July 2009 Archives

Actress and novelist Amber Benson poses for a portrait at her home in Los Angeles, Wednesday, June 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

SOLVEJ SCHOU
Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Headstrong Bella is in love with a vampire. Zoey has a crescent moon seared onto her forehead, the mark of a fledgling bloodsucker. Sixteen-year-old Ever can hear people's thoughts. Calliope is, reluctantly, Death's daughter.

All are modern female heroes written by women, read by women and not only obsessed over by teenagers but also their older sisters and mothers. The economy may be deeply troubled, but urban fantasy novels about vampires, werewolves, zombies, supernatural creatures, blood and romance are booming, and women are sinking their teeth into them in ravenous numbers.

"We're living in a frightening time. I don't know if it's an escapism as in there's scary stuff out there so let me control it through the medium of reading," says Amy Clarke, a lecturer at the University of California, Davis who teaches science fiction literature.

"There's dreaming of being with a vampire or werewolf, but there's always the danger of crossing over. I think it's a post-feminist way of taking on power."

The trend gathered steam with Bella Swan and her conflicted romance with gorgeous vampire Edward in Stephenie Meyer's four-book "Twilight" series, which has sold more than 53 million copies worldwide since the first book's release in 2005, according to publisher Little, Brown and Company. Meyer's newest, the more adult-themed "The Host," has 2 million copies in print domestically.

Call it dark escapism with a racy flair. The "Twilight" explosion, including its hit movie version, has deepened the needs of women urban fantasy novel readers.

Other authors are jumping in: P.C. Cast and her daughter Kristin's popular "House of Night" vampire series; Alyson Noel's "Immortals" books: the "Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries" novels by Charlaine Harris, which inspired the TV series "True Blood" on HBO; Richelle Mead's "Vampire Academy" trilogy; and books by more than half a dozen other female writers.

The genre's popularity is bigger than just books, says P.C. Cast.

"With women, this is reflecting a shift in our society," Cast said in an interview from her home in Tulsa, Okla. "I've seen a big shift, especially in my classroom, with women standing up and demanding respect. That's in every woman, whether 16, 26, 56."

"Our fiction is also reflecting that because we're writing the fiction. We've given ourselves permission to be successful. We're also giving ourselves permission to have fun," said Cast, a single mother who taught high school English for 15 years before focusing only on writing.

Her five "House of Night" books, starting in 2007 with "Marked," follow the adventures of Zoey Redbird, a high school student marked to be a vamp, who must enter the House of Night. Described as a "vampyre finishing school," it's filled with bratty girls, cute guys and no end of drama.

Cast enlisted the help of daughter Kristin, 22, to ensure that the teen-speak in her stories reflected current vernacular as opposed to the author's "inner '70s teenager saying things that were so not cool."

It paid off.

There are 5.5 million copies of the five "House of Night" books in print in the United States and the series has been on The New York Times list of best sellers for 63 weeks, according to publisher St. Martin's Press. "Tempted," the sixth book, is due out in October. The series has been optioned by Empire Pictures, with a film script in the works.

"Vampires are super sexy. Vampires and teens have a lot in common. Teens have surging hormones, vampires have surging blood lust. Teenagers think they're immortal," Cast said.

And for older women, says UC Davis' Clarke, "hot blooded" has taken on new meaning.

"All of the stuff I've read have some pretty heated sex scenes in them, and that brings people into the world of it," Clarke said. "The teens haven't had sex yet and the mothers have, and it's maybe not as good as it was."

Noel's "Immortals" series focuses on the telepathic teen Ever, who gains her abilities after surviving a car accident that kills her family. Brooding and lonely at a new school in sunny California, she meets handsome immortal Damen. They're drawn to each other like magnets.

"All of us older people reading these books magically survived high school even though we thought we wouldn't," Noel said in an interview from her home in Laguna Beach, Calif. "To be young and beautiful and have power forever is pretty alluring in this society."

More than 700,000 copies of the two "Immortals" books are in print, according to St. Martin's Press. The first book, "Evermore," has been on the Times list for 23 weeks since its release in February. The second book, "Blue Moon," was released this month, with book three scheduled for January 2010.

Mead's "Vampire Academy" series has 1.5 million books in print, according to publisher Penguin Razorbill Books. The fourth book in the series comes out in August.

Amber Benson, who earned a huge fan base as witch Tara on the cult-hit TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," which ended in 2003, channeled her love of urban fantasy into a trilogy, with the first book released this year by venerable science fiction and fantasy publisher Ace Books, an imprint of Penguin.

In "Death's Daughter," Calliope Reaper-Jones is a 25-year-old immortal who works in New York City. After her father, the CEO of Death, Inc., is kidnapped, she must run the family business.

"That was the beauty of Buffy, this female protagonist who looked totally harmless but could do all these amazing things and was trying to be a real person at the same time. She definitely influenced Calliope and her journey," says Benson, as she sits in her Los Angeles home beneath a sign reading "Old Friends to Read, Old Friends to Trust."

"We don't just want to be the tough chick who has no feelings, or the super girly girl who can't do anything for herself. We want that middle ground," she says.

With online word of mouth driving sales, fan gals have also started churning out their own stories about witches, vampires, wolves and half-bloods on such Web sites as www.textnovel.com under categories such as "Romance -- Paranormal" and "Romance -- Urban Fantasy."

"This is where the key demographic for the 'House of Night' lives, these teenage girls that are online most of the time," Matthew Shear, St. Martin's senior vice president of publishing, said.

Shear acknowledged Meyer's effect on Cast's series and other urban fantasy novels.

"We didn't buy the 'House of Night' series because of 'Twilight,' but when we saw sales increasing, we went to everywhere Stephenie Meyer was selling," he said. "Stephenie Meyer started the boom, and 'House of Night' has continued the boom."

He's cheering on sales.

"Is it welcome news to the publishing world? You bet it is," Shear said. "We're thrilled that people want to buy these books."

___

On the Net:

http://www.houseofnightseries.com/

http://www.alysonnoel.com/

http://www.deathsdaughter.com/

http://www.charlaineharris.com/

http://www.richellemead.com/

http://www.textnovel.com

This teaser for "Tron Legacy" is the best I can do via IGN.com. As good as this looks, it supposedly pales in comparison to what I've HEARD the 3D teaser looked like that was shown at Comic-Con last week.

I thought this looked good enough on my computer screen. Now I'm afraid if I actually see it in a 3D theater my head will explode or something.

Anyway... enjoy!!

Collider has made this extended trailer to the upcoming "Heroes" season titled "Redemption" available to all.

I know it'll take some of us a while to trust the series again after its early promise, but I have to say this teaser doesn't look too bad.

Entertainment Weekly did a series of interviews and panels last weekend during the San Diego Comic-Con.  This one with Megan Fox, writer Diablo Cody ("Juno") and director Karyn Kusama ("Girlfight") was particularly candid.

OK, it was Fox who had the most to say -- surprised?

DEBORAH YAO
AP Business Writer

WILMINGTON, Delaware (AP) -- An agreement has been reached allowing the videotaping of Warren Beatty's deposition in his dispute with the Tribune Co. over the rights to cartoon detective Dick Tracy, a federal judge presiding over the case said Tuesday.

Although Beatty has made a living in front of the camera, his attorneys wanted U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Carey to prohibit the videotaping, arguing it was unnecessary and could result in a violation of his privacy. Beatty's lawyers have claimed such a recording would be in high demand online because of his celebrity status.

As part of the agreement, videotaping was allowed, but only four copies may be made -- two for each side. The agreement, affirmed in a protective order Carey signed Tuesday, calls for each copy to contain a unique identifier, so that any leaks can be traced.

Although the agreement wasn't disclosed until Tuesday, Beatty gave his deposition last week, and a redacted transcript was presented in court.

Beatty sued Tribune shortly before it filed for bankruptcy protection in December. The dispute stemmed from a 1985 agreement that gave the actor movie and TV rights to comic strip detective Dick Tracy and led to a movie of the same name starring Beatty.

The contract states that Beatty must start "principal photography" on a feature film, TV special or TV series by a certain deadline or else the rights revert back to Tribune.

In seeking to reclaim the rights, Tribune said Beatty did not fulfill his part. Beatty said he did commence principal photography on a TV special last November. The media company disputed that the TV special was such, describing it as more of a DVD takeout.

On Tuesday, Beatty's lawyer asked the judge to keep a DVD copy of the program under seal since it hasn't yet aired. The judge agreed.

Tribune has said that the Dick Tracy rights are worth tens of millions of dollars in potential income to the company.

Tribune, which owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Cubs, and other media properties, is struggling under $13 billion of debt stemming from a leveraged buyout to take the company private. A severe slump in advertising for newspapers and TV stations further hamstrung the company's turnaround efforts.

When Tribune filed for bankruptcy, Beatty's lawsuit in California was put on automatic hold. On Tuesday, his lawyer made his final arguments to persuade the judge to lift the stay, saying that it would be expensive and inconvenient for the actor to travel to Delaware for a trial. He also said that it was a California issue involving California executives, and thus a venue in that state would be appropriate.

But Tribune countered that it would be inconvenienced if the lawsuit in California was allowed to proceed. Also, the media company argued that it's better for the bankruptcy court to handle all the Dick Tracy rights.

Only the movie and TV rights are under dispute. Tribune owns all the other rights to the comic strip.

Sitting for the entire Sunday Conversation with Dan DiDio panel wasn't my original plan.

But after sitting there and listening to the DC Comics Executive Editor discuss his memories of reading comics with his family in the wake of his mother's death less that a week ago, I knew I had to stay.  My mother and I recently spoke about the times she read my favorite comic books to me more than 30 years ago.

Like my micro-bio says at the top, I learned how to read from comics and even when I knew every word in the issue, I begged my mom to read them to me again --- just to share the experience.

It was a good memory.

All the celebs, the movie panels and the crowds are simply part of what the convention has become these days, but at DiDio's panel for that hour, it was just about our favorite funny book stories and what they meant to us.

The video clip above isn't the whole discussion, just the opening, but it's just enough to show you all the the humor and heart that panel represented... with a funny conclusion.

 

I posted the Anime "Iron Man" teaser and now here's the "Wolverine" one from producers Marvel Animation and Madhouse (Paprika).

 

 

Robert Downey Jr., center, and director Jon Favareu, right, sing as producer Kevin Feige, left, looks on during a panel for their new movie "Ironman 2" at Comic-Con International 2009 convention held in San Diego Saturday, July 25, 2009. The annual comic book and popular arts convention attracts over 100,000 people and runs through Sunday July 26. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

SANDY COHEN
AP Entertainment Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Robert Downey Jr. said he wish he could don a Mexican wrestling mask and stroll the Comic-Con floor to check out all the collectible toys and geeky-cool stuff. Peter Jackson joked about ducking out of a discussion with director James Cameron -- which drew thousands of fans to the San Diego Convention Center's largest meeting hall -- to walk the floor with fewer crowds.

 

 

Remember I posted about Warren Ellis (Astonishing X-Men, Fell) writing Marvel Comics characters to be re-imagined in anime by producers Madhouse (Paprika).

Here's that trailer I promised.

 

Megan Fox and Josh Brolin from "Jonah Hex" appear at the Warners booth to the delight of crowd of fans. Robert Meeks/Press-Telegram

And here I thought the convention would be less crowded Friday than it's been in the past -- silly me.

I'll sum it up the way Geoffrey's Comic Book Clubbers Marcus and Soyini stated it ealier today while we fought through other Con-goers filling the Convention Center's upper floors:

MARCUS: "You think there's even more people than last year?"

SOYINI: "I don't know -- after a while there's so many I just stop counting."

 

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Friday at the San Diego Comic-Con has become as well-frequented as the Saturdays were three years ago. There's little distinction anymore.  Now I'm concerned Saturday will be even more crowded.

An announcement that cast members were appearing from the comic book-adapted supernatural western "Jonah Hex" caused a big traffic jam around the Warner Bros. booth. Alright, let me set that straight: The announcement that MEGAN FOX would be at the booth caused a small traffic jam not unlike Robert Downey Jr.'s when he appeared for "Iron Man" two years ago.

Security urged people to take their pictures and move on, but they may have well been blowing kisses at a tank to stop it from rolling. That crowd around "The Fox" and Josh Brolin's sudden appearance was a juggernaut.  I stayed on the outer layer of those folks just to stay alive (see video).

 

                                                       ___________

BOOM! Studios, the comics publisher with comics writer extraordinaire Mark Waid as its Editor-in-Chief, announced additional publications of licensed properties "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" A Hardcover edition for Sheep encompassing the first four issues.

Also, "Jennifer's Body," "Die Hard: Year One" and "28 Days Later" will be part of the BOOM! family as well. The "28 Days" seems particularly interesting as it focuses on thhe machete-wielding Selena portrayed by Naomie Harris.

The most grateful cheers from the audience came for the BOOM! Kids comic series "The Muppets Show." A title that is gaining quite an appreciative fanbase.

 

                                                         ___________

Of all the interesting costumed guests and professionals walking the exhibit hall, it was little old un-costumed me who got grabbed for a pic. "Oy!" I heard and as I turned to respond, a guy in a funny hat wraps his arm over my shoulder, points the camera at both of us, cheeses and takes a photograph. "Cheers!" he said as he hopped back to join his friends.

I slinked away wondering if I'm a funnier picture to put on Flickr than that shirtless Wolverine Guy making the rounds today? Or the stilted monster?  I'm flattered, but I looked at myself carefully in every reflective surface I walked by for at least 30 minutes after.

I have my take on Saturday at the Comic-Con and a bit on the Eisner Awards ("The comic book Oscars") winners later.

 

Actor Johnny Depp makes an appearance at a panel held for his new movie "Alice in Wonderland" at the Comic-Con International 2009 convention held in San Diego Thursday, July 23, 2009.  (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

It was only Thursday but the San Diego Comic-Con rolled out some big cinema personalities.

The mighty "Twilight" triumvirate of Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson appeared before a reportedly enthusiastic (severe understatement) collection of fans. And just to show that skinny upstart, Pattinson a thing or two about getting the cheers, Johnny Depp appeared to represent for "Alice in Wonderland."

OK, maybe it was just so he could appear on behalf of the Disney film due to hit theaters March 2010.

The Associated Press' Sandy Cohen reports on the appearance of Wonderland's Tim Burton ("Edward Scissorhands"), who imagines, sketches and shapes almost every detail of his pictures. The studio provided costumes, set pieces and designs from the highly-anticipated flick to show a crowd of appreciative film and fantasy fans.

I'm hitting the convention today to see what's what -- more from me later.

To see the comprehensive coverage of the "Alice in Wonderland" panel from the Associated Press or view the trailer please read on.


SANDY COHEN
AP Entertainment Writer

Fans step into the world of 'Alice in Wonderland'

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Behind a nondescript storefront on a quiet downtown street lies a passage into the world of "Alice in Wonderland" as seen through Tim Burton's eyes.

Disney's traveling exhibit of props, costumes, sketches and set models from the movie is on display at the 40th annual Comic Con. The pop-culture convention is being held at the San Diego Convention Center through Sunday.

Two misshapen wooden doors lead into the rabbit hole, where a giant Alice (in mural form) overlooks a glass case filled with bottles and boxes. Another case holds one of the 17 dresses Alice wears in Burton's (and costume designer Colleen Atwood's) Wonderland.

A second pair of doors lead to the Mad Hatter's tea party. The table is set with cakes, scones and the original teapot from the movie, due in theaters next year. One of Johnny Depp's Mad Hatter costumes is on display, complete with a wild orange wig and famous hat.

In the corner are two enormous flowers with human faces. Look closely and notice the faces move.

The last room introduces the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter), with her heart-shaped scepter, eyeglasses and executioner's ax. Her heart-shaped throne anchors the room. A miniature model of her court sits beside it, near a display of her jewel-encrusted gown. A painting of the Red Queen with flaming red hair and tiny heart-shaped lips hangs nearby.

The White Queen's gown is also on display, as is the armor Alice wears when she fights "the monstrous Jabberwocky."

Burton came to Comic Con on Thursday to show the trailer for "Alice." The director said the 3-D peek through the looking glass is his most challenging film yet.

"It's the first time we've done a lot of green screen," he said. "It starts to freak you out after a while."

Burton also brought Depp to the panel. Flashbulbs popped and the crowd erupted in cheers. Depp waved, then he and Burton left the stage.

Oren Aviv, president of production for Walt Disney Studios, said Burton sketched the various costumes, characters and settings for years before taking on the project.

"To see this world come to life," Aviv said, "it's amazing."

Taylor Lautner, left, Kristen Stewart, center, and Robert Pattinson, right, pose at a news conference held to promote their new film "Twilight: New Moon" at the Comic-Con International 2009 convention held in San Diego Thursday, July 23, 2009. The annual comic book and popular arts convention attracts over 100,000 people and runs through Sunday July 26. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

SANDY COHEN
AP Entertainment Writer

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Most camped out overnight. Some spent two nights outside the San Diego Convention Center. They wore homemade T-shirts, made friends with fellow fans and talked about their allegiance to Team Edward or Team Jacob.

They are the "Twilight" fangirls, and they came to Comic Con by the thousands to see the movie's stars in person at a panel Thursday for the film's sequel.

Director Chris Weitz was joined by Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart and Ashley Greene.

High-pitched screams drowned out the introductions.

Those same shrill screams (of joy) also threatened to overwhelm the dialogue during the clip filmmakers showed.

The clip shows Jacob (Lautner) teaching Bella Swan (Stewart) how to ride a motorcycle, but she's distracted by visions of the vampire Edward (Pattinson) with whom she fell in love. She crashes, and Jacob takes off his shirt to soothe her wound, provoking more fangirl screams. Lautner famously gained more than 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of muscle for the role.

Pattinson, who was greeted with adoring screams when made his Comic Con debut with "Twilight" last year, said the event was "an eye-opener, and it's just gotten bigger and bigger since."

"None of us saw it coming," Lautner added.

"It's a little overwhelming to have so many people here," Stewart said, "but I guess it's a good thing."

Jerrell Conner (left), a freelance illustrator from Long Beach, talks with visitors to his table at last year's San Diego Comic-Con. Conner will return to the 2009 convention this year with a new sketchbook, and an iTunes version of his comic. Below: An alternative cover for chapter one of Conner's graphic novel "Revelations: The Prophets."

Artist Jerrell Conner, briefly profiled last year, returns to the San Diego Comic-Con with a new sketchbook and a recently released iTunes version of his first graphic novel.

Originally the subject of his senior thesis, Conner's graphic novel mini-series "Revelations: The Prophets" is based on a biblical story involving two such prophets and their adventures within an "end-of-days" scenario.

A connection made at the convention last year enabled Conner to take Revelations from the printed page to iTunes customers as an App (short-speak for "application" or program) in May.

The Long Beach-based freelance illustrator has been busy this past year.

Conner is the supervising animator on a feature film based on the popular herb-altered characters "Cheech and Chong." The project, produced by Chambers Bros. Entertainment, may be headed for a limited theatrical release some time next year.

"It's a small (animation) team so we're wearing a bunch of hats," Conner said in a phone interview Tuesday.

The young artist also had his work published in the art book Spectrum 15 - The Best In Contemporary Fantastic Art (Underwood Books 2008).

Release plans for the next volume of his Revelations series are not nailed down, but Conner says he's making progress, even if it's not as quick as he would like.

"It's really slow -- a lot of time is going to the animation and I actually get one day a week, if that, to actually work on it," he said. "It's still moving forward and eventually it will be out."

Those attending the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con this weekend July 23-26 can meet Jerrell Conner and see his work in the Small Press area #S08.

Visit his Web site at: http://jerrellconner.weebly.com/index.html

Comic Con attendees dressed as a Batman characters pose for a photo as they wait in line during the preview night for the annual Comic Con International 2009 pop-culture convention held in San Diego Wednesday, July 22, 2009. (AP Photo/Denis Poroy)

SANDY COHEN
AP Entertainment Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- From immortal bloodsuckers and 19th century forensics pioneers to flying suits of armor and an all-new breed of live-action 3-D, the essence of this year's hottest properties at Comic Con can be found deep in the past, or far into the future.

"Twilight" proved to be the most rabid fan-feeding frenzy at last year's Comic-Con, and its sequel, "New Moon," based on the second novel in the vampire series by Stephenie Meyer, stands out among the savory offerings beginning Thursday at the San Diego Convention Center.

Other highlights include "Tron," a reboot of the '80s sci-fi classic about computer programmers trapped in a digital world, Tim Burton's take on "Alice in Wonderland" and an early look at "Iron Man 2." James Cameron will also preview "Avatar," a futuristic adventure that promises a new level of 3-D based on technology the "Titanic" director helped develop.

Now in its 40th year, the festival began as a comic-book convention in 1970 and evolved into an expansive pop-culture buffet that includes video games, TV shows, major movies and A-listers from the worlds of film, television and publishing.

"It's the Las Vegas of conventions for this type of material," said Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, owner and chief executive of the Gotham Group and a veteran of 18 Comic Cons. "It's an opportunity for fans to meet artists and buy artwork and see new stuff that's coming out. Plus it's really a festival -- it's a circus in terms of the people who show up there in full regalia."

Costumed fans -- a Comic Con tradition -- add spice to what's already an enthusiastic crowd. Visitors to San Diego's historic downtown area during Comic Con might see Darth Vader at Rite Aid or run into Iron Man at the ATM.

The convention is like "the geek's Sundance or the pop-culture Sundance," said Gregory Ellwood, co-founder and editor-in-chief of the entertainment Web site Hitfix.com and a six-time Comic Con veteran.

Megan Fox is set to attend in support of "Jennifer's Body" and "Jonah Hex"; Robert Downey Jr. will be on hand for "Iron Man 2" and "Sherlock Holmes"; Peter Jackson is coming to his first Comic Con to show off the latest film he produced, "District 9," and Cameron Diaz is set to promote her new thriller, "The Box."

Sigourney Weaver, one of the stars of "Avatar," said she's excited to make her Comic Con debut.

"I've always wanted to go," she said. "For me, with all these between 'Alien' and 'Ghostbusters' and 'Galaxy Quest' and 'Avatar' now, it's an event I've been dying to go to for a long time."

TV fans will find plenty of appetizing options, too.

Kiefer Sutherland is set to offer a glimpse into the new season of "24." The co-creators of "Lost" will share insights into the show's final season. The producers and cast of "Fringe" plan to present exclusive footage and the people behind "Glee" will share a new episode of the new Fox show that debuted after the "American Idol" finale and picks up again next month.

"This is not what the founders of the Con thought about 40 years ago when they started this," said Ellwood, adding that fan reception at Comic Con can help movies and TV shows find dedicated followings.

Admissions for this year's festival have been sold out for weeks.

"Donnie Darko" director Richard Kelly, who's bringing his new movie, "The Box," to the convention, said he has enjoyed Comic Con as both a filmmaker and fan for nine years. He sees the growth of the festival to include properties beyond comic books as a boon for moviegoers.

"You've got to think it's a good thing for cinema, because it's given the fans more power," he said. "The studios are really listening and they're really paying attention to what the fans think and what they want. Anything that empowers the people who really love movies is a good thing."

www.comic-con.org

This flick was number one on my "10 Upcoming Movies Based on Comics Without Superheroes" list.

From my original post: Creators Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber's graphic novel about a U.S. marshal played by Kate Beckinsale who has to deal with a murder only days before a dismal winter falls over Antarctica.

The effects look pretty cool on a tiny computer screen, but after watching the trailer, Wife told me the preview she saw and the description above don't clearly agree.

Ah, trailers.

 

By Ryan Riley, Contributor

I remember the very first time I went to the San Diego Comic-Con back in 1997. I'm fairly certain it was 1997, as I recall the inflatable Spawn that was set up to hype the upcoming release of the (in retrospect disappointing) Spawn movie. I was taken aback by the gargantuan size of the convention center, and was stoked to see so many other fanboys and fangirls in one location. I met a lot of very interesting individuals over the four days I was there. Among the highlights of my Con experience was a chance encounter with Phil LaMarr at the Eisner Awards, who at that point was best known for playing the Jumpy UPS Guy on Mad TV and Marvin, the character that was accidentally shot in the face by John Travolta in "Pulp Fiction". He was an exceedingly nice gent who was actually spending time at the Con as a fanboy and not an actor pimping his latest project, and we chatted for about ten minutes before going our separate ways.

There are other equally pleasant memories that I could share with you guys about the San Diego Comic-Con, but that's not the purpose of this particular column. I've been going to Comic-Con more often than not for over a decade, and you'd have to be as blind as the Mole Man (or Hans Moleman, same diff) to not notice that Comic-Con is receiving more and more mainstream attention over the years. While this has done quite a lot for getting more overall acceptance of comics & graphic novels (and the folks that read them), it has transformed Comic-Con from a moderately attended niche event to a jam-packed celebration of all things that have a connection to sci-fi, fantasy & comics. If you take a look at all of the successful TV shows & movies in this genre that have cropped up in the last few years, that encompasses quite a lot. Shows like "Lost", "Heroes" and "Battlestar Galactica" got a lot of exposure prior to their airing at past Comic-Cons and now the panels dedicated to them are standing-room only. And fanboy-friendly creators like my idol Kevin Smith hold Q & A sessions that are must-attend events. As you can imagine, this makes for a much more crowded house as far as Comic-Con attendance goes.

I hate crowds with a passion, so as Comic-Con has become more crowded, going there has become much more of a chore. In fact, the only reason I've attended the last few times I've gone was that I had a press pass and was covering it, once for www.pulpfictiononline.com and once as a freelancer for Wizard Magazine. But the last time I went, which was two years ago, I shared a hotel room with a pair of siblings that I met through a mutual friend, Ross & Heather. These two had their Comic-Con itinerary planned to the nines, and I was impressed both by their forethought and the results of their preparation. It is mainly from my experience with them that I have compiled the following tips to help ensure that your Comic-Con experience isn't ruined by your disdain for crowds.

I can't stress enough the importance of planning your Comic-Con trip in as far advance as possible. Even getting tickets for the Comic-Con has become a dicey prospect for the procrastinators among us. This year's Comic-Con sold out relatively quickly for all four days shortly after the tickets became available. I know that some of the tips for planning ahead listed below won't really help you for this year, but take them into account for your next trip.

Room accommodations

If you are looking to book a hotel room for the duration of Comic-Con, book well in advance. The hotels closest to the San Diego Convention Center fill up quite quickly, and the ones in the surrounding area don't last much longer. Also, those hotels charge at alarmingly high rates because they know that Comic-Con is in town and adjust their pricing to capitalize. Luckily, the folks that run Comic-Con know that hotels are relatively scarce and they have a service on their official website, www.comiccon.org, that will find you an available hotel room if one is available. As of my writing this article, there were still some rooms available through that website. Take full advantage of this service early, and you won't be caught flat-footed when the next Comic-Con rolls around.

Alternatively, if you happen to know someone that lives in San Diego or the surrounding area, by all means use that to your best advantage. Don't be a mooch about it, though. Offer them some money to put you up (and put up with you) while you're attending the Comic-Con. If they're generous and turn you down, offer to take them out to dinner at a nice restaurant or get them a nice piece of memorabilia on the convention floor to reciprocate. Remember, they are saving you money and grief, which is an invaluable gift considering how expensive hotels are nowadays.

Plan for traffic

Unless you arrive on Wednesday night for the preview, you are very likely going to run into some traffic on the freeway and in the streets that lead to the convention center. Leave early, hit a drive-thru or convenience store for some food & drink and be patient. The earlier you leave, the less hassle you will have.

Parking accommodations

Parking at the convention center fills up really quickly, so plan on arriving early in the morning if you want to park there. Otherwise you will get gouged by parking lots surrounding the convention center for the privilege of not having to walk miles to where your car is parked.

There is a relatively pain-free alternative to parking at the convention center if you aren't an early riser. You can park in the parking lot adjacent to the cruise ship terminal for a nominal fee (comparatively speaking) and take advantage of the free shuttle that goes from there to the convention center. It's not as convenient getting back to your vehicle as parking at the convention center would be, but it sure beats having to wake up at the crack of dawn.

Convention center strategy

Once you arrive at the convention center and claim your pass, there are going to be a lot of people that are planning to do exactly the same thing as you. Don't panic! If you are savvy enough, you can get almost everything done that you set out to do.

The convention floor: This is a veritable cornucopia of one-of-a-kind merchandise, creator signings & giveaways. Get to the booths you are interested in early and chat up some of the folks running them. If it's creators you are wanting a signature from, they will have a schedule of who is signing when. If it's freebies that you're after, find out when they will become available and show up early, as there will definitely be a line. Oh, and if you want to keep even a shred of sanity, don't even bother going on the convention floor on Saturday if you can help it, as that is by far the most crowded day of the con. Get your business there done on Thursday or Friday.

Panels: Be prepared to do a lot of waiting if you are planning to attend a highly-in-demand discussion panel, like Kevin Smith's Q & A session on Saturday. Whatever time-cushion you were going to allow for waiting in line, add at least 2-3 hours to it, because many of your Comic-Con attending bretheren will already be there ahead of you. Be sure you have some entertainment with you, like an I-Pod, PSP, DS or your laptop. If you don't have any of these in your possession, head on over to the convention floor and buy yourself some reading material. The buddy system is invaluable here, as it only takes one person to hold a spot in line. Be nice to the person in your group that bites the bullet and waits in line. Get them something to eat and/or drink for their perseverance.

Restaurant accommodations

The odds are good that once you leave the convention center to go grab some dinner you will run into a minimum wait of an hour to get into most restaurants in the surrounding Gaslamp district. You can get around this easily by doing a little research a few weeks in advance to find out which nearby restaurants you would be interested in eating at. Once you've got that figured out, call and place reservations at each restaurant that you want to eat at. This tactic doesn't allow for any spontaneity in your dining experience, but the ability to walk past the masses that did not have the foresight to plan ahead and eat shortly after you arrive more than makes up for that.

And I'm spent!

If you follow these simple guidelines, you shouldn't have too many problems at the San Diego Comic-Con this year. We want you guys to chime in if there are any other survival tips you might have for dealing with the hassles of Comic-Con.

FILE - In this Oct. 2, 2007 file photo, Hasbro's Transformers Arm Blaster is shown at the Toy Wishes Holiday Preview in New York. Toy maker Hasbro Inc. said Monday, July 20, 2009, its second-quarter profit rose 5 percent, beating expectations, as robust sales of Transformers and G.I. Joe toys _ both tied to summer movies _ helped offset international sales hurt by the stronger dollar. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, file)

MAE ANDERSON
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Transformers aren't just titans at the box office, they're flying off toy shelves, too. Toy maker Hasbro Inc. said Monday strong sales of the morphing robots helped its second-quarter profit rise past analyst expectations.

Summer movie tie-in toys have been one bright spot for toy makers during the consumer-spending slowdown. Hasbro has been buoyed in recent years by toys tied to movies, including this summer's hit "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" and the upcoming "G.I. Joe: "The Rise of the Cobra."

"We couldn't be more pleased with the performance both at the box office and at retail," said CEO Brian Goldner. "Retailers around the world recognize that certain brands like Transformers bring to life the entire store for consumers, which translates into premium placement and representation across multiple departments for those brands."

Aspiring comic artists planning to attend Comic-Con, take note:

Local comics pros Chris Bachalo ("Generation X") and Todd Nauck ("Spider-Man") will be part of a Saturday panel at 4 p.m. focusing on how to prepare a portfolio that will help impress editors.

There was a nice story by Orange County Register reporter Peter Larsen on Bachalo last weekend about his start in the industry and career highlights. The artist has worked for both Marvel and DC Comics and has illustrated titles from "Uncanny X-Men" to "Sandman."

We talked with Todd Nauck here at Modern Mythology when he interviewed with us about his work on the current highest-selling comic of the year, Amazing Spider-Man #583.

Nauck's interview, recorded when he visited The Comic Bug, is above. 

From the official Comic-Con schedule: Saturday, July 25

4:00-5:00 Building Your Art Portfolio-- Moderated by Comics Experience founder Andy Schmidt (X-Men, Annihilation) and featuring the expert advice of comic creators Chris Bachalo (X-Men, Generation X), Todd Nauck (Spider-Man, Young Justice), Robert Atkins (G.I. Joe), C. B. Cebulski (Marvel Talent Coordinator), and Zander Cannon (Top 10), this panel covers everything an aspiring comics artist needs to know about building a portfolio and getting his or her first gig. Join the discussion and ask your questions at the end! Room 30CDE  

BRADENTON, Florida (AP) -- A Florida man was sued by DC Comics for selling figurines that resemble Batman characters -- though he said they are meant to portray actors from the 1960s "Batman" television series.

In a lawsuit filed in federal court in Tampa, DC Comics accused John Stacks of committing copyright and trademark infringement, among other violations, with his resin composite figurines. The characters in question include Batman, Robin, Catwoman, the Joker, Batgirl, the Penguin, the Riddler, Egghead and King Tut.

New York-based DC Comics claimed they wrote Stacks and requested that he stop selling the figurines, but that he continued.

"They come after little people like me," Stacks told The Tampa Tribune. "I don't have anything."

Stacks told the paper he has contracts with all the actors represented by his figurines. Several of the actors in the show are now deceased, and others who could be reached did not immediately return requests for comment.

Christina Gorshin, wife of the late Frank Gorshin, who played the Riddler, recognized Stacks' name but couldn't say whether her husband had consented to the use of his image.

"I have no clue what their contact was," she said.

A spokesman for Burt Ward, who played Robin, said the actor has no affiliation with Stacks "whatsover."

Stacks operates his company under the name "Johnny's Resin Kits" out of Bradenton, Florida, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Tampa. Reached Monday, Stacks repeated his intentions to portray the actors, not the characters.

"It was never meant to be Batman, never," Stacks said.

On a screen grab of Stacks' Web site presented in the complaint, a disclaimer notes that the figures are meant to portray an actor and not any characters owned by DC Comics.

"We're trying to work it out," Stacks said of the lawsuit. He declined to elaborate.

DC Comics' attorney would not comment on the case. A company spokesman would not comment on Stacks' claim that he is representing the actors, saying only, "We have every reason to believe this matter will be resolved amicably."

The company is asking Stacks to stop making and selling the figurines and that he deliver any remaining products, molds, and other materials for destruction. They are also seeking monetary compensation.


Image Copyright DC Comics

This is via BBC NEWS.  The photograph depicts Matt Smith in Doctor Who attire next to Karen Gillan, who plays the Doctor's new companion.

From the BBC story: "The Time Lord's new look consists of tweed jacket, bow tie, rolled up trousers and black boots." 

It's quite geeky, but very Doctor.

Check out the full story here.

From left, Lexi McAllister, Marian Hangebrauk and Eleni Schvaneveldt catch up on the Harry Potter series by watching the previous movies on a laptop computer Wednesday, July 15, 2009, while waiting for a showing of the latest installment, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/The Register-Guard, Jarod Opperman)


DAVID GERMAIN
AP Movie Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Harry Potter continues to work box-office alchemy, turning his latest movie adventure into an overnight blockbuster.

The sixth installment, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," took in $79.5 million domestically over opening weekend and $159.7 million since debuting last Wednesday, according to estimates from distributor Warner Bros. on Sunday.

The movie also took in $237 million overseas since Wednesday in 54 countries, bringing its worldwide total to $396.7 million.

With some of the best reviews of any "Harry Potter" movie, "Half-Blood Prince" was off to the fastest overall start in franchise history.

The sixth movie about the young wizard came in $20 million ahead of the last movie, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," which grossed $139.7 million domestically in its first five days two years ago.

The new film had the second-highest start ever for a movie premiering on Wednesday, trailing the $200 million five-day opening for last month's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen."

"Half-Blood Prince" already has surpassed the $157.3 million "Order of the Phoenix" pulled in during its entire first week. By the end of its seventh day Tuesday, "Half-Blood Prince" will be in the $180 million range on its way to becoming the franchise's first $300 million domestic smash since the original movie, 2001's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," said Dan Fellman, Warner head of distribution.

The audience was a bit older for the new movie, with more elder teens turning out to see Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and pals Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) as they deal with adult concerns such as heartache, jealousy and romantic triangles.

Fans have grown up with the franchise, from young readers whose parents had to debate whether the early movies might be too intense for their children to see.

"When the first movie came out, they fought to go. The mother was like, well, should I take them, should I not take them?" Fellman said. "Now they're driving themselves to this and going to the midnight show."

Sacha Baron Cohen's mock documentary "Bruno" plummeted after its No. 1 debut the previous weekend. The Universal Pictures comedy fell to fourth-place with $8.4 million, down a whopping 73 percent from its $30.6 million opening.

Crowd-pleasing movies typically dip 50 percent or less in their second weekends. But "Bruno" has had mixed reviews and failed to earn the audience buzz that made a $128 million hit out of Baron Cohen's 2006 comedy "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

After 10 days in release, "Bruno" has climbed to $49.6 million and will finish far below $100 million domestically.

While "Harry Potter" had a healthy start, the overall box office plunged compared to the same weekend last year, when the Batman juggernaut "The Dark Knight" had its record opening weekend of $158.4 million.

The top-12 movies this weekend combined for less than that, taking in $153.9 million, down 39 percent from a year ago.

"We got kind of slaughtered even with the 'Potter' movie, but we knew that was going to happen," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "When one movie last year makes more than what the top-12 movies did this year, you're going to have a down weekend."

Fox Searchlight's romantic comedy "500 Days of Summer," starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, got off to a big start in limited release with $837,588 in 27 theaters. That amounted to an average of $31,022 a cinema, compared to $18,376 in 4,325 theaters for "Half-Blood Prince."

A hit with critics, "500 Days of Summer" expands gradually into wide release over the next few weekends.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," $79.5 million.

2. "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," $17.7 million.

3. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," $13.8 million.

4. "Bruno," $8.4 million.

5. "The Hangover," $8.32 million.

6. "The Proposal," $8.3 million.

7. "Public Enemies," $7.6 million.

8. "Up," $3.1 million.

9. "My Sister's Keeper," $2.8 million.

10. "I Love You, Beth Cooper," $2.7 million.

You may have seen this type of quasi-animated work before from "Invincible" and "Batman" -- now Marvel Comics will add "Spider-Woman" to the ever-growing list of motion comics.

Marvel will debut the entire first episode at the San Diego Comic-Con Friday July 24 at the "Marvel Digital Comics... and Beyond" panel at 5:30 p.m. 

Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada premiered the above trailer on Comic Book Resources last Friday.  The series will be written by Brian Michael Bendis and motion-animated from the artwork of Alex Maleev. Maleev's work can also be seen in Stephen King's "N," an earlier Marvel Comics motion project.

If you read Bendis' Daredevil run then you are familiar with Maleev.  His moody, realistic style and innovative brushwork make his artwork quite distinctive.

We've discussed motion comics before (Batman: Black & White) and I expect their popularity to increase as comic companies look for Web-based content that is different than simply reprinting the comic pages.

Warren Ellis, notable writer of Astonishing X-Men, Fell and my favorite from him, Planetary, will introduce and discuss the anime remix of four Marvel Comics characters at next week's San Diego Comic-Con.

This is exciting for me because it's Ellis doing the writing, of course. Also, Japanese animation studio Madhouse (Paprika) is a producer on the project.

On his blog, Ellis writes that It's the only thing he'll be in San Diego for. I expect there will be some promotional trailers or at least some artwork from the upcoming animation at the panel Friday July 24 in room 6BCF from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

See the press release at WarrenEllis.com.  And just because I want you to see this; check out the cover to the Ellis' final issue of Planetary by artist John Cassaday.  


  

During Anime Expo '09 weekend I ran into Udon Managing Editor Matt Moylan. I got the chance to interview Matt about the barrage of Capcom comics Udon is pumping out this year, possible future project details, and what we can expect from Udon at Comic-Con 2009.

Both comic book and video game fans should be pleased with the results.

Modern Mythology: So Matt, could you tell us a little bit about your role at UDON, and what Capcom-Comics projects are currently being worked on?

Matt Moylan: My title at UDON is Managing Editor, and I generally oversee production on all UDON's publishing projects. This means making sure stories and artwork gets done on time, communicating with our distributors and printers, helping guide the direction of our comics, and many other tasks. It's a lot of work but also very rewarding!

Currently we have a lot of Capcom projects going! There's our comic book line where we have 3 different series going Street Fighter II Turbo, Street Fighter IV, and Street Fighter Legends. Our Capcom artbook line is also growing a lot this fall as we add new books for Darkstalkers, Street Fighter, Mega Man, Phoenix Wright, and more. We've also got some new Capcom manga series beginning in January, which will be announced soon.

Modern Mythology: Just this week you released news about Street Fighter 3 back stories, and a full blown comic  to be released in 2010. Could you tell us what inspired the team to do a SF3 story, and how long its been in development?

Matt Moylan: We've wanted to do Street Fighter 3 stories for a while, and fans ask about it a lot too. We've been more seriously planning it for at least 2 years. There are a lot of great and unique characters in SF3, and we can't wait have them join our regular Street Fighter cast. But we won't just be added the new characters, but also showing what classic SF characters might be like in the SF3 era. So lots of fun stuff is going to be going down in this series.

Modern Mythology: A couple months ago you said that UDON was determining the new character(s) for the SF Legends series. Any new developments?

Matt Moylan: We're not ready to announce it yet, but we have decided who will be the focus of the next Legends series. I can say it's once of series artist Omar Dogan's favorite characters!

Modern Mythology: Final Fight is a new license you guys have obtained, with the crew showing up in the Turbo main story and also back stories. When will we see the spin-off comic hit stores?

Matt Moylan: Fan response about the Final Fight stories has been huge! We get emails requesting more Final Fight stories pretty much every day now. So it's definitely in the works. We can't do everything at once though, so the earliest you would see a Final Fight series is probably spring/summer 2010.

Modern Mythology: Checking out the new promo ads for MvC2 with the UDON artwork has made fans want a back story or a mini series for MvC2. Is this artwork a hint at a possible MvC2 project? Is there any possibility of all three companies Capcom, UDON, and Marvel coming together to produce such a project?


Matt Moylan: The MvC2 art was created specifically to promote the re-release of the game. No crossover comics are in the works at the moment, but if fans want to see a comic project like that they should let UDON, Capcom, and especially Marvel know!

Modern Mythology: Capcom recently announced that Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom is coming over to the states. You guys have taken on current games like Street Fighter 4, so would a Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom comic be too much to ask for?

Matt Moylan: Well, it would be pretty fun to tackle the Tatsunoko characters. Many of the UDON crew are big Tatsunoko fans, especially UDON Chief Erik Ko. The licensing rights on a Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom would be complex but not impossible. Perhaps it's best to see how American audiences accept the game first before thinking about comics.

Modern Mythology: UDON is translating 2 Mega Man artbooks for the U.S. soon, and you guys said two months ago in the Street Fighter Magazine interview that you are all huge fans of the Mega Man franchise. Can we expect news relating to a possible Mega Man comic to coincide with the releases of the artbooks?

Matt Moylan: Our first translated Mega Man art book was Mega Man Zero: Official Complete Works, which has been a fairly decent seller for us. Now we're doing the two new art books you mentioned for classic Mega Man, and Mega Man X, which is seems like fans are really excited about.

Next on our Mega Man list is - manga! We'll be translating a couple Mega Man manga series that fans have been asking for for a long time. If the manga does well, it could signal that it's time to try some original comics. So, hopefully all Mega fans who want new comics will run out and buy the artbooks and manga first. ;)

Modern Mythology: A few years ago at Comic-Con I remember getting Omar Dogan's limited print Chun-Li. Do you guys have anything rare or limited set-up for this years Comic-Con? What can we expect from your booth?

Matt Moylan: This year we've got all our main Street Fighter artists at the booth - Omar Dogan, Long Vo, Joe Ng, and Chamba - and they'll all be doing sketches, signing books, and selling Street Fighter & Darkstalkers prints.

We're also selling the con-exclusive Darkstalkers Tribute hardcover at SDCC. This 300page book features artists from all over the world celebrating the 15th anniversary of Darkstalkers with all new art pieces. Big names include Adam Hughes, J.Scott Campbell, Jo Chen, Mark Brooks, Yasuhiro Nightow and of course, the whole UDON crew! This book turned out even better than last year's Street Fighter Tribute, so fans will not be disappointed!

Modern Mythology: This year in October Long Beach will host the first ever Long Beach Comic-Con. What are your thoughts on the Con, and are you guys going to attend? If so, then are you planning anything special for the inaugural event?

Matt Moylan: Seems like the show has signed up some fun guests! We won't be attending this year, but we do try to pay attention to new shows to see if we might want to attend in the future. So maybe next year!

All photos courtesy of Udon Entertainment
www.udonentertainment.com

I remember standing in line at one of the Starbucks dugouts in the San Diego Convention Center at Comic-Con International about four years ago waiting to get my cup o' wake-me-up when I saw my first Slave Leia costume-player.

It was model Christy Marie walking by and making her busy rounds in the quasi-legendary "metal" bikini taking pictures with fans and droolers alike.

Over the years the Leias multiplied.  Maybe they were always there. But where there were once few now there are legions.  Notable midriffs from Attack of the Show's Olivia Munn to Veronica Mars' Kristen Bell have been exposed in the costume. And now another mass Slave Leia throwdown hits Comic-Con this year.

I'm not telling you to go, I'm just letting it be known that Leiasmetalbikini.com is the sponsor of this gathering at 1 p.m. Friday July 24.  Will there be some Leias in the house?  I would be surprised if there wasn't a good turnout.  The Slave Leia costume is like... the new stormtrooper.  

By the way, where you at, Christy Marie?

http://www.leiasmetalbikini.com/



Photo Credit: That's Slave Leia (Christy Marie) and I in a snapshot taken by my good friend at the San Diego Comic-Con a few years ago -- yeah, I took a picture with her too.

In this film publicity image released by Warner Bros., Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley, left, and Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter are shown in a scene from "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." (AP Photo/Warner Bros.)

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Harry Potter has conjured up a record-breaking witching hour.

Warner Bros. says "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" took in $22.2 million domestically from midnight screenings. That breaks the record set by another Warner blockbuster, "The Dark Knight," which grossed $18.5 million from midnight showings last summer.

The sixth installment in the "Harry Potter" franchise also topped the midnight haul of this year's biggest hit, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." The "Transformers" sequel pulled in $16 million from midnight screenings on its first day in June.

And the new adventure of the teen wizard raked in $10 million more from midnight screenings than part five, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix."

'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' opens tomorrow July 15.

DAVID GERMAIN
AP Movie Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Harry Potter has kept his fans waiting for two years, the longest school break they have had to endure for a new movie adventure about the teen wizard.

It's been worth the wait.

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth movie in the fantasy franchise based on J.K. Rowling's books, is the franchise's best so far, blending rich drama and easy camaraderie among the actors with the visual spectacle that until now has been the real star of the series.

The hocus-pocus of it all nearly takes a back seat to the story and characters this time, and the film is the better for that. It doesn't skimp on the Quidditch action, sorcery duels or occult pyrotechnics, but those are simply part of the show, not the main attraction.

Previous installments played out in a supernatural bubble bearing little connection to our ordinary little Muggle world. "Half-Blood Prince" brims with authentic people and honest interaction -- hormonal teens bonding with great humor, heartache that will resonate with anyone who remembers the pangs of first love.

Drop the magic act, and Hogwarts could be any school of self-absorbed geeks, jocks, popular kids and outcasts trying to maneuver through the day. Even the class bad boy provides insight into the behavior of bullies.

"Half-Blood Prince" escalates the peril for Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his best pals, Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), while giving the threesome that first collaborated as prepubescent kids their best platform yet to show their maturing acting chops.

David Yates, who made 2007's "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," returns to direct, his deepening confidence and comfort with the Potter realm on display throughout.

Three distinctive directors -- Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron and Mike Newell -- made the first four movies. Along with Yates on No. 5, the filmmakers all brought their own touches and baubles, but there was a sameness about the series that was growing tiresome by Yates' first one.

This time, Yates stays true to the Rowling recipe yet infuses the film with a freshness and energy that makes it seem like a new start, not the stale old chapter six it could have been.

The New York Post had video yesterday of NYPD officers struggling to arrest a street performer/dancer dressed as the Man of Steel.

Maksim Katsnelson (also known as "Superman" for the purposes of this post) was having a mock battle with super friend Frank Frisoli who was dressed as Batman.

The Post reports Superman didn't have sound amplification permits, resisted police and was apprehended and arrested by New York's finest.

The lead to the story reads: Superman can't fly but he sure can flail.

... That's just wrong.


For New York Post article and photos.

Usually, I don't push comic titles -- unless it's the Wolverine: Old Man Logan run (which has one issue left to go!) -- so I really try to make it mean something when I mention a certain book.

"The Unwritten" by Mike Carey and artist Peter Gross from Vertigo is one of the most engaging new series on the racks. After reading issue number three last weekend I am even more enthusiastic to stay on board with no expectation of jumping ship.

The story follows an adult named Tom Taylor, the son of the author of the famous Tommy Taylor books that feature a boy-wizard reminiscent of Harry Potter. It's a bit of novelty for the book's fans that Taylor's father has written a fictional character based on his son.

The thing about Tom is that the details of his true origins are hazy. With his life in danger and a host of strangers appearing to know more about Tom than Tom himself, the question is raised: what came first, the fiction or the man?

Peppered with literary references and a healthy dose of mystery, "The Unwritten" offers something fresh and an alternative for readers who enjoy comic book storytelling without the weight of continuity bogging it down.

Of course, that has always been the case with the Vertigo line. One may not love everything the imprint offers but what is served can rarely be described as the status quo.   

A veteran of the Vertigo Comics imprint, writer Mike Carey has entertained readers with his vivid imagination and storytelling ingenuity in Lucifer and Hellblazer. Carey has found a terrific co-creator in Peter Gross. Gross illustrates Tom Taylor's posture and expressions with the world-weary angst of an over-the-hill former child celebrity and a touch of vulnerability for a character who is discovering who he really is.


An Illustration of the cover to issue #1 of "The Unwritten" by artist Yuko Shimizu courtesy of DC Comics/Vertigo. 

 

Below are some details published at the San Diego Comic-Con International Web site announcing the Heroes panel at the Con this year.  However, it was conventionscene.com who listed the names of possible guests not mentioned in the Comic-Con blurb.

What interests me is that the names of Ray Park and Zachary Quinto are reported to be on the list.  We all know Quinto, who plays SYLAR, and maybe more know him better as the new Spock. It's interesting that Sylar may continue to play some kind of part in the series despite being the star of a resurgent movie franchise.

I'm not saying anything specific now, but last season's finale could have closed the door on that character.  Well, maybe the producers left the door open a little bit, but don't they always?

If this is the Ray Park I'm thinking about then most of you are familiar with his work as DARTH MAUL or TOAD from the X-Men movies. Some of us may see him in action as SNAKE EYES in the upcoming GI JOE flick.

Anyway, the the Heroes panel will take place off the San Diego Convention Center site Saturday July 25 at the Hilton Bayside Hotel Indigo Room from 3:15-4:15 p.m. 

After a preview trailer from season four titled "Redemption." there will be a Q&A with series creator Tim Kring, actor Jack Coleman (HRG), Masi Oka (HIRO), Adrian Pasdar (NATHAN PETRELLI) and Zachary Quinto. The guest stars mentioned as well: Ray Park, Robert Knepper, Dawn Oliveri and Madeline Zima.

The two-hour season four Volume 5 - "Redemption" premiere airs September 21 on NBC at 8 p.m.


From the official Comic-Con schedule:

3:15-4:15 Heroes: Exclusive First Look at "Redemption" and Q&A with Tim Kring and Castmembers-- Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for an amazing roller coaster ride as Heroes debuts a trailer for "Volume 5: Redemption." Participate in a Q&A session with creator Tim Kring and some of the cast. Indigo Ballroom / Hilton Bayfront 

JAKE COYLE
AP Entertainment Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- When the "Harry Potter" film series is completed, its three young stars -- Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint -- will have inhabited J.K. Rowling's universe for half their lives.

Radcliffe, who is now 19, was 11 when he was cast as the boy wizard for the series' 2001 debut. Watson, now 19, was 10 when she auditioned for the whip-smart Hermione Granger. Grint, the eldest of the trio, is 20.

"I've probably been Ron as long as I've been Rupert," says Grint, who plays Ron Weasley, the ginger-haired, perpetually hungry friend of Harry and Hermione.

The cast and crew have taken a break from filming Rowling's last "Potter" book -- to be spread out in two films -- to publicize the series' sixth installment, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," which arrives in theaters Wednesday.

Early reviews of the movie, the second one directed by David Yates, have been positive; both Variety and The Associated Press suggested it was the best "Potter" film yet. The movies have become progressively more complex, darker and realistic -- even amid the fantasy world of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

As the films have matured, so has the cast.

More so than any other installment, "The Half-Blood Prince," shows that Radcliffe, Watson and Grint have gone from children to young adults. With the end of the series and a sense of graduation looming, its young stars appear to have emerged from the most treacherous of adventures -- child actor stardom -- as remarkably grounded people and increasingly talented actors.

To watch the first "Potter" film is to be reminded how young the actors were when they began.

"For me to look back on the old films is an almost entirely destructive thing to do," Radcliffe says. "I just torture myself over it. I mean, I was young. I can't be held accountable for the performance I gave in the first two films: I was 11 and 12. I wasn't like Dakota Fanning ... who could seemingly just do it. It was very much a child's performance."

Such awareness is common for Radcliffe, who goes by "Dan." Shy as a child, he has grown into a quick-witted, animated 19-year-old who relishes frantic chatter about indie music, the behind-the-scenes aspects of filmmaking and his burgeoning love of acting. Michael Gambon, the award-winning British stage and screen actor who plays Hogwarts headmaster Dumbledore, says, "He's not a boy anymore. ... You can see it in his face."

The many lauded Brit actors of the "Potter" films have influenced Radcliffe -- perhaps none more than Gary Oldman, who played Sirius Black in several of the films, most notably the third, 2004's "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." Interestingly, Radcliffe pegs that film as the moment he realized he loved acting.

"Something happened at the age of 14," he says. "I started taking it more seriously, which meant I started having more fun."

He says his parents (who waited patiently in a room next door during the interview) always reminded him that he was "not obliged to just carry on doing this." But Radcliffe grew more confident and began considering his active imagination, which he attributes to being an only child, as his greatest asset as an actor.

"I would have always wound up in the film industry somehow, probably as an assistant director or something like that. It just so happened that it turned out this way," he says. "I want to be somebody who works with the crew rather than for himself."

Since then, his progress has been apparent with each new "Potter" film -- "a biannual review," Radcliffe calls it. He has begun moving away from Harry Potter, including a hilarious cameo in Ricky Gervais' TV series "Extras," and a well-reviewed performance in a revival of Peter Shaffer's "Equus," which ran in London in 2007 and on Broadway in 2008. Radcliffe played a deranged stable boy who completely disrobes -- a scene much written about media.

Radcliffe counts his last year as both his "biggest leap" and an "overwhelming blitzkrieg of camera flashes."

The soft-spoken Yates -- who is directing the final two films, to be released by Warner Bros. in November 2010 and summer 2011 -- is credited with helping the young cast mature.

"They're getting more experience outside of the film set and they're bringing that to the floor," he says. "People are acknowledging it for 'Half-Blood Prince' -- but you haven't seen anything yet."

Watson has a hard time recalling the beginning.

"This all happened to me so young," she says. "It's very hard to go back to that time and be like, 'Did I want to do this?' It feels very foggy."

Watson has acted in a few other films (a voiceover in 2008's "The Tale of Despereaux" and the 2007 BBC film "Ballet Shoes") but she has spent most of her spare time throughout "Potter" -- and this is very Hermione-like -- studying. This fall, she'll attend Brown University, says producer David Heyman. (Watson isn't discussing her plans publicly.)

"I would have exploded if I hadn't had school to ground me and focus me," Watson says.

She expects to continue acting, but says college felt like the obvious decision.

"The three of us have been working solidly since we were 10 years old," she says. "I just need a little bit of normality for a while, just a little bit of space to work out what I want and who I am -- all the usual stuff. It's just something I always wanted to do."

She plans to study literature and art, but she has also shown interest in fashion. She signed to a modeling agency about two years ago.

"Fashion's great because you're able to recreate yourself whenever you want," Watson says. "Dan had time to go away and do 'Equus' on Broadway and break out of 'Harry Potter' a bit, and I was always studying. So my way of getting casting directors to look at me in a slightly different way was modeling."

Heyman, who has been with the series from the start, said: "I see their individuality really shine through as actors and as people. But at the same time, I see the same kids who are very much still filled with a sense of wonder and still have a sense of humility and don't believe the hype."

The bemused Grint -- whom "Azkaban" director Alfonso Cuaron once said was the one most likely to become a star -- remains clearly grounded, even if he's used his earnings to purchase a hovercraft. That playfulness is perhaps an essential quality to Grint, who was never inclined to view acting as a job.

"I don't think I ever really made the connection of it being a career," he says. "It was just something that was fun to do. In the early ones, I don't think I took the acting too seriously. I just read the lines and got on with it. Over the years, you start to take it more seriously with different directors coming in."

Grint has starred in two films not yet released: "Cherrybomb," a boozy teen comedy set in Belfast, Ireland; and "Wild Target," a film about a retiring hit man that stars Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt.

He says he's enjoyed the "more adult" roles and feels more comfortable in front of the camera after an awkward adjustment: "This is something I was kind of thrown into," he says.

Teenage years are typically uncomfortable ones -- years that few would want stored on celluloid. Grint compares the "Potter" films to "a really expensive home video."

"I guess we've all kind of grown up," he says.

The paychecks have grown in tandem, too. Forbes reports that Radcliffe made $25 million last year. They are all legally adults now and are beginning to live on their own.

It's clearly a strange ride for the trio, who have only a vague sense of how this all began for themselves. Though they don't generally socialize offset, the camaraderie of going through it together has clearly helped.

"To have someone that's in the same boat as you is a relief," Watson says. "I wish in a way that there had been a fourth in the trio that was perhaps a girl, but they've been pretty great."

All three are certain of one thing: When they wrap the last "Harry Potter" scene, there will be tears. Their adolescence is forever intertwined with the movies.

"These are some of the most important years of my life and I won't be able to look back on any frame of this film without it being linked to a dozen memories," Radcliffe says.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

You don't have to settle for being the mercenary with a mouth if you can also be the hotshot with the power ring.

Actor Ryan Reynolds (Blade: Trinity, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) is reported to have been cast as Hal Jordan in the upcoming movie adaptation of DC Comics' Green Lantern. 

And I don't mean to imply it's a better part for Reynolds by my use of the term "settle" in the first sentence there.  I'm only saying that Lantern is a movie role from a script by Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim that I have heard more than a few positive things about.

Meanwhile, the "Deadpool" project is still a story under construction as a spinoff based on the character Reynolds played in Wolverine -- the notorious merc with a mouth.

Heck, if this estimated $200 million flick comes through, Reynolds will have portrayed at least three characters based from comics in the movies. Two of those characters could have lucrative film franchises.


Via Variety and Comic Book Resources and photo by Getty Images

And for those who wanna know, the comic characters are Hannibal King, Deadpool and Green Lantern.


 

By Ryan Riley, Contributor

There was a TV show that aired in the 1970's called "The Six Million Dollar Man". Lee Majors played a character named Steve Austin (no, not the pro wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin from the 1990's WWF), a USAF test pilot that was severely injured in a plane crash, which cost him an ear, an eye, his right arm and both of his legs. The U.S. government used experimental bionic limbs to replace the body parts Austin lost in the crash. These implants made him much stronger and faster than a normal human, and his bionic ear and eye afforded him enhanced sight and hearing. The procedure and the parts cost a little over 6 million dollars (hence the title of the series) and Austin was pressed into service as a covert government agent to offset the cost of it.

What, you might ask, compelled me to bring this admittedly ancient TV series up? Well, I was watching a CSI rerun on Spike TV earlier this week and I saw a commercial for a rechargeable hearing aid called "The Bionic Hearing Aid" being hawked by none other than Lee Majors. It even had this juicy little quote: "It won't cost $6 Million, but you'll think it's worth it!" At first I was a little disheartened to see that a Sci-Fi icon from my early childhood was being used to shill for a product. Then I gave it some thought and came to the conclusion that this is actually a pretty bad-ass product tie-in. George Foreman made money lending his name to a product that had nothing to do with anything he did in his prior profession as a world-champion boxer. At least Majors was lending his name to a product that (at least somewhat) has the same effect as one of the enhancements that his character had in "The Six Million Dollar Man".

That got me to thinking: what other sci-fi & fantasy concepts have been (or could be) used to advertise products?

Burger King: The Kingons

This clever little product tie-in came very recently with the release of the Star Trek remake a couple of months back. The product was a series of collectors glasses based on the movie, and the Burger King mascot, the King, was morphed into an amalgamation of himself and the classic Star Trek alien Klingons. The result was a silent trio with the King's creepy smile, the forehead ridges of the Klingons and transporter technology, all of which they used effectively to gank Star Trek collector glasses from unsuspecting schmucks. They even snagged one guy's girlfriend to add insult to injury, but to be fair he kind of dared them to do it.

Battlestar Galactica Toasters

This is by far one of the most brilliant sci-fi product tie-ins ever conceived. Anyone that has watched the recently ended "Battlestar Galactica" series on the Sci-Fi Channel (I just can't get myself to call it SyFy just yet) knows that the most popular slur used to refer to Cylons is the word "Toaster". So NBC Universal got the inspired idea to make a stylized toaster with an image of a Cylon Centurion complete with a LED light for an eye. It's being displayed at the San Diego Comic-Con later this month (it's only available for purchase online). The only drawback is that it's being sold as a collectors item with only 2000 copies having been made. It's a damn shame, because I would love to see Tricia Helfer and/or Grace Park on TV vamping it up to hawk this product.

Dogma/Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back/Clerks II: Mooby the Golden Calf

OK, this technically wasn't a product tie-in, as it was created specifically for the movies listed above, but it was so well conceived & executed that I just had to include it. Introduced in the movie "Dogma", the character of Mooby the Golden Calf served a dual purpose. At first glance, Mooby appears to be an analogue for popular cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse that became so popular that a lucrative business was generated around it as a result. But Mooby also served as a prime example of idolatry. For those of you not familiar with the term, it is the worship of things other than God. It was no accident that the character of Mooby is a golden calf, as it is a reference to a story in the Old Testament of the Bible in which people worshipped a golden statue of a calf. The board of directors for the corporation that owns Mooby got executed by Matt Damon's fallen angel Loki, but the concept survived as a chain of fictional fast food restaurants in "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" and "Clerks II".

The next "Trust me...I'm a doctor!" Dr. Pepper commercial: Dr. Who

This one doesn't exist yet, but it's not beyond the realm of possibility. Imagine if you will, Dr. Who running for his life from a group of Daleks. When he makes his escape in the Tardis, he turns to the camera and complains about the hectic schedule a time lord like him keeps. He then opens up a Dr. Pepper and slowly sips it down, exhorting the advantages of slowing down to savor all 23 flavors contained within like Dr. J & Dr. Dre before him. Think it's too far-fetched of an idea? It's a good sight more appropriate than trying to tie in Gene Simmons of Kiss into the "Trust me...I'm a doctor" campaign, and it would definitely increase the fanbase for the cult BBC hit show.

Found this trailer at the MTV Movies Blog.  "Pandorum" stars Ben Foster (Angel from "X-Men: The Last Stand"), Cam Gigandet (James from "Twilight") and Dennis Quaid.  Foster and Quaid are astronauts who awaken from artificial slumber to discover their memories and crew are missing.

There's more info in the trailer -- perhaps too much info in the trailer -- Nevertheless, it looks intriguing. 

It's Buffy and Spike, right?  No wait, it's all about Buffy and Angel... no?

All right, how about this Darkhorse Presents three-page online comic by Joss Whedon and artist Jo Chen with an appearance by new couple Spike and Angel?

It looks like another entertaining Buffy dream-sequence.  Or is it?

Read Always Darkest over at the Darkhorse Comics Web site.

This is the red band trailer for "Jennifer's Body" starring Megan Fox. It's a humorous horror about a possessed cheerleader (Fox) who kills boys at her high school. The film is written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama ("Girlfight").

The trailer looks a bit more horror than humor -- which is cool with me. You might get the same vibe from the trailer until you catch that Diablo Cody dialogue.

Oh yeah, WARNING: Once again, this is a red band trailer so there's some rough language and a little gore.

So check out the early release of the trailer for "Jennifer's Body."  It's Fox, it's Cody and it's all EVIL.

Event organizers confirmed several guest comic artists, writers and celebrities for the Long Beach Comic Con set for Oct. 2-4 at the Long Beach Convention Center.

Among the guests en route to the L.B. are Green Lantern, Blackest Night's Geoff Johns, the Power Girl duo of Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner, animator-artist Mark Dos Santos and Batman: Streets of Gotham artist Dustin Nguyen. 

Also, producer-writer Jeph Loeb, Aspen Comics' artist-colorist Peter Stiegerwald, Soulfire artist Joe Beneitez, comics fan and WWE wrestling champion Rob Van Dam, Uncanny X-Men and Galaxy Quest writer Scott Lobdell and 30 Days of Night creator Steve Niles.

Go here for a complete, updated list.  And here's the ticket information.

Henry Tsai of Los Angeles, third from left, wears an Optimus Prime costume as he waits in line with fellow "Transformers" fans for a first-look midnight screening of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" at Universal Citywalk AMC Cinemas in Los Angeles, Tuesday, June 23, 2009. The film won the box office by a narrow margin in its second week of release. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Giant robots defeated dinosaurs and woolly mammoths at the weekend box office.

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" finished the Fourth of July weekend in first place again with $42.3 million, according to distributor Paramount.

That put the "Transformers" sequel narrowly ahead of 20th Century Fox's "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," which took in $41.7 million over the weekend.

Based on estimated revenues Sunday, the two movies had been in a tie for the No. 1 spot with $42.5 million each. "Transformers" pulled ahead once final receipts were counted Monday.

The blockbuster sequel about the shape-shifting robots has climbed to $293.4 million domestically in just 12 days. Worldwide, the movie has taken in $593.8 million.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Hollywood.com:

1. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," Paramount, $42,320,877, 4,234 locations, $9,995 average, $293,355,885, two weeks.

2. "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," Fox, $41,690,382, 4,099 locations, $10,171 average, $66,732,868, one week.

3. "Public Enemies," Universal, $25,271,675, 3,334 locations, $7,580 average, $40,141,080, one week.

4. "The Proposal," Disney, $12,857,482, 3,099 locations, $4,149 average, $94,335,111, three weeks.

5. "The Hangover," Warner Bros., $11,268,413, 3,070 locations, $3,670 average, $205,038,233, five weeks.

6. "Up," Disney, $6,521,389, 2,656 locations, $2,455 average, $264,816,694, six weeks.

7. "My Sister's Keeper," Warner Bros., $5,788,327, 2,606 locations, $2,221 average, $26,518,582, two weeks.

8. "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," Sony, $2,534,228, 1,908 locations, $1,328 average, $58,508,070, four weeks.

9. "Year One," Sony, $2,323,843, 2,240 locations, $1,037 average, $38,304,392, three weeks.

10. "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," Fox, $2,043,288, 1,419 locations, $1,440 average, $167,706,959, seven weeks.

11. "Star Trek," Paramount, $1,769,967, 1,148 locations, $1,542 average, $249,838,139, nine weeks.

12. "Away We Go," Focus, $1,098,212, 506 locations, $2,170 average, $6,077,303, five weeks.

13. "Whatever Works," Sony Pictures Classics, $960,061, 353 locations, $2,720 average, $1,911,011, three weeks.

14. "Kambakkht Ishq," Eros, $768,542, 100 locations, $7,685 average, $768,542, one week.

15. "Cheri," Miramax, $388,994, 140 locations, $2,779 average, $1,023,909, two weeks.

16. "Land of the Lost," Universal, $306,025, 385 locations, $795 average, $47,622,470, five weeks.

17. "Terminator Salvation," Warner Bros., $296,372, 311 locations, $953 average, $122,678,310, seven weeks.

18. "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," Fox, $296,352, 303 locations, $978 average, $178,341,745, 10 weeks.

19. "Imagine That," Paramount, $278,244, 409 locations, $680 average, $14,780,593, four weeks.

20. "Under the Sea," Warner Bros., $266,728, 38 locations, $7,019 average, $11,632,367, 21 weeks.

Gainax, the company responsible for Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Neon Genesis Evengelion, held a focus panel after their American debut of the first Gurren Lagann movie where they took audience questions and feedback from the movie, and where they also made a surprise announcement for a new series they are currently working on with Mobile Suit Gundam 00 director Seiji Mizushima and video game company Square-Enix. Seiji Mizushima made a surprise guest appearance at Gainax's panel for the debut of the trailer. Fans cheered at the thought of two of the industry's best giant robot minds possibly colliding for one amazing scifi project.

Instead, the audience found out that the equation of: Gundam plus Gurren Lagann equals cute little girls that look something like the Powderpuff Girls, combining forces to destroy over-sized stuft pandas.

The animation looks top-notch as expected from Gainax, and director Mizushima  commented that with this project he wanted to make an anime that appealed to a wider audience than previous shows.

At first look this trailer might not be very impressive, but it is just a sneak-peek into what the teams are collaborating on. They did not give a release date at the panel, and I couldn't understand what the title of the anime was since it was in Japanese. So little is still known about this project, but with three dominant figures in the industry collaborating on it, the show is definitely on my list to check out.

Update:  After consulting a friend who could read the Kanji, I found out that the show is called Hanamaru Kindergarten, and the anime will be an adaptation from Square-Enix's slice-of-life comedy manga series.

Artist-writer Batton Lash signs the Simpsons crossover poster made up from the cover art of the three-part series. 

Dozens of Simpsons fans coursed through the aisles of Metropolis Comics (16509 Bellflower Blvd.) Wednesday July 1 to purchase the latest comics and meet the creators behind the pages.

Artist-writer Batton Lash (creator of "Supernatural Law"), Bongo Comics honcho Bill Morrison and artist Tone Rodriguez, creators of the "Simpsons Crossover Event" comic books, had their ink-stained hands full with signing individual issues, posters and sketching for fans.

The crossover storyline ran in Simpsons Comics, Bart Simpson and Simpsons Super Spectacular. The series was written by Lash with art by Rodriguez and edited by Morrison. The story features many of the familiar Simpsons characters along with their favorite superhero, Radioactive Man.

Having a story line in a comic series crossover with other books isn't unusual -- in fact, it's a common practice of the larger comic companies like Marvel Comics and DC Comics. Most of you regular Modern Mythology readers are well-acquainted with semi-recent crossovers like DC Comics' Final Crisis and Marvel Comics' Secret Invasion.

What happened only once in a while many moons ago is now de rigeur for the big two, with new major events happening several times per year throughout several comics titles.

But that's the joke behind having a major crossover with the Simpsons, says Lash's wife Jackie Estrada, who explained that Lash, Rodriguez and Morrison offer this crossover with a nudge and wink to the fans.

Lash was particularly busy signing posters and taking requests for sketches -- even if it was for characters he didn't regularly draw himself. Speaking of Lash's characters; on the signing table beside his latest Simpsons work were collected and single issue editions of his series "Supernatural Law."

The humor and horror premise of Law follows the adventures of attorneys Alanna Wolff and Jeff Byrd who represent the "creatures of the night."

The comic series was created 15 years ago from characters that had previously been published in The National Law Journal and The Brooklyn Paper. "Supernatural Law" is still published as a printed comic but it also has a following online, says Lash.

To read the "Supernatural Law" Web comic and learn more about the work of Batton Lash visit exhibitapress.com.

Check your local comics retailer for copies of the Simpsons crossover issues.

The folks at Metropolis Comics told me the Simpsons signing was a success and promised to keep us in the loop for any upcoming store appearances.

Editor (and busy artist) Bill Morrison (left) and artist Tone Rodriguez sketch for Simpsons Comics fans. 

Related post:

Simpsons crossover event at Metropolis Comics