Universal Studios is in their 22nd year of their Halloween Horror Nights.
This year as part of their haunt, they’re including The Walking Dead.
In this video, Greg Nicotero, Co-Executive Producer and Special Effects Make-up Artist for the show, personally gives viewers a look at some of the most iconic scenes inspired by the post-apocalyptic wasteland that is the center of AMC’s Golden Globe-nominated, Emmy Award-winning television series. Caught in the middle of a high-intensity struggle for survival, guests will fight off hordes of flesh-hungry, “walkers,” or zombies. No place is safe as you make your way through. Will you survive?
This haunted house is one of the horrifying experiences guests can enjoy at Universal Orlando’s Halloween Horror Nights 22, which was just named the nation’s best Halloween event for the fifth consecutive year. This year, guests will not be able to escape the horror that awaits them.
Every day for the last few, I’ve received an email from Image Comics labeled “Invincible: The Death of…” and every day I’ve received a new image of a character who looks as though they may be dying.
Over the years, I’ve learned to not take the marketing for Invincible too seriously.
Kirkman likes to jab at the marketing styles of other companies and my guess is this won’t be any different.
In the meantime, enjoy the three great pieces of art from our friend Ryan Ottley for these teases.
SDCC Day 2 – Walking Dead Season 3 Trailer, Game of Throne, and more!
Day 2 of Comic-Con started off with 3 big panels in Hall H. First up was Big Bang Theory. They started us off with a gag reel. There was the customary Q and A in which we really learned nothing, but fans got to have fun and talk to their favorite celebrities. Later on in the panel they brought an astronaut out to offer actor Simon Helberg, who plays Howard on the show, a trip to outer space. He declined, so they offered it to one of the many people who asked questions in the Q and A. A young lady won it and will now get to fly into space. All in all there wasn’t much learned, but we got a few laughs.
The second panel of the day is the one I looked forward to the most, AMC’s The Walking Dead. Which kicked off with a kick ass trailer for the upcoming third season where we got to see plenty of Michonne, The Governor, the prison, and a returning Michael Rooker as everyone’s favorite racist redneck Merle Dixon! The trailer gave me the chills and I may have wet myself a little bit! The Nerdist, Chris Hardwick, was the moderator for the panel which included Robert Kirkman, Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Callis, Laurie Holden, David Morrisey, Norman Reedus and others. We then got the same Q and A treatment in which we learn nothing about the upcoming season that we didn’t already know, but got to know the actor’s favorite moments and opinions about their characters. However we did learn that the show’s third season will start on October 14th, 2012.
-uFA
Lastly for me in Hall H was the Game of Thrones panel. The author of the novels, George R.R. Martin, was the moderator. On the panel were the actors who play Danyrus, Rob Stark, Catlin Stark, Ygritte, and Theon. I’m not bad mouthing his work, however George Martin seemed to be a very awkward moderator and to me came across as a dirty old man. We got the usual fandom in the Q and A. A recap video of season 2, and a video introducing us to the new members of the cast including the bombshell that Diana Rigg will be playing the Queen of Thorns. To close out the panel we got a date for the series return next year, March 31st 2013.
The Walking Dead seemed to be the best panel of the day because the rest didn’t really give us much in terms of info or footage for the upcoming season. All in all not much was learned, but I didn’t seem to mind. The pure geekdom and energy from the thousands of people there was amazing.
I then closed out my day by returning to the floor and demoing Marvel Heroes. Marvel Heroes will be a new free to play game that is in the style of Diablo. It will be online, and you’ll get to play with other people. The characters available to me in the Demo were Wolverine, The Hulk, Scarlett Witch, and Iron Man. It seemed like a perfect blend of Diablo and Ultimate Alliance. In the demo level Professor X tasked me with fighting the Purifiers and Sentinels to get to William Styker before Magneto. Well in true comic book fashion of course the villain got there first and I ended up having to save Styker from Magneto in a cool boss fight. There will be a beta soon, and I will report back with more about the game then.
This week brought us an anniversary issue of great magnitude, The Walking Dead #100. This issue shipped with a bevy of multiple covers from many great artists including Todd McFarlane, Ryan Ottley, Frank Quitely,and many others. This book has been at the top of my list of favorite comics since it was released back in October 2003 and has not really disappointed me very much over the years.
Issue #100 gives us the conclusion to the Something to Fear storyline that started back in issue #97. I have to say it was the most shocking issue yet. Just as our little group of survivors were starting to get the feel of a semi-normal life again, a mysterious stranger named Jesus shows up and tells them that there is more out there. Rick, ever the optimist, binds up Jesus and has him lead him and a small group to the community of Hilltop. There, they find a society bigger than most thought was still out there in the world.
The group is torn between joining the group on the Hilltop or keep their own little community growing. It is also revealed that there is another group out there led by a man named Negan. I don’t think the word evil does him justice. It turns out that Negan and his group has been taking a percentage of Hilltop’s rations in exchange for ‘protection.’ Rick decides, quite hastily I think, to help Hilltop out with their problem in exchange for the rations they were giving Negan and his group. The feeling of dread starts to build at this point in the storyline and Rick’s actions start a chain of events that lead into issue #100.
I will try not to spoil anything, but I will say a long time fan-favorite character meets a grisly demise. Robert Kirkman, I think, is at the top of his game with this issue. Previous issues have left me in shock at the end, but this one left me feeling like someone stuck a knife in my gut and started twisting it. Charlie Adlard’s art work is as great as it has always been and he did an amazing job showing the brutality of the death of the beloved character. All in all I can’t wait to see what Kirkman and Company have in store for us with the future of The Walking Dead.
I had a look at three comics from Image coming out tomorrow. The first and probably my favorite of the three is:
Chew: Secret Agent Poyo (One-Shot)
Chew is a series I’ve been wanting to start but haven’t gotten around to yet. I hear it’s an amazing title but I’ve got a long ways to catch up. But I saw there was a one shot starring a badass rooster so I thought I’d give it a try. This is a fantastic read, very funny, and exactly what you should expect from a book about a total badass homicidal rooster.
Price: $3.50
Hoax Hunters #1
A reality TV show in a comic book. This book follows a crew that go out and try to disprove hoaxes and tall tales. Of course they have a hidden agenda, because secretly they actually know a lot of those hoaxes are true, they’re just trying to settle problems among the communities of monsters and make sure that other would be hunters don’t come upon the living legends. The story starts when some weird things start to go down in the swamps of Louisiana. The crew has to find out what’s going on while filming their own show on why there isn’t anything going on. This book is being done by a lot of the same people involved with the next title Revival.
Price: $2.99
Revival #1
The cover of this title worried me but once I got into the story I really liked it. This one is about a small town where everyone who was once dead is now coming back to life. But for some reason it’s only happening within some radius and so the government has basically quarantined the area so no one can get in or out. People in the area still have to live their lives, yet now some of their dead loved ones have now come back to life. Keeping it to one location is a good move as we can get to know the characters and not have to worry to much about what is happening outside of the town. The book also has a good amount of action in it and a hell of a lot of religious allusions. Could you imagine the religious fervor that would occur if the dead were coming back to life? Well this book imagines it and puts it to print. The story comes to us from Tim Seeley who has been working on Hack/Slash.
San Diego Comic-Con is right around the corner and for those of you going you may be able to participate in one of the coolest events I’ve ever seen! The Walking Dead Escape will be taking over Petco Park July 12th-14th during Comic-Con. As a survivor it will be up to you to run, crawl, jump, and hide to get past the hordes of zombies. You can also pay to be a walker in the event and have your make up done by the company that is responsible for the make up on the show. Spectator tickets are also available if being a walker or a survivor isn’t your thing, but you still want to check it out. For those that are running through the event as survivors you’ll get a little something extra. The first 10000 people that go through as survivors will recieve a special Walking Dead #100 variant drawn by Matt Roberts, who worked with Robert Kirkman on Battle Pope. So if you’re going to San Diego try your luck, see if you can escape from the Walking Dead!
The Walking Dead Escape: San Diego takes place July 12 -15 at Petco Park , centrally located near the San Diego Convention Center . Participants can be a Survivor and race through the zombie infested evacuation zone; a Walker who becomes one of the undead, embracing the inevitable; or a Spectator who watches the apocalypse from sidelines at the Escape Party. The Walking Dead Escape: San Diego is unlike any obstacle course event in the U.S. , expanding on Robert Kirkman’s best-selling The Walking Dead comic book series and graphic novel storylines, allowing Survivors and Walkers to explore the initial days of the apocalypse. Survivors will climb, crawl and slide in an effort to avoid confrontation by hordes of Walkers, while achieving the ultimate adventure on The Walking Dead-themed obstacle course. The Walking DeadEscape is not a race, and Survivors are not timed, but the end is near, and they must move swiftly. If they’re lucky, Survivors will reach the decontamination zone at the end where it will be determined if they have been infected. Participants will be amazed at the interactive displays and The Walking Dead references along the course. Early registration is strongly recommended, as walk-ups may not be available on event day. This summer, The Walking Dead will be taking over Petco Park and fans will have a front row seat to the real-life action event of a lifetime. For more information or to register for this event, please visit www.thewalkingdeadescape.com orwww.Skybound.com.
Here’s a poster that Norman Reedus and the Official Walking Dead facebook page posted, teasing Season 3.
I’m sure we’ll find out more about the upcoming season during Comic-Con.
And I know a lot of people were bummed about the look of The Governor, but I think it’ll work great. He’ll be Belloq to Rick’s Indiana Jones; a shadowy reflection of him.
For those of you not aware, Big Shiny Robot is based out of the great state of Utah. (You heard me!) And while a lot of our neighbors have dozens of options for an exceptional Free Comic Book Day, we’re limited to about half a dozen across the entire state who go the extra mile for comic book lovers. Gavin Sheehan over at the City Weekly has put together this quick go-to guide for all the FCBD happenings in SLC, Provo and even St. George (where Star Trek Voyager‘s Garrett Wang will be for some reason). Check out this complete guide to all the events happening tomorrow in Utah, and of course, get those comics!
Vaughan and Staples hit us with another installment of their epic sci-fi/fantsy slipstream this week. I was on the fence before, but go ahead and count me in now. (more…)
Just a few weeks ago we got our first casting for season 3 of The Walking Dead in the form of David Morrissey playing the Governor. Now we’ve got news that Michonne has been cast. According to the Hollywood Reporter Danai Gurira will play the samarai sword wielding badass. Gurira is most known for being on HBO’s Treme. Showrunner Glen Mazzara told the Hollywood Reporter that they were looking for “someone that inhabits the traits of the character” and not necessarily an actor with a “name” to fill the role. She is probably the character most people that were familiar with the comics have been waiting for and now they’re going to get her! It is also of note that Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard did a 6 page origin story for the character that was printed in the newest issue of Playboy that came out this past Friday.
