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.

Yesterday’s surprise sighting was Lou Ferrigno, but today, I bumped into Patrick Warburton while crossing a crowded hallway.

I also noticed a lot more hot superheroes. Before, the crowd was filled with genuine fans, but much of today’s crop of buff spandex-clad crimefighters were plants, paid by a company to promote something. From a sexy Captain America to an army of hot Spartans, Comic Con was like a meat market. Never let it be said that nerds can’t be sexy, because there were certainly some smoking hot ones there today.

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:

The Convention Center is daunting–it feels like it’s the size of the entire Denver airport. The various booths are colorful, but they’re really a backdrop for cool geeks of all kinds to let their geek flags fly and show up in full costume. I actually enjoyed a lot of the fans in costumes more than some official events and I was surprised at how overwhelmingly friendly everyone has been. Far from the pompous atmosphere of a Hollywood event, the Comic Con fans are happy just being themselves–even if they are wearing a Darth Vader mask.

I managed to take some pics of a few of my favorite costumed crusaders on my very first trip to Comic Con. For everyone who posed for a pic, I’d like to extend a huge THANK YOU!

I’ve been tweeting a lot of these pics too, so make sure you follow Trashwire on Twitter or check out our pics on TwitPic too.

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.

Get Him to the Greek

In Sarah Marshall, Aldous is a famous English rock superstar who just so happens to be sleeping with the main character’s girlfriend. Despite all that, he remains likeable and even becomes friends with his rival.

Fast forward a few years and Aldous has become a washed-up drug addict on a downward spiral of self-destruction. His career is stagnant and his latest single, the cliché socially conscious “African Child”, has been labeled the worst thing to happened to Africa since apartheid.

Enter lowly record label employee Aaron Green (Jonah Hill). As a longtime fan of Aldous and his band Infant Sorrow, Aaron proposes an idea to his boss Sergio (Sean “P. Diddy” Combs) to revive Aldous’ career with an anniversary performance at the Greek Theater. He is given 72 hours to get Aldous to the gig in order to make points with Sergio.

What follows is a series of insane parties, drug binges, and anonymous sexual encounters that throw the reserved and nerdy Aaron into the wild world of rock and roll.

It may sound like a cliché plot, but the sheer comedic power of Brand and Hill take Greek to the next level. The physical comedy and obvious jokes hit the target. When Aldous injects Aaron with adrenaline, “like in Pulp Fiction”, Hill elevates what could be dumb and slapstick into a hilariously engaging episode.

Even better than the bigger jokes, the small throw-away lines—many of which are likely improved—make for some of the funniest moments in the film. Aldous’ “hateful respect” for Aaron after a harsh criticism of his record is classic Brand.  In another scene when Aaron talks to his doctor girlfriend (Mad Men’s Elizabeth Moss) he chastises her for her holier-than-thou attitude by reminding her that not all doctors are good and that Nazis had doctors too.

Most surprising is the spectacular comedic turn from Combs. Making the Band has showed us that Combs can be quite the moody executive—having contestants walk to Brooklyn to fetch him a slice of cheesecake comes to mind—and this role perfectly parodies that persona.

To prepare Aaron for babysitting Aldous, Sergio gives him lessons in how to “mind fuck” someone. The exchange between Hill and Combs is both awkward and hilarious, and seems like an authentic moment between an exec with too much power and one of his whipping boy employees.

Still, Brand owns this movie. Unlike other comedies that attempt to send up the rock and roll lifestyle by dressing their stars up as wild rockers, like Rainn Wilson in The Rocker, Brand has the true swagger of a rock god. He’s charismatic, he’s sexy, he’s got unique style, and he has legitimate vocal talent. If the lyrics to the songs weren’t so funny, you would actually rush out to buy an Infant Sorrow CD.

It should come as no surprise that Greek is one of the funniest movies we can expect this summer. Producer Judd Apatow has loaded the cast with his usual comedic arsenal and Jason Segel’s original characters deserved life beyond Sarah Marshall. I, for one, am keeping my fingers crossed for Aldous Snow’s next come back tour.

The movie finds Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) married to longtime love Big (Chris Noth),but still wanting to go out and enjoy the Manhattan social scene. Carrie’s friends Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Charlotte (Kristen Davis) are also married, but lead lives much different then Carrie. Both women focus more on family life rather then the Manhattan nightlife. And there is, of course, Samantha (Kim Catrall), who continues to live the single life, and fuel’s Carrie’s craving to be out on the town.

The continuous wardrobe changes displayed an array of couture that was at times fabulous, and other times questionable. The fashion statements are nothing new in the world of Carrie Bradshaw, or shall I say Carrie Preston. This is the last name Carrie took after marrying John James Preston a.k.a. Mr. Big in the previous film. During the documentation of the few months in the life of Carrie and Big, it became apparent that this single gal has truly settled down. Even though the show and the previous film focused on Carrie and her relationships with men, the sequel took a turn to focus on friendship, and confirmed that the relationship between the four women is stronger then ever.

The foundation of this feel-good sequel is a unique adventure filled with typical Samantha Jones antics and comical one-liners. As a long time Carrie Bradshaw fan, I must say that I am ecstatic that love has finally come around in her life. Yet, the time when I could remotely relate to Carrie has come and gone. Sure she used to spend $600 on a pair of shoes, but she was also full of life, and life is never perfect. Now, it seems that all the women have settled into a place that is far from what the show originally strived to be. Carrie has become lifeless, much more materialistic then she ever used to be, and attempting to relate to her current status in this world in near impossible.

The film is plagued by various incidents of relationship mishaps in each characters life, yet the concept has moved far from feeding into reality and has become more surreal. Perhaps I am resentful that my long time love affair with Carrie Bradshaw has come to an end after so many years, but I just do not find any attributes that keep me united to her character. This film was more a “good time” without the deeper meaning than the Sex and the City fans are accustomed to.

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.