The Nice Guy - Photos - Comic-Con International 2008

Twas the night before Comic-Con! Having flown into San Diego on Wednesday afternoon, we'd just gone over to the Center to pick up our badges. We could have stuck around for Preview Night, but decided, instead, that a dinner was in order, since we'd all just gotten into town and hadn't seen each other in some time (and were hungry). The place for dinner ended up being Dublin Square, and here's Tim, Jeni, Aaron and Joel getting settled in.

Two Cons ago, I ran into our old pal Mike Taylor in the middle of 100,000+ people, someone I hadn't seen in 15 years. This year? He just happened to wander into Dublin Square. Cheers from the two Mikes!

While Adam investigates the menu and its fine Irish fare, Jeni makes a point. And WITH a point, no less!

Here Jim is illustrating how, after many more of those Guinnesses, he plans to throw up all over Bill.

Tim and Adam, drinkin' and rappin'. Like Biggy and Puff Daddy. Only, old and white.

In case you didn't know. Joel? Me? Too sexy for this Con.

Behind us, a very talented lass serenades us with voice and guitar. Just like old Ireland...except for the NFL game on in the background...

Bill and Jim, with the Gaslamp visible through the doors behind them (past the loud, drunken smokers).

It's Thursday, the first day of the Con...and time for lunch already? And as our Con tradition goes, at least one lunch must be at the famous Dick's Last Resort! Here's Tim, Tony and Russ figuring out there orders (as in what food to chase the drinks with...).

Our friend Jo showed up to have lunch with us as well (convenient, as the lucky gal lives in downtown San Diego), seen here with me and Joel.

Tim, Tony and Russ, representin' the west si-eeeed.

As we head back from lunch to the Con, we get a look at the outside of the Convention Center, and some of the Con folk coming and going.

Here's more Con folk filing into the Center. Impressive building, no? You're not even seeing all of it in this shot. It's huge!

A quick shot of the convention floor (main floor, level one, where all the booths and tables are). You can see Fox and Lionsgate set up here in aisle 4100.

And the WB's there as well, and on their video screen, you can make out...I don't know, SOME famous guy signing autographs within. Your guess is as good as mine.

These place is so jammed with happenings, even ninja assassins are signing. Normally they stick much more to the shadow, but I guess things are different come Comic-Con time.

Sweet! One of my favorite comic writers, Ed Brubuker (in the hat) had his own panel, so Russ and I had to go. Ed's the man!

As you can see, not unlike the Jason Nesmith of Galaxy Quest, Russ never gives up, never surrenders!

Holy surprise guests! Near the end of the panel, Ed announced that he's writing an episodic film for Sony's web site, and the star of it is none other than Zoe Bell, stuntwoman turned actress! Not only was she the stunt double for Lucy Lawless in Xena, and for Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, but she's gotten some acting in an appearance in Lost and, where she first hit my radar, in the "Death Proof" portion of Rodriguez and Tarantino's Grindhouse. All KINDS of New Zealand hot - AND she can kick your skinny ass!

Zoe and Ed, with Ed holding up a promo poster of the yet-started project. Apparently, she'll have an ax in it.

Being that it was a small panel room and she was accessible afterward, I realized I'd never forgive myself for not introducing myself and meeting her. Wonderfully sweet girl! And I couldn't let her get away without a photo.

You keep Uma. I'm taking Zoe. You can't see it in this photo, but she and I are actually sitting in a tree... I officially fell in love at Comic-Con. Like THAT's never happened to me before...

A buddy of mine, Troy Hickman, is an amazing comic writer whose recent work, a book called "Twilight Guardian", is part of a sort of contest called "Pilot Season" for Image Comics. If enough readers vote for his one-shot, it gets its own regular series. So, both because he's a pal and because I just plain love the book, I had to make myself a tee shirt for Con and pimp for the dude. Go Twilight!

As we took a break upstairs (and outside) under the tents, Russ checked out Tony's purchases, while Tony, on his iPhone, realized he could have, instead, had a V8...

A clever ad for HBO's upcoming vampire series True Blood, hanging up above the autograph area upstairs

As the day ended, people had to go different directions, and Joel, Tim, Tony and I ended up hitting a food court in a local upscale mall for a meal. Yes, nothing says you belong amongst the well-to-do like a Twilight Guardian tee shirt.

Friday morning, back at Casa del Tony (Tony's house, where Tim, Russ and I were staying for the week). Here's Tony's sidekick, Angel, wandering the house.

When I stay here every year, Tony sticks a cot in his downstairs office for me (as me getting up stairs isn't a feasible idea), and I snooze next to what I call the Wall of Tony, filled with lots of vintage Apple stuff (where he works), memorabilia and awesome geeky stuff.

Here Russ and Tony are packing up and getting ready for us to head to the Con.

And what a Friday it was! Great day to be a TV geek, firstly because of the Stargate SG-1 panel, featuring the entire cast, including the first ever Comic-Con appearance of Richard Dean Anderson! Go, MacGyver, Go!

Here's Richard with the oh-so-gorgeous Amanda Tapping (loving the long, dark hair for her new TV show).

Took the photo just a second too late to catch the full-on mouth-kiss between Michael Shanks and Ben Browder. Sorry, ladies. And...certain gentlemen... You know who you are...

Beau freaking Bridges, baby! Yeah!

And here's Beau with the incomparable (and really large) Christopher Judge.

Richard Dean, cracking up the fans.

Here Amanda and Michael are flanking "Stargate: Continuum" director Martin Wood as they discuss the just-released film.

That's creator Brad Wright goofing with Richard Dean.

Michael, Ben and Chris. Some of you gals are writing steamy fan fiction right now, aren't you? You and...you know...

And there's the whole gang together as the panel ends. Love that show! And love those folks.

Of course, there's a Stargate show that's still on the air, and that one's called Atlantis. Here's a couple of that show's stars from the Atlantis panel that followed - Jewel Staite (whom you may know as Kaylee from Firefly...or as my favoritist make-believe girlfriend) and Robert Picardo! Picardo's been a staple on Hollywood for years, but is probably best known as the holographic doctor from Star Trek Voyager.

That's Jewel, telling me with her eyes to remember to stop and pick up milk on the way back to our imaginary condo later.

But as much as I love the SG, this year was all about the Joss Whedon. Once again, I got to see my creative hero (for the first of three times at this Con), and based on the crazy thundering crowd, I was not alone in my hero worship.

And Joss never ceases to surprise. Since "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" just freaking exploded on the web a week before the Con, he turned his panel into the Dr. Horrible panel...and, as he loves to do, brought out some very special guests. There's Horrible stars Simon "Moist" Helberg, Felicia "Penny" Day, Neil Patrick "Dr. Horrible" Harris, and Nathan "Captain Hammer" Fillion (BTW? Those are NOT the hammer...).

Here's a closer shot of that for you.

Ah, and this is the part where Fillion pulled out NPH's chair and let him fall (all pre-planned, don't worry). Damn the Hammer!

Closer shot of the wackiness.

Here's Fillion, Whedon, and the oh-my-god-I-LOVE-her Maurissa Tancharoen, one of the writers and the actors (she played "Groupie #1), also wife of also-writer Jed Whedon, Joss's brother (one of the three Whedon brothers involved).

A shot of the line of folks sitting down in the aisle and waiting their turn for their question up at the mic.

NPH, Fillion and Joss goofing off.

There's a shot of the whole panel. Beyond Maurissa we add Jed "lucky bastard" Whedon and Zack Whedon.

I think NPH is talking about someone's boobs. Or he's doing jazz hands. Can't tell.

And a final shot of the mains - NPH, Fillion and Joss. Way to rock the internet and scare Hollywood, fellas!

Hey, it's Lindsay Wagner! The original Bionic Woman! Accept no British substitutes. Even IF they're really hot...

Lindsay signing stuff. Like you do.

And apparently she found time to look through her high school yearbook. Or something. Let's move on.

OWLSHIP, baby! OWLSHIP! Yes, Watchmen nerds all pumped up for next summer's LONG overdue adaptation of the greatest graphic novel of all time got to see the life-sized hoverthingy. AWEsome.

Watch out for that flamethrower in the front. It tends to go off when you're having sex inside.

Post-panel, the Dr. Horrible gang showed up at the Dark Horse booth for some signage. No big line for THAT or anything...

NPH signs stuff and fends off requests to do Barney lines.

Fillion meets the fans.

The tragic love triangle...Hammer, Penny and Horrible. Don't worry...Captain Hammer will save us...

Dude! Iron Man showed up! How cool! Unfortunately, it was so crowded the best they could offer him was a roped-off area to stand in all day. He wasn't bored. His armor has iTunes.

Okay, maybe he IS bored. That looks boring. And I bet he has to pee.

Did I mention I waited since 6th grade to see that guy come to the big screen? Worth the wait? Please, fool!

And here's Aaron, Jeni, Joel and me hanging out in the main lobby downstairs.

And at lunchtime in the Gaslamp, Jim and Bill discover that Pikachu looks much different in person.

Conboys in the Gaslamp! There's Bill, Adam, Jim, Aaron, Joel and me. Can't tell we're tourists or anything.

The food at Dick's is so good you JUST...CAN'T...STAY...AWAY! So here we are again, chowing down for late lunchness.

Tim, Russ and Tony, hanging out upstairs at the Center, making dinner plans while we finish up the day and prepare to return, late night, to catch the crowd showing of Dr. Horrible.

Russ's buddy Nathan (right) also made it to Con (we've met him at Con before...and gotten drunk with him at Russ's house...), and here is checking out Jim's sack (snicker) as Adam looks on.

Me, Adam and Jim, chillin' in the fine San Diego weather as the sun starts its way down.

Why, yes, I AM Josh Weldon's biggest fan.

Nathan and Tim chill as well.

Can't cruise through San Diego by night without getting a shot of Petco Park as you pass. Padres, baby!!

Did I mention I LOVE Maurissa? This is at the Dr. Horrible show as it's about to start playing, as she and husband (for now) Jed and the lovely Felicia pass me and Russ.

And I must point out (lest Russ smack me) that it was Russ who took this picture...so Felicia was smiling at him, not me. That's cool. I'm holding out for Maurissa anyway.

Saturday begins. Here's just a peek at just part of the crowd (maybe a quarter) waiting for the Dollhouse panel to start in Room 20. If you look REAL close, you can find Tony, Jeni, Aaron and Russ.

Another look at some more of the Room 20 crowd

And the panel for Dollhouse begins! Yes, glutton for punishment that he is, Joss Whedon is returning to TV (and to Fox, no less) with this new show starting in early 2009, starring Eliza (mmm) Dushku...and you can see both of them here.

And the show has another star known in nerd circles from Battlestar Galactica - that being Tahmoh Penikett ("Helo"). Tahmoh pauses to take a photo of the crowd (see? I'm not the only one) while Joss and Eliza watch.

The Dollhouse creator and its stars.

And...still them. Eliza's purty...

I think Eliza's talking about me...

The trio taking questions.

Yes, Comic-Con's gone Hollywood, and has gotten much more mainstream. That's why it's still refreshing to see a guy in a mask and cape (with a rose) going up to ask a question.

What could be better than the last Battlestar Comic-Con panel before the series ends? How about if the moderator ends up being Kevin Smith?! Woo hoo!

There's Mr. Smith getting ready to introduce the panel members before a standing-room-only crowd.

Start with the incredibly sexy Tricia Helfer, hottest cylon ever? Okay.

Speaking of sexy? Gimme that Starbuck love! Katee Sackhoff's in the house!

The ladies are joined by (sitting) Michael Trucca ("Sam") and surprise guest Jamie ("Apollo") Bamber.

Here you can see the whole panel, which also includes James ("Baltar") Callis and show creators Ronald Moore and David Eick.

Kevin Smith asks some foul-mouthed questions of the panel as the crowd watches.

The whole panel once more.

You can never have too much Katee.

Seriously. You can't.

Katee telling a funny story about Tahmoh shooting a gun like a girl.

Michael and Katee. Sadly, wrong Michael...

Tricia, James and Ron goofing around.

A less blurry shot of the whole panel.

And the panel says good-bye. We'll see them all again in 2009 for the final eps of the amazing BSG.

Aaron's working on his biography, "I Married a Jafa".

The only problem I have with Comic-Con is their treatment of extra-terrestrial visitors...

And Saturday night meant, for some of us, a trip to La Jolla for a beachfront BBQ at the timeshare of our friends Ben and Kaye. Here's Bill, Joel, Jim, Adam and me. Looking like a band. Coming out of retirement.

Sunday at the Con. No, Pokemon is not dead. Pikachu's still milking it for all its worth. Media whore.

Not all kids find Pikachu cute and fuzzy, as this youngster proves when his father tries to get him to go up to a GIANT YELLOW MONSTER! AHHHH!!

And no Comic-Con is complete without a shot of Pikachu's giant yellow ass.

As I mentioned last year? She's 18 now. Just a reminder.

Here's some folks taking a breather at the table area on the main floor.

Here's the view from behind the Convention Center, JUST to remind you that you're in San Diego.

Another view from back there, showing part of the Marriott Hotel where I spent a few memorable Con trips staying. You can see why staying there was so choice. Wake up, roll out of bed, go downstairs, there's the Con. If only I could still afford it...

Screw your Keanu and Wahlberg shots. I met ERIC ESTRADA, beeyatch! Woo hoo! He now has a copy of the Nice Guy: Pilot, by the way. Awesome guy!

Just me and Ponch again.

And here's me and Lori Petty, who, also, now has her own Nice Guy comic. I figure if I get it into the hands of JUST the right amount of Hollywood people...

You know, Mrs. Fields isn't the best way to keep those girlish figures, Superchicks...

Had to duck into the Browncoat gathering and hook up with my peeps. You can tell where you're at by the hats. Cunning, don't you think?

In case you're wondering what the view of the Con looks like from a wheelchair. Now you know.

Worn out and swagged up, here's me, Bill, Adam and Jim taking a break before the final two panels of the Con.

Seriously, WHERE else on Earth are you going to go to listen to a talk from Grant Morrison and Deepak Chopra?

And the final panel of the whole Con was a showing of the famous Buffy the Musical episode of...well, of Buffy. Here's Joel, Jim, Tim, Bill and Adam as we wait for it to begin.

Really. Jim's VERY interested in what I'm saying.

I forgot to mention that Adam got bitten by a zombie, didn't I? It's a whole thing...

And there's what we came to see--and had a great time seeing with a big singing-along crowd. Awesome way to end things, I think.

Here we are leaving the Convention for the last time, crossing the tracks over to the Gaslamp (where Tony would be picking me and Tim up).

Lot of people, sad to go.

And here's a quick look back at the Convention Center as it's emptying out.

Green light, and...here they come! Ahhhhh!!

Back at Casa del Tony, Tony's youngest, Catherine, checks out a book. To read, or to chew on. Whatever works.

Sunday being Kids Day at the Con, Tony had taken the Tonettes there, and here is unloading their bag of Con goodies and handing them out. That's Emily and Christopher waiting for the goods.

Tim and Catherine enjoy a little quality reading time.

Christopher and his sidekick Tony.

And we end Sunday night with a parting shot of Angel, looking forward to all of us getting the hell out of her house so she can get back to her normal canine life.

Monday morning, Tim and I were waiting on our plane at Horton Plaza, the downtown mall, and I just liked the composition of this shot. Bye bye, San Diego, until next summer.