CON: Best and Worst

Well the Comic-Con is over and I'm just starting to recuperate about five days later. Boy those flights out of San Diego were a bitch, eh? The Con is always a lot of hard work and hard partying but now that we have some distance, we can look back and give out some awards. Who was The Best? Who was The Worst? Most importantly, who was The Hottest (sadly Jim Law is ineligible for this prize)? Check it all out below!

BEST IN SHOW

I was having a hard time deciding between WOLVERINE and WATCHMEN until I decided to instead give the prize to a giant corporation instead. WOLVERINE and WATCHMEN both had their pros and cons so I decided to let the tie-breaker go to the studio who had the best show. The MAX PAYNE and DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL panels before the big WOLVERINE surprise were tedious affairs but Warner Bros. brought TERMINATOR: SALVATION, which definitely wowed the crowd (though footage of Christian Bale sipping tea and watching "Benson" reruns probably would've gotten this crowd excited). So the Warner Bros. double team of WATCHMEN and TERMINATOR SALVATION wins the prize from me.

WORST IN SHOW

THE SPIRIT had bad buzz going into the Con and their panel and footage did nothing to help their cause. Frank Miller was half asleep, Sam Jackson was undermining his director and the footage was laughable. Maybe Frank Miller should stick to CO-directing movies...

BEST FOOTAGE

WATCHMEN is lucky WOLVERINE didn't have a bigger presence because otherwise it wouldn't have won the Best of Show prize. It basically won Best of Show based on the strength of the footage alone (yes, it's that good). Sadly the panel - a dry, tedious affair - couldn't match the footage. Note to studios: hiring journalists as panel moderators isn't always a great idea. You need someone who's comfortable in front of a crowd and can move a panel along.

WORST FOOTAGE

After Sam Raimi unspooled the new trailer for DRAG ME TO HELL, two of our horror gurus, Jim Law and Ammon Gilbert, almost puked in disgust. This is Sam Raimi's triumphant return to horror? Luckily Raimi and HELL redeemed itself with some freaky clips but we all agreed that was one trailer that never should've been shown.

FUNNIEST PANEL

It should come as no surprise that a panel featuring Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen, Danny McBride and James Franco would be the funniest of the Con. Kevin Smith and his ZACK AND MIRI pals came close but couldn't match the Apatow crew.

HOTTEST CON BABES

This year I'm giving the prize to the girls of "Ghostbusters." They were there to promote the upcoming video game but damn did they look hot in their jumpsuits. This is what GHOSTBUSTERS 3 should've looked liked. I'd pay $10 to see her get slimed.

COOLEST FLOOR ITEM

Maybe I'm a sucker for realistic Lego statues, but this Lego Indiana Jones impressed me so much I had to stop and stare at it for a while. And usually I'm in a rush to move my way through the insane floor crowds. I thought about deducting points just on the CRYSTAL SKULL basis alone, but George Lucas wasn't involved in the making of this statue, ergo it doesn't suck.

NUTTIEST FANS

I used to think it was the Trekkies, but I'm handing over the mantle to the TWILIGHTers who rocked Hall H. I noticed some comic fans were dismissive of the TWILIGHTers and their, um, devotion, but why is that any weirder than having a Mandalorian wedding? Sure the screeching was a little loud but that's how 13-year-old girls show their affection. Don't playa hate fanboys - the girls brought it this year and you gotta respect that.

BEST CELEBRITY APPEARANCE

HUGGHHHHH! While most everyone in the press knew Hugh Jackman was arriving with some WOLVERINE footage, the Hall H-ers seemed genuinely surprised by his appearance at the end of the Fox panel. I can probably think of maybe one more actor (Christian Bale) that would rock the crowd harder than Hugh. He loves us and we love him. It's one big happy family.

WORST CELEBRITY APPEARANCE

Christian Bale wasn't even supposed to make a surprise appearance at Comic-Con but McG thought he had an ace up his sleeve. He had planned to call Bale (who was in Japan promoting THE DARK KNIGHT) who would talk to the crowd with the phone up against the mic. Only problem is that Bale had his phone turned off and it rang right to voicemail. (Runner-up goes to Frank Miller who sleepwalked through his two panels. Huh? Wha?)

MOST IMPRESSIVE COSTUME

I'm a huge old-school "He-Man" fan so to see some guy in a meticulously detailed Trap-Jaw costume was a real thrill. You look at that and think for a brief second that a live-action He-Man could actually be pretty cool. And then you remember Frank Langella as Skeletor and get shivers down your spine.

BEST SURPRISE PHOTO

The surprise photo is a new trend for Comic-Con this year and it involves sneaking up behind someone and taking a picture that looks like you're actually posing together. We had surprise shots with Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra, Paul WS Anderson, that dude who plays Jason in the new FRIDAY THE 13th and plenty more but none quite as good as Jim Law and Jason Statham. Statham is just staring off into the distance but it looks like something off a movie poster. Classic.

READERS' CHOICE AWARD