So far the most impressive buzz is gathering about the following: The Walking Dead, Tron, The Event and Cowboys and Aliens. But more reactions will shake out in the coming days.
On the "stabbing": look, it was only a matter of time before Hall H passions boiled over into violence. You have fiesty, hot-blooded nerds excited by the proximity of their favorite video games and sci fi, then driven mad by the sunburn of the Hall H line; sooner or later, some of them would come to blows. The fight wasn't over cutting in line (my first theory) but over saving seats (my second theory.) Some witnesses say the victim wasn't stabbed in the eye with a pen as reported, but scratched. More accurate details will doubtless come out but for now newscasters seem to enjoy pointing out that someone in a Harry Potter shirt stabbed someone else at Comic Con. Expect this to factor into arguments to move out of San Diego.
My favorite panels: Dark Shadows and The Walking Dead. My most disappointing panel: Roger Corman. Needed more visuals and less talk. My favorite news of the Con: Dark Horse is releasing 9 volumes of Milo Manara's work, in English, some of which has never been available in America.
True Blood has come to dominate the Con the way Lost used to, but with perhaps a greater feeling of urgency; people began lining up for Friday's 5:15 pm panel at 11 pm Thursday. By early Friday morning, the line was already at Ballroom 20's capacity. Obviously the early fan gets the worm but when you have to choose between sacrificing an entire night and day or foregoing your favorite panel... It kind of sucks the fun out of the Con. This is the kind of thing that makes a lot of my friends not want to bother going anymore.
The Walking Dead trailer was magnificent. They showed it twice and each time I got the shivers. The show really looks as if it will meet fans' hopes. They also had the best booth at the Con: an actual set from the show of a grisly mercy murder-suicide scene. (See pic.) They also had some video gizmo where your face could be put in its own clip of zombie footage. If this show delivers on its promise, it is going to be the next big thing. Expect The Walking Dead panel to have its own overnight lines next summer.
And since I sat through the Hawaii 5-O panel to make sure I got a WD seat; the new show actually looks pretty decent. It's kept the same cool theme music and stars Grace Park from BSG and Daniel Dae Kim from Lost. And they gave out the best swag of the Con: a t-shirt with a hula girl that says "I got lei'd - Comic Con July 2010."
JULY
io9 has their Must See picks up. Please note they are incorrect about Preview Night starting at 3 pm on Wednesday. You can pick up your badge then, but can't enter the Exhibit Hall until 6 pm. Hence Preview Night and not Preview Afternoon.
A comprehensive list of blogs covering the Con.
Passes are being scalped for $150 a day. Really?
Piranha 3-D has been booted from the Con due to a wet t-shirt scene. Rather than cut the footage, director Alexandre Aja has relocated his panel to the UA Horton Plaza theatre Thursday night. Fantastic PR move, Mr. Aja. Well played.
CCI is selling last-minute package deals for hotel rooms and 4 day passes. Blink and they'll be gone.
If you're driving into the city, ACE and Five Star are offering pre-paid parking at many downtown lots. For a permit, visit here.
Badge Pick-up News! If you don't have a Preview Night membership, you can still pick up your badge on Wednesday at the California section of the Atlas Ballroom at the Town & Country Hotel Convention Center. This only applies to Four Day or Thursday badges and only for Attendees. You can take the shuttle there as long as you have a Shuttle Pass. Town & Country Badge Pick Up Hours are July 21, 3:00 pm—8:30 pm and July 22, 8:30 am—12:00 noon.
JUNE
Good news for people who want the Con to stay in San Diego: turns out we bring in $163 million a year, quadruple previous estimates. I recommend reading this article, it's got some interesting details on where we spend and why.
On the gossipy side of things: the Suicide Girls booth has allegedly been banned from the Con due to selling an adult DVD to a minor. Booth babes will still be on the premises. Yes, this is legitimate news.
io9 has their predictions up of Comic Con's must-see panels. I predict the panels I want to see - The Walking Dead, True Blood and Terra Nova - will be in the top percentile of longest lines.
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