Last day at Comic-Con '09
SAN DIEGO -- Quick impressions and things I forgot to say before we leave this beautiful city . . .
* Wayne Wise, manager of Phantom of the Attic comic book store in Oakland, texted me after the Eisner Awards to say that the shop had not won the retail honor this year. To be among a dozen vetted and nominated from around the globe, though, is pretty satisfying in itself, I'm sure. And the Craig Street Regulars would beg to disagree with the Eisner judges, I'm sure.
* 've gotten a few e-mails about Pittsburghers here at Comic-Con and haven't been able to get in touch, mostly because it's rush, wait and crash; rush, wait and crash every day here. But I'll contact everyone soon for their thoughts to sum things up.
* I know I've been writing a lot about "Chuck" and I may or may not stop after this: If you know that the series left off with a super Intersect being downloaded into Chuck, and he suddenly discovered he knew kung fu, also know this: There will be glitches. Also, Zachary Levi told me that having Subway aboard as an season-long sponsor was not a done deal, although those food folks did help in the campaign to save the show. The idea for that, by the way, came from a fan.
* You walk through the streets of San Diego this week or the halls of the convention center, and anytime you think you see someone familiar, you're bound to be right. Tanya Roberts might brush past you, or Dennis Miller will be walking up an aisle in Hall H, or John Noble ("Fringe," "Lord of the Rings") might be walking through the Gaslamp District wearing an off-white suit. Billy Mumy is signing autographs at one booth while Breckin Meyer is sitting and chatting at another. Tyrese Gibson is pushing his new imprint, "Mayhem," for hours and hours on the Exhibit floor. And you notice all of this amid the craziness and the costumes . . .
* Seems like there were fewer costumed folks this year than at my previous two Cons. I mean, only two slave Princess Leia's? And just a few Stormtroopers. During a Q&A session, when fans walk up to a mic and appear on the big screen in the giant halls, Mila Kunis made the mistake of calling a costumed Star Wars fan a Stormtrooper. He corrected her with some indignation: He was a scout trooper. Perhaps she hadn't seen his helmet, because he was holding it? Don't mess with the Comic-Con folks in uniform!
* Can't wait to see what you all think of "Avatar" and "District 9," two wildly different views on aliens and how they interact with us and we interact with them. The former is from James Cameron and the latter is produced by Peter Jackson, with director Neal Blomkamp. "Avatar" is all about envisioning another planet that resembles ours only in the slightest ways and how humans could fit in there. "District 9" is a realistic look at what might happen if an alien species that looks nothing likes us and frightens us got stuck here, and how we might treat them. (TV spoiler alert coming.) Maybe the reptile visitors of "V" were right to hide inside a human "suit" after all.
Off to L.A. for some R&R. More to come as the films and shows come out, but remember to follow Rob Owen's Tuned in Journal when he heads to summer press tour this week.