It’s only the first real work day back from the New Year’s holiday (aka January 3rd) and already speculation about Apple and its upcoming products is well underway. This time around that speculation is directed at a media event insider sources are saying will take place in New York at the end of this month.

According to AllThingsD, the event won’t be centered around an iPad 3 announcement or have anything to do with a the television Apple is supposedly developing. In fact, as the event will reportedly be hosted by Apple’s Senior VP of Internet Software Eddy Cue, it’s much more likely it will concern publishing or advertising.

That’s probably a pretty good bet considering New York is still regarded as the advertising and publishing capital of these United States. Let’s assume, based on this info, the event will center on publishing and advertising.

That means we might expect an announcement about new magazines joining Apple’s Newsstand initiative or maybe we can look forward to an updated app that combines iBooks and Newsstand into one, much like Amazon does with its Kindle app for iOS. That would be nice.

Whatever ends up being announced, you can be sure some people will be happy and others will lament that the event wasn’t all about a brand new iPad 3. Rest assured people, Apple will release an iPad 3. It’s just a matter of time.

Until then, try to enjoy your iPad 2 and remember there are people much less fortunate than you are out there. I’m talking about, of couse, those people still using the original iPad.

Poor bastards.

The comic book world is abuzz with anticipation of next year’s battle royal between the Avengers and the X-Men. The event series kicks off with a prologue issue that sets up two of the most critical characters in the series, Hope Summers and The Scarlet Witch. The issue is written by Brian Michael Bendis and Jason Aaron with art by Frank Cho, a veritable dream team of creators.

“This March, fans worldwide cannot miss the prologue to the biggest pop culture comic event of the year as Marvel is pleased to unveil the trade dress and cover to Avengers VS. X-Men #0! Just before the Avengers and the X-Men go head to head, superstar creators Brian Michael Bendis, Jason Aaron & Frank Cho set up the crucial roles of the Scarlet Witch and Hope Summers in the coming storm.

With all eyes on Wanda and the Mutant Messiah, both sides have already made up their mind on where allegiances SHOULD lie …but what about those caught in the middle? The drums of war are beating and fans should be ready for the essential opening to the event that will change everything you know about the Marvel Universe in Avengers VS. X-Men #0!”

Check out the awesome full cover after the jump.

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If you’re a fan of cars and outrageous stunts you’re probably a frequent watcher of the BBC’s very popular series Top Gear. After a relaunch in 2002, the show has taken off and is now one of the most popular motoring series in the world.

Fortunately, we get it here in the States as well and have become big fans of those funny, crazy and occasionally controversial presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. With the new season of Top Gear in full swing the boys are set to try something new this year to further entrain their fans.

That something is Top Gear Live. In short, it’s a live version of the show featuring the presenters and, of course, The Stig. It wil also feature a huge indoor track and racing, explosions and more.

But really, why listen to me talk about it? Let Jeremy and James explain it to you instead. Click through for a video that does just that.

Top Gear Live is in Birmingham from the 11th – 13th of November and in London from the 24th – 27th. Yes folks, that’s in England. Sorry Top Gear fans in the U.S. and elsewhere, there’ no plans for a Top Gear Live in your area . . . at least not yet.

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You’ll hear a lot about all the cool games, tech, and gadgets you’ll get to try out at the PAX East show floor, but you won’t hear much about is everything beyond the show floor. PAX prides itself on offering the all-encompassing gamer experience, which includes a wide variety of things to do when you’re a little tired of trekking through the mobbed expo hall or have some time to kill between panels.

Here’s all the “other stuff” I found worth checking out around the convention center this weekend.

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The SXSW Film Festival (March 11-19) has announced its short-films lineup for 2011 with a comprehensive list of 150 shorts (chosen from 3,089 entries), submitted by a vast array of established and up-and-coming directors, and ranging from narratives to documentaries to music videos to even local submissions.

As usual, the full list can be found at the SXSW website. The full press release announcement, including recaps of the narrative features, documentary features, and headliners, follows:

Austin, Texas – February 10, 2011 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce features in the complete short films lineup, which will debut at this year’s Festival, which runs from March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas.

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Yesterday, the SXSW Film Festival (March 11-19) announced its lineup for 2011, and, once again, it’s a pretty big showing. Among the headliners is Jodie Foster premiering her film The Beaver, indie-favorite James Gunn and the U.S. premiere of his superhero comedy Super, and the North American premiere of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s latest film, Paul.

The full list can be found at the SXSW website. In all the festival will screen 130 features, including 60 world premieres, 12 North American premieres, and 16 U.S. premieres. The full press release announcement, including recaps of the narrative features, documentary features, and headliners, follows:

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 11 – 19, 2011 in Austin, Texas. The 2011 lineup continues the SXSW tradition of tapping into the cultural zeitgeist, highlighting emerging talent and breakthrough performances and supporting first-time filmmakers. The Midnighters and SXFantastic feature sections, along with the short film program, will be announced next week.

“This is the most exciting moment for us. After a fantastic festival of discovery in 2010, we can finally unveil the line up for this year’s event,” says Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson. “SXSW prides itself on taking chances, sifting for films that are the seedlings of the next generation of must-see artists. This year’s line up is full of emerging voices and filmmakers who transcended the resources they had on hand, often with an alchemist’s touch.”

Over the course of nine days, 130 features will screen at SXSW 2011. The program consists of 60 World Premieres, 12 North American Premieres and 16 U.S. Premieres. These films were selected from a record 1,792 feature-length film submissions composed of 1,323 U.S. and 469 international feature-length films. SXSW saw a 23% increase in its overall submissions over 2010, with a record number of nearly 4,900 total.

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Austin is home to some great festivals and other events. From SXSX to Fantastic Fest the town certainly has more than its share of pop culture events. Another event coming up is the Austin Comic Con which starts this Friday and goes through Sunday at the Austin Convention Center.

The event features speakers such as writer/director Tim McCanlies, Harry Knowles, Bionic folk Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner, Billy Dee Williams, Walter Koenig, comic art superstar Joe Madura and Buffy’s Clare Kramer and Nicholas Brendon. For more info, check out all the details in this full press release for the event.

Celebrity Q&A panels, Film Screenings, “Drink & Draw” and Costume Parade highlight Austin Comic Con This Week
Austin Film Festival Screenwriters Panel, Artist Panels, Masquerade Ball and AMC’s Walking Dead Episode Preview Also Set

NEW YORK and AUSTIN, Texas—November 10, 2010 – A wide variety of entertaining and informative panels and comic industry sessions are among the programming offerings scheduled at Wizard World Austin Comic Con, this Friday through Sunday at the Austin Convention Center. Featured panels include Austin-based heroes such as screenwriter and director Tim McCanlies, film critic and pop culture guru Harry Knowles and filmmaker-wunderkind Emily Hagins. Austin Comic Con is sponsored by Austin Books & Comics, Alamo Drafthouse, Austin Chronicle, 101X FM and Dragon’s Lair.

Day programming begins on Friday with the popular “Wizard Art School,” as noted Marvel and DC artist Greg Horn leads a discussion on digital art, beginning at 2 p.m. in Room 9. Indy art sensations Rob Guillory (Chew) and Kody Chamberlain (Sweets) discuss their breakout Image hits in “The Art of Chew and Sweets” at 3 p.m. in the same room. Also at 3, in Room 8, “The Incredible Hulk,” Lou Ferrigno, sits down for an exclusive Q&A about the classic show and his status as a pop culture icon. At 4, the Women of Wrestling take the stage, as Torrie Wilson, Amy Dumas, Lisa Marie Varon, Christy Hemme and Jackie Haas discuss their special role in the sport of wrestling, in Room 8.

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Last week in ‘Countdown to …’ The Flickcast talked with Melody Severns, a veteran skater with the L.A. Derby Dolls who has worked on ‘King of the Hill,’ both ’The Simpsons’ TV show and ‘Simpsons Movie’ as well as being the founder of GirlsDrawinGirls, a group of over 90 active female artists.

This week, we change things up a bit as we talk all things ‘W00tstock,’ the definitive geek variety show, with both Paul and Storm (The Internet, Da Vinci’s Notebook).

For decades, geeks were ostracized, picked on, laughed at and punished by the sun’s harmful UV rays. But there is only so long that a people can be kept down before they rise up against their oppressors; and, indeed, the dawn of the 21st century has seen the ascendancy of geeks and geek culture.

W00tstock celebrates nerds, with 3 hours of geek and music, and features television host/special-effects artist Adam Savage (MythBusters), actor/author/blogger Wil Wheaton (Star Trek: The Next Generation, Stand By Me) and of course, music-comedy duo Paul and Storm. W00tstock 2.4 is set to storm San Diego Comic-Con, with a special off-site show Thursday the 22nd at the Gaslamp’s 4th and B.

We wanted to find out what the Con is like from Paul and Storm’s perspective, what are some of their likes and dislikes regarding the Con itself and what sort of surprises w00tstock has in store at this year’s SDCC 2010.

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Often events happen that we can’t get to cover extensively or at all. This year that dubious honor fell on Anime Expo in Los Angeles. As much as we might have wanted to go there and show you everything from the expo we have Comic-Con to plan for and that has to take presidence.

Fortunately, we’ve got friends. And one of those friends, SamProof, went to the expo and shot a lot of video, cut it together and we’ve got it for you today. We think it captures the essence of Anime Expo and helps us get over (mostly) the fact that we couldn’t be there this year.

Check out the video after the jump. For more from our pal SamProof, head on over to his site.

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The San Diego Comic-Con schedule continues to roll out and now Friday’s list of events, panels, screenings and more has been released. Where Thursday was chock full of diverse programming from comics to movies to a super geek extravaganza in the Joss Whedon / J.J. Abrams panel, Friday has more of a recurring theme going thought it. That theme? Star Wars.

That’s right, Comic-Con has chosen to honor one of the greatest film franchises of all time and bring you several panels and events directly related to that theme. Some of the highlights of Friday’s schedule for us include screenings of Batman: Brave and the Bold, Dimension Film’s Piranha: 3D panel, the Dark Horse Comics panel, AMC’s The Walking Dead panel and the Big Bang Theory panel.

In addition, one of our favorite shows, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, comes to the Con for the first time as well as these: Sony Pictures’ The Other Guys and The Green Hornet panel, a Girls Who Kick Ass panel, the True Blood panel and premiere screening of 30 Days of Night: Dark Days and Batman: Under the Red Hood.

Yes, Friday at San Diego Comic-Con looks to be yet another day chock full of great things to see and experience. Sadly, you won’t get to see it all because you just can’t be in three paces at once. If only they could perfect that cloning technology. We can dream. Until then, get used to some disappointment.

Click through for the full Friday schedule. Of course, be sure to check back right here for more on San Diego Comic-Con.

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Last week in ‘Countdown to …’ we launched a new Q&A format, exploring what San Diego Comic-Con is like for the typical exhibitor. You know, those hard-working and creative artists that manage to secure a booth every year? This week, The Flickcast sat down with Melody Severns, a veteran skater with the L.A. Derby Dolls who has worked on ‘King of the Hill,’ both  ’The Simpsons’ TV show and ‘Simpsons Movie’ as well as being the founder of GirlsDrawinGirls, a group of  over 90 active female artists.

The group provides collaborative projects for its artists (such as book collections, group art shows, and opportunities to participate in charity art events such as the Pasadena Chalk Festival), in addition to promoting each member’s individual artistic endeavors through cross-promotion and marketing prints, original artwork and other art-related merchandise. You can find Melody and many of the girls at booth #5429, or look them up in the official guide under ‘GirlsDrawinGirls.’

Without further ado, let’s find out what the Con is like from Melody’s perspective as an exhibitor, what are some of her likes and dislikes regarding the Con itself and what she looks forward to this year at SDCC 2010.

The Flickcast: San Diego Comic-Con 2010 is less than a month away, what are you and your artist associates doing to get prepared as an exhibitor?

Melody Severns: Right now we are currently waiting with great anticipation for the release of our new book, ‘GirlsDrawinGirls: Vol. 3: Sugar and Spice.’  The book will be released along with our opening reception on July 9 at the Animation Guild’s gallery in Burbank, CA.

The book will also premiere at comic con.  I’m really excited about it.  We got stunt woman, and actress, Zoe Bell to write the foreword, and I’m telling you, this looks like our best book yet!

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Make no mistake, the love for San Diego Comic-Con is strong with all of us here at The Flickcast. In fact, we’ll be covering the Con like no one’s business next month. And yet, as much fun and eye-candy as SDCC can offer the attendee, I wondered, what’s it like for the typical exhibitor? You know, those hard-working and creative artists that manage to secure a booth every year? I decided to find out.

This week, I sat down with Cutter Hays, artist and writer of the Mouse Knight series and perpetual Comic-Con exhibitor (please visit him at booth #I-2; check the official guide under “Mouse Knight”). I wanted to find out what the Con is like from his perspective, what are some of his likes and dislikes regarding the Con itself, and what he looks forward to this year.

The Flickcast: Comic-Con is nearly a month away, what are you doing to get prepared as an artist and an exhibitor?

Cutter Hays: Oh, you know, playing lots of WoW, sleeping 20 hours a day and getting it on with my 20 year-old girlfriend. Actually none of that is true. My girlfriend is 22. No, okay – actually, I’m incredibly busy, under the gun hardcore.

One month ago, a UK publisher signed my books (all of them, the entire Mouse Knight series), signed contracts even.  They were going to be doing a special limited run of 200 of each of the first two books, numbered and everything – they were going to say “2010 Comic-Con” on them for collectability.  Then, two weeks ago, they wrote to say they weren’t going to be doing any of it this year for some reason (they declined to say).

This left me and my agent in a very bad spot. Not enough time to do it ourselves.  Fairly certain that was some kind of break of contract, but maybe not.  Who cares?  They flaked hard, last minute, and now its up to us. We’re in a time crunch from hell to get those same special editions (minus the hard covers) printed in time for Con and at a huge cost to myself.

Sucks hard, but…whatever. Definitely not the first time publishers have broken their word, it’s just too bad that it’s the rule and not the exception.

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