SITE NEWS: CBR announces full coverage of Comic-Con International, talks plans

• Beau Yarbrough - News editor for CBR, this will be his third time covering CCI for CBR.

• Rob Worley - Comics2Film editor, this will be his second time covering CCI for CBR.

• Keith Giles and Greg Hatcher - Keith is the latest staff writer and member of the CBR News team who'll be with us in San Diego and Greg Hatcher joins CBR as a contributing writer to cover panels and other events during the convetnion.

• Augie De Blieck Jr. - Augie's fan perspective con reports have become very popular. Augie will be filing a new journal entry each day of the convetnion.

• Jonah Weiland - Last year Jonah took loads of pictures of attendees and sights at San Diego and it became a very popular piece. Jonah continues that tradition this year.

You can count on CBR to bring the convention to you via the web every day of the convetion.

As we have done for the past 4 years CBR will record the winners speeches and have them available to listen to the Monday following the convention. You never know what one of these winners might say.

• Larry "Loose Cannon" Young - Larry Young's AiT/PlanetLar will be set-up at booth #1315 across from the giant DC Comics and Slave Labor Graphics booths. He'll have lots of cool swag for you to purchase plus signings with AiT/PlanetLar talent like Joe Casey, Brian Wood, Charlie Adlard, John Heebink, Kieron Dwyer, the SKY APE Ceew, and, well, Larry! Plus, free postcards and posters. You'll also likely find Team CBR hanging out at this booth during the convention.

  And if you ask nicely Larry will sing the counties of Vermont, in order, to the tune of "Yankee Doodle Dandy." This is something to hear.

• Scott "Oddball Comics" Shaw! - Scott will be at Table V-1, between Sergio Aragones and Rick (ONE BIG HAPPY) Detorie. Scott will undoubtedly have sets of Oddball Comics cards for sale and would love if you stopped by his booth to say Hi!

• Scott "Zot! Online" McCloud - Scott McCloud will be situated in Artists Alley, where all the real buzz of the convetion is. Stop by and take a look at all Scott has to offer.

Plus you'll be able to catch many of the above and other CBR personalities at various panels throughout the convetnion weekend.

Thursday

1:30 The Changing Face of Comics Journalism
Most of us get our comics news from the Internet these days. In the era of instant news and even-more instant gratification is the time-honored tradition of print journalism falling by the wayside? Do we know too much too soon on the Internet? Join Rick Veitch (Comicon.com), Jonah Weiland (ComicBookResouces.com), Matt Brady (Newsarama), Eric Reynolds (The Comics Journal) and Maggie Thompson (Comics Buyer's Guide) with moderator Charles Brownstein for this lively discussion. Room 9

3:00 Bongo Mania 2001!
The Bongo Comics Group is on the Grow! There are more quality Bongo Comics being produced now than at any other time in the history of the world! Now, here's a rare opportunity to grill your favorite Bongo creators about the future of the paper incarnations of The Simpsons, Futurama, Radioactive Man, Bart Simpson and much more! Terry Delegeane, Scott Shaw!, Ian Boothby, Chris Yambar, Pia Guerra and others will be on hand to thrill and amaze you! Room 16A

Friday

10:30 CAC Session 3: Understanding Web Comics
Comics scholar Scott McCloud and cognitive scientists An van Dienderen and Shweta Narayan (University of California at Berkeley) explore the mystery of how comics readers go about the complex task of creating an integrated understanding of language, images and narrative. The conceptual structuring of standard comics is compared to the metaphorical structuring of McCloud's web-comics. Room 13

12:00 The Eisner Awards: Talent Most Deserving of Wider Recognition
The big awards ceremony is Friday night, but today we recognize those worthy of wider recognition. Join moderator Beau Yarbrough (ComicBookResources.com) as he interviews four of the six nominees for tonight's award: Mark Smylie (Artesia), Mike Brennan (Electric Girl), Scott Mills (Big Clay Pot), and Alex Robinson (Box Office Poison). Eisner Awards administrator Jackie Estrada joins the panel to discuss the nominating process and the awards ceremony. The other nominees (not present) include J. Bone (artist, Allison Dare; Solar Stella), and Catherine Doherty (Can of Worms). Room 7B

8:30 The Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards Ceremony
The comic book industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards is back. Come see who is the recipient of this year's award in your favorite category. Will Eisner will be on hand to pass out the awards, as will celebrity presenters, and of course, Scott Shaw! will be there to give out the Inkpot Awards and this year's Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award and Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award. Introduced by Jackie Estrada, the Eisner Awards administrator. Hyatt Hotel, Manchester Ballroom

[Note: CBR is a Major Sponsor of this event.]

Saturday

10:30 Scott Shaw!'s Oddball Comic Book Slide Show
So exactly what are Oddball Comics? These are some of the craziest comic books ever to see print. Scott Shaw! has been collecting this type of four-color madness for over 40 years and he loves to share 'em with his fellow funnybook afficionados. These are actual, published comic books with unbelievable titles like Ricky and Debbie in Sardineland, It's Fun to Stay Alive, Sidewalk Romance, and Space Western. They feature characters like Muggy-doo -- Boy Cat, the Bouncer, Manuel Pacifico – Tuna Fisherman and Johnny Surge (a lovable li'l cow-milking machine), not to mention talking purple gorillas and time-displaced dinosaurs by the metric ton! But not all Oddball Comics are so obscure; Scott will also be taking a look at the odder aspects of familiar comics and characters you've probably seen all your life…but never like this! Don't miss this Comic-Con annual event! Oddball Comics appears daily on ComicBookResources.com Room 7A

2:00 The Art of Digital Comics
Don't miss this one! The future of comics starts right here! This jam-packed, two-part panel discussion will address both the aesthetic and the fiscal issues posed by the growing field of digital comics. Moderated by Scott McCloud (Reinventing Comics – www.scottmccloud.com), the first half of the panel will focus on the tools available for producing comics in the digital realm, as well as new aesthetic avenues opened up by the digital canvas. Panelists include digital comic creators Cayetano Garza (Magic Inkwell - www.magicinkwell.com), Tristan Farnon (Leisure Town –www.leisuretown.com), Patrick Farley (Electric Sheep – www.e-sheep.com),David Gaddis (www.davidgaddis.com), and Demian.5 (When I Am King – www.demian5.com). The Digital Comics explosion continues at 3:00 with The Business of Digital Comics in the same room. Room 4

3:00 The Business of Digital Comics

The second part of the panel, (see 2:00 for the first part, The Art of Digital Comics), moderated by Ted Deiker (JamBooks –www.jambooks.com), will address the spectrum of business models open to creators and publishers of digital comics, from serial subscriptions to virtual advertising to eBook retailing. Panelists will include Scott McCloud, Scott Kurtz (Player vs. Player - www.pvponline.com), Steve Conley (Astounding Space Thrills -www.astoundingspacethrills.com), ComicsOne.com, and Rick Veitch (Rarebit Fiend and www.comicon.com). Room 4

According to the Comic-Con Web site "Each donor will receive a free give away bag and a t-shirt. The Blood Drive will have a desk in the lobby of the Center by Hall A where potential donors can receive information about donating. Actual donations will be taken Friday and Saturday from 10am-5:30 pm in the SAnta Rosa Room at the Marriott next to the Center. There will also be a Bloodmobile in the parking lot next to Hall A."

Also in that bag you'll find one of the legendary CBR Antenna Balls! Give blood, get a CBR Antenna Ball for free as well as all kinds of cool swag! There's usually great T-Shirts, comics and action figures awaiting blood donors in those give away bags.

Special thanks to Debra Lazarus of Lodestone Publishing for encouraging our involvement in this event.

Whew! CBR's very involved this year at Comic-Con International and we hope you'll join us in San Diego this coming weekend!