I've been conning for years and help run a convention (shameless plug - www.animepunch.org). I've been to large cons (ACen, Ohayocon) and many smaller ones time and again. So I have a sense of what to expect and what constitutes a convention putting on a good show. That being said, Otakon is different. It's bigger for one thing - 40,000 attendees. The only US anime convention that trumps it is Anime Expo (and as I understand it, that has fewer trappings of a traditional con and is more designed to show off the latest and greatest releases and what not).

Lots More After The Jump

Things aren't looking too good for Gaara in the twenty-ninth volume of Naruto, which is the second release in the post time jump period. Volume 29 is much more action oriented than the last, but featuring two spectacular battles on epic proportions with some of the largest Naruto players being front and center for the action. Is slam-bang action enough for this volume or is something more missing?

Well that's a ringing endorsement! Seriously, after reading about how Babylon A.D's director - Mathieu Kassovitz - hates his own film, who doesn't want to run and go see the movie as soon as humanly possible? I actually had hope that maybe Vin Diesel had another sci-fi hit in him, but when the movie's own director hates his own film, you know it's a film to avoid at all cost.

I don't know when I'll ever get to see any of the Torchwood episodes. I don't live in Britain. I don't get BBC America. The series hasn't been released on Region 1 DVDs yet. Still, news about a third season has me excited for the fact that I may get to watch it one day in the future. As described on the Sci-Fi Channel website:

"Filming for the third season of the BBC's Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood (aired in the U.S. on BBC America), has begun in Cardiff, Wales, BBC Worldwide announced. The series, created and produced by Russell T. Davies, is scheduled to return in 2009, with a five-part miniseries titled Torchwood: Children of Earth.

The new season sees the Torchwood team embarking on a single action-packed adventure as they battle for the future of the human race against the fiercest force they have yet encountered."

It's not hard to see that the majority of gamers are male based on these Spore creature vids fans have already made...and a bunch of lonely, penis fixated balls of raging hormones. Did someone see Superbad too many times? Is this phenomenon the digital version of that movie gag? Heck, I think it would be more normal for these guys to be working on a bunch of half-naked women or vagina shaped monsters. See, that's normal!

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Superman! And he's flying off the page and right at me...ahhhh! Yep, you heard correct. The red, white, and blue headache inducing eyesore that is the 3D medium is soon going to bring the Man of Steel zooming out of the comics and straight into your face. DC Comics now has up a synopsis of the project and even a piece of 3D preview art.

Dragonball Z holds a special place in my otaku heart, as it was one of the first anime series I ever watched. Despite my unequivocal love for all things Dragonball Z, I'm not looking forward to the upcoming live-action, but to be fair I haven't seen any actual footage to shape that opinion around. I just think the idea of a live-action Dragonball movie is horrible. I'll know soon enough, however, as it's rumored a trailer for the movie will debut in October.

In terms of pure sci-fi currently on television, I don't think any other series tops Doctor Who as the best of the best. Lost comes a close second and Battlestar Galactica was once my king of the hill, but Doctor Who is just a great, fun, and usually light-hearted show. While fans are going to have to wait until 2010 for a new full season, we will have some specials next season, and it even sounds like a film might be in the works. Doctor Who on the big screen - yes please.

I've always appreciated the character of Batman, but I never really followed him all that much, beyond seeing the movies and picking up an odd issue here or there whenever a seminal moment seemed to be happening or in the works. After seeing The Dark Knight, however, I found myself drawn into the world more than ever, and wanted to see just what kind of stories Batman was capable of producing. The first trade I picked up was Batman: The Long Halloween, written by Jeph Loeb and with art by Tim Sale. It's one of the best trades I've ever read and proves that Christopher Nolan isn't the only one who knows how to properly handle Batman.

Carter is having his morning shower, and can we have a butt shot, a la NYPD Blue? But no. So, water cold, Carter peeved. You thought I would say hot didn’t ya? Yeah, I’m walking down a different garden path today. So, instead Carter tries to shave and manages to cut himself. I hear bad luck comes in threes. Let’s try breakfast. Eggs are on the menu, and so is ketchup, which he splats all over his last clean shirt. Poor Carter. Zoe tries to cheer him up with some sharing, but is interrupted by the door. It’s Carter’s sister, Lexi, three days early, much to Carter’s chagrin.

I like Vin Diesel. I'm a huge fan of his Riddick character, having collected every part of the adventure to date, whether it's the two films, the animated DVD, or the excellent videogame. After the final moments of The Chronicles of Riddick, I really wanted to see what happened next, and it looks like my wish may just be granted, as Diesel said in an interview that he is working with writer-director David Twohy on two more sequels, rounding out the franchise to what was talked about once.

Why am I not surprised that my own little podunk neck of the woods never received a release of the first live-action Death Note film? I doubt I'll be able to see the release of the second Death Note film either when it hits US theaters come this October. I guess I'll just have to be satisfied with the manga releases for the time being.

It's not uncommon for the dead to return to Lost in one way or another, either appearing in flashbacks, as ghosts (I think they are ghosts), or hallucinations. The latest dead castaway to be returning is Michelle Rodriguez' Ana-Lucia, but no definitive word yet on if she'll be appearing in the present or in a flashback of some nature.

Fring is one of the most promising new shows for the season, especially for sci-fi fans looking for a new hit. The Sci-Fi Channel's website now has up a pretty lengthy interview with Abrams and executive producers Orci, Kurtzman, Bryan Burk and Jeff Pinkner about the new series and how it came to be.