WonderCon 2009: Saturday's Manga and Anime Highlights

Day Two of WonderCon at the Moscone Center South in San Francisco begins at 10 am today and keeps on going until almost midnight with the WonderCon Masquerade (a.k.a. the pro cosplay event). If you're not into costumes, the cool kids are headed to Isotope Comics in not-that-faraway Hayes Valley for a party for 100 Bullets creators Brian Azzarello and Dave Johnson from 7 pm to midnight.

Saturday is also movie day, with previews of the new Pixar / Disney film UP, Watchmen, Astro Boy, the much-talked about new Star Trek movie and Terminator Salvation, starring the oh-so-tempetuous Christian Bale. If you're into being the first to get the buzz on these flicks, be sure to line up to get your seat for these screenings early, because they'll probably be packed.

There'll also be lots of artists appearances at WonderCon, including a spotlight panels with Keith Knight (K Chronicles, Knight Life), Alex Robinson (Too Cool to Be Forgotten), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), Gene Yang (American Born Chinese) Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo) and Wendy Pini (Elfquest, Masque of the Red Death).

And if the Force is strong in you, visit Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill at Booths 1406 and 1408 today to get their signature on your Star Wars gear. Sorry, she won't be wearing that slave Leia outfit. You'll just have to use your imagination. See the rest of the celebs and semi-celebs who'll be autographing today.

Here's the rest of today's relatively manga-centric highlights:

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2009

• 11:00 am - 12:00 pm: Otaku USA Live! Manga, Anime and More, Room 232 / 234
  The editors and writers of Otaku USA magazine are in the house, spreading the gospel of the hardcore otaku lifestyle. Join Editor in Chief Patrick Macias, manga editors Jason Thompson, Ed Chavez, writer / artists Shaenon Garrity, Leia Weathington and video game reviewers Emily Balistrieri and Heidi Kemps, a.k.a. Zerochan as they free chat about whatever catches their passing fancy. And to make it worth your while, they'll be giving out free manga!
• 11:30 am - 12:30 pm: Warner Brothers Presents: Watchmen, Esplanade Ballroom
  Oooh, talk about your cross-programming. Watchmen director Zack Snyder and members of the Watchmen cast (!) will be on hand to talk about 2009's most-talked about movie. I'm sorry Otaku USA crew -- I'll like, hate myself if I miss this one...
• 11:30 am - 12:30 pm: Street Fighter IV, Room 232 / 234
  Meet the Capcom team as they showcase the coolest new features in the recently released kickin' and fightin' game, Street Fighter IV. And just because it's fun to do so, they'll be looking for audience members to show off their Street Fighter moves for prizes.

• 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm: Dark Horse, Room 104
  Marketing honcho Jeremy Atkins and editor Shawna Gore will talk about some of the new and notable coming attractions from Dark Horse. Granted, manga isn't the main focus of this event -- but would it kill 'em to give us just a little news about the CLAMP mangettes project?
• 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm: Spotlight on Jill Thompson, Room 232 / 234
  Comics creator Jill Thompson (you might know her from her work on Sandman and the very odd Death: At Death's Door manga-esque graphic novel that featured Sandman's not-so-grim reaper sister dressed as a Gothic Lolita) will be interviewed by fellow creator Mike Mignola
• 12:30 pm - 1:00 pm: Summit Entertainment: Astro Boy, Esplanade Ballroom
  Get a sneak peek at the upcoming Astro Boy movie, and see if this CGI version of Osamu Tezuka's atom-powered robot boy lives up to the legend. Summit Entertainment will also be previewing clips from Knowing, starring Nicholas Cage.
• 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm: Spotlight on Alex Robinson, Room 232 / 234
  Comics creator Alex Robinson (Too Cool To Be Forgotten, Box Office Poison and much more) will be talking about his comics, his craft and how he keeps pumping out the kind of high-quality graphic storytelling that keeps fans reading and wanting more.

• 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm: Comics Storytelling, Room 220
  Award-winning comics creators Gene Luen Yang (American Born Chinese), Thien Pham (Sumo) and Jen Wang (Flight) talk about how they approach telling their stories with pictures.
• 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm: Japanese Superheroes Now! 2009, Room 236 / 238
  What? You thought Japanese comics didn't have costumed superheroes? Au contraire! Author August Ragone (Eiji Tsuburaya: Master of Monsters) will showcase some of the current and cult favorites of Japanese TV, including Kamen Rider Decade, Shinkenger, Super 8 Ultra Brothers, and Ultra Galaxy: Monster Battle Neo. Also, because he can also rock it old school, Ragone will also showcase Gamera the Brave and Inazuman, both recently released on DVD.
• 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm: Sergio, Mark and Stan, Room 232 / 234
  Some of the funniest and fastest wits (and pens) in the West, cartoonist Sergio Aragones (Groo, Mad Magazine), Mark Evanier (Groo) and Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo) will chat (and likely laugh a lot) about their long and successful careers in comics.
• 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm: Mike Mignola Autograph Session at Dark Horse Booth 624
  Meet the creator of Hellboy and marvel at his mad sketchin' skills (not to mention his masterful command of pen and ink). If you loved the last two Hellboy movies, tell 'em so. If you didn't -- well, you know what your mama always said if you can't say nuttin' nice, right?
• 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm: CBLDF Live Jam, Room 220
  Top talents Jim Lee, Jill Thompson, Matt Wagner and Dave Johnson will create original art (projected on the big screen), with the finished products auctioned off to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. If you've been following current events, you know that the CBLDF is helping that guy who was arrested for ordering "obscene" manga from Japan. He might be facing 20 years in jail if things don't go his way, so he needs all the help he can get. Even if you don't buy a piece of art from this event, give a little bit to CBLDF to protect comic readers' and creators' rights.
• 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm: Disney / Pixar Presents: UP, Esplanade Ballroom
  So you say you missed seeing UP when it was previewed at New York Comic-Con a few weeks ago? Fear not! Here's another chance to get a peek at the latest release from Pixar about a retired balloon salesman, a wilderness scout, a house, and a lot of helium balloons. Also, at 5:30, fans will be allowed to line-up at the nearby Metreon Theater for a 7:30 showing of the first 45 minutes of UP. It's free, but admission is limited to the first 250 fans.
• 4:30 pm - 5:30 pm: Spotlight on Keith Knight, Room 236 / 238
  Quite possibly one of the funniest comic strip artists I know, Keith Knight (The Knight Life, K Chronicles and (th)INK) returns to the Bay Area, with one of his new comic muses, his son Jasper.
• 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm: Graphic Novels, Room 232 / 234
  Creators Wendy Pini (Elfquest, Masque of the Red Death), Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo), David Petersen (Mouse Guard) and Alex Robinson (Too Cool to Be Forgotten) talk with Andrew Farago from the Cartoon Art Museum about the art and craft of graphic storytelling.
• 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm: Nintendo, Room 104
  Reps from Nintendo of America will be on hand to showcase some of the newest and greatest games, including Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon for Nintendo DS,.
• 8:30 pm - 11:30 pm: Fifth Annual WonderCon Masquerade, Esplanade Ballroom
  If you've ever hung around San Francisco for Halloween, you know that this town is big on costumes. So there'll be no half-steppin' when the Bay Area's best cosplayers bring their A-game to the Moscone Center to compete for acclaim and prizes. Host Phil Foglio will keep things rolling until the last award is awarded.

• 7:00 pm - 12 midnight: Celebrating 100 Issues of 100 Bullets Party for Brian Azzarello and Dave Johnson, Isotope Comics, 326 Fell Street (at Gough) Ph: 415-621-6543.
  Schmooze with the cool comics kids and browse the fabulous selection of superhero, indie and art comics at Isotope Comics. If nothing else, you can ooh and aah at owner James Sime's collection of autographed toilet seats featuring sketches by some of comics' most interesting creators. (Yes, I said toilet seats. Got a problem with that?)

Here's also a list of booths and artists alley denizens worth visiting:

• Be Kyoot - Booth 741
• Capcom Entertainment - Booth 533
• Cartoon Art Museum - Booth 824
• Comic Relief - Booth 807
• Cool Jerk - Paul Horn - Artists Alley 077
• Dark Horse Comics - Booth 624
• Camilla d'Errico - Artists Alley 085
• eigoMANGA - Booth 847
• Jason Thompson and Leia Weathington - Small Press 37
• Gama-Go - Booth 1133
• Kinokuniya Bookstores - Booth 834
• Keith Knight - Artists Alley 027
• Lark Pien - Littlebird Books - Artists Alley 046
• Last Gasp - Booths 625, 627
• Namco Networks - Booth 841
• Oni Press - Booth 519
• Pascal Campion - Table D14
• Piximix - Small Press 21
• P.M.B.Q. Studios - Booth 1137
• Sakura of America - Booth 1432
• Sho Murase - Artists Alley 081
• Spicy Brown - Booth 1235
• Stan Sakai - Artists Alley 025
• Steamcrow Press - Booth 1025
• Stuart Ng Books - Booth 1021
• Super 7 - Booth 1232
• VIZ Media - Booth 835
• Wendy Pini - Artists Alley 050

Also, if you're up for a break from the Moscone Center madness, take a 3 block walk to the nearby Cartoon Art Museum at 655 Mission Street (near 3rd Street) to check out the Watchmen, Stan Sakai and Gene Colan exhibits.

Packin' up my camera now to join in the fun -- so I'll be there in a few. And if you're keen to get my real-time impressions of the event, check out my senseless acts of tweeting at my Twitter feed.