Comic-Con Friday: Eight great can’t-miss panels and previews

Comic-Con’s program is rolling out online and it’s overwhelming to say the least. How do attendees navigate it all? With our help, of course.

Images taken at the True Blood panel at San Diego Comic-con with Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgard, Deborah Ann Woll, Sam Trammell, Charlaine Harris, Nelsan Ellis, Michelle Forbes, Alan Ball, and Rutina Wesley on Saturday July 25, 2009. (Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons/Arrow of Apollo)

We’re assembling a day-by-day guide; eight great panels and previews each day (Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

By next week, we’ll have a full, four-day guide with 32 can’t-miss panels – or, can’t-miss in our opinion, but you’re free to add your can’t-miss panels/previews in the comments below.

It’s difficult to select eight from the extensive lists, so we’ll sneak in a ninth here: From 10-11 a.m. Friday in Room 4, DC will host its second talent search (the first is Thursday morning). DC’s editorial art director Mark Chiarello presents an informative orientation session that will explain how DC’s Talent Search works and discuss the different needs of DC Universe, Vertigo, WildStorm and MAD magazine publications. If you want to learn what DC Comics looks for in artists and how to improve your chances of becoming a working professional, this is the panel for you. To have your work reviewed, attendance at this orientation session is mandatory, but not all attendees are guaranteed one-on-one reviews.

Now, on to Friday’s schedule.

10:00-11:00 From Fan to Creator: Goal Setting for Creative Types— Which side of the convention table do you want to be on, artist or fan? And what’s keeping you from getting there? If you have a project in mind that you’ve had trouble bringing into reality, you might benefit from this fun and practical goal-setting workshop, designed specifically for the Comic-Con crowd. Hailed as the “Tony Robbins of Geeks,” motivational speaker Douglas Neff will give you simple, proven techniques for achieving your most important goals. Whether you want to write your own screenplay, draw your first comic, or shoot your independent film, you’re sure to get something useful from this informative and energizing workshop. Room 24ABC
Categories: Animation | Art and Illustration | Comics | Seminars & Workshops | Writers & Writing

3:00-4:00 Star Wars Day: Star Wars Trivia Game Show— Members of the San Diego Star Wars Society, veteran hosts of trivia game shows at Star Wars Celebration III and Comic-Con International since 2002, have prepared a bigger challenge this year for all fans who think they know their stuff about the galaxy far, far away. Added this year will be one game round for kids 12 and under. Test your knowledge and win one of the many valuable prizes. Room 7AB
Categories: Fandom | Movies | Science Fiction & Fantasy

3:00-3:45 The Joss Whedon Experience— Every year Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dollhouse, and Serenity, comes to Comic-Con to give fans a wide-ranging and digressive look into what’s keeping him busy. Join Joss and a few thousand of his closest friends for the Q&A. Spoiler Alert! Ballroom 20
Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy | Television | Writers & Writing

4:00-5:00 Entertainment Weekly: Girls Who Kick Ass: A New Generation of Heroines— EW moderates this discussion with Jena Malone (Sucker Punch), Anna Torv (Fringe), Chloe Moretz (Kick Ass), Adrianne Palicki (Red Dawn and Friday Night Lights), and Ellen Wong and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) about the next generation of female action heroes and the power and privilege of playing young women who are nobody’s arm candy. Moderated by Nicole Sperling. Ballroom 20
Categories: Action/Adventure | Movies | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Superheroes | Television

4:00-5:00 Breaking into Comics— A bold first step into breaking into comics starts here. Top comics creators Mike Costa (G.I. Joe: Cobra, The Authority: Jack Hawksmoor, Transformers) and Reilly Brown (Cable & Deadpool, The Incredible Hercules) discuss the ins and outs of the comic industry — specifically, what it takes to break in and how it’s done! Get solid and sound advice on what it takes and how to get started! Moderated by Comics Experience’s Andy Schmidt (X-Men, Annihilation, G.I. Joe).  Room 30CDE
Categories: Art and Illustration | Comics | Seminars & Workshops | Writers & Writing

Comic-Con San Diego

4:30-5:30 Pixar Animation Studios: Ronnie Del Carmen— As in comic books, the expression of storytelling in movies is done with images, staging, acting, and a myriad other skills. The Pixar Story process uses the same focus and much more. Ronnie Del Carmen (story supervisor, UP) delves into the Story process few rarely see and offers a glimpse of what it’s really like to work in Story @ Pixar, followed by Q&A. Room 26AB
Categories: Animation | Anime & Manga | Art and Illustration | Seminars & Workshops | Writers & Writing

5:15-6:15 True Blood Panel and Q&A session— Mixing romance, suspense, mystery, and humor, True Blood kicked off its 12-episode third season June 13 on HBO. The series, which has earned two Golden Globe nominations for Best Television Series—Drama, follows the romance between waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin, Golden Globe winner for True Blood season one; Oscar-winner for The Piano), who can hear people’s thoughts, and her soulmate, 173-year-old vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer). Alan Ball (creator of the Emmy-winning HBO series Six Feet Under) created and serves as executive producer of the series, which is based on the best-selling Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. The series also features Nelsan Ellis as Lafayette Reynolds, Sam Trammell as Sam Merlotte, Rutina Wesley as Tara Thornton, Deborah Ann Woll as Jessica Hamby, Kristin Bauer van Straten as Pam, Denis O’Hare as Russell Edgington, the Vampire King of Mississippi, and Joe Manganiello as Alcide Herveaux. (Note: names in bold will be appearing on the panel.) Moderated by Tim Stack of Entertainment Weekly. Ballroom 20
Categories: Comic-Con Special Guest Spotlights & Appearances | Horror and Suspense | Humor & Satire | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Television | Writers & Writing

8:30-11:30 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards— The 22nd annual Eisner Awards, the “Oscars” of the comics industry, will be given out at a gala ceremony at the Indigo Ballroom at the Hilton Bayfront. This year’s special theme is “Comics Fiesta.” The masters of ceremony are Bongo Comics’ Bill Morrison and voice actor Maurice LaMarche (Pinky and the Brain, Futurama). Presenters include writer/actor Thomas Robert and Ben Garant (Reno 911, Balls of Fury), cartoonist Berkeley Breathed (Bloom County), comedian/voice actor Phil LaMarr (Futurama, Family Guy, MadTV), comics writer James Robinson (Starman, Justice League of America), with many more to be announced. Other prestigious awards to be given out include the Russ Manning Promising Newcomer Award and the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award. Admission to the Eisners is free to all Comic-Con attendees — just be sure to bring your badge. Doors open for pro and VIP seating at 7:30 and for attendees at 8:15. All those who attend will receive a free Will Eisner graphic novel. Indigo Ballroom, San Diego Hilton Bayfront
Categories: Art and Illustration | Awards Ceremonies | Comic-Con Special Guest Spotlights & Appearances | Comics | Nighttime Programming | Writers & Writing

Tags: Breaking into Comics, Comic Con Friday program, Comic Con Friday schedule, Comic Con girls panels, Comic Con Mark Chiarello, Comic Con Star Wars Day, Comic-Con panels and previews, Comic-Con preview, Comic-Con San Diego, Douglas Neff, Joss Whedon, Pixar panel Comic Con, SDNN, True Blood Comic Con, Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards

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