Day One of San Diego Comic-Con Has Begun

 

Jeri Jacquin

The day is sunny, and the sidewalks are buzzing with everything that Comic-Con is and has to offer. The lines started out a bit long, but that’s what happens when so many want to be the first in the door for exclusive merch! Where am I? Well, in Hall H, of course. That’s where my fun always is, and day one is no exception.

Hall H starts out with a bang as PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS brings their panel to the stage. Moderated by superfan Juju Green, the audience was treated to the cast with Walker Scobell as Percy Jackson, Aryan Simhadri as Grover Underwood, Charlie Bushnell as Luke Castellan, Tamara Smart as Thalia Grace, Levi Chrisopulos as Nico di Angelo, and Olivia Abercrombie as Bianca di Angelo. Executive Producer Craig Silverstein talks about the optics of the new season. “I think we felt the pressure of doing it right. I remember feeling good early on when we were showing Rick the concept…it was good, next step forward, next step forward, and we were conscious of that going into it, saying this is the first time we are going to see everything. I felt the pressure.”

Young Charlie Bushnell talks about his first time at Comic-Con. “It is crazy. I have never done something like this. It is crazy; it’s really wild. I’m glad I get to do it with all the cast.” Olivia Abercrombie also adds, “I’ve finally read all the books, trying to be the biggest nerd like all of you. It is incredible; I’ve never done anything this big, and seeing how much it means to people and it’s so neat to see how people love this. Walker Scobell talks about his character saying, “I think when you have been playing a character- we are on Season 3 now- you start to add things to your character that you don’t really do it on purpose. When you are not really thinking about acting like Percy, I think going into Season 3, I wasn’t thinking about being Percy or trying to think about how to make this story better. Things just come out, and that’s the cool part of doing this for the past five years. It’s crazy.”

Next Panel is MARVEL’S Wolverine: Deep Cuts with a panel that includes moderator Naomi Kyle, Marcus Smith, Mike Daly, Walt Williams, Jess Reiner-Reed of Insomniac Games, Eric Monacelli of Marvel Games, Liam McIntyre as the voice of Wolverine and Krizia Bajos as the voice of Jean Grey. Monacelli says of the story, “We made a deliberate choice in this game that the X-Men are part of this world; it is a new foray into the world of humans. We wanted to go with Team X. So Team X, it is a 1980’s ops that was formed in the 1960s, and it had a lot of mutants in there. It had Logan, it had Sabertooth, and for our game…” He holds off handing the reins to Marcus Smith, who continues, “So X-Men don’t exist in our universe; the mutants, they are out there and under threat. They need heroes; enter our team, Team X.” So this is the origin of Logan, Jean Grey, Mystique and Sabretooth called Team X and led by Mister Sinister. Look out for uber villains Bolivar Trask and Lady Deathstrike, along with the Reavers. That is a handful of information, so prepare yourself!

Marvel isn’t quite finished yet, their panel for Tokon: Fighting Souls is up next. Moderated by fighting game commentator and streamer Sajam, the panel also includes Takeshi Yamanaka, Amber Seitz from Arc System Works, Michael Francisco, Mike Deodato from Marvel Games and Comics, and voice actor Josh Keaton. Sajam asks the panel about the vision for the story. Michael Francisco speaks on the question with, “I think that’s a great question. Every great Marvel game starts with the story of the big bad. The person who motivates everyone into action. Then the core gameplay mechanics, and that’s how we landed on the Champion. He is obscure enough and reinvents himself into a version. Also, the Champion is an elder god, who has mastered every fighting style across the cosmos. He invites the values of core competition.”

The animated movie AVATAR AANG: The Last Airbender from Paramount+ is the next panel moderated by Janet Varney (the original voice of Korra) with co-creators Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko, director Lauren Montgomery, Eric Nam, who is the voice of Aang, Dave Bautista as Targa, Jessica Matten as Katara, Dionne Quan as Toph, and Roman Zaragoza as Sokka. Bryan Konietzko says the film is 2-D animation and to be patient to see what they have put together for next year. He says there isn’t anything else like it. On October 9^th is when the film will be released.

Max Original brings STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE on stage for their first panel. Giving the audience a first look before it comes to the smaller screen, moderator Felicia Day brings out co-creators, exec producers, writers Chuck Lorre, Zak Penn, Bill Prady, and Kevin Sussman as Stuart, Lauren Lapkus as Denise, John Ross Bowie as Kripke, and Brian Posehn as Bert. Bill Prady promises that the series will have lots of surprises, and to prove that, the first episode might have a few people we all remember from The Big Bang Theory. That isn’t the only new idea, as Chuck Lorre explains. Using a single camera format is a change from the usual sitcom model. “The four-camera audience show is putting on a play every week, and beyond sitting on a couch and talking to one another, there’s not a lot you can do. The simple solution is to shoot it like a movie!”

The storyline is that Stuart Bloom tries to bring back reality after messing up a device built by Sheldon and Leonard. Now he is in Armageddon and now running around an alternate-universe. Taking place in a comic book shop, you can’t be at Comic Con with creating a comic book! The cover art is done by Jim Lee and Alex Sinclair and will be made available to fans who are at SDCC. So, look for your copy while they are out there to be had! That being said, look for STUART FAILS TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE on Max!

Now, it’s time to take in some sun and visit all the sights and sounds of downtown. There is so much to see and experience, but first, I have to hit the Pendry for their amazing artistry in doughnut making, then maybe over to Bob’s Burger place and then over to the Grand! Of course, behind the Convention Center and anywhere else my feet want to take me. See what I mean? So much to do, so little time!