Here's More of What You Missed at This Year's Comic Con

Catch up on all the best and most exciting news to come out of this year's convention.

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Complex Original

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In case you were living under a rock, you must know that Hollywood moved south to San Diego for the 45th annual International Comic Con, a geeky smorgasbord of geekdom, fantasy sci fi, impressive cosplay and celebrity autograph signings. The pop culture convention, which attracts over 130,000, is also a great chance for fanboys to see never-before-seen trailers for upcoming blockbuster films, and attend popular television show panels.

But Comic Con has grown way past the convention center. For those who don’t have Comic Con passes, they can at least get a sense of the Con by heading to NerdHQ, a four-day event at nearby Petco Park which has their own “Conversations for a Cause” celebrity panel series (the $ raised goes to Operation Smile) and a video game gallery. There’s also the WIRED magazine café, a daytime hotel oasis which featured specialty cocktails, a live DJ, a gadget lab, a 4D interactive experience and an inside look behind True Blood’s Stephen Moyer’s new app.

At night, there were many Con parties. Playboy and A&E transformed 40,000 square feet of outdoor space into their Bates Motel-themed event. Guests entered through a check-in area and received a pair of polarized sunglasses that, when worn inside, offered a voyeuristic look into the “Bates Motel” façade on display. Celebrities walking the red carpet were given the opportunity to take a key from the valet stand at the end of the carpet and attempt to start the engine of the Triumph Scrambler Custom on display, courtesy of Triumph Motorcycles America and South Bay Motorsports. Orlando Bloom, Vera Farmiga, Norman Reedus, and Shane West all successfully started the engine and were each able to make a monetary donation to the charity of their choice on behalf of Triumph Motorcycles America.

At TNT's party for their new post-apocalyptic TV series, The Last Ship, guests boarded the Naval aircraft carrier, the USS Midway, to drink cocktails, play video games, practice their laser tag skills and see MGMT and Grimes. Among the celebs attended were Skrillex, Castle's Nathan Fillion, Vampire Diaries' Nina Dobrev and Paul Wesley.

This year’s Entertainment Weekly closing night bash had a summer pool party theme. Guests enjoyed fun boardwalk food and classic games like Connect Four and Jenga, where partygoers challenged each other while enjoying tunes from DJ Michelle Pesce. HBO featured activations inspired by fan-favorites Game of Thrones and True Blood, as well as the new HBO original series, The Leftovers. Partygoers had the opportunity to create a memorable photo op on GOT’s infamous Iron Throne, sip on a signature "Goodbyes Suck" cocktail or relax in a lounge space influenced by The Leftovers "Guilty Remnant."

However, for those of us who were lucky enough to experience the convention (or are just looking to vicariously live through Con attendees), here's some of what you missed:

1. There were lots of Bart and Stewie love for the upcoming The Simpsons and Family Guy hour-long crossover episode. Fans got to see a five-minute preview, which airs next month. Homer’s Dome, a mural near the convention center, had 5000 squares for any artist to stop by and paint—breaking the Guinness World Record for the most people contributing to a work of art. The event was sponsored by FXX, who just bought The Simpsons and plans to air all 25 seasons in a non-stop marathon.

2. You can’t help but be impressed when Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are all on one stage. Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, and director Zack Snyder surprised Con attendees lucky enough to get into Hall H for the Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice Warner Bros./DC Comics panel. The event aired the first teaser footage from the uber-anticipated movie, and though the actors didn’t say anything while they were onstage, fanboys and girls still went nuts—so much so, that they had to play the trailer twice.

3. One thing you would absolutely never expect to see at Comic Con: Biz Markie and Channing Tatum singing together. Since there is a mariachi version of the song in the Fox’s animated new movie The Book of Life (out October 17), Markie came onstage and broke out his signature tune, while Tatum joined him, much to the delight of attendees. Castmates Christina Applegate and Ron Perlman eventually joined in, as did the audience.

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4. While there was some serious zombie cosplay going on, the real undead action was at The Walking Dead fifth season panel. After showing a fake comedic cannibal clip which featured Rick (Andrew Lincoln) and Glenn (Steven Yuen) eating cooked pieces of their castmates, creator Robert Kirkman said he was finally ready to trot out a more badass, angry Rick this season.“Mega Kung-Fu Grip Rick is what we’ve had in the comics for awhile. But it’s taken awhile to get there in the show,” said Kirkman. To which Lincoln quipped: “It’s great to be sweaty and dirty again!” Expect lots of zombie explosions this season, which debuts October 12.

5. The carnage will continue on CBS’ Under the Dome too—though the dead may not really be dead. “When you’re dead, you’re dead, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be an avatar at some point and come back,” said executive producer Neal Baer. “No one is safe.”

Best of all, a character might even get out of the Dome this season due to the tunnels, which were introduced to keep the show going. “We've set it up so we can keep going. We have plenty of stories left to tell.”

"They’ve come up with a really  exciting and interesting way of broadening the scope of our world,” said star Mike Vogel. “I think everyone’s in for a treat when that happens.”

6. You could hear a pin drop while fans watched the black and white trailer and subsequent panel for the dystopian drama, The Giver, a dream project of the dude, Jeff Bridges, which took 19 years to make. Based on a young adult novel by Lois Lowry, the film will be the big screen debut of Taylor Swift, and will feature a long haired Meryl Streep, Katie Holmes, and a brunette Alexander Skarsgard. But if it will it be the next Hunger Games or Divergent remains to be seen—check the film out in theaters August 19.

 

Susan Hornik is a contributing writer who's currently reeling from a crazy weekend at Comic Con. She tweets here.

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