Comic-Con International used to be a small comic books expo in San Diego. Then it grew. And grew. Now, about 130,000 people come from around the globe to check out not only the hottest comics, but the hottest action movies, anime, video games, anime, toys and more! We sent manga expert Deb Aoki to report on the panels, the booths and of course, the devoted fans for all four days of Comic-Con International! From the infamous stabbing at a panel discussion (see Saturday’s report!) to the wide range of manga comics on display, Deb captured it all…

Day 1 Scene Report (Thurs, Jul. 21)

Day 2 Scene Report (Fri., Jul. 22)

Day 3 & 4 Report (Sat & Sun, Jul. 23 & 24)

When I rolled into San Diego on Wednesday morning, there were already hints that this year’s Comic-Con would be huge. Three of the hotels fronting the San Diego Convention Center were covered with huge building-sized billboards promoting upcoming films, including Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, the new Edgar Wright (Shawn of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) film based on the graphic novels by Bryan Lee O’Malley.

Almost every surface that could be sold for advertising space — from hotel elevators to street banners to buses — were decked with teasers and ads for video games and films,  including ads for the new Tron: Legacy movie from Disney.

This is Hollywood’s Geek Week, and everyone in San Diego is getting ready to welcome over 100,000+ fans, comics creators, movies/gaming pros and celebrities who would soon invade the city’s historic Gaslamp District.

San Diego Comic-Con has gotten bigger and more popular every year. In fact, this year, the show was sold out months before the doors opened for previews on Wednesday night. What was once the mellow night of the show turned just as busy as the regular expo days.

There isn’t as much programming of panels and film showings on Wednesday night, so the focus is squarely on the Exhibit Hall, where hundreds of comics creators, publishers, video game companies, movie studio and toy manufacturers set up booths big and small to showcase their latest and greatest creations.

Warner Brothers’ mega-sized Comic-Con bags have been a must-have for the last few years. These bags are so big, people have made dresses from them (and there was a pretty spectacular example of this at the Warner Brothers’ booth). This year, WB handed out the bags to every Comic-Con attendee upon registration, so those bright green bags promoting the Batman Brave and the Bold video game, the Vampire Diaries TV show and the new Scooby-Doo cartoon were carried by every fan on the floor.

Giant bags are a must in order to carry all the free schwag that Comic-Con is famous for — free posters, toys, stickers and gadgets were there for the taking and fans eagerly queued up for them all. My choice for the goofiest Comic-Con schwag this year? The Marvel character Galactus paper hats, which made almost everyone who wore them look very un-villainlike. A close second would be the Dragon Ball paper hairdos from FUNimation, who is promoting the DVD release of the anime series Dragon Ball Kai in the USA.

Up until the doors opened, folks at Marvel Comics were hustling to get their Thor-themed booth set up. No wonder it took a while — the huge golden throne of Odin is a sight to see.  Other jaw-dropping booths included gamers THQ’s giant warrior robot for their upcoming release of Red Faction Armageddon. The helmet and chest plate of this 10-foot tall statue would open so people could climb in, pose in the chest section of the robot and get their picture taken as a video game cyborg warrior.

The booth for the ABC TV show No Ordinary Family gave fans a chance show off their some superhero-type strength. A prop car with hydraulics underneath was set up, so fans could get a picture snapped of themselves lifting a red sedan.
Star Wars once again had a huge presence on the Comic-Con exhibit hall, with displays of the characters from The Clone Wars and screens playing scenes from this popular series overhead.

The gaming company Square Enix’s booth was also a treat for anime and manga fans. They had a gallery of original art created just for Comic-Con by the creators of Fullmetal Alchemist, Black Butler, Soul Eater and a lot of drool-worthy Final Fantasy figures. But for manga fans, the most exciting bit of news was Square Enix’s announcement that they would be launching an online manga website for fans in North America and France this fall.

Other fun finds included Black Lava’s collection of funky Asian pride tees.  One of them replaced an Adidas logo with a chicken that spelled “adobo,” and another was a Toys “R” Us parody, “Thais R Us”.

Also awesome was artist Sho Murase’s stylish super heroine pin-ups. She’s at Artist Alley Table GG24 if you want to pick up one of her sketchbooks.

I spoke with several exhibitors at Comic-Con, and many were amazed that the hall was so packed with people on preview night. But the real action starts on Thursday, when Comic-Con officially opens and the mayhem really begins.

–Deb Aoki

Top Photo Courtesy of Deb Aoki

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