Decisions, Decisions: Thursday and Friday San Diego Comic-Con Panel Schedules Released

We are in the middle of a heat wave here in Boston; temperatures have been above 90 degrees outside with extremely high humidity… and until about 90 minutes ago, temperatures inside the Crisis On Infinite Midlives Home Office were roughly the same. However, a nice man came out and said he needed to work with something called  “blower motor,” which, after ascertaining that he wasn’t using code to seek a favor other than money to Make Cool Air Engine Go, has begin to cut through the disgusting humid stew in which we have been living for almost 48 hours.

All in all, it has been enough to make a man seek out a different climate: one with cool breezes, next-to-no humidity, and where air conditioning is a nice bonus as opposed to being the only piece of technology separating humanity from regular frustrated stabbings.

Which is a long way to go to say that we are beginning to develop a powerful anticipation for this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, and that it has been good timing that they have begun to release their programming schedule over the past couple of days. Specifically, they have publicised the panels for Thursday an Friday, which you can find here for Thursday and here for Friday… although I’ll be commenting on some specific panels that look promising – or ridiculous – after the jump.

35th Battlestar Galactica Celebration
Thursday July 18, 2013 10:30am – 11:30am
Room 6BCF
Host Richard Hatch (Capt. Apollo, Tom Zarek), director Michael Nankin (BG, Defiance, Blood and Chrome), Dr. Kevin Grazier (consultant, Defiance, BG, Falling Skies, Caprica), producer/writer Michael Angeli (Battlestar Galactica), write/producer Kevin Murphy (Defiance, Battlestar), Michael Taylor (Battlestar, Caprica, Defiance), producer Paul Leonard (Battlestar, Caprica, Defiance), and surprise BG guests discuss and celebrate the 35-year history and future of the three Battlestar Glactica series and franchise. Includes Q&A, theatrical trailers and discussion.

This might be our first panel stop, because we are big fans of the Battlestar Galactica reboot, and because it is always entertaining to watch a man sing for a hot meal based on a professional achievement that is more than a third of a century old. Then again, we might skip this and head to the Hyatt Bar to watch Dirk Benedict try to lay into his breakfast waitress.

Avatar Press: Vicious Comics and Wicked Creators
Thursday July 18, 2013 11:30am – 12:30pm
Room 4
New York Times bestselling author Max Brooks joins Avatar publisher William Christensen to give the scoop on new projects and creators joining the industry’s most groundbreaking, risk-taking publisher! Want insight into the hottest titles from such industry luminaries as Garth Ennis, Alan Moore, and Max Brooks? Can’t get enough Crossed: Badlands, Uber, or Extinction Parade? Want to hear breaking news on upcoming projects? Find out what new terrors and triumphs this rogue publisher will unleash in the months ahead, and get your questions answered by the publisher!

This is the first honest-to-God comics panel of the convention, and since we focused pretty exclusively on covering The Big Two at last year’s convention, we’ll probably hit this one… particularly since Warren Ellis has recently tweeted he’ll be doing more comics work next year, and Avatar has been home to some of his best previous comics work. So this is one we’ll probably want to be at.

But then again…

Spotlight on Chris Samnee
Thursday July 18, 2013 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Room 7AB
Stop by for a chat and Q&A session with Comic-Con special guest and Eisner Award nominee Chris Samnee, moderated by his collaborator, Mark Waid (writer of Daredevil, Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom, Irredeemable).

Daredevil’s writer and artist in a non-Marvel offical panel? If you’re ever gonna hear a working Marvel creative team call a Marvel editor a douchecanoe, this is the place.

Dark Horse: (Super) Powered By Creators
Thursday July 18, 2013 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Room 23ABC
The latter half of 2012 saw the return of two of Dark Horse’s classic characters, Ghost and X, the appearance of new faces like Michael Avon Oeming’s The Victories and Francesco Francavilla’s The Black Beetle, and the reimagination a hero from yesteryear, Captain Midnight! Join Dark Horse publisher Mike Richardson, PR director Jeremy Atkins, and a cast of the industry’s top talent, including Joe Casey (Catalyst, Sex), Francesco Francavilla (The Black Beetle), Duane Swierczynski (X, Two Past Midnight), Joshua Williamson (Captain Midnight, Masks and Mobsters), Tim Seeley and Mike Norton (Revival, The Occultist), along with comics newcomer Donny Cates (Buzzkill), for a look at an exciting new cast of characters!

The Black Beetle has been a blast, and I am in the process of catching up on Revival thanks to the recent trade, so this looks like a good one. Besides: it’ll give me someone besides Matt Wagner to pester about Mage: The Hero Denied.

We Still Love The 80s: 1983
Thursday July 18, 2013 3:00pm – 4:00pm
Room 5AB
Our 1982 panel was such a success, it’s only apropos that it get a sequel. Welcome to 1983, now in 3D. If you thought nothing can compare to the greatest geek year ever, 1982, you’re only half right. Get ready as GEEK magazine takes you back to the future; the year of such films as Return of the Jedi, War Games, The Right Stuff, Risky Business, Vacation, Scarface, Zelig, A Christmas Story, Blue Thunder, Krull, Psycho II, the 3D triptych of Spacehunter, Jaws 3-D, and Parasite and, of course, the ultimate 007 showdown, Octopussy vs. Never Say Never Again. GEEK founding publisher and moderator Mark A. Altman (Castle, Necessary Roughness) he promises a San Diego “all-time high” with Ashley E. Miller (Thor, X-Men: First Class), Robert Meyer Burnett (Free Enterprise, ST: TNG Blu-Rays), Steve Melching (Transformers Prime, Star Wars: The Clone Wars), Steve Kriozere (N.C.I.S., Femme Fatales), and David E. Williams (editor-in-chief, GEEKMagazine).

Finally, a geek-oriented panel that addresses Zelig!

The Walking Dead 10th Anniversary Panel
Thursday July 18, 2013 4:15pm – 5:15pm
Room 6A
Robert Kirkman discusses the evolution of The Walking Dead and his plans to celebrate its 10th anniversary this year, in a lively Q&A forum.

Yeah, it’ll probably be worth your life to get into this one, but it’ll be a hell of a lot easier than getting into The Walking Dead TV panel in Hall H later in the convention. Plus, Kirkman hosts one hell of an entertaining panel, and it’ll be a chance to ask him when in the ripe fuck he intends to finally wrap up the Goddamned Negan story. You know, the one that’s been running since before last year’s Comic-Con.

Vertigo: Defy
Thursday July 18, 2013 5:45pm – 6:45pm
Room 6DE
Vertigo is ready to blow your mind with the next wave of trend-setting comics! From horror to mythic fiction to sci-fi and beyond, see what amazing new ideas are coming your way from the imprint that’s on a mission to defy all your expectations! With Mark Buckingham (Fables), Jeff Lemire (Trillium), Scott Snyder (American Vampire, The Wake), and others.

We skipped the Vertigo panel last year… and therefore missed the announcement of Neil Gaiman’s return to Sandman. We will try to get to this one, if only to avoid the inevitible announcement of Alan Moore’s return to Vertigo for his triumphant cure of cancer.

DC Entertainment Presents: DC Comics Too Tough Trivia
Friday July 19, 2013 11:15am – 12:15pm
Room 6DE
Think you know everything from Crisis on Infinite Earths to Blackest Night to Flashpoint? Test your knowledge of the DC Universe from its inception all the way to The New 52 against DC’s finest minds to win some exclusive prizes! With DC Comics’s group editors Eddie Berganza and Mike Marts, senior editor Brian Cunningham, and others.

I’ll give a $50 prize to whoever can answer the DC Comics trivia question: who the fuck exactly is in charge over there?

Superman: The Post Crisis Era
Friday July 19, 2013 12:30pm – 1:45pm
Room 5AB
Some of the most exciting Superman comics appeared in the 1980s and 1990s. After John Byrne’s reboot of the character in 1986, the Super-books became a weekly ongoing saga of the life of the Man of Tomorrow. Comic-Con special guests Jon Bogdanove (Superman: Man of Steel), Dan Jurgens (Superman), Jerry Ordway (Adventures of Superman), George Pérez (Action Comics), Louise Simonson (Superman: Man of Steel), and Super-editor Mike Carlin talk to moderator Paul Levitz (75 Years of DC Comics) about that Super- era!

There will be no better place at Comic-Con to argue about how Superman was better before the New 52 Reboot! Except for every bar conversation between Wednesday night and Monday morning!

DC Comics Justice League: Trinity War
Friday July 19, 2013 1:45pm – 2:45pm
Room 6DE
Trinity War rocks the DC Universe to its core in the comic book event of the summer! Get an inside look at the War of the Justice Leagues on a panel featuring the crossover’s all-star creators Ray Fawkes (Justice League Dark, Trinity of Sin: Pandora), Geoff Johns (Aquaman, Justice League, Justice League of America), Matt Kindt (Justice League of America), Jeff Lemire (Green Arrow, Justice League Dark), and DC Comics’s senior editor Brian Cunningham.

Warning: This panel may be postponed repeatedly while DC Editorial argues over its direction.

And there are many more,  but this one jumped out at me:

At The Drive In With Metallica
Friday July 19, 2013 6:30pm – 7:00pm
Hall H
Join all four members of Metallica, one of the most influential rock bands in history — James Hetfield (vocals, guitar), Lars Ulrich (drums), Kirk Hammett (guitar, background vocals), and Robert Trujillo (bass, background vocals) — along with director/writer Nimród Antal (Kontroll) and producer Charlotte Huggins (Journey to the Center of the Earth) for the world premiere of the theatrical trailer, poster, and an exclusive preview of footage, followed by a discussion on the making of this groundbreaking 3D motion picture. Metallica Through the Never stars Metallica and Dane DeHaan and combines a bold narrative and a spectacular never-before-seen live performance of the band’s most iconic songs created exclusively for the film, which will be released by Picturehouse in North America on September 27, exclusively in over 300 IMAX 3D Theatres, and will expand into additional theaters on October 4.

I have been going to Comic-Con for eight years. I have survived the onslaught of Twilight, The Hunger Games and the conversion of the Gaslamp district into giant fucking billboard. However, giving Metallica a Hall H panel to hype their vanity project is about the dumbest fucking thing I have ever seen at SDCC. Metallica does not need Comic-Con. If Comic-Con wants to feature a metal band, I hear Anthrax might enjoy the odd comic book or two. This is the wrong hype to the wrong crowd for the wrong reasons… but I will attempt to attend this panel. So I can videotape it and share it on the Internet without Lars Ulrich’s permission.

We will share the Saturday and Sunday schedules, pointing out more individual panels, as they become available during the coming days.