Last week’s episode of Grimm may have been one of the best on TV this year, bringing together threads formed since the beginning of the show.  The result proved the old adage “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” and pitted the “good” guys together with the “bad” guys against the “even worse” guys.  The most unlikely of pairings occurred in nearly every scene.  It was brilliant TV, and we can likely expect even more fun on this Friday’s episode.

Previously we reviewed The Official Companion to Supernatural Season Seven, a well-formatted look-back for fans of the series, with previous editions released annually.  The Official Companion serves as both a souvenir book and behind the scenes look at the creators of the show.  Many series have released works that were similar.  Doctor Who has done this in magazine form, for example.  Movies like The Hobbit released different variations of behind the scenes books, with different price points and trade or hardbound editions targeted at different audiences.  The first behind the scenes look at NBC’s hit TV series Grimm is now at bookstores, and it follows a format similar to the Official Companion concept Supernatural uses, except it contains glossy, full color images, which will be a plus for diehard fans of the show.

Looking back from the end of Season Two of NBC’s hit series, Grimm: Below the Surface–The Insider’s Guide to the Show provides plenty of information not available elsewhere.  It includes stories and interviews from the series executive producers and showrunner, each of the actors playing main characters (Nick, Monroe, Juliette, Hank, Rosalee, Renard, Adalind, and Sergeant Wu), writers, production designers, the make-up and special effects team, casting, the stunt team, and the props and costume creators.

The Insider’s Guide also includes a recap of Seasons One and Two, and includes excerpts from Aunt Marie’s Casebook to supplement your knowledge from Aunt Marie’s Book of Lore (reviewed previously here at borg.com) on the Grimm and Wesen, including the wolfen Blutbad, the ear-splitting Murcielago, the fiery Damonfeuer, the goat-like Ziegevolk, the ferocious Schakal, the lionking Lowen, the bee-like Mellifers, the deadly Hexenbiests, the organ-stealing Geier, the noble Steinadlers, the bear-like Jagerbar, and the arachnid Spinnetod.

You’ll find everything from the reason for Bree Turner’s brief absence from the show, to actors’ and creators’ personal favorite episodes and scenes, to why Silas Weir Mitchell won’t watch the series, and Russell Hornsby’s take on who knows the most backstory of the many props in each scene.

The trade edition design of the book and photo quality should serve as a guide for other series to copy.  Everyone should be so lucky to have their favorite shows recounted as in this volume.

Grimm: Below the Surface–The Insider’s Guide to the Show is in bookstores everywhere and available here from Amazon.com.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Review by C.J. Bunce

Marc Cushman’s second volume of These Are the Voyages, his unprecedented treatise on Star Trek, the original series, is an improvement on his first volume, reviewed last year here at borg.com, which was a thorough history of the landmark series’ first season.  But where Volume 1 was a good read–an assemblage of facts from multiple sources not easily obtainable otherwise and an accounting of television history from 1966–Volume 2 qualifies a great read.  With more in-depth stories, anecdotes and interviews, from original sources as well as recent reminiscences from actors and production staff, Volume 2 provides a superb history of the production of Season Two and the world of American TV studios in 1967-68.

Highlights of Season Two recounted by Cushman include key changes to the show, such as the introduction of Walter Koenig as Pavel Chekov, which often led to the reduction in the roles of Sulu and Uhura.  James Doohan’s Scotty was made third in command in Season Two, based on the writers’ efforts to keep Spock and Kirk together and expand the show to strange new worlds away from the Enterprise.  The book includes modern accounts from the actors as they reflect back on their interpersonal relationships during production–everyone from George Takei to William Shatner seems surprised in retrospect by each other’s reported dismay during the series.

Volume 2 reveals Star Trek in its prime form—after a year of world-building in Season One, the first half of Season Two includes some of the best Star Trek episodes the series had to offer.  Much of this was thanks to writer Gene L. Coon, whose selection of material lightened up the tone of the show, broadening appeal to viewers.  Coon created the Klingons and the Prime Directive and the humorous relationship of Spock and McCoy.  His influence can be seen in Season One’s “Space Seed” as well as Season Two’s classics “City on the Edge of Forever,” “Mirror, Mirror,” and “The Trouble With Tribbles.”  Sadly his mid-season departure led to more campy elements seeping into the series toward the end of the season.

Many components spice up what could otherwise have been a bland, encyclopedic offering.  The seemingly endless writing process during production that is recounted by Cushman is simply… fascinating.  Robert Justman’s hilarious (but always spot-on) script notes alone make the book worth reading.  The often eloquent and usually contentious back and forth battle on paper between Dorothy (D.C.) Fontana and Gene Coon and Robert Justman and Gene Roddenberry would make modern email battles seem lightweight.

The book is chock full of interviews with dozens of the guest stars, Nielsen rating statistics, press coverage, and fan club material.  Although the general attitude of production staff is positive, we also get to see an almost universal raised eyebrow aimed at William Shatner for his abundance of ego, and Cushman includes pages of viewpoints based on the many one-on-one relationships of Shatner with guest stars and staffers.  Cushman includes an early reference to Roddenberry seeing Shatner’s Captain James T. Kirk as the Captain Horatio Hornblower of the space age, a concept picked up on by Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan director Nicholas Meyer years later.

One intriguing story includes the introduction of 23-year-old David Gerrold, who authored the first unsolicited script bought by the production for the series.  Gerrold’s first story featured a “generation ship” called Voyager, launched from Earth more than a century before.  Sound familiar?  Gerrold then wrote the most famous Star Trek episode of all, “The Trouble with Tribbles,” which an NBC executive called “one of the most visually exciting and provocative Star Trek’s ever put on film,” based just on reading the screenplay.  And a big reason the episode was so good?  Roddenberry didn’t meddle in the script preparation because he was out of town during the production of that episode.

For some later episode accounts, Cushman could be accused of trying too hard—pushing forward the best parts of the worst episodes, when maybe the episodes should just speak for themselves.  But he also knows he is writing for fans more than any objective audience, so the moderate grandstanding from time to time is excusable.  And who is to say there are any “bad” episodes anyway?  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or the original series Star Trek fan.

Lacking again is attention to costume preparation and design and props—there is little to no discussion included with propmaker Wah Chang or costumer William Ware Theiss, when all other grounds are well covered, other than some minimal commentary by guest actresses commenting on their skimpy outfits (like costumes literally glued to their skin to stay attached during filming).

Volume Two includes some real gems, like the text of a letter from Leonard Nimoy to Gene Roddenberry from 1967, after a visit to Goddard Space Flight Center in Washington, DC, where Nimoy was mobbed by droves a scientists wanting autographs, including one astronaut named John Glenn.  “This was the first real taste that I had of the NASA attitude towards STAR TREK… I do not overstate the fact when I tell you that the interest in the show is so intense, that it would almost seem they feel we are a dramatization of the future of their space program… They are, in fact, proud of the show as though it in some way represents them…,” Nimoy wrote.

And did you know the AMT model kit of the Enterprise–the one kids of all ages had in the 1960s and 1970s and is still available today–was used for filming almost as much as the large production-made models?

A digital edition would be welcome—provided all the original photographs could be included in their original color versions—a great loss for this book, especially considering the color slides were all available, but publishing cost factors are understandable.  Another oddity—each photograph has a written credit, which becomes a great waste of space over the course of the book’s hefty 688 pages.  Why not include an end page with all photo credits?  Clearly there is a bit of a dance going on over copyright use of the photographs, as the work is not produced by CBS or Paramount.  Significantly better edited than the first volume, typographical errors still again dot this volume.  But these are minor issues.  The value of this book to any fan of the original series of Star Trek is too great to pass up.  And you will find you can read a 688-page book cover to cover in only a few sittings as this reader did.

Get your copy of These Are the Voyages, Volume 2, by Marc Cushman, now from Amazon.com here.

Although The Amazing Spider-man 2 has received mixed reviews, as with last year’s sci-fi flick Elysium, the Weta Workshop was one of the special effects companies that added another dimension to the look of the film.  Weta continues to establish itself as the creative team coming up with cutting edge costumes and props that often surpass the story being told.

Weta created the make-up and Green Goblin suit worn by actor Dane DeHaan, the Electro suspension rig worn by Jamie Foxx, and several other props for this latest Spidey flick.

This week Weta released this montage video of the creators and creations behind The Amazing Spider-man 2.  Check it out:

Does anyone else think it’s cool that one of the costumers has a tattoo of scissors on her hands?  And check out the 3D printer printing the Green Goblin suit components.

The Amazing Spider-man 2 is in theaters now.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Just a quick thanks to YOU, regular and new readers, for coming back and making the borg.com odometer tip over the 1 million benchmark today!

Every day since June 10, 2011, this site has been about what I want to read and watch and talk about, and I’ve hoped others would jump on board as I went along.  Thanks for coming on over.

Special thanks to Elizabeth, Art, Jason, J.A.B., the Elite Comics flight crew, my 4-legged support staff, and my other pals for your friendship and prompting new ideas throughout the year.

And how about a shout-out to Joss Whedon.  He and the production crew of the new online release In Your Eyes secretly mailed out gifts (some substantial) worldwide to the first people who paid $5 to download his new film.  Press coverage of Whedon this weekend pointed hundreds of viewers to my 2012 San Diego Comic-Con article about Whedon (one of my favorite posts to write).  And that’s what pushed us over the 1 million mark today.  Very cool.

Onward and upward!

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

The best of the new documentary on the life and career of Drew Struzan is not what you might think.  You’d expect Drew—The Man Behind the Poster, now available on video and digital release, to include images of the best of Struzan’s stylized movie posters.  What you might not know is the variety of artwork he produced before and after his two decades of poster work.  He’s well known for unique designs and more than 150 memorable movie posters that defined the movies for audiences before they stepped into the theaters, creating his last movie poster before retiring in 2008 for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  Probably his best work includes a six-poster series for the two Star Wars trilogies, which begs the question: Can Disney get Struzan to come back from retirement for the next three films?  Will Disney understand the nostalgia factor?  In recent weeks Struzan seems open to the idea, but seems to be waiting for Disney to call.  Unfortunately Episode VII plans came after the documentary so you won’t find answers to those questions in the film.

Will he or won’t he?

For the most part Drew—The Man Behind the Poster is a straightforward success story about a struggling and very amiable artist that found his audience.  You won’t see an abundance of critical awards coming for the filmmaking–it’s something like an episode from the old Biography channel with Peter Graves.  But it’s worth watching for the explanations behind his process for the most well-known posters, including the Muppet movies and the quickly designed yet successful poster for John Carpenter’s The Thing. 

Rightly so, the documentary spends extra time talking about the creation of the famous 1978 re-release style D “circus” poster for the original Star Wars movie, explaining the reason behind its poster-within-a-poster image.  And where we get to see some celebrities praising Struzan for making the stars look better, including everyone from Steve Guttenberg to Michael J. Fox to Harrison Ford, most of these people had never met Struzan, and comment from afar as fans like any of us would.  What could have been an interesting encounter as Struzan meets Ford for the first time while the documentary was in production, falls flat a bit simply because it seems Ford was caught off-guard, and never seems to get excited about anything in his interviews.

More interesting is the time spent on Struzan’s early work, such as his album cover art, including the against-type design for Alice Cooper’s Welcome to My Nightmare album in 1975.  At the end of the documentary we get to see Struzan flip through some very elaborate and amazing studio works of fine art—not tied to any production or corporate project.  These works reveal a side of Struzan held back from his years of popular art, yet virtually no time is spent with him talking us through the details behind even a few of these.  Which audience was neglected the most:  Those who would have loved his fine art or those who now miss his commercial art?

Drew—The Man Behind the Poster only seems to skim the surface on Struzan’s methods and what makes him tick, going not that far beyond the great The Art of Drew Struzan book, reviewed here at borg.com previously.  The film is a celebration of painted art over digitally rendered art, a review of a bygone era and slightly bitter view of the progress and impact of changing art media over time, and a review of some of the best work from a creator with his own unique style of popular art.  Perhaps in the future another filmmaker will take a look at Struzan again through an artist’s eye and delve even deeper.

Drew—The Man Behind the Poster is available on streaming Netflix and on DVD here at Amazon.com.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Review by C.J. Bunce

If you’re keeping up with the third season of Major Crimes on TNT, you’ll have seen last night’s episode, “Frozen Assets.”  Set up with a preposterous plot–a multi-millionaire who has her head frozen and a poisoning that is foiled by returning detective wannabe Dick Tracy (Andrew Daly) from a 2009 episode of The Closer–Major Crimes yet again proves the show knows no bounds as to what the ensemble cast can get sucked into (and suck viewers into).  Like Season Two’s episode with a comedy twist “There’s No Place Like Home,” which featured Marion Ross, Tim Conway, Ron Glass, Paul Dooley, and Doris Roberts in a plot to murder their landlord, “Frozen Assets” shows the lighter side of a series that usually reflects the violent world of L.A. crime.  If you missed Season Two, the DVD release from Warner Bros. is here, and it’s full of plenty of extras for Major Crimes fans.

Creator and executive producer James Duff delves deep into the story development for Season Two in the special feature “Major Crimes: Personal Conviction,” revealing his vision of a season split between stories about “identity” as a theme–who the characters are and who the culprits of the crimes are and how they all got to where they are–and “character,” growth of the main cast members and learning more about these characters we thought we already knew from the prior eight years on television.  Each cast member discusses their view of the characters they play (except the strangely absent Raymond Cruz).  The crew seems to agree that Graham Patrick Martin’s Rusty Beck became the lynchpin and glue holding together the series for the second season, especially his relationship with series lead Mary McDonnell as Captain Sharon Raydor.

The series begins with the opener “Final Cut,” directed by Roxann Dawson, who sci-fi fans will know as Lt. B’Elanna Torres from Star Trek Voyager, and who also played Detective Ortega in a 2011 episode of The Closer.  This episode introduced D.D.A. Emma Rios, played by Nadine Velazquez, the prosecutor who constantly clashes with the Major Crimes squad (interspersed with a season full of hilarious flirtations by Detective Sanchez).  Duff acknowledges why viewers proclaim how much they hate the character, and also why she fits perfectly into the dynamic of the show.

Highlights of the season include a trio of episodes featuring Raydor’s ex-husband, played by Tom Berenger, G.W. Bailey’s Lt. Provenza and his ongoing wrestling with age and being the last of his class to still be working as a detective on the force, and the series finale focusing on the pursuit of a serial killer after Rusty and Raydor.

Six episodes include deleted scenes that further reveal details of the members of the squad that didn’t make it to the final episode cuts.  The highlight of the deleted scenes can be found with “Return to Sender – Part 2,” featuring Dr. Morales (Jonathan Del Arco) as he encounters Provenza and Rusty after testifying in the Stroh trial.  Another feature, “Behind the Scenes: A Look Forward,” discusses new themes coming ahead in Season Three, and some concepts the creators and cast want to see in future episodes.

Check out our wrap-up of Season Two on borg.com here.

Another great season for Major Crimes, the Season Two DVD provides not only four discs full of the 19 episodes from the series, but some extra content fans of the series will want to check out.   Major Crimes Season Two on DVD is available here at Amazon.com.

We’ve delved into some great cover artists at borg.com in the past three years, from Alex Ross to Mauro Cascioli to Frank Cho and Mike Mayhew.  With his cover run on the DC Comics New 52 series Futures End, Ryan Sook is the artist you just can’t miss these days.  His cover for Issue #14 (above right) of Futures End is being solicited for August 2014 already, and it showcases several styles.  If you take a look back over the past few years you can see one of the best artists around developing his style and craft, putting his mark on the covers of some great comic book series.

You can see Sook as the cover artist of choice to start up several new series with the number one issue out of the gates, for series including Robotika (2005), Giant-Size Hulk (2006), Friday the 13th (2007), Batman and the Outsiders (2007), Death of the New Gods (2007), Countdown Specials, Countdown Presents and DC Universe Specials (2008 and 2011), Broken Trinity: Aftermath (2009), Blackest Night: Wonder Woman (2010), JSA All Stars (2010), The Magdalena (2010), B.P.R.D. Hell On Earth series (2011-2013), Victorian Undead II (2011), DC Universe Online: Legends (2011), Kirby: Genesis (2011), Justice League Dark (2011), Lord of the Jungle (2011), Rose & Thorn (2012), Sword of Sorcery (2012), and The New 52 Futures End (2014).

Sook is able to render men and women superheroes equally well, yet his women really stand out.  Here’s his Wonder Woman, showcased in the Blackest Night series:

Less stylized than Cliff Chiang’s current angular Wonder Woman look, Sook may have created a modern twist on the definitive look of the classic character for other artists to emulate.

Sook’s work is sometimes confused with that of Adam Hughes, because of his similar ability to convey beauty and power, as well as humor and vulnerability.  One of Sook’s cover runs from 2010, on the Top Cow series The Magdalena, seems inspired by the same classic art of centuries past that inspires another major cover artist: Frank Cho, known for his neoclassical covers for Marvel and independent series.

Sook has created a memorable Zatanna, both the classic version and the updated version from the New 52 universe:

He’s shown he can set the standard for the looks of new characters, as seen in the Dark Horse Comics cover art for the Ghost and Dream Thief series:

His fantasy characters convey a sense of awe and power, as seen in Sword of Sorcery Issue #1 and Kirby: Genesis Issue #4:

Sometimes the combination of ideas, innovative layouts, and all-out surprises can set an artist apart.  With his cover to Mystery in Space #1, which we chose as one of the best covers of 2012, Sook showed the ultimate crossover of science fiction, fantasy, and steampunk with his steampunk angel.  With his cover to Rose & Thorn, he reveals an otherworldly Laverne & Shirley, a Yin and Yang of identity, that makes you want to be able to peek further into that closet door:

This is just the tip of the iceberg.  Check out Ryan Sook’s website for a full view of his catalog of works, including both cover art and interior art.  Sook is an artist to watch for the remainder of 2014 and beyond.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

It’s less than two weeks until 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International will host more than 150,000 fans of sci-fi, fantasy, superheroes and other pop culture, and SDCC has now released the entire panel schedule for this year’s big show.  If you haven’t been to the modern-day Greatest Show on Earth, it should at least be on your bucket list, but beware:  if you attend the show once you’ll want to keep going back.

Tickets as usual were sold out months ago, but for those attending this year’s show, we have some quick links to the event list so you can start planning your days now.

This year’s panels prove yet again that you shouldn’t listen to the naysayers who claim SDCC doesn’t focus on comic book artists and writers.  Even more events are occurring this year focused on the comic book medium, including benchmarks like Batman’s 75th anniversary.  Yet there are also all of those big panels planned full of this summer’s movie blockbusters and big-name casts and the casts and creators of your favorite television series.

First and most importantly you’ll want to download to your smart phone the SDCC handy My Schedule app here.  We’ve used it before and it’s a great help when you’re in the crowd and can’t get into one panel but you want to try the dash for another one or you just get tired of walking the main hall with Artists’ Alley and the dealer booths and you want to sit down and see something new for an hour.

Having trouble choosing from all the panels?  We think the biggest event and best bang for your buck will be the Warner Bros. panel we previewed a few days ago here with pilots and previews of DC Entertainment series The Flash, Constantine, Gotham, and Arrow.  After the break we pulled some other panels you might like if you follow borg.com regularly.

Here are the quick links to each day’s panel events for SDCC 2014:

Wednesday, July 23, 2014 Preview Night

Thursday, July 24, 2014 Panel Schedule

Friday, July 25, 2014 Panel Schedule

Saturday, July 26, 2014 Panel Schedule

Sunday, July 24, 2014 Panel Schedule

Here are some panels to consider (after the break):

Special Sneak Peek Pilot Screenings
Comic-Con International and Warner Bros. Television proudly continue their annual Preview Night tradition, with exclusive world premiere screenings of the pilot episodes of three of the most highly anticipated series of the 2014-15 television season — The Flash, Constantine, and iZombie — as well as a brand new episode of Teen Titans Go!
Wednesday July 23, 2014 6:00pm – 10:00pm
Ballroom 20

NASA’s Next Giant Leap
In honor of the 45th anniversary of the moon landing, join Seth Green (actor, creator, writer, director, and producer) in a far-out discussion on NASA’s plans for the future with Dr. Jim Green (NASA’s division director of Planetary Science), Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11 Astronaut), Mike Fincke (NASA Astronaut), and “Mohawk Guy” Bobak Ferdowsi (Curiosity and Europa Missions).
Thursday July 24, 2014 3:00pm – 4:00pm
Room 6A

DC Comics: Batman 75: Legends of the Dark Knight
UPDATED: Sat, Jul 12, 09:35AM
In his 75-year publishing history, Batman has grown into one of the most popular and influential icons of all time. Don’t miss this historic panel with the legendary creators such as Neal Adams, Greg Capullo, Geoff Johns, Jim Lee, Frank Miller, Grant Morrison, Denny O’Neil, and Scott Snyder, who have shaped the Dark Knight into the hero he is today.
Thursday July 24, 2014 3:30pm – 4:30pm
Room 6BCF

Costume Designer’s Guild: Costumes as a Career
Ever wanted to know what it takes to design costumes for some of the biggest TV shows and movies? I.A.T.S.E. Union Local 892 Costumer Designers Guild has put together a panel of experts to fill you in. Panelists include Kristin Burke, costume designer (Sleepy Hollow); Brigitta Romanov, assistant costume designer (Glee); Gina Dedomenico, costume illustrator (Godzilla); and Cate Adair (VP, Costume Designers Guild Local 892 Union), as well as Eddie Marks (Western Costume Company), Celia Sedwick Rogus (creative director, FIDM Film & TV Costume Design Advanced Study Program), and Shane Mahan (co-founder of Legacy Effects). Moderated by Chrisi Karvonides (UCLA-Theater Film & TV Costume Design Program department head, CDG Member).
Thursday July 24, 2014 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Room 23ABC

The Heroes of Star Wars Rebels
The almost 20-year stretch of Star Wars history between Episodes III and IV is a dark time in the galaxy that has never before been explored on screen. The evil Galactic Empire has tightened its grip and only a select few are brave enough to stand against tyranny and ignite a rebellion. Join Star Wars Rebels executive producers Dave Filoni and Simon Kinberg as well as series stars Freddie Prinze, Jr., Vanessa Marshall, Steve Blum, Tiya Sircar, and Taylor Gray for an exclusive preview of what’s to come this Fall on Disney XD in this eagerly awaited television series from Lucasfilm Animation.
Thursday July 24, 2014 6:00pm – 7:00pm
Room 6BCF

Star Trek’s Ships of the Line
A team of Star Trek designers will take fans into the art department as they showcase the art and inspiration of Star Trek’s most famous Ships of the Line. The panelists include John Eaves (concept artist and senior illustrator, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Enterprise, and more), Andy Probert (production illustrator, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and consulting illustrator, Star Trek: The Next Generation), Doug Drexler (makeup artist, scenic artist, graphic designer, illustrator, and visual effects artist, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Mike Okuda (lead graphic designer and tech consultant, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), ILM’s John Goodson (model maker and digital artist, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Star Trek: Generations, Star Trek Into Darkness), and Greg Jein (model maker, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). Join the team of Star Trek designers for a Q&A moderated by Ben Robinson, editor for the long-running Star Trek Fact Files and the manager of Eaglemoss’ new Starship Collection. Limited edition collectibles from Eaglemoss will be distributed to every attendee.
Thursday July 24, 2014 8:30pm – 9:30pm
Room 4

Creation of Creature
Neville Page (Avatar, Star Trek, Tron, Prometheus, Noah) will be sharing his techniques and vision for creating creatures and characters in the entertainment industry. Examples will be shown from various productions as well as tips and tricks from his upcoming book, Beauty in the Beast.
Thursday July 24, 2014 4:30pm – 5:30pm
Room 24ABC

Star Wars Storyboards: The Original Trilogy
For the first time, Lucasfilm has opened its Archives to present comprehensive storyboards for the original Star Wars trilogy-the world-changing A New Hope and its operatic sequels, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi-as well as never-before-published art from early conceptual and deleted scenes, in a new book from Abrams: Star Wars Storyboards: The Original Trilogy. Former ILM art director Joe Johnston will discuss the newest addition to the Abrams Star Wars Library and the singular experience of creating the iconic trilogy’s storyboards with his stellar art department team. Johnston won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for his work on Raiders of the Lost Ark and has directedHoney, I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer, Jumanji, Jurassic Park III, Hidalgo, and Captain America: The First Avenger. Moderated by Lucasfilm editor J. W. Rinzler.
Friday July 25, 2014 11:00am – 12:00pm
Room 7AB

Hasbro: Star Wars
Members of the Hasbro brand and design team including Jeff Labovitz (director, global brand marketing, Hasbro), Bill Rawley (design manager, Hasbro), and others discuss the popular Hasbro Star Wars line. Attendees will also get a sneak peek at upcoming, never-before-seen action figures from the highly anticipated Star Wars Rebels animated series.
Friday July 25, 2014 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Room 7AB

Spotlight on Francesco Francavilla
From the critically acclaimed classic pulp feel of The Black Beetle to the unnerving horrors of Afterlife with Archie and everything in between, join Comic-Con special guest Francesco Francavilla for this Q&A session moderated by Jimmy Aquino (Comic News Insider podcast).
Friday July 25, 2014 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Room 32AB

History: Vikings Blood Legacy
History’s Vikings return to SDCC fresh from the set of season 3. Count on the Lothbrok clan — Travis Fimmel (Ragnar), Katheryn Winnick (Lagertha), Clive Standen (Rollo), and Alexander Ludwig (Bjorn) — along with Michael Hirst (writer/creator), and Julian Hobbs (History VP, scripted and nonfiction development and programming) to reveal an exclusive sneak peek at the new season. Find out what the gods have in store for season 3!
Friday July 25, 2014 4:45pm – 5:45pm
Room 6A

The World of Mouse Guard
Get updated on everything Mouse Guard, including news on upcoming projects, collectibles, and other surprises with creator, writer, and artist David Petersen. Plus, enjoy a live reading of several Mouse Guard short stories with David and panelists Hal Lublin (The Thrilling Adventure Hour), Meredith Salenger (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Hollywood Heights), and a surprise guest! Moderated by BOOM! Studios marketing manager Mel Caylo.
Friday July 25, 2014 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Room 32AB

Arrow Special Video Presentation and Q&A
With Oliver Queen’s arch-nemesis Slade Wilson now behind bars, Team Arrow can breathe a long sigh of relief and shift their focus to recounting their most recent conquests with all their fans at Comic-Con 2014. However, they better act fast, as the threat of Malcolm Merlyn is once again looming over Starling City. Arrow series stars Stephen Amell (Private Practice), Katie Cassidy (Supernatural), David Ramsey (Dexter), Emily Bett Rickards (Flicka: Country Pride), Colton Haynes (Teen Wolf), Willa Holland (The O.C.), Paul Blackthorne (The River), and John Barrowman (Torchwood) — with executive producers Greg Berlanti (The Flash), Marc Guggenheim (Green Lantern ), and Andrew Kreisberg (Fringe) — will take aim at San Diego with a special video presentation and panel discussion previewing the show’s upcoming and highly anticipated third season. Arrow: The Complete Second Season will be released on Blu-ray, DVD, and UltraViolet on September 16. Based upon characters appearing in comic books and graphic novels published by DC Comics, Arrow is from Bonanza Productions Inc. in association with Berlanti Productions and Warner Bros. Television. The series returns this fall, airing Wednesdays at 8/7c on The CW.
Friday July 25, 2014 5:30pm – 6:30pm
Ballroom 20

Sleepy Hollow
Executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Star Trek, Fringe, Spider Man 2), Len Wiseman (Underworld, Total Recall), Mark Goffman, and Heather Kadin return to Comic-Con with the breakout show of the year, featuring an exclusive look at the highly-anticipated second season followed by a fan Q&A featuring cast members Tom Mison, Nicole Beharie, John Noble, Orlando Jones, and Lyndie Greenwood!
Friday July 25, 2014 5:45pm – 6:45pm
Room 6BCF

Orphan Black
BBC America’s award-winning original series Orphan Black returns to Comic-Con. Stars Tatiana Maslany (Sarah, Alison, Cosima, Rachel, Helena, and more) Jordan Gavaris (Felix), Dylan Bruce (Paul), Maria Doyle Kennedy (Mrs. S), Evelyne Brochu (Delphine) and Ari Millen (Mark) join co-creators Graeme Manson and John Fawcett in a panel moderated by Entertainment Weekly’s Dalton Ross. The Clone Club gathers to discuss the second season of the conspiracy thriller, which just wrapped in June and is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and across all digital platforms to download.
Friday July 25, 2014 6:00pm – 7:00pm
Room 6A

Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. returns to Hall H with a look at three upcoming movies: Jupiter Ascending, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies.
Saturday July 26, 2014 10:00am – 12:00pm
Hall H

Entertainment Weekly: Women Who Kick Ass
A discussion among Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy), Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones), and other fierce, fearless, and flat-out fantastic female actors who open up about the power and privilege of playing women who redefine the rules and refuse to yield.
Saturday July 26, 2014 4:10pm – 5:10pm
Hall H

That ’70s Panel
It was a time of change in comics with a new generation intermingling with the old and taking command. Hear what it was like from Steve Leialoha (Howard the Duck, Spider-Woman), Len Wein (Swamp Thing, The New X-Men), Walt Simonson (Manhunter, Batman), Louise Simonson (Creepy, Eerie), Anthony Tollin (Batman, Superman), and more, plus moderator Mark Evanier (Groo the Wanderer, Blackhawk).
Saturday July 26, 2014 4:30pm – 6:00pm
Room 5AB

Dynamite 10th Anniversary Panel Featuring Quentin Tarantino as He Comes to Dynamite! The Sequel to Django Unchained-Django Meets Zorro
Join Dynamite publisher Nick Barrucci, Dynamite senior editor Joseph Rybandt and moderator Alan Kistler as they present a special 10th Anniversary Celebration featuring the upcoming Django/Zorro crossover creative team of Reginald Hudlin (editor, Django/Zorro), Matt Wagner (writer, Django/Zorro) and of course the very special guest Quentin Tarantino as they help to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Dynamite Comics!
Sunday July 27, 2014 2:15pm – 3:15pm
Room 6BCF

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Review by C.J. Bunce

In her 1995 view of the future, Remake, Connie Willis predicted a future where anything could be digitally created on film, where modern-day actors could be digitally stitched into scenes with long dead actors in films like Singing in the Rain or Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the living and the dead could intermingle effortlessly.  But it’s the “effortlessly” that she got wrong, as becomes very clear from the special features on the DVD and Blu-ray release of Orphan Black Season Two, which will be released today across the U.S.

It’s rare when the best television series stands so far apart from the rest of the crowd, but Orphan Black is that series.  Ignore the Emmy nominations.  If you only could watch one series from 2014, this is that series.  Playing nine characters* and counting, star Tatiana Maslany has scored Golden Globe and People’s Choice Award nominations, a Canadian Screen Actor Award for Best Performance in a Dramatic Role, a TCA Award for Individual Achievement, a Critics’ Choice Best Dramatic Actress Award, and the Young Hollywood Award for breakthrough performance, all for her work on Orphan Black.

Even more than Season One, which we reviewed here at borg.com last year, in Season Two creators John Fawcett and Graeme Manson delved deeply behind the several characters that populate the world of Orphan Black, most played by Tatiana Maslany (or just “Tat” according to the other actors on the show).  In addition to Maslany’s always on-the-run Sarah, suburban mom Alison, free-wheeling scientist Cosima, and crazy but strangely innocent Helena, Season Two showed us the dark side of the sestra with the cold-as-ice Rachel, and the far side with transgendered Tony.

The season also featured the return of Jordan Gavaris as Sarah’s foster brother Felix, Dylan Bruce as the dubious Paul, Matt Frewer as the Dyad experiment scientist Dr. Aldous Leekey, Evelyne Brochu as Cosima’s partner Delphine, Kristian Bruun as Alison’s husband Donnie, and Kevin Hanchard as Detective Art Bell.  It also introduced Michiel Huisman as Kira’s father Cal, and Michelle Forbes as Marion Bowles, a new player sure to play a key role in Season Three.

The new DVD and Blu-ray release, provided by BBC America to borg.com for review, is a must for fans of the show, with nearly one hour of worthy special features that shed some light on the complexities required to show Maslany play so many characters, many times all at once.  In addition to all 10 episodes of Season Two, BBC America provides a “making of” feature on the season finale “By Means Which Have Never Yet Been Tried”‘s four-clone dance party, a feature on the two-clone battle between Sarah and Rachel in the pilot episode “Nature Under Constraint and Vexed,” a full table read and scene breakdown of the pilot, several vignettes that highlight characters during commercial breaks called “Clone Club Insiders,” and a look at Maslany’s hair and make-up stylists.  You can also see will Wil Wheaton go all fanboy on the actors in the “The Cloneversation,” an interview show that originally aired at the end of the season.

Both of the episode features give a great look into the filming, blocking, and acting required for this unique series.  We meet Kathryn Alexandre, the unsung hero of the series who plays Maslany’s double and acts every part that Maslany performs involving clones in a single scene.  The work behind the features could add a new chapter to Special Effects: The History and Technique, that great work about film we reviewed here at borg.com back in 2012.

We wish! Maslany WILL be at SDCC 2014 this year, but likely just one of her.

The DVD and Blu-ray of Season Two include a surprisingly low number of deleted scenes, only three, and all from the season finale.  Accompanied by commentary from Fawcett and Manson, the deleted scenes although brief are three brilliant scenes featuring Alison and Donnie, in final form including music.  Some of Bruun’s best work in the series can be found here.

Orphan Black Season Two will provide eagerly desired re-viewing for fans of the series, and great new content in the special features. and is available here at Amazon.com and everywhere videos are sold.  If you missed the season, make it your next binge watch.

*Sarah, Beth, Alison, Cosima, Helena, Rachel, Katja, Tony, and Aryanna–not to mention Danielle and Janika, two deceased clones who showed up in passport photos.

Review by C.J. Bunce

We all know the apes win and rule the Earth from the original novel and film Planet of the Apes.  But how do they get there?

Not intended as a post-apocalyptic story as much as a chronicle of the birth of an ape civilization, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and its July 2014 sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes are films that manage to have no villains–by design–where the viewer can empathize with both the human and ape characters equally based on the characters’ histories and individual viewpoints.  Writers Sharon Gosling and Adam Newell have created a deluxe volume documenting the art and design of both movies with the newly released Planet of the Apes: The Art of the Films Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of Planet of the Apes.

The Planet of the Apes reboot was an outgrowth of the technologies emerging from Weta New Zealand’s work on The Lord of the Rings franchise, coupled with Andy Serkis’s experience playing Gollum as a motion capture character, and later the giant gorilla King Kong, Serkis was uniquely suited for the role of the sci-fi classic character Caesar from the original novel and film.  The crew credits the acting and chemistry of Serkis and co-star James Franco in part with the success of the reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise in 2011′s Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

The challenge for the sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?  For the first time in film history, digital characters finalized in a post-production process would be realized by total performance motion capture of actors initially, and not on a separate green screen soundstage, but alongside live-action characters on a standard movie set as well as on location.

At its most basic level, motion capture or “mocap” is a mechanism that records an actor’s movements by means of strategically located markers on that person’s body, which can then be transferred to a digital environment, manipulated and built upon.  Before Rise of the Planet of the Apes, mocap had been used for facial muscle movement in only 2005′s King Kong and 2009′s Avatar, also called “performance capture”.  With the apes in Rise, many close-up facial scenes were going to be needed.

The book includes full-color photos documenting behind the scenes use of live action actors in special effects-making mode, along with the final rendered shots that were seen on-screen.  This includes plenty of not only Serkis’s Caesar, but the brilliant addition to the franchise of the troubled ape Koba.  In addition, you’ll find plenty of wide-angle photos of full sets, murals, and pre-visualization artwork, including the Gen-Sys lab, Caesar’s human home, and the move from San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge to get to Muir Woods.  From the sequel you’ll find behind the scenes images of Ape Mountain, the ape village, a return to San Francisco, Fort Point, a giant dam, and large tower set key to the finale.

Titan Books’ usual quality hardcover design and thick full-color pages include a gallery of promotional movie posters for Rise of the Planet of the Apes, in-universe Simian Flu medical poster images, prop close-ups, plenty of Weta special effects images, ape language and character designs, and a foreword by director Matt Reeves.

Many interviews  with cast and crew were conducted by Matt Hurwitz for The Art of the Film.  Director Reeves sums up his reason for working on Dawn of the Planet of the Apes after being a fan of the original films, “… what interested me about continuing the story would be to continue [Caesar's] story, and to see how you could take a character that was essentially a revolutionary and turn him into a leader, and what that would mean.  Because it’s one thing to lead a revolution, it’s another to lead a society.  And then for me, the important thing was to take that society and make it a family.”

The value of The Art of the Film for film students and fans of motion capture will be the complete end-to-end process examined here, cutting edge film technology by the best in the business today.  For moviegoers and fans of the franchise the book is another great look behind the scenes of two major studio sci-fi releases.

Planet of the Apes: The Art of the Films Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of Planet of the Apes is available from Amazon.com here.

Whether or not major genre properties are hosting panels or booths at Comic-Con 2014, studios released some great images on Wednesday preview night and the first full day of the show yesterday.  The biggest is probably the above photo of Ben Affleck as Batman from the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, not coming to theaters until 2016.  The image was nicely timed to the DC Comics celebration week for the 75th anniversary of Batman’s first appearance.

Warner Bros. also released the first poster for the latest movie in the Mad Max series, to star Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron.  It’s called Max Max: Fury Road, and won’t hit theaters until next year, but that didn’t stop releasing some advance images from the film, including this image of Theron:

and this image of some post-apocalyptic recycling of cars:

The Amblin Entertainment/Legendary Pictures/Universal sequel to Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park trilogy, Jurassic World, netted us a teaser poster for the June 2015 release:

Jurassic World will star Chris Pratt, star of Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy, which also had a new poster reveal for its IMAX 3D version:

Marvel Studios gave us the first look at Paul Rudd’s costume for the July 2015 release, Ant-Man, with a concept art photo giving us an idea of what we’ll see for his costume:

Big news for action figure collectors was confirmation at the show that Firefly, Pulp Fiction, Goonies, and The Nightmare Before Christmas figures actually have been produced and likely will be shipping soon from Entertainment Earth.

Funko also revealed the first look at the first playset for its ReAction retro-figure line, for the Alien franchise, the Egg Chamber Playset:

Hasbro’s black packaging line of Star Wars action figures provided a first look at the new Jabba the Hutt:

It looks similar to past versions but the paint quality seems vastly improved.

Not to be outdone, Marvel Studios released some concept art images from The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America:

Black Widow:

Iron Man:

and the latest addition to The Avengers superheroines, Scarlet Witch:

For a bit of the feel of Comic-Con, check out this time-lapse video of the creation of the giant Weta booth this week, featuring The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies, due in theaters this December:

LEGO provided a first look of a new toy based on that movie, the “Lonely Mountain” playset:

The big news of the day was Benedict Cumberbatch responding to a fan’s question about whether he’ll play Doctor Strange for Marvel Studios, asked during a Penguins of Madagascar panel Thursday:

(watch it while you can, as these panel replays usually get removed from YouTube quickly).

Marvel Studios is posting interviews and other content throughout the weekend at this link, and DC Entertainment is posting its content at this link.

More to come this weekend!

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

In its fourth year operating across from San Diego Comic-Con, Nerd HQ will be streaming live panels on the Web with archived panels available for viewing after the panels each day as they have done for past years.  Click here to see all of last year’s panels.

Nerd HQ offers an alternative to catch a few panels away from the SDCC venue, and is ideal for those who didn’t get tickets in time for the big show but will be in town this weekend, although tickets sold out quickly for Nerd HQ this year.  Seeing several Nerd HQ panels will cost you lots more than a ticket to SDCC, so the online version is the next best thing, and for those not in San Diego this weekend, an easy way to share in the vibe going on right now in Southern California.

These are full panels, held in a small venue, which will give those who have not attended a big Con an idea of what they’re missing.

Here are some of the panels held so far this week at Nerd HQ:

A Conversation with Firefly’s Adam Baldwin

A Conversation with Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Seth Green

A Conversation with The Hobbit’s Evangeline Lilly

The Giver Movie Panel with Jeff Bridges

The Last Ship TV Series Panel

Check out The Nerd Machine Channel on YouTube for live streaming of panels all weekend.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

More big news emerged from San Diego Comic-Con this weekend.  A new comic book series for Haven and Galaxy Quest… a sneak peek at Arrow Season 3, a Star Trek crossover with Planet of the Apes… details and art from Marvel’s new line of Star Wars comic books…  new actors to star in Marvel’s Ant-man… more content from Avengers 2… and new giant monster movies are coming soon from Legendary Pictures.

But the biggest news that almost “broke the Internet” was from DC Entertainment: the first look at Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman and her new costume from the 2016 release Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.  It’s a nice Cliff Chiang-inspired pose for the Amazon warrior.  So we now have three images of the DC Comics trinity:

We’ve got a pretty dark superhero movie in our future.

The next big news came from a Marvel Comics panel–the creative line-up for Star Wars comic books under Disney:

Marvel Comics announced that January 2015 will see the first of Marvel taking over the Star Wars comic book line from Dark Horse with three initial series.  Kansas City’s Jason Aaron will write and John Cassaday will serve as artist on a series taking place just after A New Hope, where the original 1978 Marvel Comics line began and the current main Dark Horse title takes place.  Above is the cover art by Cassaday for Issue #1.

A series beginning in February 2015 will follow Darth Vader after his TIE Fighter is knocked away by Han Solo at the end of A New Hope, to be created by Kieron Gillen and Salvador Larroca.

And March 2015 will see a series following Princess Leia after the destruction of the Death Star, from writer Mark Waid, artist Terry Dodson, and colorist Rachel Dodson.

Here are four pages of early stage art for the main Star Wars series:

Several big properties will see comic book tie-ins soon.  Joining the previously announced Orphan Black series from IDW Publishing will be the comic book series from the Syfy Channel series Haven…

… and Galaxy Quest!

Here is the cover for the latest Vikings comic book, based on the History Channel TV series.

And here’s a strange crossover: Star Trek will meet Planet of the Apes in IDW Publishing and BOOM! Studios’ new Star Trek/Planet of the Apes: The Primate Directive.  Here’s the cover to Issue #1:

Veteran Star Trek writers Scott and David Tipton and new artist Rachael Stott will create the new series.

Marvel Studios announced that Corey Stoll and Evangeline Lilly have joined Marvel’s Ant-Man.  Stoll, known for his role in House of Cards, will play the villain Yellowjacket, and Lilly will play the character Hope.

Monster movie fans got a twofer Saturday:  Legendary Pictures announced it will be making a feature film based on King Kong’s home, Skull Island.  It is scheduled for release November 4, 2016.  And director Gareth Edwards, who is currently working on Star Wars: Episode VII, greeted fans with a video message saying there will be a Godzilla 2, and it will include the giant beasties Rodan, Mothra, and Ghidorah.

Marvel Studios also released two more posters for Avengers 2: Age of Ultron, featuring Quicksilver and Hawkeye:

And to wrap up today, we have a sneak peek at Season 3 of the CW Network’s Arrow, featuring Brandon Routh as The Atom:

And if that weren’t enough, here’s another preview with Ra’s Al Ghul:

A busy day in San Diego!

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Nerd HQ offered up a great variety of panels from the best of TV Saturday.  Here are some great panels to check out.  After four years of 45 minute panels offered just yards from San Diego Comic-Con, many of these have become a source for stand-up comedy from the actors.  See for yourself.

First up what may be the best panel idea ever, the voices and muppets themselves, from Sesame Street, Grover, Cookie Monster, Bert, and Murray.  And Grover reveals the true identity of Super Grover.  This one can’t be missed.

A Conversation with Sesame Street

Intruders TV Series Panel with John Simm, Mira Sorvino & Glen Morgan

Orphan Black Panel with Tatiana Maslany and Other Cast Members

A Conversation with Nathan Fillion

Badass Women Panel with Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck), Retta (Parks and Recreation), Missy Peregrym, Jennifer Morrison (Star Trek), Ming-Na Wen (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones)

Resurrection Panel with Omar Epps, Kurtwood Smith, Frances Fisher

The Walking Dead Panel

And here’s a mystery panel, where attendees had no idea who would be featured, but it ended up with a blend of several celebrities: Kal Penn (House, M.D.), Adam Savage and Jaime Hyneman (Mythbusters), Freddie Wong (Chuck), Taran Killam (Saturday Night Live), Breckin Meyer (Franklin and Bash), Colin Ferguson (Eureka), Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Castle)

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

WELCOME TO EARTH-4

A Weekly Column with J. Torrey McClain

I got to drive 125 miles south and east yesterday to visit the horde of awesome that is Comic-Con.  As usual, it was a blast and I wish I had the mutant ability of Jamie Madrox the Multiple Man to see every panel, hang out at every booth, visit every place outside the Con and then at the end of the day, try every dessert at Café Zucchero.  However, I am just one man in one place at one time in this universe.  So, let me break down my small piece of Saturday in San Diego.

The Great

- As a Los Angeleno, the two banes of my existence in this metropolitan monstrosity are traffic and parking.  Driving down took only two hours and I found a lot that only charged $5 for 12 hours.  It doesn’t get much better than that.

- At forty minutes before high noon, I made my way to room nine and the line forming outside.  The line kept on filling and filling and soon I was glad to have foregone any extra time on the floor, for I got to see “Berkeley Breathed: The Last Comic-Con Panel!”  The whole session consisted of Breathed joking about himself, his love of merchandising and his “tiff” with Bill Watterson.  Sitting in the room laughing made evident the comic quickness of the mind behind Opus and Bill the Cat.  It made me miss “Bloom County,” “Calvin and Hobbes” and “The Far Side,” all bits of my past that now only show up in collections (like the future upcoming collection of Breathed’s work “Academia Waltz” from his time at the University of Texas.)  The bit of the panel that will stick with me the most is about how times have changed and how the comic pages have begun to fade.  Pieces of art, comedy and commentary that were in 100 million newspapers on kitchen tables 30 years ago, now barely make it out of the tin boxes in the vestibules of IHOPs.

- I may have missed the “Saga” panel at 1 pm, but I caught Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples during the “Strong Female Characters” panel two hours later in the same room.  June Brigman, Colleen Coover, Sara Mayhew, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Paul Tobin, Vaughn and Staples talked about what it takes to make strong female characters, how they approach it and listed some of their current favorites.  The story that will last with me though came from the moderator, Maggie Thompson.  She told the story of her husband reading to their daughter a run of “Fantastic Four” every night before bed.  As a gift for their daughter when she was away in college they gave her a bound collection of a great many of those same stories.  When she received them and started to read the stories, she angrily called her mom and yelled that these were not the stories her father had read to her.  It turns out that her father had read her all of Reed Richard’s lines as the words said by Sue Storm.  He didn’t want the only female superhero in the story to be the one that fades and hides.

- I returned to Donovan’s in San Diego to visit some friends and once again got to enjoy some of their fine food.  I had the three sliders and after a lunch of only a Snickers bar in between panels (but I’ll have you know, it truly satisfied – now Mars, please send me a free box), those burgers hit the spot.

- I paid my respects in person to the player and the man of San Diego baseball, Tony Gwynn.

The New

- While waiting for the aforementioned “Saga” panel that I missed, I met a couple of new people waiting for the 2 pm panel.  I decided to wait with them (as I planned on going to the 3 pm panel) and catch this other panel with them.  I’m glad that I did. In it, the new book by James Frey, Endgame: The Calling made itself known to me.  I later went down to the Random House booth and got a free galley of the book and got it signed.  The stories from this panel that stick with me involve Frey’s research regarding the “Great White Pyramid of Xi’an” and the evidence of ancient civilizations in that region of China.  After reading Endgame, I may have to find a nice history book about the pyramid building civilizations of China.

- As a tie-in with the book, there will be a puzzle inserted within the new copies to be released in October that will lead to a “key” and the first person to claim the key will be rewarded with a treasure of $500,000 in gold.  The second book will bring about a treasure of one million in gold and the third one, $1.5 million.  This idea came to Frey because of his childhood interest in the book, Masquerade and the puzzle within that led to a jewel-encrusted rabbit.  Now, I have to check out this picture book and sharpen my puzzle abilities for the upcoming year.  Fellow panelist Mat Laibowitz will design the puzzles.

- Another tie-in comes from Google VP John Hanke, the man that helped to guide the “Geo” section of the Google empire, the group behind the game Ingress, available as an app in the Google Play store and on iTunes.  I can’t tell you much about it, other than a similar game system will be developed into the story associated with Endgame.  However, I just downloaded it, I will begin playing and I may have to write and update you later about my experiences.

- The aforementioned current recommendations from the “Strong Female Characters” that I’ve added to my reading list include Rocket Girl, Drinking at the Movies, Cursed Pirate Girl, and Rachel Rising (that I had forgot to add after reading C.J. Bunce’s discussions.)

The Tasty

- The cannolis at Café Zucchero in San Diego’s Little Italy.  Delicious.

- As part of waiting in line, I also heard from one of my fellow line mates about Baker’s Drive Thru in San Bernardino and Riverside.  Now, I have a new place to try on my way out to visit my sister in Palm Springs.  She claims it is better than In-N-Out, and after learning about her love of The Thrilling Adventure Hour, I am more than willing to believe her good taste.  Mmmm, banana milkshakes, barbacoa burritos and burgers.  Mmmmm.

Thank you San Diego.  Thank you Comic-Con.  See you next year!

Nerd HQ wrapped this weekend’s panels for charity with some good Q&A sessions.  If you haven’t seen earlier Nerd HQ panels, we at borg.com have been covering them since 2011 here when we saw Scott Bakula in San Diego at the inaugural event.  Check out this link for past panels.  We even got immortalized at the beginning of Zachary Levi’s introduction of Bakula as Levi was momentarily startled by a certain Tenctonese alien in the crowd in this video (“Ma’am, do you realize you have no hair on your head?”):

We’re still finding photos on the Web Comic-Con visitors snapping photos of us in that Alien Nation cosplay.

This weekend posted the first days of the panels from this year’s Nerd HQ here and here.  Nerd HQ wrapped with more panels Sunday.  Making his first appearance at Nerd HQ was the man playing one of our favorite characters, Arrow’s Oliver Queen, Stephen Amell:

The Winchester brothers returned again for this Supernatural panel with Mark Sheppard: 

And one of Jason McClain’s favorite groups was back with The Thrilling Adventure Hour:

Celebrity fanboy and fangirl Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day answered questions from attendees of this panel:

And the guy who started the annual mini-con across from the Big Con, Zachary Levi had his own panel:

We expect even more from next year with Nerd HQ’s fifth year of panels.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Dynamite Comics’ The Bionic Man series, especially Issues #17-26, was among the best comic book reading of 2013.  They are now available in a trade paperback: The Bionic Man Volume Three: End of Everything.  Featuring a story by Aaron Gillespie, with art by Ed Tadeo and Rey Villegas, colors by Thiago Ribeiro, letters by Simon Bowland, and covers by Mike Mayhew with other regular edition covers and variants by prolific Dynamite Comics artists Jonathan Lau and Ed Tadeo.

The Bionic Man is a great read and recommended for comic book fans.  It features Aaron Gillespie’s storytelling, which we lauded on our borg.com Best of 2013 list last year.  It also has the whole package from cover to cover–story, art, covers, humor, action, and fun.  We won’t re-state what we said in our review last year–you can read that here.  Enough of the origin stories that bogs down superhero books, this Steve Austin was able to get out there and do something.

The series featured some of our all-time favorite cover art, with a cover run on Issues #17-22 by The Star Wars artist Mike Mayhew.  Mayhew created a new, cool, young look for Steve Austin, who sported the classic track suit updated for a modern audience and fashion sense.  His Issue #19 cover has Steve holding a car over his head, and you get to really see the strength.  Probably his best cover is for Issue #20, an inspiring cover which reminds me of one of my favorite paintings of President Kennedy.

This trade edition features all the cover art that accompanied the series, including variants, and a final draft script of Issue #21 by Gillespie with thumbnail copies of inked pages by Tadeo.  It provides great insight into the creative process for putting a comic book together.  Going further behind the scenes, Gillespie provides his writer’s notes and photocopies of his hand-written pages of concepts, ideas, outline, and timeline for that issue.  This bonus content provides enough extra to make it worthwhile to grab the trade edition even if you already bought and read the monthly.

Get The Bionic Man Volume Three: End of Everything now at your local comic book store or here (originally subtitled Shell Game) at Amazon.com.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

It’s a question die-hard Star Trek fans ask themselves:  If you could own one favorite Star Trek prop, what would it be?  This weekend a Star Trek Facebook page asked thousands of followers to comment on one question:  If you could have any autographed Trek prop, what would it be and who would you have sign it?  With nearly 2,000 respondents we thought it was a good opportunity to use these responses from across Star Trek fandom to see if we can glean what Star Trek fans think are the most iconic props of the franchise.  It’s not all that scientific, since the page posting the question was a general Star Trek page, and many fans may only follow the individual pages from any of the Star Trek series.  The image shown in the post was of an original series phaser–did that skew fans to select that prop?  Are there more original series fans in the mix who follow this page?  We don’t know.  But the results are still interesting and who better than a random group of Trek fans to share what they see as the top Holy Grail of Trek props?

The question is ongoing, with hundreds more responses entered after we stopped tracking answers–around 1,860.  Many responses were attempts at humor–many claiming Shatner’s toupee as their response (how do you autograph a toupee anyway?).  Others were rude or sexist or otherwise the typical worthless responses you find across social media on any given day.

Also, nobody addressed a key topic–why do people think it’s a good thing to autograph a screen-used prop?  The truth is that collectors of screen-used props will refuse to purchase a prop if it has been defaced in any way, especially by an autograph (screen wear and tear excepted).  Recent auctions of an original series gold tunic worn by William Shatner sold for a fraction of what a similar one sold for that was not so marked.  The autograph literally cost the consigner thousands of dollars.  One rare command Starfleet uniform worn by Robert Picardo on Star Trek Voyager was once highly sought after by collectors, and has remained unsellable for years because of a scrawling signature across the front.  The bottom line: Collectors prefer a prop or costume to look just as it did the last time it was shown on the screen.  Actors would be well-advised to refuse to autograph screen-used props at least without first telling fans they may be ruining their chances to re-sell the prop down the road.  Whether or not you think you might keep a prop forever, do yourself a favor and don’t limit your future options.

Putting the “should they/shouldn’t they” question aside, the great response showed fans love their favorite Trek and thousands would want a piece of TV or film history signed by their favorite actor.  So what did we learn?

Two items were neck and neck as the most sought after prop–an original series tricorder and a Star Trek: The Next Generation Klingon bat’leth, especially if tied to Lieutenant Worf.  A close second place was an original series communicator.  With roughly half of the tally of the tricorder, fourth place went to the original series phaser.

The big surprise for Next Generation fans may be that a bat’leth beat Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s Ressikan flute–the penny whistle-inspired instrument he played in the fan favorite episode “The Inner Light,” placing sixth on our list, nudged aside by Captain Kirk’s command chair from the original starship Enterprise.  The Star Trek: The Next Generation tricorder and phaser were next on the list, respectively.  (Some respondents differentiated between types of phasers and tricorders, but many did not so we lumped them together here).

Tied for ninth place were several easily recognizable items:  an original series “red shirt,” a pair of Leonard Nimoy’s Mr. Spock ears, a tribble, Mr. Spock’s lyre from “Charlie X,” Picard’s cup for his “Earl Grey tea, hot,” and the highest ranking item from Deep Space Nine, Captain Benjamin Sisko’s prized baseball.  This was followed closely by Seven of Nine’s facial prosthetics worn by Jeri Ryan on Star Trek Voyager, Lt. Geordi LaForge’s barette-inspired VISOR, and Lt. Cmdr Data’s head from presumably either the episode “Time’s Arrow” or the film Star Trek Nemesis.

Although not “props,” several costumes were mentioned by multiple respondents, like the aforementioned red shirts, Captain Picard’s last uniform type worn on-screen between Star Trek: First Contact and Star Trek Nemesis, the formal maroon Starfleet uniforms made famous by Captain Kirk & Co. in Star Trek movies II through VII, an original series blue tunic, and a red command uniform from Star Trek: The Next Generation.  Body parts worn by The Borg, including Locutus, made the list, as did Next Generation communicator pins, Captain Kathryn Janeway’s coffee mug, a Klingon disruptor, a blue Starfleet jumpsuit from the last series Enterprise, Captain Picard’s command chair, Uhura’s communicator earpiece, an original series chess set, bars of gold press latinum from Deep Space Nine, Commander Will Riker’s trombone, a horga’hn from Risa, Worf’s Klingon baldric, Constable Odo’s bucket, and Balok’s head from the original series episode “The Corbomite Maneuver” rounded out the list.  What?  No Tox Uthat?  No Worf’s bat’leth trophy?  No Admiral Kirk glasses from Wrath of Khan or Khan’s broken Starfleet emblem necklace?

Any given day this list could change, but doesn’t it seem it capture a good snapshot of what fans think should top the list?  Do you see any glaring omissions?  If so, let us know by posting them in the comments.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com

Back in early 2012 we reviewed one of several books released on movie poster artist Drew Struzan, a useful and interesting resource called The Art of Drew Struzan, reviewed here.  It chronicles the best of painted motion picture advertising one-sheets that Struzan created, and even more enlightening, includes commentary by Struzan about his process and the politics and business of his years of leading the craft.  The picture he painted wasn’t pretty, but despite his own roadblocks he is generally thought of as the best motion picture poster artist of the last 50 years.

Along with Struzan, another poster artist created posters that often could be confused for Struzan’s.  That was the late poster artist John Alvin.  Unfortunately Alvin did not document his own personal account of his creative and professional experiences, but his wife Andrea has put together a book that at least documents his most popular work, released this month by Titan Books as The Art of John Alvin.  What we don’t know from any of the books we’ve reviewed on poster artists is how they might have competed for work over the years.  Andrea Alvin makes no mention of Struzan, but seems to indicate Alvin was able to keep a nice niche of clients over the years, ranging from the decision-makers behind the movies of Mel Brooks, Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, and the renaissance of animated Disney blockbusters.

Alvin’s work seems far more commercial compared to the paintings of Struzan, as can be seen in Alvin’s posters for Empire of the Sun (1987), Cape Fear (1991), Batman Returns (1992), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), and Batman Forever (1995).  But that doesn’t mean they were any less effective at drawing moviegoers to the theater, the entire point of the poster.  The one-sheet for Empire of the Sun is often seen as one of the most memorable images in the history of movie posters.

The power of much of Alvin’s posters is the simplicity.  In 1982 when the public first learned of a movie called E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial, the only thing we knew was a newspaper ad showing a wrinkled alien hand touching the hand of a kid, inspired by Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam.  His teaser poster was equally as effective—never did these pictures show E.T. himself.  Those same images were reproduced on movie posters, cardboard standees, and eventually all over picture books sold via school book orders.  Simple images, but lasting images, and what they didn’t show was part of the enticement to reel in an audience.

But not all of Alvin’s work was the same.  His in-your-face screaming Gene Wilder on the poster for 1974’s Young Frankenstein is one of his best works.  Who can forget this imagery?  Or that of Blazing Saddles (1974) and Spaceballs (1987)?

Alvin’s original poster for Blade Runner (1982) could easily be mistaken for a Struzan piece, as could his Willow (1988) poster.  In The Art of John Alvin we get to see many other versions of the Blade Runner and other poster layouts that are far more artistic than the ones we all know the movies from now.  Other movie posters Alvin created probably did a lot for films that otherwise might not have been seen throughout the 1980s, like Cocoon (1985), The Goonies (1985), Short Circuit (1986), The Golden Child (1986), and The Lost Boys (1987).

But his biggest impact must be his Disney posters, including Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), The Lion King (1994), and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), all reproduced millions of times on not only posters but on video cover art as well.

More fun can be found with the work that didn’t make it to posters, including many images for Jurassic Park (1993).

A good addition for the library of fans of popular films and poster art, The Art of John Alvin is available now here from Amazon.com.

C.J. Bunce
Editor
borg.com