It’s not exactly news that San Diego Comic-Con International is a big deal for Hollywood. Genre movies and TV shows can be made or buried by fan reactions to what they see at the Con.
Several networks have, in recent years, used Comic-Con as a launching pad to build buzz for their newest and hottest shows with panels and show-floor booths with swag giveaways. This year two of the most buzzed-about shows are releasing tie-in comic books as enticements for hungry fans.
IDW Publishing is using Comic-Con to launch a new True Blood comic book line, based on the popular HBO vampire show. At the Con, there are two exclusive editions of True Blood #1 available, each with a different cover. At the IDW booth (#2643), fans can get a special wrap-around cover by artist David Messina. The second special cover will be available through select retailers inside the convention center. Comic stores nationwide also have True Blood #1 starting today.
The first story arc in the True Blood comic book finds Sookie and other Bon Temps residents waiting in Merlotte’s bar for a raging storm outside to break. But this is no ordinary storm; it’s instead a trap set by an entity that feeds off of raw emotions, and soon it begins killing off the bar patrons one by one until its hunger is sated. The plot was developed by series creator Alan Ball and series writers Elisabeth Finch and Kate Barnow, co-written by David Tischman and Mariah Huehner. Messian handles the interior art.
AMC‘s The Walking Dead, written and directed by Frank Darabont, is itself based on a comic book by Robert Kirkman and artist Tony Moore. AMC is using Comic-Con to launch its first-ever “motion comic,” which is based on the first 13 pages of the original comic book. The motion comic, which you can view below, serves as an introduction to the world of Walking Dead, and was produced by Juice Films, the same company that produced the Watchmen motion comic. The TV series premieres this October.