Author: Marc Alan Fishman

A long time, in a galaxy far far away… Or perhaps on Cartoon Network on the weekends or coming soon to your gaming PC… Star Wars hit the 2010 San Diego Comic Con in full force (get it?!). Those fans who dig on the cloney goodness of the computer animated series got some sneaky peaks of the new season and how the series is evolving the mythos at the Clone Wars panel. More than likely, those SAME fans who also enjoy a good nightly WoW raid party were privy to a sneaky peak as well at BioWare’s upcoming Star Wars themed MMO, ‘The Old Republic”. While the former takes place between some of the films in the series, the later actually predates EVERYTHING we’re familiar with (including BioWare’s genre-influencing RPG “Knights of the Old Republic” from a few years ago).  In case you’re amongst the fans who enjoy the “prequel” universe, but didn’t get a chance to enjoy the panels… we’ve got you covered. We’re like Yoda in your backpack, whisperin’ to you the secrets of the Force. Oh what’s that? Not familiar with Yoda when he was a just a tangible puppet, only when he was shiny and could do flippy flips? Look it up, kiddo. Look it up. But enjoy these videos first!

With the debut of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World hitting theaters, and all you Pilgrimites having just polished off the final chapter of Brian Lee O’Malley’s Volume 6: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour… we here at ComicMix thought we might pit the titular teenage hero against a foe with a heart just as big as his own. While Scott had to defeat the seven deadly exes in order to win the heart of his beloved Ramona, Mario has been saving the crap outta his beau, Princess Toadstool, for over 20 years. Furthermore, the pudgy plumber has gone so far to defeat children (children holding magic wands mind you…), conquer the third dimension, and then race to the death in go-karts for his girl. And come to think of it, has anyone ever seen Princess Toadstool give Mario more than a kiss and and P-Wing for his efforts? I mean, I’ve not seen the movie yet, but it seems like Ramona is willing to get Scott to at least second base for his troubles!

As we know, in the real world, Scott Pilgrim is best portrayed by Michael Cera. Once a frozen banana selling salesman on a show only 17 of us watched on Fox. Sure, later he went on to play a completely different totally similar group of sarcastic whining indie cred building everykids… but is that enough? Because, we, the oldest of the old school Gen-Xers shall never forget the classic abomination that was Super Mario Bros. And in that, ahem, film, our dearest Mario was played by none other than Bob Hoskins. And if Bob Hoskins reps ole’ Mario Mario… what chance does Cera have?

So, let’s put these two lovebirds in a cage match. Who’s the beau with the bigger heart? Who’s the dude with the softer soul? Which forlorn fighter will fend off his foe first? Will it be Scott Pilgrim, who’s fueled by teenage angst, wields a mighty 4-string bass attack, and is powered by today’s generation of hip cats? Or will Mario, Italian-by-way-of-Miyamoto, the mascot of a generation, pound poor Scott with his brick-breaking-white-gloved fists of fury? Will Scott’s Sex-Bob-Omb backup their bassman in battle, or will Mario’s cavalcade of cartoon cohorts overpower the Emo-Elite. Only you, the ComicMix nation can decide. Let us know who takes home the 1-Up in the comments below.

Ding Ding Ding!

In case you live under a rock without basic cable, you may just have heard of the hit show Burn Notice. The love child of Miami Vice and Magnum P.I., albeit with less facial hair, is the gem on the USA network, and airs tonight and every Thursday night.

At the SDCC (as the cool kids who don’t like to type much say) Bruce Campbell (Sam Axe), Matt Nix (creator and executive producer), and Alfredo Barrios, Jr. (executive producer) hosted a panel discussion and answered questions about the creative process of evolving an embryonic idea into a finished episode of cable’s #1 show. Fans gained an intimate look inside the world of Burn Notice, complete with war stories from the writer’s room and filming on location in Miami.

What’s that you say… missed it? No, no you didn’t. You’re welcome.

Attention all you Left Coast comic fans, with a love for the ladies! At the upcoming Long Beach Comic Con, you can attend the 2010 LuLu Awards. Brought to you by the recently reinvigorated Friends Of Lulu, the LuLu’s celebrate female creators in comics, and gives them a boost within the community in hopes to not only recognize the good work contributed by women in the field, but to also extend the readership of the comic reading community at large. Let’s face face it guys… a few extra ladies coming out to the shop on Wednesday’s would sure help us earn some cred with those snobby LARPers, right?

This year, fans can lend their voices to the LuLu’s, as they’ve made it open season for nomination. Fans can suggest their favorite XX chromosomed creator for such awards as the Kim Yale Award for Best New Talent, LuLu of the Year, Woman of Distinction, the Leah Adezio Award for Best Kid-Friendly Work, Female Comic Creator’s Hall of Fame (this year’s winner joins one of my personal favorite creators, Gail Simone!), and Best Female Character.

So, ready to vote? We knew you were! Visit the Comics Are For Everyone Blog to vote for this year’s favorites. When you’re done voting, pour yourself a cosmo, flip on a solid episode of Buffy, and visit the Long Beach Comic Con’s site so you can score yourself some tickets to see the very awards you just voted for!

Fans of Fox’s only hit show about Forensic Anthropologists and FBI Special Agents got a treat at the 2010 San Diego Comic Con, with a panel to help them bone up on the show’s comings and goings. If you too are predisposed to dig shows that dig up part of human anatomy… but weren’t able to attend the show or panel, allow us here at the ‘Mix to provide you the footage of the panel, post haste!

Attendees of this year’s Baltimore Comic Con are privy to a pair of treats like no other. First off, Mark Wheatley and Robert Tinnell’s pulpy masterpiece, Lone Justice, will be on sale, with a special exclusive cover and signature plate for the con. Mark, Robert, and editor Mike Gold will be on hand to lend their John Hancock’s to the fifty limited edition copies that will be on hand. Make sure you’re one of the lucky ones to get a hold of this special book!

For those of you who know Lone Justice, know it’s prequel of course, EZ Street. But did you know EZ Street was itself a Harvey nominated Graphic Novel? Speaking of the Harveys (how’s that for a segue, ma!), this years award ballots are due Saturday, August 7th. The Harvey Awards will be unveiled Saturday, August 28th, at a banquet at the Baltimore Comic Con. This is the awards fifth year, hosted this time by webcomic creator extraordinaire Scott Kurtz, who’s really pushing for an award this year.

Final ballots are available online here. The final nominees for this year include JH Williams III, Frank Quitely, Guy Davis, Robert Crumb, Mark Waid, Robert Kirkman, Geoff Johns, and more. For a complete list of the nominees, simply click the link above, to go the Harvey Awards site directly.

We’ll see you in Baltimore!