The excitement builds...

So, one thing I've never experienced before (and hadn't anticipated) in connection with a con, was the flurry of press releases and invites that fly around in the weeks leading up. Maybe because I've never been smart enough to apply for a press pass, but it seems I've gotten myself on the mailing list for all (or at least a lot) of the messages being sent out to the press corps. Some of the things that I've been privy to (and keep in mind, the emails only started coming yesterday afternoon, which is when I'm guessing the mailing list went live):

• IDW announced that Joe Hill will be a comic-con guest of honor (!) and will be signing special limited-edition slipcased sets of Locke & Key (exciting!). Also, Darwyn Cooke will be announcing a new project, and Ben Templesmith (Fell, 30 Days of Night) will be premiering an exclusive ashcan of his new line Welcome to Hoxford.

• THQ is hosting an exclusive party Thursday night for the video game Darksiders: The Wrath of War, which was created by Joe Madureira. No info is posted as to what consoles it is for, but either way, I doubt it will be avilable for Wii. (Man, I'm such a girl)

• Sex Drive, a new movie being billed as the "next American Pie", is having advanced screenings in LA before the Con starts. The movie features James Marsden and Seth Green, which means I will be there. I'll let you know how it is once I see it!

• Will Wright will be making a speech on opening day, about his new game Spore, and how the comic book creator makes it easy to bring your character to life in a comic book setting.

• Midway is hosting a panel to discuss the new game Mortal Kimbat vs. DC Universe, which sounds exciting, but then I remember that every time I tried to play Mortal Kombat, all of my Street Fighter moves didn't work. My brother totally kicked my ass. Where is Dhalsim when you need him?!? YOGA FIRE!

• Shout! Factory announced a 20th Anniversary DVD box set for MST3K, with all major players and even the robots appearing in a reunion panel during the con. Wonder if they'll show any movies?

• And finally (so far), the UK series Spaced will be launched on DVD in the US, so Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) will be appearing, and there will be a screening late Friday night.

That's all for now, kids. I'll keep you posted as things develop!

Interesting News

So, I was reading the Hollywood Reporter this morning as I usually do with my AM schedule, to catch up on what's going on in the industry (important in my line of work), when I stumbled across this very interesting piece of news.
Apparently, Vertigo's recently cancelled (and consistently genius) line Exterminators, has been optioned into a TV show by Showtime. This is pretty interesting to me, not only because a comic that I enjoyed will be adapted, but also because these aren't things that happen overnight. From the little that I know about the process, they've been in discussion on this for months. I know that Vertigo lines are creator-owned, but I find it hard to believe that they wouldn't have caught wind of this, and maybe wanted to hold off on the cancellation until this panned out. Now there's going to be (hopefully) a second wind of demand for this line, and no new issues will be made. Seems kind of "cart before horse", no?

Then again, in the article Simon Oliver does say that he originally conceived of the book as a TV pitch, so maybe once that got rolling he had something to do with the line being cancelled?
I don't know. Either way, it should be an interesting show, that's for sure.

On a related note, it does seem that I'm seeing more and more comic books being optioned for shows and movies. I know this is an age-old practice, but has anyone else noticed the recent feverish upswing this has taken? I mean, an Elfquest movie was announced today, Millar followed up Wanted with the announcement that Kick-Ass (only 3 issues in!) will be a movie too, Whiteout is also getting the treatment, Warren announced Red was going to Summit for a movie, and Ocean is over at Warner Bros, AND Goon is going to be given the movie treatment by Fight Club's David Fincher. And that's only the things I've heard about in the past month!

Anyone else just a little bit breathless about it?

I'm famous!

Well, not really. But the tongue-in-cheek email I sent to Newsarama's JK Parkin ended up being the bonus features in this post about who is attending this year's San Diego Comic Con:

And finally, Dina is really excited about attending:

No, I’m not a creator, writer, artist, or otherwise associated with the industry in any way. In fact, the closest thing I have is a poorly updated blog about how much I love comics and a friend who edits at DC.
However, I saw your post on Newsarama asking people to tell you
they were going, and I just found it hard to believe that you wouldn’t be excited to hear I would be there.

How cool is that??!

Weekend!

It's the 4th, so I'm off to go celebrate my country's independence by traipsing through the woods and trying to evade the ferocious bears that inhabit the woods of California.

Hope you all have a great weekend, I'll leave you with this awesome bit of fun from another country that won independence from the Brits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDkiYZLnsyg&NR=1

It's July!

Yesssss!

Are you as excited about it being July as I am? I mean, come on-Independence Day, summer parties, oh-
AND THE SAN DIEGO COMIC CON!

Who's going?

Anyone who can find me there and say the secret phrase: "I read your blog" (I'm so creative, aren't I?), gets one free drink, on me, when I'm (inevitably) at the bars at the end of each day.

(But please, no requests for Moet or nothin', ok?)

Also- to claim your drink you have to pose for one picture, with me, to be posted forever here in the annals of eternity.


22 days left!

More comic-related fun!

Ok, two more things to discuss today:

1)I took a hike last week to a place some of you might find a bit...familiar.


(Please forgive my oh-so fashionable Sunday afternoon workout gear. I wasn't really thinking about how this would play on the web. I'm not really a hobbit, I promise!)

Anyone?

THE BATCAVE!



It's actually in one of the most famous places in L.A., Griffith Park, about a 5 minute hike from the parking lot. (Super-easy!)

It's nothing fancy when you get there, just a cool looking cave, but still. My nerd-dar was all over the place.

Also, it's a pretty close-up view of the Hollywood sign (which we hiked to later on that day)


Also, another topic I'd like to discuss:

Warren Ellis, where did you get the idea for the Snowtown brand? For those of you who are unfamiliar, here's a quick shot of the protagonist of Fell wearing one.



Hmm. Interesting that it looks eerily familiar to some *ahem* monthly pills that I take for, um, babylessness.



Coincidence?

Multimedia!

Ok, so the first thing I want to discuss today is one of the things I've been busy with. This video doesn't do it any justice at all, but unfortunately I haven't been able to get my hands on any of the pictures that were taken yet.

I'm completely inept, and can't seem to find the embed code, so you guys are going to have to live with a link:

My Video!

To explain: my company (to keep up employee morale) hosts a mini-golf tournament every year, where people can create holes with obstacles and themes, and then the hole office (pardon the pun!) plays the course. This was my contribution, a "Choose your own Adventure" superhero themed hole. What it doesn't show is a large portion of the decorations-there's 50 classic comic covers posted around the course, as well as some narrative signs, a comic art collage, and some toys (including a pair of Hulk hands!)

This is just one of the things I was busy with, more to come!