By Mathew Barnes and Dylan
The 2011 New York Comic-Con has come and gone again at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, starting on October 13 and ending on the 16. The convention featured iconic guests such as Seth Green, Mark Hamill, and Stan Lee. Many popular video game and comic book distributors like Capcom, Square Enix, Nintendo, Marvel, DC and Dark Horse made their appearance as another wave of gamers and comic-fans lined up to try out the latest products, get the latest info and play against the best of the best in video and card game tourneys. Here’s a look at what transpired during that feverish three-day weekend.
Friday, October 14
Friday started off with the official screening of “Once Upon a Time” an ABC original series that fuses popular fairytales with present day reality. Previews, hands-on demos and inside scoops of “Final Fantasy XIII-2,” “Batman: Arkham City,” “Street Fighter
X Tekken” and “Star Wars: The Old Republic,” were revealed. The development team behind “Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning” teamed up with New York Times Bestselling author R.A. Salvatore, renowned for writing the “Dark Elf” trilogy, gave in giving an in-depth look on the game and how the extensive story and background will connect and affect the players’ overall gameplay experience. Salvatore also talked about what to expect in his latest book, “Neverwinter” and Seth Green discussed the upcoming Season 5.5 of his popular series “Robot Chicken.” Finally, Mark Hamill made his spotlight appearance later in the evening, who is well known for playing “Luke Skywalker” from “Star Wars” and voice acting for various cartoons, such as the Joker from “Batman: The Animated Series.”
Saturday, October 15
Saturday began with the world premiere of the “Green Lantern: The Animated Series” with Bruce Timm behind the project, who is well known for creating “Batman: The Animated Series.” More information was revealed on the second season of the popular CW Television drama series, “Nikita” by Maggie Q who plays the show’s protagonist. Robert Kirkman, followed by his cast and producers discussed what to look forward to in the second season of AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” Ryota Niitsuma brought us more news on the expansion of the first “Marvel vs Capcom 3” and “Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3.” At the end of the day, big fantasy authors Brandon Sanderson, Peter Brett, Phillipa Ballantrine, along with new coming epic fantasy authors Rae Carson, David Chandler, and Nils Johnson-Shelton, discuss how fantasy-related themes have rekindled interest in fiction and the MTV theatre showed the return of the popular MTV animated series, “Beavis and Butthead,” premiering on October 27 at 10:00.
Sunday, October 16
Sunday started out with the meeting of the stars from “Conan the Barbarian” such as Jason Momoa, Rose McGowan and Stephen Lang. Basic Japanese lessons were provided by teachers from Japan Society’s Toyota Language Center who were promoting classes for determined learners. Capcom presented more of their new products such as “Dragon’s Dogma,” “Asura’s Wrath” and “Dead Rising 2: Off the Record.” It all ended with the premiere of Studio Pierrot new anime adventure “Legend of the Millennium Dragon.”
Q&A with the team from…Moonbase Comics
…with Joe Ryan, Robby Fregosi, Greg Goodson, and Jordon Canales. Moonbase Comics is a new and independently formed comic book collaborative.
What is your goal at Comic-Con 2011?
To make a stronger and better booth and comic book for next year.
How long did it take you guys to set up?
Me, Robby, Greg and Jordon compiled this together. It took two weeks for me in mid-August to complete and it was later shipped in September.
How hard was it to secure a panel here?
We’ve been dreaming about it. The hardest part was getting together. Robby is from Westchester, Greg is from Delaware, I’m from the moon(laughs), New York and Jordon is from New Jersey.
To each of you, what does art mean to you?
Joe: Art is a tool I’ve used all my life. I love using it to tell stories and to express myself.
Greg: I do whatever you feel that makes people happy (i.e farting). I enjoy manifesting characters and applying them to reality.
Jordon: Art is me. Without it I’ll die.
Robby: Art is about entertaining people. I do whatever makes others feel happy.