Guinness World Records Mines Comic-Con for the Biggest Legends in Entertainment

July 27, 2009 by Dasha Black
Filed under Entertainment

Guinness World Records, the global authority on record-breaking achievements, traveled to the pop-culture fest, Comic-Con International 2009, to recognize some of the biggest legends in the entertainment industry. Top luminaries in the fields of television, film and comic books were honored during the four-day confab for their record-breaking achievements, in advance of the release of Guinness World Records 2010 this September. The book’s Editor-in-Chief, Craig Glenday, made the trip from his London headquarters to present the awards.

On hand to receive certificates was the creative force behind one of the most successful television shows of all-time – The Simpsons – Matt Groening and Al Jean. The duo was presented with two amazing achievements — Longest Running Sitcom and Longest Running Animated TV Series. Some of the biggest names in comic book publishing were also recognized for their contributions to entertainment. Detective Comics, the publication that introduced Batman to the world was recognized for being the Longest Continuously Published Comic Book. The legendary Stan Lee and comic book visionary, Todd McFarlane, accepted the record for Best-selling Comic (single edition) for Spider-Man. Stan Lee also accepted a solo award based on his comic-book creations having been adapted by Hollywood a record 12 times, from Spider-Man (May 2002) to The Incredible Hulk (June 2008).

In the realm of sci-fi television, the show that redefined the genre – Doctor Who – was recognized as the Most Successful Sci-fi TV Show. Russell T Davies, creator and executive producer for the series, accepted the award. Finally, Guinness World Records honored Farscape with a record for the Most Digital Effects in a TV Series, which was presented to executive producer Brian Henson.

“Comic-Con has become the premiere show for pop-culture and entertainment enthusiasts,” said Craig Glenday, Editor-in-Chief of Guinness World Records. “It was the perfect time to recognize these massively successful and universally celebrated record-setters that have certainly made an impact on the lives of so many with their seemingly super human creativity and talent.”

Full descriptions for all the Guinness World Records presented at Comic-Con are below:

Longest Running Sitcom and Longest Running Animated TV Series – With over 443 episodes, The Simpsons is the longest running sitcom (by episode count) and longest running animated series. During its 20th season (2008-09), The Simpsons finally overtook the 435 episodes of former record holder The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-66).

Best-selling Comic (single edition) – Spider-Man No.1, first published in August 1990, is the Best-selling Comic (single edition). With an initial print run of 2.35 million, the record-breaking edition was sold with a variety of differently colored covers and several reprints were ordered to keep up with high public demand.

Longest Continuosly Published Comic Book – The longest running comic book is Detective Comics, which has been printed continuously by DC Comics in the USA since Issue #1 in March 1937. The comic introduced the character of Batman in Issue #27 in May 1939.

Most Successful Sci-fi TV Show – Doctor Who, the longest running sci-fi television show, is now the Most Successful Sci-fi Show on Television. Based on the length of the show’s run and international sales data, the series about the adventures of the iconic Time Lord was presented with the new record at Comic-Con 2009 International.

Most Digital Effects in a TV Series – Farscape employed about 25 computer artists to create between 40 and 50 effects shot per episode. The effects team had just seven days to work on each episode, at a rate of 22 episodes per year.

Largest Gathering of Zombies – The record largest gathering of zombies was achieved by 3,894 participants in the ‘Red White and Dead Zombie Party’ in association with Night Zero on July 3, 2009 in Seattle, Washington. Ryan Reiter, Artistic Director for Freemont Outdoor Cinema Events.

Guinness World Records is the universally recognized authority on record-breaking achievement. First published in 1955, the annual Guinness World Records book is published in more than 100 countries and 25 languages and is the highest-selling books under copyright of all time with more than 3 million copies sold annually across the globe. Guinness World Records celebrated its 50th anniversary edition in 2004, a year after the sale of its 100 millionth copy.

Guinness World Records 2010 is available September 17th.

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