Thursday at Comic-Con

Convention begins with 'Dexter,' 'Twilight' and 'The Expendables 2'

By Don Kaye
Special to MSN Movies

Welcome to Comic-Con 2012! We're on the ground here at the San Diego Convention Center, home to this gigantic annual celebration of fan culture and all things related to comics, sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, toys, horror and more. Although Comic-Con 2012 officially began on Thursday (July 12), the show unofficially kicked off on Wednesday with Preview Night, during which the massive exhibition hall -- the size of several football fields -- opens up for a few hours that night to give early attendees a chance to peruse the displays and buy some of the exclusive toys and collectibles going on sale here.

Bing: More about Comic-Con | More about 'Twilight'

At one end of the hall are actual comics dealers -- the kind of guys who started all this 40 years ago -- with tables and boxes piled high with copies of back issues and graphic novels. Those tables and booths give way to publishing company tables, along with booths selling toys, ranging from plush objects to eerily realistic action figures to role-playing games, clothing, books, artwork and much more.

Photos: 2012 Comic-Con costumes

As you gravitate toward the center of the hall, the big displays begin to come into view: Marvel (a giant "Iron Man 3" banner overlooks all six costumes from the two "Iron Man" movies and "The Avengers"); Warner Bros. (the Batpod from the "Dark Knight" movie series and Superman's costume from the upcoming "Man of Steel"); AMC (a forest set is recreated from "The Walking Dead" where you can step up and pose with a life-sized figure of Michonne from Season 3); and LucasFilm (a large glass display case of live snakes heralds the upcoming release of the "Indiana Jones" movies on Blu-ray) are among the more prominent stops getting tons of onlookers.

There are also some of the just plain cool things that you only get to see at Comic-Con, like a giant Hulk made entirely out of LEGO blocks (there's also a Darth Maul one, but the Hulk is cooler) and, outside on the lawn, all six Batmobiles -- from the TV show and the movies -- parked in one of the few auto displays we've ever been inclined to snap photos of. You can probably never see every single awesome thing tucked away on the floor of the convention center, especially as the crowds go from intimidating on Wednesday night to downright overwhelming (already!) on Thursday morning, but it's worth the effort to see as many as possible.

Are you at Comic-Con? Tweet us your pictures @MSNtv and @MSNMovies using #msnatcomiccon.

The only entertainment-related activity on Wednesday night was the special preview screening of pilots for upcoming TV series like "666 Park Avenue," "Revolution," "Arrow" and "The Following," which we'll be hearing more about in the months to come. Thursday brought the first full day's onslaught of panels and presentations, with the famous Hall H once again home to a series of film presentations by the major studios and Ballroom 20 hosting the larger TV showcases.
Just like the case has been for three of the past four years, the first movie presentation on Thursday belonged to the "Twilight" franchise, and this year's, for "Twilight: Breaking Dawn, Part 2," was bittersweet for two reasons: First, it was the final time for the films and their cast at Comic-Con, with this film being the last entry in the series, and second, earlier in the week a 53-year-old "Twilight" fan, Gisela Gagliardi, was killed after she stumbled and fell in front of a car while rushing to get back to her place on the already camped-out line to see the "Twilight" panel.

The death of Ms.

(Story Continues On Next Page...)

Page 1 of 2

Next

Write a comment...

0Comments