Comic-Con 2009 update: Twilight, Young Avengers, Obsidian and more!

The annual nerd prom started this week and, while the exhibitor floor didn't have any flashy displays like last year's Watchmen Owl Ship, it doesn't sound like the geek culture mecca has calmed any. Usually, Thursday's panels feature the convention's version of the D-list but this year Thursday's panels included the likes of Twilight and James Cameron's Avatar.

So what have the interesting bits of news to come out of Comic-Con? We've got the round-up for you.

Twilight all night

New Moon's Taylor Launter, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart

Those of you who've been to Comic-Con before are probably aware of the tremendous size of Hall H, where all the big panels are, but that didn't stop Twilight fans from forming "Camp Twilight" where fans camped in front of the convention center overnight to ensure they'd have a good spot for the The Twilight Saga: New Moon panel.

In a sign of how much of Comic-Con has grown, the last time I made it to San Diego, people were lining up for popular panels an hour beforehand, but now I guess you've got to pull an all-nighter to get in.

After some generational tension within Camp Twilight, the fans were treated some new footage of the highly-anticipated movie and got to hear hunky star Taylor Launter talk about how he got himself buff for the film's shirtless scenes. Which, I guess gives me an excuse to post Launter's New Moon poster.

Waiting for Hulkling and Wiccan

It's been nearly three years since the last issue of Young Avengers came out. While the series is groundbreaking for featuring gay teen couple Hulkling and Wiccan, it also gained a following for the clever way out creator Allan Heinberg played with Marvel continuity and kept a good story going and giving it a wide audience eager for more.

In the meantime, we've gotten the Young Avengers Presents mini-series, but those stories made sure to leave the characters unchanged for when Heinberg could return to them.

Thus, at the "Mondo Marvel" panel, Marvel editor-in-cheif Joe Quesada was asked about the future of the gay-inclusive series and Quesada promised that Heinberg is "knee-deep in writing a massive Young Avengers-related project" but nothing will be announced until the script is finished to prevent any delays.

It's good to hear Marvel hasn't given up on Young Avengers, but considering how long Heinberg took to wrap up his first Wonder Woman arc, my hopes aren't getting too high so far. How are you feeling about the prospects of seeing this Young Avengers project?

Obsidian: out of the shadows?

I usually get the feeling that Marvel and DC take turns being the leader in gay visibility. Right now, Marvel definitely is out in front. So when is DC going to try to catch up? Here's something to give us some hope at a JSA panel, writer Bill Willingham mentioned that he has plans to finally put Obsidian in the spotlight after months of the character being the JSA's "barely-there gay".

When asked, Willingham promised Obsidian wouldn't be joining the list of gay characters who were eventually "straightened out", joking, "I'm almost 97% certain that there won't be a scene in an upcoming issue of JSA where Obsidian goes, 'I'm cured! I'm no longer gay! I like women!'"

It's been ages since I've read anything by Willingham, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed he can do justice to Obsidian, who's been ignored for too long. How are you feeling about the prospect?

Bat Boy lives on

Meanwhile, comics publisher IDW has added to some gayness by announcing that out editor Bob Schreck will be joining the company, but I have a feeling gay comics readers are going to be more interested in their upcoming mini-series based on the campy tabloid The Weekly World News. IDW publishes a lot of licensed titles like Doctor Who so it'll be fun what they do with out-there concepts like Bat Boy and the PhD Ape.

Geek Screen

Comic-con is also a spot where TV shows try to market themselves to the geekerati and, so far, that's included a table read of the last, unaired episode of ABC Family's lamented scifi comedy The Middleman (which starred the frequently gay-adjacent Matt Keeslar). The announcement that the upcoming Dexter season will be preceded by prequel webisodes and Bruce Campbell joking about a potential Burn Notice/Evil Dead mash-up.

Probably the most anticipated panel will be the panels for Doctor Who, Torchwood and Being Human on Sunday, which will include Russell T. Davies, John Barrowman, Russell Tovey and David Tennant. I wonder how things will go when Davies meets with angry Janto fans.

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has been following many of the TV panels. I'm sure she'll be a reliable source for whatever comes out of Sunday's panels.