Guests includes: George Pérez, Neil Gaiman, David Goyer, Dave McKean, Alex Ross, Grant Morrison, Wendy Pini, Richard Pini, Matt Groening, Julie Schwartz, George Woodbridge, Sal Buscema, Geoff Johns, Jackson "Butch" Guice, and more.
Fund highlights included booth signings by Brian Azzarello, Denis
Kitchen, Keith DeCandido, Jill Thompson, Rich Koslowski, Jai Sen,
Jaime Hernandez, Joel Priddy, Larry Marder, Mark Waid, and Colleen
Coover. The coolest booth moments came when George Perez and Frank
Miller came by for their signing times and wound up doing some
phenomenal sketches for our members.
George Perez was passing by and Brian Tidwell got his attention and he came over and talked to the both of us for a few minutes. He told us he could not wait for the Baltimore show since that would be the first Con after JLA/Avengers was out and how after that his schedule was going to lessen for a while - the guy needs a rest!
Thought you might enjoy this commission piece I got from George Pérez at the San Diego con. It's an homage to two of my favorite Marvel comics -- Avengers #184 (my favorite Perez cover) and Journey Into Mystery #121 by Jack Kirby.
Originally I planned to make it a "Jam" piece with other artists adding other Avengers to the scene, but when I saw what George had done, it was too beautiful to mess with.
Teen Titans #1 Off the Presses, Scoop, Friday, July 25, 2003
Unless you've been hiding out for the past two weeks, you probably have heard that Teen Titans #1 sold out from DC nine days before it hit the stands. The newly revitalized title, written by Geoff Johns (Flash, JSA) and illustrated by the team of Mike McKone (pencils) and Marlo Alquiza (inks), was nearly impossible to find at cover price at Comic-Con International: San Diego, and the variant cover by Michael Turner (Fathom) was even harder to locate. Now the second printing is available, with a cover paying homage to the Marv Wolfman - George Perez era New Teen Titans #1. And other than a few team members, what does the latest Teen Titans have in common with its illustrious predecessor? Great story, great art and lots and lots of attention from collections. The Teen Titans cartoon is also up and running on Cartoon Network, so stay tuned.
DC's Director of Sales and Marketing, Patricia Jeres, said that the company could not go into any detail on the JLA/Avengers mini-series. When asked why, she replied, "It's a collaborative project with Marvel. Without a Marvel presence here at the con, we can't say anything because they have to know what's being said." Gather what you can from that, but at least we know that this is a very serious project.
There were many parties to go to this year, including the Crossgen affair, the IDW party (Len Wein and I are co-writing the "Gene Pool" graphic novel for them, on sale in October) and the Teen Titans cartoon premiere party. George Perez and I sat together watching the show. I'd seen the episode in advance, but George had not...
The con finally ended Monday night with the last of my annual Wolfman Post san Diego Con parties. I've been holding them on and off for over a decade, and everyone and their mothers came out for this one. We had tons of friends as well as many new visitors.
STOP THE PRESSES: The annual FanPro trivia had a shocking result when the Fan team, led by Tom Galloway, Sidne Gail Ward and Tim Lynch dealt a decisive 190-80 victory to the pro team of Len Wein, Kurt Buseik and Mark Waid. The lop-sided victory was particularly ironic the category was chosen by Busiek himself and was, of all things, JLA/AVENGERS.
San Diego news! Actually, bad news. I asked the folks at Wizard if they would be doing a JLA/Avengers special issue like the big Alex Ross special. They said they talked about it but decided not to.
My hope was not only for them to do a special, but that they would have artist like Alan Davis, Phil Jimenez and Neal Adams do JLA/Avengers sketches for it, since it seems that neither Marvel or DC will be doing anything for it out side of the series itself. I even hoped to let them see and possibly use JLA/Avengers art that I had commissioned these past few years by artist like Mike Grell, Mike Miller and Geof Isherwood among others. Of course I'm guessing they might've had to contact the respective artist in the use of the art, but heck. I don't know. But since Wizard wasn't planning anything I never showed them any of the art.
I had to leave the con to catch my flight at 2 p.m. Saturday, So I have no idea what was discussed on the JLA/Avengers panel (JLA/Avengers Pro/Fan Trivia Challenge). I can only hope DC is planning something big. Marvel didn't have a booth, so I couldn't ask them any questions.
I did get my picture with my main man George Perez though, so that was cool. Just never had the chance to really talk with him.
In speaking about Avengers/JLA, moderator Bob Wayne quipped that people should hurry and buy issue #1 (published by Marvel), because he anticipates it will be gone by the end of the day. Wayne then said that, in October, people can take their time in getting their issue, because DC is printing it (hinting that they will be overprinting). Wayne continued, saying that hopefully people won’t have family obligations in November, because they’ll have to get to the comic book store to get their copy of issue #3 (published by Marvel), but in December, people can once again take their time in getting to the shop for issue #4.
“So, in summary,” Wayne said, “Avengers/JLA, two issues hard to find, two issues very easy to find.”
One of the biggest upcoming events from DC and Marvel comics is the crossover of their icons in Avengers/JLA. The miniseries begins this September and features tons of heroes, lots of action, and adventure. Written by Kurt Busiek with art by George Perez, this series is sure to thrill mainstream superhero fans. Perez commented this may be his last “mainstream hurrah” here.
SAN DIEGO, DAY ONE: CROSSGEN LAUNCHES A MAGIC MISSLE by Arthur Lender, Contributing Writer
Posted: July 18, 2003
(excerpt)
"Solus #6" features a cross-over with one of Barbara Kesel's other books, "The First." After that, "Solus" will cross into "Brath" and into "Mystic". The story in "Solus" begins a sort of concluding arch that will reveal the truth behind the sigils in the CGU. Look for the saga to come to a head sometime next year.
JLA/Avengers is nearing its publication date in September and THE PULSE thought it was the perfect opportunity to catch up with Busiek and ask him a few quick questions about his thoughts on the series. Was this a Holy Grail? If not what is? Why should you spend your hard earned money on this crossover of epic proportions? Busiek offers answers to all this and more ...
THE PULSE: How does it feel to be so close to finally having an issue in hand of this series?
KURT BUSIEK: Pretty damn good. It's been a long road, but seeing color proofs of #1's artwork, seeing it all put together as *comics*, was a real treat. Seeing it printed and bound will be even more so -- particularly since that's when we start to find out whether the audience *likes* this monster we've been building for years...
THE PULSE: Was this like your comics holy grail of projects you always dreamed of doing? How is the reality to what you thought it would be like?
BUSIEK: No, actually, I never really dreamed of doing JLA/AVENGERS -- I never expected to be the guy they'd tap to do it, when and if it ever happened. I'd come up with a scenario or two, just for fun, but hey, I was bowled over when I got offered AVENGERS in the first place. To be in the right place at the right time, and get offered JLA/AVENGERS too was nothing I ever expected was going to happen.
Back when I was a wanna-be pro, my holy grail, the book I wanted to write more than any other, was X-MEN. I got over that years ago, though, and have been having fun doing all kindsa stuff.
THE PULSE: Which characters have been your favorite to have interact from each team?
BUSIEK: Nice try. I'm looking forward to people coming to this without a whole lot of insider information -- just letting 'em wait and see what happens, rather than giving tidbits away before they read it.
THE PULSE: If you had to give the pitch of why people should check this out … what would your pitch be?
BUSIEK: It's the JLA, it's the Avengers, it's George Perez with the pedal to the metal, drawing the book he was born to draw, and it's been twenty years of waiting. That's enough, I think -- if you don't want that, then this ain't the project for you.
If you like my stuff, hey, that's cool too -- but I think "JLA. Avengers. Perez. Finally." pretty well covers it.
Newsarama: Well, I was thinking more along the lines of an early 19th century British orphanage with fans saying, “Please, sir, may I have some more?”…
Kurt Busiek: What I've just outlined will keep me busy on Astro City for quite a while. Beyond that, Carlos Pacheco and I are just now launching Arrowsmith, that fantasy-adventure WWI series I mentioned. I have a TPB of the first ongoing title I ever created, The Liberty Project, which James Fry and I did for Eclipse -- that's just out from About Comics.
In September, JLA/Avengers starts, with sensational art by George "All of Them" Perez. Sometime after that, I've got Conan, with Cary Nord, for Dark Horse, and Superman: Secret Identity with Stuart Immonen, for DC. And there are at least two other projects after that -- since a couple of those are minis -- but they're not announced yet.
That's enough to keep me at the keyboard for a good while to come...
CBLDFNews San Diego Update: Waid, Perez, Mile High Auction Items! Date : Thu, 17 Jul 2003 16:14:14 -0000
(excerpt)
NEW SIGNINGS!
During Preview Night, George Perez walked into the Fund booth to ask
if we had any time open for him to spend at the booth, and in that
infectious, enthusiastic Perez manner explained that he's eager to do
some sketches for Fund supporters at the show. So, we're still
working out the scheduling details, but stop by the Fund booth on
Friday morning for Perez signing times.
Meanwhile, Mark Waid will be signing from 11:30 to 12:30 on Sunday.
Joel Priddy, back cover artist of the 2003 SPX book will be joining
Jaime Hernandez at 3:00 on Friday.
We're also scheduling signings with other SPX creators during the
show. Colleen Coover, author of Small Favors will also be signing
for the Fund. These signings are coming together at the show, so
stop by the booth to find out out when they are.
If fans want to get a chance to visit with George at the San Diego Comic-Con, and perhaps get a sketch, they'll want to visit the CrossGen booths during the following times:
The Fund’s annual San Diego auction brings out our best donations to raise funds for our casework and this year’s is no exception. Keynote items include a Sandman quilt presented to Neil Gaiman on his 42nd birthday; Rich Koslowski’s cover to Busted #12; Jim Lee’s lobster bib from the Palm Restaurant in Denver; a reproduction of the script to Big Numbers #3 signed by Alan Moore, and much, much more.
(excerpt)
...
54. Supergirl by Frank Miller, artist’s proof stat, 1/1, signed by the artist, donated by the artist
55. The Perez Archives vol. 1, signed by Andy Mangels and George Perez, out of print
56. Sin City Prototype Flask, prototype for an unmanufactured product, donated by the artist
Claypool Comics has some fun stuff planned for this year's San Diego Comic-Con. Here's the scoop:
Room 8
Saturday, 5:00 - 6:00 CLAYPOOL COMICS: 10 YEARS WITH THE STARS!
It's the 10th birthday of Claypool Comics, publisher of PETER DAVID's Soulsearchers and Company, the vampire saga Deadbeats, and the sexy, sassy Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. So we're throwing a party featuring Elvira writer KURT BUSIEK (JLA/Avengers), Soulsearchers artists AMANDA CONNER (the notorious The Pro), JOHN HEEBINK (Nick Fury), STEVE LEIALOHA (Fables), and GORDON PURCELL (The Flash), CASSANDRA PETERSON (Elvira herself), and MARK PIERSON, Cassandra's husband and the man who supervises Elvira's appearances in the comics. We'll also have birthday cake, previews of advance art, and gifts for all who attend (while supplies last). GEORGE PEREZ, DAVE COCKRUM (X-Men), and classic Spider-Man artists JIM MOONEY and AL MILGROM have appeared in Claypool's pages, not to mention the first comics work by PAUL DINI (Batman Adventures) and PETER DAVID's first creator-owned comics series. Not many independent publishers have survived the last ten turbulent years, but Claypool's done it in style--so come join the party!
2:00–3:30 Cartoon Network Duck Dodgers and Teen Titans— Cartoon Network will unveil two new animated series this summer, Teen Titans and Duck Dodgers, both produced by Warner Bros. Animation. At this event, Cartoon Network senior vice president of original animation Sam Register moderates a panel discussion with the creators of each show, which will also include sneak previews of both. Panelists include Tony Cervone and Spike Brandt (supervising producers, Duck Dodgers), Paul Dini and Tom Minton (producers and writers, Duck Dodgers), Glen Murakami (producer, Teen Titans) and David Slack (series story editor, Teen Titans). Room 6CDEF
2:30–3:30 JLA/Avengers Pro/Fan Trivia Challenge— JLA/Avengers #1 comes out in September. To whet your appetite for a story that'll show every Avenger and JLAer, see past and present JLA and Avengers creators go up against a fan team in a trivia match worthy of a Crisis in the Kree/Skrull War! All questions will be about the Avengers or the JLA. The Purple Pros, consisting of Len Wein (JLA), Kurt Busiek (Avengers), Mark Waid (JLA), and Carlos Pacheco (Avengers Forever) go up against Usenet's Black Ink Irregulars, consisting of Tom Galloway, Sidne Ward, Tim Lynch, and a player to be determined. Room 7B
SUNDAY, JULY 20:
(excerpt)
12:00–1:00 CrossGen Creators: How I Broke into the Biz— How can you break into the comics industry? There's no magic equation, but there is plenty of good advice! Get a leg up on the wannabes and find out how Greg Land (Sojourn), Ron Marz (The Path), Jeff Johnson (Way of the Rat), Butch Guice (Ruse), Chuck Dixon (El Cazador), Brian Pulido (Lady Death) and George Perez (Solus) got their first big break! Room 9
Since we're located way down here in sunny Florida, CrossGen sees Comic-Con
International: San Diego 2003 as our chance to meet new friends and hang out
with all of our loyal fans from the rest of the world. And now, with the
excitement set to kick off in just a week, we're happy to announce our full
lineup of panels and activities!
The panels represent your chance to fire questions at your favorite CrossGen
creators--like Greg Land, Chuck Dixon, Butch Guice, Ron Marz, Jeff Johnson,
Ian Edginton, Brian Pulido, R.A. Salvatore and George Pérez--so be sure to
think up plenty of good ones!
(excerpt)
THURSDAY, JULY 17
2:00 - 3:00 CROSSGEN: MONKEYS, PIRATES & YOU!
Room 3
What's next for Arwyn, Lady Death and the rest of CrossGen's characters?
Find out as a power-packed panel including Chuck Dixon (Way of the Rat,
Sigil, Crux and El Cazador), Ron Marz (The Path), Tony Bedard (Route 666,
Mystic and Negation), Barbara Kesel (Solus, The First and Meridian), Ian
Edginton (Sojourn and Scion), Robert Rodi (The Crossovers), Brian Pulido
(Lady Death) and R.A. Salvatore (DemonWars) reveal their plans and answer
your questions!
FRIDAY, JULY 18
5:00 - 6:00 CROSSGEN: TOMORROW'S TECHNOLOGY...TODAY!
Room 1AB
You've heard the rumors and read the announcements. Now see the future for
yourself! What's up with comics on DVDs? Find out...and witness a few more
surprises that will help CrossGen shepherd comics into the next century!
SUNDAY, JULY 20
12:00 - 1:00 HOW I BROKE INTO THE COMICS BIZ!
Room 9
How can you break into the comics industry? There's no magic equation...but
there is plenty of good advice! Get a leg up on the wannabes and find out
how Greg Land, Ron Marz, Jeff Johnson, Butch Guice, Chuck Dixon, Brian
Pulido and George Pérez got their first big break!
And don't forget to stop by the crazy CrossGen booth and say "Hi"! While
there you can:
* Get free autographs and character sketches!
* Pick up a copy of the Free Comic Book Day edition of Way of the Rat #1!
* Take home free promo posters!
* Enter the daily raffle to win cool swag!
* Watch the mind-blowing, five-minute Chimera CG animated feature!
And last, but certainly not least, you can meet the following cool creators:
Scott Beatty (Ruse)
Tony Bedard (Route 666, Mystic, Negation)
Sergio Cariello (Crux)
Jim Cheung (Scion)
Vincenzo Cucca (Meridian)
Frank D'Armata (Crux)
Andrea Di Vito (Brath)
Chuck Dixon (El Cazador, Crux, Sigil, Way of the Rat)
Dale Eaglesham (Sigil)
Ian Edginton (Sojourn, Scion)
Steve Epting (El Cazador)
Fabrizio Fiorintino (Lady Death)
Butch Guice (Ruse)
Jeff Johnson (Way of the Rat)
Barbara Kesel (Meridian, The First, Solus)
Greg Land (Sojourn)
Aaron Lopresti (Mystic)
Ron Marz (Sojourn, Scion, The Path)
Karl Moline (Route 666)
Paul Pelletier (Negation)
George Pérez (Solus)
Brandon Peterson (Chimera)
Luke Ross (Scion)
R.A. Salvatore (DemonWars)
Bart Sears (art director, former artist on The First and The Path)
Andy Smith (The First)
Matthew Smith (The Path)
"Mr. Kurt Busiek and Mr. Carlos Pacheco are both slated to appear at Comic Con International in San Diego on July 17-20 2003."
Not only that, but Carlos will be joining Len Wein, Mark Waid and yrs truly on the "Purple Pros" trivia team, as we take on a fan team of gee- er, trivia experts on Saturday.
The subject of the challenge this year, fittingly enough, is JLA/AVENGERS.
This gives us a team that has a few appropriate credits -- Len has written JLA and edited both JLA and AVENGERS, Mark has written both JLA and AVENGERS, Carlos has drawn AVENGERS FOREVER, an AVENGERS Annual and JLA/JSA: VIRTUE & VICE, and I've written both JLA and AVENGERS and JLA/AVENGERS.
(Vu: Here's some of the schedule for SDCC that might be of interest.)
Programming Schedule: Day 1
We begin the complete announcement of our 2003 Programming schedule with Thursday, July 17. Stay tuned for Days 2, 3 and 4!
THURSDAY, JULY 17:
(excerpt)
2:00–3:00 CrossGen 2003!— What's next for Sojourn, Lady Death, and the rest of CrossGen's line-up? Find out as Chuck Dixon (Way of the Rat, Sigil, Crux, El Cazador), Ron Marz (The Path), Tony Bedard (Route 666, Mystic, Negation), Barbara Kesel (Solus, The First, Meridian), Ian Edginton (Sojourn, Scion), Robert Rodi (The Crossovers), Brian Pulido (Lady Death). and R. A. Salvatore (DemonWars) reveal their plans and answer your questions! Room 3
4:00–5:30 Death of the Letter Column— What the @#$% happened? Time was, the comic book letter column was a hotbed of controversy, intrigue, and fans about to become pros. Now it’s a vanishing breed, with the most interesting examples turning up in some of the independently published comics. Join Marv Wolfman (one of those fans turned pro) as he chats with Batton Lash (whose comics Supernatural Law and Mavis still run letter columns each and every issue), well-known letter hacks Malcolm Bourne and Dana Gabbard, and another fan-turned-pro, Bob Hall, as they discuss the life, death, and future of letter columns in comics. Room 16AB
Programming Schedule: Day 2
FRIDAY, JULY 18:
MODERN MASTERS #2: GEORGE PEREZ
LEGION COMPANION
10:30–11:30 TwoMorrows Publishing— Find out what's new (and old!) from the publisher that’s bringing new life to comics fandom! Panelists Mark Evanier (Wertham Was Right!), George Khoury (Extraordinary Works of Alan Moore), Eric Nolen-Weathington (Modern Masters), Danny Fingeroth (Write Now!), and Pete Von Sholly (CHGGGWOM) will be on hand to spill the beans about their new projects. Moderated by publisher John Morrow (Jack Kirby Collector). Room 3
4:00–5:00 Cup o’ Joe (Quesada)— Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada sits down to talk about whatever you the fans want to ask. Joe shoots from the hip and never pulls punches. Find out what's happening at Marvel right now and what's in store for the future straight from the man himself! Room 1AB
5:00–6:00 CrossGen: Tomorrow’s Technology Today— You've heard the rumors and read the announcements. Now see the future for yourself! How will comics jump to DVDs? Find out and witness a few more surprises that will help CrossGen shepherd comics into the next century! Room 1AB
Each year thousands of professionals flock to San Diego
Comic-Con International sees an incredible migration of professionals of all walks of the creative life each and every year. In addition to the largest contingent of professionals working in the comic book industry of any convention, Comic-Con attracts creative people from movies, television, animation, gaming, and the toy industry.
Pre-registered attending professionals also gain access to Preview Night, Wednesday, July 16.
Comic-Con International 2003
Attending Professionals Below is a list of pros attending as of July 1, 2003. These are professionals who have allowed us to use their names in advertising
(excerpt)
Antonio Perez, Daniel Perez, Eddie Perez, Fermin Perez, George Perez, Omaha Perez, Valerie Perez
Guests includes: George Pérez, Neil Gaiman, David Goyer, Dave McKean, Alex Ross, Grant Morrison, Wendy Pini, Richard Pini, Matt Groening, Julie Schwartz, George Woodbridge, Sal Buscema, Geoff Johns, Jackson "Butch" Guice, and more.
George Pérez Kirk Philbrick at the SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2003 (16-20 July 2003)
