Tag: WonderCon

What’s awaiting horror fans who visit “The Cabin in the Woods”? The answer will be revealed on April 13 when Drew Goddard’s sly and subversive genre riddle finally reaches movie theaters. At WonderCon, Lionsgate hosted a special sneak preview of the film and, afterward, director-writer Goddard was joined on-stage by his partner on the project, writer-producer Joss Whedon. I interviewed the two of them and, between a lot of laughter, there was a feeling in the room that pair would deliver one of the most intriguing popcorn diversions of 2012. You’ll find some highlight moments from the Q&A below, but first a bit of background about the film’s protracted path to the projection room. Some horror movies keep the audience on the edge of their seat — this one had that effect on the cast and crew, which filmed it back in 2009 with an early 2010 target release. The fiscal calamity ...

Jay West, a frequent contributor to Hero Complex who writes about fan culture, collectibles and alternative reality games, braved the rain last  weekend to visit WonderCon in Anaheim. He brought his camera along and, of course, what member of the cosplay tribe can resist a photo op? Above, West’s collection of costume memories from the convention. RECENT AND RELATED Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, back in black WonderCon: Felicia Day’s Geek & Sundry arrives WonderCon: Watch for free Hero magazine ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ comes to WonderCon New comics: ‘Dragon Tattoo,’ Anthony Bourdain Andrew Garfield: Fame terrifies me ‘John Carter’: Creating Woola, lizard-dog of Mars Johnny Depp in ‘Lone Ranger’ first look Batman Live arena show starts U.S. tour on Sept 5

If the reaction from the crowd at WonderCon’s Avengers vs. X-Menpanel is any indication, the children of the atom may crush Earth’s mightiest heroes in the upcoming 12-issue event series from Marvel written by the team of Brian Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Jason Aaron and Jonathan Hickman and drawn by John Romita, Jr., Olivier Coipel and Adam Kubert. “Event” is the operative word here, as not only will the book (and its offshoots) cross into various titles and spotlight huge battles, it’s drawing in more than 1,100 comic shops worldwide to participate in special Avengers vs. X-Men launch parties on April 3. If you’re in L.A., Meltdown Comics is one of the participants. It was also mentioned at the WonderCon panel that fans would be able to pick up exclusive giveaways. That panel, moderated by Marvel’s  director of communications, publishing and ...

DC Nation and Marvel Television are making superheroes jump off the page and into television sets, and each shined a spotlight on their present and future offerings Saturday at WonderCon. Both comic companies have a long history with animated fare on TV.  Bruce Timm’s animated creations using DC characters (“Batman,” “Superman,” etc.) have usually been crowd-pleasers, and Marvel’s forays include its new G4 anime offerings, popular ’90s “X-Men,” and even the classic ’60s “Spider-Man” series whose theme song still ranks as one of the best cartoon tunes ever. But it’s a new day, and first up was Marvel at its noontime panel. The company’s Disney owners have afforded it more of an opportunity and “muscle,” according to chief creative officer Joe Quesada, to put out more products. Head of Marvel Television Jeph Loeb was on hand to present the newest offering, “Ultimate ...

Felicia Day, the apple of many a fanboy’s eye and creator of the hit Web series “The Guild,” unveiled her next venture into online entertainment at WonderCon on Saturday. Along with a panel of colleagues with plenty of geek cred, Day introduced Geek & Sundry, her new YouTube channel. Five new shows plus Season 5 of “The Guild” will begin airing on the site in April. Day was full of enthusiasm on the panel as she chatted about the project (and she admitted that she “started crying to Pearl Jam on the way down” to Anaheim). “Every single show is like a piece of love,” she said. “We’re really excited to create a whole new community around these shows.” Before the panel kicked off, fans watched the trailer for Geek & Sundry’s lineup, which is now available to view on ...

Fans dressed as Disney characters are never a rare site at WonderCon, but they appeared a bit more frequently than usual Sunday afternoon, thanks to the presence of the “Once Upon a Time” creators at the pop culture expo in Anaheim. Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz took the stage before an audience that had a scattering of Snow Whites, Belles and Maleficents. The freshman ABC series follows fairy tale characters who have been cursed to live in the real world in the small town of Storybrooke, Maine, with story lines taking place in both worlds. After a screening of tonight’s episode, “Heart of Darkness” (Snow/Charming fans will love this one), Kitsis and Horowitz chatted about the show, mostly staying tight-lipped about what’s to come, with the exception (spoiler alert!) of one tidbit about the finale: The huntsman will return. “And ...

The acclaimed SyFy show “Battlestar Galactica” aired its final episode nearly two years ago but the deep-space (and deep-thinking) epic was still echoing at WonderCon, the pop-culture expo that opened Friday in Anaheim. The first day of the convention featured two Q&A sessions devoted to the show, one with Richard Hatch, who acted in both the original 1978 series and the re-imagined SyFy series that launched in 2004. The other panel featured Kevin Grazier, the scientific advisor for the more recent show. Grazier, who worked for a time at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, got a foothold in the entertainment business when he co-wrote a ”Star Trek: Voyager” spec script that got him in the pitch process at Paramount. That led to a meeting with “Battlestar” co-creator Ron Moore and, eventually, a gig as scientific advisor. More recently, he’s been a hired brain for Alfonso Cuarón’s ...

Vertigo Comic fans got a glimpse of the future — which includes an adaptation of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” a graphic novel by chef Anthony Bourdain and a 10th anniversary “Fables” collection — during the publisher’s Friday evening panel at WonderCon. Editor Will Dennis, writer Scott Snyder and artist Dennis Nguyen spoke during the panel for Vertigo — the edgy-spirited imprint of DC Comics – highlighting a slate of comics, including “Fables,” “The New Deadwardians,” “Saucer Country,” “Voodoo Child,” “American Vampire,” “American Vampire: Lord of Nightmares,” “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” “Get Jiro,” “Sweet Tooth” and “Scalped.” The “Dragon Tattoo” book, adapted by Scottish crime author Denise Mina from Stieg Larsson’s bookshelf sensation,  is slated for a November release and will be the first in a set of six — two graphic novels for each book in the original trilogy. “It’s ...

Comics need to adapt to a digital medium if they want to survive, comics writer Mark Waid told WonderCon attendees Friday afternoon during a panel spotlighting his career. And to drive his point home, Waid announced that he is selling his extensive comic book collection to fund a weekly online comic series, which will launch in May. “This is in no way a hard-luck story,” said Waid, the writer behind Marvel’s relaunch of “Daredevil” and co-creator (with artist Alex Ross) of the Eisner Award-winning graphic novel “Kingdom Come.” “I’m a very lucky man. I don’t have to do this because I need a kidney. … I’m just doing this because it’s about the right time to let go of the past and really embrace the future.” A future for comics, according to Waid, means creating comics specifically for a digital ...

DC Comics is teaming up with WonderCon attendees to fight hunger in the Horn of Africa through a text-to-give campaign. DC Entertainment’s campaign, called We Can Be Heroes, is targeting the tens of thousands of TV, film and comics fans converging on the Anaheim Convention Center this weekend for WonderCon (Comic-Con International’s junior sibling) to raise money for three humanitarian aid organizations working to alleviate the hunger crisis in the drought-stricken African region: Save the Children, International Rescue Committee and Mercy Corps. People can donate by texting the word “HEROES” to 80888. DC Comics, whose Justice League superheroes are serving as fictional spokespeople for the campaign, is matching every dollar donated up to $1 million. “Fans at WonderCon and beyond can band together with the Justice League to make a difference and save lives, just by sending a simple text ...