Comic-Con 2014

2014 marks the 25th anniversary of the movie Batman, the 50th anniversary of Batman's "New Look," the 75th anniversary of Batman's debut, and the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bill Finger, the Caped Crusader's uncredited co-creator. Not only did Bill Finger breathe life into Batman, Robin, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, Gotham City, and one fantastic villain after another, he co-created bat-free icons such as Green Lantern, Wildcat, and Lana Lang. Bill's only living descendants Athena Finger (The Cape Creator: A Tribute to Bill Finger) and her son Benjamin invite you to celebrate the life and achievements of the man who first put the dark in the Dark Knight. Dr. Travis Langley (Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight) moderates a bat-tastic panel, featuring Bob Kane's biographer Tom Andrae (Batman and Me), writer Mark Evanier (Bill Finger Awards), actress Lee Meriwether (Batman: The Movie's Catwoman), author Marc Tyler Nobleman (Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman), Cartoons Arts' Jens Robinson (son of Joker co-creator Jerry Robinson), and executive producer Michael Uslan (Batman, The Dark Knight film trilogy), plus special messages from legends like DC's last surviving Golden Age artist, Wildcat co-creator Irwin Hasen.

Trevor Roth (COO, head of development, creator of Days Missing, Worth), Tory Mell (producer, Roddenberry Entertainment), Rod Roddenberry (CEO, Roddenberry Entertainment), Chris Moreno (artist, Worth), Aubrey Sitterson (writer, Worth), and Paul Morrissey (Eisner Award-winning editor) talk about their newest graphic novel Worth, their new short film Instant, and hold an awesome iPad Mini giveaway. Moderated by Tory Mell.

While Eurasia was still at war with Eastasia and Big Brother was watching you, some amazing movies slipped into cinemas and our panel of experts are going to wax on, wax off about the great geek year of 1984 as they look back at such films as The Terminator, Gremlins, Repo Man, Ghostbusters, Dune, Splash, This is Spinal Tap, Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom, Star Trek III, Buckaroo Banzai, Body Double, The Karate Kid, Red Dawn, Night of the Comet, Once Upon a Time in America, This is Spinal Tap, and, of course, the incomparable Purple Rain. Celebrating the fact that they still love the '80s will be Ashley E. Miller (Thor, new Terminator TV series), David E. Williams (editor, GEEK magazine), Robert Meyer Burnett (Star Trek: The Next Generation Blu-rays), Marc Berandin (The Hollywood Reporter), Steve Melching (The Clone Wars, Transformers Prime), Joe Kraemer (Jack Reacher), and moderator Mark A. Altman (Free Enterprise, DOA: Dead or Alive). This panel is sure to get turned up to 11.

Each year, we set aside time to talk about Comic-Con's first superstar guest and the man they call The King of the Comics, Jack Kirby. Jack left us in 1994 but his influence on comics, film, and this convention has never been greater. Discussing the man and his work this year are Len Wein, Scott Shaw!, Charles Kochman (editorial director, Harry N. Abrams Books) and Kirby family attorney Paul S. Levine, plus members of Jack's family. And of course, it's moderated by Mark Evanier.