Comic-Con 2011: Biggest stories, observations and moments

2. 'Y: The Last Man' writer Brian K. Vaughan to release new work through Image Comics

Can't say I haven't been waiting for this for a while.

I expect local comic shops is stock up for the Brian K. Vaughan ("The Runaways," "Ex Machina") fans out there who are going to pick this up out of fan interest in the creator and plain old curiosity. The creator-owned ongoing series from Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples will be called "Saga." A fantasy/sci-fi story story that follows the survivors of a galactic war. Staples has done work on DC Comics' "T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents" and IDW's "Mystery Society."

Staples, who has demonstrated her talents on a number of books, said she hopes this new project will be a long-term commitment.

"What am I working on for the next eternity (hopefully)?" writes Staples on her blog in reference to "Saga." "This is one I can sink my teeth into."

Rest easy Fiona, if "Saga" approaches the quality of Vaughan's prior efforts you'll have a long and rewarding gig on your hands.


3. Note to the "cosplay police:" Leave Adrianne Curry alone!

It's become clear to me that I should not rely on Ms. Curry to only dress in Slave Leia attire. That's Christy Marie's job. I should, instead, expect a bevy of expensive geek-tacular outfits inspired by everything from Star Wars to Aeon Flux.

Speaking of Aeon Flux... Curry's latest costume was so "character accurate" it caused some hurly-burly with the cops who reportedly told Curry she needed to cover her bottom. Here's one site that caught the "Cosplay Queen" after she had to wrap a red sweatshirt or something around the outfit. Trust me, there are plenty more revealing costumes around Comic-Con than this.

See the photograph of Curry from her Twitter below. If you grown ups want to see Curry's Flux outfit from another angle in an earlier design click here.

She also sported a dominatrix-inspired "Imperial Recruiter" outfit.  See more pictures on Curry's Facebook.

4. Fans get to see clips of the upcoming 'Adventures of Tintin' and they dig it

"The Adventures of Tintin" is based on the world famous comic book character Tintin and is directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis and Daniel Craig.

I wasn't one of the tireless masses who survived long lines to see this, but from what I heard the clips from the film were something to see. There are still going to be a number of detractors who aren't fans of motion capture performance films because the facsimile of reality and the "dead" look of the characters freaks them out (See term "Uncanny Valley").

But I managed to survive "Beowulf" and I expect to survive this. Those of us who enjoy watching Steven Spielberg's seamless visual storytelling and fans of Hergé's intrepid Belgian reporter Tintin are going to be intrigued enough to watch.

Word has it that this digital-animation-over-live-performance project takes a cue from producer Peter Jackson and his crew at Weta Digital and solves a lot of the problems with the character animation. Check out the teaser trailer and see for yourself.




5. Is The Comic Book Doomed?

While major comic companies delve into multiplatform business models, prohibitive print costs and declining sales may limit some mom and pop publishers to digital-only storefronts.

At least that was the point made by one prominent industry professional who was part of a group discussing the future of printed periodicals during the ominously dubbed "Is The Comic Book Doomed?" panel at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International.

The answer to the panel's overarching question was an emphatic "no." Comics will be around for a while in a number of formats. But more specifically, the question that day was what is the state of the monthly comic book?

Popular comics writer Mark Waid ("Daredevil," "The Traveler") set the tone for a spirited back-and-forth between himself and other panel members when he admitted he would hesitate to independently launch a print comic today despite his considerable fan following.

"I know what they would cost to print and I would lose my shirt," Waid said.

The panel moderated by Douglas Wolk included Comics Professional Retail Organization executive director Amanda Emmert, Laura Hudson editor of Comics Alliance, Cartoon Books publisher Vijaya Iyer ("Bone") and Waid.

Waid said he believes monthly periodicals will be healthy for the big two for quite a while because they have the deep pockets needed to put enough of their product out there and not take a staggering loss.

Iyer estimated costs of about 40 cents an issue on a print run of 3,000 for "Bone" when she and husband Jeff Smith launched the successful series years ago.

Waid said the costs today per issue to print are at least double those from the "Bone" example (80 cents per issue).

The panel considered what kind of sales numbers would be enough to make a comic a hit. The recent example of John Layman's "Chew" from Image comics was cited. "Chew #1" hit the direct market and had significant sales numbers (averaging more than 10,000 copies) in its debut two years ago.

Now, the imaginative comic about a federal agent who gets psychic clues from what he eats appears to be the success story.  

Some smaller publishers Emmert said she spoke with considered average sales of 7,000 to 8,000 copies of an individual comic as a successful run. And she defended the notion that a dip in monthly comics sales means the end.  

"I feel like it's a redefinition of perspective," Emmert said "Did sales go down because of the economy and things like that? Well yeah. Things are down but does that necessarily point to doom?"

Emmert said it's still about making a great book and getting out there and working hard to push a book for some time to build an audience.

Waid said the path for a new publisher and small publisher is a tougher road.

"I think your chances were much better breaking even twenty years ago," he said.

Iyer said the costs of publishing a monthly book is pretty much subsidized by sales and that readers enjoy them. However, she did admit "we actually do make our money on the trade books."

Listen to the entire "Is the Comic Book Doomed?" Panel here.



....And that's it folks

I didn't make it to many panels but I did get to check out a few of the panels that talked about new publishing models and the potential of digital distribution. As usual, these talks are too short especially for me since I'm interested in launching comic in the next six months.

The most interesting thing I heard at a separate panel with Waid and "PVP" creator Scott Kurtz is that Waid is planning a digital comics project of his own and will make an official announcement in a couple months as to exactly what that will be.

Will he announce it at an upcoming comics event?  Hopefully, I'll be there so I can share the details with you guys.