HBO'S TRUE BLOOD. I'm there mainly because it's created by Alan Ball (Six Feet Under). Until this Thursday I hadn't heard of the series. Since then, I'm knee deep in Book 1. The series is based on novels by Charlaine Harris and will star Anna Paquin (looking rather pretty as a blonde, in-person), Stephen Moyer, and a bunch of other actors from shows I don't watch. Amongst fans, I was surprised how many people were there because they were fans of the book - not, like me, a fan of Alan Ball. Book 9 is due out soon. In the previews we saw, Anna Paquin looks like a young Holly Hunter, Southern accent and all.
The series debuts on HBO on September 7th and I left this pretty excited about it. Alan is determined not to fall into the usual vampire theatrics - "no opera music, no blue lights, and no fake contacts," he said. There will be little in the way of CGI effects because of the tight shooting schedule. HBO spent some big money on marketing at the Con. We received a great gift bag with t-shirts, book, etc. And there will be a ton of viral marketing including lovebitten.net, a Blood Copy blog and some In Focus backstories on HBO. Getting excited about some new shows is just why I come here.
There wasn't much in the way of nighttime programming the first night. After last year, we weren't as sold on making "10th Annual Superhero Kung-Fu Extravaganza" or Lost Boys: The Tribe and we were too hungry to wait through "Comedy Central TV Funhouse w/Robert Smigel."
FRIDAY, JULY 25
Every year, this ends up being my favorite day. It's a full day, usually the best panels and usually not as jam packed as Saturday.
BATMAN: BRAVE & BOLD. In a conscience decision to avoid the biggest crowds, I end up in this panel for the latest Batman animated series that will debut on Cartoon Network in the Fall. With all the Dark Knight stories out there recently, this is a fresh step back to the lighter, throwback Batman. Heavily influenced by artist Dick Sprang from the Fifties and Sixties and even the original Batman TV series, this looks really fun. There's no Alfred, no Gordon, and no Batcave. You won't see Batman clicking away at his computer every seven minutes. The theme is a jazzier version of the original TV show and the design is very bold and striking when compared to recent series (no manga influences here). Who will Batman team with? The creators said they had two rules - Anybody but Robin and Anywhere but Gotham. From the preview - expect Gentleman Ghost, Gorilla Grod, Zebra Man, Kite Man and Blue Beetle at the least.
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