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unexpectedreylo · 5 years

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Some Post SDCC Thoughts

I noticed there were fans on Twitter who got jelly of Marvel’s Hall H panel on Saturday night. I’ve been saying for a long time that Star Wars isn’t Marvel. 10 movies a year isn’t going to work; audiences regard Star Wars differently and Lucasfilm isn’t prepared at the moment to handle or promote that kind of volume anyway (see how it totally mishandled “Solo”).

Marvel has used SDCC as its defacto Celebration for 10 years; they don’t put on their own conventions. In spite of what has been said, it’s not Twilight that made SDCC into the Coachella of pop culture, it was in big part the creation of Marvel Studios. So Kevin Feige knows how to get people’s attention with big splashy panels with lots of surprises, several announcements, and big stars. Star Wars has gotten by on secrecy, LOTS of secrecy. That’s just how it is. Plus we had our own convention three months ago AND there will be more at D23 next month.

I will also say this. Marvel’s movies have been very successful at the box office worldwide but its t.v. shows haven’t connected on the same level. I don’t know if that will change with Disney+. But Star Wars has been very successful on the small screen over the past 10 years or so. Ahsoka’s immense popularity as a character in spite of never being in a film is a testament to that. Star Wars Resistance did even better than Rebels in the ratings in its first reason, in spite of its weird time slot. Of course we are getting more Clone Wars and I think The Mandalorian, what little we know of it now, is very promising. Plus we got Diego Luna back as Cassian Andor and another unannounced Disney+ project in the works. I don’t doubt these will be awesome. Star Wars attracts the best and keeps the best.

Which gets to my next point. Star Wars has never relied on big stars to help power its franchise. It finds unknowns and indie darlings, throws them in with veteran character actors, and turns them into stars. Would Natalie Portman ever made the transition from cult kid actress to Lady Thor without Star Wars? Doubt it. I mean, look at all of the cool people who have done or are doing Star Wars on some level. And there are more cool people who want in.

Okay, on to some TROS speculation. First, the Sith trooper. I ended up buying a hat, a mini Geeky Tiki, and Loungefly’s huge backpack. I’m such a sucker. Watch these bad boys show up for about 30 seconds in the film, LOL. Anyway, I saw the wonderful trooper armor display which also included the Sith trooper and I watched the video made just for the con. I really hope they post it online because it’s a pretty good history of the armor and it includes interviews with Dave Filoni, J.J. Abrams, and Gwendoline Christie. Now as the video transitions to a different phase/type of trooper, it will note its affiliation, i.e. the Empire, the Republic, First Order, etc.. The Sith trooper’s affiliation was the First Order. Now, that might seem like duh, so obvious. But it complicates what this really means for Kylo’s leadership of the First Order. Kylo is not a Sith and given what he said in TLJ, he doesn’t want to be. I also don’t think Kylo wants to give up his crown to be another wrinkly white warlock’s bitch. So this indicates to me the possibility that the First Order will split into factions, one that is loyal to Darth Sidious and the Sith, and another that is loyal to Kylo Ren.

Some, including myself, have speculated that the Sith troopers are clones. If that’s the case and if the armor on display was actually used in the movie, then I can tell you they aren’t Kylo clones. Too short, too small for Big McLargehuge.

Finally the big Star Wars announcement from the con, the upcoming The Rise Of Kylo Ren comics series. I’m really psyched to see this!

#tros #star wars #the rise of skywalker #sith trooper #speculation

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sparklegemstone · 5 years

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San Diego Comic Con 2019 -- Sat. Marvel Studios Panel

Got back from a long weekend at SDCC Sunday night and wanted to post my reactions. This first post will be about the Saturday Marvel Studios panel since that is what has captured most people’s interest. Fair warning, half of this is going to be my own personal waffling and stream-of-consciousness that you may not care a wink about.

I've been trying to get a SDCC badge for, what, 4-5 years now? Year after year, the lottery did not look kindly on me. So towards the end of 2018 when I finally succeeded in getting a badge for 2019, not only was I excited to have gotten a badge at all, but I thought I was extra lucky and that, if I were to be able to attend any year, this would be the year to attend because 1) it would likely be the concluding Game of Thrones panel, which after almost a decade would be a monumental event and 2) under the impression that the Loki series was going to be some of the first content available for Disney+ released late 2019/early 2020, without really having any expectations I was daydreaming about how great it would be if Hiddleston were to be there promoting Loki+ as well. Turns out both of these were true!

So flash forward to the weekend of SDCC. Since we'd learned that Loki+ was still on the far horizon I'd completely forgotten about any wistful idea of Hiddleston being at the con. In the aftermath of Endgame, I was not feeling interested in the upcoming Marvel Studios content, but still my love for Phase 1 and 2 and completionist tendencies were compelling me to try and get into Hall H on Saturday for the Marvel Studios panel regardless. If only 50-100 more Star Trek fans hadn't felt it worth sticking around for Marvel, I would have gotten in, it was very close, but I didn't quite make it. But I did get to see the official recording of the full panel sans promotional videos Saturday night 3 hours after the live event as part of the "playback" programming at the con.

So! Feige's introducing movies and bringing their casts onto the stage, but my brain's so comfortably seated in my prior belief not expecting Hiddleston to be here that the possibility didn't even dawn on me. I was so dense you guys, it did not dawn on me until literally 5 seconds before Hiddleston came out on stage, even after Feige had started talking about Loki+, lol. But what a delightful surprise!

People are talking about the bit of music that played while Tom walked onto stage. There's another piece of music, though. In the playback of the Hall H panel that I watched, there was some introductory video for the Loki+ bit of the panel for which the video itself was redacted but the sound for the video still played. For that piece of music, whimsical is the wrong word, I don't want to bring people's minds to the cartoony/whimsical character of the first Loki+ logo we saw because the music wasn't of that nature, but it kind of felt quirky and unearthly, not heavy, grounded, and driving like a lot of the powerful MCU themes. I thought it had to be for Dr. Strange 2 until it became clear it was for Loki+.

I was delighted that the audience started chanting "Loki! Loki!" in callback to his previous SDCC appearances. That's a good group of fans there.

Also, seeing these huge groups of casts and creative teams coming on stage for 10 minutes at a time to introduce each of their movies, and then seeing Hiddleston up there by himself to introduce his own show, given equal weight and importance among the other MCU announcements at the panel, it just uniquely dawned on me then how proud and happy I felt that Hiddleston now had a front and center role carrying his own show and was getting the recognition for it, no longer a supporting character in a larger ensemble film. He was the only one that had the stage all to himself during the panel. Coming close would be things like Falcon & The Winter Soldier, which featured Mackie and Stan, but it's unclear to me how much that show is going to be about their characters vs. just featuring their characters, being about their interaction and the situations that arise when you throw them together. I have hope that Loki+ is going to be specifically about Loki as a character.

I enjoy the fandom content featuring Strange, Wanda, and Loki together as the trifecta of powerful magic users, and so when they announced Wanda would be making an appearance in Dr. Strange 2 I was lightly miffed that Loki was left out. In practice, though, I'm not sure how challenging it would be / how likely it would be that the creative team would execute such a Loki appearance well so I'm not going to focus on it.

And then Thor 4. Despite having negative interest in anything Thor-related at this point and agreeing that Loki as a character is not well-served by the sensibilities of another Waititi film, the thing I was most interested in was seeing if Hiddleston was going to join them on stage for that one, and when he didn't, I will admit that I felt a juvenile, knee-jerk reaction of irrational and undeserved resentment on Hiddleston's behalf, as if he was being excluded and deemed not good enough to be in another Thor film after all that he's brought to the Thor franchise, but of course it made no sense to feel that way when my brain kicked in. I'm not going to touch any of the 'behind the scenes relationship' wank, but in the most general possible sense, different stories have different needs. Either a character furthers a specific story or they don't, and for a piece of work where service to the story comes first, it should be as simple as that and needn't be about the character at all. Plus in this case logistically I don't even know if Hiddleston would have the time to act in both Loki+ and Thor 4.

With how Jane was carelessly brushed aside in Ragnarok, and not being aware of anyone in Marvel Studios having talked about Portman since TDW, I was very surprised about the announcement that Thor 4 was going to feature Jane again, and intrigued as well at her larger role, just not enough to actually see the film. Maybe there's hope for Betsy yet (I don't actually believe that). What's interesting is that the Marvel comics and Marvel Studios exhibit that was in Seattle earlier this year featured artwork of Jane-as-Thor (if I remember correctly, it was created specifically for the exhibit) next to Hemsworth's costume, and now looking back I wonder if that was deliberately added to the exhibit by someone that had knowledge of Thor 4 or whether it was just a coincidence.

I cannot decide which has the sillier name: "Thor: Love and Thunder" or "Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness". Oh wait, yes I can. 😋

#marvel studios #sdcc 2019 #san diego comic con #loki

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bifrostgiant · 5 years

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The Marvel Studios panel at San Diego Comic Con (2019) will be on Saturday (July 20) in Hall H at 5:15PM PDT.

Be there or...don’t be there I guess? I won’t be there, but I’m really excited to see what comes out of it! Keep us updated SDCC attending friends!

#san diego comic con #sdcc19 #marvel studios #mcu #marvel phase 4

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bolshoiromanova · 5 years

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Yooo would anyone care if I did a liveblog of the Marvel Hall H panel on Saturday?? Mainly for the Black Widow stuff not for the other films lol.

#GOD I can't wait it'll just be me my laptop a glass of wine and my FEELINGS

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smiledip · 5 years

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You know you're old when you don't wanna go to Comic-Con but it's a tradition and you remember the good days when it used to be 30 dollars to go in all weekend, and nobody cared so you had the exhibit hall to yourself until Saturday. And you could sit against the wall when your feet were tired and nobody bothered you, and you didn't have to camp out to go into Hall H to see the next HP and Marvel movies. Or the free comics and manga. And the anime, cartoons, and movie viewing rooms without waiting in line. Or the board games you could sit down and play while you waited for the next big thing/panel you wanted to go to.

So yeah... 20 years of this shit and I'm goin again. Hahahaha at least it's free for me to spend 4 days of being miserable and uncomfortable in an over-crowded convention, complaining like I'm 80 years old. To my defense though it DID turn into #linecon and this year will be #linecon2019. Laughing my ass off as I speak to my friend from highschool about this and how we've been friends for 20 years.... I feel so old....and I feel tired during the day.

/endrant

/end nostalgia

#comic-con #comic-con2019 #not looking forward to it #comic con #old #lol #1998 was the first year i ever went #i was but a wee child #going with dad #nostalgia #rant #endrant

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comicsbeat · 6 years

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Why can’t the world just be ruled by cabals of mighty librarian queens? Organizing to create policies, looking out for the marginalized, fighting censorship, advocating for the education and literacy of all – we’d be led into a golden age of knowledge and peace.

Or at least that’s the fantasy I conjured after attending my very first American Library Association annual conference this past weekend in New Orleans.

Okay, maybe it’s just the exceptional people who I hung out with – the librarians driving the growing acceptance of graphic novel collections around the world. Whip smart and passionate about their advocacy, I soon came to realize the thing that was most powerful about this group: not only do they love reading, they love it when YOU read, too, and they do everything they can to help more people enjoy reading.

https://twitter.com/librarylandia/status/1011285466560237568

This was undoubtedly a banner year for the graphic novel pavilion at ALA. Perhaps it was the lure of the exotic New Orleans setting – supposedly attendance geos up whenever the ALAAC is held in the Crescent City. But maybe it was destiny. Not only was it my own first ALA (something that shocked everyone I told) but the number of publishers attending for the first time or returning after a long absence was much remarked upon. Titan, Rebellion, Humanoids, the French Comics Association, Europe Comics, Zenescope and several other were set up for the first time. Fantagraphics and Boom were returning after long absences. And even DC, long represented by distributor Random House, had finally returned with a booth promoting their Ink, Zoom and Black Label lines.

The only publisher missing in action? Marvel Comics, a fact often noted that drew some tough talk from librarians. But that will be returned to.

It wasn’t just publishers – the people who were attending for the first time, besides me, Berger Books; Karen Berger, Black Crown’s Shelly Bond, Lion Forge’s Carol Burrell, Aftershocks Steve Rotterdam, Dynamite’s Alan Payne and many, many others were experiencing the library market first hand for the first time, joining such veterans as our own Torsten Adair, and Random House Graphics’ Gina Gagliano.

They all came together in NoLA’s voodoo tinged fever swamp perhaps to present an alternative to the twitter culture wars and comics shop vs Wal-Mart narrative that was keeping everyone else busy. And it was also the cusp of a milestone obscure outside the library world but momentous inside it; the establishment of a Graphic Novel Round Table. In the hierarchy of the ALA this classification allows for membership dues, budgets and greater resources for organizing projects. The drive was spearheaded by Tina Coleman, who’s been organizing the graphic novel pavilion and the artist alley at ALA for several years, with a bold squadron of graphic novel library knights behind her as shown in this photo.

The effects of this new roundtable may not be seen directly outside the library world, but we’ll feel its influence in future endeavors. It also marks a momentous trek from the base camp that began back in 2002, when comics first invaded the ALA with a presentation by Neil Gaiman, Colleen Doran, Art Spiegelman and Jeff Smith, four swashbuckling creators whose talents and charisma could not help but win over the library world.

Anyhoo, I know I’m waxing rhapsodical over a conference. Maybe it’s just the effects of dehydration and overheating as I wandered the 97-degree swamp of Chartres St – maybe it’s destiny.

So let’s go back! I arrived in New Orleans back on Thursday. Looking around the gate at Newark airport, most of my fellow passengers were women reading books. It was a very ALA bound crowd.

The event kicked off with a reception for the French Comics Association at the French Consulate in New Orleans. That was as swell as you might imagine, a huge, gracious mansion opened for the evening to the library cabal plus a few publishers and the French comics contingent of Barroux (Alpha), Cati Baur (Four Sisters), Aurélie Neyret (Cici’s Journal), Benjamin Reiss (Super Tokyoland), Julie Rocheleau (About Betty’s Boob), Eve Tharlet (The Wild Cat: Mr. Badger & Mrs. Fox) as well as French BD industry folks.

Flore Piacentino of the French Publishers Association gave a little talk and mentioned the influence of manga, bande desinee and “comics” coming together. I’ve often heard the three great branches of world graphic literature around the world categorized like this, and maybe it’s time for us in the US to accept the “comics” name with pride for our bombastic yet fantastic strain of storytelling. Standing in the hot backyard of the manse, with its mix of Haunted Mansion moldings and mid-century furniture, it was fun to hear of the panels and meetings to come.

After the reception, I grabbed some dinner with Karen Berger, Eva Volin and Robyn Brenner, Berger Books and the library world exchanging information over some super tasty shrimp and grits. Not only was this to be a weekend of smart talk, but a food marathon of surviving crusty bread, butter drenched fish and the occasional vegetable.

The next morning the conference kicked off. Here it must be mentioned that a teeny little con war broke out, GraphiCon vs Library Con. The first is a forum organized by the ALA GN interest group – and this year focused on adult graphic novel collection, a frontier topic where best practices are still being developed. Library Con was held across the hall and in somewhat the same time period and is organized by Random House. There was some grumbling about the timing, although both programs were arranged to fill up the time before Michele Obama’s keynote and the exhibit hall opening at 5:30. There were some great panels on both programs, and certainly a lot to do. Random House did stack the deck a bit by offering a free boxed lunch. I decided to eat half of an egg salad sandwich from Starbucks instead. This delicacy is no longer available in NYC – probably because it’s too fattening for diet conscious New Yorkers – but one half made a great breakfast and the second half made a good lunch!

Graphic Con kicked off with a panel on “Building and Justifying Adult Graphic Novel Collections in Public and Academic Libraries” with Andrew Woodrow Butcher, Amanda Melilli (University of Nevada, Las Vegas) Marcela Peres (Lewiston Public Library, ME), and creators Ezra Claytan Daniels and Eric Shanower.

The main point of all the programming is that just as kids and YA collections – now well established at most libraries – started out slow, adult collections need to build on the success of those other age groups. Shelving remains a problem though. A recurring villain was “741.5” the Dewey Decimal category where graphic novels are shoved into one big blob. How to organize within this number – by author or series or age rating – is an ongoing issue.

Also what to collect is hard to pin down since there are more lists and awards for juvenile categories. (The Beat was mentioned several times as a resource for more information on graphic novels, giving me a serious case of “must do more!”) Adult collections are still built on a case by case basis. “Going online to find titles is not the best approach. One size doesn’t fit all since libraries don’t all have the same users and needs,” said UNLV’s Mellili. “You want it to be a reflection of the rest of your collection.”

Peres had a few success stories. She said the adult collection at her library has grown from 300 check outs a year to 1300 over the last five years. She’s also used innovative marketing approaches, such as a GN reading group held at a local brewery.

Shanower noted that his Age of Bronze was still finding an audience in libraries. “I don’t think there’s resistance like there might have been in 20th century, but there is still education that needs to be made.” Asked about whether his book has ever been challenged he joked “I wish it would be!”

Subsequent panels delved more into the topic from the publisher and creator sides. Image has a robust library program, led by Chloe Ramos Peterson, a former librarian herself, and the importance of catalogs, lists, newsletter and other resources for librarians was repeatedly mentioned. For creators, sometimes it does become a content issue – one scene may push a title from a comfy home in the YA section to an uncertain future in the adult collection, and it’s a decision creators have to weigh.

Reader resistance was also mentioned a few times. “Some adults are just embarrassed to be seen checking out comics,” said one librarian (sorry my notes don’t say who.) Overcoming this resistance with events and education is a slow but necessary step.

After the library conferences wrapped up everyone but me went off to see Michelle Obama speak. People had been lined up since 9 am – a different kind of Hall H indeed – and I didn’t want to get caught in a long line.

The exhibit hall for ALA has a kind of mini preview night – very mini as it’s only 90 minutes long – and after the keynote, everyone filed in. A big topic when I was around – maybe because I kept bringing it up – was the announcement of DC’s Wal-Mart exclusive. I had a lively discussion of the topic over dinner with retailer Brian Hibbs who, like myself, had been brought to the show by Lion Forge to liaise with the library world. (Brian promises he’ll have one of his epic columns about the experience next week.)

As lot of our discussion can be seen in the piece that I wrote the next morning. Brian feels strongly that exclusives that the DM can’t get are the wrong way to build a bigger audience for comics, but that’s his story to tell and I’ll leave him to state his own case.

Saturday, for me, was more of the same, wandering the vast hall to find the comics folks, and chatting them up. The Ernest Morial Convention Center – a place I haven’t been since before Katrina – is very very long and narrow and the show floor had the GN stage and pavilion at one end, with long stretches of library tech in between, studded with pockets of publishers.

Despite all the excitement over books, many exhibits at ALA are given over to actual library tech. I don’t really know what all those scanners and conveyor belt sorters did, so I will leave librarians to explain what they were looking for. Fantagraphics had set up with Norton, D&Q with McMillan, Uncivilized and Iron Circus in Consortium, Dark Horse and DC set up side by side in the Random House aisle. Some publishers made the decision to be in the distro area, but many other stuck it out in the GN pavilion, notably IDW/Top Shelf, Boom and all of the manga publishers on hand, Viz, TokyoPop, Yen Press and Udon. While it was all the way at the end of the hall, the Graphic Novel Stage served as a focal point.

There were many creators on hand, including a host of the DC Zoom and DC Ink writers, and of course the whole artist alley, which was small but significant. Due to the size of the hall, crowds would tend to come in waves. Much like BEA there were often long lines for signings, and librarians love free stuff just like everyone else.

I did attend the presentation DC Zoom and DC Ink lines led by VP Michele Wells and featuring writers Mariko Tamaki, Danielle Paige, Shea Fontana, Ridley Pearson, Kami Garcia, Meg Cabot, and Lauren Myracle. Unlike the long ago Minx (which this is often compared to) these lines feature veteran YA and kids authors who bring their own followings to an initiative aimed firmly at bookstores. It’s funny how retailers aren’t worried about THESE comics, isn’t it?

The mood was very different from the usual superhero hype panel, which usually consists of something like the following. “Remember issue #327 of Amygdala Man, where he finds a pair of underpants on the beach? Well in issue #600 we’re going to find out who they belong to and how it fits in with what Sprawlmeister has been up to.”

Instead the plans all spoke to the aspirational and emotional state of the young superheroes, with their motivations and family issues being covered to show how they overcame – or didn’t – problems to be heroes. Basic stuff really. The giveaway booklets for both lines featured sizable previews of most titles, and the art is sharp on these! As mentioned on twitter, DC Superhero Girls is the real disruption in the superhero biz, with thousands and thousands of copies sold and a whole generation of girls coming to love these characters.

Saturday night saw a sort of comics social event of the ALA, the Will Eisner Library Grant Reception, led by Carl and Anne Gropper and John Shableski. Grants were presented to two libraries for their projects, and a few speeches were made. Jason Latour (above) delivered a key note, noting how styrange it was “for a kid who spent a lot of time in detention to be talking to a room full of librarians.” Olivier Jalabert of Glenát also delivered some very funny remarks.

The event was another one where the spirit of Will Eisner was conjured. In a display of unique clairvoyance, he foresaw the rise of the graphic novel. Perhaps New Orleans was the place for his ghost to appear and see that his works were good.

Sunday was pretty much just more of all of this. I did the “Underrated and Overrated graphic Novels” panel, a terrifying chance to go on the record with some disses, but I won’t reveal what was said. My fellow panelist Gene Ha did repeatedly ding Chris Hart, whose “anatomy books” for artists are cheesy and full of mistakes, so I’ll go along with that: Christopher Hart isnogood!

I also popped into a panel featuring Mark Siegel in a panel discussion with First Second star authors Vera Brosgol and Ngozi Ukazu. At one point in the free-flowing conversation, Vera and Ngozi were asked why their artwork connects with readers both inside and outside the comics ‘geekdom’. Vera answered with a tip for young artists: “make the eyes bigger.” And the conversation went on into why humans are hardwired to love baby features, and sometimes cartooning might just tap into that – the appeal of “neoteny” in current comics styles hasn’t been much explored, so here’s your cue!

Also the great Raina, so often mentioned, was in attendance, although just to hang out, and led to this epic photo.

https://twitter.com/goraina/status/1010976229065940992

Sunday afternoon was also the big day for the presentation to the ALA governing board about the Graphic Novel Round Table. The librarians presenting the proposal had been nervous about it all weekend. Honestly no one thought it wouldn’t be picked up. When a call for interested parties went out they hoped for 200 responses but got 1000.

And that’s really the bottom line about the ALA. Librarians love comics not because it’s a secret hobby they try to fob off on other people – graphic novels are highly circulated books in libraries. There is an avid readership and a growing need for more information about all of it. I think a lot of first time ALA attendees thought that their job would be trying to persuade librarians to give comics a try, but the reality is that curators are way ahead of that – they’re always looking for MORE information about the publishers and authors their patrons are interested in, and more information to justify their purchasing budgets. They are hungry for more books that people can read and enjoy.

Far from the roil of the DM, graphic novels were clearly on the upswing “Graphic novels are big and they’re just going to get bigger,” someone at the Disney booth, of all places, told me.

Creator Frank Cammuso had an even more blunt assessment. “I think libraries saved comics,” he told me. Looking back at how comics emerged from the wreck of the post speculation market into the manga-fueled era of bookstore comics, and the recovery following Borders going under, library sales have risen steadily, an invisible but integral part of the business for publishers smart enough to get in on it. The numbers don’t lie: There are an estimated 119,487 libraries in the US, including 16,000 public libraries and nearly 100,000 school libraries. A hit in this market dwarfs the direct sales market, and doesn’t even show up on Bookscan.

So yeah, it was a good time. Despite all the shit going on in the outside world, I couldn’t help but feel optimistic as I made one last stroll through the feels-like-105-degree sauna of New Orleans. Perhaps I was just infected with a swamp dream, maybe it was just the low-stress experience of spending a whole weekend surrounded by smart, literate people. Maybe I was just bathed in the smiles and fellowship of people talking about the thing they love. For me, the ALA in New Orleans was the time and place to be feel good about what we’ve accomplished and look forward to doing even more.

https://twitter.com/marcelaphane/status/1011631881396391936

ALA 2018: Graphic novels shine in a very different Hall H Why can’t the world just be ruled by cabals of mighty librarian queens? Organizing to create policies, …

#alaac 2018 #First Second #gnrt #Graphic Novels #hall h #librarians #new orleans #tina coleman

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twh-news · 7 years

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'Black Panther,' 'Thor' Casts Unite for First Marvel Family Photo (Exclusive)

Photos by Christopher Patey

Backstage at Comic-Con, THR captured Cate Blanchett, Michael B. Jordan, Mark Ruffalo and more in the first-ever star-studded portrait of the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

About 30 minutes before the stars of Disney and Marvel's Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok took to the Hall H stage at Comic-Con on Saturday, the worlds of Asgard and Wakanda collided backstage for the first-ever Marvel family photo of the two casts.

Nineteen members of the Marvel universe — led by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige — posed for The Hollywood Reporter's exclusive portrait backstage just moments before the studio's presentation. From the moment they arrived, the room was full of laughter and hugs, as many of the actors were reuniting with their casts for the first time in months.

First to arrive was the Black Panther cast, most of whom hadn’t seen each other since wrapping the movie in April. Stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Forest Whitaker and Andy Serkis — the latter of which flew in with his family from London just to be at Marvel’s panel — joined director Ryan Coogler (wearing a Stranger Things t-shirt) backstage.

“This is a real family moment,” Gurira told N’yongo after an embrace.

And as the cast took photos amongst themselves, Coogler let some of his actors know about a fight sequence that Hall H and the actors would be seeing for the first time after taking the stage. It was very clear that they were pumped to see it for the first time.

Black Panther castmates Letitia Wright and Daniel Kaluuya (who was the breakout of horror-thriller Get Out) were attending Comic-Con for the first time. "It's going to be wild, because I have no expectations at all," said Kaluuya, who revealed that he was onset of another film when the first trailer for Black Panther dropped and his phone was flooded with texts.

With the clock ticking before the panel, the Thor cast finally strode in — Wright shook hands with Hiddleston, saying, “Nice meeting you, Tom. Now get your butts on the stage!” But it wasn’t that easy: everyone wanted to say hello and give hugs. Coogler and Thor helmer Taika Waititi embraced. Coogler also introduced his wife to Mark Ruffalo. (Tessa Thompson was the only cast member who couldn't make the photo as she was on back-to-back panels.)

Some knew each other previously, some were meeting for the first time. Case in point: Hiddleston and Kaluuya. "I'm a big fan," Hiddleston said to the Get Out star.

Blanchett, son in tow, was last to arrive and as soon as she'd found her spot, photographer Christopher Patey began snapping away.

The combination of Waititi and Chris Hemsworth standing next to each other proved to be almost too much fun. Waititi was seen wrapping himself around the Thor star, and towards the end of the shoot, when Patey told them to get loose and have a little fun, Waititi took a leap … and broke off a piece of the set (KA-THOOM!), almost falling backwards from on high. Luckily, Hemsworth’s strong grip held him fast.

When the photo was done, there were more hugs and catching up, even as the publicists tried to wrangle everyone to head to Hall H for the panel. They'd be a little late. But it didn't matter. Because when they did take the stage, they blew the audience of 6,500 Marvel-hungry fans away with new trailers for both Thor: Ragnarok (hitting theaters Nov. 3) and Black Panther (Feb. 16, 2018). And the new fight scene from Black Panther (exclusively shown to the audience in Hall H), would bring the elated crowd to its feet. It was worth the wait.

#thor ragnarok #SDCC2017 #tom hiddleston #chris hemsworth #taika waititi #black panther

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the-bargainista · 4 years

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Comic-Con for all

Updated: 7/26/20 12:59 p.m. ET

I’m going to miss not going to San Diego this year for five days of celebrity sightings, swag, sleeplessness, and snaking lines. But the good news for anyone who has never gotten a chance to experience the unique craziness that is Comic-Con is that the event will be free online for everyone from Wednesday, July 22, to Sunday, July 26! The official information is a little overwhelming, so here is a guide to getting the most out of Comic-Con@Home.

Panels

No camping out for Hall H necessary! Over 350 panels have been pre-recorded, and they will be released on the Comic-Con YouTube channel at certain times over the course of the five days. The majority of panels will be available beyond July 26.

The full schedule of panels is now posted, but it will be continually updated. Given the sheer volume of information, I recommend viewing on a computer rather than your phone. I also recommend viewing by day so that you can see the descriptions and viewing links.

You can create a MySCHED account to keep track of the panels that interest you. I just put them on my Google calendar. Keep in mind that all times are PDT. My SDCC group created a Slack so that we can have viewing parties and chat about the panels.

Now that the logistics are out of the way, here are some of my suggestions for panels to check out.

GeekED: Re-storied: Re-imagining creative privilege Wednesday, July 22, 3-4 p.m. PDT Panelists who work in higher education, theatre, and gaming will discuss how the narrative world is changing to include more diverse experiences.

Star Trek Universe Virtual Panel Thursday, July 23, 10-11 a.m. PDT There will be a discussion with the casts and producers of “Star Trek: Discovery,” new animated series “Star Trek: Lower Decks,” and “Star Trek: Picard.”

DC@Home Day One and Day Two Friday, July 24, 10-11 a.m. PDT, and Saturday, July 25, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. PDT Some DC Comics legends such as Brian Michael Bendis and Jim Lee will give you the scoop on what’s in store for your favorite heroes and villains.

Marvel Comics: Next Big Thing Friday, July 24, 11 a.m.-12 p.m. PDT Marvel editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski will discuss what’s in store with comics writers and editors such as Tom Brevoort and Al Ewing.

AMC’s The Walking Dead Friday, July 24, 1-2 p.m. PDT Moderated by Chris Hardwick, this panel will highlight the forthcoming standalone episode “A Certain Doom” and feature the cast and producers.

Building Your Own Themyscira: Connecting With Other Geeky Bosses Friday, July 24, 6-7 p.m. PDT Jordan Ellis of Jordandené and “The Sartorial Geek” will discuss networking and finding your community with Robyn Warren of Geek Girl Strong, Matt Cox of “Puffs” and “Kapow-i GoGo,” comics marketer Jazzlyn Stone, and Rose DelVecchio of FanMail.

Blast Off with Disney+’s “The Right Stuff” Saturday, July 25, 1-2 p.m. PDT NASA astronaut Dr. Mae Jemison moderates this panel about the first scripted series for Disney+ from National Geographic. This show follows the early days of the U.S. space program. Much of the cast and crew will participate. I’m excited for Colin O’Donoghue (Captain Hook from “Once Upon a Time”) as Captain Gordon Cooper.

Careers in Geek Fashion Sunday, July 26, 4-5 p.m. PDT This is an admittedly shameless plug for the panel moderated by my friend, GeekFold founder Lisa Granshaw. Professionals from multiple aspects of geek fashion will discuss their careers and the impact of coronavirus on the industry.

Exhibit hall/exclusives

You can view the “exhibit hall” map and a full list of exhibitors, which will go live with interactive links on Wednesday, July 22. My understanding is that all exclusive merchandise will be available directly through the vendors, and there is no Comic-Con exclusives portal, which was used to assign timeslots in years past. Since the portal also used to serve as a full list of the exclusives, your best bet for finding out what’s for sale is probably the comprehensive SDCC Unofficial Blog.

Be sure to check out the LEGO “booth,” which is offering a chance to design your own minifigure and comic book, which will be emailed to you.

Other activities

The masquerade is always a signature event of Comic-Con. Submissions to the Comic-Con@Home Virtual Masquerade have closed, but the Masquerade website will go live on the @comicconathome Tumblr on the evening of Friday, July 24.

The Comic-Con@Home Art Show (sans auction) will be viewable on the @comicconathome Tumblr starting Wednesday, July 22.

Comic-Con@Home also created some fan activities to help you recreate the Con experience at home. There are challenges such as the Cosplay Challenge, badges and signs that you can print yourself, sound clips of the announcements, and recipes so you can create your own hospitality suite.

“Off-sites”

My favorite part of Comic-Con actually has been the off-site activations outside the convention center, where you can have unique experiences like a “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” escape room. Fortunately, some networks have found ways to have virtual activations this year.

Adult Swim Con Thursday, July 23-Saturday, July 25, 4-10 p.m. PT Adult Swim will have online experiences such as behind-the-scenes looks at “Rick and Morty” and “Robot Chicken,” including a Q&A with the casts and crews of both shows. Check the website for the full schedule of events.

Amazon Virtual Con Thursday, July 23-Sunday, July 26 You can watch exclusive announcements, game reveals, live drawings, costume how-tos, and more. There are also interactive experiences, such as a “Hanna” escape room.

FX Unlocked This site features a virtual pyramidal structure that you can swipe to explore different TV show experiences. For example, you can test your “American Horror Story” trivia knowledge or play a “What We Do in the Shadows” game.

FutureTechLive! You can download an immersive World Builders activation for Windows, Windows VR, or Mac.

Let me know if there’s any other information you want, and I’ll update this post. Enjoy Comic-Con@Home!

#Entertainment #freebies #fun

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fuckyeahatwell · 7 years

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Captain America’s Love Life Might Get Complicated In ‘Avengers: Infinity War’

By: DONNA DICKENS DEPUTY ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Guys. We need to talk about Avengers: Infinity War. Specifically, footage that was shown to those of us in Hall H during Saturday’s Marvel Studios panel. Having not been to D23, I’m not sure if this compilation ahead of the actual trailer was shown there, but considering my Google search of “Infinity War Peggy Carter” turned up nothing, I’m guessing either A) it wasn’t or B) my fellow nerd journalists aren’t as invested in the Steve/Peggy ship as I am. Either way, Marvel hinted that things are going to get very uncomfortable for Steve Rogers in his next Marvel outing.

In order to set the stage for the showdown between the heroes of the MCU and Thanos, Marvel put together a montage of the current Infinity Stones, how they were introduced, and where they are now. For the purposes of Steve Rogers’ careening toward the kind of issue usually reserved for the pages of Penthouse letters to the editor, I’m focusing on the Time Stone. It is currently in the hands of Doctor Stephen Strange as the Eye of Agamotto. During the montage, the voiceover says “Time can fix anything,” while the camera lingers on the Time Stone. The scene then cuts to Captain America taking to old Peggy on her deathbed before she morphs back into young Peggy Carter from the first Captain America movie. None of it is new footage, but the implications are pretty clear. Someone is going to phutz with time to bring Peggy Carter back. Or at least attempt to.

I am 100% on board with this because Peggy Carter founded S.H.I.E.L.D. and if anyone can bring the spy organization back from the brink of destruction after H.Y.D.R.A. blew it all up, it’s Agent Carter. However, Steve might have some reservations about this plan, even if he doesn’t care about the time/space continuum. If you’ll recall, Steve recently kissed Sharon Carter, who is Peggy’s niece. One can assume that even if that was the extent of it, Peggy returning from the dead will cause all kinds of Shakespearean comedy problems as Steve tries to navigate a minefield of having been intimate with two generations of strong-willed Carter women.

Maybe he grew the beard in order to run away and start a new life in Sokovia rather than have to choose?

(x)

#peggy carter #infinity war #rumors #spoilers #fyi hayley is in california right now so honestly it could happen

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accras · 7 years

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“About 30 minutes before the stars of Disney and Marvel's Black Panther and Thor: Ragnarok took to the Hall H stage at Comic-Con on Saturday, the worlds of Asgard and Wakanda collided backstage for the first-ever Marvel family photo of the two casts.

“This is a real family moment,” Gurira told N’yongo after an embrace.

Some knew each other previously, some were meeting for the first time. Case in point: Hiddleston and Kaluuya. "I'm a big fan," Hiddleston said to the Get Out star...”

#thor ragnarok #black panther #ryan coogler #danai gurira #chadwick boseman

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runningwitches · 7 years

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Different (Tom Holland x Reader)

Summary: You run in to Tom (literally) at San Diego Comic-Con as he’s heading to a panel, soon finding out that celebrities aren’t as different as they seem. Requested: Nope Word count: 2020 A/N: So I wrote this and absolutely hated it, but one of my friends read it and seeing her reaction in person made me realize it wasn’t so bad. She continued to encourage me to post it, and what better day than on Tom’s birthday? Hope y'all enjoy!

Please do not copy, repost, or take credit for any of my writing without contacting and receiving my consent beforehand. Thank you.

As you made your way through the crowd at San Diego Comic Con, looking for a familiar face, or a booth that held interesting merch, you ran into someone. It’s wasn’t a little bump into them or anything either, you full on ran into each other, your face directly into his chest, and your few papers on the ground.

“I’m so sor-” you began to say, when you realized who it was, and you stared at him, awestruck.

“No, really, I’m the one who should be sorry, I was the one who wasn’t paying attention.”

You bent down to pick up the papers you had dropped, and stood back up to face him, suddenly shy. You didn’t miss the brief moment he took to check you out, and you could feel the temperature in the already hot and humid room somehow rising even more, as a blush rose to your face.

“Well, I’m expected to be somewhere in about half an hour and I’m nowhere near ready, so I’m gonna give you my number and you can call me later,” he said with a wink after a minute of silence.

“Woah there, buddy boy, you don’t even know my name,” you told him with a smile as you placed your hands on your hips.

“And you don’t know mine,” he responded with a smirk.

“You really think I’m standing here in a Scarlet Witch costume, and I don’t know who you are, Tom?”

Using this as an excuse to check you out again, he hummed, “I suppose you’re right. Well I guess it’s only fair that you tell me your name now.”

“I’m (Y/N), (Y/N) (Y/L/N),” you told him, sticking your hand out for a shake.

“Well (Y/N) (Y/L/N), it’s nice to meet you,” he said, grabbing your hand. But instead of shaking it, he turned your hand, knuckles up, and brought it to his lips. You had never witnessed such a gentlemanly act.

Then it dawned on you, you were here, in the middle of a comic convention, flirting with, and being kissed on the hand by, a movie star. Not just any movie star, Spider-Man. And not just any Spider-Man, the best one. This wasn’t any Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield crap (this is a joke, don’t hate me). This was THE Tom Holland. It was crazy.

So when he turned to you and asked “Since I’m definitely going to be late to my panel now, would you mind taking a picture with me, to commemorate the occasion and prove I had a good reason for not showing up on time?” You almost fainted, shocked at the idea that someone like him was asking you for a photo, and not the other way around. As you nodded, a shy smile on your face, he pulled his phone out. As you didn’t have anyone to take your picture (and you weren’t about to ask someone and bring more attention to Tom), you settled on a selfie. The first one was cute, he had his arm around your shoulder and you were both smiling like there was no place you’d rather be, which really, at least for you, there wasn’t. The next was your favorite. You pointed a finger at him and pretended to be shocked, your face saying “what are the odds I would find a dork like this” finally able to mirror your inner feelings. While you pretended to be shocked, he looked at you, laughing, an adorable smile spread across his face at your antics. And for the last one, you brought your hand up to meet the one he had slung across your shoulder, interlocking your fingers, and you leaned your head on his shoulder, both of you smiling up at the camera.

He asked you if you wanted the photos, and you quietly mumbled, “well, yeah, I’m sure I can find them online later, right?”

“What I meant is, do you want me to send you the pictures?”

“Oh, I’m, yeah, that, that-uh works f-for me,” you told him, forgetting how to use your words. He handed you his phone, and allowed you to type in your number. Saving it as a contact, you handed it back, and you watched him send you the photos you had just taken. Finally getting your confidence back, you asked him, “So, this is how you get every girl’s number then, huh?”

“Nope, only the cute ones who run into me at comic conventions, take really good selfies, and don’t fangirl, despite knowing who I am,” he stated, and added in a whisper, “and so far, you’re the only one.” Soon enough you felt a buzz in your pocket and received the pictures, but before you could even save the number, he looked at his watch and grabbed your hand and started walking, mumbling something about being late and having to hurry up.

“So I think it’s great and all that you’re heading to a panel, but is there any particular reason you’re dragging me with you?” you asked, slightly confused, but not complaining.

“Well, I thought I’d be able to show my manager the reason I was late in the first place.”

“Wasn’t that the point of the pictures?” you asked, laughing.

“Plus, you get to sit front row in the panel, and I’ll let you meet my co workers,” he added in, with a laugh.

“Okay, okay, I suppose that’s a fair deal,” you agreed. “So earlier you said you were nowhere near ready, and now we’re heading straight there, what changed?” you asked, realizing a slight continuity error in his story.

“Well, I changed my mind about what I wanted to wear?” he offered, a slight shrug to his shoulders, knowing he wasn’t really that convincing. You hummed a noise that would normally sound like an agreement, but you both knew the sarcasm that was rooted behind it.

As you both reached Hall H, the one that is reserved for the biggest panels, and usually takes waiting in line from Wednesday to see a panel planned for Saturday, you realized how lucky you were. Here you were with Tom Holland, the star of the show not even needing to wait in line for a front row seat for the biggest panel at Comic-Con 2017. He brought you in the back, and when security asked you for a pass, Tom told them that you were with him. The guards began to tell him they couldn’t simply do that, but Tom’s manager grabbed him by the arm, and dragged him away, and since he was still holding your hand, you got dragged along too. Though the security guard was annoyed, he simply rolled his eyes and moved on, letting you go through, knowing that Tom wasn’t a stupid guy and wouldn’t bring a crazy person backstage. Or at least dangerously crazy.

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN, THEY’RE GOING TO START LETTING PEOPLE INTO THE PANEL IN FIVE MINUTES, YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE A HALF AN HOUR AGO!” Tom’s manager roared. Tom simply stared back, offering a sheepish smile, his hand never leaving yours. If his manager noticed you earlier, they didn’t say anything, instead using the awkward silence after their fit of rage to look you up and down and then ask, “You’re really late because of some girl, Tom?”

“Not just any girl,” he promised. “This is (Y/N) (Y/L/N), Marvel fan, professional selfie taker, and possibly the cutest girl in attendance of Comic-Con. Ever.” You and the manager rolled your eyes in sync, and you proceeded to profusely apologize to them.

“I really didn’t mean to keep him behind. I just ran into him and couldn’t help but stop to talk for a second.”

“And when she says she ran into me, she means literally,” Tom added with a chuckle, “You should probably go find her a seat out there though. I promised her front row.”

“Well, we’ve got one minute until the entrance opens, so I’ll do what I can.” They then led you to the seating area, and you heard them mumble something about allowing one less person in from outside into a walkie talkie, causing you to feel guilt in the pit of your stomach, but before you could protest, they were already gone.

The panel was amazing. Right in front of your eyes you saw Zendaya, Robert Downey Jr. and so many more people from the most recent Spider-Man movie, of course, including Tom. As usual, the last few minutes of the panel were opened up to the crowd to ask some questions. You stayed planted in your seat knowing full well that you would get all the questions you had answered by Tom later. As much fun as it would be to tease Tom in front of the whole panel, you thought you’d let the other fans have their chance.

Though most of the questions were pretty generic, your ears perked up when you heard a pretty girl say she had a question specifically for Tom. “So, I was really just curious if you were in a relationship. There’s been some debate about it online and I thought it was time for some clarification,” she asked, with a wink.

“Well,” Tom started, and you thought you could see his manager gesturing to him to cut it out from the back. “As much as I love to keep my personal life, well, personal, I can tell you I’ve got my eye on someone. Not much more to say about it though,” he told the girl, and the audience with a glance at you, that sent red coursing to your face.

“Thank you,” the girl said into the microphone, clearly upset, before walking back to her seat and allowing the next question to be asked.

As the panel ended and the crowd shuffled out, Tom’s manager found you again, slipped an all access pass around your neck to join your regular pass holding lanyard, and told you that for some reason Tom has really taken to you, and he wanted to spend the rest of the day with you.

As if on cue, Tom walked up, and told you how he had sweet talked his manager into getting you an all access pass.

Slinging his arm over your shoulder, he led you to an area where you saw more people you recognized. This was of course his fellow cast members and friends. You immediately looked down at your feet, feeling almost as if you were unworthy of being in their presence. Robert Downey Jr. was there for God’s sake.

Before Tom could even introduce you, Harrison piped up, “So, this is the girl you were talking about up there, huh?” The sudden question shocked you and you just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear. You had just met Tom and he was already (kinda) telling the world about you. I mean not actually, but now all of his fans and all of the Spider-Man fans would know that he was interested in someone. That someone being you. It just felt weird, like your life was on display, and you hadn’t even gone on the first date.

“Yeah, yeah, uh, this is her.”

You looked up from your feet and awkwardly waved, leaning into Tom more.

“So!” Zendaya said with a clap to change the subject, “what other panels are everyone headed to today?”

A few of them mentioned panels they were in and ones they wanted to attend. “Oh yeah, I really wanted to go to that one panel, um. Shoot, I can’t remember the name of it, but there was a comic art panel that looked cool. I think it’s Hall E? Around two ish?” Tom said, trying to remember the time and place of the panel he had seen circled on your papers when you had dropped them earlier.

“Oh yeah, I wanted to see that,” you said at the same time as Harrison. You two looked at each other, and smiled.

Maybe they weren’t so different after all.

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