COMIC-CON: BOOM! STUDIOS PANEL

SAN DIEGO -- A new series from Phil Hester was among the highlights of the BOOM! Studios panel on Friday at Comic-Con International.

Panelists included Chips Mosher, Ross Richie, Andrew Cosby, Matt Gagnon and Mark Waid.

Following are highlights:

* Richie said that sell-outs and mulitple printings for Farscape were "a phenomenon."

The Farscape ongoing series begins in two months. BOOM! is offering a special edition of the hardcover, limited to 500, at the convention.

* Waid said he is "having a blast" with Irredeemable. "Power does not come with emotional rationality," Waid said. "When you're on that level of power, you're going to snap some day."

Waid said the sales are increasing on the series.

* Mosher said that Irredeemable #3 sold more than 36 DC books and 29 Marvel books in its month of release.

* Irredeemable #5 will be 99 cents and the first trade will cost $9.99; both on sale on the same day on August 12.

* Gagnon said that BOOM!'s books continue to ship on time.

* The Unknown hardcover will be in stores in three weeks. Waid said the book will include bonus materials.

* There will be another mini-series, The Unknown: The Devil Made Flesh. "I explain it as Doc Savage by way of David Lynch," Waid said. "I would not count on her making it out of this one alive."

* BOOM! previewed Claudio Sanchez's KillAudio, which launches in October. "How innovative Claudio is on the page is incredible," Gagnon said.

* The Anchor launches in October, written by Phil Hester, with art by Brian Churilla.

The idea behind the series is The Anchor is a guardian between hell and Earth. "He is essentially God's enforcer," Gagnon said.

* Cosby said the Eureka comic provided a chance to do stories that couldn't be done on the television series.

* Matt Fraction, Ed Brubaker, Rockne S. Bannon are doing essays for Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? BOOM! will be collecting the first four issues in a hardcover.

* Richie said Howard Chaykin was an easy sell to write Die Hard: Year One.

* Waid will continue writing The Incredibles ongoing.

* Richie said the reaction to The Muppet Show has been "nothing short of spectacular." There will be an ongoing series after the current mini-series.

* The Muppet Show #0 will feature Pigs in Space. Fozzie and Gonzo go to Hollywood to pitch a Pigs in Space movie.

* The Life and times of Scrooge McDuck will be a hardcover.