Beth Webb - Events EditorIt’s rare a time when men, women, children and stormtoopers can coexist under one roof in perfect harmony. Comic Con 2012 has descended onto the San Diego Convention Centre for its annual three day offering of movie filled mayhem for the comic connoisseur.
It’s rare a time when
men, women, children and stormtoopers can coexist under one roof in perfect
harmony. Comic Con 2012 has descended onto the San Diego Convention Centre for
its annual three day offering of movie filled mayhem for the comic connoisseur.
With a new wave of slick posters for the next 12 month’s
hottest releases causing ripples of excitement matched only by a hairy man in a
red suit (Father Christmas, not Ron Burgundy) expect male heavy crowds of
hysteria, with previews of The Hobbit (Main Picture),
Iron Man 3 and Guillermo del Toro‘s Pacific
Rim at the 2012 event.
The convention however this week faced controversy as a
female fan was fatally injured while queuing for the Twilight panel for Breaking Dawn part 2 on Tuesday the 10th
of July. The 53 year old woman was hit by an oncoming vehicle during her 2 day
wait to see the stars, and will be remembered at the event on Sunday.
Comic Con was established in 1970, and has rocketed in
popularity not just from a huge fanbase of the graphic novels that the event celebrates
but a huge boost in big screen adaptations of DC and Marvel’s most memorable
heroes. With Marvel’s Avengers Assemble surprising box offices with the third
highest grossing film of all time superhero films have become a major genre
over the last ten years, with Marvel starting up its own studio to cope with its
multitude of sequels and new ventures to be produced over coming years.
Such has become the success of Comic Con, Supersize Me’s Morgan Spurlock has made
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope (see the Trailer at the bottom of this page), a critically applauded documentation of the
cultural phenomenon that pulls in well over 140,000 fanatics annually. Morgan
takes a rare turn off camera to narrate the film, but with the likes of Joss Whedon, Harry Knowles and Stan Lee
producing expect an accurate and loving depiction of the fan boy.
Of course there’s more than enough to quench the thirst of
the die-hard comic fan who has followed the stories of their favourite
characters before they stepped into theatres. Expect pant wetting contributions
from the big graphic names; The Walking
Dead which has been excellently adapted into Frank Darabont’s award winning television series will have its
top artists including Charlie Adlard and Robert Kirman, and the
Marvel Entertainment panel on Saturday, with guests yet to be announced but
with Iron Man 3, one of the big previews of the convention, expect a few
big names to match. On the DC front the word on everyone’s lips is Superman,
with Henry Cavill bringing the latest British face to a hero franchise
and the centre of attention at the Warner Bros panel.
There’s a brawny
programme of anime features, events and cosplay, autograph opportunities and a
children’s film festival for the big kids to offload their littler ones to a
world of Pretty Kitty’s Flowers, Elmer’s Nest and Tangled Ever
After.
Whether you came
into this world with a copy of The Amazing Spider-Man grasped between your tiny
fists, can’t sleep until you’ve seen exclusive footage of Peter Jackson’s The
Hobbit or thoroughly enjoy dressing up as a wookie on your weekends, Comic Con
is a contemporary mecca, a place of great excitement, sometimes bitter
disappointment, but always a place for the fan to come and be with their
people.
For the full
glorious run down of Comic Con 2012 visit their intricate website HERE
