The first official full day of the San Diego Comic-Con is now over, and though Wednesday was preview night, Thursday is when everything really kicks off. For me today was about panels, Arkham City, and Darksiders 2, but I got so much more than that. This Comic-Con marks a return after a five-year absence due to travel and the rising cost and availability of the convention itself. It was a sort of homecoming for me as this is the convention for my home town of San Diego. SDCC was my first convention and, though some things have changed, much has happily stayed the same.
Recapping the day, I recorded myself going over vaguely the highlights of the 1st day of the convention. Though heartfelt and impromptu, for a more in-depth telling of my day, read on below.
You can listen to this episode on our Comic Issues channel at Anchor.fm!
This morning I packed my microphone, some snacks, a water, and a Rockstar, and began my Con day. After a shoulder-to-shoulder trolley ride I made an indirect route (I had to roam around a little) to my first panel of the day: a DC spotlight of Grant Morrision. I sat in on the end of a “Breaking into Comics the Marvel Way” panel, a staple at the SDCC, and listened to aspiring writers and artists ask for advice from some of Marvel’s top talent and power players such as Humberto Ramos and Joe Quesada.
The next panel was on DC’s Flashpoint event. Many questions that were asked related to the ending of Flashpoint and the beginning of the New 52, so everyone on the panel (led by DC Comics Executive Editor Eddie Berganza and also including talent such as J.T. Krul and Sterling Gates) was tight lipped about anything that could be considered “spoilers.”
The following panel was honestly more of a delight. Grant Morrison’s talk surprised me and changed my mind about the man’s work! His Scottish accent does wonders for his audible entertainment value, but he immediately opened the floor to questions for the fans. Morrison was very kind to every fan who asked questions, greeting and thanking each of them. He would answer each question thoroughly to the best of his ability and often with a frankly surprising sense of humor. For me the highlight of the panel had to be when Morrison made a playful joke at the expense of New Jersey, only to jokingly admit that he perhaps watched “Jersey Shore” religiously. The particular fan who provoked the joke about Jersey then challenged Grant Morrison to attempt his best “Jersey accent.” Morrison shyly denied the request only to immediately summon the most stereotypical “Jersey accent”; the only features missing were spiked hair, a gold chain, and a tank top. The moment was priceless, and my only regret was not being ready to capture it on video (or at least on audio). Morrison was not coy, though, when it came to some aspects of his upcoming run on Action Comics, leaving hints and clues as to what fans could expect of the younger Superman in the New 52 that launches late next month.
Next was another DC panel devoted to the New 52, referring to DC’s reboot and new reader initiative. I won’t go into too much detail about this panel as I’ll be attending more like it throughout the rest of the week and compiling an overview article of what fans could expect from the upcoming event. Many of the questions that I’ve been seeing on message boards and on Twitter were raised only to be artfully dodged by Dan Didio and his roster of talent (Dan Jurgens, Cliff Chang, Freddie Williams III, and J.T. Krul).
After getting momentarily lost, I turned in the right direction to the Arkham City Press Event. After meeting with my Pixelated Geek brothers Chris and Raul the three of us packed ourselves into the press line to get interview footage of Mark Hamill as he spoke about reprising his notable role as the Joker from the previous Batman: Arkham Asylum and “Batman: The Animated Series.” I also spoke briefly with Kevin Conroy, iconic voice of Batman and Bruce Wayne from the same game and series among many other Batman roles throughout DC’s animation history. Just the chance to be in the same room as these two men was a privilege and an honor. Both were very kind and never answered shortly or with any tone of disapproval toward their interviewers. Also at the event were writer Paul Dini, the voice of Talia Al Ghul; the stunning Stana Katic (Lt. Beckett on Castle); and Arkham City Lead Designer Paul Crocker. Sadly we didn’t get the chance to interview any of them, but, nevertheless, their presence in the room helped spark the anticipation for the upcoming game.
Following the Arkham City Press Event, the only item left on my agenda for the day was a small Darksiders 2 reveal at another off-convention grounds site. With San Diego’s Gaslamp district abuzz with Comic-Con fever, there was no shortage of geek-esque shineys to pull my attention. One such gem was the Chuck Jones Gallery which attracted me with a statue outside its doors of Wile E .Coyote dressed in a zoot suit and leaning against the wall. Inside was the pop art gallery that I had always wanted to see. One side of the gallery boasted original art from Jim Lee, Alex Ross, and featured artist Simone Bianchi. The other side displayed actual film cells of the Looney Tunes cartoons (that I grew up with!). Nostalgia flooded me even more, as I saw sculptures of Dr. Seuss animals only feet away from hand-painted Star Wars posters. I was lucky enough to get an interview with one of the gallery’s directors; she explained the feel of the Chuck Jones Gallery and that the current artists on the walls were no strangers to the gallery. This gallery is worth the visit.
Finally, I reached the Analog Bar site of the Darksiders 2 reveal. While there, I also played a demo for the new Warhammer 40k Space Marines game. Both games promise a lot in action and destruction; however Darksiders’ design takes the cake, being led by creative director Joe Madureira. Joe “Mad” (as he’s often called) has been an inspiring artist to me and others with his work on Uncanny X-Men in the late 90s and Battle Chasers in the early 2000s. He’s since put his artistic efforts into video games, the fruit of that labor being Darksiders and Darksiders 2. The sequel promises an enormously larger world and interactive environment for players to enjoy as well as a different play style than its predecessor. In Darksiders 2 you play Death, who serves more as a rogue archetype in playability. The game is visually stunning and definitely action-packed. I spoke with Joe “Mad” briefly about the game and what it meant to him and how working on the upcoming The Avenging Spider-man project made him quite a busy man.
My interview from today will be appearing in the next Comic Issues Podcast coming out July 27. The format will be a special edition Comic-Con Clip Show. Be sure to check it out, as it’ll be full of the whole crew’s adventures at the largest comic convention in the nation.