NYCC 2012: Open the Fridge News Roundup!

Hello, Fridge divers!  Your intrepid editor-in-chief here.

With another thrilling and successful convention safely under our belts, New York Comic-Con has (sadly) come and gone.  We had a pretty damn great time (you should totally attend next year if you haven't yet), and we had lots to report by the time we got back.

But did you catch it all?  Our discussions with the masterminds behind DC Animated films?  Our panel reports?  Our interview with the man behind the voices you grew up with?

To make sure you catch all of the our great coverage from NYCC 2012, we've rounded up all of our articles right in one convenient location!

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• Pre-NYCC: The Fridgecast, Episode 17 - Con Air
  • Sr. Editor Tek and I talk about our experiences at Baltimore Comic-Con in September, and what we're looking forward to at NYCC prior to our arrival at the Javits Convention Center.
• Dark Horse Brings Us the Greatest Hero In the Mass Effect Universe
  
  • Enkindle this! Dark Horse has brought us some great comics set in the ME universe, but only now do we get the backstory behind the real hero.  Shepard who?
• Rob Paulsen At NYCC
  • Our Sr. Editor Tek catches up with the legendary voice actor Rob Paulsen to ask about his Talkin' Toons podcast and more!  Paulsen, whom you know better as the voices of Raphael, Yakko Warner, and Pinky (among many, many others), quite simply is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet.
• A Very Venture Interview
  • With The Venture Bros. finally returning later this month for a Halloween special and a new season early next year, we caught up with series creators Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer to talk about the upcoming festivities.  They, uh, talked about their other theories.
• Skip Brittenham and Brian Haberlin Shows Us "Anomaly"
  • This new and massive graphic novel is notable not only for its epic story and beautiful art, but also for its new tech-focused presentation.  Creators Skip Brittenham and Brian Haberlin talk about Anomaly and how it looks toward the future of consuming media.
• Panel Report: "666 Park Avenue"
  • Our Sr. Contributor/ace TV fangirl Amy made her way to the panel room to hear from the cast and crew of the new series, starring Lost's Terry O'Quinn.
• Panel Report: Green Lantern - The Third Army Arrives
  • Sr. Editor Tek, Green Lantern of Sector OTF, visits the panel to get all the juicy details of the new event spanning all of DC's GL titles in the New 52.
• Panel Report: "Arrow"
  • Sr. Editor Tek once again hits the panel rooms to get the info - this time on the Emerald Archer, Oliver Queen.  Check out all the details of this gritty telling of Green Arrow, and see the new sizzle reel straight from the panel room.  Is that... Jack Harkness?!
• "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2" Roundtable with Andrea Romano
  • Emmy-winning voice director Andrea Romano takes on the DC Animated universe once again, directing the animated adaptation of Batman's more famous stories.  Romano discusses the process behind the voices, how Lost's Michael Emerson became the Joker, what makes Kevin Conroy so special and more!
• "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2" Roundtable with Bruce Timm
  • Sr. Editor Tek sat down at the table with "The Architect of the DC Animated Universe" Bruce Timm, discussing the challenges with bringing the Frank Miller work to the screen and lots more.
• DC Animated's 2013 Film Lineup
  • Straight from the "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" panel at the IGN Theatre, we've got the full lineup of films slated for release in 2013, with trailers to accompany them.  Check out what's in store -- including what could be Warner Home Video's most ambitious adaptation yet!
• An Interview with Redbubble's Peter Tomassi
  • Sr. Contributor Amy tracks down CCO Peter Tomassi to talk about the artist-friendly focus behind Redbubble, the marketplace that empowers creators with the tools to connect and to sell their work directly with the public.
• The Fridgecast, Episode 18 - A New York Comic-Con State of Mind
  • Finally settling off of our respective con highs, Tek, Amy, and I recount the stories of the weekend and why such this atmosphere of chaos and crazy somehow revitalizes us for more.

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Yeah, so when I said there was plenty of coverage -- I wasn't kidding!  I'm super proud of the great work that the three of us were able to accomplish during the convention weekend and over the following week.  We currently have even more slated to come up in the future from the seeds we've planted with our NYCC connections, so be sure to be on the lookout for them.

If you like our coverage, please spread the word!  Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, subscribe to us on YouTube, add our podcast to your iTunes feed... and, most importantly, spread the love!  We love doing this stuff, and we love bringing it to you -- and the more Fridge divers we get, the more we'll be able to do so.

This is our final convention of 2012, but we're far from done -- we've still got TV recaps, video game news, and comic reviews to bring your way!  Check back often, and keep Opening the Fridge!

NYCC 2012: An Interview with Redbubble's Peter Tomassi

RedBubble's cool, eco-friendly pop-up shop on the floor of NYCC.

Redbubble is a cool artist-driven company that puts unique art on all sorts of fun products from t-shirts to iPhone cases.  Focused on helping artists "share their authentic, high-quality work with the world," Redbubble seeks to provide products that reflect the current cultural trends.

Redbubble's Chief Community Officer Peter Tomassi sat down with Open the Fridge at New York Comic-Con to chat about their unique business model, the cool art it carries from artists worldwide, and the role it's playing in global geek culture.

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Open the Fridge: Let's talk about Redbubble and your brand – how did you get started and what are you all about?

Peter Tomassi: When we started the site back in 2007 in Melbourne, Australia, all the founders were artists or writers themselves. They wanted to build a site for themselves, their friends and their colleagues that would allow artists to upload work and connect them with the facilities to print, manufacture and ship that work to people all over the world who were interested in buying it. We've actually grown quite a bit in five years; we used to have three artists and now we have over 220,000 around the world in just about every country, many of which are represented here. Together, they have uploaded more than 9 million works and have approximately 60 canvases to print on, meaning t-shirts, posters, art prints, skatedecks, iPad/iPhone cases, etc. or any item in the home, or on apparel that would benefit from original art. We're not just a community, we're also a business and a marketplace. And those 9 million works are literally available in hundreds of millions of configurations.

We've tried to build not only a platform for artists, but effectively a retail site, offering an alternative to what the mainstream malls and stores offer people. We don't think that what people wear, put on their walls, put on their phones, or put in their dorm rooms should be dictated buy a couple VPs of marketing for big brands. That kind of monotony really bothers us – we've taken the opposite approach. We don't decide what is popular on Redbubble; artists do. We encourage and nurture them through contests; we had a contest to develop our official poster for NYCC; this artist is from Gdansk, Poland and it's someone who might not have the exposure otherwise.  This artist is going to now be on CNN next week. So we continue to provide artists with a platform for selling their work, we faciliatate the logistics, shipping and so forth, and they get a cut of the proceeds; they can actually set their margin.  Not everything is exactly the same price – an artist can put a value on their work. If they want they can make a $25 t-shirt, or if they want they can make a $70 t-shirt. So the artists have a lot of control over the front end. We also do some our own marketing, getting them exposure so our site is authentic, honest and very searchable. For us, our artists are the spotlight and we really take a backseat.  We are really a platform to empower artists.

Please.

Hit the jump for the full interview with the awesome Peter Tomassi about Redbubble and what makes it unique for both the artist and the consumer!

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NYCC 2012: "The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2" Roundtable with Bruce Timm

You just can't get enough DC at a comic-con these days. In addition to our NYCC coverage of what to expect from Green Lantern in comics and from Arrow on television, we're also excited to share what we've heard about the future of DC home video. We sat down with the architect of DC Animation, Bruce Timm, at a roundtable discussion to talk about Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2, the latest home video release from DC Entertainment.

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Most film adaptations of comic book properties tend to abridge the material and leave certain parts on the cutting room floor. Was there anything from Frank Miller's orignal story that didn't make it into the film?

Bruce Timm: There's nothing really big that was left out. We had a lot of elbow room since we had two movies to spread out in. I think we got all of the important stuff in there.

Since the story has been broken up into two parts, was it difficult to find an appropriate point to separate the two halves?

BT: It's a pretty even split. The original comic was four thick issues and we split it right after issue two. We jury rigged the endng [og Part 1] a bit, moving up the scene where Joker wakes up in Arkham Asylum in order to make that the cliffhanger, but other than that, it was pretty obvious where to do it.

The Dark Knight Returns carries a PG-13 rating and there have been rumors that The Killing Joke might be adapted to an animated feature. Can this potentially push animated films towards an R rating?

BT: There is a discussion that comes up now and then about broadening the marketplace and maybe doing an R-rated DC adaptation. For a while, we were talking about The Killing Joke. After the theater shooting this summer, I don't think anyone wants to go that route with these animated movies at the moment. But the possibility does still come up of us doing something a little more adult. It almost happened with Dark Knight, Part 2. Part 2 is actually pretty violent in places and we were crossing our fingers, hoping we wouldn't get an R rating and have to go back and cut something out. But we got PG-13, thankfully, but it could happen down the road. It's tricky. You don't want to make an R-rated Batman movie just for the sake of making an R-rated Batman movie, so it has to be something that feels appropriate for the material. We'll see what happens down the line.

Is there a possibility of seeing a part 3 and 4?

BT: You mean Dark Knight Strikes Again? I would be willing to give it a shot. If the numbers come back on this one and are huge, and we get interest from [Warner] Home Video to do more, I'm ready.

Hit the jump for the full discussion with the true architect of the DC Animated Universe!

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NYCC 2012: "The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2" Roundtable with Andrea Romano

"I wish Andrea Romano was my grandmother. Is that weird?"

That's an actual comment on an interview with Andrea, and, quite frankly, not the first time I've heard something to that effect.  And for the record, no, it isn't weird (although you should brush up on your understanding of the subjunctive mood.)  She's just that delightful.

Andrea Romano, eight-time Emmy award winning voice director, is responsible for casting and directing the voices behind practically all animated projects that have been truly great from the past 20 years.  Whenever you see her name attached to an project, you can implicitly trust that it's going to be amazingly acted and worth watching.  Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: the Animated Series, Spongebob Squarepants, Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Justice League, The Boondocks, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra... her list goes on and on, and the quality of each project maintains an astoundingly high level.

More than that, though, if you have had the pleasure to meet her, you know she is just an amazingly kind woman with an incredible directing talent in her own right.  Her smile lights up the press room, and you could literally listen to her read the phone book for hours.

We sat down with the legendary voice director at New York Comic Con to talk about Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 2, and the incredible talent she has worked with over her prolific career.

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With all of the success of the Chris Nolan movies, was there a pressure to differentiate your sound with this similarly dark, but ultimately very different Batman?

Andrea Romano: I love the voice actors that I work with.  It makes me very happy because they're really skilled at this work, for the most part.  It's all about finding the right actor first of all, and then just letting them do what they do.

But I don't try to compare myself to the live action films; they're such a different animal.  There's a lot of things we can do because it's animated that live action films just plain can't do.

The fight walla, that stuff is always a challenge, and these particular two films - part 1 and part 2 of this Dark Knight piece - are so fight heavy. So, that's just one of those voice things where you just try to make sure you don't rip the actors' throat out because after two or three hours of just [glottal grunts], it could be painful.

Michael Emerson [cast as the Joker in TDKR]: did you find him or did he find you?

AR: I found him at Comic-Con San Diego a couple years ago.  I had admired his work on Lost so much, and I asked him, "would you be interested ever in doing an animated project if the right role came up?"  And he said, "I think that would be great fun."

When this piece came up, I said, "Oh well, would you like to be the Joker?"  And he jumped on it, and he had a great time.  Although he did tell me that he thought it was the hardest work he's ever done. I think it was kind of out of his wheelhouse; it wasn't something he had much experience in.

And so we recorded him - I was in LA; here was here in New York shooting Person of Interest, I believe. It was the first time I've ever recorded by Skype so I could watch him because working with an actor when you can see them, as opposed to only hearing their voices, is very helpful.  And then, for them to be able to see me, so that I can direct them physically - as they say, a picture would be worth a thousand words - that was very helpful too.

Peter Weller can invest heavily in a character. Was there anything about his technique that really stood out for you?

AR: The thing is Peter is a good actor, in and of himself. [What] I didn't know was that he was a major comic book fan, so he was really familiar with the source material.  I think that's what appealed to him about doing it was he knew already how good the graphic novels were. Bob Goodman wrote a beautiful script, adapted from the graphic novels, and so all of those things combined made [Weller] say, "Yes, I want to be a part of this."  And I think he was familiar with some of our previous projects, so that was all good too.

But I think as far as -- if I can't use Kevin Conroy (because I do love using Kevin Conroy whenever I can, and Mark Hamill as well) -- this was a really good bit of casting.  I'm not just saying that; I don't just cast all by myself. There's a group of about 10 people that have input as to ideas of who we could cast. We create a list of the number one choice, two, three, four... And sometimes that's in no particular order [in terms of ability] - it's just that we think we can get a fast response if we go to [a particular person.] But Peter, I think, was top choice, and he said yes right away, and that was very, very good.

Hit the jump for the full interview with the amazing voice director, including tidbits on with whom she'd like to work and what makes Kevin Conroy so special!

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NYCC 2012: "Arrow" Panel Report

Sunday at NYCC kicked off bright and early in the IGN theater with a panel showcasing Arrow, The CW’s newest live action series based in the DCU. Since Arrow had already premiered four days prior (as the most-watched show on the CW in three years), the audience was able to provide feedback and opinions on what they had seen, as well as receive a few hints about what to expect in season one.

Moderating the panel was DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns, who clearly gets to do a lot more than write comics now. Joining him was Arrow executive producer, and fellow comic writer, Marc Guggenheim, and cast members Stephen Amell (Oliver Queen), Katie Cassidy (Laurel Lance), and Willa Holland (Thea Queen). Before the discussion got going, the audience was treated to a new trailer for season one, featuring some DC heroes, villains, and a few surprises. Check out the trailer below.

Sharp-eyed fans will spot Deadshot, Deathstroke, Huntress, China White, and The Royal Flush Gang among the DC characters that will cross Oliver Queen’s path this season. And I think I speak for many fans when I say, “Holy sh*t, John Barrowman!”

Hit the jump to read more about what to expect from Season One of Arrow!

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NYCC 2012: Green Lantern - The Third Army Arrives

It wouldn’t be New York Comic-Con without our annual dose of Green Lantern from the ring-slinging brain trust at DC Comics. With the Third Army currently rising from the pages of the four Lantern titles, fans were curious to hear about what will befall the seven (potentially nine) corps in the coming months. Once again moderating the panel was Bob Wayne, DC’s Sr. VP of Sales, who was joined by editors Matt Idelson and Pat McCallum, writer Peter J. Tomasi (Green Lantern Corps), and artist Aaron Kuder (Green Lantern: New Guardians).

To get the ball rolling, Tomasi put it all right out there for the audience. “You’ll see some pretty intense stuff happening in those books coming out. The rise is right now but it really kicks into an all-out war with the Guardians being the uber bad guys.”

Starting with the flagship Green Lantern title, Idelson briefly brought up the newest GL, Simon Baz, who is quickly becoming a fan-favorite. His brush with the Justice League at the end of GL #13 will lead to some "action, although the way Geoff [Johns] handled it is pretty unusual and pretty funny. It leads him into his next mess in the next issue, but I'm reticent to say anything because I'll be fired."

Switching gears to Green Lantern Corps, the projector screen showcased and image featuring Guy Gardner surrounded by police officers. “A lot of bad, bad mojo happens to Guy in these next issues,” Tomasi said, adding that Baz would be looking for help from Guy on how to use his ring. “It’s just two guys kicking some serious Third Army ass.” Tomasi also gave an explanation for why Lantern Vandor, whom he developed over the course of the last year, was the first Corpsman to join the ranks of the Third Army. “Vandor got taken out because he was around for a while in Corps and it meant something for him to go instead of a random ‘red shirt.’ The next two issues will be pretty crazy. It kicks into a full out war. After what happens at the end of #13, Guy is full of himself and the next issue brings him down to Earth. He’s in a very tenuous position and he may be without a ring.”

Click below to read more about what DC has planned for The Third Army!

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NYCC 2012: "666 Park Avenue" Panel Report

This past weekend, 666 Park Avenue made their NYCC debut with a packed panel featuring the entire cast (all nine of them!) and two producers. Fans of this new and upcoming show were treated to a highlight reel and some great insight into the show's direction from all in attendance. OTF was there to catch all the juicy tidbits! 

For those of you who have yet to discover the world of 666 Park Ave, it centers on the Drake, an apartment building owned by New York power couple Gavin and Olivia Doran (the fantastic Terry O'Quinn and Vanessa Williams). The premiere sees them hiring new building managers Jane and Henry (Rachel Taylor and Dave Annable), who don't realize that sinister things are afoot at the Drake until after they've signed their contract.  It seems that all of the residents at the Drake have a reason for coming to Gavin for help of some kind, and in the process of getting what they desire, they appear to be selling their soul (which makes Gavin the Devil! Or at least in Satan's employ).  In fact, O'Quinn compared the contracts that each resident has signed as including "an option on their soul." Creepy! Jane is already on her way to discovering the sketchy history of the Drake, as several forays into the basement have revealed some interesting signs and symbols. I was pretty much hooked from the start, plus you know how much I love me some Terry O'Quinn.  I wasn't the only one, as the audience at NYCC was seriously populated with Lost devotees! 

Other cast in attendance included Mercedes Masöhn (The Finder), Robert Buckley (One Tree Hill), Helena Mattsson (Iron Man 2), Erik Palladino (Malucci of ER fame, remember that dude?) and Samantha Logan (Law & Order: SVU), along with executive producers Matthew Miller (who cut his teeth on Chuck & Human Target) and David Wilcox (one of my homeboys from Fringe). With talent like this attached to the show, I have high hopes!  

The moderator led most of the panel, asking insightful questions and trying to pry some info from the tight-lipped producers.  The cast repeatedly said they are mostly completely in the dark as to who their characters truly are. Erik Palladino, whose character works the front desk, was asked if the Drake was the gateway to hell, than is he the gatekeeper?  He wasn't able to say, but he did hint that he was linked to the Drake in a special way. 15-year-old Samantha Logan's Nona is speculated to be a ghost, as she always has the same earbuds in, and she can see things before they happen. I have to admit, I didn't think of that one!  I like it! O'Quinn and Williams chatted about being evil characters and the fun of playing that, with O'Quinn comparing Gavin to his later Lost seasons, where he was possessed by the Man in Black. He noted, however, that Gavin had absolutely none of the vulnerability that the MiB did, as he is straight-up sinister, cruel, and unforgiving. The two also made the audience wonder how they became this way, as the show as already hinted at the tragic loss of their child.  There are many dynamics and storylines here, and the actors were looking forward to exploring them in depth.

The cast was extremely enthused about one another, their working environment, and filiming on location in New York City. For a few of them, this was a bit of a homecoming (although not Rachel Taylor - she is Australian! I had no idea, her American accent is quite good) and they were excited to be back on the East Coast after long stints in Hollywood. The cast then took questions from fans, with many professing their love for O'Quinn and Williams. One good question asked each cast member what their favorite horror film is - O'Quinn said Wait Until Dark; Williams' fave is The Shining. When the panel wrapped a few minutes later, I managed to rush the stage and get some pretty sassy pics of the entire cast! 

 

You can check out 666 Park Avenue on Sunday nights at 10pm on ABC. 

NYCC 2012: Skip Brittenham and Brian Haberlin Shows Us "Anomaly"

When you're traversing the chaos of the convention floor at NYCC, there are some comics that just speak to you.  The art is particularly compelling, the words are striking, or the premise is something new -- something that just makes the comic book just jump out at you.

When I came across Anomaly, something did jump out at me - quite literally.

Created by long-time entertainment industry collaborator Skip Brittenham and acclaimed artist Brian Haberlin, Anomaly is a 370-page "epic science-fiction adventure" set in the year 2717 that tells the story of a group of people that are sent on a seemingly easy first contact mission to a new world.  When they arrive, however, they discover that the whole mission was a ruse, and they were sent there to die by the forces that be.

That sounds like it's already a premise we sci-fi nerds like us can get behind, but there's a brand new component to this reading experience as well in the form of two companion apps that flesh out the reader's immersion into the Anomaly universe.

The first is an augmented reality app that will come free with the purchase of the massive, landscape-style tome.  Characters will literally pop out of the page when the reader's camera is pointed at the book -- no silly QR codes required.  It was really amazing to see the technology just understand at what you're looking and populate the screen with an interactive model that you can literally touch and poke.  Moreover, any character or creature that can be pulled up on the AR app also comes with a full appendix explaining who or what they are in the Anomaly universe.

The second app is a standalone tablet app with a full, motion comic version of Anomaly programmed right in.  Completely customizable, the reader can change how they experience the full story -- with or without a full assortment of voice actors reading the story to you, automatic progression, and info touchpoints.

Check out our interview with the creators for even more details about this brand new project, and for a demo of the new AR tech with the book!

Anomaly will be released November 15th.  You can pre-order your copy here!  (And, if it's any indication, we hear that the exclusive pre-release copies offered at NYCC sold out before the weekend was over -- so you had better pre-order today!)

NYCC 2012: A Very Venture Interview

The Venture Bros. returns!  (soon.)

After what feels like an interminable hiatus, The Venture Bros. will finally return later this month for a Halloween special, "A Very Venture Halloween," with the rest of season 5 to follow in 2013.

We. Cannot. Wait.

At NYCC, Tek and I had the pleasure of catching Venture creators, Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer, at their panel in the packed IGN Theatre.  In that rousing edition of "Let's All Smoking," the incomparable duo (along with Venture voice actors Michael Sinterniklaas and Paul Boocock) drank Fresca, smoked e-cigarettes, answered some fan questions, and showed a few clips and a sizzle reel.

As Col. Hunter Gathers says in the reel, the upcoming season promises to "make your life bright and motherfu$*ing cheery."

I don't doubt it.

Following the panel, Tek had the opportunity to speak with the creators, culminating in what could possibly be the funniest interview we've ever had the pleasure to record.

I mean, we tried asking about the upcoming special, but, well... just watch for yourself.

"A Very Venture Halloween" airs on October 28, 2012 at 11:30 on Adult Swim.  Season 5 is currently slated to following soon after, in January 2013.

(Thank you so very much to Jackson Publick and Doc Hammer for kindly chatting with us!  Couldn't have asked for a better, more hilarious interview!)

DC Nation Slips to 2013 After Only Airing 2 Episodes Following Summer Hiatus

Tired and groggy after a closing night of partying at NYCC followed by an early flight back to my home in DC, I turned on my television to hit my DVR and catch the stuff I missed over the con weekend.

As I unpacked, I looked my recordings of DC Nation.  Young Justice and Green Lantern: The Animated Series are excellent examples of great, youth-oriented animated series (although not without faults), and I'd be able to enjoy them while nearly passing out.

But then, something odd happened.

Neither Young Justice's "Before the Dawn" and Green Lantern's "Steam Lantern" were recorded -- instead two episodes of Dragons: Riders of Berk were in their place.

A little searching revealed that the entire DC Nation block was pushed back to January 2013, based on a mysterious tweet from the Cartoon Network:

Hey #DCNation fans! Have you heard?? DC Nation will return in January with all new episodes!

— Cartoon Network (@cartoonnetwork) October 13, 2012

A bit curious, considering that the shows literally returned from an extended hiatus two weeks prior.

The schedule change must have been so abrupt that even the people in NYCC didn't seem to know it happened -- as the new DC Nation sizzle reel was released for all to see over the weekend.

Cartoon Network seems to be avoiding all opportunity to give any extended rationale for the abrupt push back, but some are speculating that they will be holding off until Beware the Batman finally arrives, while others are saying that TMNT's recent success on Nickelodeon (starring friend of OTF, Rob Paulsen!) are pulling viewers away.

Either way, the only people this really affects are the fans of Young Justice and GL:TAS.  Young Justice, being a extensively serialized series, would be the most troubled by these schedule shifts, as the constant breaks alienate potential new viewers and disappoint current viewers.

To say we're disappointed would be an understatement. Hopefully our DVRs will automatically record the new episodes when they resume in January because, by that point, we'll forget they were ever even set to air in the first place.