Superman Eats a Burrito
The comics are gone from Comic-Con: It's all about movies, video games & fatsuperheroes
Someone forgot to tell her that Wonder Woman wears pants now.
Just another low-key pair at Comic-Con.
These guys don't know they're past their prime.
Who you gonna call? A bad sequel!
Rule No. 1 of Comic-Con: Some people shouldn't wear spandex. Even if they have super powers.
"My favorite part of #SDCC so far is seeing what superheroes would look like super fat" one attendee tweeted.
Comic-Con International — ground zero of geek and nerd fandom — has taken over the San Diego Convention Center.
This year's biggest rumor isn't about the movies, video games or comic books that traditionally dominate Comic-Con. It's about the home of the conference possibly moving to Los Angeles when the San Diego Convention Center's contract is up in two years. Many feel that keeping LA an arm's length (or in this case a two-hour drive) away is essential to maintaining the spirit of a conference that rebels at the thought of being perceived as "mainstream."
Comic-Con brought Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, and Jonah Hill promoting the movie Megamind. The hilarious trio treated guests to jokes mainly poking fun at Brad Pitt, who is in the film, but didn't make it to San Diego for the largest comic book convention in the world. A Brad Pitt cardboard cutout filled in for the megastar and it ended up in Fey's lap.
When an audience member asked, "Who is your biggest nemesis?" Ferrell quickly shot back, "Charlize Theron. I can't really get into it, but there's a lot of bad blood there." Jonah Hill showed some support for Mel Gibson while he was on stage — jokingly of course. Hill isn't that crazy.
Luckily, the time zone difference makes it very easy for Houstonian to hear all of the latest news coming out of Comic-Con without having to wake up early.
Forget the comics, it's a movie thing
More and more, Comic-Con is becoming almost the Sundance of future summer (no-thinking) blockbusters. Hollywood is making more and more flicks about comic books and video games — things that appeal to the outer nerd. Here are the most promising movies pushed in San Diego:
The Clockwork Girl — This CG-animated feature is in pre-production with Alexa Vega (Spy Kids) set to play Telsa, the story's protagonist. Telsa, the Clockwork Girl, is a robotic girl that tries to live in a world of adults only. She is joined by Huxley, the Monster boy who constantly creates the conflicts within the story. Time to catch up on some comics.
Tron: Legacy — Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges is back playing Klu and Flynn in the newest sequel to the 1982 movie, Tron.
Before showing the newest clips of the film at Comic-Con, they showed a clip of all of the pop-culture references Tron has produced over the years, including the legendary Simpson's clip. The entire film will be shot in 3-D with no post production, which means it was shot like Avatar not Alice in Wonderland.
The original Tron, Bruce Boxleitner is in the sequel and said, "he was thrilled to get a chance to revisit a character after 28 years." It doesn't get any geekier than Daft Punk creating the score for the film.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World — Professional mumbler Michael Cera headlines a cast that includes Jason Schwartzman, Aubrey Plaza, and (yuck!) Brandon Roth. He'll get booed for Superman Returns.
The Expendables — Not really excited about this one. Wait for the DVD to come out.
Video Games
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 — Chun-Li (Street Fighter), Doctor Doom (Marvel vs. Capcom 2), Trish (Devil May Cry), and Super Skrull (Fantastic Four) were all confirmed as characters in this sure mega-seller, while Thor (Marvel), and Amaterasu (Okami) were leaked. It's taken nearly a decade for a new game in the series. The newest of a fighting-game trilogy, it will be available this Spring 2011.
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood — This sequel to Assassin's Creed II brings the adventure to Rome, which dramatically ups the scope of the game.
Halo: Reach — The manufacturers are trying to pump the campaign mode of the juggernaut Halo series, but most devoted gamers could care less about that feature.
Token Television Moment
Dexter - The trailer to the new season was shown and the cast spent plenty of time mingling. Michael C Hall is there himself with some swag — Showtime recyclable grocery bags. Yeah!
The Panel of Panels
Entertainment Weekly: The Visionaries — Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams in the same room. Paramedics stood at the ready for all geeks and nerds hyperventilating.
Ah, the finer things in life. I'm going to do everything I can to be there next year.
