San Diego Comic-Con 2010 Diary, Day Two

Steampunk

We met some more of Sam’s friends, including Eric Canete who draws for Marvel and had to rush off to a signing, and Kiyoshi Nakazawa, whose art is exhibited at Grass Hut in Portland. Kiyoshi and Sam hadn’t seen each other in fifteen years, so it was a great reunion. On our way back to the hotel I saw Stan Lee talking with his people in the parking garage, and I knew I was in the center of the comic universe.

We rested for a while at the bar, and I looked around at the patrons, thinking about what a great vibe it was there. I didn’t recognize anyone, but in comics the participants aren’t known by sight, and that anonymity might help industry people relax a little bit.

The highlight of the evening was the premiere of the animated feature Batman: Under the Red Hood from Warner Animation where Sam works. He used his great influence to get us seats up front, so we ended up sitting in front of producer Bruce Timm, and next to editor Margaret Hou. The movie was a retelling of the Red Hood character, and was much heavier than I would have expected an animated movie to be. After the showing, there was a panel with the voices of Robin, Batman, and the Joker, plus the writer, producer, director and voice director.

Brian Posehn

The Joker wasn’t voiced by Mark Hamill this time, but rather by John Dimaggio, who is the voice of Bender on Futurama. He claimed to have been very nervous to follow up Skywalker, but I was pleased with his performance. Dimaggio’s a big guy, and his voice helps give the impression that the Joker could actually beat a man to death. Bruce Greenwood, who voiced the Batman, received praise from the crowd for his role, and director Brandon Vietti confirmed that Greenwood would be returning for future projects.

Timm announced the upcoming features All Star Superman and Batman: Year One, both of which raised huge cheers from the audience. We were also shown a trailer for Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, which Sam directed.

After the panel, we all stood at the side of the room talking with Vieri and other production members about the movie. I saw writer Judd Winick from a distance and gave him the thumbs-up for his screenplay. Lots of talk about animation, and the cuts needed to make the film PG-13 (less blood, mainly).

A group of us had a late-night meal before retiring for the evening. Standing in the lobby of the hotel, I heard a cheer from the bar and turned to see that Stan Lee was walking by. I have to say it was a good day.

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