Hour 2 of PTG Episode 10 kicks off with the funnier of the two clips from Chasing Amy set in the midst of a comic convention, but honestly, in my opinion its only funnier due to Jason Lee’s unique delivery of the f-bomb. Yeah, juvenile, I know–the f-bomb still cracks me up sometimes.

Well, though I swear no one is more surprised by it than I am, I was actually able to keep my promise to you, my listeners, that if Dan Didio, Senior VP-Executive Editor of DC Comics, truly was at MegaCon this year I’d have a few questions for him and I’d corner if I had to in order to get answers. I got him in a corner all right, but as it turned out, he picked out the corner of the convention center, not me. The head honcho of DC’s publishing end was gracious, humorous, and a pleasure to talk to on a range of subjects, including but limited to more DC visits to MegaCon, the work of Geoff Johns, Final Crisis, Green Arrow/Black Canary writer Andrew Kreisberg going on to becoming a writer and producer on FOX’s Fringe, done-in-one stories in comics, and electronic delivery of print products in the future. If you’re a DC reader I hope you enjoy listening to the interview as much as I did giving it. And to my listeners who aren’t comic book readers, you shouldn’t skip over this segment, because I asked Dan to recommend a comic book from DC for fans of sci-fi and fantasy, fans of the genre who aren’t comic book readers right now, to get them hooked, and he in fact gave me TWO recommendations that I wholeheartedly agree with.

In the “b” block of Hour 2, Sports Buzz Ryan calls in to share his thoughts about Street Fighter IV, the latest entry in Capcom’s legendary fighting series and one that seems worthy of all the pre-release hype and anticipation. All you Ken and Ryu fans, you Chun-Li lovers and Bison fanatics, if you don’t have this game yet, GET it. It’s everything you ever loved about Street Fighter II, given the next-gen console treatment with all the trimmings.

No BSG After-Action report in the “c” block, but instead a quick review of Marvel’s New Avengers #50 and some final thoughts on this year’s MegaCon. Hope you enjoy!

The DC Universe Panel at MegaCon 2009

Prime Time Geek’s coverage of MegaCon 2009 continues with this recording of the DC Universe Panel, hosted by Senior VP and Executive Editor Dan Didio and featuring panelists Tony Bedard (R.E.B.E.L.S), Dan Jurgens (Booster Gold), Jimmy Palmiotti (Power Girl, Jonah Hex), George Pérez (Legion of 3 Worlds, Brave and the Bold), Ethan Van Sciver (Green Lantern: Rebirth, The Flash: Rebirth), and Billy Tucci (Sgt. Rock). Listed below are some highlights of the panel and the time index during the audio file when they occur. Enjoy!

3:00 – Dan Didio reads the official Orange County, Florida proclamation, signed by Orange County Mayor Richard Crotty, declaring Saturday, March 28th as George Pérez Day.

6:00 – Didio discusses DC’s plan to follow up on the momentum of Final Crisis, with Battle for the Cowl, Superman: World of New Krypton, Flash: Rebirth, and “Rise of the Olympian” in Wonder Woman.

7:30 – Tony Bedard talks R.E.B.E.L.S. and why Brainiac 2 (Vril Dox) is such a fun character to work with.

8:50 – Dan Jurgens talks about what’s to come in the pages of Booster Gold

10:00 – Jimmy Palmiotti talks about what’s in store for Power Girl in her new solo title and also his work on Jonah Hex.

12:54 – George Pérez discusses Legion of 3 Worlds and tries to be vague about his next “epic” project.

15:10 – Ethan Van Sciver talks about his work with Geoff Johns on The Flash: Rebirth and what the newly-resurrected Barry Allen encounters in the first issue, as well as teasing a momentous meeting in issue #3.

16:20 – Billy Tucci touches on his work on Sgt. Rock and also gets to tell a great story about a particular gift he gave to Didio one year recently.

20:40 – Floor opens for questions

21:00 – Didio fields a question about “done-in-one” issues and about the fun of characters like Jonah Hex, Sgt. Rock, and the soon-to-return Warlord, who work and play outside current continuity.

23:08 – Question about the possibility of “letters pages” returning and also an “explanation book” to help readers out with the end of Final Crisis.

26:00 – J. Michael Straczynski still writing an arc in Brave and the Bold?

29:00 – Will Bruce Wayne’s current status be addressed in “Blackest Night”?

30:18 – MY question to Didio, regarding the decision to divulge the identity of certain Black Lanterns LONG before “Blackest Night” begins through DC Direct solicitations for Blackest Night action figures (if you’ve been listening to PTG, you’ll recall that particular spoiler got under my skin REAL bad. Apparently, I was the only one bothered by it in that room.)

32:30 – Didio addresses the relaunch of the Batman family of titles in June, along with listing the new titles joining that family.

36:51 – Didio poses this question to the audience: If a new Flash regular series were to begin, what would the number of the first issue be (assuming it resumes numbering from an earlier Flash series). The answer they get from someone in the front row left even me stunned at the level of memory power displayed.

38:52 – Question to Palmiotti about Power Girl and where she fits in now in the Superman family of characters, in particular her relationship to Supergirl.

41:48 – Didio fields a question about the current Batman/Superman title and when will it start to reflect current continuity (e.g. Bruce Wayne gone). Answer: “It won’t.”)

43:00 – Recap pages possibly in DC Comics?

44:18 – Upcoming appearance by the Suicide Squad? Didio: watch for Rick Flagg and Amanda Waller in “Final Crisis Aftermath: Escape”.

45:00 – Question to Van Sciver: “Will you be drawing any more Green Lantern?” Answer: “I don’t see why not.”

48:00 – Question to the entire panel: “What is you all reading right now, which books?”

54:00 – What worked and what didn’t work in Final Crisis?

In Hour 1 of PTG Episode 6 our special guest, Ryan Bonifant from The Sports Buzz calls in to about his “New XBox Experience”, as he is now a XBox owner after years as a Playstation man, and to talk a little about Fables 2 and Ninja Gaiden. Also in this hour, the DC Comics Spotlight falls on the incomprehensible mess that was Final Crisis #7, how the whole series holds up when read in a single sitting, and its relative success as an event comic in relation to its predecessor, 2005’s Infinite Crisis. I wrap up the hour by taking a long moment to say goodbye to the video format that marked the beginning of me calling myself a “videophile”, the predecessor of DVD, the LaserDisc player, by talking about some of the titles I still own in the format, including the classic 80s anime Bubblegum Crisis. All this and more in Hour 1 of PTG Episode 6 – listen to it now right here at primetimegeek.com!

Earlier this month, Pioneer Electronics quietly announced that they were halting production on the last models of LaserDisc players they had still been producing up until this point. LaserDisc has a special place in my heart, and so in this week’s PTG we’ll have a proper requiem for the now-ALL-dead format (up until now, because machines were still being made and a handful of laserdiscs were being produced and sold each year in Japan, it was safe to call the format “mostly dead”). That, plus a visit from Sports Buzz Ryan, a talk with JC Martinez about his latest Podgnosticast blog, and all the usual comic book rambling, including a healthy alleluia that “Final Crisis” is FINALLY over and more fawning over the work of Ed Brubaker, this time on “Daredevil”. Prime Time Geek Episode 6, live tomorrow night on ustream.tv – don’t miss it!

In Hour 1 of this week’s Prime Time Geek, the DC Spotlight falls on Final Crisis #7 and the “death” of Batman (no, REALLY this time!), we say a fond farewell to Ricardo Montalban, who was beloved by most for his role as “Mr. Roarke” on Fantasy Island, but was revered by Star Trek fans for his depiction of Khan Noonian Singh in the Original Series and in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and we cover Watchmen, Iron Man 2 and (oddly enough) live-action Cowboy Bebop casting news. Also, Michael Poley of the sketch comedy group Night of the Night Wolf calls into the show to talk about his group, their videos and live performances, and their particular brand of comedy. Check it out, and check back at midweek for Hour 2 …

And speaking of Bat-time, it APPEARS that time FINALLY ran out for ol’ Bruce Wayne in DC Comics, as “Final Crisis” #6 hit the stores on Wednesday, and while everyone was out buying issues of Amazing Spider-Man #583 guest starring President-Elect Barack Obama, Batman got hit with some serious Darkseid nastiness and was left a dessicated corpse. Or so it SEEMS … Find more about that AND the end of the “New Krypton” story in Superman comics, along with Watchmen movie news, Keanu Reeves in the live action film adaptation of Cowboy Bebop, JC Martinez’s weekly tech segment focused on advances in touch-screen technology announced at CES last week, and last but certainly not least, an interview with Night of the Night Wolf Comedy Group member Michael Poley! Night of Night Wolf will be performing LIVE at Stardust Video and Coffee in Winter Park later that night, but Michael will take time out from his preparations to talk to us about NONW’s third show at Stardust and what folks going to show can expect. Here’s the promo for the show:

Gonna be a great episode, so don’t miss it, tomorrow night at 6PM EST!

The sketch comedy group Night of the Night Wolf drops in for a visit, also a look at the finale of Bad Night, the latest Criminal story from Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, final crisis rolls on interminably over at DC, while Dark Reign begins over at Marvel, the New Krypton Spotlight shines its light on Action 872, and a holiday geek gift list that will not break your bank! Find it all here in Geek Weekly for the week of December 12, 2008, the second-to-last episode of Geek Weekly before it becomes Prime Time Geek!

Geek Weekly – 10/24/08