San Diego Comic Con 2010: Epilogue
"Skyline" is a movie whose trailer premiered at Comic Con, but apparenlty, nobody bootlegged it for YouTubing (unlike the teaser "greeting" from Captain Jack Sparrow). There's a description of it online, but all you need to know is that it's a film about aliens abducting masses of people via tractor beams, pulling them into the sky like a giant 'Mega Maid.' From such things are advertisements born. A company called Flogo specializes in what I'd call "bubble cookie presses" that push a mixture of bubble fluid (mixed with some kind of substance with a high surface tension) through a stencil (in this case, one that looked like a gingerbread man), and then allowing the wind to carry this cohesive shape into the air. It was pretty cool and kind of unnerving when we first saw it far from the "Skyline" graphics on the building where the bubble machine was located. Needless to say, I want one of these machines, and further needless to say, I'm told I'm not allowed to have one. My dream of making actual "Lucky Charms" shapes float over neighborhood kids' yards to convince them that Leprechauns and cereal commercials are reality has once again been put on hold.
I don't want you to think that an ad campaign was the spiffiest thing I encountered, however. That honor (or perhaps a twisted version of it) goes to a book I was generously presented with: "The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle: The Thing Beneath the Bed." This handsome hardcover book looks, at first blush, like a wholesome Disney-esque tale, complete with a dewy-eyed little girl brimming with apparent innocence and an idyllic fairy tale setting. But... Well, let's just say there's a reason a seal on the front says "This [REDACTED] is not for kids. Seriously." Not in a "call the FBI" sense, though; the author (Patrick Rothfuss) and illustrator (Nate Taylor) aren't weirdos or anything. They're just... Hmmm. Y'know, the more I think about it, the more I'd say the story has the spirit of the original fairy tales the Brothers Grimm sanitized, though I'm at a bit of a loss to discover the same life-lessons. The book gave my sense of humor's "sick 'n' wrong" area something to smile broadly about, and I'll be curious when (if ever) I get to allow my son to find the book (completely by accident, I swear).
The awesome prospect of seeing "The Walking Dead" on my TV draws nearer. The trailer (though it is in crappy bootleg-vision) is viewable here for the time being, and it's making me wish they'd given this show a full 22-episode season. There was also a mock living room setup from the world of the comic book at SDCC, and as this (gore warning) photo shows, it's never too late to raise your kids to know what to reach for when zombies start becoming a problem. :)
I also heard tell that "The Lost Room" will continue in comic book form! This is still one of my favorite sci-fi show concepts, concerning the reality-bending properties of Objects from the titular Lost Room. It was a program that could have made a great ongoing series, role-playing game, or series of novels. One of the groups looking for these Objects sounds like the SCP Foundation's Church of the Broken God, making the show even more interesting in retrospect. I think this is, again, a case of me liking a show too much, ensuring it gets canceled, for which I apologize.
It must be a very slow news day when one nerd tries to stab another in the eye at with a pen. However, let that event happen at the San Diego Comic Con, and it gets 5 minutes at the top of the local news right after "America's Most Wanted." Local news does often try to jazz up minor events to make it seem like an axe murderer is hiding in your kid's mattress (which may be emitting a substance that might cause your children to turn into "Firestarter" pyrokinetics), but they tried to make it appear that the con was some kind of cauldron of seething potential violence just waiting to happen. It wasn't until I saw something posted about it at Comics Alliance that the more news-worthy aspect of the story appeared: The guy taken in was wearing a Harry Potter t-shirt, which is kind of like discovering a Mini Cooper is capable of ramming through the walls of Fort Knox or something...
No doubt I'll have more convention-related stuff later on this week, but at the moment, the wife, kid and I are going to start our recovery before diving in on all those new project ideas we had while behind the table. I can report that the North 40 collection is supposed to be out in October, just in time for Halloween. Nothing definite has been decided on a sequel, though the editorial staff at WildStorm really, really wants it to happen. The final decision lies a few rungs up the company ladder, and I'll pass anything I can when (and if) a verdict is reached. I do have the outline for another 6-issue "chapter," as well as ideas for so many more unnatural things to happen in Conover County. :)
Consider the following the internet version of "on hold" music while we await their decision:
- The one comic book hoodie I didn't see at the convention: the Hellboy hoodie.
- AICN reports that TNT's "Falling Skies" looks pretty good. I just hope they treat sci-fi a little better since their behavior with "Babylon-5 Crusade" and "Witchblade."
- Add this to "things I would never do without brain damage": skateboarding in freeway traffic.
- Here's an imaginative little platformer, The Illusionist's Dream. Help a mourning magician unlock his own mind... or just have fun changing into other forms to get keys. Either one works.
- Legendary Pictures unveiled a new Godzilla for their upcoming movie. Just don't make all of the Army's attack helicopters fly between skyscrapers looking for the monster instead of over them. Though I understand creatures as large as skyscrapers can be notoriously difficult to detect.
- "Hail, Druid Bob." "Hail, Druid Fred." "So, did you get Woodhenge set up near Stonehenge?" "Sure did." "Great. How about those plans to build another Woodhenge in that place mankind will call 'Ohio'?" "It's slow work convincing the builders we need a teleportation gateway over there in the first place." "Tell me about it. Half the contractors think these henges are giant sundials."
- Even if you don't plan to play it, this trailer for DC Universe Online is pretty awesome.
- Epic Coaster is one of those 'see how long you can last' games where you mostly jump, but having the fate of an entire roller coaster in your hands adds to the fun. Given how dangerous the ride is, I can't help but think it was designed by a "Roller Coaster Tycoon" player.