Irish-born illustrator Dave McElfatrick of popular Explosm.net web comic Cyanide & Happiness is asking for help in obtaining a work visa to the United States so he can continue working on animated shorts with co-creators Matt Melvin and Rob DenBleyker.

The only problem is that the U.S. doesn’t think C&H is legitimately popular enough to merit the type of visa McElfatrick would need to work in the country, which just seems insane until you realize how ridiculous it would sound trying to explain the humor of some of their comics to your grandma and/or crochety old uncle.

A little background on C&H for all of you who might be unfamiliar with it right off the bat: According to Alexa, Explosm.net is ranked #2,773 most popular website globally and #1,358 most popular in the U.S. America accounts for over 40 percent of the site’s total traffic. Yet, this isn’t sufficient enough to prove that he’s worthy of the visa apparently.

McElfatrick is asking fans who want to help to sign a petition and spread the word about his plight [...]

What’s better than having the entire cast of geeky hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory sit in on a panel discussion at San Diego Comic-Con 2010? How about having Sheldon Cooper’s nemesis Wil Wheaton moderating said panel? That’s exactly what fans got this year in the convention center’s second largest meeting space.

After an unannounced performance of the theme song led by Barenaked Ladies and a clip reel of footage from the show [READ: SDCC 2010: Barenaked Ladies Perform ‘Big Bang Theory’ Theme At Cast Panel], the cast — Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, Kunal Nayyar, and Simon Helberg — was asked a variety of questions, including what Nayyar’s future as a Bollywood superstar was, what it was like working with Christine Baranski, and what super-hero identity they’d like to take on if given the chance. (Hint: Helberg definitely wouldn’t be Moist).

I fully expect their responses to be illustrated into a comic book and spread among the internets any day now. Check out video of the entire panel below [...]

The cast of Paul, the upcoming sci-fi comedy by Superbad director Greg Mottola and written by the film’s stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, took to the stage at 2010 San Diego Comic-Con to debut a special clip reel made specifically for the fans in attendance. This can be somewhat verified by the fact that it wasn’t censored for the general viewing audience due to the few instances of well-timed cursing.

The video opened with a loud pop from the crowd as they showed fanboys Clive Gollings (Frost) and Graeme Willy (Pegg) in the San Diego Convention Center for Comic-Con. The two are on a journey to Roswell, New Mexico, where they encounter a classic-style gray alien named Paul, voiced by Seth Rogen. The trio are being chased by Special Agent Lorenzo Zoil (Jason Bateman) and Agent Haggard (Bill Hader) and accidentally kidnap Ruth Buggs, played by Kristen Wiig.

With the exception of Wiig, the aforementioned actors sat on the panel along with Sigourney Weaver, Jeffrey Tambor, and Joe Lo Truglio — who actually stood in during the portions of the film that contained the CGI Paul [...]

At least one woman in every row of the crowded (4,500 capacity) ballroom was wearing a Merlotte’s Bar & Grill t-shirt at the True Blood panel at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con, which featured nearly the entire cast of the HBO hit vampire drama.

Show creator Alan Ball kicked off the panel with a special Comic-Con preview reel before having the cast — including Joe Manganiello (Alcide), Kristin Bauer (Pam), Deborah Ann Woll (Jessica), Denis O’Hare (Russell), Sam Trammell (Sam Merlotte), Nelsan Ellis (Lafayette), Rutina Wesley (Tara), Stephen Moyer (Bill), and Anna Paquin (Sookie) — come on stage to talk shop about the huge response this season.

A lot of ground covered but some of the highlights include: Alan Ball has never seen/read Twilight; novelist Charlaine Harris said she plans to do 13 Sookie Stackhouse books that may or may not mirror the story that happens in the television show; and Snoop Dogg really is a fan of True Blood and scheduling has prevented him from making a guest appearance in the past. [READ: Snoop Dogg Really Likes HBO's 'True Blood']

There’s also an explicit description of how Moyer filmed the sex scene in which he twists his former vampire lover’s head around while… well you get the point.

Check out the video coverage below for more details on what to expect from the future of True Blood [...]

Marvel Studios gave fans at 2010 San Diego Comic-Con the very first look at their upcoming 3D feature film Thor, which isn’t due in theaters until 2011.

The panel included Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Kat Dennings, and director Kenneth Branagh, as well as producer Kevin Feige.

One valuable piece of information about the film was disclosed by director Branagh concerning Thor’s mortal life.

“We have some Don Blake surprises in this movie. So do not assume that he is not included,” Branagh revealed.

As far as the video they screened, I was ultimately satisfied. The 3D elements didn’t overpower the overall visuals and instead (at least from what I saw) added texture and a bit of depth to a few scenes. See the full description of the footage here below.

I’ll admit I was worried the movie was far too plastic and bright judging from the screen shots they provided in the week prior to SDCC. But I am happy to say that from the footage screened to the audience, I am fairly confident they could actually pull this off [...]

Fans saw their first glimpse of Captain America: The First Avenger at Marvel Studios panel today at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con.

The teaser trailer opened with lots of red, white, and blue imagery over top old World War II footage of soldiers marching in line and iconic imagery, like Hilter walking in Paris and U.S. soldiers rising the flag at Iwo Jima. The old video footage plays as FDR’s famous “Infamy Speech” is in voiceover.

When the black and white footage ends, we see the Captain America shield symbol, and then Captain America for the first time in a baggy unflattering suit, and finally the shield which is hurdled at the camera to end the clip.

The first glimpse of Captain America’s suit looked much like the prototype sketches that previously leaked online. The “mask” is more akin to something out of the Ultimates version rather than the classic suit that features tiny wings on the head [...]

At the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con today, Kevin Feige, President of Marvel Studios, off-handedly responded to a fan question about the decision to recast the role of Bruce Banner/The Hulk in the upcoming Avengers film rather than asking Edward Norton to reprise the role from The Incredible Hulk.

“He’s not here today,” Feige said in response to the question during the Marvel Studios panel, which was simply “Ed Norton?”. He then basically took a page out of Norton’s classy statement explaining why he wasn’t attached to the project and declared that the panel wasn’t quite over (perhaps eluding to the Avengers announcement that came later on).

The crowd’s reaction, a mix of silence and booing across the room, seemed less than satisfied. This was also the case during the Avengers cast announcement when Avengers co-star and Comic-Con favorite Robert Downey Jr. introduced Mark Ruffalo, who then was brought on stage [...]

In a surprise move, the cast of Avengers made their debut in person at the end of Marvel Studios film panel in Hall H at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con.

A teaser clip was shown, consisting of Colonial Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) speaking about a super team while the Avengers logo slowly takes form.

The crowd went wild as Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige welcomed Jackson on stage to introduce the first half of the Avengers cast that had already been announced: Clark Gregg (S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America) and Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark/Iron Man), the latter of whom took over the mic [...]

The cast and crew of the Green Lantern movie was on hand at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con to discuss the upcoming film, due out in 2011. Also, the very first footage from the film was show (see description of it here below).

Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics Geoff Johns, decked out in Green Lantern gear, was introduced first to get things rolling and said the week he spent on set was the best experience of his life. Considering Johns’ history working with legendary director Richard Donner, that’s saying a lot.

“When I first worked for Richard Donner, we talked about making Green Lantern and one of the producers said ‘Can we do the movie without the ring?’ and right there I thought: “There’s never going to be a Green Lantern movie,” said Johns, who added that it’s been incredible to see what director Martin Campbell and crew have done.

The costume itself wasn’t shown, which Campbell described as being lines of musculature. “A lot of thought has been given to it and it is a work of progress,” Campbell said [...]

Disney has revamped their off site “Flynn’s Arcade” event to promote their upcoming feature TRON: Legacy. The only way to get in is to download the Free TRON iPhone app and check in at the booth set up inside San Diego Comic-Con’s exhibitor floor.

But fortunately for anyone not at Comic-Con, we got in and captured a bunch of pictures (and video coming soon) of the ComiTRON event — check them out here below.

The app offers an all-new version of the classic Tanks game from the Tron Arcade, the TRON: Legacy trailer, pre-sale order information for the TRON Evolution video game and will update with additional video, music, and games [...]

The cast of CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory were on hand to answer questions from uber geek-turned writer Wil Wheaton at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con.

The real surprise came as Wheaton announced that Barenaked Ladies would be performing the show’s theme song along with over 4,000 in attendance who read from a lyric sheet passed out just prior to the panel starting.

I’ve managed to upload a video of the performance, but the rest of the panel will have to wait until I find better Internet. Check it the performance here below [...]

Tron: Legacy may be the first exception to the slew of recent big budget films released in 3D to yield a larger profit margin for studios.

The Disney feature was filmed using a newer generation of the Fusion Camera System developed by James Cameron for Avatar — meaning the 3D elements were done during the filming and not in post-production like Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, and several others.

“The look of Tron is unique. That’s one of the strongest things about it,” said producer and director of the original Tron Steven Lisberger during a press conference at 2010 San Diego Comic-Con [...]

Digital comics company Panelfly has partnered with former executives at Sony, AOL, and Hulu to form new digital media company SYN — and NOT a partnership with companies themselves. Founder and CEO of SYN Kirt Mcmaster e-mailed us to correct the information reported earlier from the Digital Comics Now panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2010.

Panelfly will dissolve into SYN, which aims to produce for movies, television shows, animation, and much more in addition to comic books, according to McMaster, who gave us the following statement: “[SYN is] focused on the ‘fantastic’ that will redefine this space across all platforms — with a focus on supermobile extending into the digital home experience.” [...]

Panelfly has formed a partnership with Sony, AOL, and Hulu to produce a new digital comics reader software called Syn, according to CEO Wade Slitkin, who made the announcement during the “Digital Comics Now” panel at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con.

A Syn iPad app was said to be released soon, featuring the Panelfly skeletal software. This will replace the Panelfly name and become the main product for the company.

This is the first “cross-platform” partnership made with a digital comics company and details have yet to be released. However, the temporary holding page, synner.net, states a 2011 release and offer e-mail notifications when new details become available [...]

Gamers have been in an uproar ever since Blizzard, developer of popular MMORPG World of Warcraft and the upcoming Starcraft II, decided to switch their forums over to a Real-ID system, which forces players to be identified by both their first and last name when they comment.

Most gamers argue that this switch is unnecessary and invites unintended invasion of privacy to the user if they chose to participate in forum discussion — and I’m hard pressed to agree. [NOTE: Having retired my pen name TechGOnzo almost a year ago, World of Warcraft is pretty much the only place I don't use my real name on the Internet. The thought that immature gamer-rage comments could theoretically pop up in Google results when people search for me just never seemed all that appealing.]

At least one irate gamer is retaliating against the Real-ID change by publishing the personal information of Robert Kotick, CEO of Activision, of which Blizzard is a part [...]

When DC Comics announced Wonder Woman was getting re-imagined for the 21st century, I immediately went on the defensive. The character is an icon now in the same way that Superman is. Her costume, regardless of how unpractical it may be, is also iconic, which is something you don’t dare change no matter how badly it defies conventional design theory (just ask Google about their own logo). But the thing I felt like invoking the most was “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Despite the inevitable fan backlash, DC editorial is going forward with their plans to “update” Wonder Woman. They’ve hired the talented J. Michael Straczynski as regular scribe who’ll kick off the new storyline that gives our heroine a new origin due to the gods changing history. Diana has now grown up in a modern society and barely remembers the former life. She has all the same powers and abilities as well as a new “modernized” costume designed by co-publisher (not to mention legendary artist) Jim Lee.

While combining the talents of top industry creators for a revamp is usually a formula for success, the “new” Wonder Woman fails before I even gaze upon the first page.

Here’s why…

As reported earlier, DC Comics has finally launched their digital publishing initiatives with a native application for Apple’s iOS4 mobile operating system (iPad, iPhone, iTouch) and two separate distribution deals with comic reader platform ComiXology and Sony’s PlayStation Network (PS3, PSP) — with plans to sell comics digitally through the DC Comics website later in the year [read DC Comics Releases iPad/iPhone App].

“As both a comic book creator and Co-Publisher, it was incredibly important that our plan includes not only creator incentive payments, but also an innovative component that supports comic shop owners. We see digital as an opportunity to grow our entire business,” stated Jim Lee in DC’s official press release. [...]

As Disney has been prepping for the release of Tron: Legacy for well over a year now, it seems about the right time for them to start teasing their line of toys to coincide with the film’s release in December. But rather than manufacture the standard hunks of plastic, batteries, and tiny light bulbs, the Tron Light Cycle toys actually perform much like they do in the film: by climbing walls and driving on the ceiling (a.k.a. “defying” gravity).

The Light Cycle toys also feature a streaming trail of light that if crossed with another cycle’s stream, will cause both cars to lose traction and fall to the ground just like in the movie, according to Fast Company, who got their hands on a few as shown in the video embedded below.

What you won’t find is an explanation of how the Light Cycles work beyond mention of Zero-G Technology from the toy’s manufacturer Spin Master.

Tron fanboys only have to wait until October to purchase these bad boys, which will retail for $34.99 each. It’s a very reasonable price considering the hours of entertainment you’ll experience by chasing your cat around the house and uploading videos of it to YouTube.

[NOTE: Just below the demo, we've embedded a video of the "real" Light Cycle, which we recorded during a Tron: Legacy marketing event at last year's San Diego Comic-Con.] [...]

A medical supply company kicked off a promotional campaign that offers a pin-up calendar of sexy ladies in seductive poses under an x-ray scanner.

The calendar, which is completely safe for work by most standards, features pictures for every month of the year.

The company behind the promotion, EIZO, hired German-based ad agency Butter to create the calendar for distribution to potential clients.

So basically unless you work inside of a hospital or medical specialist’s practice, you’ll have a hard time getting your hands on one [...]

Ever wonder what happens to the props from classic sci-fi/fantasy films and television shows after they wrap production? The Syfy channel thinks you do.

Syfy has commissioned six, one-hour episodes of a new show focused on geek memorabilia, which will be done in a documentary style.

The show could end up being pretty successful, as collecting useless (and glorious) crap is roughly half of being a geek if you have the funds to support it.

I’ve already got an idea for the first episode: the sword from the Conan the Barbarian movie, which may be displayed in California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s office and/or owned by comic book artist Rob Liefeld [...]