2006 Comic Book News Archives

Wizard World

August 4, 2006: Wizard World Chicago 2006 - Day Two

Part 1 by Barry Freiman

DAY TWO:

Wizard World Chicago 2006 went super-nova on Day Two. The crowds showed up. The celebrities showed up. The Panels started in full swing.

Neal Bailey, co-Assistant Editor, is staying in a hotel room tonight and may not get the chance to check in with his report until later on in the weekend. Neal sold a lot of his books of poetry today - he even sold out of several volumes. Way to go pal! I think his sales today went above and beyond what he expected for the whole weekend and we've got two more days to go.

When I arrived today, I immediately ran into the one and only Noel Neill, the very first live-action Lois Lane - and a supporting player in both "Superman Returns" and "Superman: The Movie". I hadn't ever met Noel before today. She is exactly what you hope she'd be - kind, considerate, friendly. She definitely comes from old-school Hollywood and it shows.

I introduced myself as an Editor with the Superman Homepage and a friend of the site's owner, Steve Younis. Noel and Steve have a personal friendship that dates back several years (there's even a photo of Noel with Steve in her biography) and she was thrilled that the Superman Homepage was represented at Wizard World.

Noel graciously agreed to give us a few minutes of her time at some point during the weekend for an exclusive interview and we will hopefully be able to present that in the next few days with pictures.

I asked Noel about "Superman Returns" and she really enjoyed her work on the film. She joked that actor Jack Larson (Jimmy Olsen from the "Adventures of Superman") at least got to play his personality as the bartender whereas she did the big death scene though she seemed to really get a kick out of the last minute edits to the movie that resulted in her dialogue basically opening the film.

A friend of mine had recently purchased Noel's biography online and the version he bought was supposed to include her autograph. Unfortunately he received the book without her autograph. Noel very graciously signed his book personally and insisted that the author Larry Ward autograph it as well.

Other non-Superman celebrities were also in attendance today including Lou Ferrigno ("The Incredible Hulk") who looks as young and solid as he did back in the 1970s; Joyce DeWitt and Priscilla Barnes from the 1970s sitcom "Three's Company"; wrestler Virgil; and lots more.

We did unfortunately get the word today that Erica Durance would only be attending the Sam Loeb art auction on Saturday and would not be doing any Press so it looks like it's going to be a one-Lois scoop only for the Superman Homepage.

I attended one Panel today - the DC Nation Tour. This was a one-hour panel in the "Christopher Reeve Theater" and it was filled to capacity. Leading the Panel was DC's Dan Didio who was joined by Geoff Johns, Keith Giffen, and representatives of the business side of DC. This was basically a Q&A type Panel where Didio fielded questions from the audience about things they liked and didn't like about the current DCU, especially events in "52". There weren't many questions about the Superman Family (though I expect Superman will be covered in greater detail during Saturday's DCU Editorial Presentation, which Neal or I will likely attend).

I did manage to ask about the status of Superman's pre-Metropolis days as Superboy and whether any clarification on that was forthcoming. Half-facetiously, Bob Wayne on DC's Business side said that they don't comment on pending litigation so it would appear no settlement has as yet been reached with Jerry Siegel's heirs on the Superboy issue.

Didio did note that there are certain characters who are featured prominently in "52" who aren't figuring into any of the "One Year Later" books yet so as not to spoil their storylines in "52" and it appears Steel is included in that list.

We are hoping that Neal and/or I will get some sit-down interview time with Didio before the end of the weekend.

When the Panel was asked about the infamous blackboard of clues that Booster Gold found recently in Rip Hunter's laboratory in "52", several audience members specifically wanted to know about the "Son of Superman" notation. Geoff Johns suggested fans wait for his and Richard Donner's run on "Action Comics" for the answer to that question.

Speaking of "Action Comics", after the Panel, I ran into artist Adam Kubert at the DC Comics booth who graciously let me take a picture. His brother and fellow artist, Andy Kubert, was also there but I'll let the "Batman Homepage" cover that. (Stop googling - there is no "Batman Homepage").

Finally, DC handed out "DC Nation" tickets to attendees to the Panel, which I got to exchange at the DC Comics booth for a special Wizard World convention printing of the first issue of "52".

On a somewhat unrelated note, DC Direct today revealed a gorgeous statue of Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman coming in the next few months. When I asked the DC Direct representative if this meant a Christopher Reeve Superman statue was a possibility, he replied "Baby steps." So get those cards and letters into DC Direct - first Lynda Carter, next... NUCLEAR MAN!

Look for more coverage of Wizard World Chicago 2006 all weekend long right here on the Superman Homepage.

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Adam Kubert 2006 Wizard World Comic Convention Dan Didio DC Panel
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Geoff Johns & Keith Giffen Legion of Super Heroes DC Panel Superman Syroco



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