Valley Creatives Gather at San Diego Comic-Con

The annual Comic-Con International took place this month at the San Diego Convention Center and featured a number of San Fernando Valley area companies in the exhibit hall. The annual convention showcases the latest and greatest in comics, gaming, anime, as well as science fiction and fastasy projects in film, television and print. Large Valley companies such as Warner Bros. Entertainment and Walt Disney Co.-owned Marvel Entertainment and Lucasfilm are among the major participants each year. On the smaller side are Entertainment Earth, a Simi Valley collectibles manufacturer and distributor, and Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc., the Tarzana licensing company for the estate of the “Tarzan” creator. Jim Sullos, president of Burroughs Inc., hosted a panel discussion at the con on July 21. The reason to attend the show was to let audiences know that Burroughs was not just a one-dimensional writer who only did Tarzan, Sullos said. “He has created 25 different literary properties and people may only know three or four of them,” Sullos said. Burroughs was a pioneer of sorts in comic books, having issued his first one in 1929. Today, the Burroughs Inc., website has 18 comic strips based on Burroughs character with more coming, Sullos said. “We are about ready to introduce the Moon Men, which is a new one, and the Tarzan Twins, just went up a few weeks ago,” he added. Entertainment Earth has been coming to the convention off and on for 19 of the 21 years it has been in business. Samantha Ordonez, marketing manager, said the company likes to be the eyes and ears for hobbyists and collectors who appreciate the pop culture items available at Comic-Con. “It has been an annual gathering and reunion for friends and family,” she added. “It is incredible seeing people come together year after year.” For the show, Entertainment Earth had more than 20 exclusive products that included characters from Marvel, DC Comics, Nintendo and “Star Trek,” including items connected with the 30th anniversary of the “Next Generation” television show. The company also partnered with cable network Showtime on a set of “Twin Peaks” collectibles. “Entertainment Earth is the company that has the most ‘Twin Peaks’ exclusives on the floor show,” Ordonez said. Select cast members from the show appeared at the company’s booth on July 21 to sign autographs. News Promotion LBI Media Inc. promoted Pedro Ferriz Hijar from news anchor to vice president of national news at the Spanish language broadcasting company. In his new role at the Burbank broadcaster, Hijar will oversee strategic planning and management of the news division of the Estrella TV network, which includes two national newscasts. He will continue as national anchorman for Cierre de Edición, which he started about 18 months ago. He was excited to take on the new opportunity and do it for a network valuing fair and objective journalism, Hijar said. “As our Latino community continues to face threats from an administration adamant in its pursuit of alternative facts, now more than ever, Spanish-language newscasters have the responsibility to inform, educate and support the communities we serve,” he added in a prepared statement. LBI owns and operates 10 television stations throughout the United States under the Estrella TV network moniker and more than a dozen radio stations in California and Texas. Blockbuster Suit Walt Disney Co. is being sued in federal court in San Francisco over allegations the Burbank entertainment giant used stolen motion capture technology in three of its films. Rearden LLC, and its subsidiary Rearden Mova LLC seeks in its 83-page complaint filed July 17 unspecified financial damages as well as the impoundment and destruction of all copies of the three movies using the Mova Contour Reality Capture technology – “Beauty and the Beast,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” Rearden, in San Francisco, claimed that in all the accolades given Disney for the use of Mova Contour in “Beauty and the Beast” it was never mentioned that the technology had been stolen from Rearden and that Disney was aware of the theft. “And this was not the first time. Disney contracted with the same thieves previously … to use MOVA Contour in at least one other film, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ which was also highly successful,” the complaint said. Rearden is also in litigation with Shenzhenshi Haitiecheng Science and Technology Co., Ltd. over that Chinese company claiming it owned the Mova Contour technology and then licensed it to a visual effects firm. A year ago, a federal judge issued an injunction prohibiting the use of Mova Contour until a trial settled the ownership issue. Attempts to reach a representative from Disney were not successful. Staff Reporter Mark R. Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or [email protected].