Comic-Con 2016: MAD and Timeless
Posted on July 22, 2016 at 11:02 am
On the first full day of San Diego Comic-Con, I:
Ran into a “Sharknado 4” parade with Elvises on stilts,
Talked to CBS television series stars, including James Wolk of “Zoo,” Tyler James Williams of “Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders,” Eddie Kaye Thomas and Jaydn Wong from “Scorpion,” Wilmer Valderrama of “NCIS,” and Megan Ketch of “American Gothic,”
Saw directors Oliver Stone and Luc Besson in their first-ever Comic-Con appearances, to talk about their upcoming films “Snowden” and “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,”
Heard a fascinating discussion about Mormon comic artists,
Visited an interactive experience inspired by the new television series, “Timeless,” that involved being swirled around in a Gravitron and exiting into a hallway showing that past historical events had been altered and being so dizzy it seemed like they might be true, and
Attended one of my favorite annual events, the Mad about MAD — MAD Magazine panel. There were jokes about the current political candidates, of course. When asked if they weren’t secretly hoping Trump would win because he provides such good material, they said that they were sure whoever got elected would give them plenty to make fun of. MAD has a free ebook on Donald Trump and some of its most popular artwork is now available on Zazzle. They have a forthcoming parody book called Goodnight Batcave. I was delighted to hear that “MADtv” is returning to television, Tuesday nights on the CW. In response to questions, John Ficarra said that yes, they’ve been sued (by Irving Berlin), and that the stories that produce the most hate mail are when they make fun of boy bands. And I love to hear the stories of the legendary trips the entire staff used to take together. On one cruise to Bermuda, they played a joke on MAD founder Wiliam Gaines by re-enacting the famous stateroom scene from “A Night at the Opera.” By the time the room was filled with MAD writers and artists, crew members, and random strangers, he was roaring with laughter. And so, as they told the story, was the audience, still MAD about MAD.