Cpl. Otter checks in from San Diego.

I spent Friday and Saturday at the excitment in San Diego.

If you are interested in my view of the con and the panels I attended, click on the Extended Entry.

(I didn’t see Kistler there. We were probably near each other more than once, but we’ve never met. In the crowds that were there, it shouldn’t be surprising.)

The first panel I went to was Spider-man Then and Now. Like practically everyone else in the room, I was there for a chance to see Stan “The Man” Lee in person. He is just like you’d expect– full of Stan-isms and humor. He stole the show from the rest of the panel.

The Superman Through the Ages Panel featured one Lois Lane (Noel Neill from the classic TV series), two Jimmy Olsens (Sam Huntington from the current Superman Returns movie and Marc McClure from the earlier movies), and Jack O’Halloran (Non from the movies). The main attraction was the sneak peeks of director Richard Donner’s cut of Superman II. His version of the movie, or a close approxmiation of what it was intended to be, is expected to be released on DVD in November. This version restores scenes filmed with Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder but not used in the version that was in theaters. Richard Donner also said that he will be writing a Superman story with Geoff Johns for Action Comics 844.

I got to the Bruce Timm retrospective, where he broke the news that he “does not hate Superman.” “Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet,” he said. He said he could not say anything yet about the project that he was working on next, but as he said this a large image of the Superman logo appeared on the screens. It was dripping in blood and suggested the Death of Superman story. “Where did that come from???” asked Timm, jokingly.

After that, I got a look at the upcoming Legion of Superheroes cartoon and heard many of the cast members give their take on their characters. It will feature a young Clark Kent who knows he has powers, but he is just learning what they are and how to use them. The Legion has brought him from the past to help them with a problem they have and in the process, teach him about what he is capable of. He will be called Superman, not Superboy, in the cartoon. The Legion fans present seemed enthusiastic about what he saw and heard.

On Saturday, the DC: One Year Greater panel featured the writers of just about every major DC book. It was here that the official announcement was made of DC’s new direct-to-DVD program for animation. Three programs are in the works: New Frontier (with Darwin Cooke and Stan Berkowitz), Superman vs. Doomsday (which Bruce Timm is directing), and a New Teen Titans story (which Marv Wolfman is involved with, along with Tom DeSoto of the X-Men movies). The slide that was shown as the New Teen Titans was being announced said “The Judas Contract,” but it was unclear if that was the actual story that was going to be adapted or if it was just a convenient picture to show the characters. Either way, when asked, Paul Levitz said that the look of the Titans will be getting away from the anime look of the TV show. These three titles are “just the beginning.” Levitz said that they plan for many more projects in this line that will adapt the greatest stories of DC’s history for the fans.

Also at the DC panel, Dan Didio asked fans, “Would you be interested in an All-Star Wonder Woman?” When applause followed, he asked “Would you be interested in an All-Star Wonder Woman with Adam Hughes involved?” When cheers erupted, he said, “Sounds good. We’ll bring it up.” Make of this what you will.

I finished my time at the Con on a lighter note and attended Oddball Comics with Scott Shaw! Even though I had seen many of these covers before on his website, I was laughing out loud at his commentary.

As others have said, when you’re at the Con, you can get tunnel vision in all of the confusion. People reading news on the Internet have a much better overview of what’s happening. I can’t believe some of the things that I *didn’t* see. I’ve got photos, too, but I’m typing at a hotel computer and I can’t seem to upload any yet. I’ll be home in about a week, and I’ll try to do them then if anyone is still interested.