Comic-Con '08: Thursday's Manga and Anime Highlights

After the fun of Preview Night, Thursday at 9:30 am is when the doors fly open for a full day of fun at San Diego Comic-Con 2008. From Bat Manga to Street Fighter's 20th anniversary bash, here's a few of the anime and manga highlights you'll find on the schedule for today:

12:00 noon - 1:00 pm The New Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D’s: English-Language World Premiere - Room 5AB
See a premiere of the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's television series, and meet the team behind the show, including—straight from Japan: producer Teruaki Jitsumatsu (Transformers: Robots in Disguise). Yumi Hoashi of Konami, and representatives from UpperDeck, 4KidsEntertainment, and Playmates Toys will also reveal what's in store for Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's fans. Added bonus: "while supplies last, a few surprises for attendees!"

12:00 noon - 1:00 pm Classics Illustrated - Room 32AB
Back in the day, Classics Illustrated gave comics fans fun, easy to digest versions of timeless literature. Now there's Manga Bibles, manga Shakespeare, and Moby Dick graphic novels. What goes into turning classic prose into gripping graphic novels? Rick Geary, Roy Thomas, David Seidman, and Jim Salicrup (editor-in-chief, Papercutz) reveal how they've been doing it.

3:00 pm – 7:00 pm EigoManga Portfolio Review - Portfolio Review Area D
eigoMANGA is reviewing submissions for "original manga or manga-inspired works to be published in their line of graphic novels and anthology magazines." Hm! A new anthology magazine from EigoManga in the works? Must find out more...

3:15 pm - 4:15 pm Capcom: The Making of Street Fighter IV - Room 6CDEF
Producer Yoshinoro Ono (Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams) and associate producer David Crislip deliver an exclusive behind-the-scenes peek at the making of the upcoming Street Fighter IV video game and Street Fighter mini-movies, featuring the design of classic and new characters. "There will be a Q&A session as well as Street Fighter-related surprises!" Street Fighter cosplayers especially welcome to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of this classic whack 'em, sack 'em video game.

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Manga: Lost in Translation - Room 3
Meet the unsung heros of America's manga revolution: the translators. Find out the unique challenges that come with translating Japanese cultural and language quirks into dialogue that sounds, well, not so much like Babblefish babble. Panelists include William Flanagan (Fairy Tail), Jonathan Tarbox (Switch), Jason Thompson (Manga: The Complete Guide), Mari Morimoto (Naruto), Stephen Paul (Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad), Julie Davis (Anime Classics Zettai!), and Mark Simmons (Gundam 00).

3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Bat-Manga! Chip Kidd and the Secret History of Batman in Japan - Room 30AB Holy rice balls, Batman! Award winning graphic designer and passionate Batman memorabilia collector Chip Kidd shares stories and pages from Bat Manga!, his upcoming collection of Japanese Batman manga originally published in Shonen King magazine in 1967. Narrated slide show, with Q&A to follow. Read an interview with Chip Kidd and Saul Ferris, the authors of Bat Manga!

4:15 pm - 5:15 pm Afro Samurai: Resurrection Exclusive Worldwide Premiere! - Room 6B
Hollywood star power will be in full effect at the Afro Samurai panel. Star and executive producer Samuel L. Jackson (The Spirit), Afro Samurai's manga creator Takashi Okazaki, Wu-Tang rap star and Afro Samurai soundtrack guru The RZA (Kill Bill), and executive producer Leo Chu (Spike TV) will show off the worldwide premiere of the exclusive Comic-Con trailer of Afro Samurai Resurrection, artwork from the manga due out in September from Seven Seas Manga, and demos of the Afro Samurai video game.

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Bandai Entertainment’s Anime Invasion - Room 4
So far in 2008, Bandai Entertainment has brought Code Geass, Lucky Star, Gurren Lagann, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Sword of the Stranger, Ghost Slayers Ayashi, Gundam 00 to American anime fans. Now Bandai Entertainment president Ken Iyadomi and director of marketing Robert Napton will share more on their new and upcoming releases and just might give out some free schwag too.

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm The Secret History of Manga in the U.S. - Room 4
Manga editor, author and expert Jason Thompson presents his strange but true tour through the lesser known cul-de-sacs of manga's history in America, including Mixxzine, TokyoPop's early hip-hop infused attempt at a manga magazine and "ninja... lots of ninja."

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Random House Publishing - Room 10
The Random House Publishing Group, including Betsy Mitchell (editor-in-chief, Del Rey), Dallas Middaugh (associate publisher, Del Rey Manga), Mutsumi Miyazaki (director of licensing and acquisitions, Del Rey Manga), Chris Schluep (senior editor, RHPG), and Tricia Narwani (editor, RHPG) discuss upcoming titles from Del Rey, Del Rey Manga, Ballantine, and Villard Graphic Novels.

6:25 pm - 8:00 pm Independents: A Guide for the Creative Spirit- Room 26AB
What does it really take to be a successful comic book creator? This documentary explores the personality traits and driving passions of the successful writer/artist, through interviews with dozens of acclaimed comic book creators. Post-screening Q&A participants include Wendy Pini (Elfquest), Kevin Eastman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Jim Woodring (Frank), Shannon Wheeler (Too Much Coffee Man), Keith Knight (The Knight Life), Dr. James Kaufman, and director Chris Brandt. Screening as part of the Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival (CCI:IFF).

6:45 pm - 7:45 pm Robotech Industry Panel - Room 6B
Tommy Yune, director of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, covers the history of the animated series that introduced a generation to anime and "discusses upcoming new releases in the wake of the announcement of the live-action feature film." Robotech live action film? Huh! I missed that memo...

7:15 pm - 8:15 pm Adventures in Anime - Room 6A
Quinton Flynn (Axel from Kingdom Hearts, Reno from Final Fantasy, Raiden from MGS) and Emmy winner Jeff Nimoy (director of Digimon, Naruto, Wolfwood from Trigun) talk about their careers and their adventures on tour, answer your questions, and "sing their famous Yaoi Song from AdventuresInAnime.com!" Yikes!

All-Day Events:

Ticketing for Saturday 10 am autograph session with Tite Kubo VIZ Media booth #4113
Be one of the first 50 people to buy Bleach books, official tees or merchandise at the VIZ Media store and get a ticket and a special shikishi (autograph board) for Saturday's 10 am autograph session.

Ticketing for Friday and Saturday autograph sessions with Hiro Mashima - The Comic Cellar Booth #806
Mashima-sensei will be at two autograph sessions at Comic-Con (Friday from 2:30 – 3:30 at the Del Rey Manga booth, and Saturday at the Comic-Con Autographing Area from 4:30 – 5:30 pm). Both events are limited to fans who have got their tickets by purchasing their copies of Fairy Tail at the Comic Cellar Booth. Tickets are limited, so get 'em early.

Demo and Preview of Manga Studio 4 for Windows at Smith Micro Booth #4516
It's not due in the stores until Fall '08, but get a peek at the new features that'll be available in Manga Studio 4 at the Smith Micro booth. Global manga artist (Rhysmyth) and Manga Studio master Lincy Chan will be on hand to show you how it's done.

11:00 pm – 4:00 pm Astro Boy "Hair Makeovers" at Imagi Studios Booth #3530
If you ever wondered how Astro Boy gets his hair to point in two directions, well, Imagi Studios will give you an opportunity to see how the pros do it. According to info posted on Anime News Network, Imagi Studios is offering free Astro Boy hair makeovers for Comic-Con attendees in honor of the upcoming feature-length Astro Boy movie due out in 2009. Just watch yourself in the crowds – you could take someone's eye out with a dangerous 'do like that...

11:00 am – 3:00 pm Dark Horse Comics Portfolio Review - Portfolio Review Area B
Dark Horse editors are looking for new talent, but they're also very keen that you show them sequential art (e.g. actual comic book stories vs. pin-ups, minimum 5 pages from a single story), so look at their guidelines posted on their website, polish up your portfolio for your next big shot at comics superstardom -- or at least a freelance check or two.

10:00 am - 1:30 am Non-Stop Anime in the Anime Rooms: 24BC, 25AB and 25C
Need to take a break from the Exhibit Hall madness? Spend a few minutes in the dark, comfy confines of the Anime Rooms. Films include: Emma: A Victorian Romance, Comic Party, Code Geass, Otoboku: Maidens Are Falling for Me. See the online schedule.