Comic-Con 2007 is almost upon us and it looks like the annual comic convention in San Diego is going to end up having quite a bit of gaming news. Good thing we're sending Michael McWhertor to dip his toe into the effluence of comic culture in search of gaming goodies.

If you're going to be there too and don't give a whit for the comic stuff going on hit the jump for the run down of game-themed panels which include appearances by Penny Arcade, Steve Purcell, Frank O'Connor and David Jaffe ( who it sounds like will be attending the show, rather than presenting at it.)

Thursday, July 26
11:30-12:30 Episodic Games and Comics: Made for Each Other— With episodic gaming emerging as a new medium for storytelling, it's no surprise that comics licenses are a great fit. Telltale Games and Hothead Games are leading the way with episodic series based on popular comics—Telltale with Sam & Max: Season One and Hothead with the upcoming Penny Arcade Adventures. Members of both teams, along with Sam & Max creator Steve Purcell, Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik (Penny Arcade) describe the ins and outs of adapting a comic license into an interactive experience. Find out why playing your favorite comic series can be so much fun. Moderated by Chris Remo (ShackNews). Room 1AB
Categories: Comic Books | Gaming

2:00-3:00 G4: Code Monkeys— The secret history of videogames is exposed in G4's Code Monkeys, an animated comedy of 8-bit proportions. Code Monkeys creator Adam de la Peña, one of the warped minds behind Minoriteam, Crank Yankers, and The Man Show, and star Dana Snyder (Aqua Teen Hunger Force), offer their unique, behind-the-scenes insight into the rowdy celebration and biting parody of videogames, technology, and pop culture. Room 4
Categories: Animation | Fandom | Gaming | Television

3:30-4:30 Demons of Mercy: Marvel and Maxum Reinvent Storyline on the Xbox 360— Join us as MAXUM Games CEO Alex Cruz and Marvel editor Nicole Boose (Dark Tower series) unveil how a comics series will interact on the Xbox 360. Celebrity guests include Demons of Mercy creator R. H. Stavis (Lara Croft), voices Jeri Ryan (Star Trek: Voyager) and Christopher Judge (Stargate SG-1). Don't miss this event moderated by Victor Lucas (The Electric Playground). The first 1,000 attendees receive a free Comic-Con exclusive foil edition of Demons of Mercy #1! Room 6A
Categories: Comic Books | Gaming

5:00-6:00 PC Gamer and Maximum PC: How to Play a Better Game— Chuck Osborn, Senior Executive Editor of PC Gamer, Norman Chan, Contributing Editor of PC Gamer, Grantley Day, Vice President of Product Development for K2, and Peter Cesario, Producer of Sword of the New World for K2, will host a discussion and Q&A session about online and offline role playing games. Topics will include strategy tips, performance-enhancing recommendations, and hardware upgrades using K2's Sword of the New World as a demonstration tool. Room 30AB
Categories: Gaming | Seminars & Workshops

6:00-7:30 FTW!: Breaking into the Video Game Industry— Chris Charla of Foundation 9 Entertainment and industry friends Gary Whitta (Death, Jr.), Mark Vitello (Sony), Bob Stevenson (Planet Moon), Christian Svensson (Capcom), Jon Middleton (Mad Catz), and Frank O'Connor (Bungie) talk about how to weasel...er, work your way into the world of video games! Room 30AB
Categories: Gaming | Seminars & Workshops

Friday, July 27
12:30-1:30 Star Wars Day: LucasArts— Celebrate 25 of LucasArts videogames and learn about the past, present, and future by attending this panel with key LucasArts producers. See what LucasArts has in store, then ask your own questions in a Q&A session. Room 1AB
Categories: Fandom | Gaming | Science Fiction & Fantasy

2:15-3:15 Halo Universe— The Eisner Award-winning team of Brian Michael Bendis (New Avengers) and Alex Maleev (Daredevil), as well as their Halo editor Ruwan Jayatilleke (Marvel's VP of development), give an inside scoop on Halo: Uprising, the comics miniseries, which occurs between the blockbuster video game Halo 2 and the highly anticipated Halo 3. Joining them for a Q&A session is best-selling author Eric Nylund (Ghosts of Onyx). Plus, Mark Tuttle (WizKids brand manager for Halo ActionClix) will give be on hand to discuss the Collectible Miniature Game, and John Williams (Topps creative director) will preview the Halo trading cards. Room 6A
Categories: Action Figures, Toys and Collectibles | Comic Books | Gaming

3:30-4:30 WOW! It's World of Warcraft!— Are you ready? Comics, collectibles, and online gaming are about to collide! How does the world's most popular online game, World of Warcraft, plan to crash the comics and collectibles world? Find out here! As a special incentive, a collectible comic will be distributed to fans at the panel. Join Jim Lee (editorial director, WildStorm), Chris Metzen (VP of creative development, Blizzard), Mickey Neilson (writer/voice director, Blizzard), Hank Kanalz (VP/general manager, WildStorm), and Georg Brewer (VP, design and DC Direct creative) to discover the results of these combined forces! Room 4
Categories: Action Figures, Toys and Collectibles | Comic Books | Fandom | Gaming | Science Fiction & Fantasy

3:30-4:30 Marvel Video Games— The interactive world of the Marvel Universe has never been more exciting. Meet the creators of your favorite Marvel video games and hear the inside scoop on the upcoming lineup of console, PC, and handheld games featuring the mighty Marvel Super Heroes. Get an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to make a great superhero videogame and participate in a Q&A with the game developers. Room 5AB
Categories: Comic Books | Gaming

3:30-4:30 Broccoli Books— Broccoli Books are the people who brought you such great manga titles as Juvenile Orion, Galaxy Angel, KAMUI, Disgaea, and the Square Enix hit, E'S. You'll be the first to preview some new manga, merchandise, and more. Representatives will provide announcements and a Q&A session, not to mention some nice promo stuff for attendees. See you there! Room 10
Categories: Anime & Manga | Gaming

5:00-6:00 PC Gamer and Maximum PC: How to Play a Better Game, Part 2— Chuck Osborn (senior executive editor of PC Gamer), Norman Chan (contributing editor of PC Gamer), and a representative from game publisher Midway host a discussion and Q&A session about first-person shooters. Topics will include basic strategy, performance-enhancing tips, and genre-specific hardware upgrade recommendations, using Midway's Unreal Tournament 3 as a demonstration tool. Room 30AB
Categories: Gaming | Seminars & Workshops

5:00-6:00 Star Wars at 30 Years with Steve Sansweet— This summer marks the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars saga, and its indelible influence on popular culture. We've got 30 years of great memories thanks to the galaxy far, far away, but there are also great things to come, too. Join Lucasfilm's Steve Sansweet for a little Star Wars nostalgia, a review of the 30th anniversary year so far, and a look at what's new and what's coming for Star Wars. Hall H
Categories: Action Figures, Toys and Collectibles | Comic Books | Fandom | Gaming | Movies | Science Fiction & Fantasy

6:00-7:00 Confessions of a Game Designer— Have you ever played a game and thought, "I could make a better game than this!" Now's your chance to find out if you can. Join veteran designer Alex Jimenez (Enigma: Rising Tide, Battletanxs, Darkstalkers) as he answers all your questions and takes you behind the scenes of the video game industry. Learn who decides what games are made and how, and most important, what you need to know to get in Find out where the industry is, where it's going, and how you can be a part of it. Whether your interests are in art, programming or design, if you love games or blame them for the fall of civilization, here's your chance to see if you've got what it takes to make it in the biz! Room 30AB
Categories: Gaming | Seminars & Workshops

6:00-7:00 Building Entertainment Intellectual Properties— Mat Broome has assembled a roundtable of top working professionals responsible for producing comics, books, music, and games, all too talk about how intellectual properties are built. X-Men, WildC.A.T.S, and EverQuest are only a few of the intellectual properties that these panelists have had a vital role in producing. They include Mat Broome (17 years' experience as an artist/illustrator, entertainment and brand manager, and business owner), Mike Smith (lead audio on Everquest 2 and Untold Legends), Ben Herrera (artist for Malibu Comics and Rockstar Games), and Clint Worley (multiple titles for Sony on PC, PS2 and PSP platforms). Room 30CDE
Categories: Comic Books | Gaming | Seminars & Workshops

Saturday, July 28
3:00-4:00 The Darkness Game— The Darknessis a PS3/Xbox 360 title from premier video game publisher 2K Games, award-winning game developer Starbreeze Studios, leading independent comics creator/publisher Top Cow Productions, and video game/film production company Union Entertainment. The Darkness is the first game to be released based on a Top Cow comic and one of the only comic book-based video games ever released without a related feature film to help launch it. The video game stays true to its source while presenting a fresh, frightening reinvention of The Darkness' mythology. The panel, composed of the key creative forces behind the project, will discuss the triumphs and challenges of bringing The Darkness to comics, from comics to games, then back to comics, and maybe more. Room 8
Categories: Comic Books | Gaming | Horror and Suspense

4:15-5:15 Re\Visioned: Tomb Raider: A GameTap Exclusive Animated Series— In celebration of the 10th Anniversary of Tomb Raider, GameTap has assembled legendary artists and writers including Jim Lee (Batman: Hush, WildC.A.T.s), Warren Ellis (The Authority, Transmetropolitan), Peter Chung (Aeon Flux, Animatrix), Gail Simone (Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey), and Brian Pulido (Lady Death, The Darkness) to participate in the first season of GameTap's newest original series, ReVisioned. Each artist and writer applied their unique talents to reinvent leading lady Lara Croft in his or her own way, creating a new animated series airing exclusively on GameTap.com. Join us for an all-star panel as these industry legends share their creative experiences in bringing a gaming icon to life. Moderated by series creator Ricardo Sanchez, the panel will showcase a full episode by Warren Ellis and an exclusive preview of upcoming episodes. Room 6A
Categories: Animation | Gaming

5:00-6:00 PC Gamer and Maximum PC: How to Play a Better Game, Part 3— Will Smith, Editor-in-Chief of Maximum PC, Chuck Osborn, Senior Executive Editor of PC Gamer, Norman Chan, Contributing Editor of PC Gamer, and Mario Kroll, Director of Marketing for CDV, will host a discussion and Q&A session about real-time strategy games. Topics will include basic strategy, performance-enhancing tips, and genre- specific hardware upgrade recommendations, using CDV's and The History Channel's Great Battles of Rome as a demonstration tool. Room 30AB
Categories: Gaming | Seminars & Workshops

Sunday, July 29
10:30-11:30 Tech and Trading Cards: The Eye of Judgement for PlayStation 3— Come see what the future holds for trading card game fans everywhere. Using the latest PlayStation 3 technology, The Eye of Judgement brings these new decks to 3D holographic life. How will this change the way you play Magic forever? Moderated by Ricardo Torres (GameSpot.com), meet the creators and advisors from Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast and Sony Computer Entertainment America before it launches this fall. Room 3
Categories: Gaming

11:30-12:30 Capcom: Shade II— Following up on the first ever MMWRPG (Massively Multiplayer Wireless Role-Playing Game), Capcom presents Shade II, a brand-new interactive world of dark fantasy. Capcom Interactive Canada studio head and executive producer Dave Dies and character designer Dave Daniels team up with famed comics writer Marv Wolfman (Teen Titans, Blade) to show the world just how fun (and addicting) the world of mobile gaming can be. Look for the official Shade novel and graphic novel in March 2008 from Prima Games. Marv Wolfman's appearance is made possible by Prima Games, an imprint of Random House, Inc. Room 4
Categories: Gaming | Science Fiction & Fantasy

2:00-3:30 Scribe Awards Media Tie-in Writers— Attend the first annual presentation of the IAMTW "Scribe" awards, followed by a panel of nominees, including Donald Bain (Murder She Wrote), Marv Wolfman (Superman Returns), David R. George III (Star Trek Crucible: McCoy—Provenance of Shadows), Jeff Mariotte (30 Days of Night: Rumors of the Undead), Nathan Long (Warhammer: Orc Slayer), Christina York (Alias: APO: Strategic Reserve), Alice Henderson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Portal Through Time), and moderator Max Allan Collins (The Pink Panther). Andy Mangels (Star Trek: Excelsior) will present the awards. Room 5AB
Categories: Animation | Comic Books | Gaming | Horror and Suspense | Movies | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Television

2:45-3:45 Viva Piñata!— Viva Piñata! is one of Saturday morning's most popular cartoons as well as one of the most innovative and fun Xbox games in years, this lively panel will focus on the creation of all things Piñata! On hand for the party will be the creative teams from 4Kids Entertainment, Microsoft Game Studios, and Rare Ltd, all moderated by video game and comics writer Joshua Ortega. Room 6B
Categories: Animation | Gaming | Kids | Television

3:30-4:30 PC Gamer and Maximum PC: How to Play a Better Game, Part 4— Will Smith, Editor-in-Chief of Maximum PC, Chuck Osborn, Senior Executive Editor of PC Gamer, and Mario Kroll, Director of Marketing for CDV, will host a discussion and Q&A session about arcade/action games. Topics will include basic strategy, performance-enhancing tips, and genre-specific hardware upgrade recommendations, using CDV's Attack on Pearl Harbor as a demonstration tool. Room 30AB
Categories: Gaming | Seminars & Workshops