Middle-aged fanboy goes wild

I didn’t get in to see the Watchmen panel at Comic-Con in San Diego; the room was full two hours before that event began. Nor did I see the presentation for Frank Miller’s movie adaptation of Eisner’s The Spirit. This kind of heartache often occurs when you press tens of thousands of geeks into a single convention center. However, I did have a great time last week. And quite a few things got my heart pounding. Among them…

* At a panel commemorating the 75th anniversary of Doc Savage, comic book guru and movie producer Michael Uslan announced that a film about Clark Savage, Jr., is definitely in the works.

* Now 59, Lindsay Wagner (the real Bionic Woman) still elevates my pulse.

* I spent ten minutes or so talking with the great Jim Steranko, trying not to blubber like a schoolboy. He told me that Dark Horse plans to re-issue his 1970s graphic noir novel Chandler next year — fantastic news for Steranko junkies.

* In chatting with Blake Bell, author of the terrific new Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko, I learned that Fantagraphics hopes to start issuing new compilations of Ditko’s otherwise uncollected works by next summer. Bell hosted, back to back, a fascinating panel on Ditko and a screening of a highly entertaining 2007 BBC special, In Search of Steve Ditko.

* Joss Whedon’s new Fox series, Dollhouse, debuts next January. Joss was at Comic-Con with series star Eliza Dushku (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Tru Calling) and the show looks fantastic.

* Now 58, Erin Gray (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century) still elevates my pulse.