Fans asked Way about the next My Chemical Romance album. He didn’t go into specifics, but talked about creating songs and inspirations. He also briefly mentioned the upcoming Umbrella Academy film, though he was strictly forbidden to give away any real details. One fan presented him with custom Lego figures of characters from his comic. He also took random questions about being a father and even his favorite fictional bounty hunter.

Videos below…

Gerard Way introduction: Comic Con Spotlight on Gerard Way panel

Gabriel Ba introduction: Comic Con Spotlight on Gerard Way panel

Gerard Way on Breakfast Monkey, Bandit’s favorite book and his favorite bounty hunter

Gerard Way on The Umbrella Academy

Early in the morning, I attended the Marvel Comics Writers Unite! panel, which featured Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, Chris Claremont and Mark Waid. They talked about writing within the “rules” of a predefined universe and some of their least favorite artist-writer parings. They were really engaging and had the audience cracking up.

After that, I got to check out the Spotlight on Gerard Way panel. That was very cool to see because Gerard Way, Gabriel Ba and Scott Allie talked all about the Umbrella Academy. Of course, things tend to drift pleasantly off topic during the Q&A and Ba told the audience about watching 90201 all the time growing up in Brazil. He mused that the show was one of his favorites as a kid and as he got older he realized, “that show is about nothing.” Way talked about everything from adopted-sibling love to his daughters favorite book to his favorite fictional bounty hunter–he chose Dog–and had amusing little anecdotes to fan questions. He also briefly discussed the next My Chemical Romance album and quickly mentioned the upcoming Umbrella Academy film.

Later on, I stumbled upon the Oddball Comics pane. Scott Shaw presented a slideshow of “the craziest comic books ever published” with absolutely hilarious commentary. The show presented the covers for gems from the past like Rainbow Batman and Doll Man. Shaw’s collection of useless superheroes and promotional comics was outstanding.

Next up was The Winston Effect. The panel was all about the special effects of Stan Winston and included Winston’s son Matt. The accomplished effects artists talked about creating characters, not relying solely on green screen and the new Stan Winston School of Character Arts. Winston’s work was astounding, so it was really fascinating to hear about it from people who were right there with him making it happen.

Today also featured two celebrity surprises. I spotted Joel McHale as he was exiting the G4 stage and saw Adrienne Curry in an absolutely perfect Leeloo costume.

After roaming the exhibit hall for another hour, I was ready to pass out and had thoroughly enjoyed my first Comic Con. I’m definitely planning to come back next year to see if it could possibly top the fun of this experience.

We got these pics of Gerard on the panel talking about the past, present and future of Dark Horse Comics.

You’re probably thinking, “Alexis, why didn’t you just put these pics in with the Comic Con Day 2 photo gallery?” The answer is that these are in a special section to make them easier for my fellow My Chemical Romance fans to find.

Gerard’s introduction:

Follow @trashwire on Twitter because Alexis will be tweeting live from San Diego Comic Con! Make sure to swing back by Trashwire regularly for blog posts, pics, videos, interviews and lots of other Comic Con stuff that just won’t fit into 140 characters.
Not on Twitter? (Are you crazy?!) No worries, because you can read Alexis’ tweets right here in the @trashwire Twitter feed…

Some of my fondest memories from childhood involve dancing around to “Bad” and “Remember the Time” with my cousins or gathering around the TV to watch the premiere of “Black or White” with such awe that you would have thought we were watching the moon landing.

Everyone has a Michael memory. Older people who grew up wearing Afros and watching Soul Train remember Michael debuting The Robot with his brothers during “Dancing Machine”. There are millions of boys who bought red leather jackets to look like Michael in “Thriller” and girls who pranced around in their rooms pretending they were in the video for “The Way You Make Me Feel”. There are kids who played the Moonwalker Sega Genesis game with Michael battling Joe Pesci until their fingers had blisters. There were younger generations who memorized the choreography with Michael and Janet in “Scream” or filled their iPods with tracks from Invincible. You can practically guess someone’s age by finding out their favorite Michael Jackson song because he has played a part in so many of our lives.

In the year since his death, scandal and controversy seem to be creeping out from all corners. Did Conrad Murray really kill him? Who gets the money? Will his family try to profit off the tragedy? Hardly a day goes by that someone isn’t on TV claiming to have some kind of “inside info” about the late King of Pop.

Does any of that really matter, though? If Dr. Murray admits his negligence lead to Michael’s death, if everything goes to Michael’s three children, if his father or brothers or the seemingly never-ending line of “friends” squeeze every last dollar out of any and everything Michael ever touched, will any of that change the fact that Michael is gone?

I’m not claiming to be above any of it. I admit, I read things on TMZ or watch entertainment news shows that give updates about the aftermath, but all those things are just clouding the memory of someone so exceptional.

Let’s hope that society can all take a break from scrounging for scandal and spend at least this one day celebrating the music–and the inspiration–of Michael Jackson.

Some of my fondest memories from childhood involve dancing around to “Bad” and “Remember the Time” with my cousins or gathering around the TV to watch the premiere of “Black or White” with such awe that you would have thought we were watching the moon landing.

Everyone has a Michael memory. Older people who grew up wearing Afros and watching Soul Train remember Michael debuting The Robot with his brothers during “Dancing Machine”. There are millions of boys who bought red leather jackets to look like Michael in “Thriller” and girls who pranced around in their rooms pretending they were in the video for “The Way You Make Me Feel”. There are kids who played the Moonwalker Sega Genesis game with Michael battling Joe Pesci until their fingers had blisters. There were younger generations who memorized the choreography with Michael and Janet in “Scream” or filled their iPods with tracks from Invincible. You can practically guess someone’s age by finding out their favorite Michael Jackson song because he has played a part in so many of our lives.

In the year since his death, scandal and controversy seem to be creeping out from all corners. Did Conrad Murray really kill him? Who gets the money? Will his family try to profit off the tragedy? Hardly a day goes by that someone isn’t on TV claiming to have some kind of “inside info” about the late King of Pop.

Does any of that really matter, though? If Dr. Murray admits his negligence lead to Michael’s death, if everything goes to Michael’s three children, if his father or brothers or the seemingly never-ending line of “friends” squeeze every last dollar out of any and everything Michael ever touched, will any of that change the fact that Michael is gone?

I’m not claiming to be above any of it. I admit, I read things on TMZ or watch entertainment news shows that give updates about the aftermath, but all those things are just clouding the memory of someone so exceptional.

Let’s hope that society can all take a break from scrounging for scandal and spend at least this one day celebrating the music–and the inspiration–of Michael Jackson.

Iron Man 2 finds Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in a bit of hot water as the government demands he surrender his Iron Man suit so it can be turned into a military weapon. His biggest competitor, Justin Hammer, played by Sam Rockwell, is leading the charge and trying to invent a superior version of Iron Man. Hammer secretly teams up with vendetta-fueled Russian Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) to take down Stark. At the same time, Stark is facing growing health problems caused by the Arc Reactor that fuels both his body and his Iron Man persona. Of course, Stark handles all this with the kind of swagger you’d expect from a genius playboy billionaire. With the help of his friends, including assistant-turned-CEO Pepper Pots (Gwyneth Paltrow), new assistant Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson), bodyguard Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau who also directed the film), and Army buddy Lt. Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle replacing Terrance Howard), Stark sets out to defeat Hammer and Vanko and discover a cure for his palladium poisoning.

Downey returns, perfectly capturing the arrogant but likeable vibe needed to play Stark. Only Downey can pull off playing such a haughty character in such a likeable way. The only downside to the sharp comebacks and remarks is that there are a bit too many of them. Sometimes it can feel like every scene involves Stark making a glib comment about someone or some event around him, which can take away the importance of the action.

The villains are a delight. Rockwell is a chameleon, able change himself for every role. Here, he’s perfect as a nerdy rival fueled by jealousy. Rourke is the perfect counterpart because he brings an authentic bad-ass-ness to the role, making him a great deranged nemesis. His rough look and menacing air let you know right off the bat that Vanko will be a formidable opponent for Stark. Occasionally, having a Russian with a heavy accent talking about destroying the hero can make you think of Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV, but Rourke brings a higher caliber of acting than that featured in many comic book films.

While the film is firmly about Iron Man, supporting characters open the doors for more comedic situations. Samuel L. Jackson appears as Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D, a super-spy agency in the Marvel universe. Jackson rocks an eye patch and too-cool-for-school attitude that whets the palate for the upcoming Avengers film. Unfortunately, Paltrow’s Pepper Pots seems to have become some type of nagging housewife, which can be a bit annoying. Most of her scenes involve her complaining to Stark or trying to tell him not do so something. Of course, making her a bit annoying makes Johanssen’s assistant/secret agent character more appealing, which is definitely intentional. Still, both women have relatively small roles in the film.

A cameo appearance from the late DJ AM is awkward, silencing audiences. The first scene with Cheadle instead of Howard in the role of Rhodes is a bit awkward as well. It’s always a little weird when a franchise switches actors between films and, for the first few minutes Cheadle is on screen, it’s easy to keep thinking about Howard. Things are made worse when you think back to the publicized bad blood between Howard and the filmmakers regarding his dismissal from the sequel.

Still, these awkward moments are few and far between, making Iron Man 2 a fun and funny action film. While it’s no Kick-Ass, it has a tone of humor mixed in with large-scale action sequences and Robert Downey Jr., a sure formula for a hit.

The film is set in a world where humans haven’t evolved the gene to lie, so everyone is brutally honest. Out of nowhere, middle-class loser Mark Bellison (Gervais) suddenly discovers that he has the ability to say things that aren’t true and comedy ensues as he uses his newfound power to get money and stick it to people who wronged him. Along the way, he inadvertently creates religion and becomes an icon before learning that the one thing he really wants (Jennifer Garner) can’t be attained through lying. The film is funny, though the unbelievably stellar cast (including Rob Lowe, Louis C.K., Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, Jeffrey Tambour and even appearances by Jason Bateman and Philip Seymour Hoffman) is a bit underutilized. It could have been the funniest movie of the year, but instead it was just another good comedy.

Thankfully, the special features on the DVD and Blu-ray make up for any of the film’s shortcomings. Most entertaining is “Meet Karl Pilkington”, a featurette originally produced for BBC’s The Culture Show, which introduces film audiences to the man Gervais has labeled a “little bald-headed Manc twat.” The featurette also gives a making-of look at a big deleted scene featuring Pilkington as a caveman and explaining the evolution of lying. In addition to this gem, the disc also contains outtakes, deleted scenes, a making-of featurette and a series of video podcasts from Gervais and co-writer Matthew Robinson.

If you were waiting to check out the film, now is the time since you’ll get a slew of amazing features along with it. I’d recommend watching the film first, but feel free to dive right in to the even-funnier extras.

Advertisement: The XFM Vault: The Best of The Ricky Gervais Show with Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington, Volume 1 The Ricky Gervais Show on Xfm is where Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant first met Karl Pilkington. The trio have been talking drivel ever since….

5. Lamar Odom marries Khloe Kardashian:
After becoming a stand out on a championship team, Odom made headlines of another variety when he met and quickly married a Kardashian. The scandalous union seemed like one of the biggest publicity stunts of the year, but it worked, making both household names and propelling the duo to a whole new level of fame. The Keeping Up with the Kardashians wedding special sealed the deal for unadulterated overexposure.

4. The rise of the non-celebrity
Whether it’s Balloon Boy, Octomom or the Gosselins, 2009 marked the year the meek inherited the world of entertainment. Every tabloid magazine or entertainment news show seemed to be filled with random people who had managed to squeeze every last drop out of their 15 minutes of fame. If you’re like me, you were left wondering where all the actors, singers, and actual talented people were.

3. The never-ending healthcare quagmire
Death panels? Public options? Pre-existing conditions? This year healthcare was all the rage as the government sought to make sense of the ridiculous predicament insurance companies and the American people had gotten themselves into. Each day, things got more confusing as compromises were made and the whole thing started to spin out of control. Some have argued that it’s all been a way to take our minds off the war, and that might be true, but the real question is, how can I get a job on one of those death panels?

2. Sarah Palin writes a best-seller
It’s questionable that Palin has ever read a book, but this year she published Going Rogue: An American Life, which became hugely popular with people who liked her kooky antics. Sadly, the book wasn’t just pictures of her holding shotguns standing over dead moose carcasses. As if we needed to hear any more nonsense from this vacuous media whore!

1. The death of the King of Pop
Michael Jackson’s death was a true tragedy that devastated his fans all over the world. After the initial sadness, there was the media storm and subsequent exploitation (I’m looking at you Jermaine!) of everything MJ from This Is It to the countless products baring an image of the late great superstar. The worst part of it all is that the death of such a significant and talented person left a void that the media filled with hordes of non-celebrities from Speidi to the kids from Jersey Shore.

Like a cynical version of Mystery Science Theater 3000 with a home and garden twist, Whatever, Martha! takes old episodes of Martha Stewart Living and revisits them with the domestic diva’s daughter Alexis Stewart and her friend Jennifer Koppelman Hutt. The ladies give hilarious commentary over vintage moments from the show and even attempt to follow along with some of Martha’s classic do-it-yourself and crafting projects. The results are usually disastrous, but hysterical.

In one episode, Hutt makes off-color remarks about a segment in which a male personal trainer teaches Martha about some Yoga stretches as Alexis cringes and jokes, “I’m going to throw up!” In another, Martha joins the ladies and joyfully tells a story about slaughtering Alexis’ pet lamb and then serving lamb chops as Hutt looks on in mild horror. The smart-ass commentary and humorous insight into growing up in the Stewart household are genuinely funny and amusing, making it easy to get hooked on the show.

Whatever, Martha! is brilliant because it  represents a whole new view of home and garden TV. Rather than showing us 50 new ways to roll napkins and other arguably useless household tasks, it skewers the entire genre and humorously points out how ridiculous it is that we care about rules like where to place a salad fork when setting a table.

While it may not immediately pop into my head when compiling a list of favorite shows, Whatever, Martha! is sharp, funny and incredibly amusing.

This Is It brilliantly uses dancers, musicians and crew as a sort of narrative device, beginning with a group of young dancers emotionally describing their joy at being chosen to perform with their idol and ending with the same group watching in awe as Jackson rehearses some of his most iconic songs. The audience can instantly identify with these dancers and it helps to put the immense scale of Jackson’s talent into perspective. Sure, your everyday person is amazed by Jackson’s moves, but to see a crowd of highly trained professionals completely enthralled in the performance further elevates Jackson’s status as a kind of superhero entertainer.

Yet unlike Superman, Jackson was mortal, and the film also tragically shows a living superhero dealing with his own limitations. We’re all used to seeing footage of Jackson from his dazzling performance on Motown 25 in which he first debuted the Moonwalk or in his red leather jacket from the “Thriller” music video, but it’s easy to forget that those classic images are from more than two decades ago. Watching the 50-year-old Jackson thrill the small crowd at rehearsal makes you see how hard he was pushing himself to please his fans and instantly conjures up concerns about pain, weight, and other health issues that may have plagued him. You know he was willing to put himself through anything to please a crowd, and you feel a bit guilty about being part of the global audience who had (and continues to have) and insatiable appetite for all things MJ.

In the same vein, it’s hard not to question whether Jackson would have wanted the film released in the first place. He was a notorious perfectionist and, while his rehearsals are better than most concerts today, it still feels like you’re seeing something private. It’s impossible to resist wanting a glimpse behind the curtain, so to speak, but again, it’s also easy to feel guilty after seeing something you know wasn’t intended for mass audiences.

Regardless of the conflicting feelings that might be dredged up by This Is It, the film is still lasting evidence of just how amazing Jackson truly was. Even toned down, he’s spectacular. The insight into his hands-on approach and visionary creative drive prove that he was not only a brilliant performer, but also an overall entertainment genius whose talent will never be matched. The real tragedy is knowing the way the story ended.