Hero Complex is the new home for Comic-Con coverage.

Right this minute, the L.A. Times has a group of writers, photographers and video journalists taking planes, trains and automobiles down to San Diego to cover what many consider THE entertainment festival of the year. Geoff Boucher described the convention on the front page of The Times this morning thusly: 

Like some mutant cousin of the Sundance Film Festival, Comic-Con has outgrown its original mission and its limited geography, which is making life complicated for the movie studios that have been going to San Diego in recent years to dazzle fans with stars and early footage from blockbuster films, sometimes more than a year in advance. Comic-Con is still the place where movie buffs go dressed as Darth Vader and browse acres of rare comics, toys, video games and DVDs. But in this era of people who use the Internet to spread their entertainment passions like apostles, the expo is also the place to spark pop-culture wildfires.

"Comic-Con has become the single most relevant event for the movie industry now. All you have to do to see that is to look at the films that are successful right now, and it's all comic-book event movies," said Jon Favreau, the director of the hit film "Iron Man." "Last year, before we went to Comic-Con, nobody was talking about 'Iron Man,' but by the end of our presentation to those 6,500 fans [in the main hall] they were sending instant messages and writing blog posts, and we instantly had a buzz around the world."

If that story isn't enough, Jevon Phillips and Denise Martin combined forces to create a pre-con photo essay that you can find right here. Expect multiple posts, photos and videos every day from Comic-Con here on Hero Complex starting today through Monday including exclusive interviews with all the movers and shakers and some of your favorite stars.

-- Tony Pierce

Photos of last year's Comic-Con by Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times

On Sunday, I saw “The Simpsons Movie” for the second time, and I couldn’t help but smile when I saw Jean’s name flash on the screen.  As a writer and producer for the film and the show-runner for the series, Jean had a year of seven-day workweeks and days at the office that stretched well into the night.  I got to talk at length with Jean (as well as with Brooks, Groening and fellow “Simpsons” stalwart Richard Sakai) for a Calendar Weekend cover story that ran on the eve of the film’s release, and he looked weary but plainly excited about the movie.  “I am really looking forward to the response; I want to see what the public and the critics say. I know we are very happy with the movie.”  (Sakai, an especially wry character, had a different response when I asked him his thoughts on the movie: "It just won't die.  I keep thinking we're done.  But it just ... won't ... die."

I haven’t talked to Jean since the movie opened July 27 to stellar reviews and a robust $74 million at the box office (it's total has reached $128 million in the U.S. as I write this, $236 million worldwide), but I hope he’s enjoying the success -- and some time off.

“The hours and the schedule are difficult, absolutely, but that’s what it takes to do a film and TV show at the same time,” he said during the interview.  I pointed to his wedding ring and asked, “How’s that going?”  He laughed.  “My wife is very understanding.  Very, very understanding.  Can you put that in the story?  Please?  And can you put in that I love her very much?”  That didn’t make it in the story, Al. Sorry.  But I'm hoping this blog item counts for something.

Jean's name popped up in The Times on Monday in a fun story by my colleague Jerry Crowe on all the sports stars who have passed through Springfield, while Lorenza Munoz (who was my partner covering the crime beat in Orange County a decade ago) wrote up an insightful piece on the global resonance of “The Simpsons” for our business section.

-- Geoff Boucher

• Action/adventure: "Razor Sharp"
• Animation: "Fission"
• Comics-oriented: "Rocketboy"
• Documentary: "Moebius Redux: A Life in Pictures"
• Horror/suspense: "Eli"
• Humor/parody: "Zombie Love"
• Science fiction/fantasy: "Man vs. Woman"
• Judges’ Choice Award: "Moebius Redux: A Life in Pictures"

With Jean "Moebius" Giraud's "Moebius Redux" being the big winner, here's a tease (actually just the intro) to the Heavy Metal magazine co-founder's winning film. Maybe we can get more later.

With 55 films, you have to be pretty good to win, place or even show.  Eventually, I'll see "Rocketboy," but if you saw the popular Batman: Year One trailer a few years ago, you know that it's possible to make a really good fan film with comic book characters.  Everyone doesn't look as if they're running around in their underoos, and the actors aren't constantly jeering at the camera.

A few years ago, I saw the fan film trailer for "Grayson."  I was blown away by the quality, the action and, truthfully, the storytelling that came across in a short span of time.  Just goes to show you that Hollywood is not the only place to bring it to you.  All right, I'll show you:

Grayson: Former Boy Wonder, Dick Grayson, emerges from the shadows of retirement to avenge the murder of his legendary mentor.

-- Jevon Phillips

Already a TV show, the Danish TCG (trading card game) incorporates the same type of basic structure with monsters battling and energy points that can be lost as the fight wears on.  Chaotic, though, takes a more interactive approach, according to the news release:

Chaotic's revolutionary feature is its patented alphanumeric code technology. In the cutting-edge, multimedia Chaotic Trading Card Game, each paper trading card has its own code that not only ensures that virtually no two cards are alike but also enables players to upload their collection of Chaotic cards free to battle and trade online at the Chaotic Trading Card Game portal.

Crazy, but definitely one of the most inventive ways to draw young eyes to the website and create online communities, which will then be able to take advantage of the chats.  I got to take a test run of the basic card game without all the multimedia bells and whistles.

Drew Nolosco, a member of the team that designed the Chaotic game, was nice enough to give me a quick lesson.  Drew believes that card games like Chaotic and Magic the Gathering "encourage social play, help kids strengthen basic math skills" and even helps develop "tactical" thinking.

Though it is designed for 8- to 12-year-olds, I picked it up quickly.  Wait ...

Anyway, I won't go step-by-step through it, but suffice it to say I have now mastered the location decks, attack decks, the mujik (magic & sound combined -- cool concept) cards, the monsters and the little red rock things.  All in one lesson. And now I'm ready to challenge any 10-year-old who has the guts!

-- Jevon Phillips

I dropped by their website and their MySpace page and they sound pretty good. And Fall Out Boy has already shown that using a cape-inspired name can lead to big things, right?

Anyway, I called up Dana Gordon, the publicist for Comic Book Heroes, and put the question to her: Are these guys true comic-book geeks? And if so, who are their favorites? The answer came back quick. And, if these guys become the Next Big Thing, please remember you read about them here first:
Ned (lead singer): “Batman because he's an ordinary guy that does amazing things.”
Collin (drums): “Ghost Rider is my new favorite, definitely! Skulls, flames, motorcycles … that rocks!”
Sam (lead guitar): “Captain America because he represented the spirit of America and good morals.”
Steve (bass): “I'd have to say Aquaman because I've always had a connection with sea creatures.”

I heard Led Zeppelin once had an unusual connection to a sea creature — a mud shark to be specific — but these guys are way too young to hear that story....
-- Geoff Boucher

 

Join us as we discuss flannel shirts, coffee and catching fish with newspaper…

That was a funny line from the invitation sent out the other day by the good folks at Secret Headquarters, the signature emporium for underground comics and graphic novels over on Sunset. What’s the event? It’s a visit next Friday, Aug. 10, by Peter Bagge, the idiosyncratic cartoonist (aren’t they all?) who may be best known for creating the slouching Seattleite named Buddy Bradley, who ranted and meandered through the rainy Emerald City and the pages of the series "Neat Stuff" and "Hate."

It was great watching those Buddy tales unfold from the mid-1980s up through the 1990s to see the scruffy side of the coffeehouse metropolis. If you want to hear the powerful sonic angst of grunge, buy a Nirvana, Pearl Jam or Mudhoney album; if you want to chuckle at the scene’s street-level ennui and overreaching self-importance, pick up a copy of "Hate" from Fantagrahics.

Bagge’s kinetic characters jump (and scream) right off the page. His work has appeared in Reason, Hustler, the Oxford American and the Weekly World News — now how’s that for a resume? He also did some parodies for Marvel Comics of the Hulk and Spider-Man and quite a few record covers for a number of indie-band stalwarts.

The reception is open to the public; I know I’m going to try to make it by. The free event starts at 8 p.m., and a good-size crowd is expected. Bagge doesn’t make it to L.A. often and there's curiosity about "Apocalypse Nerd," the six-part series due early next year from Dark Horse Comics.

-- Geoff Boucher

(Art by Peter Bagge, image courtesy of Fantagraphics.)

(All of this makes it especially disappointing that Howard is now known best as the title character of the excruciatingly bad 1986 film.)

Gerber also wrote a "Phantom Zone" miniseries I loved as a kid, and he did a definitive run on Man-Thing and many other quirky characters that always seemed more sly and strange than the superhero stiffs who battled monologue villains in other titles. Gerber also wrote the Marvel Comics adventure of KISS, cementing his persona in my mind as "the weird guy." He also created Korvac, the bad guy who single-handedly offed the Avengers. These days Gerber is writing "Dr. Fate" for DC.

Why this Gerber retrospective? I got a note this morning about Gerber from Hero Initiative, which endeavors to help comics creators past and present deal with major financial and health challenges.

Why? It turns out that Steve Gerber is in a bind and is turning to the public for help. He's a candidate for a lung transplant at UCLA, but to get on the formal waiting list he needs a place to recuperate here in Southern California. Keep reading to see a letter from Steve himself on the situation.

-- Geoff Boucher

Here's a note from Steve Gerber:

Hi.

Before I even start, allow me to apologize for the mass mailing and, even more so, for dumping this in your consciousness at all. If the problem weren't extraordinary,  I wouldn't be writing this note.

As you may have heard, I'm a candidate for a lung transplant at UCLA's Heart & Lung Transplant Center. (If you haven't heard and are interested in some details, I wrote about it here, on my blog.)

I've hit a snag, however.  UCLA won't put any patient on the waiting list unless he or she has a place to stay in the L.A. area for six weeks to three months after the operation, and a 24/7 caregiver for that same period. Unfortunately, insurance doesn't provide coverage for this kind of post-operative housing or care.

I've asked a handful of relatives and very close friends to help out with the caregiving. One way or another, I think it'll be possible to deal with that aspect of the problem.

Housing is another matter, and that's why I'm writing. I'm hoping someone out there knows of somebody with a spare room or guest house to rent, or an apartment or condo they want to sublet, or a stray bungalow, or an oversized doghouse in the backyard of a McMansion -- whatever -- anyplace where, for a relatively modest rent, a caregiver and I could spend my recovery time. The only other alternative is a recuperative hotel, which, frankly, is prohibitively expensive.

If you happen to know of any such available housing, please let me hear from you.  If not, I'd appreciate it if you'd just keep one ear open and let me know if you hear of anything over the next month or so. I'm getting along well enough, and I'm not likely to keel over in the next ten minutes or anything, but time is of the essence. UCLA would like to put me on the transplant list as soon as possible.

Thanks for reading this.  Hope I haven't spoiled your weekend. 

-- Steve

To email Steve, click here.

(Image of Howard the Duck courtesy of Marvel Comics)

Here are a few of our personal highlights, low points and some of the projects we saw at Comic-Con that we look forward to catching in the future.

Geoff Boucher

Highs: The personal highlight for me was getting to spend a couple of hours with Neal Adams, right, the greatest comic book artist. He's returning to "Batman," which I wrote about here.

Lows: This is easy: It was the unexpected trip to the hospital and my 5-year-old son mentioning casually that I look like Two-Face. Read about that sad tale here.

Future: "Iron Man" can't get here soon enough for me. I visited the set recently and left impressed, but after seeing the footage Jon Favreau brought to Comic-Con and Robert Downey Jr.'s droll performance as cynical Tony Stark, I'm honestly excited. And let's not forget, this will be the first true L.A. superhero in this recent renaissance of cape movies. What's cooler than that? 

Sheigh Crabtree

Highs: I love it when worlds collide, so sitting in the "Iron Man" panel and turning around to see David -- co-owner of Secret Headquarters in Silver Lake -- right behind me felt like kismet. He's the person who recommended Alison's Bechdel's memoir "Fun Home" to me. I was looking forward to Bechdel's speaking engagement in San Diego for a few weeks. True to form she gave an unvarnished and very thoughtful presentation about her 25-year career. It was a charge to interview with her afterward too. I'm also glad I went to the Lulu Awards, where I met illustrator Marion Vitus and Slave Labor Graphics editor in chief Jennifer de Guzman. They opened the door to a room I haven't spent nearly enough time in. Then there's Christopher Butcher, a buyer from the Beguiling, who gave me a bunch of excellent reading recommendations that separated me from a heap of cash at the Drawn & Quarterly booth. Same goes for Gina Gagliao at the First Second table. Last but not least, the costumed fans in Hall H who asked panelists questions in character. They provided the best comedy at Comic-Con. "Angry Black Man," the Bob Evans-like "Bob $tencil,""Optimus Prime the Cubs fan" whose batteries were dying and the scantily clad "Slave Barge Leia": They were living proof that programming studio comedies at the Con can be a great move. Fans take the ridiculousness and run with it. Ironically, more than a few notable actors promoting horror films and thrillers looked terrified during the Q&As and did their movies no favors. That unease was crystallized when Milla Jovovich said to a fan: "What? This is all Chinese to me."

Lows: Comic-Con's battle between edge and respectability played out in Hall H. The material edits filmmakers are subject to when it comes to screening mature content in that room, and their vocal complaints, have inflamed tensions out in the audience between families with young children and those over 18 who want to see harder, uncensored content. The strain was particularly evident when small children were booed at the microphone during Q&As and when certain panelists forgot who was in the audience and made inadvertently blue-streaked comments.

I was really looking forward to seeing Aaron Renier in some shape or form. He's the artist-writer behind "Through the Hall of Biodiversity" (Papercutter #1). It's one of my favorite mini-comics from last year ("Okay... draw... a water buffalo shaving a... cat."), but Renier was busy working on his new book. Otherwise, not so thrilled about the ridiculously short battery life on my MacBook and the goons looking for fights in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. Worst of all? I never got to take a photo of Shaky Bacon with Kevin Bacon, who was in town promoting Fox Atomic's "Death Sentence."

Future: Based on the teaser poster alone, I'm anxious to see "Sweeney Todd," as well as "The Spiderwick Chronicles" and the next six "Narnias," opening in consecutive Mays through 2013. Even though NBC's "Bionic Woman" pilot is trying so hard to nail every story point on the planet that it hurts to watch, I hope to see that show find its legs (right ear, right eye, etc.) on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m.

Jevon Phillips

Highs: The enthusiasm shown at the "Iron Man" panel and the singing at the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" musical screening; interviewing Adrian Pasdar, Michele Ryan and Clive Barker (Nic Cage was OK, too); fans being inventive; seeing friends from Beyond Time Comics with a new project: an 8-month-old baby!

Lows: Getting stiff-armed by security so often that I have hand prints on my chest; missing the panels/presentations of "Heroes," "Battlestar Galactica," "The Sarah Connors Chronicles," "Fanboys" and a few of the comic book updates (Marvel and DC); hearing Geoff recount the cowardly attack that befell him; and having a waitress throw the check at me and some friends because she thought we were not going to tip her (we were still tallying ... then we stopped).

Future: For Comic-Con:  I honestly don’t know what they can do about the crowding or bumping heads in terms of big programming.  Maybe allowing attendees (and media) to choose certain panels they want to go in advance, after they’ve announced the lineup, would help alleviate the lines.  Folks would already know that a panel was at capacity, or they’d know that they could get in and wouldn’t have to line up for so long.  Much of that was better this year, but they still have some work to do.

For me: Really want to see "Iron Man"; have to see the development of "Bionic Woman" and "Sarah Connors Chronicles"; need to see where "War World Hulk" is going; and I am already clearing some time to stand in line for next year's "Heroes" panel.

Spencer Weiner

Highs: As I sit and decompress from the Krazy loooong weekend that is Comic-Con, the thing that was most striking to me was watching so many artist-creators and the people who love them sharing the love, so to speak. I especially enjoyed the people who participated, not as spectators but as part of the creative community. OK, a personal highlight: thanking Matt Groening for my one and only experience of laughing til "D'oh!" ... well, you know.

Lows: The low point was not being able to meet Kevin Bacon.

Future: Return to Comic Con 2008 with my son in tow with, hopefully, fab matching costumes, probably something from my personal hero, Sergio Aragonés!

Photos: Spencer Weiner / LAT

The anime rooms were at about 75% capacity, still showing many programs that may not ever air on U.S. TV.  A group of people near the rooms displayed handwritten "free hugs" signs, and commenced to squeezing passersby.

The Browncoats –- fans of “Buffy” and “Firefly” creator Joss Whedon -– congregated in a room as raffled prizes were dispersed. Last year, the space was big enough to accommodate the group, but this year there was at least three times the number of people who could comfortably sit in the room.

And then there was the final talkback -– Comic-Con’s feedback session where the fans are allowed to express their complaints, or compliments, to an assembled group of Comic-Con show runners. More than 20 people paraded in front of the microphone with various amounts of frustration and praise.

The positives: an excellent shuttle service (could use more stops), great disabled-access folk, a general feeling that the crowding had subsided on Saturday in contrast with last year’s craziness (though the same number of people showed up) and kudos on keeping the show relevant and continual. The negatives: courtesy not being enforced (cellphones, line cuts), strollers in the aisles bruising up ankles and calves, giveaways being gone too quickly (not a function of the Con, actually), being hassled by the elite security personnel and the debacle at Ballroom 20 that left possibly hundreds of "Heroes" fans out of the panel. An aside to Ballroom 20 were numerous complaints about the announcer. Both her style (someone called her a "'hot-pants-wearing show guide") and her tone were questioned: Many called Erin Fetters' dry wit and sarcasm demeaning, as if she were talking to children and name-calling. I wasn't offended by her comments, but I can see how another opinion could be reached.

-- Jevon Phillips

Why else invite Yi onstage for Sony's "Superbad" panel Saturday night in front of a room full of 6,000 fans and media in San Diego? She's not even in "Superbad."

And unless the personal practices of Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank were the inspiration, being "Superbad" costar Michael Cera's girlfriend alone wouldn't seem relevant enough to earn Yi a spot on the overflow dias, alongside Apatow regulars Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Jonah Hill, producer Shauna Robertson and newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse. (Although Yi did have a memorable part as the stoner Jodi with Rogen and Hill in Apatow's "Knocked Up.")

Her surprise appearance must be because Yi is seriously funny, and Comic-Con's massive Hall H is the perfect venue, not only to launch new movies but also for new stars. And Apatow is nothing if not loyal to his comedy coterie. But there may have been something more intentional afoot, not only bolstering Apatow's rep as the sage of send-up but also demonstrating his commitment to finding funny ladies in addition to his headlining slovenly guys.

"Knocked Up" inspired David Denby, writing for the New Yorker last month, to devote 4,872 words to Apatow's misogynistic breed of romantic comedy and its presumed detriment to a future generation of comedic heroines.

Apatow's reply a few weeks later, if we choose to read it that way (and I do), was to use his formidable ability to break new talent by shining a spotlight as bright as the sun on Charlyne Yi at Comic-Con.

Unlike the hot, straight-woman foils Apatow usually casts against his slobby leads, Yi is straight out of Apatow's "geeks rule" school of comedy, with her dark glasses, shy smile, bewildered stares and awkward snorts. Only helping to grease the wheels of Yi's spastic comedy on Saturday was a rich rotation of Cera's swanning female fans who made marriage proposals and offered reproductive services during a side-splitting Q&A.

After each absurd Cera fan question, Apatow -- the embodiment of a stern camp counselor, mixed with a little Bill Murray as Herman Blume in "Rushmore" -- would toss it over to Cera's real-life girlfriend and say, "Charlyne Yi, what do you think about that?"

She stammered, smiled and choked on her words like an eighth-grade algebra whiz tossed into a parliamentary debate. Her guffawing, wide-eyed surprise and garbled innocence flipped the room every time.

It was as if Apatow was the cannon, Yi was the human cannonball, the crowd was their net and they landed every launch. (Cera wasn't too shabby on the spot either.)

Yi is a Southern California native in her early 20s and, according to her MySpace page, she's a resident of Los Feliz.  She performs locally at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, the Improv and El Cid, and she's done a few small TV gigs on "30 Rock" and "Cold Case." Her next film role is in the Will Ferrell comedy "Semi-Pro," which sounds a lot like "Talladega Nights" but with basketball instead of NASCAR.

I have yet to find any video from the "Superbad" panel at Comic-Con, but here's an example of Yi's  happy, often speechless comedic style on YouTube.

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Man on the Street -- Charlyne Yi

As a newbie to "the Con," I was struck by just how friendly -- overwhelmingly friendly -- everyone was. Costumes, smiles and so much talent.  Wookies, Klingons and fairies -- oh my. And Batman and Robin, father and son John Whitt and Adam Whitt, 12.  The dynamic duo, hailing from Minneapolis, enjoyed their time in San Diego.  It warmed this photographer's heart to see them sharing a really cool experience, fully.

-- Spencer Weiner

Announced last year, Diesel's "Hannibal the Conquerer," telling the story of the African king of Carthage famous for crossing the Alps with a herd of elephants, has a release date of February 2008. And "BUFU," an animated sketch comedy show, comes from the minds of comedian Jones and "Everybody Hates Chris" creator Ali LeRoi.

With a slate of 16 new shows coming out on varying dates, BET President of Entertainment Reginald Hudlin says the network is set to release "the biggest array of black programming ever."

"These shows ['Hannibal' and 'BUFU'] will help put people on notice about the new direction that we're going in," said Hudlin. "Everything that's being put on makes a big statement" about the network's commitment to programming.

Senior Vice President of Animation Denys Cowan was encouraged by the "great response" the shows received at their Comic-Con panel. At last year's panel, a short entitled "Bid 'Em High" was a highlight, and although the short called "Read a Book" was out before the convention, it also garnered some attention this year.

"But we're working on some things that will be bigger," says Cowan.

-- Jevon Phillips

Life-sized bust of Arnold Schwarzenegger as T-800, $550. Here's a conversation piece. It shows our right honorable governor but with half the flesh on his face blown off, revealing his cyborg skull and a glowing red eye. It's from a movie, I'm told. Well, that's a relief.

Chewbacca backpack, $40. A hot item this year. The kind-faced furry friend may not be the best for schooldays, though. The hair clogs the zipper, and on a hot afternoons its like wearing a huge back toupee.

ThunderCats sword, $49.95. A spiffy replica of the bejeweled weapon of Lion-O, the leader of the brave feline beasties. I didn't know of this; it's from my colleague Jevon, who is pretty damn geeky apparently. 

FOR THE RECORD:  Jevon's geek cred took a hit.  Lion-O is the ThunderCat leader, not Lionel as earlier posted.

Robin action figure, $200. The 1979 doll (sorry, that's what it is) from Mego is still in the box. I noticed it said "Les Extraordinaires" on that box. Simple reason: "It's from Canada," the dealer told me. "But I can't guarantee that it wasn't sold in Detroit." Well, forget it then.

Photo: Spencer Weiner / LAT

-- Geoff Boucher

I was walking alone to my hotel after late Saturday night interviews with Neal Adams and Darwyn Cook. I was also talking on my cell to Spencer Weiner, the photographer for The Times shooting Comic-Con. Spencer heard everything that happened next.

I (literally) bumped into a young guy walking with three friends in the Gaslamp Quarter. They were tattooed and wearing the street uniform of baggy pants, white T-shirts and shaved heads. The guy started mad-dogging me, rasping threats. I told him I was just walking by, no offense meant. He got in my face, and I told him it would be stupid for us to make something out of nothing.

"You calling me stupid?" "No, I'm not." Then I stopped talking, because my mouth was bleeding. One of his buddies, standing off to my side, cold-cocked me, and the ring on his fist took a chunk out of my face. I never saw it coming. I was at the emergency room until dawn.

They stitched up the triangular gash on my face and put staples in my scalp for the nasty cut on the back of my head left when I hit the curb. The cops at the scene said this sort of incident isn't that rare, and the ER folks said I was lucky the guys didn't kick me, which might have happened if the street hadn't been packed with closing-time crowds headed home.

Today, I talked to Bill Weakley, a Seal Beach antiques dealer who nodded solemnly when he saw my face. "A guy I know came down here for a show and got jumped almost the same way. He lost an eye."

None of this gives Comic-Con or San Diego a bad rap. It's just a reminder that the real world doesn't stop when the fantasy crowds wander the city with their convention badges marking them as new in town.

-- Geoff Boucher

Turkel was here promoting the 25th anniversary of "Blade Runner" and the release of the souped-up version that Ridley Scott has made by melding the original theatrical release with alternate versions and even some new footage.

Turkel was not only in "Blade Runner"; he was the ghostly barkeep at the hotel in "The Shining." That wasn't his first film with Stanley Kubrick: "Kirk Douglas and I are the only living members of the cast from 'Paths of Glory,'" Turkel told me.

"I miss Stanley so much. I cried for a month when he died. He was the inspiration of my life."

Turkel said Kubrick would arrive on set in rumpled clothes with a pure focus on the movie at hand. "One of these" -- Turkel pulled out a black plastic comb -- "never touched Stanley's head."

Turkel has a salty mouth and a backslapper's grin. "Let me tell you this, when I did 'Blade Runner,' there were two or three times where he [Scott] would say, 'Joe, do you think Stanley would have shot it like this?'"

Turkel said he had to catch his ride. His last thought was on how different Kubrick was from his severe reputation.

"He was as sweet as sugar."

-- Geoff Boucher

Comic-Con visitor Brooks Klein dresses as a biker scout from "Return of the Jedi," with a toy-sized version of himself, while touring the halls of San Diego Convention Center. "Bikerscout" and his mini twin travel the world, attending events and participating in general mayhem. You can see their adventures at bikerscout.net.

Photo: Spencer Weiner/ Los Angeles Times

-- Jevon Phillips

Cage, a well-known comic-book proponent, reared Weston with images of superheroes.

"We had them all over the house," said the senior Cage. "They were even framed and hanging [on] the walls."

And the opportunity to create and produce a comic book is not lost on the younger Cage, who is 16.

His friends "say it's pretty radical." Weston says. "I mean, it's pretty awesome for somebody my age to create a comic book."

"Voodoo Child" writer Mike Carey described the book, which centers around New Orleans, as having supernatural horror and even political themes. But the main character is something we may not have seen yet.

"There's actually not enough of him left to even be a zombie. He's more like a living shadow."

An EMT from New York and a paramedic from New Orleans who happened to be in the audience each thanked Nic -- for his work in "World Trade Center," and his general support of post-Katrina New Orleans.

Here's the article on Nicolas and Weston Cage that appeared in the print edition of the L.A. Times

Photo: Spencer Weiner / LAT

-- Jevon Phillips

I was hoping our talk would be better, and it was. The man who brought us "Hellraiser," "Lord of Illusions" and "Candyman" was actually a nice guy. As a long-time comic book collector, he counts himself among the faithful here at Comic-Con.

"I spend $200 every Wednesday on comics," says Barker. "I'm not just here saying I'm a comic book fan; I'm a comic book freak!"

Like-minded freaks will also enjoy the new "Jericho" video game that Barker also helped design. A first-person shooter, it also adds supernatural elements. You play the ghost of a character that is killed 20 minutes into the game! That character then possesses others around them, using their different attributes (like telekinesis and pyrokinesis) to take out the bad guys.

Understanding story structure, Barker believes that games nowadays must have a certain level of "sophistication" and "passion" to succeed and surpass the "sameness" that occupies many of today's shooter-type games.

"The passion of novels, the passion of comic books, [and] the passion of storytelling is being poured into this game," says Barker.  "The game allows for a length of storytelling that you can't get in movies."

The storyline, the graphics, the gameplay, and even the music all had Barker's stamp of approval. 

-- Jevon Phillips

Groening was joined this time by John Di Maggio (Bender), Billy West (Dr. Zoidberg and others), Katey Sagal (Leela), Maurice LaMarche (Kif, Calculon and others), director Dwayne Carey-Hill and producers Ken Keeler, Eric Kaplan, and David X. Cohen. Cohen actually began the panel with an announcement that, it seemed from the response, was the most exciting made this year at Comic-Con: the return of “Futurama.”

Cohen presented the audience of fans with a never-before-seen-in-public five-minute trailer of “Bender’s Big Score!” the first of four “Futurama” movies to come. It’s hard to describe the energy that filled the room. You could feel that it was the dream come true of everyone there (including Yours Truly). Suffice it to say that the modest crowd of Ballroom 20 was louder than any I heard in the 6,500-seat Hall H the whole weekend — even for the “Iron Man” trailer.

The panel spent most of the time answering questions, but the highlight of the event was a live reading of the brief, complementary comic book that greeted each audience member on entry. Next year will also see the move of the syndicated episodes from Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim to Comedy Central, to be joined by the movies rehashed into half-hour episodes. Fans should be extremely excited by the return of the show, and I think we can expect great things from the show that one fan audaciously described as “better in its 4-season run than the whole run of ‘The Simpsons.’”

--Andrew Hiltzik

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They were busy with the Masquerade -- either performing in it or watching it unfold on a big screen in another room.

Or they were dancing the night away in the converted autograph area. Scorpion and Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat were particularly good, but the Jedi needed some work.

Or they were singing at the top of their lungs along with Tara's "I'm Under Your Spell," one of the many songs presented in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer's" musical episode, "Once More, With Feeling."

Comic-book creator Warren Ellis also drew a crowd.  "The Authority" writer is known as one of the most critically acclaimed and outspoken individuals in comics.

Shaky Bacon, though, enjoyed the nightlife, posing it up with his new flying friend at the Comic-Con dance party ...

... and later relaxing in one of the Gaslamp district's bike taxis while deciding where to go next.

Photos: Sheigh Crabtree

-- Jevon Phillips

IRON MAN

Marvel exec Kevin Feige, producers Gale Anne Hurd and Avi Arad, director Jon Favreau, with actors (from left to right above) Terrence Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Robert Downey Jr. took the stage. All of the actors were Comic-Con first-timers and their camaraderie was palpable as they joked and whispered with each other throughout the presentation. Exclusive footage was about to be shown and, as Favreau told the crowd, "This is about comic-book fans."

The crowd LOVED the footage, and the panelists were seeing the images for the first time as well. They all looked stunned and happy, with Downey Jr. asking, "Couldn't there have been more of me?"

Some of the Q&A:

Paltrow was asked about her role as Pepper: "I love the dynamic between Pepper and Tony....  I was incredibly honored."

Terrence Howard was asked how it felt being in a movie like this (comic-book adaptation): "What do you mean ... a movie with a budget?"

Avi Arad was asked "Why Iron Man?":  "For us it was always top tier.  We had to wait for the right time to find the technology."

An audience member made parallels between the troubled pasts of Tony Stark [Iron Man] and Robert Downey Jr.: "I think there's a destiny to just about everything," Downey added.

Stan Lee made a surprise appearance and threatened to sue the cast if they didn't say his words correctly. (An audience member shouted "Preach it, Stan! Preach it!" as he talked about the character.) The trailer was shown again. And the love was still there.

When the participants walked off the stage, they got the only standing ovation I've seen this year for any project or panelists.

The Incredible Hulk

The Marvel presentation started out with the panel for "The Incredible Hulk," but it was not as energetic. Panelists included Hurd and Feige, producer Avi Arad, director Louis Leterrier, Liv Tyler and Bruce Banner himself, Edward Norton. Tim Roth and William Hurt couldn't make it, and there were no shots/trailers for the film. 

But what they did display was a 30-second (!) CGI closeup of what they thought the Hulk would look like, as well as a general loyalty to the source material. Edward Norton, who wrote the script, spoke fondly of his adoration for comics.

"I was a Marvel kid. I had subscriptions. I loved the early incarnations of Hulk and the television show.  It was one of those great contemporary myths."

And all of the speculation about which incarnation of the Hulk we were talking about was ended at the very beginning by Marvel honcho Kevin Feige: "Let's just get this out of the way. This is a Part 1. This is the beginning of a whole new Hulk saga."

Despite that, the group did acknowledge the original, Lou Ferrigno-flexing series with reverence.

"It really doesn't talk down to the idea of the story. Bill Bixby brings an incredible lonely pathos to that character," Norton said.

Other highlights included Tyler gushing over a question-asking audience member dressed as Arwen (right, and Liv's voice suddenly seemed to sound sooo elvish) and director Louis Leterrier's quote: "'Homage' is French for stealing ideas from American films and not getting sued for it."

--Jevon Phillips

Photos: Sheigh Crabtree / LAT

Just ask "Balls of Fury" star Dan Fogler and writer-director Ben Garant, who spent much of their Comic-Con panel on Saturday doing Walken impersonations. (The lithe actor is currently promoting "Hairspray" and was apparently unable to attend the Con.) 

Garant told the crowd that Walken pretended it was his birthday three times during production. He'd stop by Ralphs on his way to the set and pick up a birthday cake. Then he would sit alone in the makeup trailer, looking forlorn, until some unsuspecting crew member walked in. And then he'd spring his trap.

"Is it your birthday?!" a crew member would ask.

"Oh, no. It's nothing," Walken would reply. "It's not that big a deal." Inevitably, Garant said, someone fell for it every time. The production ended up have three birthday parties for Walken.

Although he may love birthdays, Walken apparently doesn't know from interwebs or e-mail.

"Yeah, he doesn't know the @ symbol," Garant said. "He looked at it for so long and then said, 'What is that? Is this a letter or a number?' We [said], 'It's like 'at' but one letter shorter.'"

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Photo: Walken in "Balls of Fury" / Rogue Pictures

"Every May, starting this May 2008," Disney will release new "Narnia" films based on the C.S. Lewis fantasy novels, Johnson said. The "Narnia" production company plans to start shooting "Voyage of the Dawn Treader," the third film in the seven-book series, in late January or February with an anticipated release date of May 2009.

Director Andrew Adamson does not plan to return for more films after "Voyage."

The next three books follow the adventures of Prince Caspian. Ben Barnes, the actor who plays the young royal, was introduced for the first time publicly via satellite: He and Adamson are in Prague where the production is 106 days into shooting with 30 to 40 to go.

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Photo: from left, Barnes and Adamson, via satellite from Prague

Silver, the "Matrix" man, was whisked from here to there by his assistant while at the show. I, and a few other roundtable folks, caught up to him after his presentations of "Return to House on Haunted Hill" and, before that, "Whiteout," for a very quick interview.

One of his newest endeavors, which stems from the Oct. 16 DVD release of "Return to House on Haunted Hill," is the use of navigational cinema -- a process of filmmaking that makes it possible for the viewer to help choose the outcome and decisions that the character must make. Silver, with director Victor Garcia, introduced the concept to a panel, then told the select group of journalists about the technology's benefits.

"This is definitely a new idea, and I don't think it'll work with everything," Silver said. "The actors were very confused."

"We are always trying to be cutting edge, and we're always trying to be cutting edge. We're always trying to do things that other people aren't."

He recounted a story about how he went to the movies as a child and the audience had to vote on which way the story would go by pressing red or blue buttons. Navigational cinema should make him feel right at home.

-- Jevon Phillips

When Alison Bechdel pre-scouted her panel location Thursday, she said she got a little worried. She thought she would be booked to speak in a room with 40 to 50 seats -- tops. However, prescient Comic-Con programmers knew Bechdel and her debut graphic novel / personal memoir, "Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic," would attract more attendees than that.

So when Bechdel showed up 10 minutes before her first-ever Comic-Con presentation, she stopped and marveled a little over the serpentine line that stretched down the long corridor. Inside, standing at a podium in front of her Southern California fans, Bechdel said she got into comics 25 years ago namely because they were "low brow" and "low pressure."

"I didn't want to get too closely critiqued," she said.

She was also looking for representations of people who looked like her. "Women who are human beings, not just sexual fantasies," she said. "I wanted to make lesbians visible because I thought if people saw us, they would like us. We're regular people. We're human beings."

She said that if she had known before she started writing "Fun Home" that it would be embraced by such a large audience, she never would have started writing it. "I would have been too freaked out," she laughed.

Her next book is also a full-length memoir, this time focussed on her relationship history. "It's going to be very difficult to be as honest as I would like to be," she said.

Bechdel also won an Eisner Awards on Saturday night.

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Rogen was in San Diego with his "Superbad" co-writer Evan Goldberg, director Greg Mottola, producer Judd Apatow and cast members Michael Cera, Jonah Hill and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

Apatow introduced two clips from the film, which played like bonkers with the crowd, then he opened the floor up to questions from fans.

The majority of those questions were from teen girls who asked some variation of "Michael Cera, will you marry me?" or "Michael, can I have your children?" There were also the mandatory "Do you know if 'Arrested Development' is ever coming back?"

But one bold fan asked Rogen about his involvement with Columbia Pictures and Original Films' upcoming superhero remake.

"What's all this about 'Green Hornet'? And how did you get involved?" the fan asked.

"Well, I'm a writer and I gotta work," Rogen said.

He later added: "It's something that Evan [Goldberg] and I are big fans of.... We wrote 'Pineapple Express' together ... and we thought, 'What if we make an even bigger action movie? And what if I wear a mask? Evan really wanted me to wear a mask because he is so sick of seeing my face."

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Photo: from top left, Rogen and Goldberg; bottom, Cera

“Yeah, I didn’t know it was this huge,” said a beaming Ryan in her English accent, winding down from numerous broadcast interviews.  “We’ve [she and Sackhoff] been meaning to go out for drinks....  We’re going to have to have a few girly nights out.”

In terms of the show, Ryan shied away from looking at the original too much.

“I’ve seen a few clips but not much. I see this as an entirely new project.”

Though the show hasn’t aired, it’s being touted as a hit. Ryan knows that it’s a big deal, describing the show as being in the “big leagues,” with the same TV format that she’s used to but bigger budgets, bigger sets, more producers and a more fast-moving production.

With all of the time she’s spending becoming Jamie Sommers, I asked her if there was anything she wanted people to know about Michelle Ryan’s persona.

“I’m really close to my family,” Ryan said, knotting her fingers together to show their solidarity. “And I have a really bad sweet tooth.”

Photo: NBC

-- Jevon Phillips

Adrian Pasdar, who’s also promoting a new movie he’s in entitled “Home Movie,” is not like his "Heroes" character, the ascending (politically and altitude-wise since he can fly) Sen. Nathan Petrelli.

"I don't really seek the spotlight as you can see," Adrian said, pointing over to the Comic-Con media rush that was surrounding costars Zachary Quinto and Ali Larter. Adrian sat at a table, almost anonymously separate from the other cast members, but he willingly spoke about his character's ambiguous motivations.

"He [Petrelli] exhibits a morally liquid change," Adrian says. "He hasn't fallen on the side of good or bad. He's never really been bad, though maybe wrong at times."

For Adrian the actor, times have changed a bit since last year's convention.

"Last year, we were looking to talk to anybody who wanted to talk to us. This year, the degree of secrecy is a lot higher in what we can say."

So what can he say about this season?

"No matter who your favorite character is, the things that are going to happen in this season will be exciting to the point of being numbing for fans," he says. "This season is not about defining them by their own behavior ... there's a lot more at stake."

Photo: Associated Press

-- Jevon Phillips

"It's a gorgeous day, man," said the hip-hop auteur, who is at Comic-Con this afternoon to promote his animated series, "Class of 3000," on Cartoon Network. Andre is a natty dresser, and on Saturday he was resplendent in yellow trousers, a checkered summer jacket and a vintage Brooklyn Dodgers cap.

Andre is a Renaissance man with the Grammy-winning music of OutKast, with his fledgling film career and as executive producer of the cartoon series.

"I grew up loving 'Looney Tunes,' which of course had great music, and 'Peanuts' and 'Fat Albert.' Those were the standards I had going in for this series," he said.

As Andre walked toward the convention center, fans shouted out his name, but he politely declined to stop for photos and autographs: "Sorry, guys. If I do one I have to do all of them, and I'll never get where I'm going."

The soundtrack album for "Class of 3000" hit stores this month. Every episode has a music video by a different art director, and it's clear the Atlanta rapper is enjoying the endeavor.

"When I grew up in Atlanta, we weren't too fortunate, but I had a friend that had comics so I would look at his. I drew my own adventures for the characters. My favorites to draw were Wolverine and Colossus. I always thought I was going to be an artist, maybe a painter. But whatever you love when you're a kid, it comes back to help you later in life, even if it's not in the way you expected."

— Geoff Boucher

A fan asked Liv Tyler to speak in Elvish and she obliged in silky, dulcet tones. Another fan came up and told Tyler not to be embarrassed about speaking Elvish in public. The fan added that she had a tattoo written in the Tolkein tongue.

"Oh, really?" Tyler said. "What does it say?"

The answer: "Not all who wander are lost."

Tyler is here promoting "The Strangers," a new horror film directed by first-timer Bryan Bertino, in which she co-stars with Scott Speedman.

-- Sheigh Crabtree

Adams, the top superstar artist of the 1970s, had a graceful, almost photo-realistic style that, for the first time, made Gotham City a place you believed was real. I got to spend a couple of hours with Adams and his wife, Marilyn, Friday night and it was an extraordinary treat for a grown-up fanboy.

Adams was not only a sublime illustrator, he was a lion for artist rights and, with his burly build and tough-guy talk, it struck me that he is the comics world's answer to Marlon Brando -- a brawny poet with a social conscience, a shining star of his generation who always clashed with conformity and took headstrong excursions from the predictable career path.

Adams told a story about finding a DC Comics employee shredding pages of original artwork at the publisher's production offices back in the early 1970s. "I told him, 'If you don't stop that, I'm going to punch you in the face,' " Adams recalled. This is a man you would not want to punch you -- the 66-year-old New York native benches more than 300 pounds.

Anyway, Adams confronted Carmine Infantino, then art director at DC, and told him that the pages should belong to the artist, not the publisher or the trash bin. DC stopped scrapping them, and today there is huge marketplace for original art.

But all those classic covers and pages Adams did in the 1970s on Batman and Green Lantern were pilfered from the DC offices or, in some cases, auctioned by the publisher before the return policy took hold. Adams watched later as those pages won some of the highest prices ever paid for comic art.

"I would think: That's $100,000 that should have gone to me and my family. But that's how it played out," he said.

Brian Lowry of Variety was sitting with us and asked Adams whether today's young artists appreciated his legacy of fighting for artist rights. "Some do, most don't," Adams said. "It doesn't matter. I accomplished what I wanted to accomplish: Artists get their original art back now and they make a decent royalty. That was not the case before."

Adams is returning to Batman for the first time in years. He's doing a story called "Batman: Odyssey" that would be told in six 48-page issues. He outlined the plot but also said it was a secret. I can say it's a tale of an early moment in the hero's caped career that shaped his psyche. And it has Man-Bat in it, which is good enough for me. Adams expects to have the bulk of it done in six months. "If they don't make this the third movie, they're crazy.&qote;

I asked him about his influences. The first name he mentioned was the great Stan Drake, http://www.drake.org/Stan/Stan.html, who drew and co-created the romantic and realistic strip "The Heart of Juliet Jones," which ran for 25 years and at its zenith appeared in 600 newspapers. He also cited Michelangelo, Norman Rockwell and Toulouse-Lautrec.

I told Adams that I wore out my copy of "Superman vs. Muhammad Ali," that loopy and spectacular comic book special in 1978 that featured a tour de force by Adams. "I think it's the best comic book ever made, I really do," he said. It even earned him a meeting with the iconic heavyweight: "He had a gentle handshake, but then he walked by and I touched his shoulder. Wow. Impressive. A rock. And I thought, 'Oh, that's what a champ feels like.' "

I could have said the same thing when I shook hands with Adams and said good night.

--Geoff Boucher

Hasbro’s "Star Wars" toys don't appear to have changed much, but it looks as if the company is putting out a new line of G.I. Joe toys, which perhaps supports the rumor that a G.I. Joe movie is in the works.

Mattel’s booth is full of DC superhero toys. The company just signed a deal with Warner Bros. that lets it make toys for all of DC’s properties, rather than just Superman and Batman, the only properties it had before. Mattel also has displays full of Disney/Pixar’s "Cars" collectibles and vintage He-Man toys, the kind that are probably collecting dust in your (or your kid’s) closet.

Lego seems to have gotten more and more complex over the years: Its big display this year was the "Star Wars" line, which ran from tiny kits for a couple of bucks to a $300 Star Destroyer and “Return of the Jedi” Death Star. The company also showed its Bionicle toys, a line that defies classification, with an inscrutable back story and some positively eldritch pieces.

But for the collector with finer tastes and a fatter wallet, Sideshow Collectibles was displaying some of its newer pieces. There was a lot to see at Sideshow: 1/8-scale models of characters from "Spider-Man," "Tomb Raider," "The Lord of the Rings," "Alien" (my favorite was Ripley in her exosuit), "Predator" and "The Terminator" (including a full-scale model of the endoskeleton), among others.

-- Andrew Hiltzik

The most popular costumes are characters from "Star Wars" or from anime. I’ve seen more stormtroopers and Princess Leias (like the one above, joined by Boba Fett and Robin) than I can count, and “Inuyasha” and “Naruto," two popular anime shows, are pretty well represented too. There are also so many people dressed up as characters from the Kingdom Hearts video game that Michele Richardson of Fallbrook took it upon herself to find as many of them as she could, so they could all patrol the convention together.

Plenty of people just dress up as a character of their own devising — Sean Pinkey of San Diego, decked out in full woodland tribal garb, calls his Shaman character Asoto Avisto.

Some of the best are family group costumes. John and Cynthia Lucia, as Frankenstein and his bride, are chaperoning their grandkids: Nosferatu, the Wolfman and the Mummy.

Photo: Spencer Weiner / LAT

-- Andrew Hiltzik 

Oddly enough, the most popular autographs this afternoon weren’t even directly related to comic books. Nick Frost (“Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz”) had a booth, as did Debbie Lee Carrington, the diminutive actress from “Total Recall” and “The Drew Carey Show” (she was Mini-Mimi).

The longest lines belonged to Katey Sagal, memorable to the general public as Peggy on “Married With Children” but to the Comic-Con crowd as Turanga Leela from "Futurama" and Rosario Dawson of “Sin City.”

--Andrew Hiltzik

There was another room with a Yu-Gi-Oh tournament and one with a Pokemon tournament. What did they win? Mostly boxes of cards or other merchandise.

-- Andrew Hiltzik

Maybe the striped highlights were reminiscent of the grill marks that come from using a high-end nonstick pan. Or maybe it was the sheer medical swabs useful for absorbing grease drippings.

It's impossible to say what makes two toys fall in love or the whys and wherefores of a couple of tchotchkes letting loose their foolish hearts.

What we do know is that Shaky Bacon found his new love in artist Spencer Davis' booth.

We only dread the scenario when the Boris Karloff figurine finds out.

Earlier: Shaky Bacon sizzles with Knight Seeker; Shaky Bacon and the death ray; Shaky Bacon peers into the crystal ball and Introducing Shaky Bacon.

-- Sheigh Crabtree

The character was a goof on the ubiquitous cafe culture back home in Portland, Ore. Now the over-caffeinated hero in red tights is on T-shirts, posters and, of course, coffee mugs.

"And then, of course, there's the opera," Wheeler said.

Opera?

"Yes there was this composer that bugged me for two years to do it, and then he sent music and I thought, 'Hey, this is great.' So now we have the Too Much Coffee Man opera."

It's subtitled "Cream in the Coffee of Love." There's a staging at 11 tonight and 1:30 and 11 p.m. Saturday at the Horton Grand Theater at 444 4th Ave. in San Diego, (619) 220-9583. It's free to Comic-Con pass holders.

The story is romance: TMCM falls for a barista, but our hero's conniving foe, Espresso Guy, stirs up trouble. Plans for a sequel opera are, uh, brewing. To find out more about the Too Much Coffee Man world, go to www.tmcm.com.

-- Geoff Boucher

(photo by Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)