Comic Con - San Diego, CA - July 20-23

[BART]

ANS (http://www.animenewsservice.com/) mentions they're gonna have Kazuo Koike and Yoshitaka Amano as guests.

Comic Con Website (http://www.comic-con.org/cci/)

Edited for a broader comic con discussion

[Scaramanga]

Whoah, Yoshihiro Tatsumi too?!? That's pretty impressive. I was under the impression Comic-Con mostly pandered to Hollywood these days. This is really good news.

[BART]

From what I hear, Monkey Punch is a regular unofficial guest there.

[BART]

ANN says Nobuhiro Watsuki's attending.


edit: post changed to at least give a minimum of info. don't be flip.

[sir_integra]

[ QUOTE ]
Mortimer said:
ANN says Nobuhiro Watsuki's attending.


edit: post changed to at least give a minimum of info. don't be flip.

[/ QUOTE ]

More to look forward to!

Although I don't think very many people who post here will be attending, Ax is certainly the bigger draw.

[Gatts]

[ QUOTE ]
sir_integra said:
Although I don't think very many people who post here will be attending, Ax is certainly the bigger draw.

[/ QUOTE ]

AX may not be a bigger draw, but it is certainly easier to get a hotel for AX than it is for comic con. I've been on three waiting lists for the past two months and nothing. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Ah well, guess I'll have to give up on Comic-con this year.

[sir_integra]

[ QUOTE ]
Gatts said:
[ QUOTE ]
sir_integra said:
Although I don't think very many people who post here will be attending, Ax is certainly the bigger draw.

[/ QUOTE ]

AX may not be a bigger draw, but it is certainly easier to get a hotel for AX than it is for comic con. I've been on three waiting lists for the past two months and nothing. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Ah well, guess I'll have to give up on Comic-con this year.

[/ QUOTE ]

I got lucky. I checked out the web site about three weeks ago and there was room available at the Holiday Inn on the Bay. I got on it right away.

What I had a problem with was registration. I sent a form in with a check months ago and still have no confirmation. I decided to do an online registration where I got an immediate confirmation. Now to get money back for the original registration.

[Scaramanga]

[ QUOTE ]
Gatts said:
[ QUOTE ]
sir_integra said:
Although I don't think very many people who post here will be attending, Ax is certainly the bigger draw.

[/ QUOTE ]
AX may not be a bigger draw, but it is certainly easier to get a hotel for AX than it is for comic con. I've been on three waiting lists for the past two months and nothing. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Ah well, guess I'll have to give up on Comic-con this year.

[/ QUOTE ]
Nooooo... we missed you last year as well. You... you could stay with me. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

So who else is going this year, just out of curiousity (except Kevin, you're a given)?

[sir_integra]

[ QUOTE ]
Scaramanga said:
.....
So who else is going this year, just out of curiousity (except Kevin, you're a given)?

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, obviously me.

[sir_integra]

I just checked the comic con website and 2 hotels have vacancies. If anybody's looking for accomodation, you have to get on these right away, they go quickly. I wouldn't wait to be called.

[Kevinroc]

[ QUOTE ]
Scaramanga said:
[ QUOTE ]
Gatts said:
[ QUOTE ]
sir_integra said:
Although I don't think very many people who post here will be attending, Ax is certainly the bigger draw.

[/ QUOTE ]
AX may not be a bigger draw, but it is certainly easier to get a hotel for AX than it is for comic con. I've been on three waiting lists for the past two months and nothing. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Ah well, guess I'll have to give up on Comic-con this year.

[/ QUOTE ]
Nooooo... we missed you last year as well. You... you could stay with me. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

So who else is going this year, just out of curiousity (except Kevin, you're a given)?

[/ QUOTE ]

And what, pray tell, leads you to believe that I'm a given?

Granted, I am going but I want to know why you assumed I was a given. /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

[Fieri]

[ QUOTE ]
Scaramanga said:
[ QUOTE ]
Gatts said:
[ QUOTE ]
sir_integra said:
Although I don't think very many people who post here will be attending, Ax is certainly the bigger draw.

[/ QUOTE ]
AX may not be a bigger draw, but it is certainly easier to get a hotel for AX than it is for comic con. I've been on three waiting lists for the past two months and nothing. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Ah well, guess I'll have to give up on Comic-con this year.

[/ QUOTE ]
Nooooo... we missed you last year as well. You... you could stay with me. /images/graemlins/sdsmiley.gif

So who else is going this year, just out of curiousity (except Kevin, you're a given)?

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess I'll be going. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Gatts]

Okay so I just got a room at Holiday Inn on the Bay so I guess I'm back to going this year. I will try my hardest to actually meet up with someone this year unlike last year when I managed to sleep through all of the meeting. /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

[MDawg957]

[ QUOTE ]
sir_integra said:
[ QUOTE ]
Gatts said:
[ QUOTE ]
sir_integra said:
Although I don't think very many people who post here will be attending, Ax is certainly the bigger draw.

[/ QUOTE ]

AX may not be a bigger draw, but it is certainly easier to get a hotel for AX than it is for comic con. I've been on three waiting lists for the past two months and nothing. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Ah well, guess I'll have to give up on Comic-con this year.

[/ QUOTE ]

I got lucky. I checked out the web site about three weeks ago and there was room available at the Holiday Inn on the Bay. I got on it right away.

What I had a problem with was registration. I sent a form in with a check months ago and still have no confirmation. I decided to do an online registration where I got an immediate confirmation. Now to get money back for the original registration.

[/ QUOTE ]I faxed mine in as well months ago and they took my money out then, but I hadn't got a confirmation letter yet. I called them 2 days ago and they told me letters were coming out on tuesday or wednesday. THey had printing issues that held them up. Would've been nice if they mentioned this in the last update flier instead of me having to call and find out.

[Sugei]

[ QUOTE ]
Gatts said:
[ QUOTE ]
sir_integra said:
Although I don't think very many people who post here will be attending, Ax is certainly the bigger draw.

[/ QUOTE ]

AX may not be a bigger draw, but it is certainly easier to get a hotel for AX than it is for comic con. I've been on three waiting lists for the past two months and nothing. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Ah well, guess I'll have to give up on Comic-con this year.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well I booked my hotel room back in early march and even then it was slightly difficult to find a room.

I'll be attending on Saturday only, with my girlfriend. It's my third time attending and it will be her first time attending so she's pretty excited.

And I'll be going to Anime Expo as well with my brother and some friends but not staying in a hotel. Most likely Saturday.

On a side note; is that website "ans" still around? I remember some guy a few years ago always pimping that website out on this message board and going off on some rant whenever someone posted an anime related bit of news and didn't give credit for whatever reason to that website.

[Jeid]

[ QUOTE ]
Sugei said:
On a side note; is that website "ans" still around? I remember some guy a few years ago always pimping that website out on this message board and going off on some rant whenever someone posted an anime related bit of news and didn't give credit for whatever reason to that website.

[/ QUOTE ]
ans? If you mean Anime News Service (http://www.animenewsservice.com/), it's still around, though sporadic in its updates.

[Vertical_Ed]

I'll be back this year. Showing up on Wednesday for the Pads game and the preview night and staying until Sunday evening.

[Vapors]

Hey guys,

Comic-Con just updated their site w/Thurs events
Here (http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci06_prog_thu.php)

Anime related highlights include:

10:30-11:30 Pokémon San Diego Comic-Con— Is pokemon really 10 years old in America? Man, I remember this back in high school. I remember hearing they were going to re-release the older seasons to DVD to celebrate the 10th anniversary since they are OOP. Correct me if I am wrong.

11:30-12:30 Del Rey Manga - Don't really follow a whole lot of their series except for XXX-holic.

1:30-2:30 Bandai— Won't be the same without Jerry Chu on the panel.

3:00-4:00 IDW Publishing and the Transformers: More Than Meets the IDW - Still skeptical about how this will look on the big screen, but who knows.

4:00-5:00 Hasbro: Transformers - This focuses more on the toyline, but it also says they will talk about the 20th anniversary DVD of Transformers the Movie. Sweet!

4:00-5:00 Broccoli Books/Synch-Point - Or you can come here and ask what's up w/FLCL ultimate edition or whether or not they will finish IGAA.

6:00-7:00 CMX: Mega Manga - Are people still mad at them for TenTen? I heard last year's panel got kinda tense.

6:00-7:00 The Spectacle of Azumi - This is a panel discussion. Not really anime related, but I know there is a growing trend towards Japanese movie releases stateside, this does look pretty interesting.

10:00-12:00 Azumi - Screening of the movie. It's got director Ryuhei Kitamura (Versus) and producer Mata Yamamoto (Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust) and stars pop idol Aya Ueto.

I always get a big kick outta Comic-Con. I find myself spending more time at panels and showings than trolling around the dealer's room.

[Helschadenfreude]

/images/graemlins/stunned0.gif I just looked at the netcomics site, and apparently the full house and let dai mangaka will be there.... /images/graemlins/cry00000.gif Man...



Link (http://www.netcomics.com/news/press_release.htm?uid=109) to the news

I will be attending Comic Con with a few friends from UCLA. I will actually be driving from Westwood through my hometown of Torrance and down to San Diego on Thursday or Friday.

I have yet to decide on the exact plans of my trip.

[Vicious]

Johnny Drama might be there again doing autographs for Viking Quest. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[wingednike]

[ QUOTE ]
CLAMPfrog said:
I will be attending Comic Con with a few friends from UCLA. I will actually be driving from Westwood through my hometown of Torrance and down to San Diego on Thursday or Friday.

I have yet to decide on the exact plans of my trip.

[/ QUOTE ]

Argggghhhhhh! Please grab a lot of the Viz MeruPuri/Vampire Knight posters for me!! Are you staying overnight at the hotels? Grrr...I really wish I could attend...

[Vapors]

Whoops. Studies and work got in the way.

Continuing on for Friday events.

Here (http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci06_prog_fri.php)

10:30-11:30 TOKYOPOP Manga Industry - Special guest Kim Jae-Hwan—creator of the King of Hell and artist for the Warcraft manga—will be on hand to take questions and speak about his work with TOKYOPOP.

12:30-2:00 VIZ Media: Anime/Manga - If you go to their Site (http://www.viz.com/news/events/) they apparently are going to screen Train Man, Inuyasha movie 4 and Pokemon Movie 8.

2:00-3:00 Afro Samurai Comic-Con Exclusive Worldwide Premiere! - I don't know what's more unbelievable. That Sam Jackson is working on an anime or that he's starring in a movie titled Snakes on a Plane.

2:00-3:00 TOKYOPOP Global Manga

2:30-3:30 Graphic Novels: The Universal Language - Special guest of honor Yoshihiro Tatsumi (The Push Man and Other Stories) is sitting on this panel.

3:00-4:00 VIZ Media's Shojo Beat featuring Matsuri Hino - I think they are also sponsering 2 contests to meet this manga-ka.

4:00-5:00 Seven Seas Manga

4:00-5:00 D.O.A.: Dead or Alive - Alright, this really doesn't have a lot to do with anime but I do see a lot of doujinshi around on the net. Guess that counts right?

5:30-7:00 Lost In Translation: Translating Manga - Sounds like pretty informative panel covering a full range of titles and genres.

6:00-7:00 The Jim Henson Company: Power of the Dark Crystal and Sneak Peeks - They mention in the summary about the Dark Crystal manga. I remember this movie when I was a kid. Pretty creepy stuff.

A pretty packed day for manga featuring mostly Viz and Tokyopop. Personally I'm checking out Viz's anime panel, Afro Samurai (in the hopes of meeting the RZA and Samuel L. Jackson) and the Lost in Translation panel.

[Vapors]

This day keeps getting more and more crowded each year.

Here (http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci06_prog_sat.php)

10:30-11:30 Toonami Jetstream Panel - I think this is a pretty cool idea. Anime companies should try getting more of their content online and in as many different mediums as possible (Streaming episodes, iTunes downloads, etc)

10:30-12:00 What Is Mainstream? - Byrce P Coleman and others offer a lively discussion on the state of mainstream comics, the emergence of the “new mainstream,” and the current rapid expansion of comics into mainstream culture and entertainment. Tokyopop certainly did their part to push manga into American bookstores.

10:30-11:30 Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles - They've been talking about this thing for years. Looks like they finally have something to show. Also Yuri Lowenthal (voice of Sasuke in Naruto) will be in attendance.

11:30-12:30 Manga Entertainment Coming Attractions - They always manage to announce just one title a year and it seems like they always announce it during this con. If you check out the anime schedule here (http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_anime_sat.shtml) it looks like they have something planned for 12 midnight.

11:30-12:30 Spotlight on Kazuo Koike - Author of some of the greatest graphic fiction ever created (Lone Wolf and Cub, Crying Freeman), has attained legendary status not only in his native Japan but in all parts of the world. Apprently the first time he's come to America for a convention.

12:30-1:30 TOKYOPOP and The Jim Henson Company present Labyrinth and Dark Crystal Manga - Two cult 80's movies now in manga form!

1:30-2:30 VIZ Media's Shonen Jump Panel featuring Nobuhiro Watsuki - And yet another Viz contest is being run where you get a guranteed chance for an autograph.

1:30-2:30 eigoMANGA Manga Tutorials and Portfolio Review - Wish I had some talent to draw.

2:30-4:00 Spotlight on Yoshihiro Tatsumi - 2006 marks the first Comic-Con appearance of Yoshihiro Tatsumi, who is known as the grandfather of alternative manga in Japan. Regarded highly by cartoonists—and fans—all over the world, Tatsumi’s work has finally made it into English translation with the publication of Drawn and Quarterly’s edition of The Push Man and Other Stories.

3:00-4:00 FUNimation—Dragon Ball Z, Fullmetal Alchemist, Samurai 7 - Really hoping they get the Funimation channel up here in the Bay Area sometime soon.

6:00-7:00 Spotlight on Yoshitaka Amano— BOOM! Studios presents the genre-crossing artist. Best known for his work on the Final Fantasy videogame series, Yoshitaka Amano is one of the most popular artists working today, and his work includes illustration, game design, and manga.

6:00-7:00 Media Blasters: Death Trance - Its diversification like this that's allowed Media Blasters to last for so long.

All this plus Stan Lee, Bruce Campbell, Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, Nicolas Cage and Eva Mendes. Oh yea and some people will dress up for this thing called the Masquerade!

[Celsius]

Dark Horse's Manga related Signings
"Signings and events in the Dark Horse booth (Dark Horse Comics Booth #2615. Please note: All special guests and appearance times are subject to change)

FRIDAY, JULY 21:

4:00 - 5:00 Yoshitaka Amano: Vampire Hunter D; Fairies (*ticketed event: See Dark Horse employee for details)

1:30 - 2:30 Dark Horse Guest of Honor, Kazuo Koike: Lone Wolf & Cub, Lady Snowblood, Path of the Assassin (*ticketed event, see Dark Horse employee for details.)

SUNDAY, JULY 23: :

12:00 - 1:00 Yoshitaka Amano: Vampire Hunter D; Fairies (*ticketed event: See Dark Horse employee for details) "

Here is their panel for Kazuo Koike:

SPOTLIGHT ON KAZUO KOIKE
SATURDAY, JULY 22
11:30am-12:30pm
ROOM 6A"

Source: Press Release here: http://anime.advancedmn.com/article.php?artid=2958

[Vapors]

The last day of what will obviously be a fun filled (and tiring) weekend.

Here (http://www.comic-con.org/cci/cci06_prog_sun.php)

11:30-12:30 Digital Manga Publishing - Low key publisher that has released a Serial Experiments Lain artbook and releases Berserk.

2:30-3:30 H.E.L.P.: Hosting Easy Library Programs - Graphic novels and anime are hot! So why not use them to get patrons of all ages into your library? Merideth Jenson-Benjamin and Steven Skuba (Glendale Public Library), Jill Patterson (La Habra Branch Library), and Hillary W. Chang (McCully-Moiliili Public Library) discuss and share simple but effective library program strategies.

2:30-3:30 AnimEigo - I believe a big sale they are having online right now will come to an end during the same week. As well as they're license for KOR.

And that's all folks.

I'll post later about other anime related events and what not taking place during the con. As Celsius pointed out, Dark Hores is sponsering some GOH signings. Hope I win one of the tickets.

[Kevinroc]

Has anyone thought about a good time for an AoD gathering?

[Fieri]

[ QUOTE ]
Kevinroc said:
Has anyone thought about a good time for an AoD gathering?

[/ QUOTE ]

Not really. I'm just lucky to be going at this point. /images/graemlins/relief1.gif

[AnimeGamer]

I'm lucky to be going too. Usually I go all four days + preview night, but this year I'm limited to today and maybe Sunday.

[Gatts]

I'm here now. Just got my badge and made the first walkthrough of the exibition hall. Too much stuff again this year.

[Sugei]

Anyone know of any good maps (Layout) of the convention center?

I printed out a list of panels I am interested in attending but I have no idea where the rooms are located in the convention center.

I am leaving for San Diego tomorrow afternoon (Friday) and will be attending all day Saturday.

This will be my third Comic-Con now and I am still unsure of the layout of the place. /images/graemlins/sweat200.gif

Any assistance would be much appreciated.

[Fieri]

[ QUOTE ]
Sugei said:
Anyone know of any good maps (Layout) of the convention center?

I printed out a list of panels I am interested in attending but I have no idea where the rooms are located in the convention center.

I am leaving for San Diego tomorrow afternoon (Friday) and will be attending all day Saturday.

This will be my third Comic-Con now and I am still unsure of the layout of the place. /images/graemlins/sweat200.gif

Any assistance would be much appreciated.

[/ QUOTE ]

Something like this (http://www.comic-con.org/cci/forms/cci06_convctr.pdf)?

You'll also get a copy in the program guide.

[Fieri]

[ QUOTE ]
wingednike said:
[ QUOTE ]
CLAMPfrog said:
I will be attending Comic Con with a few friends from UCLA. I will actually be driving from Westwood through my hometown of Torrance and down to San Diego on Thursday or Friday.

I have yet to decide on the exact plans of my trip.

[/ QUOTE ]

Argggghhhhhh! Please grab a lot of the Viz MeruPuri/Vampire Knight posters for me!! Are you staying overnight at the hotels? Grrr...I really wish I could attend...

[/ QUOTE ]

Unfortunately the only way you can get the poster is to buy something at the Viz booth. I think it was any volume of MeruPuri or a current issue of Shojo Beat.

[Sugei]

[ QUOTE ]
Fieri said:
[ QUOTE ]
Sugei said:
Anyone know of any good maps (Layout) of the convention center?

I printed out a list of panels I am interested in attending but I have no idea where the rooms are located in the convention center.

I am leaving for San Diego tomorrow afternoon (Friday) and will be attending all day Saturday.

This will be my third Comic-Con now and I am still unsure of the layout of the place. /images/graemlins/sweat200.gif

Any assistance would be much appreciated.

[/ QUOTE ]

Something like this (http://www.comic-con.org/cci/forms/cci06_convctr.pdf)?

You'll also get a copy in the program guide.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks! I was looking the other day for a map but I guess I missed it. /images/graemlins/catgirl0.gif

The layout makes more sense now and I should be able to find the panels no problem.

[Gatts]

So far the only panels I've seen are the Boondocks and Snakes on a Plane. I should make an effort to see at least one anime panel this year. /images/graemlins/sweat000.gif

[tstidm1]

The show floor is that big that you miss panels if you want to see any of it. WOw, I think (if I go next year) I may avoid the show floor entirely. I was on the show floor an hour or so the entire time at NY Comic Con.

[Gatts]

Well, the show floor is big, but the main reason I missed panels was because I wasn't paying attention to the time. It takes about 30 minutes to walk from one end of the hall to the other if a lot of people are in there. Going outside and walking around then coming back in helps the time numbers a tiny bit, but if it's crowded inside, it will be crowded outside.

The thing I hated most was that Organic is the way over on the 5000 end, Sideshow Collectables, UArt, and Kotobukiya are in the middle arond the 2300 sign, and any dealer selling figures is all the way over in the 300-500 area. So if you see a couple of things that you liked at the 5000 end, you'll have to walk to the 500 end to see if anyone has it. /images/graemlins/sad.gif

[Sugei]

This question is for those people that attended the Comic Con Thursday thru Saturday.

How were the size of the crowds of people for each day in comparison to one another?

This year I attended on Saturday and while I had a good time I thought that it was too crowded.

Last year (2005) I attended on a Friday (crowds were ok) and the year before that (2006) I attended on a Saturday but I don't remember it being so crowded as this year.

Next year I am thinking of going on Thursday and Friday and then heading home on Saturday. (And rest on Sunday)

My plan is to do the exhibition hall on Thursday, do some panels on Friday, and probably hit the beach or something else San Diego related on Saturday.

Also how early do you all book your hotel rooms? I was thinking of trying to book as early as possible. (like next month?)

[Fieri]

Wednesday night was the least crowded but it wasn't bad on Thursday. It started to get bad Friday afternoon. I heard that they even turned away people because there were too many. As for booking as early as possible, I'd do that. However, be sure you can can cancel your reservations in case you find a better deal.

[Sugei]

[ QUOTE ]
Fieri said:
Wednesday night was the least crowded but it wasn't bad on Thursday. It started to get bad Friday afternoon. I heard that they even turned away people because there were too many. As for booking as early as possible, I'd do that. However, be sure you can can cancel your reservations in case you find a better deal.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the reply.

I think then that I will stick to my plan. I don't think I could swing Wednesday thru Saturday but maybe I could bump my planned visitation up a day and do Wednesday thru Friday. Hmm...

I would always like to find a good deal on a hotel room but I also don't want to end up in the roach motel if you know what I mean.

This year I stayed in Old Town in a really nice hotel room and I booked a room in March. It was kind of pricey but I could not find anything decent and affordable in DownTown.

I was going to use expedia (I did this year). Do you know if that's as good as it gets or are there better websites for finding good rates on rooms in Downtown?

[Fieri]

[ QUOTE ]
Sugei said:
[ QUOTE ]
Fieri said:
Wednesday night was the least crowded but it wasn't bad on Thursday. It started to get bad Friday afternoon. I heard that they even turned away people because there were too many. As for booking as early as possible, I'd do that. However, be sure you can can cancel your reservations in case you find a better deal.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the reply.

I think then that I will stick to my plan. I don't think I could swing Wednesday thru Saturday but maybe I could bump my planned visitation up a day and do Wednesday thru Friday. Hmm...

I would always like to find a good deal on a hotel room but I also don't want to end up in the roach motel if you know what I mean.

This year I stayed in Old Town in a really nice hotel room and I booked a room in March. It was kind of pricey but I could not find anything decent and affordable in DownTown.

I was going to use expedia (I did this year). Do you know if that's as good as it gets or are there better websites for finding good rates on rooms in Downtown?

[/ QUOTE ]

Decent and affordable downtown? Good luck. /images/graemlins/wink.gif I've seen decent rates for hotels but not during Comic-con. The bad thing is that you have to pay for parking as well, which can get pretty pricey.

[animegirl22]

did anyone see me in the Grindhouse sneak peek footage? I think you can see me getting killed. /images/graemlins/wink.gif