Visitors to Comic-Con International next week in San Diego won’t get much in the way of sneak previews for J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movie coming next summer — unless it’s the most successful stealth campaign of all time.

But what they will get is one of four teaser posters that, when combined, form this tantalizing image of (clockwise from top left) Eric Bana as the villainous Nero, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock:

Source: Entertainment Weekly

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Briton Karen Traviss, author of such Star Wars tie-ins as the Republic Commando series and parts of the Legacy of the Force series, will come to Tempe’s Changing Hands Bookstore Monday evening, July 28 — fresh from Comic-Con International in San Diego that weekend.

Traviss is bringing with her a garrison of stormtroopers to mark the release of her newest book Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which drops July 26 and is loosely based on the CGI movie of the same name debuting Aug. 15 in theaters. It takes place between Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

According to Changing Hands, the story “takes readers to a time when the young Anakin Skywalker is mentoring his first Padawan, a girl called Ahsoka, as he learns to be a warrior and rises to the status of hero of the Clone Wars. Clone trooper action, battles, and adventure abound in this series for Star Wars fans of all ages.”

The signing and discussion is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Seating with book purchase begins at 6 p.m., with general public seating at 6:45 p.m. Changing Hands Bookstore is located at 6428 S. McClintock Dr., Tempe. [MAP]

Source: TheForce.Net

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM NINTENDO’S PRESS CONFERENCE:

The sequel to Wii Sports, the ever-popular Wii launch title, Wii Sports Resort adds activities like fencing (below), Frisbee and jet skiing. The game will come bundled with the new Wii Motion Plus accessory and an extended Wii Remote Jacket, both of which will also be available separately.

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One of the biggest video game publicity events is happening this week at the E3 Media & Business Summit in Los Angeles. That means lots of gaming news, updates and a sick amount of eye candy.

Microsoft made some big announcements yesterday, Jayson Peters wrote about Nintendo’s press conference earlier today and now I’m going to cover Sony’s plans for the future. The company is hoping to gain a larger part of the gaming market by expanding their library of exclusive games and offering a completely unique online experience.

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See More Wii Music Screenshot at IGN.com

One of the biggest video game publicity events is happening this week at the E3 Media & Business Summit in Los Angeles. That means lots of gaming news, updates and a sick amount of eye candy.

Yesterday, Scott Kirchhofer gave you the rundown on Microsoft’s Xbox 360 announcements, and he’ll be back later today with a roundup of Sony’s news. I’m here to summarize Nintendo’s morning press conference. It’s already been a big year for Nintendo, and many folks were wondering if they’d have anything left to announce. But despite the much-anticipated early arrivals of Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit, they’re not out of the game yet.

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One of the biggest video game publicity events is happening this week at the E3 Media & Business Summit in Los Angeles. That means lots of gaming news, updates and a sick amount of eye candy.

Microsoft held their press conference today and capitalized on the recent news that the Xbox 360 will get a price drop ($299 for the 20-gigabyte hard drive). They boosted interest in the console by showing off some impressive new games and Xbox LIVE features to be released this fall.

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CopperCon, the annual Arizona science fiction and fantasy convention hosted by the Central Arizona Speculative Fiction Society, is coming Aug. 29-31 to Embassy Suites Scottsdale, 4415 E. Paradise Village Pkwy S., Phoenix. [MAP]

Guests include: writer Greg Weisman, creator of the still-amazing Disney Afternoon cartoon Gargoyles (which you can watch daily on Toon Disney) and producer of the animated series The Spectacular Spider-Man on The CW4Kids; comic artist David Hedgecock; and author MaryJanice Davidson.
WALT DISNEY ANIMATION

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Whatever you play, there will be something for you at Phoenix Con Games June 12-15 at the Mesa Convention Center: board games, card games, miniatures wargaming, RPGs, live-action role playing (pirates, Harry Potter and a Texas Hold’em Old West Poker Tournament) and LAN gaming.

And the latest in next-gen consoles will be available to try out — so if you’ve never played a Wii, there is open gaming where you can find out what it’s all about. Want to see how your Guitar Hero skills stack up against others? Grab an axe and rock out.

The best part is you can bring the family. There is no day care, but there are plenty of activities planned for gamerspawn, including free face painting, life-size Tic-Tac-Toe matches, giant building blocks and Junk Box Wars (”see if you can put together a working machine in the time allowed”). (more…)

In Arizona, it’s always convention season for us otaku (that’s Japanese for fanboys and -girls). Stay tuned to Nerdvana for the latest in upcoming local conventions — and don’t forget to send me your con notices, you deadbeats!

Like this one: Saboten-Con is an anime convention on Memorial Day weekend (May 24-26) from the folks who brought us Phoenix Cactus Comicon. It will be held at the Crowne Plaza Phoenix hotel at Interstate 17 and Peoria Avenue. [MAP] (more…)

Fans of science fiction and fantasy will gather this weekend in Casa Grande for three days of panels, art shows, dancing, stargazing and more. (more…)