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The 50th Comic-Con International will commence in two weeks so the entire day’s programming is now being made available on their website, giving attendees the chance to start planning their activities. The more interests one has the more difficult it can become, especially if those interests are popular. Since Sunday is a shorter day, here’s my Top 4 panels I hope to attend (in chronological order):
THE ANNUAL JACK KIRBY TRIBUTE PANEL (1o:00am – 11:15am, 5AB) – Moderated by former Kirby assistant Mark Evanier, it’s been 25 years since “The King of Comics” left this mortal coil yet his influence on pop culture has never been greater. On hand to sing the praises of the man and his art are Kurt Busiek (Astro City, Marvels), Buzz Dixon (Thundarr the Barbarian, Destroyer Duck), Mike Royer (Kirby’s favorite inker), attorney Paul S. Levine, and maybe a few surprise panelists.
STAR TREK EYEWITNESS: AN HOUR WITH 1964 PILOT DIRECTOR ROBERT BUTLER (12:00pm – 1:00pm, 29AB) – Larry Nemecek is joined by Emmy Award–winning director Robert Butler for a discussion about the original Star Trek pilot “The Cage.” It would be nice to hear from a man who there at the very beginning.
IMAGE COMICS: THE ROAD TO THE HISTORIC SPAWN #300 AND #301 (1:45pm – 2:45pm, 5AB) – Todd McFarlane (president at Image Comics, creator of SPAWN) and other guests from the creative teams of issues #300 and #301 celebrate SPAWN becoming the longest-running creator-owned comic book.
COMIC-CON NOW (2:30pm – 3:30pm, 23ABC) – Comic-Con Talk Back isn’t being held this year, likely due to the passing of John Rogers, former president of Comic-Con, which is too bad because it was a great venue to hear attendees voice their legitimate concerns and illegitimate complaints about the Con. This appears to be a replacement of sorts with CCI board members and staffers on hand to discuss the current state of Comic-Con and where it’s headed
