So Are There Any COMIC BOOKS At Comic Con???

As Reported From The Floor Of The 2008 SDCC Comic Con  International!

So, with all of our recent blog posts on the New and Returning TV Shows and on the Upcoming Theatrical Films, it begs to ask...

Are there Any COMIC BOOKS At Comic Con???

Actually, there are some, but not in the quantity or the depth that the Comic Con once had IMHO!

But then again, don't take my word for it, check out other blog posts about the same topic, and you'll see that several comic book dealers are unhappy with the situation as well as comic book collectors.

Sure, there are still quality dealers there selling, and the one comic you came to look for is probably there if it is a 'Key Issue' and pricey, but Comic Books are pretty much segregated to a tiny 'comic ghetto' at the Comic Con now.

The comics section seemed even smaller to me this year, with the amount of comic books displayed for sale and under the tables at the booths. 

I traveled through the same aisles as the previous years, and saw the regulars dealers there, plus a few other booths nearby that had some comic books for sale among their toys or artwork or whatever else their main sales niche was.

Yet, we ended up with even less purchases this year than the last few years.... tho I do have to admit I no longer have any 'holes' in my collection...

So, with minimal comic book booths to check out, Tina and I actually spent a little more time on the rest of the large exhibit hall floor this year at the Film and TV booths checking out film trailers, booth giveaways, etc.

Of course we couldn't help but stop at the Marvel and DC booths, where Tina succumbed to my wish to have my photo taken with Wonder Woman as shown to the right!

In fairness, I believe that the programming this year was the Best ever for me, as I had multiple programs conflicting with each other, there were so many that I had interest in!

Plus Tina spent a lot of her mornings into the afternoons at Hall H for 'Hollywood', because as usual it appeared as those TV & Film Programs hold the most interest for her!

I keep seeing in print and video that the Comic Con has outgrown the San Diego Convention Center.... however it isn't the Comic Book area that has done this, but instead the oversized booths that the TV & Film Industries have taken over to get the most hype for their projects!

Well, the Comic Con is supposedly tied into the SD Convention Center till the year 2012, so we'll see what happens by or after then!

BTW, We also have an ongoing Comic Con  and Pop Culture convention here at Make It So Marketing, what with our daily blog posts and listings of items for sale!

Thanks for reading this post today and please join us again for more photos and stories from the Comic Con!

Michael

Clap for The Wolfman!

As Reported From The Floor Of The 2008 SDCC Comic Con  International!

He's back!  This time terrorizing Victorian England. 

Six time Oscar-winning special effects artist Rick Baker transforms Benicio Del Toro into "The Wolfman" for Universal.

A somewhat dishelved Del Toro (who looks like a natural Wolfman sans makeup!) told the Comic Con crowd that he's a serious fan of both Lon Chaney Jr and Senior.  So he's excited to work on the the project and give it a twist - setting it in 1800's England.  (The original Wolfman is set in an indeterminate time - but, as Del Toro told the audienc
e, "they have cars!"  So he figures the original action is in the '20's.)

Sounding disappointed, Baker, who was responsible for the amazing thransformation in The American Werefolf in London, revealed that the man-werewolf transformation in the remake is currently all CGI.  He's hoping the director may decide to go back in and fashion some physical scenes.  Sounds like a good idea to me! Altho,
ugh, I will tell you the werewolf we saw in the footage is quite frightening and monsterous.

Emily Blount was so frightened by Benicio as Wolfman that she spent most of the film running -- away from him.  With a snarl, Benicio spent most of the movie -- chasing her!

BTW, We also have an ongoing Comic Con  and Pop Culture convention here at Make It So Marketing, what with our daily blog posts and listings of items for sale!

Thanks for reading this post today and please join us again for more photos and stories from the Comic Con!

Michael

Samuel L Jackson

On Nick Fury!

As Reported From The Floor Of The 2008 SDCC Comic Con  International!

BTW, We also have an ongoing Comic Con  and Pop Culture convention here at Make It So Marketing, what with our daily blog posts and listings of items for sale!

Thanks for reading this post today and please join us again for more photos and stories from the Comic Con!

Michael

Comic Con: The Day the Earth Stood Still!

As Reported From The Floor Of The 2008 SDCC Comic Con  International!

"Klaatu barada nikto."

A bearded Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) introduced the beautiful Jennifer Connelly (The Rocketeer), Director Scott Derrickson, and Producer Erwin Staff to a capacity Comic Con Hall H Crowd for The Day The Earth Stood Still panel.

Director Derrickson told an interesting story of how as a film student he was treated to a dinner meeting with his idol Robert Wise, director of the original 1951 movie.  Wise advised Derrickson to make his first film in the genre he loved: horror.  He took his idol's advice and made the critically acclaimed The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

Erwin Scott explained how he was first inspired to remake The Day The Earth Stood Still while making another movie years earlier with Reeves - Speed.  Erwin was waiting in a studio exec's office to pitch him a new movie idea.  On the wall behind the desk was a poster for the original movie.   When the exec finally arrived for the meeting, Erwin said forget what I was going to talk to you about, let's talk about a remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still.  The exec was interested, but as luck would have it in Hollywood, was out of a job two weeks later and Erwin's idea was put on hold.

The film's been "re-magined" to address today's issues.  The Cold War, crucial to the original, is over, and the environment and man's relationship to the earth and each other takes precedent in the remake explained Derrickson.  As a result, the look and feel of the movie as evidenced by Klaatu's spacesuit, the spaceship, and the aliens, is more "biological" than "industrial" look of the original.

Internet rumors notwithstanding, fans will be happy to know that Gort is in the remake.  So surely, someone will be saying, "Klaatu barada nikto!"

BTW, We also have an ongoing Comic Con  and Pop Culture convention here at Make It So Marketing, what with our daily blog posts and listings of items for sale!

Thanks for reading this post today and please join us again for more photos and stories from the Comic Con!

Michael

Elvira, Queen of Halloween, 

Was At The 2008 Comic Con International!

As Reported From The Floor Of The 2008 SDCC Comic Con  International!

The 2008 San Diego Comic Con International has so much going on that it is much like Disneyland... You can't see it All in one day or even all four days!

Between time on the exhibit hall floors, the programs, the film screenings, the anime showings, time spent in line to get in, etc., there just isn't time to stand in line for autographs anymore for us!

So unfortunately, I was just able to snap photos of Elvira near the end of Saturday as she was three quarters of the way through a four hour autograph session. And there still was a large line of fans waiting to see her!

Seriously! Because Elvira, (Cassandra Petersen), is sooo popular with her fans that I just had the time between attending programs to shoot a few pics from the side.

Note for all of you that intend on coming to next year's Comic Con.... I heard this from several attendees, in that there was so much to attend this year, that many persons had problems with conflicting scheduled programs they wanted to see!

Plus with all the promotions also scheduled on the floor of the exhibit hall, you'd have to clone yourself to do everything you'd want to be at!

Anyway, it was great to 'see' Elvira again, even from a short distance. She is another 'class act' at the Comic Con. If you are a fan, be sure to check the 'Events Guide' for her autograph session and hi-lite it in your schedule so as not to miss her! 

BTW, We also have an ongoing Comic Con  and Pop Culture convention here at Make It So Marketing, what with our daily blog posts and listings of items for sale!

Thanks for reading this post today and please join us again for more photos and stories from the Comic Con!

Michael