Comic-Con 2011 crashed-landed in San Diego, California last month. To many geeks, nerds, and dorks and their friends, it is the biggest event of the year, and a time when many crawl out of their mom’s basements and actually go outside and get some exercise. I kid, of course. I wish I could tell you that Comic-Con came and left like a Flash of light, but it didn’t. This was my first time back at Comic-Con since 2001, and trust me, in 2001 it was way more laid back than it is now. Let’s get to some of the major news that came from Comic-Con.
A day before Comic-Con started a certain web-slinger released a new trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man:
As well as the new trailer for The Dark Knight:
Both films look very promising, particularly Spider-Man, since he is not at the bar dancing around like he is on Broadway. There was also a setup outside the Convention Center for the new ‘Total Recall’ movie, a poster for a new ‘Underworld’ movie, the bike for the new ‘Ghost Rider’ film and many, many more.
DC Comic will look different this month, as they reboot a variety of heroes which includes Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, The Flash, Teen Titans, and more when they re-introduce everyone in the “New 52”, issue number 1. I’m not sure if this is DC Comics’ way of telling everyone that ‘we are not doing well, so we are going to try something new’ but if they pull this off, I will give them mad props. I have never been a DC Comics fan, but I will give the new issue number 1 a try.
Marvel showcased part of the S.H.I.E.L.D Helicarrier and Captain America new outfit at their show floor for the upcoming ‘Avenger’ movie. Also new pictures have surfaced for the movie that includes Hawkeye. I cannot wait for the Avengers movie to come out—but first I still need to watch the Thor movie, for which the DVD/Blu-ray will be released on September 13, 2011.
Even though Comic-Con should be mainly about all things comics, the video game industry was there as well. The Big 3 were there to showcase the latest games that they are working on. Sony had their own area on the showfloor while Nintendo and Microsoft had separate rooms at two different hotels. Nintendo was really showcasing Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. The WiiU was absent, and that was probably for the best—else the lines for Nintendo would have been as long as the Twilight panel.
Microsoft mainly showcased a lot of the Kinect titles. The biggest playable game they showed was Batman Arkham City. Sony showcased the new expansion for DC Universe Online: Fight for the Light. At the time information about the expansion was about as rare as finding a well-done cosplay. Players in DCUO are able to obtain Light powers—Green for the heroes and Yellow for the Villains—and will be able to construct their light powers as they see fit. At least, that is how they explained it to everyone on the show floor. Other games that Sony showed were StarHawk, Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One and Twisted Metal—all playable.
Other companies like THQ, EA/BioWare, Epic Games and more showed up to join the party. THQ was there to showcase Saints Row the Third and Darksiders 2. EA showed up wanting to wow fans as they brought Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic to bear. I got a chance to play Mass Effect 3 and I will say this— it is a day one purchase for me and it will be played on the PC. Epic Games was there as well to have Gears of War 3 playable for the fans. I played Gears as well and it looks very clean now and plays the same as the first two. Konami was located in the downtown area away from the madness, which was probably the best experience I had. They held their area for media at the W San Diego hotel. I got to sit down and play some of the games that will be available for XBL and PSN.
On Comic-Con being relocated
We know that Comic-Con came really close to being re-located from San Diego to Las Vegas or Los Angeles. There are many reasons why Comic-Con should leave San Diego, but the main reason is that the San Diego Convention Center is simply too small for Comic-Con anymore. Yes, they are currently expanding the Convention Center to better host events like Comic-Con—but when will this project be finished? When I was at Comic-Con this year, I wanted to forearm people just to make way through the event. It was way too crowded, and many of us felt like a sardines in a tin can. The over-population of not just the attendees, but the number of booths is a bit too much. It does not help the situation when certain booths have characters out to be photobombed by everyone and the area gets cluttered up, or when they are giving free swag away, either.
I think the one thing that ticked me off the most is the way media were treated when scheduling an appointment to meet with a vendor or company—in many cases the personnel at Comic-Con treated us like regular attendees, even though we had prominent media badges and appointments. There’s a definite difference in the way media are treated here and they way they are handled at other professional conferences like E3 or CES.
Do I believe that going to Comic-Con would be nicer if they expanded the Convention Center? Yes, I think it would be awesome. When the Convention Center is finally expanded, things will get better for events like Comic-Con. Until that day comes, it will continue to be a cluster to go to and to deal with.
As an aside, I would like to thank Bobby Cometa and David Kenkel for keeping me company while I was at Comic-Con. I would also like to thank AMD for hosting a media room at the Omni Hotel. Comic-Con 2011 was an awesome experience and will definitely go again next year.
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