium sized city.

Comic-Con 2007

Comic-Con Presents A Pop Culture Paradise

The Exhibit Hall: Four Days, One Night Only! Comic-Con’s giant Exhibit Hall is the greatest comics and popular arts shopping center on the continent, if not the world. For four days and one night (that one night being Preview Night, and only open to fourday pre-registered members), you can find an amazing assortment of some of the most coveted collectibles to be found just about anywhere! Nowhere else will you find a larger gathering of comics publishers: all of the major companies along with the most popular creators and the very best indy and small press publishers are present in the Comic-Con Exhibit Hall. Add to that an incredible selection of Golden, Silver, and Modern Age comics; graphic novels; comic collectibles; original art, sketches and prints from an amazing assortment of artists; and more. Anime and manga occupy large portions of the floor featuring all the major companies. And look for the major “bookstores” in the hall, featuring books on comic history, art and illustration, reprints of popular

titles and storylines—you name it, there’s probably a book about it at Comic-Con! Don’t miss the pavilions dedicated to fantasy art and illustration, complemented by some of the biggest publishers in the science fiction and fantasy fields, all with popular artists and authors signing throughout the four-day weekend. The Exhibit Hall is also home to toy companies offering exclusive items and sneak peeks at upcoming products. Movie studios and TV networks are in place as well, with booths showcasing upcoming films and shows, not to mention exhibitors selling movie memorabilia from around the world. And that’s not all! Comic-Con’s Exhibit Hall includes t-shirts and clothing, sculpture, jewelry, costumes, DVDs, stuffed figures, incredible handmade and one-of-a-kind items, and much, much more. The list is almost endless! For a complete list of exhibitors—much too long to print here—visit www.comic-con.org and click on the “Exhibitors” link on the left sidebar of any page.

Photo by Kevin Green

Comic-Con 2007

The Thrill of the Hunt!

Exclusive Exclusives! We know you want them! Each year, Comic-Con features an incredible line-up of exclusive items, many of which can only be found here for the four days of the show. Here’s a quick early rundown of some of the great action figures and other items you’ll find at Comic-Con 2007. Most exclusives are limited in number and are available for sale at individual company booths. The method of sale is different for each company. Please check the booths for possible raffles, limited quantities and prices, and company websites for more info about their appearance at Comic-Con! For a larger, updated listing of Comic-Con exclusives, please visit www.comic-con.org as we get closer to the event.

Company: HasbroToyShop.com Item: Transformers Alternators Ford GT Rodimus figure Special features: Transforms from Ford GT and back again Other show exclusives: GI JOE Destro Figures: Titanium Series Transformers Menasor: Battlestar Galactica Titanium Series Vehicle 3-Pack; Star Wars Obi-Wan & Yoda with Collector Coin; Star Wars 501st Legion: R2-KT; Marvel Legends Stan Lee, She-Hulk

Company: FunKo Item: 12” gold Futurama Bender bank Limited to: 480 Other show exclusives: Bobbleheads: Star Wars Clone Trooper Red (1,000), Peanuts Woodspock and Capt. Snoopy, Red Devil Betty Boop and Sparkle Angel Betty Boop, Marvin Martian Gold and Silver (480 each)

Company: Gentle Giant Studios Item: Star Wars Commander Cody mini bust Limited to: 3,500 Other show exclusives: Mini busts: Harry Potter “Luna Lovegood” (1,000), Lord of the Rings “Glorfindel” (500), Star Wars Animated Yoda and R2-D2 maquette (2,500)

Company: Action Figure Xpress (AFX) Item: He-Man King Randor 6” Mini Statue Limited to: 2,500 Special features: Classic color scheme Other show exclusives: Age of Apocalypse mini busts: Blink (600), Rachel Grey/Marvel Girl (600), Rachel Grey/ Deathmark (400)

Company: WizKids Item: SDCC Fin Fang Foom Limited to: 1,250 Special features: Exclusive orange paint job, Comic-Con logo on base Other show exclusives: Halo 3 Battle-damaged SCARAB Tank

Comic-Con 2007 Company: Monogram Item: Spider-Man 3 movie bust paperweight Other show exclusives: Paperweights: Clear Venom bust, pewter Spider-Man bust, brass Wonder Woman, bronze Nightmare Before Christmas Jack and Sally set in box shaped like a coffin (100)

Company: Diamond Select Toys Item: Sulu, part of Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan set Special features: One of four; purchase other three figures at various booths (McCoy at New Force Comics, Scotty at AFX, and Chekov at Toy Rocket), and get a free Wrath of Khan Genesis Khan figure Other show exclusives: Marvel Zombies Colonel America bust (1,000)

Company: Peanuts Item: Two different exclusive T-shirts Other show exclusives: Snoopy â&#x20AC;&#x153;Joe Coolâ&#x20AC;? lanyards (400), Snoopy Hits the Beach Funkovision (175)

Company: San Diego Comic-Con Intl. Item: Vanishing Bugs Bunny Limited to: 7,000 Special features: First-ever official CCI exclusive, available for purchase with 4day pre-registered membership online. See page 54 for more details.

Company: Sideshow Collectibles Item: Medicom Toy Corp. Black Hole Stormtrooper VCD Special features: Vinyl collectible doll Other show exclusives: Black costume Spider-Man 3 bust (1,500), holographic Star Wars Darth Sidious with Mechno-chair, Weapon X/Marvel Archives (500), T2 John Connor minibust (1,000)

Comic-Con 2007

The largest gathering of industry pros in the country!

2007 Attending Professionals The following professionals from comics, films, animation, and related pop culture fields had signed up to attend Comic-Con 2007, as of press time for this issue of the Update. Keep in mind that many pros appear at Comic-Con under the auspices of their publishers; if you want to know whether a particular pro is at the show, you may want to inquire at the publisher’s booth. This list contains professionals who are pre-registered as of press time and checked the proper boxes indicating we could include their names in advertising. A

Rommel Abalos Darrell Abney Peter Abrahamson Albert Acosta Daniel AcuÒa Ted Adams Mike Ailes Arturo Alamilla Jesus Alanis Peter Alau Haven Alexander Mark Alfrey Joe Allard David Allen Lee Almodovar James Alsup Jeremy Alva Dominick Alvarez Christian Alzmann Ken Anderson Henry F. Anderson, III Richard Andreoli Christina Andrews Al Anquillano Frank Antonides Andrew Arett Mark Arnold Erik Arreaga Manuel Arreaga Jesse Arreaga, Jr Brenda Arson Jon Ascher Adrian Askarieh Pedro Astudillo Michael Atiyeh Chris Avellone Carissa Avenhouse Aldrin Aw Pete Ayala Ori Ayalon Matt Aylward

Gabriel Ba Neil Babra Samouro Baccam Ramon F. Bachs Corey Baham Tony Baldridge Frank Balkin Travis Ball Matt Ballesteros Roque Ballesteros Christer Baluyot John Banh Gigi Bannister Reggie Bannister Adam Barker Jeff Barkley Richard Barkman Nate Barlow David Baron Al Barrionuevo Ryan Batcheller Ruslan Batenko James Bates Karen Bates Reid Bathgate Chris Batista Derek Bauman Thomas Baxa Tony Baxter Sarah Beach Andrew Beall Jacob Bear Joshua Beardslee Frank Beaton Robert Beck Richard Becker Dennis Beckstrom Sara Beeves Steve Behling Mitchell Beiro Susan Bell Mary Bellamy Dori Belmont Christopher Bennett Paul Benson Jing Bentley David Berge

Barry Berman John Berman Marc Bernardin Amy Berner Brian Bero Larry Berry Mysti Berry Jenny Bettis Travis Betz Tom Bierbaum Scott Bieser Charlie Bink Ricardo Biriba Joseph Bishara Jake Black Mike Black Chris Blackwood Chad Blakely Paula Block Mark Bloodworth Colby Bluth Jorge Bobadilla Joseph Boeing Anna Boersig Ray Boersig J Bruce Bogle Andrei Booriakin Aaron Borjas Adam Bormann Peter Bosch Kir Bostic Rejean Bourdages Cailab Bourell Malcolm Bourne Michael Boyce Ken Boyer Christian Bradley Lise Breakey Michael Brennan Jeffrey Breslauer Mark Brodeen Kevin Broden Jared Brodie Wendy Broome Nelson Broskey John Brosnan David Brown Eric Brown Erik Brown Randy Brown Ron Brown Scott Brown Wardell Brown Jason Brunner Steve Buccellato Harold Buchman Pamela Buck Alex Bulkley Mike Bullock Tim Burgard Julie Burness Kevin Burns Paul Burrows Evan Burse Shon Bury Matt Busch Michael Butler Nan ButlerBeckstrom Kent Butterworth

Dominick Cabalo Timothy Cahill Keith Calder Kelly Calder Peter Calloway Oliver Calonzo Glenn Camaclang Ben Camberos Janice Campbell Gabriel Campisi Daniel Campos Eric Campos Christopher Canole Jessica CansecoDowning Martin Caplan Joe Caporale Jennifer Carbajal Philip Carbonaro

Forrest Card Karen Cardier Robert Cardoso Mark Carlson Rachael Carlton Christine Carmichael Christopher Caroc Sean Carolan Rev. Chris Carpenter Tom Carroll Keith Carter Hector Casanova Matt Case Joe Casey Kevin Castillo Pedro Castillo John Cataldi Max Cervantes Jeffrey Chamberlain Brian Chambers Ernie Chan Freddy Chan Ron Chan Andrew Chang Hillary Chang Matthew Chavis David Chavoya Jonathan Chen Nicholas Chen Steven Chen Matthew Cherniss Eric Chin Brian Ching Joe Chiodo Wan Chiu Michele Chong Russell G. Chong Eric Chow Fabian Chow Fernando Chow Brett Chronerberry Kevin Chu Michael Chu Randy Chua Alex Chun Miguel Cima Jason Cipriano Gary Clair Erin Clark Mickey Clausen Tracey Claverie Ron Clements Tony Cliff Steve Cobb Casey Coffey Chad Cole Beth Colla Ethan Collings Steve Collins Ryan Colucci Joe Comstock Roberta Conroy Christopher Cook Mark Coon Hannah Cooper John Cooper Ryan Cooper Colleen Coover Jason Copland Bill Corbett Carlene Cordova Joe Corroney Dan Cote Steven Cote Erik Courtney John Cox Sean Crampton Duncan Crawford Alan Crosby Amanda Crosson Carlos Jose CruzAguilera Emilio Cuesta Kirk Cumming Carl Cunningham Bernard Custodio

Andrew Dabb Kyle Dakota Craig Dalrymple

James Daly Joseph M. Damon Monica Daniel Andrea F. Davis Darren Davis Doyle Davis Matt Davis Torrence Davis Walt Davis Johnny Davis II Lisa De Avila Sam de la Rosa Klebs De Moura, Jr. Scot De Pedro Donald Dean Chris Deboda Ryan Degard Michael DeLepine Edgar Delgado George DeLorenzo Travis Deming Brian Denham Shannon Denton Shawn Depriest Charlie Desrochers Jeff Diamond Alex Diaz Ron Dickinson Flint Dille Jeremy Dillon Greg DiMase Huy Dinh Paul Dini Nicholas Doan Janet Doe Thalia Doherty David Donatucci Nguyen Dong Tony Donley Michael Dooley Dave Dorman Mark Dos Santos Alberto Dose Erin Draney Mark Drop Oliver Dubin Nicole Dubuc Vera Duffy Sean Dulaney Denise Dumars Janene Dunbar David Duncan John Dymer

Gigi Edgley Jack Edra Cory Edwards John Edwards Kelly Eismann James Eley Marc Ellerby George Elliott Paul Elliott John Ellis Richard Ellis Shari Ellis Randy Emberlin Luis Enciso Doug Erb Terry Erdmann Michael Erickson Eric Espejo Rod Espinosa Anthony Etienne Ralph A. Eusebio Mark Evans Tim Evans Jason Evaristo

DeLane Faircloth Lance Falk Michael Fallavollita Jason Faries John Fasano Denis Faye Kevin Feige Donna Felten Andre Fenton Mitchell Ferm

Robert Fewkes Kenneth Fiedler Matthew Filer Joe Filice Nicholas Filippi Johnny Fisk Steve Flack Don Flaws Mary Fleener Valerie Fletcher Jose Flores John Floyd John Flynn Collin Fogel Daniel Fogel Kristi Fojtik Justin Folk Edmund Fong Shea Fontana Mark A. Fontecha Matt Forbeck Tom Ford Neil Fordice Paul Forest Bob Foster Greg Fountain Justin Fox Melody Fox Otis Frampton Kevin Frank David Franklin Stuart Fraser Adam Freeman Keith Freiheit Brian Freyermuth Stacey Frias Derek Fridolfs Pam Friend Quentin Frost Arthur Fuchs Paul Fuller Charlotte Fullerton

Austin Gage Christos Gage Randy Gallegos Tom Galloway Adriana Galvez Rey Galza Anthony Garcia J. F. Garcia Joseph Garcia Manuel Garcia Mike Garcia Rafael Garcia Andy Garfield Alex Garner Ayleen Gaspar George Gaspar Constant Gaw Shawn Geabhart Rick Geary Jeff Gelb Tim Georgi Nat Gertler Mark Geyer Chris Giarrusso Tristan Gibson Kevin Gieseking Juliet Aires Giglio Keith Giglio Joseph Giles Beverly Gilroy Paul Gimm Shane Girard Hugo Giraud Kohl Glass Benjamin Glendenning Sean Glumace Brian Goehring Christopher Golden Gregg Goldin Douglas Goldstein Gary Goldstein Robert Gomez James Gonis Desire’ Gonzales Phill Gonzales Jose C. Gonzalez

Rebeca Gonz·lez Jeffrey Gordon Matthew Grace Jean Graham Shawn Granger Andrea Grant Jeffrey Grant David V. Grasso Frank Grau Douglas Gray Mick Gray Mike Gray Milton Gray Adam Green Randy Green Sanford Greene Diana Greenhalgh Marsha Griffin Javier GrilloMarxuach Chris Grine Peter Gross Joseph Grossberg Douglas Guanlao Ernie Guanlao Steven Guarnaccia Anthony Guerra Miguel Guerrero Elio Guevara Brad Guigar Wendy Guin Robert Gunderson Jeff Gurwood Julie Guthrie Paul Gutierrez Harry Guyton Peter Guzman

Steve Haas John Hahn James Hakola Matt Haley Nathan Hamill Todd Hamilton Justin Hammond Cully Hamner Bo Hampton Justin Hampton Scott Hampton Yeong Han Hiro-yuki Hanamura Dave Hancock Gary Hankins Jim Hanna Gabriel Hardman Katy Hargrove Wade Harpootlian Julianne Harrington Arlene Harris Marcus Harris Maryelizabeth Hart Shawn Harville Richard Hatch Bryon Havranek Chris Hawkes Ken Hayashi Deborah Ann Hayes Tabitha Heidkamp Stefan Heitzmann Alan Hellard Topper Helmers Kacey Helms Marc Hempel Brian Henderson Lori Henderson Shepherd Hendrix Adam Henry Rory Hensley Eric Henze Todd Herman Mario Hernandez Ryan Hernandez Frank Hernandez III Mike Hersh Kristi Hertzog Phillip Hester Glenn Hetrick Pete Hewitt Virginia Hey Tom Hiett

Bob Higgins Mike Higgins Christopher Higginson Geoff Hill Jason Hill Rico Hill Trevor Hill Jim Hillin Jason Ho Keith Ho Kwok Fai (Danny) Ho Rob Hoegee Faye Hoerauf Walt Holcombe DK Holmes Scott Holmes John Hom Phillip Hom Michael Homler Kevin Hopps Steve Horch Brian Horton Gillian Horvath Steve Hough Josh Howard Caroline Hu Brian Huang John Hudgens Doug Hudson Patrick Hughes Llyn Hunter Ricky Hunter Ethan Hurd David Hurwitz Jason Hutchins

Tony Ianiro Kenneth Ibrahim Cynthia Ignacio Michael Iguico Wendy Ikeguchi Harbell ILustre Cash Imutan Jocellie Imutan Bob Ingersoll Paul Intharathut Ho Wai Wilson Ip Robert Irvine Marty Isenberg Robert Ilas

Jennifer Jackman David Jackson Matt Jacobs Roberto Jauregui Aubree Jefchak Matthew Jent Deepak Jesrani Rey Jimenez Ana BelÈn JimÈnez Paloma Joga Barbara Johnson Greg Johnson Jeff Johnson Jim Johnson Lawrence Jonas Christopher Jones Dylan Jones Lisa Jones Mike Jones Nat Jones Devon Jopling Christy Jue Alex Julian Bryan Jury

Jen Kacizak Rachel Kadushin Dennis Kanenwisher John Kantz Patrick Kapera Neil Kaplan Annie Kaprelian Eric W. A. Kask Fred O. Kask Jeff Kaslik

Steve LaBelle Edward Lacabanne Don Lacy Fred Ladd Hung Lam Randy Lander Jerry Langford Robert LaQuinta Ken Laramay Ken Lashley Conor Lastowka Paula Lauterbach Jack Lawrence Carol Lay Hung Le David Lea Bill Leach Ryan Leasher Melinda Leasure April Lee David Lee Joseph Lee Kenneth Lee Munsoo Lee Paul Lee Pill K. (Chris) Lee Steward Lee Tony Lee Wendy Lee Robert Legare Alex Leighton Guy LeMay Peter Lenkov Carlos Lerma Drake Letcher Thunder Levin Jason Levine Sam Levine Kevin Levy Jason Lewis Henry Liao Eileen Lim Ron Lim T.J. Lindsey Jared Lipscomb Gabrielle Lissauer Chingyi Liu Christina Liu Eddie Liu Lanny Liu Ying Liu Bob Lizarraga Joey Locke Lindsay Morgan Lockhart Todd Lockwood James Lomax Francis Lombard Morgan Loomis

Steve Loter Gia Luc John Lucas Mark Lucas Dennis Luciani Michael Ludy Sandy Luedke Alexander Lugo Fred Lui Marco Lupoi

Jerry Ma Rich Ma Michael Macasero Jose Macasocol, Jr. Axel Machain David Macho Marc Mackin Angus MacLane Jim MacQuarrie Russ Maheras Rebecca Majoros Jason Makiaris David Malki Larry Malott Josh Mandel Joe Mandia Marvin Mann Greg Mannino Robert Mannion Frederic Manzano Cindy Margolis Jim Mariano Jeff Mariotte Barbara Marker Jay Marks Doug Markuson Jr Chip Marler Kimberly Marlis Xavier Marrero Cynthia Martin David Martin Gary Martin Billy Martinez Ed Martinez Irving Martinez Jose Marzan Jr. John Mathot Kelly Matten Mark Maxey Andrew Mayer Mike L. Mayfield Michael D. Mayo Marianne Mazurowski Jerry McAffee Michael McCalister Jesse Leon McCann Amanda McCarter Kevin McCartney Bruce McCorkindale Doug McCoy Mark McCray Gil McCue Derek McCulloch Midori McDaniel David McDermott Bryce McDougall Dwayne McDuffie Aaron McFarland Jeanne McGee Regan McGee Simon McIlroy Shadow W. McKenna Sean McKinney Mike McKone M. Sean McManus Julie McNally Cahill Darrell McNeil Matthew Mead Tom Meigs Mark Mekkes Erick Melton Ken Meyer, Jr Richard Meyers John Miewald Andrew Migliore Tone Milazzo Eric Millan Brian Miller Craig Miller Greg Miller Kurt Miller Jason Milligan R.J. Mino Virgil Mirano Dan Mishkin Debby Mitchell Jim Mitchell Bob Mitsch Christopher Mitten Bret Mixon

Reginald Mizell Jennifer Moeller Larry L. Molinar Peter Momsen Zac Moncrief Robert Monroe Kenneth Moodie Fabio Moon Tom Moon Jim Moore Kevin Moore Michael Moore Monte Moore Derak Morrell Bruce M. Morris Michael Morris Bill Morrison Bill Motz Lee Moyer George Muenkel Shannon Muir Glen Murakami Kevin I. Muranaka Bill Murphy Don Murphy Ryan Murphy Doug Murray Alex Murtaza Anthony Musiala Bryan Musson Lindsey Myers Leland Myrick

Maria Elena Naggi Todd Nauck Daniel Nauenburg Kristian Navant Larry Navarro Victor Navone Clydene Nee Jonathan Neeley Michael Nelson Richard Nelson Larry Nemecek Louise Nemschoff Bob Newlan Amy Newman Lawrence Newman Malane Newman Richard Newsome Bao Nguyen Mac Nguyen Ethan Nicolle Terese Nielsen Trevor Nielson Nicholas Night Cedric Nocon Ronald Nomura Aaron Norell Floyd Norman Chris Norpchen Susan Notarides Dan Novy Eric Nunes Robert Nunez Scott Nybakken Steve Oatney Kensuke Okabayashi Dave Olbrich Jay Oliva Joyce Oller Susan Olney Tammy Olsen Geoffrey Ong Stephen Orlando Susan Orlofsky Jean Orrico Joshua Ortega Axel Ortiz Mark Osborne John Ott Ira Owens

Courtenay Palaski Joe Palmer Iva-Marie Palmer-Stanis Arnold Pander Jacob Pander Peter Pantazis Jo Soo Park Tony Parker Glenn Parsons Mike Pascale Mike Pasqua Allen Passalaqua Nathan Pata Sanjit Patel Jill Patterson Michael Payne Joe Pearce Oliver Pearce

Ed Peji Jennifer Pelphrey Albert Pena Ken Penders Justin Peniston Daniel Perez Omaha Perez Pere Perez Tim Perovich Rochon Perry Jerry Pesce Phebbie Pesquera Jessica PetelleSlagle Steve Peters Erik Peterson Michael Petrosky Gary Phillips Stephen Phillips Nate Piekos Edward Pieters Will Pilgrim Kathy Pillsbury Jeff Pittarelli Drew Plein Carolyn Plumb Tom Pniewski Nicole Poole Suydam Robert Pope Whilce Portacio Gabrielle Portal Alan J. Porter Andrew Post Jonathan Post Stephen Potts James Powell Megan Powers Aude Lising Prachandsitthi Theodore Pratt Reo Prendergast Fedel Preudhomme Roger Price Shane Prigmore Heather Pritchett Ruben Procopio Chris Provinzano Chris Prynoski Shannon Prynoski Wayne Pygram

Philippe Queveau Kristy Quinn Dennis Quon

Andrew Rai Pablo Ramos Angela Ramsammy Jason Rand Grace Randolph Fred Raskin Brad Rau Dave Rawson Amanda Raymond Elaine Reali Tim Reamer Seth Reek Jason Reeves Jon Reeves Alan Regan Christopher Reilly Lisa Reinert Bill Reinhold Jesse Reklaw Carlos Restrepo Scot Reyes Randy Reynaldo Scott Rhodes Chris Richardson Eric Richter Robert Ridolfi Ford Riley Dawn RiveraErnster Jorge Riverol Luke Rivett Robert Roach Yumi Roach Clarence “Boola” Robello Thom Roberts Andrew Robinson James Robinson Michael Robinson Enrique Robledo Art Roche Hans Rodionoff Tone Rodriguez Jeanne Rogers Scott Rogers Arlene Rosas Daniel Rosen

Shaun Rosenstein David Rosiak Greg Ross Rick Ross Ben Rossi Bob Roth Josef Rother Rachel Rothman Valinda Rothman Darlene Royer Jance Rubinchik Alexander Rubinow Ronald Rubio Conrad Rudy Alex Ruiz Veronica Ruiz Ali Russell Sarah Russell Christopher Rutkowski Chris Ryall Norm Ryang

Nigel Sade Stan Sakai Christopher Salas Tim Sale Sandi Salina Rhondi Salsitz Chris Samnee Darren Sander Stephen Sandoval Joel Sasaki Daniel Sass Kristian Sather Joe Saunders Alex Saviuk Stuart Sayger Dave Scarpitti John Scharmen Warren Scherffius Gregg Schigiel Wade Schin Fabian Schlaga Robert Schmidt Rick Schmitz Daisy Lee Schofield Matthew Schofield Adam Schubert Carina Schulze Diana Schutz Dana Schwartz David Schwartz Howard Schwartz Nicola Scott Richard Scott Brent Scoufos Steven Sears Richard Sebast James Secord Ian Sedensky David Seidman Frankie Serna Ben Seto David Settlow Eric Shanower Monica Sharp Chad Shattuck Hameed Shaukat Mickie Shaw Quenton Shaw Scott Shaw! Alex Sheikman Shane Shellenbarger Jeff Shelly Jenny Shen Jeremy Shepherd Mike ShepherdMoscoe Tom Sheppard Shawn Sheridan James Sherman Steve Sherman Rusty Sherrill Jill Sherwin Josh Shipley Ann Sidenblad David Siegel Lilly Silbert Robert Silva Scott Silver Cliff Simon Brent Simons Howard Simpson Dawn Sirag Scott Sirag John SmallwoodGarcia Robert Smiley Dane Smith Gina Smith Lance Arthur Smith Marc Smith Needham Smith Ronald Smith

Steve Smith Terrie Smith Travis Smith Megan Smithyman Lawrence Snelly Tom Sniegoski Elisha Solmes S. Sorger Alexander Soto Brian Sousa Darcienne Sparber Chris Spitale Ricky Sprague Serge Sretschinsky Jean St. Jean Mark Stadler Chris Stead Jessica Stebbins Gerald Steffen Brian Stelfreeze Mike Stemmle Mike Stern Brian Stevenson John Stevenson Dave Stewart Charlie Stickney Tad Stones Michael Stout Jim Strader Michael Stradford Dennis Strand Michael Stribling Dave Stuckey Brian Studler Maritza Suarez Jon Sukarangsan Kyle Sullivan Matt Sullivan Kaytee Sumida Christopher Summers Michael Sutfin Tammy Sutton Arthur Suydam Peter Svab Foo Swee Chin Will Swift Misha Syeed

Paul Tallerday Andrew Tamandl Jay Tan Susan Tardif Tom Tataranowicz Crystal Ann Taylor Dan Taylor Sean Taylor Cazi Tena Will Terrell Heather Theurer Rich Thigpen Bruce Thomas Ben Thompson Bryan Thompson Connie Thompson Eldon Thompson Zach Thomson Leila Tilghman Kirk Tingblad Selig Tobiason Paul Tobin Anne Toole Anthony Torella Felipe Torres Moreno Tim Tran Robert Treat Chris Trevas William Trost Francis Tsai Aristomenis Tsirbas Theo Tso Lani Tupu Brian Turpin Michael Tyau

John Uhrich Christopher Ungar Chris Ure Patricia Urias Edwin K. Ushiro

John Van Citters Brad Vancata Steve Vance Brad Vandergrift Jerry Vanderstelt Marshall Vandruff Aaron Vanek Vera VanGuard Carol VanHook Kevin VanHook

AJ Vargas Pannel Vaughn Manny Vega Shelley Venemann Tony Verdini Rocco Versaci Daniel Vest Fidel Villa John Villalino Chris Vine Justin Virag Sherwin Viray Tricia Vitug Henry Vizcarra Astrid Vohwinkel Giancarlo Volpe Mark Vuletich Mark Vuncannon

Comic-Con 2007

Evan Katz Mike Kazaleh Tedd Keith Kay Kellam Christian Keller Michael Kelley Elizabeth Kelly Darla Kershner Barbara Kesel Luke Khanlian Amarpal Khanna David Kilmer William Kilpatrick Bert Kimura Darren Kiner Shawn Kirkham Louis Kiss Dana Klaren Scott Klein Jeff Kline Sinclair Klugarsh Chris Knight Cristopher Knight Ken Knudtsen Scott Koblish Mark Koetsier Brian Kong Eleni Konstantinopoulos Brian Koonce Anthony Kopczynski Josh Krach Anthony Kramer Don Kramer Joseph Krejci V Andrew Krelle Katie Krentz George Krstic Bridgitte Krupke Kent Kubena Andy Kuhn Joseph Kuhr Kevin Kutchaver Wing Kwok Craig Kyle

Doug Wagner Matt Wagner Christina Wainwright Joshua Waldrop Dan Walker William Wall Eric Walls Chad Ward Alonzo Washington Ted Washington John Watkins-Chow Christopher Waugh Matt Wayne Steve Weatherly Brooklyn Weaver Jeremy Weiner Regine Weiner Margaret Weis John Weisgerber Robert Weisman Stacy Weiss Brad West Bob Westal Clark Westerman Alexander Whang David Wharton Mark Wheatley Ronald White Lauren Whitehead Jim Whiting Dan Wickline Chris Wiler Alan Williams Bear Williams Christopher Williams Gregg Williams Mark Williams Ryan Williams William Wilson Joe Wiseman Renee Witterstaetter Chuk Wojtkiewicz Fryda Wolff Howard Wong Ren Wong Walden Wong Scott Woodard Frank Woodward Stephen Woodworth Paul Worley Julie Wright Bernie Wrightson

Rolando Yago Gary Yap Amanda Yaryan Scott Yasso Kelly Yates Shayna Yates Dustin Yee Tsz “Gee” Yeung Doselle Young James Young Janine Young Mark Young Randolph Yumul

John Zabrucky Rodrigo Q. Zafe Jr. Robert Zailo Kimberly Zamlich Elisabeth Zarate Geoffrey Zatkin Mario Zavala John Zeleznik Anthony Zierhut Andrew Zoboki Frank Zomerdijk Dom Zook

Comic-Con 2007

Top Artists Create Original Art While You Watch!

Art Auction Comic-Con’s Art Auction is your chance to watch some of the best artists in the industry create art right before your eyes! Best of all, you can purchase this original art for your own collection when it’s auctioned off at Comic-Con. Among the beneficiaries of the Art Auction are the Disabled Services Department and Artists’ Fan-favorite artist Wendy Pini with her stunning Elfquest painting which she donated to Alley. As a nonprofit organization, ComicCon is committed to making the convention an the Art Auction. enjoyable event for all attendees. By actively promoting access for all those with special needs and providing interpreters for our deaf members, Comic-Con guarantees an even wider audience who can appreciate all that comics and the popular arts have to offer. The Art Auction helps to defray the costs of these services as well as the costs of Artists’ Alley, where space is provided at no cost to the participating artists. Check your onsite Events Guide for the exact location of the Art Auction and visit often during Comic-Con. You just might catch your favorite artist creating a masterpiece!

Artists’ Alley Each year, Comic-Con’s Artists’ Alley, features one of the greatest gatherings of artists in the country. These artists will be selling original art, limited-edition sketchbooks, sketches, and more. Best of all, it’s a great place to meet some of your favorite creators. The following artists are scheduled to appear in Artists’ Alley as of press time. A section of Artists’ Alley will also be devoted to some of the special guests appearing at Comic-Con 2007. An up-to-date listing can be found at www.comic-con.org and in the onsite Events Guide. Brent Anderson

Sergio Cariello

Peter Gross

Mike Lilly

Lucio Parrillo

Ryan Sook

RC Aradio

Claudio Castellini

Rebecca Guay

Ron Lim

James Pascoe

Cat Staggs

Dominic Aradio

Tommy Castillo

Gene Ha

Michael Lopez

Joe Phillips

Ben Steinbeck

Adam Archer

Paul Chadwick

Brian Haberlin

Barbara Marker

Whilce Portacio

Arthur Suydam

Attila Adorjany

James Chen

Craig Hamilton

Gary Martin

Ron Randall

Angela Talbot

Mike Asquith

Matthew Clark

Bo Hampton

Theresa Mather

Bill Reinhold

Chris Batista

Katie Cook

David Haley

Warren Mahy

Robert Roach

Billy TanBen Thompson

David Baron

Joe Corroney

Jesse Hamm

Shaun McManus

Roger Robinson

Heather Theurer

Moose Baumann

Carlos D’Anda

Meghan McMahon

Ed Roeder

Ed D. Bell

Shane Davis

Chachi Hernandez

Brian Rood

Scott Benefiel

Sue Dawe

Gabe Hernandez

Ken Meyer Jr.

Cyril van der Haegen

Jonboy Meyers

Vaughn Ross

Ryan Benjamin

Otto Diffenbach

Josh Middleton

Lee Bermejo

Steve Ellis

Thomas Rubalcava

James “Bukshot” Bukakus

Randy Emberlin

Patrick Block Shelly Block Tim Bradstreet Ron Brown James Bryson Clint Burgin Matt Busch Buzz Zander Cannon

48 Photo by Clydene Nee

Ramona Fradon Otis Frampton Rich Friend Randy Gallegos Dave Garcia Ale Garza Chris Giarrusso Joel Gomez Denis Calero Mick Gray

Thomas Hope Josh Howard Greg Horn Mark Irwin Karl Kesel JJ Kirby Scott Kolins Jason Kruse Peter Kuper Joe Largent Jim Lee Henry Liao Steve Lieber

Monte Moore Chris Moreno Jeff Moy Phil Moy Sho Murase Terese Nielsen Dustin Nguyen Tom Nguyen Oliver Nome Steve Oatney Mitch O’Connell Jorge Pacheco

Jerry Vanderstelt Ethan Van Sciver Alain Viesca

Michael J. Ryan

Russell Walks

Alex Saviuk

John Watkins Chow

Stuart Sayger Brandon Shiflett

Freddie Williams Jr. Chuk Wojtkiewicz

Jarrod Shiflett

Marc Wolfe

Gregg Schigiel

Ben Wooten

Dave Seeley

Thomas Yeates

Terry Shoemaker Howard Simpson Alex Sinclair

Comic-Con 2007

Take Home Something Special!

Art Show

Comic-Con’s Art Show is the perfect place to find that special one-of-a-kind piece of art. Whether you’re looking for drawings and paintings, jewelry, sculpture, or even something more unusual, the Art Show features an eclectic and beautiful selection of items. Located in the Sails Pavilion, upstairs at the Convention Center, the Art Show contains original works by both amateurs and professionals. It also displays the nominated books and comics for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards and houses a special display devoted to members of the Will Eisner Hall of Fame. Many of the original pieces displayed by artists are for sale by silent or voice auction. Some pieces are marked for quick sale. Bidder numbers and art show information can be obtained from the administration table inside the Art Show. You must be 18 years of age and have legal identification to purchase artwork, and payments may be made with cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, or American Express. Information on entering the Art Show, including all necessary forms, is available at www.comic-con. org (look for the “Art Show” link on the left sidebar). The deadline for entry before the convention is June 30, 2007. Samples of the art must be sent in with the application and payment for display space. Walk-in reservations at the Art Show are on a first-come, first-served basis, if space is still available. Mail-in art is accepted according to the conditions stated in the Art Show rules. You can also check the appropriate box under “Need info?” on the Multi-purpose Form on page 55 to have Art Show information sent to you.

Portfolio Review: For Some Attendees, It’s That First Foot in the Door of Fame! Comic-Con’s Portfolio Review area provides the gateway for many artists seeking that dream job in comics and related industries. Whether you’re looking for employment or just an honest appraisal of your work and abilities, this is the place for you! The Portfolio Review area, located in the Sails Pavilion adjacent to the Autograph Area, regularly features companies looking for new artists. Last year’s participants included Digital Manga Publishing, Disney Publishing Worldwide, Lucas Licensing, Marvel Comics, McFarlane Toys, and Midway Games, among others. As of press time, we’ve learned that Wizards of the Coast, and Nickelodeon Creative Resources will be a part of the Portfolio Review Area. Nick will be looking for illustrators and designers with proficiency in licensed Nickelodeon properties. For a complete schedule of companies participating in Portfolio Review, check both the onsite Events Guide and www.comic-con.org as we get closer to the event. Some companies also do Portfolio Review in their booths in the Exhibit Hall. Please note: you cannot schedule a session in advance. You must do that onsite. You can sign up 30 minutes in advance for some individual company sessions.

Autograph Area Comic-Con’s Autograph Area is a fan-favorite destination each year. It’s one of the first things many see as they enter Comic-Con through the Sails Pavilion, upstairs at the Convention Center. And it’s “signing central” for the entire four days of the event, featuring autographs from movie stars, current and classic TV personalities, science fiction and fantasy authors, and comic book greats. The Autograph Area is your onestop shop for signings, including sessions for some of our special guests and other panel participants following their events. 2007’s schedule is still being worked on, but we can reveal that Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson (shown above at last year’s show) will be on hand, celebrating her 25th anniversary as our favorite horror hostess. Also scheduled are Farscape actors Virgina Hey, Gigi Edgley, David Franklin and Lani Tupu. Check www. comic-con.org for a complete listing, and be sure to pick up an onsite Events Guide for the Autograph Area schedule—we wouldn’t want you to miss that personal favorite! Photo by Adrian Velazquez

Comic-Con 2007

Help In Finding A Room for Comic-Con

The Hotel Hunt Finding a hotel room at Comic-Con is one of the most challenging tasks for any attendee. San Diego has a chronic shortage of rooms and while new hotels are being built, it will be a year or two until any of them are up and running for Comic-Con. Additionally, San Diego is a year-round tourist destination and hotel space is frequently hard to come by.. The Comic-Con hotel room block for this year’s event sold out quickly. While we are constantly adding new rooms and there are always cancellations, finding a room near the Convention Center may be difficult. Please call the ComicCon Travel Desk at 1-877-55-COMIC (1-877-552-6642) or visit our website at www.comic-con.org/cci/ cci_hotel.shtml to check on room availability. We also recommend using one of the popular Internet-based travel sites to find a room in or around San Diego.

Comic-Con’s official headquarters hotel for 2007 is the Marriott Hotel and Marina, located directly next door to the San Diego Convention Center.

Disabled Services Comic-Con International is dedicated to serving all of our attendees; as such the Disabled Services Department was established to offer a hand to visitors with special needs. What does that entail? • A rest area for the disabled, the elderly, expectant mothers, and parents with small infants. • An enclosed nursing area for mothers with infants. • Runners to go upstairs and register your membership if you are unable to wait in line. • Cold storage of medications. • Wheelchairs for loan in two- to three-hour increments on a first-come, first-served basis; all you need is an ID and a $20.00 cash deposit. • American Sign Language interpreters for the hearing-impaired at large panels and the Masquerade. • Special limited seating for large programming events and the Masquerade. Comic-Con wants to make your visit fun and entertaining, but this show is so big that even Superman or The Mighty Thor would have a a tough time tackling all the challenges. As such, we have a few limitations. For example: • Programming rooms fill up quickly, and all seating is on a first-come, first-served basis, so special seating may not be available if you wait until the last minute. Please read your Events Guide and plan your day accordingly, keeping in mind the popularity of certain events. • Special autograph sessions are always limited to the first 100 to 200 people in line, no matter who the attendee is; you can make arrangements to have someone within your group save a spot for you in line, but Disabled Services cannot guarantee any seating, autographs, or giveaways. The Disabled Services team is here to help. By working together, we can make this an enjoyable convention experience for everyone. Check www.comic-con.org for further information as we get closer to the event.

Comic-Con 2007

Now You Can Sign Up Online to Volunteer at Comic-Con!

Be A Part of Comic-Con 2007: Volunteer!

Here’s the deal: A free membership to Comic-Con, a chance to be part of the behind-the-scenes team that puts on the show, and—best of all!—a chance to meet new friends. How can you pass it up? Comic-Con International requires over 1,000 volunteers to help ensure that everyone at the show has the best experience possible. Volunteers must be 16 or older to participate. You can volunteer for any or all of the days, your choice. There are literally hundreds of volunteer tasks each day in over twenty-one departments, but we won’t give you your assignment until you check in at the Volunteer Desk. All pre-registered volunteers get to attend Preview Night on Wednesday, July 25, and those who do at least four shifts get the rare and amazing volunteer t-shirt that cannot be bought in any store. The deadline to submit your registration, whether you do it online or by fax or mail, is June 26, 2007 (mailed forms must be post-marked by that date). You can sign up online to volunteer for Comic-Con at www.comic-con.org. (Just click the “Volunteers” link on the left side of any Comic-Con page). Just follow the simple directions online. After you fill in your info, you will get an online confirmation code and an email confirming receipt of your form. If you do not have access to the Internet or you prefer to mail or fax your form, you can download a PDF version of forms for each event from our website, or request forms from the office by fax (619-414-1022), by mail (Volunteers, PO Box 128458, San Diego CA 92112-8458), by email to volunteers@comic-con.org, or by checking the proper circle under “Need Info?” on the Multi-Purpose Form on page 55 of this publication.

Let’s Cut to the Chase: FREE STUFF! The Magical Land of the Fabled Freebie Table

Another satisfied Freebie Table customer!

For many Comic-Con attendees, it’s the first stop of their incredible visit: The giant Freebie Table near the Registration area in the Sails Pavilion. Chock-full of incredible stuff, you’ll need a magical bottomless tote bag* to grab everything that shows up

on this table over the course of the Comic-Con weekend. Posters, buttons, t-shirts, flyers, coupons, comics and all kinds of special giveaways make their way here. Our Freebie Table volunteers constantly add new items throughout the four days, so visit early and often. And don’t forget: Many exhibitors in the massive Exhibit Hall also offer free items at their booths. *We don’t actually recommend a “bottomless tote bag,” because let’s face it, everything would fall out.

Suite Deal! Relax at the Comic-Con Hospitality Suite We know that your Comic-Con experience is serious business. You need a place to relax, kick back and enjoy some down time with friends. That’s where the Comic-Con Hospitality Suite comes in! Located in our headquarters hotel, the Marriott Hotel and Marina, right next to the Convention Center, the Hospitality Suite offers soft drinks, munchies and a quiet place to chill and chat. Who knows? You might meet your next best friend there! The Suite is located near the Films and Gaming rooms at the Marriott (consult your onsite Events Guide for the exact location), and is open from 5:00 PM until 2:00 AM, Thursday through Saturday. Photo by Adrian Velazquez

Comic-Con 2007

Robert A. Heinlein Blood Drive Celebrates Its 30th Year at Comic-Con

Give Blood at Comic-Con!

That’s right! San Diego Comic-Con encourages you to take a little time at the convention to save someone’s life. Be a real hero! 2007 marks the 100th birthday of the legendary science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein. There’s no more perfect way to commemorate this centennial than supporting the late author’s wishes for paying forward through blood donation. When you donate blood at the San Diego Comic-Con Robert A. Heinlein Blood Drive you will receive a special goody bag with comics, books and other fun things as a special thank you. The San Diego Blood Bank will give you a limited edition t-shirt, and you’ll get a raffle ticket for a chance to win one of the many different prizes that are donated by exhibitors—some of these prizes have been valued at over $100! The winning numbers are posted daily just after 6:00 PM (3:00 PM Sunday) at the Blood Drive Booth, upstairs in the Sails Pavilion. And if all of this isn’t enough, we may have yet another exclusive surprise for This year’s Blood Drive t-shirt art, created and donated by John our donors! Smallwood-Garcia of Dream Media. Now in its 30th year at Comic-Con, the Robert A. Heinlein Blood Drive expands to Thursday. We will open at 10:00 AM on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and at 11:00 AM on Sunday. To all those who supported the blood drive last year, a very special thanks. You’ve made the San Diego Comic-Con Robert A. Heinlein Blood Drive the second largest blood drive in San Diego County! We collected a record 600 units last year! Lives were saved because of your compassion and generosity. Plus a big thank you to Diamond Select Toys for helping make last year’s blood drive such a huge success! They donated a special Spike (from the Angel TV show) action figure to each of our 600 donors! We’d also like to thank all the exhibitors who donated so many great prizes for last year’s drawings. To those who haven’t given blood before, please come in and donate. It only takes about 45 minutes. Sign up at the Blood Drive Booth upstairs in the Sails Pavilion (near the Freebie Table). The San Diego Blood Bank needs us now more than ever!

Bring the Kids … Comic-Con’s Child Care Has You Covered If you have the kind of restless toddlers who have yet to gain an appreciation for the finer nuances of comic book storytelling or who don’t have the patience to sit through an all-day movie-fest in Hall H, we have the solution for you. Relax . . . KiddieCorp is here. A long-time presence at Comic-Con International, KiddieCorp is committed to providing your children with a comfortable, safe, and happy experience. They provide age-appropriate activities that include arts and crafts, group games, music and motion, board games, story time, dramatic play, and much more. You’ll be tempted to stay yourself, but you’ll probably opt to dive into that long box of comics down in the Exhibit Hall. KiddieCorp provides snacks and beverages, but parents must supply all meals, as well as diapers, baby formula, and a change of clothes. KiddieCorp’s hours fit the daytime Comic-Con schedule: Wednesday – 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm Thursday through Saturday – 10:00 am to 7:00 pm Sunday – 10:00 am to 5:00 pm KiddieCorp’s fees are also kind to your pocketbook: Children 6 months to 2 years: $9 per hour if they are pre-registered, $11 per hour if registered onsite; children 3–12 years: $7 per hour if they are pre-registered, $9 per hour if registered onsite. To enroll a young one in this program you must fill out a children’s program registration form and a consent form. You can obtain these forms through the Comic-Con office, on the website www.comiccon.org, or directly from KiddieCorp at 858-455-1718 or info@kiddiecorp.com. You can also register online at www.kiddiecorp.com/comickids.htm

Comic-Con 2007

Important Information on Comic-Con 2007 Registration and Attendance!

If you’ve been to Comic-Con the past few years, we don’t have to tell you: It’s a BIG show with lots of people. And the reality of the situation is quite simple: We’re looking at limiting attendance this year. Last year, Comic-Con sold out on Saturday. By “sold out,” we mean we reached our maximum attendance capacity for that day. There’s a strong probability we’ll sell out on Saturday this year, also. That may result in no onsite registration for Saturday. If the crowds thin out later in the day, we may open registration for those of you who just have to come on Saturday, or want to see the Masquerade but just can’t face the crowd in the Exhibit Hall. And while we didn’t sell out on any of the other days last year, there’s always the possibility it may happen this year. Because of this, we strongly urge you to register online as soon as possible. To help keep the crowds down on Saturday, we’re introducing a special 3-Day Membership that includes entry into Comic-Con on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, plus Preview Night on Wednesday evening. That’s right: NO SATURDAY. This special 3-Day Membership is available only online. It will not be offered through the mail or onsite. If you already go to the San Diego Zoo or Sea World on Saturday to avoid the crowd at Comic-Con, this is the membership for you. (For those of you who have already purchased a 4-Day Membership and would like to avoid the crowds on Saturday, we will gladly refund the difference and change you to a 3-day.) Comic-Con’s primary concern is your experience at our event. When there are too many people, no one has a fun time. We’re working on the crowding issues, with your safety first and foremost on our mind. As always, you can find the latest information on attendance and registration on our website at www.comic-con.org.

Photo by Kira Olsson-Tapp

Comic-Con 2007

Online Reg Is Fast and Easy and You SAVE Money, Too!

Pre-register Online NOW for Comic-Con!

Pre-registering for Comic-Con couldn’t be easier with our online registration. For those of you who purchase the full fourday membership there’s an added bonus: Wednesday night’s Preview Night! That’s right, be among the first to enter Comic-Con’s massive Exhibit Hall on July 25, and shop ‘til you drop before everyone else arrives! Onsite registration is also available—but not on Preview Night! Follow the guidelines below to register for Comic-Con 2007.

How does it work? Register online at www.comic-con.org. It’s a quick and easy process and it speeds up getting your badge onsite, too. You’ll get a bar-coded receipt via email that can be scanned onsite to print your badge. Print out your bar code and bring it with you to the Convention Center, along with your picture ID. Plus when you register online, you can order the ComicCon exclusive “Vanishing Bugs Bunny” figure! (See page 44 for more info.) No access to the Internet? Use the Multipurpose Form on the opposite page. It shows the same prices, discount cutoff deadlines, and other important information that’s online. Fill out the form and fax or mail it in. What about 1-day memberships? 1-day pre-registration memberships are available, but only through the Comic-Con website, www. comic-con.org. NEW for 2007: The 3-day membership! Need a breather? We’re offering a special 3-day membership for the first time! It gets you into ComicCon on Thursday, Friday and Sunday (no Saturday admittance), plus, as an added bonus, Wednesday night’s Preview Night. This special membership is available only online at www.comic-con.org!

When can I pick up my badge? Registration hours for Comic-Con 2007 are: Wednesday, July 25: 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm Thursday, July 26 through Saturday, July 28: 9:30 am to 6:00 pm Sunday, July 29: 9:30 am to 4:00 pm What will I need when I arrive and where do I go? Bring your confirmation receipt and photo ID to the onsite Registration Area on the Upper Level of the Convention Center. Go to the booths for “Preregistered Members,” where you can pick up your badge, badge holder, Souvenir Book, and Events Guide. When’s the cut-off? Purchase memberships by June 7 and you’ll save $10 off the at-the-door price. Can’t make that deadline but still want to avoid the lines? Full-price registrations will be accepted through the mail (with the Multi-Purpose Form on the next page) until June 21. And as always, pre-registration memberships are transferable or refundable until June 21. Anything else? Remember—no memberships are sold on Preview Night (Wednesday, July 25), so only those attendees who have pre-registered for a full 4-day membership can gain admittance to this event. And 4-day pre-registered members get the chance to purchase this exclusive Bugs Bunny figure, available online only!

Preview Night Gets You in the Door FIRST Comic-Con comes around only once a year and we know you’re chomping at the bit to get in the door. That’s where Preview Night comes in! An exclusive “thank you” to all of our preregistered, 4-day members, Preview Night gets you into the Comic-Con Exhibit Hall on Wednesday, July 25, from 6:00-9:00 PM. You can shop exclusively in those three hours, before the rest of the crowd arrives for the weekend. You have to be pre-registered for all four days

of Comic-Con to take advantage of this fabulous offer. Register online now at www.comic-con. org. It’s fast and easy, and you’ll get a bar-coded receipt that will get you your badge much more quickly onsite. See the Registration article above for more info. You can also mail or fax the Multi-Purpose Form on the next page with your payment. Remember: Preview Night is only available to our preregistered 4-day members and professionals!

Save Time! Register ONLINE!

MULTI-PURPOSE FORM San Diego • July 26-29, 2007

WWW.COMIC-CON.ORG For Pre-registered Membership • Art Show • Masquerade • Volunteers • Disabled Services

If you plan to volunteer, please DO NOT SEND MONEY. Fill out your name and address below and check the volunteer information box.

P. O. Box 128458, San Diego, CA 92112-8458 • Fax: 619-414-1022 • www.comic-con.org Full Membership At-the-door Prices Adults $65.00 Juniors (12-17) & Seniors (60+) $30.00

Only full (4-day) pre-registered members can attend Preview Night. No onsite registration will be available for Preview Night—only badge pickup for pre-registered full members.

Pre-Registration Prices

Need Info?

(check one)

Must be postmarked by JUNE 7, 2007

Adults

Juniors (12-17)

$55.00

$27.00*

$27.00

Seniors (60+)

Must be postmarked by JUNE 21, 2007

Adults

Juniors (12-17)

$65.00

$30.00*

$30.00

Seniors (60+)

Active military with ID can pay the Jr./Sr. price. This deal does not extend to dependents. Note: All prices subject to change. *Children under 12 free with PAID adult membership.

Only one membership per form please. This form may be copied. Forms postmarked or faxed after June 21, 2007 will NOT BE PROCESSED. No e-mail registration will be accepted. Sorry, NO REFUNDS after June 21, 2007.

PLEASE CHECK ONE:

First Name

Adult

(check as needed)

Please send me information on exhibiting in the Art Show. Please have your Disabled Services Department contact me about my special needs. Please send me a Volunteer application and information. Please send me information about participating in the Masquerade.

BADGES WILL NOT BE MAILED OUT IN ADVANCE. All pre-registered badges will be available for pickup at Attendee Pre-Registration in the Convention Center’s Sails Pavilion (Upper Level), beginning Wednesday, July 25 at 4:00 PM.

FOR OFFICE USE ONLY 2007 Badge # Check # Total Amount $ Junior (12-17)

Senior (60+)

Last Name

Email Address

Address

City

Phone

Country Code (if not USA)

State

Zip

Fax

Country (if not USA)

PAYMENT TYPE Please make checks and money orders payable to COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL. Check or Money Order Visa MasterCard American Express

Credit Card Number

Signature

Expiration Date (mm/yyyy)

DO NOT WRITE BELOW THIS LINE • OFFICE USE ONLY

Comic-Con 2007

Directions and Travel Tips to Ease Your Way To and From Comic-Con

The Road to the Convention Center! In addition to hosting the largest comics and pop culture convention on the continent, San Diego is one of the most beautiful cities in the country. Comic-Con takes place right downtown along the Bay at the San Diego Convention Center, 111 West Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101. Directions: From the North Drive South on Interstate 5. Take the Front Street exit. Continue on Front Street until you hit Harbor Drive and turn left. Take Harbor Drive to Convention Center Place. From the South Drive North on Interstate 5. Take the Cesar Chavez Parkway exit and turn left. Follow Cesar Chavez Parkway to Harbor Drive and turn right. Take Harbor Drive to Convention Center Place. From San Diego International Airport (Take a cab or shuttle service, or find out if your hotel has an airport shuttle.) Leave the airport parking lot and follow signs to I-5/Downtown. The ramp will put you onto Harbor Drive going South. Take Harbor Drive to Convention Center Place. Need more help? Don’t know your way around the city? The San Diego Convention Center website (www.sdccc.org) has a lot of essential maps and information. Chart out your trip with Yahoo (maps.yahoo. com), Google Maps (maps.google.com), or Mapquest (www.mapquest.com). Tune in to 1620 on the AM radio dial. It’s the Convention Center’s radio station, and it provides updates on daily traffic and parking for the Center.

Avoid the traffic and parking hassles: Leave the car at home. Our advice is simple: Don’t try to park in downtown San Diego. We recommend parking in Mission Valley and taking the trolley, which has two stops right in front of the Convention Center. If you’re still bound and determined to park downtown, here are some San Diego-based websites that may help: Downtown San Diego: www.sandiego.gov/eventsparking A great starting point for parking info. www.downtownsandiego.org/index.cfm/ fuseaction/parking.home Updated parking map and locations of larger parking structures downtown. Gaslamp: www.gaslamp.org/location.php More parking info, but the site also contains restaurant reviews and tips on navigating through the downtown area, both in your car and on foot. The Gaslamp is chock full of great eating places. Plan ahead and make reservations! Take the FREE Comic-Con hotel shuttle and relax! Take advantage of Comic-Con’s free shuttle service. These buses run between various convention hotels and the Convention Center. Even if you’re not staying at a downtown hotel, you can still utilize this service by parking your car at a structure away from the Convention Center and taking the shuttle. A complete route list and schedule is located on the Transportation page at www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_ trans.shtml. Updated parking info can be found at www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_park.shtml as we get closer to the event. (See the map on the next page for a preliminary list.)

Avoid the Parking Hassles—Take Public Transportation! Finding a parking space downtown is an almost impossible task during Comic-Con and we know you want to spend more time visiting the Exhibit Hall than driving around looking for a space. Here are a few websites that will help you with public transportation to and from the Convention Center: Metropolitan Transit System: www.sdcommute.com San Diego’s trolley and bus lines are among the best in the country, and they bring you right to Comic-Con’s doorstep. This site offers all the schedules and stop locations, plus an Online Trip Planner to get you exactly where you want to go. North County Transit District: www.gonctd.com The North County Transit District operates the Coaster train, which brings travelers from Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Sorrento Valley, and Old Town right to a few blocks from the Convention Center. Amtrak: www.amtrak.com The train station is only a few blocks from the Convention Center. The Pacific Surfliner route goes up the California coast—they also offer routes covering the entire U.S.— and train travel is a breeze.

Your best bet to and from Comic-Con: the trolley!

Downtown shuttle and parking map

Hotels with shuttle service 1 Best Western Bayside Inn 2 Embassy Suites 3 Hilton Gaslamp (Shuttle after 6:30 PM) 4 Holiday Inn on the Bay 5 Horton Grand (Shuttle after 6:30 PM) 6 Manchester Grand Hyatt 7 Marriott Hotel and Marina (Headquarters Hotel) 8 Omni San Diego (Shuttle after 6:30 PM) 9 Radisson Harbor View 10 Sheraton Suites 11 W San Diego (Shuttle at Westin SD) 12 Westgate 13 Westin Horton Plaza 14 Westin San Diego Not on map: Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina

Parking

(Rates subject to change)

County Administration Building Harbor and Ash: $7/day-Sat./Sun. Only (Shuttle at Holiday Inn On the Bay)

MTDB Lot: $15.00/day

13th and K St. $3/day

Park it On Market, 614 Market St., (500 spaces) $10/day

8th and Harbor (2,000 spaces) $10/day

289 6th Ave. (1,000 spaces) $12/day

Additional Shuttle Stops

Cruise Ship Lot Broadway & Pacific

One America Plaza Broadway & Kettner

Ralphs First & G Street

Park It On Market Sixth & Market St.

Padresâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Parkade Island & 11th Ave.

MTB Lot Imperial & 11th Ave.

(Across from the Omni San Diego)

Not on map:1304 Imperial Ave.: $3/day

More information:

www.comic-con.org

Parking: www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_park.shtml Transportation: www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_trans.shtml

Comic-Con International P. O. Box 128458 San Diego, CA 92112-8458 www.comic-con.org

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION US POSTAGE PAID COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL

Comic-Con International UPDATE #2 • 2007

Inside: Exclusives! PAGE 44

Interview with

Laurell K. Hamilton PAGE 40