San Diego Comic Con Unofficial Blog

(I published this story late thursday night and didnt have time to revise it. Please disregard grammar/spelling mistakes)

So the con kicked off in full and crazy swing tonight with preview night! The first thing I noticed when I arrived at 11 AM, there were already 20 people lined up for twilight! THIS IS CRAZY! The other thing is people were already lining up to get there badges. So at around 2:30 I got my badge. The line was already huge and after waiting for three hours we were finally let in, into the madness!

It was by far the most crowded preview night ever and i would even wager that it is the most packed the exhibit hall will be all of the con. you could barely move around and when you could, you could barely control it. There were huge lines for everything but here are some highlights/lowlights about preview night at Comic-Con 2009:

(View all my photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdccblog/ – I will add titles/descriptions later)

1.- Long Lines! Remember that cool zombie shirt? 2 hours to get it! Giant WB Bags? Coulden’t even find the end of the line. There were lines everywhere any sometimes you wouldent even know what they were for. It was a bit insanse but i guess its just part of the con now!

2.-More games! Though video games have been at the con for a while this is the first year it has really been big. i played lost planet 2, lego rock band, and ratchet & clank but there where of 30 different games and they were at many different booths.

3.-Heroes? I believe NBC made a big no no. Though the premiere for the Volume 4 trailer was supposed to be at the panel Saturday it was playing nonstop at the booth. Is this a different trailer or did NBC just spoil the heroes panel? I guess we’ll know on Saturday!

4.-Shopping! There was lots of shopping. Everywhere you went there were tons of stores selling anything you could imagine. There was a lot of money being spent there!

5.-Avatar! The avatar mech was really impressive but i heard a couple people talking about how it was part of a last airbender marketing campeign! Time to get worried fox!

6.-Strollers and kids! Why did every parent have to take little kids and strollers. they would use them to plow through the con and the little kids would sneak between your legs and take the free stuff! those dang kids!

7.-Big Bags! though i didnt get one it seemed like everyone there had a giant bag. I guess because there the hot con swag item but it seems like now theyre being overproduced by every company there! We need less giant bags! They are conveinint but they take up so much space!

8.-Better Red Shirts! The security people (known for there red shirts) actually seemed pretty competent this year. They knew where to send you and when. They knew what to control and they actually helped out. This is a nice improvement and i hope it continues!

9.-Good booths- It seems like companys are really getting good at this booth stuff and now almost every major company has a great booth! My highlights:

- Miramax puts you inside the Extract Trailer

- Warner Bros. has a Where the Wild Things Are authentic wooden hut

- Sony has lots of giveaways all 360 degrees of their booth

- Lego has exclusives, lots of sets, building stations, and huge lego statues which are really cool!

10.-Fun! It was still a great time and it loks to be a great con!

Tomorrow is a crazy day for movies. Stay tuned to SDCC Blog for all the coverage you want!

(Via Dread Central)

Got your San Diego Comic-Con tickets and making a shopping list and game plan? One place you do not want to miss is Booth #4145, home of Mezco Toyz!

Below is a list of Mezco’s “2009 Summer Exclusives” along with a $5.00 off coupon that you can either print out and bring with you to the show or use online (click the links for bigger versions). Now that’s what I call a toy company with heart!

Click for a Bigger Version of the Ad

Click for a Bigger Version of the Coupon

(Via Comic Book Resources)

Don’t frelling miss this! Farscape creator Rockne S. O’Bannon will be signing a one of a kind collector’s “Scorpius Edition” of the FARSCAPE Vol. 1 Hardcover that is exclusive to Comic-Con 2009 attendees. This exclusive hardcover edition will be limited to 500 copies and is priced at $50. This exclusive will only be available at the BOOM! Studios Booth (#2543) —where you can find Rockne S. O’Bannon signing Friday at 2pm and Saturday at 3:45pm!

O’Bannon will be joined with FARSCAPE comics scribe Keith R.A. DeCandido — who will be at the BOOM! Studios booth all week during Comic-Con signing a limited supply of single issues of the multiple sell-out, critically acclaimed mini-series FARSCAPE, FARSCAPE: STRANGE DETRACTORS, and FARSCAPE: D’ARGO’S LAMENT. DeCandido will also be available to sign during O’Bannon’s scheduled signing times.

Rockne S. O’Bannon will also be appearing as part of the FARSCAPE 10th Anniversary Panel during Comic-Con ‘09 on Friday, July 24th at 10:15am in Room 6BCF with FARSCAPE television show stars Ben Browder (John Crichton), Claudia Black (Aeryn Sun) and executive producer/director Brian Henson. DeCandido will be moderating the 10th Anniversary Panel which helps celebrate the re-release of the critically acclaimed TV show to DVD this coming November.

In addition, O’Bannon and DeCandido will appear on Saturday, July 25th at 2:30pm for the BOOM! Studios FARSCAPE Comics Panel in Room 10 to talk about the smash hit comic series of 2009 with FARSCAPE comics editor Ian Brill.

Following both panels, O’Bannon and DeCandido will appear together at the BOOM! Studios booth (#2543) to sign the Exclusive Comic-Con ‘09 FARSCAPE Vol. 1 “Scorpius Edition” Hardcover. Keith R.A. DeCandido will be appearing at the BOOM! Studios booth throughout the show.

While 2009 sees the 10th Anniversary of the celebrated sci-fi action series; this year has also seen a resurgence of the FARSCAPE franchise in comic book form from Top Ten comic book publisher BOOM! Studios.

Premiering with a four-issue FARSCAPE series in December of 2008, the FARSCAPE comic book took fans by storm as the series saw unanimous critical acclaim and multiple sell-outs and reprints. The initial FARSCAPE comic series was quickly followed up by FARSCAPE: STRANGE DETRACTORS, FARSCAPE: D’ARGO’S LAMENT and the forthcoming FARSCAPE: D’ARGO’S TRIAL.

The initial FARSCAPE four issue series and FARSCAPE: STRANGE DETRACTORS picks up directly where the television miniseries FARSCAPE: THE PEACEKEEPER WARS left off. Fans everywhere have enjoyed show creator O’Bannon steering their favorite characters into new and original stories, keeping with the existing canon — and extending it! Using O’Bannon’s unique vision and richly detailed story, DeCandido has worked with BOOM! Studios and The Jim HensonCompany to bring fans the best comic this or any universe has ever seen!

Under the watchful eye of O’Bannon, DeCandido has brought two all new D’Argo stories — completely told in series continuity — with the smash hit mini-series FARSCAPE: D’ARGO’S LAMENT and the soon-to-be-released FARSCAPE: D’ARGO’S TRIAL.

(Via Joystiq)

The promotional Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles shirts Capcom printed up for Comic-Con have their own dark side: specifically, the inside. The shirts look nice enough when worn normally: a “let your darkside out” slogan adorns the front amid zombie silhouettes, and the game’s logo occupies the back.

But the inside of each shirt has a special graphic printed upside-down, so that when you flip the shirt over your head, you become a zombie. This is the most amazing advance in swag technology we’ve seen in years. If you want one (and you do, because wow), you’ll have to visit Capcom’s specialDarkside Chronicles demo area at Comic-Con and try out the co-op mode.

This is defiantly my choice for shirt of the con! What do you think?

(Via Wired)

Disney’s official fan community D23 drops into Comic-Con International’s pop-cultural maelstrom for the first time this year, opening a booth filled with props and costumes from the studio’s mixed sci-fi history.

That’s good news for the Tron nuts making the annual geek pilgrimage to San Diego later this month, who will get a chance to scope the original Tron costume, whose design, viewable below, was created by legendary comics artist Moebius, otherwise known as Jean Giraud.

Combined with Comic-Con’s screening of the first official trailer from Tron’s forthcoming sequel, Tron 2.0, it should make for quite a head-trip back to the future.

D23, which launched earlier this year, has other memorabilia to share from its less amazing sci-fi releasesThe Rocketeer, The Black Hole, Condorman and Sky High in what it’s calling the Heroic and Robotic exhibition. And the fan club’s even handing out free, robot-centric lithographs from Disney artist Dave Pacheco to keep its booth humming.

But all eyes are on Tron 2.0, which could be Comic-Con’s crowd favorite after all is said and done. For its time, the original Tron was a blinding triumph. But computers have evolved so much since then, the mind reels at the coolness of what could come of a reboot, provided no one screws it up.

Costumes from movies such as the rocketeer will also be shown. Overall it seems like an exciting time to be a Disney sci-fi buff.

Hey MOTU Fans!

Oh man, this is BIG… the design team at Mattel just announced the first book in their “Designed @ Mattel” series and it’s a MOTU art book!

The book shows off the fantastic art of the MOTU brand from 1981 through current day. It’s packed with never-before-seen Mattel concept art, behind-the-scenes notes, posters, oil paintings, and a whole lot more from across the brand. All that MOTU art from over the years is mighty sweet, but the book also premiers concept art from new projects, like a proposed live action film!

It’s a soft-cover edition, limited to only 1,000 numbered copies. Each one comes with a numbered cover ribbon and an embossed seal. The first place they’ll be available is San Diego Comic-Con. Purchases will be limited to two per guest, per wait in line. And get this… you can even have your copy signed by the Mattel artists at the show!

If any units remain after the show they may be sold on Mattycollector.com, but honestly, we expect to sell out at SDCC. Be sure to come by the MattyCollector.com booth early for your chance to own a piece of MOTU history!

NBC store has responded to my inquiry saying that they “will be all over SDCC and items will be at various booths, panels, and events, and we’ll be giving items away. but only for sale online.” They also clarified that they will not be selling the items announced earlier on the floor. but they are working on other options and nothing is confirmed! This is big news meaning that if you want those items, you should snatch them up now at the NBC website. Thanks to the store for the exclusive and happy shopping!

UPDATE: The site has been updated to say each item is not at the con and only at the site. I have contacted them for confirmation for this weird statement!

NBC store has released all of their exclusives which are now available to preorder! They look pretty good though I am kind of dissapointed in the ugly chuck shirt! Check it out: http://tinyurl.com/mtkc95

The psych bobblehead is cool though!
Your thoughts?