Comic-Con 2008

[jamesp]

Has anybody here ever been to Comic-Con? I'm looking at the programming for this year's event and I don't think you could get me to go to one of this things if you paid me. I enjoy some popular fanboy stuff but this just screams of so many things that I either never got into (Joss Whedon universe) or just plain out dislike (Kevin Smith). It seems like it's all just a promo tour for bad TV and movies.

The panels and presentations for movies include The Day the Earth Stood Still remake, Max Payne, Guy Ritchie's RockNRolla, and Saw 5, Watchmen, Star Wars: The Clone Wars,  Resident Evil: Degeneration, The Wolfman, The Spirit, Terminator Salvation, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, Death Race, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Quarantine, Pineapple Express, Hamlet 2, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Friday the 13th, and the world premiere of the new Lost Boys sequel.

There will be TV show panels for Knight Rider, Torchwood, Doctor Who, TV Funhouse, Dexter, Spaced, The Big Bang Theory, American Dad, Ghost Hunters, Family Guy, Bones, 24, Robot Chicken, Prison Break, Eureka, all the crappy Stargate series, Futurama, Heroes, The Simpsons, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Lost, Kyle XY, The Office, Joss Whedon's new Dollhouse, Battlestar Galactica, Pushing Daisies, Chuck, MythBusters, The Sarah Silverman Program, Smallville, Spongebob Squarepants, Mystery Science Theater 3000, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Supernatural, Backyardigans, Ghost Whisperer, and Fraggle Rock.

[Gagneaux]

I really wish I could have been at the Patton Oswalt moderated Mystery Science Theater 3000 panel.


 

[Laurie]

No, but I've been loving Jason Woliner's pictures on Facebook.

[erechoveraker]

It's pretty worthless unless you're a pro or some Weirdowood type whoring something. Or of course, a supernerd with way too much extra cash.

SPX is coming up though, that's the goods.

[jbissell]

So let me get this straight, there's a Big Bang Theory panel but not one for Two and a Half Men?

Yeah, I wouldn't go if you paid me.

[AllisonLeGnome]

Considering that I can't even get through the AV Club recaps, I doubt I'll ever find myself there.

[Gagneaux]

do they even mention comic books at comicon? Seems like all I hear about are movies and TV shows being pimped there.

[KickTheBobo]

A pal of mine told me last week that he was going to this and I could only respond by asking "What have you become?!"

This kind of shit has really started to annoy me in the past few years: the endless hunger (some) folks have for new and constant entertainment. The friend I speak of will constantly barrage me with questions about whether I've seen this or that latest blockbuster or heard the latest dozen flavours-of-the-month from Pitchfork. Don't get me wrong: I love a good movie or a good album, but there is such a backlog of great culture that I haven't been exposed to yet (for x: the early Aerosmith or ZZ Top albums, the films of frenchies like Godard & Truffaut or stuff from Jodorowsky) that I'd rather check out one or two things whose value has been proven by history, rather than trudge through all this new shit in hopes of finding something gold just because it's NEW & BLEEDING EDGE.

maybe I'm just a grump, or maybe the new Hold Steady album just isn't that great. I just can't tell anymore.

[Sarah]

This kind of shit has really started to annoy me in the past few years: the endless hunger (some) folks have for new and constant entertainment.

You should love me, then, KtB.

[Turf Out]

maybe I'm just a grump, or maybe the new Hold Steady album just isn't that great. I just can't tell anymore.

It's not that great at all. I'm with you on that but we appear to be the only ones.

[Fido]

...such a backlog of great culture ... the early Aerosmith or ZZ Top albums...)

Very interesting things to mention in that context.  Not poking fun at all, just think these are very unexpected things to cite. I'll readily admit to appreciating ZZ Top.

I just saw a 20-sth. woman in the elevator wearing a Velvet Underground tshirt (not exactly her era), and realized I've never really given much of a listen to them. Maybe it's about time?

I share your impatience with the fascination with newness, I guess because I've scoured so many new movies/bands/singers etc. over the years and found that they ultimately weren't worth the damn time. However, it's safe to say that I'm well on my way to becoming an old grump.

I also share your hatred for this:

[Bryan]

I just saw a 20-sth. woman in the elevator wearing a Velvet Underground tshirt (not exactly her era), and realized I've never really given much of a listen to them. Maybe it's about time?

Yes! It is!

I certainly have a fanboyish side. I'm excited to hear new stuff about upcoming movies, etc. (See the Watchmen Trailer thread for evidence of this.) But I agree our culture has definitely gone off the rails with a hunger for the new.

On the lighter side of things, a friend attended this years Comicon for the first time for business. He managed to snag some original Dave Berg art! That's kind of cool.

[samir]

I'd have enjoyed the Spaced panel and little else.
But then, all the queueing would annoy me.

[KickTheBobo]

...such a backlog of great culture ... the early Aerosmith or ZZ Top albums...)

Very interesting things to mention in that context.  Not poking fun at all, just think these are very unexpected things to cite. I'll readily admit to appreciating ZZ Top.

I just saw a 20-sth. woman in the elevator wearing a Velvet Underground tshirt (not exactly her era), and realized I've never really given much of a listen to them. Maybe it's about time?

I share your impatience with the fascination with newness, I guess because I've scoured so many new movies/bands/singers etc. over the years and found that they ultimately weren't worth the damn time. However, it's safe to say that I'm well on my way to becoming an old grump.

Sure, the Velvet Underground put out some great music (in my opinion) and I think warrant a bit of investigation if you have some time (I think the banana album is great).

I have a theory about some of these things: the whole over-immersion and hyper-documentation of the NOW. It's all about Freedom Rock!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKDk-mg1J9Q[/youtube]

allow me to explain: the Freedom Rock commercial (as well as the Dead's "Touch of Grey" video) pretty much coincided with the 20th anniversary of Woodstock (aka: the most important and amazing (counter)cultural event EVER). And thus began Boomer Nostalgia, which is still going strong till this day (I just saw an infomercial with Peter Fonda for some compilation album - dude was wearing the Easy Rider outfit and everything). So, for the past 20 years, we have been bombarded with Vh1 shows about how awesome the 60s were ("We stopped a WAR, man!") and movies about the figures from the time (musical, political, artistic). Nevermind the endless array of merch (Che t-shirt and the like).

SO, for the following generation(s), we have internalized the FACT that no matter what our experiences/ achievements are, they will NEVER be as pure or amazing as what happened back in Haight-Ashbury or Greenwich Village. So now we have this chip on our shoulders because we feel that our favorite bands can never have the same cultural value (even though they do, to us) as the Beatles/Stones/Dylan. Because of this inferiority complex, we have begun to over-document and artificially inflate the value of a lot of our culture.

Also, gotta take that 2 dozen cellphone pics to PROVE that you were there, because this event just might make history. I wasn't there when Iggy got all cut up by those broken beer glasses, but was the first to upload a clip of Karen O totally going "beserk" at that one show.

sorry for rambling.

ps - I would love to read Sarah's review of the new releases from Load Records.

[jbissell]

Well said sir.