San Diego Survival Guide 4

“You Mentioned Panels…”:

Why, yes I did. San Diego is heaven for the comic and sci-fi fan because it’s all there. Films can be made or broken at this show. Legends turn out to be honored here. Where else are you going to find the guys who did Little Archie between Frank Miller and the guy who does the LuAnn comic strip? Whatever your interest, you’ll find a panel. (Unlike the Wizard shows which are usually limited to the big two and whoever is deemed “hot.”) Here’s a few suggestions you might want to check out…

*The Perennials- Nine times out of ten, you’ll find these on the San Diego Schedule.
- Oddball Comics Slideshow with Scott Shaw! If you love the wackier aspects of comic history, you’ll love this presentation by the co-creator of Captain Carrot & the Zoo Crew. Before “Superdickery” there was Oddball.
- The Jack Kirby Panel. 10+ years after his death, he’s still got a panel…take that Bendis. Stories and insight about the King and his work are the focus. A great panel for those who are into the history of the business.
- The Golden/Silver Age panel. Another great one for fans of Comic History. Silver Age legends were added a couple of years back. A good thing as we’re losing them as fast as we’re losing our founding fathers.
- The Quick Draw Panel. Scott Shaw! And Sergio Aragones are mainstays of this contest featuring 3 to 4 artists showing off their skill at artistic improv.
- Publisher Spotlights. The DC and Marvel panels will break some news but essentially be the same as the panels at the Wizard shows. You’ll also get the official word from Image, Dark horse, SLG, Oni and other publishers who might not get this attention at one of the “Chain Conventions.”

*The Movies and TV- ever since the San Diego Con kicked off the buzz for the original Star Wars, Hollywood has turned out at Comic-Con and the recent success of DC and Marvel movies has only heated things up.
- Summer of Singer. With his revival of Superman and the return of his former film franchise this Summer, expect Superman returns and x-3 panels to be hot tickets.
- The Sequels. Expect panels (with maybe some rough footage) for Spider-Man 3, Fantastic Four 2, Sin City 2, HellBoy 2 & Animated, and the next Batman.
- Cable Nets. Sci-Fi Channel, Nick, and Cartoon Network will likely offer sneak peeks of the Fall Schedule as well as hosting panels for Battlestar Galactica and Adult Swim.
- Studio launches. Dreamworks and Disney will be showing off their fall and Winter releases. You’ll also have new Horror and Sci-Fi releases previewed.

*Creator Spotlights- If you check the Comic-con website, you’ll see the list of special guests. Most of these guests will have panels devoted to their work. (I may have to hit the ones for Forry Ackerman and Brian Bolland.)

*The Learning Tree- Last year Comic-Con ran a number of seminars including Comic Book Law School (three classes) featuring noted attorney Michael Lovitz’s seminars on copyright and legal issues. Film making and self-Publishing sessions were also held.