SDCC '11

Programming for PREVIEW NIGHT and Thursday is up! If there ain't something you like here then you are sick of life! Highlights later,

CCI has just released the exhibitor list and floor plan for this year's show. How you can figure out your escape route, and where to pose, and how long it will take to go from the Corey Feldman autographing session to buying a an exclusive Mini-Mate 7th Bounty Hunter from the left action figure. We've made our own EXCLUSIVE annotated map with some regions of note. Click to embiggen.

The con itself rolls out a couple of features, Fantagraphics announces some amazing debuts, and Casey/Johnny Storm/Lucas Lee/Jensen/Steve Rogers will be signing at the Marvel booth, most likely.

The day before San Diego Comic-Con really kicks off and the hours before Preview Night will once again be taken up with the Comics, Media, and Digital Conference run by Milton Griepp (And co-sponsored by the Beat). This year's event will include the 2011 White Paper with figures on sales, growth and other matters of vital import. Panels include Comics in Hollywood, Digital and Transmedia and the future of paper and digital -- registration information can be found here

At the time of her death in May, artist Jeffrey Catherine Jones was the subject of an upcoming documentary, Better Things. Director/producer Maria Cabardo writes to tell us that several minutes of footage will be shown at a panel at Comic-Con:

Since last we reported on Tr!ckster, the creator-driven pop-up/art gallery/store/wine bar that will be running all through Comic-Con, a lot has happened. We'll be spotlighting some of it in a future post, but right this minute they have just announced a special event for Friday, July 22nd: a benefit for the Japan Society Earthquake Relief Fund featuring an art gallery tribute to the films of Akira Kurosawa.

How many times can one man pact? Stan Lee is pushing the boundaries of human endurance with, interestingly, a story which involves "forces beyond comprehension." This time he's bringing along Todd McFarlane and the duo are teaming with Japanese musical/chat show star Yoshiki for a projects called Blood Red Dragon. Details of the project will be announced at, where else, San Diego. While we're not familiar with Yoshiki's career, based on the photos we found, it appears that Lee and McFarlane may be embarking on their first yaoi project. Which would be fantastic.

The Comic-Con film festival has become an increasingly important part of the show, with a variety of premieres in the fiction and non-fictin categories. Of note are screenings of comics-related documentaries Superheroes, Comic Books Go to War, My Comic Shop DocumentARy, and To Romero With Love. Complete list follows:

While badges are long sold out, there are still a few chances to get into this year's San Diego Comic-Con; about 1500 badges have been refunded and will go on sale via an announcement on Twitter, Facebook and RSS. In addition, a pricing change has been made to make buying tickets more equitable:

Was the giant SCOTT PILGRIM banner on the Bayside Hilton the shark jumping moment we've all been suspecting for the love affair between Comic-Con and Hollywood movie studios? Brooks Barnes and Michael Cieplyreport that the bloom is finally off the Comic-Con rose for some movie studios:

Is the San Diego Comic-Con only 6 weeks away? Why, yes! And so the avalanche of exclusives and announcements is well underway. Here's what Diamond is offering this year:

For several years, those who feel that the San Diego Comic-Con has lost the comics part of the equation (even though it isn't true at all ) have been wondering if an alternative event -- a "Slamdance*" to CCI:SD's Sundance -- would spring up. And artist/animators Scott Morse and Ted Mathot (who both have Pixar as a day job) are making this "Slamcomic" come true with TR!CKSTER, an alternative venue for comics events that will be open to the public and located right across the tracks from the SD Convention Center.