Over the last couple years, I've written 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. This year, it's a little different. For one thing, it doesn't impact my review schedule, except that I will probably try to do a big "San Diego Overview" review of stuff when I get back, which means I'll be reviewing more, not less, than usual as a result. In addition, this year was a very last minute decision, so I really didn't think I'd be writing this column at all. Truth to tell, this is the first San Diego Con I've attended where I haven't been actively reviewing, and I'm curious what the experience will be like as a result.
It's also the first Con I'm attending completely on my own. No roommates, and most of my usual friends that I hang out with aren't coming. So I'm a little nervous about not having enough to do or anybody to hang out with during the off-hours, and I don't know that I'll get to do as much after-Con partying. Oh, and I don't technically have a hotel room for Friday night, but I think that might be sorted out shortly after this goes up. But I've been making dinner and after-Con arrangements, and things are looking pretty solid. I almost didn't make it this year, but I'm glad I changed my mind, because I know I would have regretted it.
Last year, I had hoped to meet Joss Whedon and Allan Heinberg or get to one of the cool comics parties. I did none of these things, as it turned out, but I still had a great convention. This year, my modest goal is to have a good time, buy as many cool sketchbooks as I can find and keep myself busy in the Con off hours. My likely to go unfulfilled goals are to meet and get an autograph from Samuel L. Jackson, Stan Lee, Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Kristen Bell, Enrico Colantoni and/or Rosario Dawson.
Every year since I stole the idea from Augie de Blieck, I do a rundown of panels I mean to attend, and every year, I wind up attending maybe half of them. This year will probably be no different. Last year, I planned to attend six panels on Thursday, and attended one and a half of them. Friday, planned for three, went to one. Saturday, planned for five, went to one. Sunday, planned for three, went to none. The lesson there? I should plan for no more than one panel per day. Will I do this? Hell no. I want to choose which one I attend at San Diego, not before. Besides, the programming this year looks really great, and I think it's much more likely I'll be in a minimum of two panels on each day.
Thursday starts off pretty strong, with a lot of interesting programming. A lot of it doesn't interest me personally, but it looks like there's pretty good counter-programming going on so that a wide variety of interests is represented in every block of time. The first panel that catches my attention is a long one, running from 12:30 - 2:00, Comics Editors on Comics Editing. I've always been kind of fascinated by the job of an editor in comics, and hearing long-time editors like Bob Schreck, Diana Schutz, Jim Salicrup and Danny Fingeroth talk about the job seems like a very interesting panel.
The only downside is that the length and timing of the panel pretty much eats up any panel time for the day, so this might wind up being my one panel for the day. If I decide to skip out on this one, either because I don't want to head up that early or because of whatever mood I'm in that day, I might instead hit the 1:00 - 2:00 Spotlight on Andy Runton, as I'm a huge fan of Owly and the notion of hearing a little more about what inspired his creation and how Runton's process work sounds interesting. The other alternative is the Rosario Dawson: Occult Crimes Taskforce panel, also running from 1:00 - 2:00. I really enjoyed O.C.T. #1 (unlike my reviewing partner, I'd put it more in solid 7-8 territory), but I think I'll more likely try to track down these creators around the Image booth to tell them how much I enjoyed the series and find out more about it.
There's another interesting panel from 2:30 - 4:00, New Challenges in Self-Publishing, featuring Kyle Baker, Batton Lash, Paige Braddock and more discussing the challenges of self-publishing, the webcomic model, graphic novels... it'll no doubt be fascinating, but I doubt I'll make it for two reasons. One is that it ends right after the editorial panel, and I generally can't do two panels back-to-back, especially this early. The other is that it runs over into the can't-miss panel of the day.
From 3:00 - 4:30, Deepak Chopra (!) and Grant Morrison (!!) talk about the "Seven Spiritual Laws of Super-Heroes." Moderated by supermodel/spokesperson Saira Mohan. This sounds like one of those once-in-a-lifetime, mind-blowing type panels. I think it's very likely that this will be the panel I wind up attending this day, and if I do wind up making the editorial panel, I may well wind up doing the almost back-to-back panel thing, as this really does look like a can't-miss panel.
Later on in the day, there are three panels that grab my attention, but I think I'll more than likely wind up skipping them and trying to catch up with the creators at their booths. From 5:00 - 6:00, there's a Spotlight on Brian Fies, creator of the excellent webcomic (and now graphic novel) Mom's Cancer, which is one of the best things I read all year. From 6:00 - 7:00, there's a Scoring For Superheroes with composers from Teen Titans, Justice League Unlimited, Batman Beyond and more. I love the music these folks have done, but I don't know that I have enough interest in the process, especially this late in the day. Also from 6:00 - 7:00, Random House Publishing has a spotlight on their new titles, with Kazu Kabuishi (Flight) and Joshua Hale Fialkov (Elk's Run) and the Random House editors. Sure to be interesting, but it's a bit late, and hopefully I'll catch up with both Kabuishi and Fialkov on the Con floor at some point.
Friday is a huge day for panels. Many interesting ones overlapping, and several "can't miss" panels (at least from my current perspective) right after one another. I may wind up breaking with tradition and spending a few hours in the panel rooms this year.
It starts early, at 10:30 - 11:30, with Hellboy Animated. This is a show I can't wait to see, and in addition to a panel full of guys working on the show, the panel description promises clips. I suspect, however, that it will turn out to be too early, and I'll wind up missing it. I'll also likely miss 11:30 - 12:30, Dark Horse's 20th Anniversary, but they are one of my favorite publishers at the moment, and I'm at least potentially curious about seeing Mike Richardson talk about the early days of the company and where they're headed.
The first panel I will definitely hit, and one of the reasons I finally decided I had to go, is from 12:30-2:00 NBC: Heroes Pilot Screening. The trailer for Heroes looks really good, and I'd really love a chance to see it early. I'm also a really big fan of some of the cast members in attendance, notably Greg Grunberg, and I'd love to sit in on the Q&A with the stars, producers and writers. Of course, that means missing Hey, Kids! Blogs About Comics! from 12:30-1:30, which is sure to be lively given that the panel includes Tom Spurgeon, Heidi MacDonald and (in what almost makes me want to break down and miss Heroes) Graeme McMillan, plus several others. I'm guessing this will be a really fun panel to attend, and if Heroes is too crowded or I'm just not feeling the TV vibe that day, I'll certainly be planted in the blogs panel. Also of interest in this time slot from 1:00-2:00 is the First Second panel, with editorial director Mark Siegel and First Second contributors Eddie Campbell and Gene Yang.
The reason I think I might wind up sitting in panels for several hours is that immediately following the Heroes panel, from 2:00-3:00, there's a Battlestar Galactica panel. And it includes the executive producers, whose podcasts are always entertaining, not to mention several cast members, all of whom are my favorites. I'll almost certainly be in the audience for this one.
Given how long I've been theoretically sitting in panels at this point, it's unlikely I'll be able to handle one more, so I'll probably skip Richard Kelly’s Southland Tales from 3:00-4:00. Which is a shame, really, because I really enjoyed the first graphic novel and I'd like to hear more about the story. But I just don't think I'll be able to resist the lure of the Con floor for that long.
There are any number of other panels that interest me, including one on Webcomics, several spotlights (John Romita, a Kirby panel with an all-star panelist line-up) and tons more, but I know my limits, and I know I'm not going to make it to them.
Saturday is the really evil day, when a lot of the panels I want to see are counter-programmed against one another. On the one hand, it's kind of annoying to have to make the choice. On the other hand, two or three popular choices at the same time is a good way to keep the crowds split up, so that I might be able to get into panels that would otherwise be way too crowded.
From 10:30 - 12:00, I will definitely be planted in the Lost: Season 3 panel, because it's one of my favorite shows on television and I love the Lindelof/Cuse podcasts, so I expect them to be just as entertaining in person. I'm also sort of hoping someone will ask Lindelof about Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk, just to see what he'll say to it's unbelievable lateness.
This means I won't be able to catch the Oni Press panel or the Warner Brothers Presents 300 panel. The latter is actually good news, though, because a good chunk of the crowd will probably be there, and that means getting into Lost should actually be possible. I'll also be missing Grind House, which runs from 11:45 to 12:45, which is a shame given that I really like Robert Rodriguez's work, but I'm sure there will be plenty more hype for that one in the future.
From 12:30-2:00 is the Quick Draw panel, where cartoonists Kyle Baker, Sergio Aragones and Scott Shaw will do improvisatory sketching directed by Mark Evanier. This one is always fun, but I've been two years in a row now, and given that I don't think I'll want to spend more or less four hours in back-to-back panels, I think I'll probably skip it this year. During roughly the same timeslot, 12:30-1:30, there's a Flight panel that looks really interesting, but again, I'll probably skip and hope to catch up with Phil Craven and Steve Hamaker at the Flight Comics booth instead.
I'm very tempted by The Art of Adapting Comics to the Screen, from 1:30-2:30, because it's being hosted by Creative Screenwriting senior editor Jeff Goldsmith and features Richard Kelly and Simon Kinberg, among others. I've listened to some of the Goldmith's podcasts on X3 and Crash, and they're fantastic, and that's with only one or two writers. This one has five writers and a DC VP, and will no doubt be fascinating. I might catch it, but I'll probably wind up hoping it turns up as a podcast.
The Hack/Slash movie must be further along in development than most, since there's a panel from 2:30-3:30 featuring the director, his writing partner and producers along with Josh Blaylock and Tim Seeley. I'm more than a little interested in this movie, given that the comic seems just ripe for a good adaptation, and I might have to check this panel out.
From 4:30-5:30 is another conflict for me. On one hand, there's The 4400, a panel on the USA sci-fi show that I've recently gotten into on DVD. Four of the lead actors and two of the producers are there, and I'm just now getting through season two on DVD and season three on Tivo, so I'm about as psyched for the show now as I could possibly be. On the other hand, there's Veronica Mars, one of my favorite shows on TV with writer/producer Rob Thomas and a lot of the cast, including Enrico Colantoni and Kristen Bell (my two favorite reasons for watching). I think I'll probably wind up choosing Veronica Mars, but it's a really tough call.
From 5:30-7:00, there's Animation Story Meeting, wherein a ton of animated series writers (with audience participation) simulate the breakdown from idea to full-blown episode that goes on in story meetings. It sounds fascinating and potentially very fun, but I don't know that I'll want to spend the last hour and a half of what is essentially the last full day of Comicon in a panel, so I doubt I'll make it. Still, if my feet are tired and I've accomplished everything on the floor, I might have to go.
For the first time in a long time, my Sunday flight leaves late (really late... I get into Austin at 3:30 in the morning), so I won't have to bail on the last few panels of the day. So, of course... there aren't any panels late in the day I want to see. But the last panel of the day would have run into the next earliest flight, so I'm happy for the later flight time.
At any rate, my first Sunday possibility, after what I'm fairly sure will be a late Saturday (because it always is) will be The Tick: Belated Tenth Anniversary at 10:30-11:30. I'm glad to see the series finally coming to DVD, and interested in hearing some of the writers talking about it... just not sure I'll be interested enough to get up that early in the morning.
At 11:30, I've got a choice. On the one hand, my interest in comic book covers is drawn to Cover Story: The Art of the Cover, which features a discussion on cover design by Neal Adams, Adam Hughes, Mark Chiarello, Brian Bolland, Basil Gogos and George Perez. That's a stunning lineup. But it doesn't include my current favorite cover artists like James Jean or Frank Quitely, and it's up against a panel I really want to see, which is Comics Podcasting. I don't listen to a ton of comics podcasts yet, but I recognize a few names (Lene Taylor of I Read Comics, Scott Hinze of Fanboy Radio and of course Augie de Blieck Jr.). I still have an interest in maybe podcasting myself, so I'm curious to get tips, but I'm also curious about this expansion of a new media front in comics coverage, so this is probably where I'll be.
Immediately after both of these panels end, there's another choice, although it's a relatively easy one. From 1:00-2:00, the writers, editor and artist of Fables and the Jack of Fables spinoff will be discussing the series. It's my favorite series and has been for quite a while, and I know that Willingham is an entertaining speaker, so I'm sorely tempted. But... it can't beat out the Rogue Pictures spotlight, which features new movies from Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon of Reno 911! and, in an absolute seal-the-deal kind of lineup, Edgar Wright and Nick Frost with a preview of Hot Fuzz. Shame that Simon Pegg isn't there, but maybe he will be and just isn't listed. At any rate, I think I'll probably check out Rogue Pictures, but I might wind up defecting to the Fables panel if it doesn't grab me or if it's too crowded.
After that, it looks like I'll be back on the floor for the last two or so hours of the convention, doing last minute shopping and such.
So that's my itinerary, or at least the plan. Of course, all of this will probably change. 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 it's only to ask when I'm going to stop being lazy and start reviewing again), so if you see me there, make sure and say hi!
