November
5
Texas Tidbits
Saturday at Wizard World Texas is in the books. Several retailers said attendance was light on Friday, but even with NASCAR in town Saturday had a good crowd and friendly vibe.
The guests were having as much fun as the fans. Actor Sean Astin had a good turnout for his signing and panel, during which he chatted about everything from his family to "Lord of the Rings" and his upcoming stint on Fox skein "24." "Serenity" actress Summer Glau signed for fans, as well.
Lions Gate had a strong presence, promoting its genre fare such as "Saw II" at their booth and giving fans a sneak peek at the upcoming Ultimate Avengers animated DVD feature the company is making with Marvel Studios. Craig Kyle from Marvel Studios was on hand with director and producer Bob Richardson and comics artist Bryan Hitch, who drew the arc of "The Ultimates" that the film is adapting. The panel showed an extended fight scene between the Hulk and the Avengers from the DVD and fans were very happy with the results. Kyle says the DVD pic lets Marvel take chances that they can't with a feature film or animated TV series. The pic portrays the superhero tale with the sort of mayhem fans of the comic will expect. While special features are still to be finalized, Hitch says a featurette has been shot featuring himself and "Ultimates" writer Mark Millar. The pic is the first of four Marvel animated DVD features, with a second Ultimate Avengers pic, an Iron Man origin pic and a Doctor Strange feature in the works.
There were few surprises on the floor. DreamWorks was the only other studio on the floor, with a small table and a few promo giveaways. There were plenty of dealers actually selling comicbooks; toys and DVDs were plentiful, too. A cool fan film called First Round, in which Wolverine faces off against the Punisher, is one of the more interesting items to find on the floor. Info on ordering the 12 minute film can be found online.
DC followed with a look ahead at its 2006 plans with VP of Sales Bob Wayne and Exec Editor of the DCU Dan Didio. In a fast-moving and very funny panel (in which Didio enjoyed a few beers brought by a fan) the pair offered lots of hints and few specifics about the DCU so as not to spoil "Infinite Crisis." Among the new tidbits they dropped were news of a new Warlord series by Bruce Jones and Bart Sears; a new Sgt. Rock miniseries written and drawn by Joe Kubert with alternate covers on the first issue by Adam and Andy Kubert, new volumes in the Showcase format will include Justice League of America, Green Arrow and House of Mystery, and Neil Gaiman's classic series The Sandman will be getting the absolute edition treatment. Fans were happy just to watch Didio and Wayne, who were funny enough together to take their act on the road.
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I have few comments on the Ultimate Avengers DVD preview that was shown at Wizard World Texas. It's true that it was praised by one fan in the Q&A section of the panel, but I have to say that I and some others I talked to were terribly disappointed in it. While it is impossible to replicate the Hitch-style artwork, no attempt was even made. The animation looked exactly like a 90's X-MEN cartoon with no additional detail or production value. The fight scene was cookie-cutter -- instead of Times Square, the fight took place in a nondescript abandoned industrial park of some sort. The backgrounds were stock, and the costumes and dialogue were equally simplistic. (Bruce Timm's Batman cartoons weren't ultra-realistic, but they had a great style to them, at least). Basically, despite the creators comments at the panel, this was just another saturday-morning quality level cartoon. They talked about how the fight scene was something that couldn't go on TV, but believe me, there was nothing controversial about it. Using Hitch's artwork for the promotional materials is extremely misleading. Hugely disappointing.
Posted by: cingerto | November 10, 2005 at 09:48 AM
I disagree with your assesment of the animation. Yes, it does look old school, but it's noticeably better than the 1990s X-Men cartoon. Having seen a few eps of that recently, the animation on that doesn't hold up well. This looks smoother and cleaner.
And as for the fight .... you can't tell me you don't want to see them at least try to do that opening WWII scene!
Posted by: Tom McLean | November 10, 2005 at 08:16 PM
Hmm .... ok Tom I'll give it another shot when the DVD comes out ....
Posted by: cingerto | November 11, 2005 at 12:40 PM