Funemployment Corner: Comic Con 2012

Another San Diego Comic con has come and gone. For those who have never been or refuse to go on Google, Comic-con is a week on the scenic shores of San Diego where over 200,000 nerds from all walks of life gather without fear of persecution or swirlies. The last eight years of the show have seen a 15% yearly growth of attendees and an influx of movie studios, TV networks and other things trying to get a piece of the mass media spotlight. Some years, these seemingly outside forces can take away from the celebration of the art that is comic books, but I found a lot to be excited over this year. So IEC is going to run down the top 5 announcements from comic con, after these 3 tips for anyone who remains on the fence about attending comic-con in the future.

 1. Just go, I know it goes against what I said before, but honestly the crowds will never get smaller and everyone should do it at least once.

2. It can actually be inexpensive. The amount of free stuff given at the con to fill the giveaway bag that can hold toddlers and medium sized animals is enough to make you look like you spent a small fortune. If you have a knack for preplanning you can even eat and drink for free at the various parties around the convention area. We had a blast hanging out with LA Times Hero Complex and crew.

3. Tickets too expensive? Volunteer. Honestly, you can save yourself about $200 on the ticket price by donating 2.5 hours of your comic con day to the show and if you do this right all the free giveaways come to you. (Check Comic-con.org site for more details)

Now on to the top 5 announcements from Comic-con 2012

5. Legendary Pictures makes bid to be #1 comic publisher: The studio behind movies like The Dark Knight threw a boulder in the comic book pond by teaming up with A-List talent like J.Michael Strazinsky, Mark Waid and Superman Earth One artist Shane Davis. Waid and Davis pair up to do a book called Shadow Walk, about a group of special-ops soldiers -- armed with the skull of John the Baptist and a piece of the True Cross -- searching for the real-life "shadow of death."

 4. Quienten Tarantino comes to DC Comics: Only comic legend Jim Lee has the clout to interrupt his own company's panel to bring the audience a special announcement that just couldn't wait. He introduced acclaimed film director Quienten Tarantino who took the stage, jittery mannerisms and all, to announce his new movie Django Unchained, would also be a comic book to be published by DC.

3. Marvel 2nd wave of movies: Riding off the comet dust of Avengers, Marvel packed hall H on saturday and gave the 3 year movie plan that will hopefully lead to Avengers 2 Electric Boogaloo. Though Warner Bros got people talking with the Man of Steel presentation, it just couldn't compare with the announcement of Captain America "The Winter Solider". (Typing that last sentence made me drool) Edgar Wright showing his Ant-Man test reel was just Boba in the tea. Also my favorite con moment happened here when Robert Downey Jr danced through the crowd as only Chaplin could.

2. Neil Gaiman returns to Sandman: With the upcoming 25th anniversary of the character coming up, it seemed like a no brainer that one of literature's most prolific writers gives the fans that one last story he always wanted to tell. When this news came out I'm sure goth kids around the world and Robert Smith of the Cure peed their pants. If you've never read Sandman, please stop cheating yourself and get it. Sandman is a great tale about what Death really thinks of us and is one of those books that comes off your shelf again and again when you're looking for entertainment.

 1.More Happy and the announcement of Oliver: Friday 24hrs before his big announcement, I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with Darick Robertson to talk about his up coming book Happy from Image Comics. I was also treated to a tidbit of information about his friendship with Gary Whitta, writer of the film Book of Eli, in which he told me the two are now in production on a book they've been working on for the last nine years. Oliver, is a post apocalyptic steam punk styled take on the classic Oliver Twist. As Darick flipped through page after page for me on his iPhone, I couldn't help but realize this wasn't just another comic book, instead I was looking at a world being created like Halo or Lord of the Rings. Why is this number 1 in my view? Because I was already going to the Marvel movies and Gaiman's return to Sandman is awesome but not unexpected, the news of Oliver was the curve ball that struck me out looking.

There you have it now enjoy some Robert Downey Jr video and pictures