Darwyn Cooke announced during Wednesday's Preview Night that IDW Publishing will bring out four original graphic novels by Cooke based on Richard Stark's "Parker" novels. © IDW Publishing.

A sold-out Comic-Con International in San Diego (July 23-27) continued its shift in focus this year to areas beyond comics, and the show was brimming with programming focusing on animation, video games and vfx -- a direct tie-in to successful media exploitation of such comics properties as The Dark Knight, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Iron Man and more.

In the enormous exhibit hall, it was easier to find network and gaming companies' booths than Artists' Alley. In his keynote speech at the annual Will Eisner Comics Industry Awards, The Spirit director and Sin City creator Frank Miller said that he was delighted to address the Eisner crowd, because it was the first time he was able to talk about comics all day. He commented on the dominance of movies, games and toys at the show, and reminded comics creators that the real purpose should be "to do a really damn good comic book."

Darwyn Cooke Adapts "Parker"
Animator and Eisner Award-winning cartoonist Darwyn Cooke (Justice League: The New Frontier) appeared to heed that advice with his announcement at an early press conference during Wednesday's Preview Night that IDW Publishing will bring out four original graphic novels by Cooke based on Richard Stark's "Parker" novels. Richard Stark is the pseudonym for noted crime fiction author Donald Westlake, and many of Westlake's novels have been brought to the big screen, including Point Blank, The Hot Rock, and Payback. As part of the announcement, IDW offered fans a set of three signature cards featuring original Cooke illustrations. The first "Parker" graphic novel by Cooke will be released mid-2009.

Both New and Familiar for Nick at Comic-Con
Nickelodeon enjoyed its usual solid presence, celebrating both the old and new.

A panel celebrated the transition of Making Fiends from popular Web series to television series, while fans of Avatar: The Last Airbender viewed an hour of the series season finale, followed by a Q&A with the creative team. The panel The Fairly OddParents: Past, Present and Future brought together the producing animators and considerable voice talent in a packed session, and new episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants and The Backyardigans were screened.

"We're very excited by the fact that, since the beginning of the year, we have really regained our creative momentum," said Roland Poindexter, VP of Animation for Nickelodeon. With the new series from talented people like Amy Poehler (The Mighty B!), and an expansion of our portfolio of 3D and CGI creative properties, we're looking forward to the future."

Nick enjoys the advantage of a large and widespread demographic for its animation. "The fan base spreads from 2 to 62, and that presents a lot of opportunity," Poindexter said. "Now it's up to us to take advantage of it."

In the enormous exhibit hall, it was easier to find network and gaming companies' booths than Artists' Alley. Courtesy of Janet Hetherington.

Mike DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar, said the Comic-Con experience provides instant feedback. "It's fun watching the final episode with an audience. The feedback we receive helps us creatively." DiMartino and fellow co-creator Bryan Konietzko are now working with film director M. Night Shyamalan on the three live-action feature films based on Avatar. The first is scheduled for 2010 release.

"It's exciting to work with this new format," Konietzko said. "These characters enjoy the elements to make for very creative stories on a larger canvas."

Fairly OddParents creator Butch Hartman remarked that he was excited to see familiar faces returning for the presentation at Comic-Con. "The kids who were watching the show at 10 are adults now," Hartman said. "We didn't go into the show expecting it to last a decade, but here we are. I like to think the longevity is because this show ultimately provides good messages. We've had changes in staff, lots of different versions, but the good messages remain the same."

Wonder Woman Gets Animated
Con-goers were seen toting much-coveted oversized loot bags depicting the new animated version of Wonder Woman, who will be featured in yet another direct-to-DVD original animated movie showcasing a DC Comics icon (following Superman Doomsday, Justice League: The New Frontier and Batman: Gotham Knight). The movie's creators were on hand at Comic-Con to discuss animating the Amazing Amazon.