Hi all! In case any of you were dragging your heels in deciding whether or not to attend the San Diego Comic Con this summer (And thereby joining in the annual GatchaCon gathering of Gatchaman fans), I figure I should point out that the 4-day memberships for the con have now sold out. 1-day memberships for all four days are still available, but it's safe to assume that sales on those will pick up now that the 4-days are gone. So if you're planning to attend, you'd better act now, since there will be no on-site memberships available for the convention. Information (And registration) for the Comic Con can be found here: http://www.comic-con.org/ I hope we'll see you there! James

Thank you for the update James. I purchased my 4 day membership a while ago, but as of this moment, I am not sure if I will be attending. I need to look into airfares etc. before I make my final decision.

I would love to go, if only for the mini Gatch con. I wonder if there would be any interest in organising a mini con at Dragon con?

Veritas, it would be awesome to have you at San Diego Comic Con! You could wear your Katse costume and I could wear my Swan costume and we'd be a hit!

oh how i wish i could be there, but alas, too preggo to travel! oh well i shall shoot for next year....AGAIN thanks for the update tho!

I can't believe they are sold out of memberships already! Wow, that con really is big. Alas, I cannot go due to funds but perhaps it may be possible to attend the mini Gatch con in someone's hotel room?

Hi all!

I purchased my 4 day membership a while ago, but as of this moment, I am not sure if I will be attending.

I do hope that you'll be able to make it! Of course, with the economy the way it is, I can understand the difficulty. Regardless, we'll keep our fingers crossed that you'll be there!

I can't believe they are sold out of memberships already! Wow, that con really is big.

Yes, it is. It took them a couple of months longer to sell out the full memberships last year, and the single day memberships were gone about a month before the con. I won't be surprised if the single day memberships are completely sold out within a couple of months. James

Well Ive had alook at flights, and if it was my only trip this year it would be do-able, but its not. I'll have a mini con on my own in Atlanta. I'm taking the Katse costume and the two I'm making at the moment, swan and a devil star. Extra geek points to any one who recognises the Devil star outfit.

Veritas, when would you get together for a mini gatch con? I'm only a few states from Georgia. Maybe we an convince others in this area to try and do it.

dragon con labor day wekend. The saturday is usually the busiest day. I'm going to do the parade, prob in the katse costume , so perhaps something on the saturday?

Looks like it could be a blast. I do love dragons and such, wonder if I could talk someone from here in going with, then it wouldn't be so bad to travel.

Hi all! Taking another look at the Comic Con site today, I see that Saturday 1-day memberships are now also sold out. Friday is now 40% sold out, with Thursday and Sunday at around 20%. At this rate, they could be completely sold out by the end of April. So, if you're thinking of attending, you'll want to buy your memberships now! James

Hmmm .... So how'z about our Canadian contingent arrange their own little mini Gatch con here in the T.Dot sometime in the summer? We can have a birdie day out ... ?

Originally posted by SJ_SwanJun Hmmm .... So how'z about our Canadian contingent arrange their own little mini Gatch con here in the T.Dot sometime in the summer? We can have a birdie day out ... ?

SJ am I out of the loop here? What is with this T.Dot you keep posting?

Originally posted by clouddancer SJ am I out of the loop here? What is with this T.Dot you keep posting?

Just guessing, but I think she means Toronto. Of course, I'm really out of the loop because back when I lived there we just called it 'T.O.'.

That is what I still call it as well. Just like I still call the stadium the Skydome not the Rogers Centre ... so I wondered what the T.Dot is and where it came from. I wondered if it was something Torontonians are now calling themselves.

Hi all! Just a quick update to let you know that, as of today, Friday memberships have joined the 4-day and Saturday memberships on the Sold Out roster. There are still memberships available for Thursday (44% sold out) and Sunday (40% sold out), but expect those days to pick up steam. So if you're planning to attend, you'd better act now, since there will be no on-site memberships available for the convention. Information (And registration) for the Comic Con can be found here: http://www.comic-con.org/ I hope we'll see you there! James

Hi all! Well, last night the Comic Con completely sold out of memberships. I do hope that those of you who were planning to attend managed to get one while they lasted! There will be at least a small group of fellow Gatchaman fans there, and I look forward to meeting up with any and all of you when the con starts in about eight weeks! James

I will be there as well, and would love to meet anyone who attends!

Awe I'd would love to come...its the distance that makes it hard.

Wish I could, but alas it is not my year. But I am looking forward to the exciting con reports from everyone who does go.

Well it looks like I still have a four day ticket seeing as the Con has not gotten back to me about a refund.

Hi all!

Well it looks like I still have a four day ticket seeing as the Con has not gotten back to me about a refund.

Have you written to them at their refund request address? Your request must be in writing, not via e-mail, and sent to: Comic-Con Refund Request P. O. Box 128458 San Diego, CA 92112 The deadline for refund requests is June 19, 2009. Or, better still, you could come to the con... James

I could, but I don't have a place to stay and I suspect all places have been booked by now. And yes I wrote to them over a month ago and have not heard back, as yet.

Originally posted by clouddancer I could, but I don't have a place to stay and I suspect all places have been booked by now. And yes I wrote to them over a month ago and have not heard back, as yet.

AHem. You have a place to stay.

Well if I don't hear anything you might get an unexpected visitor flown in on the Phoenix of course. Ooooops, just remembered I have now booked a course that is going on that during that time as well, so unless I can be in two places at once I will be a no show at the Con. (I decided since I was not going to San Diego I would try to upgrade my credentials this summer.) Next year, I promise.

Hi all!

Ooooops, just remembered I have now booked a course that is going on that during that time as well, so unless I can be in two places at once I will be a no show at the Con.

Disappointing, to be sure. Still, since that's the case, I'd suggest you take a more proactive approach and write them again. For all we know, your original request may have gotten waylaid somewhere along the lines. James

Besides James, who else is going to ComiCon this year? TJ, are you still going??

I'm still going, and I believe Barrdwing is going.

Originally posted by tatsunokofan Hi all!

Ooooops, just remembered I have now booked a course that is going on that during that time as well, so unless I can be in two places at once I will be a no show at the Con.

Disappointing, to be sure. Still, since that's the case, I'd suggest you take a more proactive approach and write them again. For all we know, your original request may have gotten waylaid somewhere along the lines. James

Yes I have had a few problems with getting things through customs recently. I plan on sending a second letter to tomorrow. It is all addressed and sitting on the table beside my door so I can pick it up as I leave for work. I only checked my credit card statements, to see if I had a refund, when you posted your message about all tickets being sold out.

WAH! Wish I could be there this year...I'll be there in spirit! Take lots of pics for us, TJ!

I hope that all who go, can give us wonderful views from it.

Yup, we're going. We'll be spending an awful lot of time commuting back and forth this time, which is kind of a bummer, but free lodging is a big plus.

Hi all! With Comic Con a little over a week away, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to let people know about the items at the con that might be of interest to Gatchaman fans. For meeting up with other fans, we'll be gathering for lunch at noon each day of the convention, meeting up at the tables provided in the Sails Pavillion on the top floor of the convention center. Most of us will be wearing GatchaCon T-shirts, though I do know that as least one Jun costume will be be there too... In the Dealers Room, Imagi will there in booth 3635, next to the Paramount Home Entertainment booth. Most of their booth will be purposed for promoting Astro Boy, but if their set-up at Anime Expo is any indication, they should have a small space dediated to Gatchaman and will be showing the video clips they showed there. It's likely that they'll have some of those Gatchaman watches to give away as well! Also in the Dealers Room, Capcom will be at booth 5113, across from Electronic Arts on the first row of the East Side of the convention center. They'll be promoting many of their upcoming game releases, which will likely include Tatsunoko Vs Capcom. They usually have demos of these games available for people to play, so if you've always wanted to pit Ken or Jun against Megaman or Chun Li, this may be your chance! There will also be several sellers in the Dealers Room who usually have some Gatchaman items, including Anime Link (Booth 415), Nichibei Anime (Booth 814), AnimeEd.com (Booth 5435), and Fantasia Toyz (Booth 701). As far as convention panels go, Imagi is having a panel for Astro Boy on Thursday from 10:15 to 11:15 in Room 6BCF. The panel will feature stars Freddie Highmore and Kristen Bell, as well as Director David Bowers and Producer Maryanne Grager, all there to talk about their film. Admittedly, it is unlikely that Imagi's Gatchaman film will get more than a passing mention at this panel, but you never know! On Friday, there will be a "Capcom: Fighting Games" panel from 2:30 to 3:30 in room 5AB. This panel will be focused on Capcom's newest fighting games, and Capcom game producer Ryota Niitsuma will be on the panel to talk about Tatsunoko Vs Capcom. In the Anime Rooms, alas, no Gatchaman is scheduled. On the other hand, Nurse Witch Komugi will be shown on Thursday night from 11:05 to 11:30 in Room 25AB. The schedule doesn't specifiy which Kogumi story will be shown, so there is a chance (Or perhaps you could ask) that it will be the second story, where Komugi transforms into a parody of the Science Ninja Team in order to fight her foe. So, if there's anyone here who's planning on attending the Comic Con, but hasn't said anything about it yet, I hope we'll see you there! Just come up and say, "Hi!" We don't bite -- really. James

Thanks for the summary, James! I'm planning at going to all of those events, and I'll be sure to post what I find! Looking forward to seeing you there, and anyone else who can come!

Thank you for that list of events James. I would so love to get my hands on one of those watches (I bet they are giving them away on Preview Night.) I guess that is what I get for deciding not to go this year.

Hi all! Just a quick note from Preview Night of the con to let you know that things have gotten started. Heather and I met up with Helen at the Imagi booth. They had pretty much the same Gatchaman things that were seen in the pictures of their booth at Anime Expo -- The big comic book-like drawing of the Ninja Team on an overhead banner and the oversized image of Joe as part of the wall surrounding a monitor where they showed the same preview that they had at Anime Expo, as well as previews of Astro Boy. As should be expected, Astro Boy is their main push right now.Tomorrow is the Astro Boy panel, and they'll be giving away Astro Boy goodies at their booth. The Gatchaman watches will apparently be given away on Friday and Saturday, and Saturday they are supposed to have something set up where you can have your picture taken with or as a Gatchaman character (From the sound of things, it might be like those carnival things where you put your head through a cut out in a picture, but don't hold me to that). As far as the movie itself goes, there's pretty much no news beyond "Coming in 2011," and no word of minor things like Directors, Writers, Voice Cast, and the like. Capcom does have Tatsunoko Vs Capcom available to play at their booth. Heather and I didn't go by there yet, but Helen did, and had the chance to play using Ken and Jun. Apparently Jun died quickly,though Ken seemed to be able to stay alive longer. She'll be able to tell you more details about it when she gets that chance. From our quick run through the small portion of the Dealers Room we were able to cover in the 3 hours of Preview Night, there isn't a lot of Gatchaman merchandise, but there is some if you look for it. I saw a vintage Banso Jun figure at one dealer, and the Unifive 5-figure set at another. A couple of dealers have random volumes of the ADV DVDs. Nichibei Anime has a small selection of cels. Most of them are from the OAVs, but they did have a nice cel of Jun on the Auto Swan from Gatchaman II, and a cel of Ken in his civilian clothes that I recognized from Gatchaman Fighter #41. Nichibei also had a Gatchaman T-shirt that as a crane game machine prize in the late 1990s and a promotional poster from the second volume of the OAVs. We may spot more as we continue through the Dealers Room tomorrow. Imagi's Astro Boy panel is tomorrow at 10:15. Helen should be there, but other concerns will probably prevent Heather and I from making it there, at least for the beginning. I don't expect there to be much (Or any) mention of Gatchaman, but it doesn't hurt to hope! Anyway, more later, when I get the chance! James

Thanks James! It sounds like you're all having a good time. Hopefully tomorrow there's more Gatch things there. Will you all be having your picture taken as a Gatch character? Thw watches sound like a great thing to get a hold of. I'm envious of you all already!

I'm drooling here! I'd love to be there with you guys! So glad you are having fun! Was TJ dressed as Jun in civvies? If so, did anyone recognize her?

Thank you for the update James. Like Springie, I am envious of you. I would love to be there but this course prevented me from getting there. Next year I promise. Hopefully by then Imagi will have its focus on Gatchaman.

Thanks for the recap James... sounds like the three of you are having a ball. I hope that you get a pic taken with whatever Gatch "character" you can.. even if it's a wood board drawing.

Thanks for the report, James. It sounds like fun!

Hi all!

I'm drooling here! I'd love to be there with you guys! So glad you are having fun! Was TJ dressed as Jun in civvies? If so, did anyone recognize her?

Yes they did, but not as many as recognized her in her Jun costume.

Will you all be having your picture taken as a Gatch character?

Assuming we can, yes. As I mentioned yesterday, Heather and I were unable to get to the Astro Boy panel, though Helen did get there. Apparently nothing Gatchaman came up, which is not a great surprise. Capcom had things set up so people could play their games in tournaments, with Tatsunoko Vs Capcom tournaments taking place in the morning, and Marvel Vs Capcom tournaments in the afternoon. By the time I got by there, they were into the Marvel games, alas. I was hoping to see some people who knew what they were doing playing the game using Gatchaman characters. Maybe tomorrow... What time we spent in the Dealers Room today was mostly in the areas dedicated to video games, fantasy art, some of the big campany booths, and Artiists Alley. As a result, beyond Capcom, there wasn't much Gatchaman there. We did see that TwoMorrows had their remaining handful of the BotP book for sale, still at 50% off. The Alex Ross Art booth had one of his original paintings up for sale, but we didn't bother to ask the price. In the past, his art for the BotP comic covers were going for a couple thousand dollars each, so I'm sure this was in a similar range. Someone in Artists Alley apparently has a set of original postcards with various ladies from comics and animation, including one of Jun. But, unfortunately, we don't know exactly who it was, so it might be difficult to track them down to see if the postcard is any good. But, if there's time to spare, we'll give it a shot. Anyway, it's late, so more later! James

Wow James, You seem to have the knack for finding the Gatch stuff. I don't remember finding all that much when I was there last year. Of course I was trying to figure out this whole Con idea so that may have been part of the problem. That and the fact that I was feeling overwhelmed by all the people around me.

Thank you for keeping us updated James

Hi all!

You seem to have the knack for finding the Gatch stuff. I don't remember finding all that much when I was there last year.

There was at least as much stuff there last year. More, in some cases, since one of the dealers who usually has a selection of cels didn't bring them this year. I'd have been happy to point these out if I'd known that anyone was having a hard time finding anything. I'm not buying any of these myself, so there's always a chance that they'll still be there next year! The con was quite eventful today. Imagi was doing their Gatchaman giveaways every hour today. The goodies they were handing out were the watches that they had at Anime Expo, and a nice baseball-style cap with their red "G" logo on the front and "Gatchaman Coming To Theaters" in small print on the back. These hats were very nicely made, far better than I'd have expected for a giveaway. The first giveaways were in batches of 100, but those later in the afternoon were only for 50 people at a time. The Capcom Fighting Game panel was held in the afternoon. They were giving previews for three games, including Tatsunoko Vs Capcom. The Producer for the game, Ryota Niitsuma, was there to talk a bit about it. He confirmed that there would be some new characters included in the U.S. and European version of the game, but couldn't say yet who they were going to be. Apparently part of the problems in getting the clearances for many of the Tatsunoko characters wasn't simply whether the rights for their shows were owned by anyone over here, but also getting clearance to use their theme songs (Or instrumental versions thereof) in North America and Europe. When you consider that they were using characters from a number of different shows, that made this part quite difficult. When he was asked who were the oddest characters that people requested be included as the additional characters, his answer was, "Samurai Pizza Cats." At the end of the Tatsunoko Vs Capcom portion of the panel, Mr. Niitsuma bundled up a Tatsunoko Vs Capcom T-shirt he had autographed with a Tatsunoko Vs Capcom towel and tossed a couple of these into the audience. Amazingly, I managed to snag one of the two bundles that he tossed out! All of that ninjutsu training has finaly paid off...! Helen and I got the opportunity to play the Tatsunoko Vs Capcom game later in the afternoon. The crowd playing the game had thinned out a lot because they were having the designer for a different Capcom game signing autographs elsewhere in their booth, making the games much more available for non-Capcom fanatics such as us. We played two games against each other, and each won one, which worked out pretty nicely. We made an attempt to find the fellow in Artists Alley who did the Jun postcard, but had no luck in locating him. Maybe we'll try again tomorrow or Sunday, but since we don't know his name, it's a matter of happening to spot the postcards on his table, which can be real hit-and-miss. Anyway, the con is now halfway over. This was a pretty good day, one that will be hard for the rest of the con to top, but we'll see what tomrorrow brings! Imagi is suppsoed to be having their Gatchaman photo op tomorrow, so we'll see what that's like! More later... James

How exciting! Congrats on catching the shirt, James!! I hope you'll post photos of your goodies! (although I suspect that you will...) Did Helen wear her Eagle costume? Or was it the Swan?

Hi all!

I hope you'll post photos of your goodies! (although I suspect that you will...)

Helen will probably beat me to it, since she'll be home and in a position to do so before I will. So, no worries, you'll see pictures from the con fairly soon.

Did Helen wear her Eagle costume? Or was it the Swan?

She wore her Swan outfit Thursday and Friday, and her Eagle costume on Saturday. She was stopped for photos quite frequently in either outfit. Saturday was the day Imagi had their Gatchaman photo opportunity. Their set-up was a large digital camera positioned in front of a small backdrop with shadowed versions of Imagi's Joe, Jun, Jinpei, and Ryu. People getting the photographs were given the opportunity to put on the Gatchaman cosplay outfit that came out in Japan earlier this year and pose in front of the backdrop. That way, you could be Gatchaman, with the rest of the team as your backup. Of course, you were TV series Ken, and your backdrop was the Imagi Ninja Team, but it was free, so who's complaining? It seemed like most people went for the full costume, though some just went for parts of it (The cape and/or the helmet). Helen was already in her costume, so she just added the helmet for her photo. Heather and I went for the full costume, though in my case, it certainly proved that it was designed for people who were shorter/thinner than I am. I could squeeze into the costume, but the belt could not fasten around my waist, especially with a full set of clothing under the costume. I needed a Ryu-sized belt, not a Jinpei-sized one! Heather, on the other hand, had no such problems.So, we got the photos, along with a postcard of the image of Joe that we've seen online for the last few months. Several places had free photo things set up in their booths this year, so I guess it must be the new, hot things to do. At the Capcom booth, Ryota Niitsuma did an autograph session in the afternoon. Helen and Heather got there before I did, and apparently Mr. Niitsuma wanted his picture taken with them. I guess he recognized Helen's outfit! Capcom provided nice, glossy photos of their Tatsunoko Vs Capcom banner for Mr. Niitsuma to sign. Overall, it was very classy, and handled in a manner that is vastly superior to a lot of the autograph signings I've seen. I commented to Mr. Niitsuma that I hoped that Space Ace (The lead character from Tatsunoko's first TV series) would be one of the new characters added to the game, and he seemed very pleased to hear that, saying "Me too!" Looking around the Dealers room a little more, I found one dealer with a few Gatchaman posters, from both the TV series and the OAVs, as well as a vastly overpriced promotional cel from Gatchaman II. There was also a dealer seiing some copies of the 3rd volume of the Top Cow BotP comic compilations for 50% off cover price. I also noticed that TwoMorrows had sold out on their remaining copies of the BotP book. That evening, we held our annual farewell dinner and Sanfilippos restaurant. We normally do this on Sunday night, after the end of the convention, but we moved it up a night because Helen had to leave early on Sunday morning. Sadly, due to conflicting scheduled and injuries, this was really the first chance that all of us at the convention had the chance to get together in one place. After dinner, we went over to Jason's house for a small viewing party, where we watched a variety of odd things -- some odder than others. We watched such treasures as the Yatterman TV special with the Gatchaman cameo, Heroes del Espacio, Winx Club with P-Force, some Gatchaman commercials, an interview with Sandy Frank, some video game demos, and some portions from the online BotP game from a few years back. It was a weird miss-mash, but a lot of fun. Evenutally, the late hour forced us to break up for the evening. The con has one more day, with things winding down. Since we got home so late last night, we're getting a late start thiis morning, but there was nothing earth-shattering on the agenda. Of course, if anything of note happens, I'll let you know! James

Wow James, I sincerely envy you (in a good way!) for being able to be present at such conventions! Thanks a lot for the accurate updates ... you made me feel like I was there also! I just have to be happy with the photos of the goodies and costumes! Thanks again and hope you had a good time at the Con, which you surely must have had according to your words!

Oh WOW! That sounds like so much fun! Thanks for sharing the info with us, James! I am excited to see pictures of you guys and the team!

these updates are so awesome, james! thank you for being out "eyes and ears" - oh, wait, does that make you a zark for the weekend?? egads!

Sounds like everyone had a great time. I've been hearing things on NPR about the ComicCon all week -you guys are definitely at the place to be! I too look forward to seeing any pics!

I will look forward to seeing the photos and perhaps having a good laugh. I know if I tried something like that I would need a Ryu sized costume, not just the belt. Thank you for all the updates James I really feel like I missed out on something this year, but hopefully next year things will be better and more of us will be able to get together.

Hey, I'm back, after a very long Con! I'll just post a few photos for you guys. Imagi booth: Capcom booth: Wii controller for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ken and Jun attacks for game: Imagi booth Photo backdrop: Imagi booth costume pieces: Person dresses up at Ken: Freebie items from Imagi and Capcom:

Hi all! Well, we're back from the last day of the con. It was definitely a slowdown day, as everyone was trying to wrap things up and get ready to leave. After getting a late start, we didn't arrive there until a little after noon. After trying (Unsuccessfully, alas) to meet up with Jason and Greg for lunch, we went down to the Imagi booth. They had taken out the photo booth and were giving out their remaining Gatchaman hats and watches. As it was, they ran out of the watches fairly quickly during the 2:00 giveaway, but they had enough hats for at least one more round at 3:00. They also raffled off their last few remaining Astro Boy bags, which they had been using to store their Gatchaman hats and watches in. Sadly, neither Heather nor I won one of those. After that, Heather and I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the Dealers Room and the Art Show, taking one last look around to see if there was anything we had missed. We found a few things we hadn't seen before, but not much that made us want too part with our money. The only "new" Gatchaman-related item I happened across was someone with a bootleg set of BotP episodes on DVD. I also noticed that the soft vinyl Jun figure I had spotted earlier in the concention appeared to have sold. Now it's a matter of packing things up in preparation for flying home tomorrow, and to start dreaming about next year. For anyone planning to attend, the con will be held on July 22nd through July 25th, 2010, with the Preview Night on July 21st. I'm not sure exactly when they'll begin online registration for the con, but if you're planning to attend, register early! As you can see by checking earlier in this thread, the con sold out of full memberships for this year back in March, and sold out of 1-day memberships by the end of May. Expect the same to happen next year. I'd love to see all of you there! James

Thank you for keeping us up dated James. And if you discover when the online tickets go in sale please let us know. I plan on attending next year. I would say not matter what happens, but lets just say only a few things will keep me away. TJ, thank you for posting all those pictures it makes me sad to see what I missed. I hope there will be as much next year for us to view.

Lovely! I am sp jealous of your goodies, TJ! And I love the pics! I definitely plan to go next year!!

Thanks for the pics TJ! You and James made it possible for me to participate indirectly from far away!

Thanks for posting these pictures, TJ! So much neat stuff here! I'm curious about something. In two pictures, the team's birdstyles seem to look different (especially Ryu's). Also, in the second pic here, Ryu doesn't seem like the Hulk that he is in the first pic (and other images they've released). Were the birdstyles different, and if so, was there any explanation as to which was the newer version?

I'm guessing the backdrop was the newer version, but I think the short answer is that the film is still in early design stages. We asked specifically if there was any news about a director and the Imagi staff just fumbled around, not knowing what to say. In any case, LB, you didn't ask the question that Barrdwing and I did... Why the heck is Joe scratching the back of his head with his gun???

Hi all! Jason managed to talk to someone in an actual position of authority at Imagi who stopped by their booth (Albeit briefly) on Sunday morning, and he confirmed what I've been saying here for months now, that all the test footage and designs used for their images at the booth are all being tossed out in favor of starting from scratch once a new Director is signed on. So, enjoy the pretty pictures, but don't expect anything in the movie to look like them. James

So are there any pics of Helen in the two costumes?

[FONT=comic sans ms]Pictures Pictures I wanto to see pictures please! [IMG]http://img122.imageshack.us/img122/9071/galmark5nv8.gif[/IMG] [/FONT]

Originally posted by tatsunokofan Jason managed to talk to someone in an actual position of authority at Imagi who stopped by their booth (Albeit briefly) on Sunday morning, and he confirmed what I've been saying here for months now, that all the test footage and designs used for their images at the booth are all being tossed out in favor of starting from scratch once a new Director is signed on. So, enjoy the pretty pictures, but don't expect anything in the movie to look like them.

Ah, so much will depend, then, on who the new Director is and what their particular "vision" is? I hope they pick a Director who has actually watched the original Gatchaman extensively! Minazuki had mentioned a woman who blogged about being invited to see some footage and to fill out a questionnaire. I wonder if anyone at Imagi will be paying attention to what feedback (good and bad) the soon-to-be-tossed footage yielded, at test screenings, Cons, on websites etc.

Thanks James and TJ for giving us the low down and pics about the con this year. I too will be trying my darndest to get to next years con... even if it means going into debt a little more. Are there any pics of you three being there?

Hi all! For anyone interested in the hat and watch that Imagi gave out at the con, I noticed that there's an auction on eBay for the pair that ends tomorrow. It can be found here: SDCC Gatchaman Lot Opening bid is $5.00, plus $4.95 for postage. It ends at 00:28:34 PDT on July 30th. There is also one of the Tatsunoko Vs Capcom towels being offered here: 2009 SDCC Tatsunoko vs Capcom Collectors Towel It starts at $19.99, plus $6.75 for postage. This one already has one bidder. It ends at 19:53:54 PDT on July 30th. More of these items will probably show up eventually, but I am a little surprised that there aren't more already. James

I can't believe that they're charging that much... especially for the towel! Yikes!!!!

Hi all! Well, $5.00 for the hat and watch doesn't seem too ridiculous to me, even though it was free to begin with. Regardless, I agree that $19.99 for the towel seems a bit excessive for a free towel. Someone who wasn't at the con, and was therefore unable to get one, might feel differently. From the perspective of a buyer, everyone just has to decide how much, if anything, such items are worth to themselves, and bid accordingly. Or not. It's not like anyone is making you bid. I'm just pointing out that they're being offered, in case someone wants to try for them. James

Thanks James. I think I will save my money for next years Con tickets to become available. Although I would love to have the hat and watch.

Thank you James for the heads up on the ebay auctions... may have to check into them myself.

Thanks for all the updates there. I doubt there will be anything I can add from Dragon Con but if I see / hear anything I'll return the favour.

When is Dragon Con again Veritas?

labour,sorry, labor day weekend, Atlanta GA.

Hi all! From what I understand, there will be some other Gatchaman fans at Dragon*Con this year as well. Several of the people who were unable to make it to San Diego are getting their "con fix" for the year by going to Dragon*Con instead. So, keep an eye out for people in black GatchaCon T-shirts, and you'll probably find them! James

Hi all! If you want to take a look at the pictures taken at Imagi's Gatchaman photo booth, the company that took the photos, Polite in Public, has them posted on their website. They can be found at: http://www.politeinpublic.com/ Just look for the July 25th event. If you look through them, you'll find pictures of Helen in her Ken costume, and Heather and myself in the costumes Imagi provided. The challenge now will be for you to pick them out of the crowd! James

I've been looking at these, and they are hysterically funny! I love the backwards capes, the use of a motorcycle helmet?, and the poses!

I too have been enjoying these. And I recognized TJ, Heather and James, probably because I meet them last year at the Com and so the know the general form to look for. I too think it is funny to see that people obviously did not know anything about the show since they had backwards capes etc.

It was good to look at them am just now trying to work out which was TJ and which was James and Heather. Dont suppose you want to say what pic numer you guys were?

Originally posted by Firebird It was good to look at them am just now trying to work out which was TJ and which was James and Heather. Dont suppose you want to say what pic numer you guys were?

Found TJ (twice!) and James and Heather... Looking good!

Thank you!

Originally posted by tatsunokofan Hi all! From what I understand, there will be some other Gatchaman fans at Dragon*Con this year as well. Several of the people who were unable to make it to San Diego are getting their "con fix" for the year by going to Dragon*Con instead. So, keep an eye out for people in black GatchaCon T-shirts, and you'll probably find them! James

Well I'll be easy to spot on the saturday, I'll be the one in the berg Katse costume.

Oooo...now I really want to go to Dragon Con!! Atlanta is much closer to me than California!

Hmm . . . Atlanta is not that far for me either . . . will have to seriously think about this! It sounds like, as usual, the con was a great time - particularly for the gatch folk. Really would be nice to go some year - I guess that puts it on my "bucket list"! Thank you again for all of the wonderful updates, photos and info. Next best thing to being there.

Hi all!

Well I'll be easy to spot on the saturday, I'll be the one in the berg Katse costume.

I'll let them know to look for you. Any chance you'll also be wearing the Jun or Devil Star costumes you mentioned earlier in this thread? At this point, I know of 6 other fans who should be there. Perhaps you can all get together for a viewing party, or something of that nature. James

Just the katse one in the parade and around the con on saturday. The other two are partly made but waiting for me to lose the baby bump for a final fitting. The katse is stretchy enough and the cape hopefully will disguise a 6 month bump.

dont forget to get us pics!

One thing about TJ, James and Heather in those SDCC pics... they won't be the ones wearing the cape backwards.

You might want to check out Felix Ip's blog - he has a great picture of the Joe poster! http://felixip.blogspot.com/2009/08/gatchaman-g2-poster.html

Very nice! I hope they make posters of the other characters, too...sounds like they're considering it!

Hi all!

I hope they make posters of the other characters, too...sounds like they're considering it!

I wouldn't expect it, since those designs are toast anyway. They needed something to publicize the film with, so they're using their existing artwork for now. They'll probably make do with what they've already got out there until they get a Director for the film and create some new designs. James

UGH...I wish they'd hurry up with it...I'll be glad when they are done with Astroboy so they can focus on all things Gatch!

Hi all! Well, Astro Boy opens on October 23rd, so work on that film is certainly winding down. Assuming the film does well enough that Imagi doesn't do a financial crash and burn, we'll probably start hearing more about Gatchaman later this year/early next year, with an eye toward a late 2011 release. James

Guess it's up to us to try and go view the Astro Boy movie, in order to keep the cash flow to IMAGI.

Originally posted by tatsunokofan The Capcom Fighting Game panel was held in the afternoon. They were giving previews for three games, including Tatsunoko Vs Capcom. The Producer for the game, Ryota Niitsuma, was there to talk a bit about it. He confirmed that there would be some new characters included in the U.S. and European version of the game, but couldn't say yet who they were going to be. Apparently part of the problems in getting the clearances for many of the Tatsunoko characters wasn't simply whether the rights for their shows were owned by anyone over here, but also getting clearance to use their theme songs (Or instrumental versions thereof) in North America and Europe. When you consider that they were using characters from a number of different shows, that made this part quite difficult. When he was asked who were the oddest characters that people requested be included as the additional characters, his answer was, "Samurai Pizza Cats."

Yeah there was something just recently with Niitsuma insisting Gatchaman be in the game even though they had the most trouble with that particular license. He also says most of the music will make it into the game (probably for minigames) The interesting thing about Samurai Pizza Cats. I dunno, maybe James knows more about this than me, but I had heard from a fan watching the Japanese version that Speedy/Yattaro/The main hero would actually recite Ken's lines (Calling himself the White Shadow; Three acting as one, etc) Though being co-owned by what is now Namco-Bandai, the chances of him being in it are kinda iffy. About the Gatchaman movie, it's nice to see their pushing it. The whole thing with Paul Dini writing the script, that was dropped, right, or is he still doing that?

Hi all!

The interesting thing about Samurai Pizza Cats. I dunno, maybe James knows more about this than me, but I had heard from a fan watching the Japanese version that Speedy/Yattaro/The main hero would actually recite Ken's lines (Calling himself the White Shadow; Three acting as one, etc).

He didn't say it on a regular basis, but yes, he did make that quote once. Specifically he said, "Sometimes three, sometimes one, we are the white shadow that slips in unseen, the Science Ninja Team... No, we're the Secret Ninja Team Nyanki." Considering the comical nature of the series, it should come as no surprise that they would throw that in.

Though being co-owned by what is now Namco-Bandai, the chances of him being in it are kinda iffy.

It took me a couple of minutes to figure out what you were talking about here, and some checking to find out that the Sotsu Agency is partially owned by Bandai-Namco Holdings. Regardless, I doubt that this would really be that big a problem, since Bandai-Namco only owns 16.13% of the company, and Sotsu can still operate semi-independently (Much like the situation with Tatsunoko and Takara). Besides, Bandai-Namco would probably be happy to make their 16.13% of the profits from licensing a series as old as Teyandee.

The whole thing with Paul Dini writing the script, that was dropped, right, or is he still doing that?

Paul Dini has been off of the project for quite some time now. His involvement ended a couple of months after it was first announced. In fact, anyone that you ever heard was involved with the film is off the project now. Whenever Imagi does begin working on it again, they will be starting from scratch. James

For those people waiting, unless I am mistaken, I don't see tickets for sale yet for next years Con. Cloud does not want to miss out on next years event.

Hi all!

For those people waiting, unless I am mistaken, I don't see tickets for sale yet for next years Con.

No, they're not on sale online yet. All they have is a small banner saying, "2010 Attendee registration Comic Soon!" I've been checking every few days, and figured I'd post something about it once they went on sale. James

Thank you James. I had wondered if I had missed a post from you. Today was the first time I had checked since yours and TJ posts about the Con.

Finally, its time for DC, the holiday I look fwds to all year. Fly out tommorrow with last years costumes that were altered only 2-3 weeks ago but already they are on the small side. Not going to have much access to the interweb but I'll be sure to post when I get back if theres any Gatcha-Gossip.

Have fun, Veritas! Please give up a wrap-up when you get back from the 'con. And any pictures you're willing to post....

Hi all! And speaking of photos, here (Finally) are a few from Comic Con. Here's Imagi's booth: The Capcom booth: People waiting in line at the Imagi booth for the watch and hat giveaway The Gatchaman watch and hat The Capcom Fighting Games panel Ryota Niitsuma at the Capcom panel Game demo at the panel The towel and shirt I was lucky enough to get at the Capcom panel The Imagi photo booth The photo itself The postcard that came with the photo Ryota Niitsuma signing autographs The autograph And, lastly, the Gatchaman painting at the Alex Ross booth Hope these were worth the wait! James

Those are awesome pictures, James! Thanks for sharing!