Comic Book Guy: The Weekend That Was Kapow! Comic Con 2011

This past weekend saw the inaugural Kapow! Comic Con bathed in weather normally reserved for its California counterpart. Shame then, it was indoors. But there was no shame in this sell out event bringing the San Diego experience to the UK.

So what do we have that San Diego doesn’t? The answer was Jonathan Ross hosting a Pros Vs Fans comic book quiz. This saw Mark Millar, Dave Gibbons and John Romita Jr. face off against Comic fan Stewart Lee and two lucky audience members.

As jovial a way as this was to open a Con, the masses were itching to get the latest scoop on the upcoming comic book calendar. Both DC and Marvel held panels to make big announcements and deftly deflect rabid question on projects not quite ready for the public sphere.

DC’s panel saw a lot of discussion on Frank Quitely and Grant Morrison’s collaboration on the 7 part Multiversity and Marvel announced that superstar artist Bryan Hitch will provide covers for the Punisher re-launch coming this August.

Talk of the summer couldn’t go with out the accompaniment of movie promotion and Kapow! got to see 20 minutes of Thor footage, a look at Steven Spielberg’s Falling Skies and a full screening of Green Lantern: Emerald Knights.

Perhaps the biggest announcements came from organiser Mark Miller himself with the reveal that he had four new titles in the works. Although legal issues delayed clarification on his upcoming spy genre project with Dave Gibbons he did announce that Kick-Ass’s Hit Girl will get her own spin off series. Also next up in his schedule is Supercrooks, a super villain tale in collaboration with Leilin Yu described as "X-Men meets Ocean's 11". His fourth and final project with Frank Quitely, however, was a closely guarded secret….