Monitor Duty by Randy Lander "San Diego Bound (2005)" Last year, I wrote up a column just in time for the San Diego Comicon, running down the panels I planned to attend and generally explaining what it meant for my review schedule. It's that time again, and I'm headed out again. This time out, I'm rooming with my friends Tess Bodley and Nate Southard (author of the graphic novel Drive), so I expect that much fun (and drinking) will be had by all. In between all of that, there will of course be a comic-book convention. This does all mean that I won't have any reviews for the week of July 18th, but I should be back with a Con report in some form or other, as well as the ever-popular online pictures of new sketches, after the Con is over. Oh, and it looks like the current format of reviews will continue for a little while, as I've still got a sizable pile of comics to get through. However, I will most likely be returning grades in some form or fashion thanks to popular demand (if you've got an opinion or idea on review grades, tell me in San Diego or via email) and I'll be intermixing the mainstream Snapshots as I've been doing as well. As I predicted, last year I didn't actually make several of the panels that I had planned to hit last year. In fact, of the eight panels I had meant to go to, I only actually got to four, and only one of those was directly comic-related. Fortunately, that one was Quick Draw: Cartoon Improv, which was every bit as hilarious and entertaining as everyone has always said it was, and I will definitely be in the audience for any and all repeats of this event in future years. Other plans and hopes that were dashed included getting a Mage hardcover signed by Matt Wagner (hardcover wasn't out yet, and I never even saw Wagner), meeting Joss Whedon (although I found out from someone that he had been sitting at the Marvel table, unrecognized, next to John Cassaday, so I missed a golden opportunity that I'm sure won't be repeated again) and seeing the Sin City panel or meeting Frank Miller or Robert Rodriguez (though I got to see Sin City and briefly meet both gentlemen at the Austin film premiere). The lesson of all these minor disappointments and missed opportunities? I still had a blast, and thus these plans are tentative and ultimately, not all that important. This year, the hopes I have that will most likely be dashed are meeting Joss Whedon, meeting Allan Heinberg and getting invited to the Wizard party that everyone always talks about. But my plans as they stand mostly revolve around where I'm going to eat (Nate and I are both real excited about The Fish Market and Anthony's Seafood Grotto), who I'm hoping to get sketches from and what panels I'm going to attend. This year's panel schedule is pretty strong, a big improvement on last year's offerings, at least from my point of view. Of course, there are any number of panels where I look and say "Yeah, that might be interesting, but not as interesting as being on the floor," so I haven't mentioned a lot of the panels that I saw that look good. The full panel listing is up HERE, and well worth a look. These are just the panels I might be going to. Thursday features a lot of "breaking in" panels that I don't have much interest in, technique panels on coloring and self-publishing that will no doubt be interesting but not of a lot of use to me and a surprisingly high number of movie or DVD-related panels. It's not surprising that the number is so high, I guess, just that the ratio of other-media to comics seems a little high. Of course, the first panel that snags my attention is, ironically enough, a DVD panel. At 12:00 - 1:30, The Digital Bits: DVD Producers 2005 features two of the guys behind The Digital Bits talking with DVD producers about putting together special editions. I love The Digital Bits, but I don't know that a live interaction with these folks will be tops on my list when I've just arrived at comic book mecca, so I give it a 95% chance that I miss out on this one. From 12:30-1:30, there's Spotlight on Eric Powell, interesting not just because The Goon is fantastic, but because those interviewing Powell are Thomas Lennon (Jim Dangle) and Ben Garant (Travis Junior) of Reno 911. Probably going to be hilarious. From 1:30 - 2:30, Project Superior: The Alternative Hero holds my interest because of the talent roster, and there's not a single name on the panel whose comic works I don't like (or outright love.) So that's a possibility too. But really, around 4:00 is where things start to get dicey, as there are several overlapping panels that sound interesting. 4:00 - 5:30 is Seducing Hollywood, what sounds like a very funny talk by Hollywood insiders about their moves from comics to film or vice versa. At 4:30 - 5:30, Comic Book Weblogs, the obligatory "Comics and the Internet" panel, starts, with a variety of lively personalities including Heidi MacDonald, Tom Spurgeon, Peter David, Tom McLean and Augie DeBlieck, Jr. Almost be worth it just to ask a couple political questions and see if David and DeBlieck get into fisticuffs. (I kid, I kid!) From 5:00 - 6:00 is Keith Knight's The K Chronicles: 10 Years and Counting, which I would rate as the panel I'm most likely to actually attend. Knight is hilarious and intelligent in comics, and I'm guessing a spotlight panel with him talking about the strip and everything related to it will be very engaging and fun. Friday is Star Wars day at San Diego Con! With the last movie out (and almost as bad as the other two prequels, in my opinion) does this mean this will be the last Star Wars day? Probably not. At any rate, while it may be Star Wars day for most, it seems to be TV Day for me, as the four panels that got my attention enough to make me want to go are all TV-related. The panel I will definitely go to is Veronica Mars, from 2:00-3:00 featuring a number of cast members as well as creator/showrunner Rob Thomas. Disappointed that Kristen Bell won't be there, but otherwise thrilled to see this show getting a panel, as it is one of my top three favorites on television. Rob Thomas also created Cupid, a show I dearly loved during its brief lifespan. From 3:00-4:00, there's a Battlestar Galactica panel. Almost all of the main actors are going to be there, and the strength of the show took me by surprise. Disappointed by the lack of Ron Moore, because the thought he puts into the show (clear in his insightful and entertaining podcast commentaries) would have guaranteed an interesting panel, but I'm still expecting something fun. Then, from 4:00-5:30, there's a WB Animation: The Batman and Justice League Unlimited panel. I could care less about The Batman, but Dwayne McDuffie (who will be there), has been one of the keys that transformed Justice League from a somewhat boring action show (weird, I know) into must-watch TV for all DC Comics fans. And there's a new episode of Justice League Unlimited showing at the panel. I'm not sure I'll make the Justice League panel, since two in a row might be all I can take. Or I might skip out on Battlestar Galactica. At any rate, I'm sure I won't hit all of these panels, but just as sure that I'll definitely go to the Veronica Mars panel. Oh, and at 10:00 PM, they're showing the season opener for season two of Battlestar Galactica. It'll be on my Tivo at home, and I'll probably be out doing other stuff, so I'm unlikely to actually catch it, but it's cool that SciFi is doing it. The first panel that interests me on Saturday is from 10:30-11:30, Warner Brothers Presents: Superman Returns with Bryan Singer. However, it's way too early after what is sure to be a late Friday night, and it will probably be crowded as hell, so I will almost certainly skip it. From 1:00-2:30 is the other "can't miss" panel of the year, Quick Draw!, the hilarious cartoon improv featuring Sergio Aragones, Jeff Smith and Scott Shaw! from last year, with the addition of Kyle Baker. Awesome. Can't wait. Shame that the Family Guy Feature Length DVD Premiere runs at the same time, as I'd kind of like to catch that, but oh well. From 2:15-3:15 is Universal Presents: Serenity and Slither, which I might head into late. I've been lucky enough to catch a screening of Serenity, so the teasers won't do as much for me, but it's always entertaining to hear Joss Whedon talk, there's a ton of cast members from Firefly there, and there's a teaser of a new zombie/monster flick with Nathan Fillion that might be interesting as well. This runs concurrent to what sounds like a fascinating panel, Minority Retort, which features "pointed discussion about working in comics and how to bring their own flavors to the world." I don't know if I can skip the annual Joss Whedon panel to hit it, but I might. Then from 4:00-5:00 there's Jeff Smith: The Origin of Bone, which sounds interesting as Smith offers up "side-by-side comparisons of Bone comics with photos of the natural world, plus tales of the real Old Man's Cave, prayer stones, and visits to India and Katmandu, as well as a sneak peak into next years Shazam! Monster Society of Evil." From 6:00-7:00, there's Cartoon Network: Toonami/IGPX, talking about a new Cartoon Network series from Production I.G., "blending the quality and style of anime with Western storytelling." That's interesting enough, but when you add that the voice lead is Michelle Rodriguez? Strong chance I'll be there, unless me and my friends have already headed out to dinner at 6:00. Oh, and Saturday night brings another live art show from Scott Morse and Jim Mahfood. Rock. On Sunday, I'm usually just trying to get last-minute sketches or pick up stuff I've been putting off or catch people I haven't yet had the chance to see, but there are a few panels that caught my eye anyway. I have some interest in seeing a demo of the Serenity Role-Playing Game by its creators from 10:30-11:30, but I don't know if that interest will be strong enough to draw me away from the last day of the convention floor. I'm also only mildly interested in the new TV show Threshold because the writers aren't guys I'm big fans of, but I might hit this panel from 12:00-1:00 because Carla Gugino is on it, and I love her as much as its possible for any married man to love a famous actress he's never met. OK, maybe not, because the limit on that probably goes up to stalking, but I think she's gorgeous and a great actress. More than likely, I'll just go to the Sails Pavilion later and try to get her autograph and tell her how much I loved her work on Karen Sisco. Especially since, from 1:30-2:30 is Did Videogames Kill the Comic Book? with David Jaffe (God of War, Twisted Metal: Black) and Paul Jenkins about videogames, comics, why most comic book videogames lack emotional impact and how to make the perfect comics-based game. Sounds very interesting, and I have to admit that the mention of God of War (one of the most buzzed-about PS/2 games I haven't yet had a chance to play) is what really got me interested. So that's my itinerary, or at least the plan. Of course, I haven't even talked at all with Tess or Nate about what they're heading to, so any of this might change. And as with last year, I'm sure I'll spend most of my time on the floor and miss probably half of these panels at least. But I'll be at San Diego for all four days (plus Preview night), and I'm always flattered when someone tells me they read the site (even if they tell me I'm crazy for not liking Identity Crisis or New Avengers), so if you see me there, make sure and say hi! Email Randy Lander comments about this column.