More publishers, more creators, more activities, more of everything …

Feel free to keep sending me stuff up until the show starts.

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UDON will have a Street Fighter Tribute limited edition hardcover, among other activities …

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BOOM! has changed its San Diego party plans at the Hyatt: It’s now dubbed the “BOOM! Three-Year Anniversary Drink Up!/Gay Pride Party”:

Where: Hyatt Grand Lobby Bar
When: Thursday July 24th from 9 to ??
What : As the sage Brian Wood stated, boycotting only hurts the wait staff so given that the Hyatt Hotel owner has decided to be a homophobic bigot the BOOM! DRINK UP is now the BOOM! DRINK UP/GAY PRIDE PARTY!

Everybody, come, wave your freak flag high, tip the waiters and we will be taking shots of the party and sending the pictures directly to the proprietor to let him know exactly who his customers are and how much money he looks to lose in the future.

(For those not in the know, a “Drink Up” is just like a “Meet Up” but with people drinking. This will be a gathering of friends and fans, so make plans to stop by and see what’s happening!)

Per Chip Mosher, BOOM!’s sales and marketing director, the event is being listed on Prism’s Gay Agenda for the con.

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Marvel is teasing one of their San Diego announcements on Marvel.com, with the above image of the third Summers brother, Vulcan, and the text “Who will rule?”

Hey kids, free comics!

VIPER COMICS IS SDCC BOUND WITH A TON OF FREE BOOKS

Viper Comics has gone STARK RAVING MAD! In addition to all the books you’ve come to know, love and expect, they’re giving away SDCC Exclusive Comic Books to the lucky few that manage to wrangle one before they’re all GONE! The following is a list of what we’ll be bringing to the masses:

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (Issue 1) SDCC Exclusive cover, only 500 units printed, to be given away during signing sessions (1 copy per person / 125 copies per day).

How To Be a Serial Killer (One Shot) SDCC Exclusive cover, only 1,000 units printed, to be given away during signing sessions (1 copy per person / 250 copies per day).

Vendor GN (Yes a GN) 100 units / 25 copies per day to be given away during signing sessions.

Rabid GN (Yes ANOTHER GN – we did say “STARK RAVING”) 100 units / 25 copies per day to be given away during signing sessions.

Many of the Viper Comics creators will be on hand to visit with fans, Josh Howard (Dead At 17), Otis Frampton (Oddly Normal), Jason Burns (Dummy’s Guide to Danger), Bryan Baugh (Wulf & Batsy), Dale Mettam (Attack of the Killer Tomatoes), Scott Zirkel (A Bit Haywire), Les McClaine (The Middleman), along many more. And don’t miss ABC Family’s The Middleman TV show creator, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, who will be at the Viper booth Saturday July 26, 2008 from 10am – 1pm to visit with fans. We will also have The Middleman compendium edition / SDCC Exclusive for sale (only 250 printed).

Stop by for signing times and share in the madness. Viper Comics will be in booth #1903.

“People keep warning me about this whole thing, but at this point I’m still not sure what to expect. I’m trying to imagine that very first convention I went to crossed with the first twenty minutes of Saving Private Ryan … yet somehow I can’t quite picture it.” — Zombies Calling creator Faith Erin Hicks, who will attend her first San Diego Comic-Con next week.

Lots more to get through this time around, and I’ll probably divide it up into a few different posts today …

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First up, I need to add this to my “must buy” list …

Top Shelf will have copies of Essex County Vol.3: The Country Nurse, which Jeff Lemire will be on hand to sign.

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If you have any extra bears, Stan Sakai’s daughter is collecting them for the South Pasadena Fire and Police Departments:

Daughter Hannah is working on her Girl Scout Gold Award–collecting teddy bears to donate to the South Pasadena Fire and Police Departments. Bears are given to comfort children after traumatic experiences, such as home fires or domestic disturbance calls.

She has contacted churches and other organizations in the area. If you would like to help, and if you will be at the San Diego Con, bring a new teddy over to our booth–#4906. It is listed in the exhibitor’s guide under “Stan Sakai”.

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Yesterday Entertainment Weekly offered a glimpse of four Star Trek teaser posters that Paramount Pictures will be handing out next week at Comic-Con (about the only presence the J.J. Abrams movie will have there). However, the image was so small I wanted to wait until something better was released before I posted anything.

Now the wait’s over, as the movie’s official website has been updated with high-res versions of all four posters. You can see all of them after the break …

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In case the release yesterday of the first Watchmen trailer isn’t enough to hold you, the new issue of Entertainment Weekly – the magazine’s Comic-Con special — complete with photos, and a look at the project’s long, bumpy history and director Zack Snyder’s efforts to stay true to the comic:

Over many months, and many meetings, Snyder persuaded Warner Bros. to abandon the Greengrass/Hayter script and hew as faithfully as possible to the comic. The key battles: retaining the ’80s milieu, keeping Richard Nixon (Moore did consider using an era-appropriate Ronald Reagan, but worried it would alienate American readers), and preserving the villain-doesn’t-pay-for-his-crimes climax. ”It was clear that Zack felt an intense obligation to the fans and the book,” says Warner Bros. Picture Group president Jeff Robinov. ”There was definitely a conversation about the best way to make it contemporary and relevant to today. Zack felt the best way was to go back to the roots of the novel.”

The article also states that Snyder’s current three-hour cut won’t be the version we see next March; two hours and 25 minutes is more likely.

Related: The Watchmen trailer’s “Spielberg-homaging Easter egg”

As I’ve mentioned before, one of the big panels at Comic-Con undoubtedly will be the one for Summit Entertainment, which will showcase Twilight, based on the ridiculously popular YA series of vampire novels by Stephenie Meyer. The first trailer has been released online, so now you’ll at least know why all of those teens and tweens are waiting in line Thursday at the convention.

Dogmatic Films is putting together a documentary about Comic-Con and is looking for young artists who plan to share their portfolio or comic with publishers in San Diego next week. Here are the details they sent over:

Throughout Comic-Con in San Diego next week, Dogmatic Films is filming a documentary about the experience from the perspective of several attendees. In addition to showcasing the cultural phenomenon that Comic-Con has become through interviews with celebrities, industry executives, comic book store owners, costumed veterans, first timers, and so on, we will be following several attendees throughout the convention. Like many Comic-Con attendees, our main subjects are either looking to be discovered or are hoping to discover something new for themselves.

We have lined up most of our participants, but are actively looking for a young artist who is bringing his/her portfolio to be reviewed by DC Comics, Marvel, etc, in hopes of getting a job as an artist. Secondly, we are also looking for someone with an independent comic book hoping to get it picked up by a bigger publisher or attract a wider audience.

In addition, if you’re an industry executive, comic book store owner, professional artist, and so on, we’d love to interview you. One of our cameras will be dedicated for these interviews, so we can accomodate your schedule at the convention.

If you or someone you know would be interested in this exciting project, please email us at: dogmaticfilms@gmail.com and we will arrange to meet at the convention. Thank you!

… or Dan DiDio, or go boating with Stan Lee, or breakfast with Cooke, Bullock and Stewart …

Yep, the Hero Initiative has several new auctions up related to the San Diego Comic-Con. The winning bidders can:

–Play on the Marvel or DC softball team in the big annual Marvel vs. DC softball game
–Have steak with Joe Quesada
–Have breakfast and get sketches from David Bullock, Darwyn Cooke and Cameron Stewart
–Hang out with Stan Lee in the harbor (on a boat, of course)
–Have lunch with a former CGC grader

You can check out all of the Hero Initiative auctions (inlcuding the Hulk ones I mentioned yesterday) here.

iFanboy reports on the booth activities of Darwyn Cooke, Cameron Stewart and Dave Bullock … and boy do they have some activities planned:

Booth #2207
BOOTH SCHEDULE AND EVENT LISTING

Wednesday July 23rd
6:00 – 9:00 CAMERON STEWART/WORK
DARWYN COOKE RETROACTIVE 1998-2008
DAVID BULLOCK BULLOCK ART WORKS
Preview night sees the launch of these 48-page, full-colour hardback collections of unpublished and never-before-seen pin-up illustrations by all three artists.

Thursday July 24th

9:30 – 10:30 Darwyn Cooke Signing IDW Signature cards

11:00 am – Noon SENTRY SIGNING: Cover artist Dave Bullock, writers Jeff Parker, Paul Tobin, artists Nick Dragotta & Colleen Coover, with EXCLUSIVE SENTRY give-away

5:30 – 6:30 SUPERMAN SIGNING: Tim Sale, Darwyn Cooke and Dave Bullock

Friday July 25th

10:30 – 12:00 WB/NEW FRONTIER SIGNING: Darwyn/Dave & Bruce Timm

12:30 – 1:30 SEAGUY SIGNING: Grant Morrison & Cameron Stewart w/ guest host James Sime

2:00 – 3:30 JONAH HEX SIGNING: Darwyn & Jimmy Palmiotti

4:00 – 5:00 THE SPECTACULAR SPIDERMAN: Director of the Animated Series, Dave Bullock with Vic Cook/Producer, Sean “Cheeks” Galloway/Art Director, Adam Van Wyk/Story Artist, with an EXCLUSIVE Spiderman “Villains” poster give away.

Saturday July 26th

11:00 – 12:00 THE OTHER SIDE SIGNING: Jason Aaron joins artist Cameron Stewart

4:00 – 5:00 CATWOMAN SIGNING: Darwyn/Cameron & Ed Brubaker

Sunday July 27th

11:00 – 12:00 Darwyn Signing IDW Signature Cards

1:00 pm – 2:00 THE APOCALIPSTIX: Ray Fawkes and Cameron Stewart launch Volume 1 of THE APOCALIPSTIX

I understand one of the most swingin’ retailer int eh comic biz, James Sime, will be guest-hosting some of the events, so be sure to stop by and check it out. And if you aren’t attending, be sure to check out iFanboy after the show, as they’ll be filming interviews at the booth.

I should have done one of these yesterday, but I didn’t and now I’m paying for it. So this one is going to be extra long. In this addition: a Pop Candy meet-up, Entertainment Weekly’s awesome panel schedule, Dark Horse signing schedule with extra Whedon, Electronic Arts, 007, Michael Golden, the BBC, free WiFi, Knight Rider and much more!

As always, you can send me your con activities any time between now and when it starts, and I’ll post them here.

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The Comic-Con website says the show will offer free WiFi this year, sponsored by the movie Eagle Eye:

Free Wi-Fi at Comic-Con!
Dreamworks Pictures’ Eagle Eye, starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan, is proud to be the official sponsor of Comic-Con Free Wi-Fi. Be sure to see Eagle Eye, in theaters September 26th.

Free Wi-Fi is available in all areas of the Convention Center except the Exhibit Hall.

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Whitney Matheson at USA Today’s Pop Candy blog is hosting a meetup in San Diego on the Saturday of the con. You can find more details on the meetup — as well as the really sweet promotional artwork Keith Simmons painted (pictured above — over on Pop Candy.

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I moved to Bay Area of California a couple of years ago, and despite the Earthquakes, forest fires and insane home prices, I love it here. One of the reason why I love it is the diversity and acceptance of other cultures and lifestyles. It’s not perfect, of course, but things like race and sexual preference don’t seem to matter as much as it did where I used to live.

So when I see stuff like this, it gets under my skin:

A $125,000 donation in support of an anti-gay marriage initiative by a San Diego hotelier has drawn the ire of gay and lesbian activists and local labor unions who are now calling for a boycott.

Organizers held a news conference in front of the Manchester Grand Hyatt, near Seaport Village, on Thursday. A coalition of LGBT community leaders and the labor movement spoke out against Doug Manchester, who contributed a donation in support of Proposition 8, which would allow only men and women to marry in the state of California. The group opposes the ballot measure because it threatens the recent state Supreme Court decision that allows marriage between men and women.

Retailer/blogger Chris Butcher comments:

I know it’s unlikely that anyone is canceling a hotel reservation for Comic Con at this late date, but if you wanted to take the time to tell the owner what an asshole he is on those handy comment cards they provide you, or perhaps in other more creative ways, well, I would support your decision.

For my part, the Hyatt can go fuck itself. I’ll be drinking elsewhere. I’d invite you to do the same.

Here, here. I’m glad I’m booked somewhere else besides the Hyatt.

Viz Media sent out a press release detailing their plans for San Diego, which include:

- Bleach creator Tite Kubo will be in the VIZ Media booth for two signings and will participate in the panel ‘Spotlight on Tite Kubo’ with his editor, Atsushi Nakasaki (on Saturday)

- NBA Star Greg Oden will be in the VIZ Media booth for a signing and to promote literacy with the new basketball manga Slam Dunk

- A screening of the Bleach Movie: Memories of Nobody at the Gaslamp theater in downtown San Diego. Tite Kubo will be in attendance to offer opening remarks.

- Lakers Girls!

The whole press release can be found after the jump …

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With more than a week to go, registration is closed for Comic-Con International. That’s right, the convention is sold out.

According to the Comic-Con website, no onsite membership badges will be sold.

BET Networks and Marvel Animation will preview The Black Panther animated series July 26 at Comic-Con International.

The television show, which will debut early next year, was announced in April. It will be adapted from the first six issues of the current Black Panther series, written by Reginald Hudlin, BET’s president of entertainment.

“I’m so proud I’ve been able to maintain a successful run of the series over the past three years while keeping my ‘day job’ of programming a network,” Hudlin said in a press release. “But now to have both of my worlds collide, to have a faithful adaptation of my own work as a prime time series on the network — it’s a dream come true. The Black Panther has always been an inspirational character to me, and now I get to share that inspiration with the widest audience he’s ever had.”

The full press release can be read here.

BOOM! Studios sent out a release this afternoon announcing that movie make-up artist John Wrightson, son of comics legend Bernie Wrightson, would be turning fans who buy BOOM! T-shirts into zombies at their booth in San Diego this year.

John is currently working on the new Terminator film and the new Witch Mountain movie that features The Rock, so you should have plenty to talk to him about while he turns you into the undead.

Complete release after the jump …

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Editor’s Note: Paul Levitz returns to Blog@Newsarama to talk about the release of The Dark Knight this week.

by Paul Levitz

Let’s talk movies, for a moment. I came into the saga of movies based on DC comics at a propitious time…don’t count the warm-ups, like watching Mario Puzo wander through the office doing his research while I sat in my assistant editor’s cubicle, or being introduced to Chris Reeve when he was still a skinny young guy freshly cast for the role of his lifetime…the fun really began standing on New York’s West 57th Street, watching Dick Donner hoist Chris up in a crane to pluck a burglar off the curved wall of one of our neighborhood’s more distinctive office towers. And I’ve been lucky enough to be able to recapture the feeling of wonder I had as a twenty-something, whether it was standing in the rain and mud in front of Thomas and Martha’s gravesites at Wayne Manor, or watching Chris Nolan wrestle a giant IMAX camera set-up with his pal Wally Pfister as they hurtled down a Chicago street, tracking Heath Ledger and his fellow clown-masked menaces. I’m one of the very few to have walked the offices of the Daily Planet in New York and Sydney (and a television version too). I admit my luck is outrageous…

…but in a way, I think yours is too.

The combination of the astounding technology available to bring comics to life on the big screen, and the passion of a generation of directors who grew up respecting both comics and film, have brought us to what can only be described as the first Golden Age of comic book movies. With a well-earned nod to the creative and commercial successes of our competitors in this field, DC has much to be proud of in my professional lifetime, from Donner’s SUPERMAN through Tim Burton’s BATMAN, on to the eclectic mix since we put the DC logo in front of our films, including James McTiegue’s V FOR VENDETTA, Francis Lawrence’s CONTSTANTINE, and Bryan Singer’s SUPERMAN RETURNS. I admit a personal bias towards Nolan’s BATMAN BEGINS, if a prejudiced one because of the warm welcome Chris and his producer-partner wife, Emma Thomas, have always given to me and both my office family and real family (if youngest son Garret ends up being a film director, I think it’ll be because of the time Chris bent over the monitors with Garret, showing him how he was setting up a Batmobile chase through a Chicago parking garage).

…but BATMAN BEGINS just slipped to second place.

I had the fun of watching THE DARK KNIGHT come together, from conversations to script to set visits, to seeing the little pieces that flow through our hands to make tie-in books and merchandise possible, but one of the images I’ll treasure most is the look on the faces of a group of my comic book colleagues last week as the lights came up at the end of an IMAX screening of the film. “This changes everything,” muttered the most coherent of them. The bar is simply set higher.

…but I envy you, seeing it with fresh eyes this week. The cool thing about my job is that I get to be involved in all this, and have memories of how it came to be, as well as friendships with some amazingly talented people. But the cool thing about being you is you get to walk into the movie, ready to be surprised by everything. No spoiler warnings here, and no spoilers. If you’re reading this blog, I know you have your date set to see the film, and I don’t have to sell you. But just for a minute, I wish I were there, watching you, watching this.

Oh, and while we’re on the subject of movies, I’m not allowed to talk about some other footage I was looking at last week, but do offer to mortgage your collection to bribe your way into San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H on Friday the 25th at 11:55. And if you can’t, console yourself by going into the exhibit hall and admiring the five-ton…oh, sorry, they’re making me stop now.

With the San Diego Comic-Con less than two weeks away, I asked the rest of the Blog@ gang: “If you could go to just one panel each day, what would you pick?” And here’s what they said …

Kevin Melrose

Thursday (3:30-4:30 p.m.) Entertainment Weekly’s The Visionaries: Comic Creators — You’ll rarely find such a diverse, and talented, panel of creators: John Cassaday, Colleen Doran, Matt Fraction, Robert Kirkman, Mike Mignola and Grant Morrison.

Friday (noon-1 p.m.) 50 Years of Gay Legion of Super-Heroes Fandom — I’ve frequently read references to the Legion’s large gay following, so it’s nice to see that part of its fandom acknowledged.

Saturday (2:15-3:15 p.m.) Grant Morrison and Gerard Way: Born Under a Black Sun — It’s clear from interviews, and from Morrison’s introduction to The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite, that the two are mutual admirers. The description promises that “this panel will change your life,” but while it may not do that, it certainly will entertain.

Sunday (2:30-4 p.m.) Cover Story: The Art of the Cover — As an admirer of great cover art and design, I couldn’t possibly pass up a conversation among Bryan Hitch, J.G. Jones, Jim Starlin and Ethan Van Sciver, moderated by Mark Evanier.

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A new, full trailer for The Spirit has been leaked online — it’s the one set to debut next week at Comic-Con, presumably — and so far Lionsgate has been a little slow in pulling it. (It’s been yanked from Trailer Addict and YouTube, but remains elsewhere.)

It’s, well … hm. Watch it for yourself before it’s gone.

The Spirit, directed by Frank Miller, opens on Christmas.