[photo courtesy of Gama-Go]

WonderCon begins this Friday, but why wait to join in on the geektastic festivities?

Gama-Go will be throwing a shindig at their flagship store in San Francisco on the 31st to celebrate WonderCon. If you're in the area, head on down between 4:30-6:30 for free booze, door prizes, and a hearty 25% off of all merchandise in the store.

Doctor Who @ WonderCon

Doctor Who made it's WonderCon debut last year with the premiere episode of the 5th season. The Doctor will be making a comeback at this year's Con on Sunday, April 3, with sneak peeks of the upcoming 6th season, set to premiere on BBC America on April 23 with "The Impossible Astronaut."

Guest writer Neil Gaiman (Sandman, Coraline), actor Mark Sheppard (Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica), and director Toby Haynes (Doctor Who, Being Human) will be present for a Q&A with moderator, and beloved Whovian, Chris Hardwick (Nerdist).

The Doctor Who panel starts at 11:30, doors open at 11.

I'll be there with my copy of The Graveyard Book and a Sharpie... just in case I happen to run into Neil Gaiman... :sigh:

John Casey or Jayne Cobb?

Originally Adam Baldwin (Firefly, Chuck) wasn't on the bill to appear at WonderCon for the "Chuck" panel on Sunday, March 1, but he made a surprise appearance on Saturday! Baldwin was out in the exhibit hall's autograph area signing away and taking pictures.

Lots of Firefly and Chuck fans were pretty excited -- his autograph booth was PACKED with people. I feel sorry for the woman he was sitting by because no one seemed to care for her or know who she was (myself included). :/

Coverage of the Chuck panel coming up. For now, here's a video of Baldwin at Sunday's panel answering the question, "Who would win in a fight: John Casey or Jayne Cobb?"

[photo and video courtesy of Nina Penalosa]

Watchmen @ WonderCon

My mission was clear on Saturday: get into the "Watchmen" panel. By the time I reached Moscone Center South, the line was out the door. But I got in, so YAY!

Billy Crudup and Malin Akerman

Dave Gibbons, Patrick Wilson, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan

LA Times blogger Geoff Boucher moderated the panel which included directer Zack Snyder, artist Dave Gibbons, and the whole cast -- minus Matthew Goode (Ozymandias/Adrien Veidt).

Attendees were treated to the first 20 minutes of the film, which was definitely unexpected. Amazing, awesome, and any other adjective along those lines do not even begin to describe how, uh, amazingly awesome the first 20 minutes were.

Snyder gave the scoop on a few things related to the movie including the DVD release of "Tales of the Black Freighter/Under the Hood" (we blogged about it, remember?). Everyone who is familiar with the graphic novel knows that "Tales of the Black Freighter" is a comic within a comic and it's story mirrors that of what's going on in the Watchmen's universe. Getting to my point, a 3 and 1/2 hour version of "Watchmen" will be put together along with the animated footage of "The Black Freighter" put in where it appeared in the original graphic novel. Snyder also wants to do a theatrical release of a director's cut version sometime in July. This'll include things like **SPOLIER ALERT** Hollis' death (which won't be shown in the original release) and more of Dr. Manhattan's "naked blueness."

Oh, and if you're one of those people that are wondering about the sequel, you can forget about it. Snyder, along with everyone else in the Esplande Ballroom, hissed at the thought.

"It's like a sequel to Moby Dick," he said.

Sadly, my camera's SD card was acting up so I only have one video from the panel to share with you all. Here's Patrick Wilson talking about how his character, Dan Drieberg/Nite Owl II, is the one that most fans identify with and root for . . .

[all photos and video courtesy of Nina Penalosa]

I think my favorite question asked was directed to Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who plays the Comedian. During the Q&A a fan said that his portrayal of the Comedian was awesome (apparently this kid got to watch the special WonderCon midnight showing on Friday), but wanted to know if he would ever consider playing someone who doesn't die.

Y'all know his brief stint on "Grey's Anatomy" right? Okay then. 'Nuff said.

Don't forget, "Watchmen" is out this Friday, the 6th!

WonderCon: Day 1

Not much to report, folks. More to come in the following days . . . 

Special sneak peek of UP

[photo courtesy of Disney/Pixar]

Director Pete Docter will be on hand to give fans a peek into Pixar's 10th Disney film "UP" at this year's WonderCon on Saturday, Feb. 28. 

And at 7:30 over at the Metreon (which is near WonderCon's Moscone Center South location), a special screening of the first 45 minutes of "UP" will be shown. Sorry to the public, but this is for WonderCon attendees only. Seating is limited to 250, so be there early if you want in! And make sure you have your badge. Otherwise, you're S.O.L.

For more info, be sure to check out WonderCon's official site.

WonderCon screening of Watchmen

Three-Day and Friday only members for WonderCon have a chance to score a free pass to attend an IMAX screening of "Watchmen" on Feb. 27 at 11:55 p.m. For those that are going (and eligible), head on over to the WonderCon Boutique Booth (#242) for chance to win from 5-7 p.m.

Holy sh!t, right? AH!

And to add the the excitement, director Zack Snyder and the cast will be at the convention on Saturday for a special "Watchmen" panel. 

Chuck's first time @ WonderCon

[photo courtesy of NBC]

NBC's action/comedy show "Chuck" will be making it's first appearance at San Francisco's WonderCon on Sunday, March 1. 

Co-Creators/Executive Producers Josh Schwartz ("Gossip Girl," "The OC") and Chris Fedak will be there for a special presentations and Q&A. Chuck himself, Zachary Levi, has recently been added to join in on the festivities along with co-stars Yvonne Strahovski and Joshua Gomez. 

Goob Tube loves us some "Chuck," so we (or at least I) will make sure to get in on the panel! If you haven't seen "Chuck" you can easily catch up. Season 1 is out on DVD and Blu-Ray and this season's episodes can be seen online. Or you can catch it on Mondays at 8 on the peacock channel. So many options!

PS: At last year's Comic Con, Zachary Levi looked into my camera and smiled. It was magical. See it here.

You're Toast, Nite Owl

Pamela was right. Y'all are gonna be seeing lots of Watchmen posts here!

While roaming around Flickr, I saw that Dan Goodsell, artist/creator of Mr Toast, posted some paintings he did of Mr Toast and his pals as characters from Watchmen on his account.

Take a looksie:

Lemonhead as the Comedian

Shaky Bacon as Silk Spectre

Clem Lemon as Doctor Manhattan

Mr Toast as Nite Owl

[all photos courtesy of Dan Goodsell]

Joe the Egg as Rorschach

If you like what you see and happen to be going to WonderCon next week in San Francisco, stop by Dan's booth and say hi! He'll be somewhere in the exhibit hall . . . I can't seem to find him on the lists of exhibitors though. I know, I'm supposed to be here to inform you! Well, just go find a booth with a dude and plush toys shaped like breakfast food. Mmm . . . breakfast.