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San Diego Comic-Con 2003
Special Report
Don't let the name fool you, Comic-Con International in San Diego has
become a major multimedia/pop culture exhibition. Banners like the ones seen at
right can be seen on the ride into the city from the airport, and throughout the
neighboring Gaslamp Quarter. Angelina Jolie, Hugh Jackman,
Eliza Dushku, Quentin Tarantino and a host of other celebrities were out
promoting their next projects, as were a slew of movie, video game and toy
companies.
A number of Star
Wars licensees set up at the show, including Hasbro. Since I had
yet to see any of the 2003 Saga or Clone Wars figures in stores, I figured this
would be one of my best bets to at least come close to some
new Star
Wars toys, and spent some time hanging around the booth.
The centerpieces were the huge Clone Wars diorama and the life-sized cardback
and bubble. The diorama featured a cast of dozens of clone troopers and battle
droids, and also showed off the numerous Clone Wars vehicles. I particularly
like the Hailfire Droid and Attack Gunship myself.
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The life-sized cardback is just too much fun. With the help of a few weapon
props from Hasbro, you can pose as an action figure. We saw kids and
grandmothers excitedly grab blasters and pose in the bubble while their family
members took snapshots. Of course, I could hardly refuse such an opportunity
myself; as a matter of fact there at least half a dozen Star Wars action poses I'd
have liked to try. My only regret is that I'm a Clone Wars figure, although if
Genndy Tartakovsky wants to animate me, it'd be a fair tradeoff.
Hasbro also had several shelves of its currently-out
and upcoming figures. My camera's autofocus managed to screw up most of these
shots, but you can at least see the upcoming Throne Room Duel Luke and Vader
here, along with the first appearance of Anthony Daniels' face in
plastic, Lt. Faytonni.
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Other impressive figures were Bail Organa - who comes with a holographic
Obi-Wan - and the Fans' Choice Ralph McQuarrie Stormtrooper. I'm gonna do
whatever I can to track those guys down when they finally come out.
For a far
more detailed report of the whole con, including some general thoughts on the
first Clone Wars short, check out NotNews.org.
Written by Dave
Thomer
theLogBook.com Assistant Editor
 
Left: I spent a lot of time at the CrossGen Comics booth,
getting free sketches from several of the talented artists that work for the
company. Here, one of the company's daily raffles attracts a crowd.
Right: Likewise, the DC booth hosted a number of writers and artists
whose autographs I was only too happy to grab. These giant banners, featuring
art by Ed McGuiness (Superman) and Jim Lee (Batman & Nightwing), were
centerpieces of the entire con floor.
In this shot you can see what
the San Diego Convention Center
looked like in 2001, from one end
of the hall
to the Sails Pavilion. Since then, the center has doubled in size, and
Comic-Con takes up almost every inch of available space.
 
Left: After doing three panels on Saturday, the busiest day of the
con, I managed to get J. Michael
Straczynski's autograph in the designated area in the Sails Pavilion.
Fortunately, Joe's line was relatively short, unlike the monster lines for some
of the con's movie star attendees. Right: It wouldn't be a con without
several stops at the Archangel Studios booth to see my friends at Team Red Star. Standing above me from left
to right, Editor/Producer Jo Olson, writer/creator/pencil artist Christian
Gossett, writer Brad Kayl, 3D artist Paulie Schrier, and producer Nat Downes.
Left: Mark Waid, writer of Kingdom Come among other fine comics,
has written a number of my favorite comics over the years. I managed to catch
him at the DC booth on Sunday morning when he did an unscheduled signing
appearance. Right: One of the great logisitcal challenges of the San
Diego Con is being in the right place at the right time to get a sketch from
legendary artist George Perez. This was the second time in two attempts I've
managed to pull it off.
 
Left: Tom Beland's True Story,
Swear To God is the wonderful
tale of his real-life romance with Lily Garcia. My wife Pattie (far left) and
I had a great time meeting them at their table in the Con's Small Press Area.
Right: Upon hearing I hail from Philly, Golden State Warriors (formerly
the Philadelphia Warriors) fan Tom Beland drew this sketch of himself and Lily.
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