At its core Comic-Con is just that, a comic book convention. While it has been overtaken in recent years by Hollywood’s marketing machine, there is still plenty to check out for hardcore comic book fans. Today, we shrug off the Hollywood machine and take a look at five comic book-centric panels that will be in the crowded, this-has-to-be-a-fire-hazard convention center in San Diego.
Archaia Entertainment: Immortals Graphic Novel – (Thursday 7/21, 1p.-2p., Room 32AB) - OK, so we’re not going to shrug off the Hollywood promo machine completely. Before the cast and filmmakers take to the Relativity Media panel presentation on Saturday, Archaia will premiere their Immortals graphic novel. Essentially a prelude to this November’s big-screen mythological action flick, Immortals: Gods and Heroes, it will hit stands in September and expands on the movie’s characters. Written and illustrated by some of the biggest names in comics, this graphic novel prequel promises to prepare you for the action packed film directed by Tarsem Singh.
Stan Lee, Yoshiki and Todd McFarlane – (Thursday 7/21, 1p.-2p., Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton S.D. Bayfront) – Legendary comic creators Stan Lee and Todd McFarlane (Spawn) are joined by Japanese rock superstar Yoshiki of X-Japan fame to create a brand new comic book hero in Blood Red Dragon. This is sure to be a captivating and entertaining Q&A panel, especially if there’s a drum set in the room.
DC Comics: Grant Morrison – (Thursday, 7/21, 12:45-1:45, Room 6DE) – One of the most innovative writers in comics today, Morrison will discuss his work in and out of comics, including upcoming works like Action Comics #1 and Supergods. If you miss this panel, don’t fret, Morrison will appear at the DC Superman panel on Friday, 3p.-4p. in Room 6DE.
VIZ Media Panel – (Friday, 7/22, 2p.-3p., Room 9) – The anime/manga giant continues their 25th Anniversary and follows up their appearance at Anime Expo with a panel to discuss new projects which they’ve held specifically for Comic-Con. No word on panel guests but there will be prizes including $25 iTunes gift cards as well as Viz Media merchandise.
Legendary Comics – (Saturday, 7/23, 2p.-3p., Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront) – Iconic writer/artist Frank Miller joins editor-in-chief Bob Schreck in Legendary Comics’ inaugural year at Comic-Con. Find out what Legendary has in store and jump at this chance to get your Frank Miller merchandise signed.
And since this is a comic book convention at its core, here's one more panel worth seeking out:
Dark Horse: Joss Whedon – (Saturday, 7/23, 3p.-4p., Indigo Ballroom, Hilton San Diego Bayfront) – Unless you’re a hardcore Comic-Con fan or bringing the family down to SD, you’re probably going to be winding down your 2011 Con experience Saturday afternoon. But before you bid farewell to downtown San Diego and the Gaslamp district, check out this one-hour panel with Con-favorite and fanboy legend Joss Whedon, who will be debuting a sneak peek of his new Angel and Buffy comics. A perfect way for comic book fans to cap their Con weekend and who knows, maybe he'll sneak in a nugget of Avengers info during Q&A.
Which comic book panels are you looking forward to this week? For a look at five of the biggest and ten smaller panels worth checking out at Comic-Con this year, check out our Fanboy Fix blog feed which we’ll be updating throughout Comic-Con weekend. And for an expanded look at the 10 biggest events at Comic-Con, jump on over to the Movies.com Top Ten list.
