Comic-Con musical companion

During this year’s Comic-Con International, related music events are happening at the show and around town. On Thursday, July 18, musical comedy duo Paul and Storm perform at the Balboa Theatre for w00tstock 5.0, while living cartoons the Aquabats make their annual Con appearance at the nearby House of Blues.

At Embarcadero Marina Park South, the San Diego Symphony will perform Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy on Friday, accompanied by a video presentation of the game and conducted by Arnie Roth. The following night, at 98 Bottles in Little Italy, trumpeter Gilbert Castellanos runs his band through jazz arrangements of the music of Star Wars, with attendees encouraged to wear costumes.

On Saturday, MayStar will host a free Comic-Con Fashion Show and Costume Party when her long-running Fashion Whore event makes its downtown Analog Bar debut. Over at Allied Gardens Park, the Terre Neuve medieval reenactment group will stage Chain Mail, Velvet, and Olde World Swordplay, with lute-playing troubadours and more 10th- to 15th-century roleplaying, while Brick by Brick presents a Batman-themed edition of Gotham Girls Burlesque.

From Thursday through Sunday, the Comic-Con Interactive Zone at Petco Park will host live music acts, including sing-speak from local William Shatner impersonator ShatMan, as well as geektastic attractions like the Hello Kitty Pop-Up Shop, an Adult Swim Funhouse, and the Walking Dead Escape obstacle course.

At the Con, Thursday’s events include Behind the Music with CW3PR, featuring soundtrack composers from TV shows, such as Fringe, Being Human, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Comics co-created by Wu-Tang’s RZA and Ghostface Killah will be the focus of a Black Mask panel, while Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog will allow fans to sing-along with the sing-along.

On Friday, Metallica will preview their 3D film Through the Never at the Convention Center’s Hall H, as well as performing at a still-undisclosed venue nearby. Only Con panel attendees will have access to tickets. The creators of bio-comics, such as Legends of the Blues and The Carter Family: Don’t Forget This Song, will appear at a Music and Comics panel, and local colorist Jeromy Cox will spotlight his Vampyrates comic series, co-created with local Shambles guitarist Kevin Donaker-Ring.

Other music-themed panels include Hip-Hop and Comics, the Character of Music, Comics and the Punk Aesthetic, an interactive screening of the Buffy the Vampire Killer musical, and a spotlight on Guns N’ Roses album cover painter Robert Williams, whose work also appeared in the locally published series Tipper Gore’s Comics and Stories.