Wizard World’s Chicago Comic Con (which happened August 11-14 2011) treated its VIPs and press to a special Red Carpet event at the DoubleTree hotel on August 12, 2011.

Several celebs that attended the con strolled down the rosy rug up to take photos and be mobbed, er, interviewed by the press. I was lucky enough to snag a few short words with the celebs and get their insights on their current and past roles.

Could it be happening because the Electronic Entertainment Expo just isn’t the event it used to be? Whatever the case, video game makers are reaching out to other venues to promote their products including the New York Comic Con where the presence of video games will increase by 50 percent from last year (2008). Game-related exhibits are going to eat up 11,000 square feet of space at the event February 6-8, 2009.

Comic Con organizers announced the growth in game industry space is the biggest of…

Mark Darin, one of the graphic designers for the newStrong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People was available for an interview at the Telltale Games booth at Comic-Con 08, where he was thrilled to talk about the game and share some new information.

“Strong Bad will be a full out adventure game, with extra goodies and side stuff.” Said Darin when asked about the game. Darin indicated that the sense of humor fans enjoyed in Homestar Runner will continue in Strong Bad. Each episode will be supplemented with a rich and realistic storyline (realistic for Homestar, anyway). Expect to have fun with the game as well as laugh, “These episodes will be very much based on the storylines, the humor of it will be an added bonus.” Says Darin.

Darin assured the players that, like the Homestar Runner cartoons…

During Comic Con 2008, many games and comics were featured. And who wouldn’t want to attend a special preview of today’s most talented directors and animators create independent film masterpieces. The Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival consisted of movies that fell into seven categories: action/adventure, animation, comics-oriented, documentary, humor/parody, horror and science fiction/fantasy. On July 27, 2008, the top films in each category were announced and awarded.

This year’s Comic-Con International: Independent Film Festival are…

Now that Comic-Con 2008 is behind us it’s time to for a quick recap of the games that was shown there. Just about any game-based on comic books had a huge presence at this years show. We learned some new things about DC Universe Online and Street Fighter IV.

There’s plenty more games to talk about so let’s get right into it. Click through for the videogame highlights form Comic-Con 2008…

Comic books have always been a way to experience a fantasy filled world with intriguing story lines and character development. Some comics are taking the leap from print to the land of digital media. Imagine a comic book that comes to life on your computer screen complete with voice overs, sound effects, and music while maintaining the nostalgic feel of panels. This is where Warner Premier steps in with motion comics.

Earlier in July 2008 the official announcement was made from Warner Bros. that motion comics will be made available through digital distribution. The first comic to get this treatment is The Watchmen, currently available for free through iTunes…

Comic-Con 2008 started off (July 24, 2008) with a bang as Will Wright took to the podium to deliver his keynote. Wright is the mastermind behind The Sims games and the soon to be released Spore.

During his speech, Wright talked a lot about what personally interests him. Given the nature of Spore there’s no surprise he’s into such things as aliens and the novel/film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Apparently he felt right at home with his fellow otaku offering detailed insights on why videogames should be considered art. Wright sees newer kinds of media to be the scorn of older media forms. They all take on a process that eventually ends up as being a way for one to artistically express oneself. In a way, that is what he was gunning for with Spore.

Click through for the highlights from Will Wright’s keynote speech…

Truth be told, some things on Cartoon Network are just plain entertaining to both kids and adults. I’d imagine the same argument would hold some ground for Cartoon Network’s new browser-based massively multiplayer online game. Cartoon Network enlisted the help of Unity Technologies’ game engine to bring the title to life. The game is named Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall and it will be released Fall 2008 for PC and Mac.

FusionFall puts players on the front lines during an alien invasion of the Cartoon Network universe. Players from all over the internet will have to…

As we’re right in the middle of Comic-con, it seems appropriate that we take a little peek at the event’s history and current staus as a multimedia behemoth. Broadcasting & cable has a very interesting feature up on how the show went from a comics-only event to a major convention for videogames, comics, genre films and much more.

While the article doesn’t directly chronical why or how comic-con has grown, it does lay out one of the fundamental issues with anything that grows from a niche gathering to a mainstream, money-generating event: selling out. From the post:

In case you are one of the lucky 100,000+ people able to get into the Comic Con 2008 doors, you might want to head over to the Dark Horse Comics booth. The company that’s keeping Star Wars comics in print, as well as making Hellboy a household word, has a huge list of talent that will be signing stuff at the booth.

Dark Horse has declared Friday (July 25, 2008) “Star Wars Day,” so there will be Star Wars comic talent there all afternoon. While all of the appearances are notable, the most recognizable names to the general public (many of whom will also be in panel discussions) include Mike Mignola, Joss Whedon, Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day and Bruce Campbell. Noe that some of the signings/appearances do require a paid ticket.

For those who like to wait in line, here’s a complete list (all times are in Pacific Time)…