Sookie and Eric got to take their relationship to the next level when Bill comes in. Bill does not take it well, throwing Bill easily. Sookie tells Eric that Bill is the King, and Eric submits, asking for forgiveness.

Bill takes Eric home with him. Eric tries to protect Sookie, even as Bill silvers him. Bill tries to make Eric out to be a danger, but Sookie maintains his innocence, refusing to leave without Eric. Bill has her escorted away. Eric is locked in a holding cell, he smells death. It’s Pam. She’s hiding from him, the rotting is worse, she’s not afraid, she’s angry. Pam tells Eric the truth about King Bill, and the truth about himself. But Eric does not want his life back, he does not remember.

Bill calls Nan to update her on Eric and Pam’s conditions. Bill makes the situation out to be worse than it is. He asks to impose the true death upon Eric. Nan gives him a pat on the back.

Arlene tells Terry that there’s no smoking in the boudoir when she smells smoke, but there’s a fire raging in the bedroom. She looks for the baby, but he’s gone. Terry is forced to carry Arlene out, but before he can go back for the baby the house explodes. The kids have Mikey, he was already outside playing with creepy doll. A woman waves to Mikey, and he smiles.

Sam  goes to see what happens, Terry’s armadillo is ok. Andy threatens Sam about being a slum lord, but Sam tells him that he needs to stop fucking with him before he turns into a Doberman and chews off his face. Andy goes to help Holly, and she’s grateful. Andy misreads the signs, and a cheeseburger offer happily turns into a date. Sam calls Tommy, asking him to open the bar for him.  Sam is determined to fill the brotherly role and help Tommy, Tommy in his grief turns into Sam, and freaks himself out.

Lafayette and Jesus sit at Brujo grandfather’s table. Jesus asks for protection. Grandfather does not take the request well. Grandfather asks for a sacrifice.

Maddie comes looking for Tara, who has a gun drawn. But she gives her a chance to explain herself. Tara finally tells Maddie all the hell that was her life, that she ran thinking it would never catch up with her. Toni was everything Tara wished she was, which does not ease Maddie at all. Maddie and Tara ease towards forgivness.

Sookie comes to tell Sam that she cannot work today. And he fires her. He gives her a lecture, that is clearly not Sam, and sends her on her way. Tommy likes the feel of Sam’s shoes. He hits on some ladies, and goes to check on Maxine. She tells him how Tommy left her, how he broke her heart. She says mean things about Tommy, but its because she’s hurt. Her words still sting Tommy a little.

Jason tries to hide from Sookie, but she can hear her. Jason tries to send Sookie away, but she refuses. She finds him tied to the bed, thinking it’s a sex thing. Jason has to tell her he thinks he’s turning into a werepanther.

Alcide comes home to find the wolf he sent away talking with Debbie. Debbie has told too much about their past with their former pack. Debbie plans on joining the wolf pack. Debbie has been keeping things from Alcide. Debbie tells Alcide he cannot be her whole world., that when she lost him before she lost herself and that was the start of her problems. She asks him to join the pack during the full moon.

Marnies begs for help from the spirit, Antonia, begging her to avenge the both of them. Marnie sees how Antonia was raped, drained and made to suffer before she was killed on the stake. She sees how as Antonia burned she and her coven called the vampires from their daytime rest into the sun, and they all burned together. Marnie see Antonia manifested before her for the first time before Antonia slides down her throat in total possession.

Lafayette and Jesus await their sacrifice in a field, Jesus tells him that the sacrifice will come to them. And then a rattle snake does exactly that.

Jason and Sookie sit on the porch. Jason wants Sookie to shoot him if he turns into a panther, but Sookie refuses. Jason tells her he just wants to be normal. But Sookie says everyone has something inside them they want to hide. That you can’t run from something inside, but it can be a blessing if you let it. He sends Sookie inside for another beer, as the full moon rises, and when she comes back he’s gone, only his sweatshirt remains. Smartly she grabs the shot gun before going to look for him.

Tara brings Maddie to Merlottes. Jessica goes to take the order, when she smells something, drops fang and leaves.

Luna surprises Tommy/Sam with a kiss. He stops her, but when she gives him a peep show, he can’t say no.

Jason hears noises in the woods. Jessica comes to Jason, she sensed his fear. Jason tells Jessica that hes turning into a werepanther, and Jessica tries to calm Jason as he panics. Jessica decides that she’s going to stay with him, since the night she was made was the scariest in memory and there’s no way shes going to let him go through it alone.

Debbie runs into Sookie in the woods, Alcide is with her. Sookie asks about werepanther, and how people become a were. Alcide says that there is no way to turn into a were, that its hereditary. She tells them to go do their thing, and runs off, but Alcide doesn’t look convinced she can handle herself.

Luna and “Sam” sit in the after glory. Luna says that it was different than she expected. She wants to soar like eagles, but “Sam” goes on the offensive, and Luna leaves. He changes back into himself.

Jason and Jessica sit in the moonlight. He’s sounds disappointed that he didn’t change. He asks Jessica if she could go back would she, but she wouldn’t. They have a tender moment, and Jason quickly leaves before it got awkward.

Eric kneels before Bill ready for the true death. He does not expect mercy, he asks for Pam’s release, because she is not a threat. And for Sookie he asks Bill to tell her that he was born the night she found him, and that because off her he found love and peace. He tells Bill that Sookie still loves him, and that he hopes after he’s gone they find eachother because Sookie deserves happiness. Bill brings down the stake but does not drive it home.

 Brujo tells Jesus and Lafayette that Marnie is using blood magic. Jesus does not see the real threat isn’t the vampires but the witches. Grandfather lets the rattlesnake bite Jesus and tells Lafayette to protect him and leaves. As Lafayette panics over Jesus, a spirit enters him, uncle Luca heals Jesus.

Sam returns home, ready to run, but Tommy is on the floor in his own vomit.

Tara lights a final cigarette to say goodbye to Toni. Maddie thinks that she might like Tara better. Pam comes and interrupts Maddie and Tara’s little moments. Even rotting, doesn’t stop Pam from dropping fang and attacking.

The vampire who told the others about Antonia sits watch over Marnie. She gives him a creepy smile, and he comes running to her. Father Luis sees her for what she is. He goes to attack, but she easily stops him with a little spell.

Sookie keeps looking for Jason, yelling that he’s not going to be a werepanther, when Eric finds her. Bill set him free. And instantly she’s in his arms. Bill sits alone on his porch. Eric and Sookie meanwhile have sex next to a bubbling brook, its tender and sweet, and above all hot, everything fans have been hoping for. It’s not a shower, but it’ll do just fine.

Release Date: July 29, 2011
Running Time: 118 mins

A fantastic movie, brilliant cast, great script, and a perfect blend of special effects. Cowboys & Aliens really isn’t an alien movie. In fact, the aliens have kind of a small part, and that’s one reason why this movie works.

It’s the story of people from a small western town. Like most generic westerns, there’s a stranger with no memory, a cattle rancher who runs the town, his spoiled son, oppressed town folk, a mysterious woman, and a crime. The crime just happens to be someone abducting the town’s people. The reluctant stranger joins a posse to find the missing and their abductors. The abductors could easily have been a rival cattle rancher or Indians, but this is a Jon Favreau film, and his abductors are aliens.

Another reason for success is brilliant casting, Daniel Craig (Jake Lonergan), Harrison Ford (Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde), Olivia Wilde (Ella Swenson), Sam Rockwell (Doc), Clancy Brown (Meacham), and Keith Carradine (Sheriff John Taggert). All the actors play their roles straight. No camp, no hysterics, no “this can’t be happening,” no one screaming “aliens!” The focus is the story of losing loved ones and how the people deal with it. They don’t really care who or what took their families, they just want them back alive. There just happens to be several minutes with aliens.

The script works by using its comical retorts in just the right places, not too much, but just enough to lighten the story, and none of it having to do with the aliens. For the most part the script is serious and takes advantage of Craig and Ford as the leads, or maybe it’s the other way around. Craig and Ford seem to enjoy being foes, using minimal banter and a lot of stare downs. The script also gives us many mysteries; the shackle on Jake's wrist, his past, who is he? Who is Ella, why is she interested in Jake (like she needs a reason)? Who took the town's people?

The director, Jon Favreau, also uses the perfect marriage of animatronics and CGI. Favreau takes us back to the great movies that use puppeteers and animatronics, while also mixing ground breaking digital effects. That also applies to his clever directing. He could just show us the creatures from the beginning, have them jump out and start grabbing people, trying the shock factor. But that would have blown the movie. Sure we want to see what the aliens look like, but again, that’s not the major part of the movie. Instead, we see strange lights in the sky. Then a mechanical flying machine, a shadow of a long arm, noises in the dark. All this builds the suspense of just what are these creatures. Next we see a long-fingered, clawed hand, then, finally, the creature.

The suspense continues throughout the entire 118 minutes. For example, in the bar scene, lawmen ask Jake to come with them. Jake, who really doesn’t say much in the movie, just leans back and waits; no sounds, no dialog. After a long minute or two, a lawman twitches and Craig reacts.

Cowboys and Aliens is not a scary horror movie. Favreau uses a perfect blend of all his resources to make a suspenseful, entertaining, light-hearted movie that all ages will enjoy.

BEWARE: SPOILERS BELOW

I went to Chloe Neill's book signing at San Diego Comic Con 2011. I had all four books from her Chicago Vampire Novel series. She looked up at me and said, "You must be real mad at me." At first, I thought she was talking about previously turning me down for an interview. Then I realized she had no idea who I was and I had Hard Bitten on top of my stack.

I introduced myself and, by the way, she will do an interview with me after she is finished with her current book. I would never do anything to delay her from that (even as greedy as I am).

I told her I was shocked and re-read the chapter at least 6 more times. I had to ask if Ethan's story was something she just came up with at the end or if it was planned. She replied that it was always planned from the beginning. She has had the entire arc of the series planned out. I have to commend her. It's not what the majority of her readers would want, but it definitely makes a great impact.

When we look back at some of the most memorable great movies, plays, and books, they tend to give us a story we don't expect, may not like, and would never dream of; think of Titanic. I tend to like when stories surprise me, of course secretly, I hope Ethan returns someday.

Thursday, the first official day of Comic Con was full of lots of anticipated panels, one of which being Ringer, in Ballroom 20. The return of Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, playing twins no less, was one not to be missed. This was only her second Comic Con appearance, the first since Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended. Sarah Michelle Gellar was joined on stage by Executive Producer Pam Veasay, Leading men: Ioan Gruffudd, Nestor Carbonell, Kristoffer Polaha, and Executive Producers Nicole Snyder and Eric Carmello.

Ringer, really, is a tale of two sisters, and although Sarah Michelle Gellar is pulling double duty, everyone has two faces. The themes of identity and duplicity seem to be central themes. Gellar’s twins may share a face, but they are both very different. Siobhan is rich, successful, married to Andrew (Ioan Gruffudd) and having an affair with her firend’s husband Henry (Kristoffer Polaha). Meanwhile Bridget is a recovering addict and former stripper on the run from gangsters. The twins come together after a long ago falling out, and Siobhan goes missing. Bridget assumes her sister’s identity, but things are not as they seem. Bridget’s story is one of redemption, whereas Siobhan’s is one of revenge.

It’s a huge contrived plot, but the writers have a plan, a three year plan in fact. EP Eric Carmello joked, "Nine years ... then the triplet shows up. [Laughs] We had three seasons percolating ... when you start on a project things evolve. We're playing with time and perspective and that allows us a lot of latitude." The EPs were quick to express that while some mysteries would take longer to unfold, all would be answered. They have a plan, and thank goodness for that, the small preview they showed held lots of mysteries.

Season 1 will really focus on Bridget. The sisters will be shown together in flashbacks, and we’ll see what eventually lead the sisters on two very different paths, and what ultimately ripped them apart. There’s one incident in particular, which may or may not involve a child, that caused irreparable damage. And while Gellar knows where the story is headed, she’s not involved with the writing, or willing to spill the deets at this time. She did however talk about the how the double vision was pulled off. “Sometimes I'm playing opposite the double, sometimes I'm wearing an earpiece and hearing [myself] in playback, and by Season 3 I figure they'll just clone me."

Of course, the question of why Ringer came up. And Gellar’s response was perfect. "It's really hard when you have a show like 'Buffy' that you love so much and was so perfect ... you're not looking for a show to top it," Gellar admitted. "We wouldn't exist without the fans. I wanted to do a show that the fans would love and that I would love. 'Ringer' encompasses all those things." She seems genuinely excited even if the show won’t let her do her own stunts like Buffy did. For some reason she was really obsessed with getting thrown through a wall, perhaps because they really didn’t want her to even fall on the ground.

And speaking of Buffy it seems that Polaha has a Buffy connection as well. Polaha actually auditioned for the role of Riley Finn. He was flown out, and tested with Gellar in front of Joss Whedon. But he ultimately lost the role to Marc Blucas. But there’s no hard feelings, cause after all those years, Polaha is now working with and getting the chance to smooth Gellar.

So, about that whole network change? The show was originally set for CBS, but was actually passed on. The CW jumped at the opportunity. "The CW embraced what the show was -- the story's intriguing, and they embraced the serialized aspect of the show. We'll add a lot more youthful, hip music. It wasn't such a difficult transition, [and] now I get to write this great serialized thriller."  Veasay said. And the cast echoed that sentiment, saying it seemed to fit better over at the CW. And Gellar enthused another perk, a better wardrobe. "Yes, I'm getting better clothing. I think we have a little more freedom, you can take more risks. We all know who CBS' audience is -- because The CW is still finding themselves [and their audience], that gives us a chance to find ourselves, too."

The panel closed with some fan Q and A, and with so many of the supernatural/superhero genres in the actors’ past of course everyone was curious if any of that would cross over to Ringer. "There will be no vampires, no demons, no hatch, no island ... except for Long Island," Snyder said.

Ringer premieres Tuesday, September 13 at 9pm on the CW.

Have you ever plugged your ears during a scary movie? Have you ever cried just before the break up scene? More times than not, it was the music that lead you there. If you have ever been lucky (or unlucky) enough to watch a movie, television, or cartoon scene without music, then you’ve noticed just how important a musical score is. No eye squints before the class jerk jumps out from behind a door. No idea that a shark is about to attack three men on a boat. No clue a green-faced witch is about to attack with her flying monkeys.

Musical scores set the emotional tone, and overall mood of a scene. As Robert Duncan commented, it allows you to “feel the story.” Some can even bring back the memory of a movie. Does anyone not recognize the themes to Halloween and Jaws? I was lucky enough to sit down with several leading composers of today’s movies and television, Christopher Young (Spider-Man 3, Ghost Rider), Danny Jacob (Phineas and Ferb), Helene Muddiman (Happy Feet 2), James Levine (Glee, The Closer, Damages), Robert Duncan (Castle, The Entitled), Edward Rogers (Warehouse 13), and Nathan Barr (True Blood).

I discovered the most common instruments the composers started on were guitar and keyboards, but Nathan Barr also played cello. Edward Rogers is most comfortable with “keys,” but finds if he stays on just keys, he keeps writing similar things. He said he has many instruments that he doesn’t play well, but will bang enough on them, from time to time, to figure out who he might hire to play the composition.

The stories of how they all started in the business ranged from attending school, booking gigs as a guitar player, spending as much time possible with other composers, and internships (working for free) just to gain experience. But no matter how you start, your passion, willing to learn, and giving up your ego are your best assets.

Danny Jacob recalled when he first heard from Disney. “Once I got even a little nibble from Disney, I made it my mission in life to just want them to never call anyone else.” He did whatever he had to do, going without sleep, anything to make the boss happy. “You gotta make your boss happy.” Robert Duncan continued, “I think composing survival 101, is putting your own vision aside to begin with.” He then quoted a mentor of his, Richard Bellis, as saying, “The last thing a director wants is a composer expressing himself all over his movie.”

I asked Nathan Barr if the music that carries through the seasons on True Blood was planned that way, or if it was an afterthought. He replied, “When True Blood was developed, the musical was developed in the first episode, the pilot, because that’s what Alan [Ball] wanted. So [seasons] 1, 2, and 3 are very similar. And now, season four is like very different because Alan wanted to do this big opening. Ever since we went to orchestra, that kinda sent the score heading in a different direction this season, a little bit. But its still got its unique sound.”



A colleague asked, “What is the hardest instrument to write for?” James Levine replied, “The human voice.” He continued, “You write for the music, then find the best guy to play it.” Hélène Muddiman hears the sound in her head, then figures out how to make an instrument make that sound. “What my job is, is to figure out how to make that sound into the strings. I don’t write a piece of music necessarily around what a harp is capable of. Which is what you’re always trying to push…trying to push the boundaries all the time.”

Pushing the boundaries is what gives us a multitude of soundtracks. Listen to three movies of the same genre and you will hear three very different compositions. They may all even be from the same composer. That’s what these people strive for in every project, a composition different from their last that doesn’t stand out from the movie or TV show, but enhances it.

When asked, “What puts you in your creative space?” Hélène quickly stated, “Fear…of a deadline. Knowing that I have to get it done by Friday and I’ll be procrastinating right up until the last minute…until the shit hits the fan. If you don’t give me a deadline, nothing will happen.”

At the beginning of this article, I asked if you’ve ever listened to a movie or show without the music playing, just the actors’ voices and a few sound effects. Now I want you to listen to that movie without watching it. I’m sure you will be just like me. Even though you don’t see the creature lurking under the bed, you will know exactly when it reaches out and grabs its victim. I bet you even jumped too. At that moment, thank the composer.

Additional posters were released during comic con, along with a comic con exclusive, and we have them all here, the old and the new. Behold the beauty! Look for the Immortals in theatres 11/11/11

Daniel Sharman as Ares

Mickey Rourke as King Hyperion

Isabel Lucas as Athena 

Freida Pinto as Phaedra

Kellan Lutz as Poseidon

Stephen Dorff as Stavros

Henry Cavill as Theseus

Luke Evans as Zeus

Yes "Fright Night" has been re-invented 25 years after the original was released, and Colin Farrell was here among his other cast mates Anton Yelchin, Christopher Mintz Plasse, Imogen Poots, and even Chris Sarandon who was the original Jerry Dandridge. Also present was writer Marti Noxon who has a history of vampire works and director Craig Gillespie who speaks about the differences and evolution the characters take in this "Twilight" universe we all live in today. And speaking of evolution, this remake has been done in 3D, yes you read it right...3D!

For those of you who have not seen the original "Fright Night" horror/comedy thriller, the story is about a young teen boy named Charlie Brewster who suspects that his new neighbor is a vampire. And of course the perfect person to play this bad boy vampire is none other than Hollywood's best bad boy Colin Farrell. He himself told the Comic Con crowd that he is trying to change this reputation by working his butt off in these recent years, first in "Horrible Bosses", "Fright Night" and also another remake of Arnold Schwarzenegger's "Total Recall." The change is due to reconnecting with what made him want to become an actor in the first place. He also explains that his success came too quickly and his decisions on and off camera were greatly effected.

During the press conference Farrell explained that he was quick to identify himself as a long time fan of the vampire movies in general, so naturally he had to have an opinion on the "Twilight" phenomenon. Comparing his "Fright Night" vampire to Robert Pattinson's Edward Cullen, Farrell says, "If it were a piece of meat, Jerry...and if it were for the love of a woman, I'm afraid Cullen would have me." Such a witty and unstaged statement from Colin that made the room fill with laughter. I would have loved to hear more about his experience in making the movie but we were told he had to leave for another appearance elsewhere, which I am guessing to promote "Total Recall" here at the Con as well. So before he makes his grand exit, he walks over to Chris Sarandon at the end of the table and plants a kiss on his head. Lots of "awwwws" filled the room as we shot many photos for this once in a lifetime moment, which by the way I did catch camera.

So because Chris Sarandon was there, he was in full support of this remake but didn't in the beginning. He says there was a certain amount of skepticism but the director Craig Gillespie and writer Marti Noxon figured out a way to make it contemporary and at the same time an 'am age' so that the fans of the original movie appreciate it and take it on a different kind of ride. Sarandon says, " I think that's what this movie does."

Marti Noxon confessed that she was not aware of how a classic "Fright Night" truly was. It's been 25 years since the original was released and the world has changed a lot. Kids live in a "Twilight" universe and there are new places to reinvent from the original. Noxon wanted to be respectful to the original but there were a lot of ways that the movie can explore the characters a little differently now. There was a challenge of staying true and reinvent the fun, horror and heart of the original movie. A question was asked, "why should we go out and see THIS movie???" Marti answers, "it's a rollercoaster horror and thrills, with bits of humor and fun!" Chris Sarandon jumps in and says, " with characters you can identify with." "Fright Night" hits theaters on August 9, 2011 so go out and enjoy yourself and watch it, it's just pure entertainment.

SYNOPSIS: Senior Charlie Brewster (Anton Yelchin) finally has it all. He's part of the in-crowd and dating the most wanted and beautiful girl (Imogen Poots) at his high school. In fact he is too cool to hang out with his best friend 'Evil' Ed Thompson (Christopher Mintz-Plasse). But trouble soon begins when Jerry Dandridge (Colin Farrell) moves in next door. He appears to be an awesome guy at first, but there is something not quite right about him. Everyone including his mom (Toni Collette) doesn't notice. After seeing some peculiar activity Charlie comes to an unmistakable conclusion. His new neighbor Jerry is indeed a vampire preying on his neighborhood. Charlie is unable to convince anyone of his suspicions but he is determined to find a way get rid of the monster himself.

Director: Craig Gillespie

Writer: Marti Noxon

Screenplay Writer of story & film: Tom Holland

Producers: Michael De Luca, Micahel J. Gaeta & Alison R. Rosenberg

Executive Producers: Ray Angelic, Josh Bratman, Lloyd Ivan Miller

Producer 3D Tech: Keith Melton

CAST:

Colin Farrell: Jerry Dandridge

David Tennant: Peter Vincent

Anton Yelchin: Charlie Brewster

Christopher Mintz Plasse: "Evil" Ed Thompson

Imogen Poots: Amy Peterson

Toni Collette: Jane Brewster

DARK HORSE COMICS EISNER WINNERS!

CONGRATS TO MIKE MIGNOLA, RICHARD CORBEN,

 DAVE STEWART & JUANJO GUARNIDO!

July 27, MILWAUKIE, OR— The Eisner Awards took place on Friday night of Comic Con International.  These prestigious awards honor the best of the best within the comics world. With the madness of San Diego Comic-Con behind us, Dark Horse Comics looks forward to an amazing fall publishing schedule ahead. But first, we’d like to congratulate our Eisner Award winners!

Best Single Issue (or One-Shot):
Hellboy: Double Feature of Evil, by Mike Mignola and Richard Corben

Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (Interior Art):
Juanjo Guarnido, Blacksad

Best Cover Artist:
Mike Mignola, Hellboy, Baltimore: The Plague Ships

Best Coloring:
Dave Stewart, Hellboy, B.P.R.D., Baltimore, Let Me In (Dark Horse); Detective Comics (DC); Neil Young’s Greendale, Daytripper, Joe the Barbarian (Vertigo/DC)

The Eisner Awards are part of, and underwritten by, Comic-Con International, a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of comics to art and culture.

Well done, boys! Well done!

About Dark Horse Comics

Since 1986, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola, Neil Gaiman, Gerard Way, and comics legend Will Eisner, Dark Horse has developed such successful characters as the Mask, Timecop, and SpyBoy. Additionally, its highly successful line of comics and products based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Emily the Strange, Tim Burton, Trigun, Serenity, and Domo. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic-book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading publishers of licensed comics material.

I had a chance to talk with John Balen on Preview Night of San Diego Comic Con, and he was more than happy to share a little about this exciting new line of toys from Disney Stores.

So tell me a little about the pop vinyl line and how it kind of came to be.

It was a year and a half ago, that one of the designers from our pixar studios who we’re friends with and we work on a lot of projects with, including the design projects for all the movies. He saw the pop line for the first time at the toy fair in 2010, and we, he was like you’ve got to go see this line, like we love this line, I think it would be amazing, for our characters. And like, he never leads us astray. So we went and saw Brian at Funko, and we fell in love with the whole Pop line, and we were like we have to do these in Disney characters. So we did. We came out with Series one, which is actually there on the top shelf, all series one is available in Disney Stores, and Disneystore.com starting last, in May. So that’s our very first series that we had out of those 12 characters, and we just loved having them, and what we wanted to do is to bring them out to comic con to really introduce them to the comic con guests, whose gonna get that connection of art and vinyl and the toy collectable movement. And to really be able to identify and say ‘hey this is the Disney store, like I wouldn’t expect to see this at the Disney store, so we wanted to introduce some special editions here for that guest to be able to discover what we have in our stores.

And then you guys just put out a release today about the new robot Mickey line.

 

A whole new robot vinylmation line comes out Friday, and its actually, we have this great signing happening at the fashion valley store Friday and Saturday nights with all the artists that worked on the line so they’re there to do signings and its going to be so much fun. That line is really near and dear to our hearts and its only the second vinylmation that Disney store artists designed, it’s the whole vinylmation line is a collaboration that started at the Disney theme parks. So Disney Theme parks started the whole vinylmation line and then Disney Stores designed villains and so that was our first series that came out in the spring. And then robots come out this Friday, and we’re super excited about this one.

Is that connected to any kind of movie or anything?

No. It is wholly inspired,  our idea about this retro 50s art style. We’ve got an amazing viral video that you’ve got to check out. Its like a whole retro throwback to 50s monster movies, that’s so cute and we just love it. We’ve already gotten an amazing response to it so far. And we’re real excited to launch that line. I think it will probably be our fastest selling line. I think we’re really excited about that one.

We’re do you see it going from here? You did the villain line, now you’re doing the robots.

So at Disney Store we’re committed to doing a new vinylmation series as often as we can crank out some art work or come up with a great concept, so we’ve got vinylmation plotted out for the next couple of years, all new series, some in collaboration with the parks, some on our own, some are Disney Store exclusives. So we’ve got lots of crazy things coming. It’s all a really fun job for our artists to do, because really they can think of anything they want, and when the designs look amazing and really click, its like a winner, which makes us really excited.

Well yeah. It’s great for kids, and the big kids.

That’s the thing. It’s the whole pop line has an amazing design aesthetic sensibility because it does appeal to little kids, but it does also appeal to like collectors and adults. Like I’m seeing adults come out of here with armfuls of them and you know what it’s not just kids who love them, so  like it’s great for us because we can introduce this whole line to this guest who may not be in the Disney Stores.

And then there’s also the Wizard of Oz series that is displayed here.

Funko actually has licenses for multiple lines. So they’re doing lots of properties, but the only ones you’ll find at Disney Stores are the Disney characters, though I think we may be introducing the Marvel characters soon.

Let me actually describe some of these to you, they’re really fantastic. There’s, my favorite in the line, the flocked Sully. The regular line features a painted Sully, but this one is flocked. He actually has a texture to him. There’s only 480 pieces to him and once he’s gone, he’s gone. And then his companion is a glow in the dark Mike Wazowski, which is amazing and there’s also only 480 pieces of those. Also there’s the chrome edition of Mickey, and a Mr. Incredible that’s actually in his retro costume. When this comes out in series 2, he’ll be in his regular Mr. Incredible costume, but this is the only place you can get him in his retro costume.

Are they going to have the other Incredibles or just Mr. Incredible.

We are going to introduce them in future series, so that’s a little preview to you. We started with Mr. Incredible, and we’re introducing other Monsters characters too. So they’re all an inkling of series we’re planning, we’ve planned all the way to series four. So we’ve got series 2 coming out this fall, series 3 coming out sometime after that, and series 4 is still in the design concept stage.

Are any of the Cars characters planning on crossing over to vinyl?

We are working on it. That is the biggest design challenge right now for our Pixar designer, Ben Butcher, whose actually gonna be here signing tomorrow. He’s going to be here doing a signing in the booth tomorrow, and Friday morning, and he is working on it. It’s a tricky aesthetic to convert into a four wheeled car, let’s put it that way. I’m like good luck Ben, go for it.

Do you think that the Cars are the hardest to convert, or was there another one that was more challenging?

They all have their unique challenges, but the cars are definitely hard, we still haven’t figured out how to do Lightning McQueen as a pop character yet, but we’re working on it. We’re working on it. I’m always like where’s Ben, because if Ben was here he could tell you how its going.

Maybe I’ll come back and ask Ben.

Exactly! Ask Ben tomorrow while he’s doing the signing. Just go, so how are you gonna come out with a Lightning McQueen in pop. That’s what I want to see.

So he can go, “Ooooo, Hmmm.” No they are adorable though, I’ve seen them in the stores, but they never have them all in.

We have the 12 here, but none of the series one are available. They’re available online at Disney Store and disneystore.com, but its starting to sell out. We’re real excited because it’s going real fast. 

Joe Lee continues to wrangle Tommy, and he plays dead, before turning the tables on Joe Lee. Tommy finally puts an end to the man with the dirty undies, only regretting his actions when he accidently hits his mama too.

Marnie awakens still in her circle. She tells Lafayette, Jesus and Tara about the spirit that’s been possessing her. Only Lafayette sees the danger, knowing that no matter the excuse, it ends in getting eaten. Marnie tries to rationalize it, but the other three roll out.

Arlene freaks out about baby Mikey’s writing on the wall, convinced that ghost Renee is after her baby. Terry thinks that they should turn to God, a total cleansing of the house.

Eric watches a sleeping Sookie, when Godric appears. Godric smells Sookie, and Eric goes to protect her. Godric wants Eric to drink from Sookie, but he resists. He tells Eric that he is damned, but Eric believes that Sookie can save him. Finally they drink from Sookie so they can walk in the sun together, and Eric awakens. He goes to her bedroom, fangs lowered, but when Sookie awakens, he tells her he had a bad dream.

Jessica and Hoyt bring Jason home. Hoyt’s grateful that she saved Jason, but Jessica seems hesitant. She pulls away from him, and he doesn’t understand why. She claims she’s tired, but Hoyt knows she’s hiding something. He sends her home, and stays with Jason.

Portia goes to see Bill, unwilling to let go of the relationship.  Bill is forced to glamour her, to make her believe that she’s actually scared of him.

Sookie and Eric lie in bed talking about his dream. He cuddles on her lap, telling her that he likes to be with her. She still finds it hard to believe how much he’s changed. He asks if he can stay until sunrise. Sookie tells him he can so long as he keeps his hands and fangs to himself.

Pam shows what the witches did to her face. Bill tells her that its forbidden, but Pam is a little unrelenting since it involves her beautiful face.

Lafayette packs to go on an extended visit to Jesus’s brujo grandfather. Tara plans to go to New Orleans. Quickly Layfayette sees the holes in the rational, that a grandfather he hates may not be the best protection against an angry Eric. Jesus tells him that of the last time he saw his crazy grandfather, he had to kill his pet goat he got for his birthday. The story only makes Lafayette even more hesitant. But Jesus insists that they need death magic.

Tara calls Maddie, telling her that  she’s coming home, but maddie asks who’s Tara. Toni is busted.

Tommy shows Sam what he’s done.

Sookie asks Holly about the Wiccans, saying she’s interested. She tries to turn the subject to the vamp attacks, but Holly doesn’t want to talk about it, but it does bring the thoughts of what happened to Holly’s mind.

Jason and Hoyt have a little heart to heart. Jason believes that the whole hot shot incident happened because of his past indiscretions, it was God’s punishment. Hoyt admits that he knows something is wrong with Jessica. When Holly mentions the full moon, a wave of panic goes through Jason. He leaves hastily.

Reverend Daniels comes to cleanse Arlene and Terry’s house with Tara’s mother Lottie Mae. They sing lively, and sage the house.

Sookie arrives at Marnie’s shop, she asks for a reading, but Marnie at first says no, but then has her sit down. Marnie sees Sookie’s Gran, she tells her that she’s at peace, and wants her to look after her brother. She asks if she’s falling in love, tells her that she cannot give her heart to him, that the condition is temporary. Sookie finally hears Gran herself. She tells Sookie that Marnie poses a danger, and to run. Sookie listens.

Sam and Tommy are driving with their parent’s bodies, when a V-strung Andy pulls them over. Sam tells Tommy to get in the back, trying to save everyone, but Andy sees blood and immediately becomes suspicious, going to search the vehicle. Sam is forced to get out, and unlock the back, and when he opens the door, there’s a giant gator. He tells Andy he found the gator by the dumpster, and was releasing the gator where he belongs.

Katie, Bill’s spy, comes to see Marnie asking about the incident in the woods. Marnie tells Katie that they're being watched over, protected, before a group of men come to capture Marnie.

Tara finally tells Sookie about Maddie. She admits how much she hates Bon Temps for all the hell she went through, and that she’s afraid to lose Maddie. Sookie tells her to fight for Maddie, to be honest with the people she loves, which brings her thoughts to Eric in his hidey hole.

As Marnie sits praying in her holding cell, the Spanish witch takes over. She sees when the witch was in prison, sitting helpless as her fellow witches were drained by vampires posing as priests.

Tara asks Sookie if she can stay, but Sookie tries to turn her away. Tara goes on the offensive when she sees Eric. Sookie tries to tells Tara that Eric is different, but Tara lists all the reasons that Sookie should hate Eric. That he helped Russell drain her, that he forced her to drink his blood, that he tortured Lafayette in his basement. Sookie begs her to stop, as Eric listens on.

Bill questions Marnie about what happened with Eric. Marnie maintains that they only practice peacefully. Bill brings up the spell placed on Pam but Marnie tells him that she does not know how to reverse it. Bill decides to glamour Marnie. He questions Marnie under glamour and finds that she truly does not know.

Brujo grandfather sneaks up on Lafayette and Jesus. He’s been expecting them.

A wolf shows up on Alcide’s door, Alcide tries to send him away. Alcide has not registered with the pack of Shreveport where he’s been living. He sends the wolf away.

Sam and Tommy drag their parents to the swamp to dump their bodies.  Tommy broke two of his own commandments. Don’t kill shit, don’t fuck with your parents. He tells his mama sorry before he and Sam heave hos the bodies. Sam tries to make Tommy feel better that he was at war with his parents and that it was self defense. Tommy tells him that he doesn’t know, and Sam has to admit that he killed two people. Tommy worries when the bodies don’t sink, and Sam pulls the solution from his pocket. “Gators love marshmallows.”

Terry and Arlene make love, and afterwards marvel over how well Mikey is sleeping, thinking that maybe the cleansing worked better. Terry is an eternal ray of sunshine. A book of matches spontaneously combust on the night stand.

Jason wakes to Jessica climbing up him . He asks if it’s a dream, and when she says it is, he gives into her. She talks about Hoyt, to the discomfort of Jason, as she tries to seduce him. But when Hoyt shows up it turns really awkward, in a dirty, hot kinda way. And then Jason finally wakes up.

Eric asks why Sookie why she’s letting him stay when he’s been so horrible to her. She tells him its because she knew he was capable of kindness, and he’s finally showing that. As he walks away Sookie is saddened. She asks him to not leave her, and she finally gives him the kiss he’s been begging for.

Bill brings forth the four remaining sheriffs, briefing them on the situation. One of the sheriffs mocks the witches. Bill has one of the vampires tell the others about Antonia who used necromancy to awaken vampires and take a walk into the light. The sheriffs seeing Pam want to take out the witches responsible. Pam makes a fatal mistake and outs Eric’s location. Bill races off.

The Psych panel is always one of my favorites at Comic Con, and this year was no exception. The panel started with a live performance of the theme song, and the cast joined in during the second chorus. They definitely know how to entertain! Kurt Fuller moderated the panel which included: Corbin Bernsen, Kirsten Nelson, Tim Omundson, Maggie Lawson, Dulé Hill, and James Roday. Along with creator and Executive Producer Steve Franks, and executive producers Kelly Kulchak and Chris Henze.

Season 6 doesn’t have a premiere date, right now they’re saying a winter start (October), but Steve Franks spoke about a musical episode. “I’m a big liar because I promised that the episode that shoots Monday was going to be the musical, but then I realized that you can’t write a musical in three weeks,” he said. “So it’s going to be the first episode of season 7.”

 

 The sneak peak of the new season looks amazing. I almost fell out of my seat when Gus said “Sookie is Mine!” The list of guest stars keeps growing, which included William Shatner, Tom Lenk (Andrew from Buffy), Kristy Swanson (the original Buffy), Tony Hale,  Keenan Thompson, Jaleel White (yes, the return of Urkel), Malcolm McDowell, Cary Elwes and more.  And it also showed that Shawn just may be outted as a non-psychic by the look of things, which will undoubtedly put his relationship with Juliet in jeopardy.

“I think she believes whole-heartedly what he [Shawn] says he is.” Maggie Lawson said about whether O’Hara actually believes Shawn is a psychic. Poor blind love.

Some other highlights of the panel: Kristen Nelson once again showed just how hilarious she was, when she instantly went off on a CSI tangent. The smell of petunias would be clue # 1. And later she has to be reminded that not all audience members may be 18, when she says one of her favorite moments was when Juliet did the one handed cock.

 

And don’t hold your breath for a Psych/Mentalist crossover. Roday joked that “Something tells me The Mentalist‘s not going to want to take the 12 million viewers hit.” And will Roday ever join twitter? “When the time is right. When there is both a lunar and solar eclipse.” That could happen right? No? Well I’m still waiting for him to join. Dule ever the tweeter followed the fan who asked the question and brought up the hashtag campaign to get Roday on Twitter.

The panel ended with a short music video/promo of the cast performing “Don’t You Forget About Me” for the new season, which saw Dule on a rocking horse. I may never be able to get that hilarious and creepy image out of my head.