Every year the smelly, bearded men who live in their parents’ basements, the tween hipsters with perfectly coiffed pompadours, and every comic book-loving stereotype in between gather to catch sneak previews of comics, movies, TV, pop culture, and gadgets and gizmos at Comic-Con. For those unfamiliar, Comic-Con is an annual convention in San Diego that brings together animators, writers, producers, and actors from the world of comic books and pop culture. The nearly 40-year-old spectacle spans four days and has attracted more than 625,000 people in the past five years combined. Kicking off Thursday, the convention will last all weekend until its close on Sunday evening.
But the anticipation and frenzy starts before the doors open on the first day. And because most events are first-come first-serve, fanatics wait in line for days before. Unfortunately, the first and only casualty to come from a Comic-Con event occurred Tuesday: as a Twi-hard crossed the street to a line for a Q&A featuring the cast of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2, she was struck and killed by an oncoming car. The fan had been waiting since Sunday for the Twilight panel on Thursday. But the Twilight cast event is just one of the spectacles at Comic-Con this year. See our user’s guide for this year’s most buzzed-about events.
By Christy Khoshaba.
Ron Phillips, Warner Bros. Entertainment ; HBO ; Ursula Coyote / AMC ; Kimberley French / Columbia TriStar
On Friday, the first graphic novel written by bestselling author, former chef, and travel/eating personality Anthony Bourdain makes its debut. Get Jiro! is co-written by Joel Rose (La Pacifica), with art by Langdon Foss and color by Jose Villarrubia, and it’s the story of a future Los Angles ruled by aggressive chefs.
Theo Wargo / Getty Images
Marvel has been teasing its This Is War campaign for a while, and Spider-Man fans are desperate to see more of the mystery comic now that the blockbuster summer epic of the same name has hit theaters. It’s been rumored that the new work will take the title Punisher: War Zone. Fans can finally get their wish when details are divulged at this panel on Sunday.
Denis Poroy / AP Photo
The final installment in the Twilight series will be showcased as Twi-hards cross their fingers to get a chance to see the ultra-famous main trio, Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner, on Thursday. There will also be a Q&A panel with the actors and the film will premiere for special Comic-Con attendees on the convention’s opening day. The movie hits theaters Nov. 16.
Andrew Cooper / Summit Entertainment
This much-anticipated fantasy film is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz from Sam Raimi, director of the last Spider-Man trilogy. The story follows the wizard’s arrival in Oz and rise to power. The film stars Mila Kunis, James Franco, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, and Abigail Spencer. It will be released March 8, 2013, but Comic-Con fans will get a special sneak peek on Thursday.
Chris Pizzello / AP Photo
The Expendables 2 is a sequel to the 2010 action film starring multiple Hollywood heavyweights. Two of the film’s stars, Sylvester Stallone and Jean-Claude Van Damme, will chat about the movie at a panel Thursday. And Arnold Schwarzenegger, who also stars, will make his first Hollywood appearance since leaving the governor’s office. Two hundred fifty lucky attendees will receive oil-on-canvas—you heard right—poster images from the film.
Joel Ryan / AP Photo
Come Friday at Comic-Con, Peter Jackson’s long-delayed The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey makes its debut. The film stars Elijah Wood, Martin Freeman, Cate Blanchett, Ian McKellen, and Orlando Bloom. The beloved book-turned-movie follows the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, who journeys to a place called the Lonely Mountain, accompanied by dwarves, to salvage treasure stolen from Dragon Smaug. The prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy comes out Dec. 14.
Chris Pizzello / AP Photo
Elysium, directed by acclaimed South African Neill Blomkamp, the filmmaking phenom behind the surprise hit District 9, makes its debut Friday at the convention. Matt Damon and Jodie Foster star in the film, set in the year 2159. The story follows a man trying to bring equality between a wealthy world living on a manmade space station and the rest of the population on a ruined Earth. It’s scheduled to be released March 1, 2013.
By Saturday, Quentin Tarantino’s latest, Django Unchained, featuring Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson, will be unveiled. This will be Jackson’s fifth collaboration with Tarantino. The story follows a slave-turned-bounty-hunter as he rescues his wife from a Mississippi plantation owner. It is set for release on Christmas.
Alexandre Meneghini / AP Photo
Three decades ago, in 1982—dubbed as The Greatest Geek Year Ever!—Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Blade Runner, Tron, Poltergeist, ET, and Conan: The Barbarian entered our consciousness. This year, Comic-Con toasts their 30-year anniversaries. A panel Thursday will discuss how movies like The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, Prometheus, and Dark Shadows compare.
Ron Phillips, Warner Bros. Entertainment
The panel for this highly successful TV show will take place Friday at the largest hall in the convention center, holding 65,000 people. Premiering on HBO in April 2011, Game of Thrones is a medieval fantasy world created by author George R.R. Martin and adapted for the small screen by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Stars from the show at the panel will include Alfie Allen, Emilia Clarke, Michelle Fairley, and Richard Madden. Unfortunately for fans, however, show regular Kit Harington will be unable to attend because of a broken ankle and half of the show’s favorite twincest, actress Lena Headey, can’t attend due to a scheduling conflict. Instead, newcomer to the show Rose Leslie (of Downton Abbey fame) will attend, along with executive producer Carolyn Strauss, to talk about Season 3.
HBO
AMC’s post-apocalyptic drama television series was developed by Frank Darabont and is based on the comic book series of the same name, written by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. Fittingly, the first episode aired on Halloween 2010. Stars from the show at this year’s Comic-Con will include Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Wayne Callies, Laurie Holden, Norman Reedus, Steven Yeun, and Lauren Cohan. Executive producers Gale Anne Hurd and Robert Kirkman along with special effects makeup supervisor Greg Nicotero complete the show’s panel on Friday.
Gregory Bull / AP Photo
The critically acclaimed AMC drama series Breaking Bad, created and produced by Vince Gilligan, has won six Emmys in its four-season run. The show follows a high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with lung cancer who sells meth with one of his students to secure his family’s financial future before he dies. Stars including Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, R.J. Mitte, and Jonathan Banks will attend the show’s panel on Friday.
Ursula Coyote / AMC
An cult-classic outer-space Western (there is such a thing) created by Joss Whedon, Firefly followed the adventures of the crew aboard the Firefly-Class spaceship. Firefly will celebrate its 10th anniversary of its premiere and cancellation at this year’s Comic-Con. Sunday’s panel will reunite Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Tim Minear, Adam Baldwin, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, and Michael Fairman.
Chris Jackson / Getty Images
This Emmy and Golden Globe-winning series, now in its increasingly wacky fifth season, will take its turn on the panel on Saturday. The series is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries novels written by Charlaine Harris and follows the co-existence of vampires and humans in Louisiana. Stars Kristin Bauer van Straten, Nelsan Ellis, Ryan Kwanten, Joe Manganiello, Christopher Meloni, Stephen Moyer, Anna Paquin, Alexander Skarsgård, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Deborah Ann Woll, and creator Alan Ball will thrill fans with sneak peeks and behind-the-scenes information at Saturday’s panel.
Lacey Terrell / HBO
E.L. James, the woman behind the most talked about romantic/erotic/dramatic trilogy of the year, will attend Comic-Con to sign her bestselling books Thursday. The first novel, known as “mommy porn,” recently hit its 20 million mark. The story follows the relationship between a recent college grad and businessman and their sex lives, which include sadism and masochism…to put it tamely. Michael De Luca and Dana Brunett, producers of The Social Network, will produce the film version of 50 Shades of Grey.
Jeffrey Boan / AP Photo
