Talking with voice actor Kevin Conroy and writer Paul Dini about Batman: Arkham Asylum was fantastic, but the roundtable stepped down to earth when I got the chance to interview developer/game director Sefton Hill. From gameplay to inspiration, Hill broke the game down to its pixels, giving us a verbal walkthrough of what we’ll experience when playing Arkham Asylum tomorrow.

You can read my final B:AA interview over at the Girls Entertainment Network.

Kevin Conroy might stun with the awesomeness of his voice acting as Batman, but Paul Dini is someone many fans, including myself, admire. His creativity spans years and never ceases to be fresh and entertaining. I’ve interviewed Dini before, but never face-to-face, so it was a pleasure to talk to him about his storytelling in Batman: Arkham Asylum, which comes out this Tuesday. (Holy guano, Batman!)

Yeah, if Dini wrote it, you know it’s gonna be good. So rest assured, gamers.

You can read my interview with Paul Dini over at the Girls Entertainment Network. Part 3 with Rocksteady Studios developer Sefton Hill should be up on Monday.

One of my life dreams has been accomplished—marked off the list of to-dos: I met Kevin Conroy. And interviewed him, no less! Hearing Conroy talk on recorded interviews, and even hearing his voice as Batman on television or in Batman: Arkham Asylum, doesn’t do the real thing justice. He truly commands a room, and his laugh holds so much authority and power, it’s almost intimidating.

You can check out my interview with Batman over at the Girls Entertainment Network.

Last day in San Diego

My last day at San Diego Comic-Con consisted mostly of saying goodbye to a lot of great people: the GEN crew, David LeVack, Beau Ryan, Leo Camacho, Rick Basaldua, Archaia’s Mel Caylo, Top Cow’s Filip Sablik, and more. Joined by my friend Josh, I spent most of the day really exploring the floor and doing a bit of shopping—something I really never had a chance to do the days prior.

Although one of my scheduled appointments didn’t pull through, I did meet someone I’ve been talking to on Twitter for awhile now: Ryan Penagos, aka Agent_M. After the Marvel games panel—where games like Ultimate Alliance 2, Iron Man 2, and Superhero Squad were showcased (topped off with the adorable Little Big Planet announcement of Wolverine, Captain America, and Iron Man sackboys)—I met Ryan and we talked for a few minutes.

Ryan and I

Josh and I walked around some more, browsing through Artists’ Alley, where I met and got Scott Williams’ autograph and talked with Steve Ellis (who did a great werewolf sketch for me) earlier in the day. Mel Caylo introduced me to some Archaia creators, who were nice enough to give me some comics of theirs to check out. In addition to buying my first Mighty Mugg (Wolverine), I picked up the first issue of Mercy Sparx (from Devil Due’s Publishing) and the artist signed my copy. The floor closed a few hours earlier than usual, and dinner consisted of a spicy chicken sandwich and PinkBerry for dessert.

The GEN girls!

The Girls Entertainment Network’s Scott Pilgrim Week and contest is now over, but you can catch the review of the fourth book here. Also, be sure to stop by and check out my San Diego Comic-Con co-interview with creator Bryan Lee O’Malley.

All the SP articles are here.

In line for Hall H

When Saturday arrived, I knew the trip was going way too fast. After meandering the floor, I eventually headed outside to add to the massive Hall H line. Saturday brimmed with television and movie extravaganza, and I hoped to make the Lost panel—rich with cast members and secrets. But the trek up and down the lawn by the convention center told me I wasn’t going to snag a seat in time, so I ended up attending the next panel, which focused on the upcoming Solomon Kane movie.

After meeting Dan Panosian and earning a Wolverine sketch, I eagerly met one of my artistic idols, Dustin Nguyen. Both artists remembered me from past interviews, and Nguyen let me have a sketch for free and kindly joined in for a photo.

Dustin Nguyen and I

After chatting with a few of his industry peers, I zipped across the floor and outside in a direct line for the Omni Hotel. There I met and participated in a roundtable with Watchmen director Zack Snyder. Later that day, I also interviewed Batman: Arkham Asylum developer Sefton Hill, writer Paul Dini, and Batman voice legend (oh my god squee!) Kevin Conroy—roundtable style. Conroy’s voice is even smoother in person, mind you.

Creator David LeVack and I ate dinner at TGIF’s and then I joined him for his portfolio review session. An hour or two later, Jill Pantozzi (aka TheNerdyBird) joined us and we met and chatted with dozens of creators—such as artist Ben Templesmith, Geoff Johns, Zuda writers/artists including David Gallaher and Steve Ellis (High Moon), and James Robinson (Starman), to name just a few. Oh, the stories I could tell …

That night I crashed at the hotel in preparation for the last day of SDCC.

More in-depth write-ups of the panels and interviews mentioned will be coming soon!

A pirate cosplay group

The panel commenced with the immediate confirmation (which we all knew) that Batman is missing—not dead. Dini, who currently writes Streets of Gotham and Gotham City Sirens, said, “Hush is back, and he’s making trouble in both books.” With a “one-man stimulus plan … Gotham is proclaiming him as their new savior … He’s after Harley right now; pretty soon the Joker’s going to hear about this, and he doesn’t like the sound of Harley stepping out on him.” Bandages aren’t the only thing that’s in, though. “[Mr. Zsasz is] going to get a new look, and he’s going to have a big dream to accomplish.” According to Dini, artist Dustin Nguyen worked on the redesign.

Brian Miller (Smallville), who will be helming the new Batgirl title in the fall, cryptically admitted, “There are waffles in the first issue, and we can eliminate one suspect: It’s not Bet Kane.”

Greg Rucka commented on his gorgeously illustrated Batwoman book (Detective Comics), saying much to everyone’s incredulity, “It actually gets better looking. I think JH is changing the form. I think he’s changing the language of comics with this.” He told the audience that when we open issue #858, we won’t even recognize that it’s Williams’ art.

As far as the recent installment of second features are concerned, writer Mark Andreyko said that the co-feature and the decision to move Kate Spencer (Manhunter) to Gotham City received a “huge vote of confidence from the company.” The features highlight “supporting characters who might not be able to support their own monthly.” Andreyko reported that Jeremy Haun will be the artist for the feature as of issue #4, and as for what we’ve seen before from him, Andreyko raves, “The stuff he’s doing on Manhunter blows that out of the water.

Fabian Nicieza announced the new Azrael series coming in October, stating that it “flows from the Batman and Detective annuals, which I’ll be writing, as well.” The two Batman annuals will feature Batman and Robin as well as the Question; Michael Lane takes over as Azrael. “He’s clearly a character who has some issues and some flaws,” Nicieza stated. “We’re gonna see what direction he goes in and how the other characters in Gotham deal with that … He’s a guy who clearly needs redemption, and we’re trying to figure out a way to help him instead of throwing him into the abyss.”

Chris Yost (Red Robin scribe) talked of Tim Drake, explaining that they’re dealing with “a character who’s in an incredibly dark place.” He added, “Anyone who wasn’t Tim Drake would probably be in an asylum … This book is really examining where he is now.” Yost continued, “He’s on this crazy, delusional quest to find Bruce Wayne, and even Superman says he’s dead … Fairly surprising things are gonna happen.”

To follow up on Battle for the Cowl, Tony Daniel will be coming on Batman for multiple issues in an effort to create a cohesive universe. “There are substantial, long-lasting changes to Gotham, and we’re not gonna let up on that. That’s our promise to you guys.”

In the question and answer portion, the panelists noted one of the unique qualities about the new age of Batman comics: “All of these books can sit within the same sandbox and kind of coexist on their own.” As for the origin issues? “We live in perpetual deadline peril.” Seven issues will be uninterrupted JH Williams III, and then Jock (Mark Simpson) will come on for a three-issue story starting in Detective #861.

Although DC remains tight-lipped on the identity of Batgirl, the panelists revealed that the costume will be familiar at first, but by the end of the third issue a new outfit will be showcased. “[The book] will have the lightest tone while still dealing with serious subject matter.”

Writer Peter Tomasi and artist Adrian Saef will present Batman: Blackest Night, which “really brings the Batman universe, in an interesting way, into Blackest Night.”

What about some of Gotham’s other prominent costumed individuals? Sterling Gates is scribing a World’s Finest issue, focusing on Dick Grayson’s travels. Selina Kyle will be dealing with the new Black Mask soon, and reportedly there will also be quite a bit of Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon interaction this year.

I love the Top Cow comic The Darkness, currently written by Phil Hester and illustrated by Michael Broussard. I got to talk to Hester at the Con, and he was one of the most delightful and easy-going people I talked to the whole time. Three cheers for Hester!

You can read my interview with him over at the Girls Entertainment Network.

I can’t stop reeling from everything I soaked in and experienced at San Diego Comic-Con—one of them definitely being the chance to play two highly anticipated games: Scribblenauts and Batman: Arkham Asylum.

I’m finally about to plunk down the cash for a Nintendo DS, and Scribblenauts ranks first on my list of games to buy (and I’m taking suggestions, by the way). But that doesn’t come out until next month. Batman: Arkham Asylum, on the other hand, lurks just around the corner.

At the Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment booth, I snagged two temporary Scribblenauts tattoos that I refuse to ever use just because they’re so damn cute. The WBIE member also let me have the last chattering teeth wind-up toy, too. Hell yes!

You can read my preview of both games over at the Girls Entertainment Network.

Okay, so this technically didn’t happen until Friday of San Diego Comic-Con, but I friggin’ interviewed Zack Snyder! Eeeeeee! The man has excellent tastes in jeans, I might add. Not that, erm, I was paying attention to anything like that. Not at all.

You can read my roundtable interview with the director of Watchmen and get the scoop on the director’s cut and more over at the Girls Entertainment Network.

And yes, there’s a picture of him.