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We ain’t afraid of no dinosaur!

I realized that I have not posted in a while. With all the shows I have been traveling to, I barely had time to keep up with my blog. Since I have posted, I was writing about the Wild West Fest at the Calico Ghost Town in Yermo, California. All around it was a fun show; we stayed with my in-laws at a nice hotel in Barstow for the weekend of the show. It was also my birthday so we all went out to eat the legendary Peggy Sue’s Diner on Sunday night.

Then it was off to Seattle again for Emerald City Comicon.  It was an amazing show, with wonderful people. I have to give a big thank you to Sarah for the help at my booth (allowing me a few moments of rest to stretch my legs). The atmosphere was electric and everyone has my gratitude for making me feel so welcome up there. One of these days I will get Shawn up there so that I can leave him at the booth and go explore the city hehehe.

But that will only happen if the infamous Monsterpalooza does not fall on the same weekend as ECCC, like it did this year. Here is Shawn to tell you more. Shawn here and I have three words: It… was… awesome! I had a great time, though I wished Diana was there so that I could have walked around to check out more things. Oh well, there is always next year. All the fans were amazing and thank you to everyone for supporting Diana. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Beware the Gotham Bunnies

Thank you Shawn, so following those two shows was Wondercon. Oh how I love this show and it is one of my favorites. Not only did I get to see all my regular fans from SoCal, but Shawn being there allowed me to leave my booth from time to time to browse the artist alley. I got to catch up with some friends and meet some amazing artist for the first time. This was also the debut of my latest in the Terrible Trio series… the Gotham Bunnies, so cute, yet so evil.

Then I had a rare weekend off, and then it was time to get ready for Texas Frightmare Weekend. I was excited as I had never been to Dallas-Fort Worth, so this was a great opportunity to reach a new fan base. After a less than sterling start of the day (looking at you American Airlines) I made it to the show with only a half hour to set up. But after that it was one of the best weekends I have ever had at a show. It was intense, amazing, overwhelming at times and I can’t wait to go back next year. I may even bring Shawn along for this trip, I think he would enjoy the show very much.

Back to Southern California the following week for the Bat’s Day in the Park Black Market. This is always a fun show to do where I tend to pick up some great little pieces. It is only a one day show, so a bit more laid back and relaxing compared to the multi-day shows. Though being so close to Disney makes me want to go buy a ticket and go on some rides.

Finally last but not least was another trip up to Seattle (seriously, maybe I need to rent a room out there) for Crypticon. This was a great little horror convention with some pretty cool guests. I am starting to recognize a few people that have seen me at some of the area shows and meet some new fans. Thanks once again to Tamara of The Mystical Apothecary for being my traveling buddy once again.

Whoa, I was a bit more behind on this blog than I realized. Mid year resolution, I shall be better about updating my blog in a more timely manner. I have four more shows to do before I take some time off to do some more art and work on some upcoming projects, one of which is a book.

Keep on creating and have fun–

Diana

The post Catching Up with Blogging appeared first on Diana Levin Art.

by

Pam Auditore

 Will Eisner Hall of Famer Len Wein walks with a beautifully crafted Giger Alien handled cane, wears his cap jauntily, and exudes a joy of life that entrances fans gathered around the DC booth to see him. As Chris Claremont said in 2009, “The history of modern comics would be incredibly different if you took [Wein's] contributions out of the mix. The fact he doesn’t get credit for it half the time is disgraceful. We owe a lot of what we are – certainly on the X-Men – to Len and to Dave [Cockrum] http://www.mania.com/legends-chris-claremont_article_114549.html.

Hoping to break into comics as an artist as a teen, Len wrote stories for his friend Marv Wolfman‘s comic fanzines, with both eventually being hired as free-lance writers for DC.  Len’s first published story was “Eye of the Beholder” for Teen Titans #18 (1968).  Thereafter, he went on to populate the modern mythological mind-scape as co-creator of Wolverine, Swamp Thing, Man-Thing, NightCrawler, Storm, Lucius Fox, etc.  You can listen to Len describe those early “fun, Wild West Days” of DC and Marvel and the Comics Industry in general here: http://www.nerdist.com/2014/03/the-mutant-season-120-len-wein/  A prolific writer, he’s also an accomplished raconteur, on a panel, in person or on a podcast i.e. the Nerdist Comic Writers Podcast–Comics Edition https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nerdist-writers-panel/id455020248?mt=2.

Len’s most recent Batman story can be found in the March 2014 issue #5 of Batman: Black and White. Outside of DC and Marvel, Len also did a Simpson’s Tree House of Horror for Bongo.

I  was able to get a few minutes of his time at the DC booth WonderCon 2014 to find out what else he was up to.

PA:  The complete Before Watchmen: Ozymanaidias is out in hardback and trades, along with some of your Justice League and Justice Society stories.  So whatcha been writin’ lately?

LW: I’m in the middle of writing a full issue of Batman ’66 off a Harlan Ellison story with Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez on the art.  I just wrote an episode of  The Avengers animated series.  My episode of Ben 10 will air soon.  And I’m told they are planning on bringing back Beware the Batman back to Toonanmi, starting May 10th at 3 in the morning.  So set your DVRs! My episode will be either the first one they air, or if they start in order, the eleventh episode.

PA:  You’ve helped lay the much of the ground work for two Universes, DC and Marvel, so my question to you is what haven’t you done? What characters might you want a crack at?

LW:  It gets harder and harder…Two years ago at this Con (WonderCon), I met Joe Hill for the first time and I’ve been friends with his Dad (Stephen King) since we were both teenagers.  We went to dinner together and he asked me the same question.  At the time I said ‘nobody.’  But a few months later I was with some other friends and I was asked that question again and realized that there was someone.  When he asked, ‘Who?’ I said, ‘Exactly!’  As it turned out, they were able to make that happen and I have a story in the 2012 Dr. Who Annual.

PA:  And you are also working on the The Phantom Stranger? (The Phantom Stranger is a paranormal entity who aides individuals and heroes in the DCU taking the form of a cloaked man) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_Stranger

LW: I helped bring back back The Phantom Stranger  (created in the 50s) in the 70s hoping to work on the book. I just finished dialoguing the next issue of plot for the current Phantom Stranger with J.M. DeMatteis.  I was supposed to do a couple of upcoming issues which doesn’t look like its going to happen, since I think the book is not long for this world.

PA:  I was also wondering if you would re-visit The Human Target again?

LW:  I did the recent comic mini-series and the television show (Mark Valley, Jackie Earle Haley Fox,2010).  He was really the first character I created but not the first published.  Yes, I would do it in a heartbeat.

PA:  Did you ever want to do a text only novel or short story?

LW:  I did an Elfquest short story and an Amazing Spiderman Pocket Novel with Marv Wolfman.

PA:  You also told me some stories about the Marvel days that I think would make great ‘Days of  Marvel Past’ stories.  Such as a time someone went crashing through a wall and went sliding down a long hallway to end up at the feet of Stan Lee.

LW:  A lot of people have said that to me.  I would love to do something like that!

PA:  You’ve done some acting recently.  I know you’ve done Improv.

LW:  I’m in the next X-men:Days of Future Past and an independent film called Savage Land.  I lead a very surreal life.  I’m the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.  I’ve go to do everything I’ve ever wanted.

Many Thanks to Nicole at DC for this opportunity!

New comics company, Lionforge, showed off an intriguing selection of licensed and original comics at Wondercon last weekend. The company’s licensed comics include modern adaptations of popular 80′s and 90′s TV shows, Saved by the Bell, Punky Brewster, Miami Vice and Knight Rider, while original series include comics based on six time WWE champion, Chavo Guerrero Jr. and another with MMA fighter, Rampage Jackson as superheroes.

The editorial team is helmed by industry veterans, Adam Staffaroni, who worked in editorial at Boom! and DC comics, and Shannon Eric Denton, a longtime staffer at DC’s now defunct Wildstorm imprint (Staffaroni is working on the YA and All Ages Roar Imprint for Lion Forge). Lion Forge is currently a digital only outfit with titles available for purchase on iverse’s comics plus app and the kindle for amazon but company insiders hinted that wider distribution will be available soon.

Variant cover from Lumberjanes #1

Boom!’s new young adult, creator-owned series, Lumberjanes, about a scrappy gang of girls fighting monsters that lurk in the woods behind their summer camp, has been generating a lot of positive buzz and some early reports of solid sales as well. Boom! Confirmed that pre-orders for the first issue topped out at a respectable 16,000 and one comics retailer told The Beat that they’ve already sold 68% of the copies their store ordered, adding that they’ll probably need to order more #1′s when the 2nd issue comes out. The series features an all female creative team, including Boom! Editor, Shannon Watters (who also conceived the story with Grace Ellis), artist, Brooke Allen, and writer, Noellle Stevenson (who co-writes the story with Ellis). Stevenson’s popular web comic, Nimona, is being released by Harper Collins in 2015 as a full length graphic novel. She took time out of a busy signing schedule at Boom! to answer some questions for Beat readers:

SO: what’s it like working on a team with all female creators?

NS: it’s awesome obviously! Everyone is so cool. This is my first time working on a team to make a comic. I’m used to doing my web comic so I (usually) draw everything I write. Brooke, who’s our artist – were on the same wavelength – so every time she draws something I write, she draws exactly what’s in my head. I am thrilled with it. Everyone I work with is great and were all best friends!

Variant Cover from Lumberjanes #2

SO: Was Lumberjanes your idea or did you all come up with the concept together?

NS: It was originally Shannon Watters and Grace Ellis’s concept and they brought me into it early in development. I did character designs and then I started developing the direction of the comic to go in but it was originally Shannon and Grace’s idea.

SO: With all the discussion in the comics industry around sexual harassment lately, I wanted to ask you about the comic you posted on your tumblr about what it’s like to be a woman in a comic book store. Would you consider that sexual harassment?

NS: I would not consider it sexual harassment. Maybe technically it is, because it’s based on gender and sex but I think sexual harassment should have a little more gravity. I never felt physically in danger. I never was propositioned or groped or anything like that. So, really, I’ve gotten it a lot better than a lot of other people have in comic book shops. Having made that comic and seeing it get passed around, a lot of people added their stories to it. I (saw) stories of what I definitely would consider sexual harassment. One (woman) said she went into a comic book store in a Batman t-shirt only to have a male shopper get very angry at her and demand that she take the shirt off, then try to take (it) off of her.

SO: What I got out of reading that comic is that you would like for comics shops to be more welcoming to women. Is that what you were trying to get across?

NS: Well really what I want is to walk into a shop and be treated like a valuable customer who’s willing and able to spend their money, just like I would in any other shop. If you walk into a shop and you’re not treated like a valued customer, you’re not really going to want to spend your money there. When I walk into a shop and my choices are disparage(ment) or someone condescending to me or they’re like, “oh, are you here for your boyfriend?” that makes me not want to spend my money there. I’m really not asking anyone to roll out a red carpet … But it would be nice that if you have any kind of question about a comic that it be answered without condescension. I think it’s a pretty low bar honestly! Just treat everyone that comes in as basically a source of money for your shop. It just seems like good business to me, really.

SO: when is Nimona with Harper Collins coming out?

NS: That is due out in Spring, 2015. It’s a young adult graphic novel. It’s going to be basically what’s online but there will be some extra pages, some of the earlier pages are going to be redone. there’s going to be some extra content too to kind of encourage the people who’ve already read it online to pick up the paper version.

SO: Thank you for taking the time to talk with me! I really enjoyed reading the comic and I’m looking forward to reading more of your stuff.

NS: Awesome!

Bob’s Burgers’ Louise Belcher (via wsj.com)

If large crowds and enthusiastic cosplayers at Wondercon are any indication, Fox TV’s Bob’s Burgers is definitely gaining in popularity. With two years in a row of Emmy nominations in the Best Animated Series category and past episodes currently airing in syndication on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim block, after four seasons and a fifth in the works, Bob and the rest of the Belcher clan are cultivating a devoted and loyal fan base.

For those unfamiliar, Bob’s Burgers centers around the titular small diner staffed by Bob Belcher, his wife Linda and their three weird kids, Louise, Tina and Gene. The writing is always hilarious, often subversive, and kind of unexpectedly heartwarming. The Beat had the pleasure of getting a brief sitdown with show creator, Loren Bouchard and voice actors Kristen Schall (Louise Belcher), Dan Mintz (Tina Belcher), and John Roberts (Linda Belcher) before their standing room only panel Saturday evening at at Wondercon.

Bob’s Burgers Wondercon cast selfie (including John Roberts, Dan Mintz, Kristen Schall, and creator, Loren Brouchard) via Kristen Schall’s Twitter

As anyone who tuned into last night’s episode, Ambergris, probably knows, the episode introduced a new character, the nare do well brother of the Belcher’s eccentric landlord, Mr. Fishodor (guest-voiced by comedian and actor, Zach Galifinakis). Bouchard told us the character will be around “doing some extra landlording” for a three episode arc that will culminate in this season’s finale. Bouchard also shared that next season will open with a musical episode centering around young Gene Belcher’s musical aspirations. He said that, “over the course (of the episode) you end up watching Diehard: The Musical and Working Girl: The Musical.”

Although, according to Bouchard and crew, Fox currently has no merchandising plans in the works, they frequently receive handmade gifts from fans. When informed that there were a lot of convention goers wearing homemade replicas of Louise’s trademark bunny-eared hat at the show ,Schall, said, “Oh, nice!” and told us that she is the proud owner of a few fan-made hats. They are, however, releasing an album featuring music from the show later this year on iTunes from 20th Century Fox.

Tina and Louise Belcher cosplayers at Wondercon

There’s also a new five issue comic series from Dynamite (reported at last year’s Comic Con) that’ll hopefully be out later this year. Time seems to be an issue though, as Bouchard (presumably along with members of his writing team from the animated series) will also be writing the comic. “You know, it’s funny,” he says, “Adventure Time interests me but I’ve only seen the comic, I haven’t seen he show. But I have kids now and we were reading the comic book together and it’s actually had a big effect on me. I love the way it’s put together.” He added that the comics will not “not necessarily be a long narrative” and that “each character kind of has their own section.”

With lots more Belcher fun on the way and with all the other tidbits fans of Bob’s Burgers are eating up, it sounds like the comics will go down nicely too.

There was a wee burst of comics news at WonderCon, and here’s a quick round-up.

¶ Two more Artists Editions from IDW including John Buscema’s Silver Surfer, reprinting Silver Surfer #5 and #6 and more. AND Walter Simonson’s Manhunter and Other Stories Artist’s Edition reprinting the whole story by Simonson and Archie Goodwin.

¶ A new mini-series set in the Judge Dredd universe, Judge Dredd: Anderson, Psi Division written by Matt Smith and drawn by Carl Critchlow. The story picks up 24 years following Judge Dredd; Year One.

¶ Busy IDW also signed Locke and Key artist Gabriel Rodriguez to an exclusive. It is their first exclusive.

¶ Dark Horse announced Dark Ages by Dan Abnett with art by I.N.J. Culbard. How does Culbard turn out SO MUCH WORK? Maybe I’m just imagining it. Anyway the pages look great. Intro interview here. The elevator pitch is “Kingdom of Heaven meets Starship Troopers” as medieval mercenaries take on alien monsters who appear to be hellspawn.

¶ IDW also announced a five-issue miniseries called The X-Files: Year Zero for this July, continuing in the tradition of its X-Files Season 10. In it Agent Mulder investigates a previous mystery from the 40s and we meet agents Bing Ellinson and Millie Ohio, two previous investigators who one presumes looked anxious as they faced supernatural threats and vaguely defined sexual tension. Karl Kesel writes, Vic Malhotra (The X-Files: Conspiracy: The Crow) draws the 40s segments and Greg Scott (The X-Files: Season 10) draws the contemporary scenes. Carlos Valenzuela does the regular covers.


In the 1940s, a shadowy informant known as “Mr. Xero” directed the FBI to a number of paranormal cases that would soon be classified as “X-Files,” which were reserved for the improbable and unexplainable. When faced with an eerily similar “Mr. Zero” in the present, Agent Mulder resolves to uncover the truth about who this mystery person is and their connection to these cases.

John Rogers looking as stoic as usual.

Though WonderCon has been in Anaheim for three years now, no event goes without some sort of hiccup or two. Myself being more use to the larger conventions like Comic-Con in San Diego, I was prepared to hear a pummel of negative feedback from the line gathered for this year’s Talk Back panel. A familiar face, president of Comic-Con Internation John Rogers, sat alone at the table, thick notebook at the ready. Those not in the know, this panel is geared toward hearing the thoughts and concerns of fellow convention goers to see what was done well, or what issues need to be addressed. Comic-Con’s Talk Back’s are known for some heated words and hurt feelings.

But for WonderCon, that really wasn’t the case.

What I thought would have been a large line actually only mounted to maybe about a dozen individuals, almost of which had positive things to say about the convention. The compliments ranged from, “easy check-in process,” “great hotel selections,” to “very well managed.” The consensus though was “please keep WonderCon in Anaheim.”

The few meager grievances that were mentioned were the lack of chairs afforded to exhibitors, and of security. It seems that every year, despite what convention you go to, security is always an issue. Since these conventions get so large, a third party security company is needed to help. They aren’t direct employees of the convention, but of the security company, and this allows for a lot of the security personal to be unaware of certain comings and goings. “One security guard told us to wait in a line against the wall for one of the halls, and then later another security guard told us we couldn’t be there,” says one man. “It’s hard to have to listen to someone when they don’t all communicate.”

As for suggestions for the future of WonderCon, one gentleman asked if there were plans to expand into the other halls and rooms of the convention center. John Rogers answered, “We’ve added some additional space compared to last year. We don’t want to go too crazy too fast. That’s what happened with Comic-Con, and now it’s just too hard to manage.”

As I mentioned earlier on how everyone asked to keep WonderCon in Anaheim, the very last person in line posed the question directly; “Will WonderCon be back in Anaheim next year?” In reply, Comic-Con president said, “At this time nothing is finalized if WonderCon will be back in Anaheim next year. We are looking at a few other options, so we’ll make that announcement once we know.”

I was happy to hear all the great things said by WonderCon attendees. The air was positive, and everyone seemed generally happy with how the convention was slowly evolving. Whether or not WonderCon will be back in Anaheim next year and keep these good vibrations, it will remain to be seen.

~Nicholas Eskey

Disnery Master Teachers teaching the crowd about Life Drawing

When someone thinks of the name “Disney,” many things can come to mind; Some may think of their theme parks. Some their animated films. Some may look back on fond childhood memories. And others might think of a cartoon mouse that wears pants, gloves, and shoes. But when I hear “Disney,” my first thought is that of “quality.”

Disney has been pushing the boundaries of films, animation, and attraction technologies for many decades. But the one thing that ties them all together is the detail that goes into them. Take for example the movie The Little Mermaid. Before then, animated movies still hadn’t found a spot in the mainstream of feature films. After seeing that film, no one could deny that it was something great. The animals and characters alike were so well done, just as the sceneries.

Life drawing is the practice of using a model and drawing/sketching it out. Disney has done the practice consistently for many years. They’ve been known to have models come to the studio so they can sketch them and see how they move. Even a baby elephant or two has made it to their studios for study. And what of 3D movies? John Lasseter of Pixar and Disney Animation used a small camera to understand how things looked from a small perspective in his second Pixar feature A Bug’s Life. With this, he was able to have artists do preliminary drawings to later get the three dimensional effects to look realistic.

The current masters of Disney teachers pass on the importance of the practice to the next generation of Disney designers and animators. The four that showed for the panel today held at beautiful WonderCon Anaheim were Bob Kato, Karl Gnass, Mark McDonnell, and Dan Cooper, moderated by Fast Company’s Susan Karlin. Each of these artists have been doing what they do for a number of years, and have a number of books published on the practice of life drawing.

After a brief hiccup where an audience member (who in my personal opinion was celebrating 4/20 in hard fashion) kept interrupting to say how much he respected these men, Susan Karlin led the collective through their thoughts on the subject of life drawing. Karl Gnass explained that, “Life drawing is based understanding. When a show is over, that is your resource to go back to.” Bob Kato added, “Drawing is a language. A show may need a certain style, and you need to be able to speak it.”

The panel then further went into that life drawing allows the artist to understand how someone can move, can bend, how it ultimately works. Art ultimately references real life in its core. “If you’re designing without a foundation, you’re designing a lie from a lie; Something from an abstract idea. And the further you get from the truth, the more it gets distorted. Like the telephone game.”

Whether you draw, design, or whatever, you have to put the time into understanding what you are doing and how you want to convey that. “There are no shortcuts,” says the panel almost in unison. “There needs to be skill, life in it. You have to have an understanding of the infrastructure.”

Ultimately what it comes down to is that no matter if you’re going to be a 2D artist or a 3D one, life drawing helps to teach one how to give their creation life and emotion. Having this particular skill in your artistic toolbox will keep your work real.

~Nicholas Eskey

Still upset that that movie you absolutely loved got such negative reviews? Fuming that it got a pretty rotten status on Rotten Tomatoes? Posting an angry rebuttable on a message board will just illicit people calling you a “noob,” and perhaps some other more colorful names.

Returning to the convention is the always popular Your Opinion Sucks: Rotten Tomatoes Critics vs. Fans. The critics comprised of Tim Ryan, Christy Lemire, Scott Mantz, Alynda Wheat and Alonso Duradle, with Matt Atchity as moderator. Trolls and fans alike can argue with the panel of critics either for or against a movie of their choice, with the audience readied to voice their own opinions with paddles that say “fresh” on one side and “rotten” on the other.

This year, the movies ran the gamut of Ender’s Game, Black Hawk Down, Frozen, and even Grave of the Fireflys. One of the movies that shocked me greatly was when The Goonies was brought up, and half the audience gave it a “rotten” status. The critics too were torn with the movie: Half for it, and half against it. I thought though that the general atmosphere kept a fun and lighthearted vibe. This type of panel is known to create one or two heated debates that almost threaten the removal of somebody, but things remained rather civil.

Most memorable would have to be the first to voice their opinion; a small boy by the name of Gabe. The movie he so passionately argued for was Transformers, saying that the action was outstanding. He then proceeded to demonstrate the action sequences by making shooting motions with his hands and then bomb explosions, all of course complete with ample sound effects. Scott Mantz in particular tore into the boy (with good humor). When given his 30 second rebuttal, Gabe simply said to Scott, “You have no taste!” Gabe as it later turned out is the son of moderator Matt.

Most bizarre was the last person up to pose a movie argument. Standing at the microphone, in what I can only describe as a black muumuu with large red stripes running down the sides of it, was a man who wished to be called “master.” But we’ll call him Zack for this article. Zack wanted to argue against Star Trek: Into Darkness, going as far as to say that the movie was “the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” The crowd pretty much cried in uproar, with a few people in rotten agreement, including a couple of the panel members. What ensued was a discussion on how remakes on pre-existing Star Trek movies shouldn’t happen, alternate time lines, and action sequences. Definitely a fun note to leave the panel on.

It was enjoyable to hear the arguments that each person presented for, or against, a particular movie, even if some of them weren’t as sound as others. Thank you critics of Rotten Tomatoes for making an enjoyable evening of not-so-witty banter, and I can’t wait till next time.

~Nicholas Eskey

Fox pictures have a number of exciting movies coming out this year, spanning a number of different audiences.

Guest moderator Ralph Garman introduced the first movie, How to Train Your Dragon 2. Director Dean DeBlois and surprisingly Jay Baruchel (voice of Hiccup) took to the stage. After showing a completed first five minutes of the movie (which looked fantastic by the way) DeBlois elaborated that this second film of what is to be a trilogy takes place five years after the first movie, showing how our characters and the village have both grown and learned to make living with dragons part of their daily lives. “We also see that Stoick (Hiccup’s father) has changed from seeing his son as an embarrassment, to becoming an overly proud dad that has high hopes for his son. Hiccup can’t deal with these aspirations.” And we’ll be introduced to a new villain, Drago Bludvist, and how he plans to put a permanent wedge between the humans and dragons. How to Train your Dragon is coming to theatres June 13th.

Following next, Ralph Garman introduced the cast of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes to the stage. Director Matt Reeves, Keri Russell, Gary Oldman, and Andy Serkis. “This movie follows years after the virus is released from the first movie and humans are extinct, or that they are thought to be,” says Matt. “We see that Caesar now is the leader of his tribe, and he has a family; a wife, one teenage son and a new baby.”

As it later introduced into the film that humans are still alive, it creates a conflict between the two species and inside Caesar himself. “Caesar is an ape, but he also had a human dad,” explained the director. “And he knows how it is to lose someone you love, so he’s empathetic to the survivors. He has to walk a fine line between his feelings and keeping his tribe together. And we see how there was a possibility that two could have lived together, but of course we all know what happens. That’s not a surprise.”

After watching the short movie clip they show us and listening to the discussion of the internal struggles on both the important parties of the movie, it’s difficult to decide who you want to root for. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes will be seeing theatres this July 11th.
Based off the widely popular young adult book by the same name, Maze Runner is what I see as a futuristic Lord of the Flies. This movie adapted by James Dashner’s book has all the makings of the next Hunger Games, by which I mean futuristic technology set in a forest setting, and the murder of teenagers. The movie does have some exciting action shots for those who like to run and fight, thrown in with a lot of CGI.

Presenting the movie were the director Wes Ball, author James Dashner, actor Will Poulter, and actor Dylan O’Brien (made famous by the series Teen Wolf). The author confessed that for his book a number of influences were the book Ender’s Game, the book Lord of the Flies, the show Lost, and his fear of mazes. “Remember in the Shining with the maze scene? Mazes creep me out. If you’ve ever been in a corn maze then you know.” The anticipated Maze Runner will be out September 19th of this year.

Moderator Ralph Garman introduced a last minute addition into the screening lineup. Coming out this fall is a spy movie called Secret Service. Its notable actors are Colin Firth (famous for many things including his portrayal of Mister Darcy in a BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice) and Samuel L. Jackson who will be playing the villain in this movie. Its setting is somewhere in the U.K., and the premise is that it deals with an organization that is funded by private investors as to not be hampered by politics and bureaucracy. The action sequences appear to be a faster paced Avengers, and technology stolen by Spykids. Still a work in progress.

And finally, what the Arena seemed to be waiting the most for, Ralph Garman introduced X-Men: Days of Future Past. The extended trailer and snippet of the movie looked beautiful and action packed. Unfortunately as a last minute change up, director Bryan Singer didn’t show (for reasons I’m sure we all know), but in his stead we had writer Simon Kinberg. He elaborated on things in the movie spanning from the politics in the 70’s, art styles of the bleak future and bright past, and as well as the convoluted concept of time travel. “Even though in the original comic that the movie is based off of they had Kitty go back in time, we decided that Wolverine worked better. James Cameron really helped us with the idea of time travel and how it scientifically would work, so you’ll see a lot of that in the film.”

In part of his final words, Simon Kinberg also added that he hopes this movie will make up for the failures of the 3rd X-Men movie, which was based off of the Dark Phoenix comic arc. X-Men: Days of Future Past will be out May 23rd; Not soon enough.

(Some minor spoiler ahead)

Located in the Arena of this year’s Anaheim Wondercon, Warner Bros. treated us to a sneak peak of three upcoming movies that will be hitting the big screen in the next few months. On June 6^th, the 70^th anniversary of “D-Day,” Edge of Tomorrow will hit theatres nationwide. Starring Tom Cruise and Bill Paxton, this futuristic world on the edge of ruin has Tom Cruise’s character waking up in handcuffs on what appears to be an army training base. He is then approached by Bill Paxton’s character, an army official. It is explained that Tom Cruises character was charged with impersonating an army officer, and is told he is going to have to join the fray for his punishment. As a surprise guest, Bill Paxton himself emerges on stage of the Anaheim Convention Center’s Arena to outcries of cheers. “My character decides that [Tom Cruise] will be reborn again through battle,” says a grinning Paxton. “It’s his nuts and his life on the line.”

Through the trailer, we are led to believe that Earth has come under an attack from a mechanical alien threat, and that this army base is one of the units brought together to fight them back. “I head a unit called J unit, a rag tag collection of men and women,” says Paxton. Along with some heavy duty weapons, J unit comes complete with exoskeleton like armor suits that the characters run around in for what I imagine is for increased strength. “I had just arrived on set, my first day, and Tom was running around in a prototype of the suit. He yells at me, ‘Hey Bill! Have you been working out? Cause these things are heavy.’” Paxton said that the suits needed to be aided by chains because of how heavy they were for the actors. “It was Brutal.”

But what is the ringer for this movie is that Tom Cruise’s character dies in this movie. A lot. Every time he does, he wakes back up in the past, finding himself again in handcuffs. This Groundhog’s Dayish loop adds an interesting twist to this Sci-Fi flick.

Next up for Warner Bros. they have Into the Storm. Directed by Steven Quale, this New Line Cinema collaboration puts the audience in the middle of a fictitious small town as it is relentlessly hit by what seems like wave after wave of tornados. The film style switches between the use of traditional filming and handheld cameras, creating a more authentic like experience. Some of the actors which were present here at Wondercon were Max Deacon, Jeremy Sumpter, Arlen Escarpeta, and (brace yourselves) Richard Armitage. Yes, Thorin Oakenshield of The Hobbit movies.

After the crowd recovered from their near fainting spells, the director and cast discussed how it was to be on set. “We were in the middle of one hundred-a-mile fans, not to mention strewn debris and falling water,” says Richard. “The water was freezing,” added fellow cast member Max Deacon. Into the Storm will be out this August 8^th.

And lastly for this presentation Warner Bros. showed what is undoubtedly one of this year’s most anticipated movies. Ever since the teaser at last year’s San Diego Comic-con, fans of Godzilla have been waiting patiently for its release. As it was announced to the audience, the name elicited cheers from everybody, including this reporter. Director Gareth Edwards was also greeted by equal praise. After showing us about five minutes from the movie where Godzilla meets with an almost equally tall but winged creature, Gareth talked about the overall experience of working on the film.

“I thought that out of everything, designing Godzilla was going to be the easiest part. Cause everyone has an idea of what Godzilla looks like. But it actually was the hardest part, because everyone has an idea of what Godzilla looks like. It took almost a year for his design.” Gareth had the idea to do the designing from silhouette. “Silhouettes are all easily recognizable for what they are supposed to be. I thought we should start with that. We started with a Rubik’s Cube like shape, black on white background. We prodded and pulled each piece, rotating as we went, till we felt we got it.”

Though all three movies do look quite promising, by sheer gauging of the crowd’s reaction I would have to say Godzilla is the most anticipated. The Warner Bros. and Legendary collaboration will be out May 16^th of this year. I have faith that director Gareth Edwards with his love of monsters will do it justice, and wash from our collective mouths the bad taste left by its predecessor.

~Nicholas Eskey

(Spoilers ahead: So if you wanted to watch the movie first, then I suggest you turn off the computer or mobile device, sit in the corner, and wait like a good boy or girl.)

This year DC Entertainment is celebrating Batman’s 75th birthday. “Nice pecs for an old dude,” you might be saying to yourself. Or is that just me? Anyway, aside from this momentous occasion, there are a few things in the works for our favorite caped crusader coming out this year. In October we’ll be seeing a third and final video game for the Batman Arkham franchise (fourth if you count Batman Arkham Origins, which was not done by Rocksteady Studios), and this month we’ll be seeing the release of the animated film Son of Batman. However, this reporter got to see the early screening here at beautiful Wondercon.

Assembled for the exclusive showing of Son of Batman at the Anaheim Wondercon were DC producer James Tucker, director Ethan Spaulding, character designer Phil Bourassa, dialogue director Andrea Romano, Jason O’Mara (his second time voicing the iconic Batman/Bruce Wayne), Stuart Allan (voice of Damian Wayne), Xander Berkeley (voice of Dr. Kirk Langstrom), Sean Maher (voice of Nightwing), and guest moderated by Rich Sands.

For those who aren’t familiar, Son of Batman is a loose adaption of the 2006 comic story arc written by Grant Morrison, which has come to be known as Batman and Son. In this, we discover that Batman had a drugged up tryst with the curvaceous and deadly Talia al Ghul, which leads to the the Dark Knight never knew he had. Being raised by Talia and his grandfather, Ra’s al Ghul, Damian has been trained all his life in the League of Assassins to later become it’s heir. After an attack on the compound which leaves the league in ruins, and leaves Ra’s beyond the help of a Lazarus pit, Talia sends her son to live with the father he’s never met.

The movie’s animation first made me feel like I was watching an episode of Avatar: The Legend of Korra, which would make sense because the director, Ethan Spaulding, worked on its precursor, Avatar: The Last Air Bender. After two minutes in however, when the bodies start hitting the floor, I realized it wasn’t going to be a light hearted cartoon. The movie’s dialogue was comedic at times, but in a good way. It was the action however that kept me going. The fight scenes and violence left nothing to be desired, intense and fully fleshed. And any time you can work in “bat-men” and “bat-guerrillas” into an animated movie, what else do you need?

I think DC Entertainment hit it out of the park with this straight to home animated movie. Batman fan’s who either are or are not familiar with the Grant Morrison comic can appreciate the story and action that went into this feature. Son of Batman will be available for digital download on April 22nd, and available on DVD and Bluray May 6th.

~Nicholas Eskey

If you’re a warm blooded human and have been out in public, then you’ve most likely heard that wildly popular and award winning song from the movie Frozen. Yeah, you know the one I’m talking about. The one that has gotten so far wedged into your head that brain trauma is the only remedy. Well don’t worry. This article isn’t about that song.

No one can deny that Frozen hasn’t been a homerun for Walt Disney Animation. It has won the first Oscar award for an animated movie for the 91 year old Disney Animation Studios, and reports are claiming that it’s the highest grossing animated picture for the company, ever! A lot of time, planning and work went into this sweep of a film. But aside from the producers, the voice actors, and the animators, there are those that worked well behind the scenes who made the movie the hit it has become: The story artists.
This year at Wondercon Anaheim we were joined by four story artists who worked on Frozen: Jeff Rango, Fawn Veerasunthorn, Nicole Mitchell, and Normand Lemay. Each of them shared what they felt what the term “story” meant for them. Jeff Rango, whose first work with Disney after his three years at Cal Arts was designing the Titans for a little animated film named Hercules, shared that for him, “Story is the architecture of a movie. And [that] the story artist is the architect.”

Jeff is also the man who worked on making the scenes match up well with the movie’s music. “The songs are pretty much done before we start [working] with the scenes. I listen to the songs and try to design the scenes around them.” Jeff worked closely with the music and lyrics composers, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, during much of the process. Since the pair lives on the East coast however, Jeff had to do it all over the web. And because he really didn’t live near the animation offices, he had to get there early to make up for the three hour time difference. But he made it work. “Since my drive was an hour and a half both ways, it let me listen to the music probably over a thousand times. It allowed me to get a feel for it.”

Fawn Veerasunthorn, Thailand born and having worked with Disney since 2011, shared that she felt the story process was broken up into two parts. The first of which is more or less pitching ideas, communicating and elaborating with others verbally, and also a little bit of “worrying” too. The ideas that make it through then are then put to a storyboard and sketched out. “With the scene that included Elsa and Anna after the coronation, we originally had it that Hans wasn’t going to be there. But as we sketched it out, we felt that Anna was just talking about her invisible boyfriend. There wasn’t enough Hans.” With the sketches, the story team was also able to focus on some repeating symbolisms. Over and over in the movie we see the gloves (protection/security) and doors (fear/hiding). They were able to decide where these symbols were most effective for each particular scene.

Before any of the scenes are animated, the general ideas have to be discussed and finalized. To get a better idea of what would work for the animation, the artists create what are called “screenings.” They’re basically the proposed scenes drawn out in pencil and animated like a slow flip book. Potential dialogue is also given to each of these hand drawn scenes. “Screenings help put into perspective what will and will not work for the story,” says Normand Lemay. Normand, the Canadian born story artist, has worked for Disney Animation for four years, with Frozen being his first credited work.

What about the snowman do you ask? Where did he come from? Well, you have Jeff Rango to really thank for that. Seen as the more comedic one of the team, he helped to design and name that silly but brainless pile of snow called “Olaf.” “I’ve lived in San Diego, and in [Ocean Beach] there use to be ‘Big Olaf’s Ice Cream.’ I pushed for that guy to be named Olaf.” Jeff also helped much with Olaf’s comedic singing scene, which personally was my favorite singing scene. Guilty pleasure you can call it. But that cute and funny snowman almost ended up on the cutting room floor if it weren’t for one scene that helped solidify his importance. “We decided that it should be Olaf who helped Anna realize that Kristoff might be her real true love and answer,” says Nicole Mitchell. She’s worked with Disney Animation for the last six years, first entering through the trainee program. “That she was loved. It helped Olaf to become a [real] piece of the movie.”

There’s a lot of work that goes into an animated feature. A lot of it is what you see in the final product on the big screen. But like any house, it should be build on a strong foundation. Next time you sit down in a theatre, or flip on your favorite animated movie, don’t forget to thank those who helped form the supporting beams that hold the entire thing up, and allowed it to become something great.

~Nicholas Eskey

It’s WonderCon this weekend in Anaheim! NOw in it’s third year down in the OC, the venerable and much-loved show seems to have settled into its Anaheim setting very well after its San Frano home had the rug pulled out from under it. And here’s the most exciting thing about WonderCon — You can still buy tickets for it! Now true, only today, Friday, and Sunday are available and you CANNOT BUY TICKETS ON-site, you must order them online, but this is as close to spontaneous as we’re likely to get with one of these big pop culture extravaganzas. Although there will be a ton of media stuff going on (WonderCon is kind of a Spring dress rehearsal for Hall H) there are a ton of fantastic comics guests: Jim Lee, Gail Simone, Sara Ryan, Cliff Chiang, Steve Leiber and many more. And Artists Alley too!

Here, gleaned from the past week of PR, is a guide to some of who’s signing where, and other special events of note:

DC COMICS

The latest DC Universe cartoon movie Son of Batman gets its world premiere. Teen Titans go! will be screened and voice cast members of both these will sign at the booth. The Teen Titans Go! signing will take place on Friday at 1:30pm and signings for Son of Batman will take place on Friday at 3:30pm.

DARK HORSE

Exclusives, $5 each and limited to five per person.

All-new variant cover for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with an exclusive Season Ten first-issue cover by Tomb Raider art director Brian Horton! Limited to 1,000 copies.
 

Variant for Angel & Faith Season Ten #1, by Buffy cover artist Steve Morris! Again, with only 1,000 copies produced

 These two special WonderCon exclusives will retail for $5 and are limited to five per person.
 

Stan Sakai has done a special cover for the upcoming The Witcher, a canonical tie-in series in the world of the Witcher video games, which have collectively won over 250 awards and sold more than 5.5 million copies worldwide! All proceeds from the sale of this limited-edition variant will benefit Stan and Sharon Sakai.
 

Art Baltazar and Franco bring you the characters that sprung from Mike Mignola’s imagination, with an AW YEAH twist, in Itty Bitty Hellboy! A limited-edition hardcover is available at WonderCon for $20, while supplies last
 

The Last of Us: American Dreams, from Faith Erin Hicks (The Adventures of Superhero Girl) and Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann, collects the comics that are the official lead-in to the game. This limited-edition hardcover will first be available at PAX East this weekend, and then in very limited quantities at WonderCon for $24.99.

SIGNING SCHEDULE
Friday, April 18
1:00 p.m. Avatar: The Last Airbender: Gene Yang
3:00 p.m. Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi: Dan Parsons
 
Saturday, April 19 
11:00 a.m. Bad Houses: Sara Ryan
12:00 p.m. Avatar: The Last Airbender: Gene Yang
3:00 p.m. Tomb Raider: Gail Simone
4:00 p.m. Never Ending: D. J. Kirkbride, Robert Love
5:00 p.m. The Fifth Beatle: Vivek J. Tiwary, Andrew C. Robinson
 
Sunday, April 20
11:30 a.m. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 10: Christos Gage
1:00 p.m. The Star Wars: Mike Mayhew
3:00 p.m. Serenity: Leaves on the Wind: Zack Whedon, Georges Jeanty*
 
*Ticketed event. A set number of tickets will be distributed Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings by drawing.
 

CARTOON NETWORK

SIGNINGS
FRIDAY, APRIL 18
 
• 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.                        
            Cartoon Network Steven Universe, Uncle Grandpa, 
            Clarence Creator Signing
            Location: WCA Signing Area in Hall B

• 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.                
             Regular Show Signing
             Location: WCA Signing Area in Hall B

SATURDAY, APRIL 19
 
• 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
           Adventure Time Signing
            Location: WCA Signing Area in Hall B
 
VALIANT

Guests include James Asmus (writer – Quantum and Woody, The Delinquents), David Baron (colorist – Archer & Armstrong, Shadowman: End Times), Joshua Dysart (writer – Harbinger,Armor Hunters: Harbinger), and Robert Venditti (writer – Armor Hunters, X-O Manowar), stop byBooth #210/212 inside the Anaheim Convention Center for a weekend packed with special signings, free giveaways, and con-exclusive products you won’t find anywhere else – including the all-newHarbinger #22 “Death of a Renegade” WonderCon Exclusive Variant by red-hot artist Michael Walsh (Secret Avengers, Comeback) Limited to 500 copies

SIGNING SCHEDULE BOOTH #210/212

Friday, April 18th:
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm: Robert Venditti, David Baron

Saturday, April 19th:
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm: Joshua Dysart
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Robert Venditti
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm: James Asmus
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm: David Baron

Sunday, April 20th:
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm: Robert Venditti
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm: James Asmus
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm: David Baron

LION FORGE
The digital publisher is brining Chavo Guerrero and Quinton “Rampage: Jackson to their booth…OK THEN. Cosplayer Yaya Han and Saved by the Bell’s Dennis Haskins also appear.

Fans can visit the star studded Lion Forge booth as the special guests will be taking pictures, signing autographs and discussing their current and upcoming creative projects outside of fighting, acting and cosplay.

Signings
Friday, April 18
o   Miami Vice writer Jonathan London and artist Carl Reed will be signing Miami Vice posters at the Lion Forge booth #801 starting at 1:00 p.m.
o   Yaya Han will be signing autographs at the Lion Forge booth #801 between 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
·         Saturday, April 19
o   Chavo Guererro, Dennis Haskins as well as Marvel, DC and Dark Horse comic book writer Joe Casey will be moderating the Lion Forge comic panel in room 210A between 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
o   Chavo Guerrero will be signing autographs at the Lion Forge booth #801 between 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
o   Dennis Haskins will be signing autographs at the Lion Forge booth #801 between 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
o   Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will be signing autographs at the Lion Forge booth #801 between 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
·         Sunday, April 20
o   Yaya Han will be signing autographs at the Lion Forge booth #801 throughout the day.

BOOM! STUDIOS

• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes cast members Andy Serkis (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises, The Dark Knight) and Keri Russell (The Americans, Felicity), along with film director Matt Reeves (Let Me In, Felicity), will make an exclusive signing appearance at the BOOM! Studios booth Saturday, April 19 from 2:30-3:00. Limited-edition WonderCon exclusive Dawn of the Planet of the Apes prints illustrated by Garry Brown (The Massive, Sons of Anarchy) will be available for purchase for $20.
The signing will be ticketed and a print purchase is required for the signing.

And some Exclusive covers

BRAVEST WARRIORS 2014 ANNUAL #1 WonderCon Exclusive Cover by Sam Lavagnino



HEROBEAR AND THE KID: SAVING TIME #1 WonderCon Exclusive Cover by Mike Kunkel



LUMBERJANES #1 WonderCon Exclusive Cover by Jess Fink



TRANSLUCID #1 WonderCon Exclusive Cover by Dan Duncan
 
Other signings:

• Eric M. Esquivel (LOKI: RAGNAROK AND ROLL, BRAVEST WARRIORS, FREELANCERS)
• Megan Hutchison (AN AURORA GRIMEON STORY: WILL O’ THE WISP)
• Michael Alan Nelson (DAY MEN, 28 DAYS LATER, PROTOCOL: ORPHANS)
• Mike Kunkel (HEROBEAR AND THE KID)
• Noelle Stevenson (LUMBERJANES, ADVENTURE TIME)

SIGNINGS

FRIDAY, April 18
2-3 p.m. R.J. Ryan (THE JOYNERS IN 3D)
5-6 p.m. Claudio Sanchez and Chondra Echert (TRANSLUCID, AMORY WARS, KEY OF Z, KILL AUDIO) – This is a ticketed signing. Tickets are only available at the BOOM! Studios booth whille supplies last on the day of the specified signing.

SATURDAY, April 19
1-2 p.m. Steven Grant (2 GUNS, 3 GUNS, ROBOCOP, DECEIVERS)
3-4 p.m. Claudio Sanchez and Chondra Echert (TRANSLUCID, AMORY WARS, KEY OF Z, KILL AUDIO) – This is a ticketed signing. Tickets are only available at the BOOM! Studios booth whille supplies last on the day of the specified signing.
5-6 p.m. R.J. Ryan (THE JOYNERS IN 3D)

SUNDAY, April 20
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. R.J. Ryan (THE JOYNERS IN 3D)
1-2 p.m. Claudio Sanchez and Chondra Echert (TRANSLUCID, AMORY WARS, KEY OF Z, KILL AUDIO) – This is a ticketed signing. Tickets are only available at the BOOM! Studios booth whille supplies last on the day of the specified signing.)
3:30-4:30 p.m. Natasha Allegri (ADVENTURE TIME: FIONNA & CAKE, BEE AND PUPPYCAT)

In addition, the BOOM! Studios booth will host sketch artists all weekend, including:
• Hannah Nance Partlow (ADVENTURE TIME: CANDY CAPERS)
• Kassandra Heller (ADVENTURE TIME)

For $20, fans can request and purchase custom sketches to be drawn on blank ADVENTURE TIME Get-A-Sketch covers.

Fox Home Entertainment – How to Train Your Dragon etc

Hall C, Booth #1468

SCHEDULE:
Friday, April 18th
11:30 a.m.: Booth opens, sales and giveaways begin
12:00 noon: Demonstration of new How to Train Your Dragon apps begins
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.: Airbrush artist on-site to create Dragons tattoos
7:00 p.m.: Booth closes

Saturday, April 19th
9:30 a.m.: Booth opens, sales and giveaways begin
10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.: Airbrush artist on-site to create Dragons tattoos
12:45 p.m. (tentative): Fox panel presentation begins at the Arena
2:00 p.m.: Jay Baruchel and Dean DeBlois arrive at booth #1468 for fan signing
2:30 p.m.: Fan signing ends
3:00 p.m.: Demonstration of new How to Train Your Dragon apps begins
7:00 p.m.: Booth closes

Sunday, April 20th
10:30 a.m.: Booth opens, sales and giveaways begin
11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Airbrush artist on site to create Dragons tattoos
1:00 p.m.: Demonstration of new How to Train Your Dragon apps begins
5:00 p.m.: Booth closes

NERDIST INDUSTRIES

Signings:
 
Friday 2:00 (Booth #1410)
Signings – Sex Nerd Sandra
 
Friday 2:30 (Booth #1410)
Signings – Jessica Chobot, host of Nerdist News Live
 
Sunday 1:15 (Booth #1410)
Signings – Ben Acker and Ben Blacker, from the Thrilling Adventure Hour
 
Sunday 2:00-3:00 (Booth #1410)
Signings – Chris Hardwick
 
GOLDEN APPLES ANNOUNCES NEW VENTURE

Golden Apple, L.A.’s Comic Shop to the Stars, will announce a new graphic novel self-publishing partnership with leading publishing services provider, AuthorHouse Friday afternoon at WonderCon Anaheim.
 
WHEN: Friday, April 18 at 2 p.m. PDT
 
WHERE: WonderCon Anaheim, Golden Apple Booth – booth 202
 
WHO: Ryan Liebowitz, Golden Apple Comics general manager
Keith Ogorek, senior vice president of marketing, Author Solutions/AuthorHouse
 
WHAT: Liebowitz and Ogorek will be available to discuss the opportunities created by this partnership for authors and readers of the fast-growing graphic novel genre.

The new offering will make it possible for graphic novelists to self-publish their works in print and digital forms and make them available for sales through Golden Apple Comics and through popular online book and eBook retailers.

Zenescope

WonderCon limited edition exclusive:

Quest #5 Cover D by Martin Abel, limited to 350 copies. All fans that purchase the issue will also have a chance to win a limited edition art print. Head to booth #705 for details.

The company will also have Zenescope booth models dressed in character giving away free comics and taking pictures with fans all weekend long.

ETCETERA:
Finally, here is the team up you never thought you would see: Rampage Jackson, John Morrison and Chavo Guerrero Jr., Richard Hatch and The Winner Twins. They are all appearing on a panel together to discuss “how to break in to Hollywood, unveil a new technology they’ve all begun to use to get close and personal with their fans, and announce a top secret project they are all working on together at the end of the panel. Chavo promises. “Our fans are going to see a side of us they’ve never seen before.”

AND, X-Men Days of Future Past director Bryan Singer will not be appearing in the wake of his sex scandal.

Tweet

A panel on Friday, March 29^th, the first day of programming at WonderCon brought together a rather iconic cast to discuss “iconic characters” and what keeps a character “true” to their origins over long periods of time. Mark Waid opened as moderator by pointing out that the table full of seasoned pros had more than 125 years of comics experience between them and most had worked on longterm characters and newer creations alike. The essential question posed by Waid was how to “vault” characters “into the 21^st century without losing what keeps them special”. The question seemed particularly pertinent to Waid, whose ongoing work on DAREDEVIL has evoked critical acclaim. Waid asked his panellists how they handle the “core elements of characters” to face this challenge.

J. M. De Matteis introduced an image that stayed with the panellists as a reference point for discussion. He felt that creators handling long-lived characters work “within a cage”, so they can’t “go wide” with the character in term of change, but they can “go deep” in terms of making new discoveries. For De Matteis, personally, it’s all about the “Big Why” of characters, figuring out what makes them tick. He prefers working with super-villains to pose questions about the formative impact of their past histories because there’s “always a little corner of the psyche to dig into”. Ann Nocenti, however, in her recent work with Catwoman found that “her archetype was pretty clear” as a troubled kid originally, “on the streets” originally, and moving through “foster homes”. Her intuitive approach is to “play with a character and see what feels right” and she doesn’t mind the fact that later creators will do the same with long-term characters. It’s “like treading water”, she said, “You give a sense of constant, dynamic action, but you’re really not moving far”, and she expects later creators to be under the same constraint.

Doug Mahnke’s challenges, as an artist working on long-term heroes, is rather specific, handling costumes and their overtones. He observed that heroes, even today, often don’t look “contemporary” because their appearance has become iconic and we no longer question the anachronism, like Superman’s “underwear outside his pants”. Other features like capes and boots, Mahnke said, “made sense at the time” they were created based on a “swashbuckling” influence. In fact, he explained, an artist’s job is to “bring out the majesty in the character. It doesn’t matter so much what they’re wearing”, but you can use costume as a “tool” to use to your advantage.

Several of the panellists then commented on the fact that objectively, some of the nomenclature and costumes of characters created decades ago would seem “stupid” now. Nocenti’s example was a resurrection of a minor character, Zebra Man who was “visually fantastic” but the name and concept bizarre. Slott felt that once an icon is an icon, “the fact that it’s an icon gives it weight”, preventing further critique from readers. Even Waid’s considered opinion was that “Green Lantern” is a “stupid name for a character, but after 75 years”, it has “gravitas”.

The panel then tackled the question of when and how exactly a character becomes officially iconic, and they set the bar high on awarding this status. De Matteis opined that “nothing about the character idea makes it iconic. It’s the execution”, and not every character reaches this status despite reasonably strong storytelling behind them. Dan Slott interjected that it only takes “one writer and one artist to do it”, like Frank Miller on DAREDEVIL. The discussion often drifted into slap-stick commentary on the more absurd aspects of superhero lore like the possession of a super vehicle as an icon accoutrement. Nocenti provided the little known detail that Cat Woman’s car is known as a “Catillac”. Slott confessed to proposing in a “meeting with real adults” that Superman’s car should be known as “Superman’s Ford Taurus of Solitude” with disasterous results.

Waid observed that some characters are iconic in pop culture without necessarily being long-lived, like Woody Woodpecker, who’s highly recognizable, but not a currently active character. Waid commented that the tendency toward merchandizing may encourage the slow-down or freeze of new developments in a character since “every character becomes a beach towel” in the end. The entire panel segued into a long and fairly serious discussion of Wonder Woman as a character and why she has, or has not, lived up to her iconic status in terms of actual comic storytelling.

Most felt, like De Matteis, that Wonder Woman comics have not always been “all that good”, nevertheless the character definitely qualifies as “iconic”. Waid had a fairly idiosyncratic theory behind why this is the case. He observed that there was a strong “sexual element” to the “first 10 years of the strip” that was later removed to render the character more “plain vanilla”, and that now, lacking that “x-factor of sexuality”, stories fail to live up to the early days (an issue, he said, he frequently discusses with Grant Morrison). Slott disagreed pointedly with Waid’s assessment. He instead blames the lack of verve in Wonder Woman comics to the fact that comics are essentially a “make dominated industry” that has not explored the “many angles of the character” sufficiently. Slott still feels that if the right team is put together, the stories can rise to iconic status again, without recourse to the “weird quirky bits”. His choice of phrase caused plenty of giggling among the panellists.

This led Waid to ask his panel how they decide what elements are most essential to a character, what continues to translate, and what can be left behind. De Matteis advised to “always approach the characters psychologically and emotionally” and not worry too much about the “other stuff”, and sometimes that psychological appeal can be found in lesser known characters. Nocenti commented that her current work on KATANA based on the strange but intriguing concept of a “girl with a sword” produced “good potential” for developing “obsessional love triangle” elements between herself, her murdered husband, and his murdering brother.“The less iconic a character, the more fun you can have!”, she enthused.

Slott agreed with Nocenti on  this idea, up to a point. When you’re handling an iconic character, readers lose the fear that their reckless lifestyles will do them in, whereas if a character is “unknown”, “Everyone is worried”, wondering if they will survive from issue to issue. Slott and Nocenti shared an interesting moment of commiseration, albeit brief, about their mutual killing off of Spider-based characters, and the emotional reaction of fans. “Screw letters from emotional fans”, Slott concluded, laughing, but Waid intervened by informing the audience that he’s sure Slott “weeps himself to sleep at night with 6 year olds’ fan mail” over the death of Spider-Man .

The panellists didn’t always find their subject matter easy to decipher, nor did they feel that there’s always an easy answer for why some characters “click” as icons and some don’t. Batman, particularly, has a mysteriously successful dynamic, they said. But some things do change. Waid observed that he “couldn’t have imagined a world where I walked down the street and everyone knew who Tony Stark was” until after the Iron Man films had been made. Waid suggested that iconic status for characters might be measured in the number of imitators who have sprung up. De Matteis returned to his general position that archetypal patterns determine iconic status, however. Slott provided examples, stating that Superman is like Hercules, Batman a being on a vengeance-quest, and Tony Stark is, too, iconic in formula, as a combination of “Man and Machine”, an icon that the world is ripe for right now.

The panellists’ parting thoughts during the Q and A period focused on an interesting point made from the audience about the superhero/villain ratio. With so many more supervillains than superheroes in comics, “recycling” them is the norm, but at what point do they become “stale” and need to be retired, at least for awhile? De Matteis was firm about the roles of the artist and writers, insisting that there are “no stale characters but stale interpretations of characters” and that good work will prevent this problem. “Every character is great if you did into them in the right way”, he said. Waid’s closing example to support De Matteis’ point was that “20-25 years ago, no one would have thought that GREEN ARROW would become 2 times the best selling DC book, and then get his own TV show”. His bottom line: “If you dig deep enough you can find something that resonates”, and that’s the key to creating an icon, something that may not happen overnight.

 Photo Credits: All photos in this article were taken by semi-professional photographer and pop culture scholar Michele Brittany. She’s an avid photographer of pop culture events. You can learn more about her photography and pop culture scholarship here.

Hannah Means-Shannon writes and blogs about comics for TRIP CITY and Sequart.org and is currently working on books about Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore for Sequart. She is @hannahmenzies on Twitter and hannahmenziesblog on WordPress.

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The biggest topic of discussion leading up to WonderCon has been the location. Most WonderCon goers have been very disappointed by the move to Anaheim, CA, over San Francisco. There’s ongoing chatter about whether it will move back to San Francisco in 2014, but no clear news on that possibility yet. If location alone is going to be a deal-breaker, there’s not much getting around that, but the convention itself, running in Anaheim, deserves some honest assessments about its merits or demerits, whatever they might be.

To start with, WonderCon 2013 allowed con badge pick-up and pro pass pick-up from noon the day before the con, always a good move. The staff were friendly and helpful, and it was a transaction bound to only take a couple of minutes, whatever the need. Glimpses of the convention center were promising: it’s a fairly spacious location with lots of impressive glass allowing light in, and a wide pedestrian zone in several directions, including fountains and palm tree lined seating nooks. The hotels in the same pedestrian complex as the convention center offered discount rates for the con weekend that were comparable, if not a little lower than the hotel deals available for other mid-sized cons on either coast, and rooms were still available for booking near the con period. The only downside of the hotels is that a couple of them appeared a little understaffed to handle the sudden influx of arriving guests between 7PM and midnight the night before the con opened, meaning somewhat long lines for check-in and a lack of staff to answer the needs of guests who had already checked in.

The con opened with less hassle. The lines were long for entry, but moved briskly, and once the initial entry period was over, there was an ease of access that was enviable in comparison to big cons like NYCC. All doors were available for entry from the exterior of the complex, regardless of the type of pass you might have, and then badges were checked before entry to the floor itself. This ease of access had some helpful implications. If during the day, you happened to want to return to the surrounding hotels to drop off heavy bags of con purchases, you could do so in a matter of minutes and be right back on the floor or into panels without missing a beat. These observations apply to Friday, the first day of the con. Saturday is expected to be the more high volume day of the convention, with passes sold out well in advance, and the procedure for admission may change to handle these numbers.

The interior of the convention center has an unusual layout, with halls and walkways front-loaded, including tall stairways and escalators leading up to three floors, two of which, as well as the basement, are used for panels and events, with the first floor mainly dedicated to the con floor. On a day of reasonable numbers of attendees (and Friday passes did eventually sell out early in the day), this functioned very well. There were no circuitous hallways needed to reach the upper or lower floors. The open areas, however, are a little narrow, and its possible that on Saturday this could lead to more traffic jams, but since all passages lead in straight lines, it’s likely to move reasonably quickly, rather than requiring complex strategies to get from A to B.

The floor itself is spacious, and has  a wide range of tables and booths that fans would consider a staple of cons from major publishers, to small publisher tables, a few video game features, and plenty of small artisan sellers. Wonder of wonders, there were even freebies of comics and ephemera available from several publishers, something that seems to have disappeared from NYCC, but remains for the savvy at SDCC. Fan reactions were positive. Despite reasonably high numbers of influx, the passage ways between booths were navigable, even with cosplay photo options straddling the thoroughfares. Cosplay was strongly represented, though not a dominant feature of the day, and without the need to rush in order to spend long periods pushing through crowds, even the cosplayers seemed in a pleasant mood, more than willing to pose for photos and interact before going to hunt down a variant comic or discount trade on their list.

There weren’t a massive number of variant comics made available for WonderCon 2013, but the ones that were received a lot of attention. Dark Horse variants drew lines that moved briskly, whereas DC’s variants of BATMAN and JUSTICE LEAGUE titles were a little more unwieldy. To their credit, con staff kept the lines in order, but if you wanted a DC variant from WC 2013, it took a little determination and maybe an eye toward timing. Close to closing time for the day, the lines were only a quarter of their previous eye-rolling length. A common feature of the cons and local businesses was the overarching politeness and patience of staff. Maybe it’s part of the “happiest place on earth” Disneyland motif.

The panels offered at WC 2013 are also somewhat limited in number and range, with fewer cult-following creators as guests. That’s not to say that WC lacked worthy guests, but they were a little strapped to participate in several panels each to carry the load. The atmosphere of the con, more pleasant because of less stress and crowding, seemed to bleed into the experience of the guests as well, and they appeared laid back and informal in panels. Because things weren’t overcrowded, there wasn’t a need to stand in long lines to access panels with creators and pros, and there was more of a possibility that you’d be able to ask your own questions during Q and A sessions rather than battling it out to make it into long queues for the mike. During floor signings, creators seemed equally at ease and with a less crowded atmosphere, they were happy to chat with fans and actually had the time and space to respond to fans, often expressing their own gratitude for the support.

So, all in all, the con is showing strong signs of being well-organized, friendly, and appealing to fans. Enthusiasm was high, with plenty of excited chatter rather than grumbling complaints about discomfort. The outside areas available for relaxing contributed to this, and the pleasant weather didn’t hurt, either. It made the con feel more about a con space rather than a building that pedestrian areas surrounded the convention center with outdoor seating, and that the floor itself had an outdoor atrium with food vendors to complement its floor-based foodcourt, with seating available.

Right now, Wondercon in Anaheim has all of the amenities of a mid-sized con on its way to becoming a large con without large con problems to contend with. It’s location may be a problem, but there are some selling points. Firstly, even flying into LAX versus a more local airport means only a reasonably priced shuttle ride to the venue complex, and secondly, there is a strong potential in Anaheim for a family-friendly experience. Cons are great for kids, and plenty were in attendance (some of the greatest cosplayers, in fact), but, of course, all the Disney locations are within a couple of miles radius of the convention center. Several pros I spoke to brought their families with them because of this feature, and were having a blast. In several panels, creators pointed out their spouses and kids in attendance, and the Disney location was, again, one of the reasons. Of course, this would mainly appeal to the demographic who have kids, but it was an interesting extra dimension to the con experience. Whether a Disney fan or not, the presence of Disney means lots of pedestrian areas, local transport routes, and two large restaurant complexes near the convention center. Within a mile of con, you could choose from dozens of restaurants and bars, and plenty of shopping to boot. So even though Anaheim seems like a strange location for the con due to its relative isolation, within Anaheim operating without a car and still having a night-life is definitely possible.

Saturday, the biggest con day, may well be more trying for attendees, and any weaknesses beneath the surface in terms of planning and resources will no doubt become apparent, but taking the first day of WonderCon in Anaheim on its own, and weighing its virtues comes with plenty of surprises. In short, it felt easy to attend, interesting to observe, and exhibited a lot of the strengths of a well run con in an appropriate location. It may not be WonderCon in San Francisco, but it was still WonderCon, with a commitment to comics, pop culture, and the needs of fans.

Hannah Means-Shannon writes and blogs about comics for TRIP CITY and Sequart.org and is currently working on books about Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore for Sequart. She is @hannahmenzies on Twitter and hannahmenziesblog on WordPress.

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• I regret to inform the dozens of people who were looking forward to my being there, that I won’t be at WonderCon after all. Some travel stuff and other factors made it unfeasible. I’m sad I won’t be seeing everyone, but not as sad that I won’t be complaining about the line at Starbucks every morning.

For those who are going, please take notes!

• I will be at the Center for Cartoon Studies for THE FIRST TIME EVER this Thursday for Industry Day, if all goes well.

• Beside CCS, I am going to the dentist today, because I have a “situation” which is teetering on the edge of something…bad. So of course I read this.

The exciting news in all this is that Gabrielle Bell has a Tumblr now!

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Well, WonderCon’s continued presence in San Francisco remains in doubt, as seen here, and mentioned here back in March, as the Moscone Center gives WonderCon the Cinderella treatment.  What’s in store for WonderCon, and what are their options?

As in 2012, WonderCon will once again take place in Anaheim, scheduled for March 29-31, 2013, which also is Easter weekend.

WonderCon, originally held at the Oakland, California, Convention Center, moved to the Moscone Center in San Francisco in 2003.

In 2012, Moscone was under renovation, making space a premium.  In 2013, that renovation should be complete.  So what’s happening in April, 2013, at Moscone?

—

Moscone West cannot accommodate a weekend show, as the midweek shows require at least one day of moving out and moving in.

Moscone North/South?  It could host WC the weekend of the 6th and 7th, or the 27th and 28th.

But Moscone can host whomever they wish.  As a public venue, they are susceptible to public pressure, so perhaps a grassroots effort could be made to convince the village elders to accommodate a local cultural event.  Perhaps Jerry Sanders could call Edwin M. Lee and clue him in to the amount of money being lost to Anaheim.

—

So, in 2013, WonderCon will once again take place at the Anaheim Convention Center to the east of Los Angeles.

Here’s the plan of the convention center:

Last year, WonderCon used Hall D for exhibition space.  (Here’s the exhibitor map.)  That’s 221,284 square feet.  It’s a huge building, with over 813,000 square feet of exhibition space (Halls A-E).  Moscone has 538,000 sq.ft. of exhibition space; San Diego, 525,701 sq.ft.

In 2011, WonderCon used Halls A-C of Moscone South for the dealer’s room.  That’s 260,560 square feet of space.  2010 had the same footprint; in 2009 it was Halls B & C.

——————-

So, if Moscone disowns WonderCon like a single mother tossed out into a snowstorm, where could they relocate to?

Well, there is Anaheim, which will have hosted two shows.  Comic-Con International has filed to claim “Anaheim Comic-Con” as a trademark.  (They have also filed for “Los Angeles Comic-Con” and “San Francisco Comic-Con”.)  There is a lot of space to expand, both in the Arena which can host “Hall H” media events, as well as a large ballroom on the Third Floor.

I attended the annual conference of the American Library Association here last June.  There are numerous hotels around the area, mostly due to Disneyland.  I had no trouble finding an affordable hotel room, and though the trek was a bit long, the weather was pleasant.  There was no “fighting” with Disneyland tourists for hotel rooms or restaurants.  The convention center was easy to navigate, both horizontally and vertically.  The length of the center was not weary to walk, even on the last day of the show.  I especially liked the outdoor courtyards built between each hall.  There were 20,000 attendees, yet it wasn’t difficult to walk between hallways. (Of course, surf the web for reaction to last year’s WonderCon in Anaheim.)

—

But, where else could it go?  Some local fans are criticial of Comic-Con International moving out of the Bay Area, wondering why they do not move the show to another regional venue.

What exists?

First, there’s the Oakland Convention Center, which originally hosted the show from 1987-2002.

It has 48,000 square feet of exhibition space.  That’s one-fifth of what WonderCon used in 2011.  There’s also not a lot of space for programming.

—

San Jose?  Located on the south side of the San Francisco Bay, it once hosted CCI’s Alternative Press Expo at Parkside Hall before it was moved to the Concourse Exhibition Center in San Francisco.

The San Jose Convention Center has 143,000 square feet.  54% of WC ‘11.

—

Santa Clara?  112,775 sq.ft.

——————-

Now, what if WonderCon went back to its fan-based heritage, and followed the hotel-centric layout of Dragon*Con?

What’s that?  A major regional convention which doesn’t use a convention center?  YUP!  Dragon*Con is a science-fiction convention which has grown to epic proportions!  They embrace almost every fandom, and like smaller conventions, rent conference space in various hotels, decentralizing everything.  Exhibitors and dealers are housed in three separate ballrooms.

Our host hotels for 2012 will again include the familiar surroundings of the Hyatt Regency Atlanta along with the legendary Atlanta Marriott Marquis, the Hilton Atlanta, Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, and the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel.

They sell out the hotels, usually a year in advance!  Which is what convention bureaus love!  46,000 fans attended in 2011, according to Wikipedia.

Could that happen in San Francisco?

WonderCon could use the Marriott Marquis, the Westin, and the Four Seasons for events (with the W and St. Regis for overflow), bypassing Moscone completely.  The three main hotels are all in the same block just north of Yerba Buena Gardens (and two blocks north of Moscone).

WonderCon had about 39,000 attendees in 2011 in San Francisco (the latest year I could find).  WonderCon is similar to Dragon*Con in scope and size, so let’s see what space D*C has available [click on the hotel name to go to the hotels' meeting space pages] :

• Hyatt Regency Atlanta 113K  (six different spaces)
• Westin Peachtree Plaza 51.8 K (four floors, multiple rooms)
• Sheraton Atlanta Hotel 43.4K (three floors, numerous meeting rooms)
• Hilton Atlanta 41K Exhibit Hall + 41.3K + meeting rooms (four floors)
• Atlanta Marriott Marquis 88.7K +meeting rooms (four floors

The Grand (hotel) total: 379,200 approximate square feet.

Now, realize that Dragon*Con has three exhibition spaces:

• Dealers (retailers) are in the Hyatt’s International Hall (9,150 sq.ft.)
• Exhibitors (companies) are in the Marriott’s Marquis Ballroom (21,983 sq.ft.)  and the Imperial Ballroom (15,640 sq.ft.)

—

Now, what if we tried the same thing in San Francisco?

• Westin San Francisco Market Street 12K + smaller ballrooms (two floors)
• San Francisco Marriott Marquis 64.9K + numerous meeting rooms (five floors)
• Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco 9.4K + 4 meeting rooms (one floor)

That’s a grand (motel) total of approximately 86,000 square feet, all on the same city block.

Add the nearby St. Regis (13.3K) and the W (7.4K) and the total is 107,000 square feet.  That’s a tight fit.  The Marriot Marquis could host the Exhibitors space, the Westin could host the dealers.  Meeting rooms might be a concern, although there are smaller boutique hotels with smaller (but not numerous) meeting rooms.  Of course, that all depends on the major exhibitors.  If Marvel, DC, Capcom, and/or Nintendo balk, then the show might suffer by their absence.  (Of course, fans could view it as WonderCon returning to their fan-based heritage, ignoring the hyperbole which fuels Comic-Con International: San Diego.)

——————-

But there’s another possibility, further north.  Sacramento.

Sacramento, the capital of California, has two major exhibition spaces:

1. The Sacramento Convention Center
2. Cal Expo

The Sacremento Convention Center has 134,006 sq.ft. of exhibition space, which is smaller than San Jose.  So that’s not worth the trouble of moving outside the Bay Area.

But consider Cal Expo.  What’s that?  It’s the site of Big Fun, the California State Fair.

It has a complex of buildings which could be utilized for a large convention, turning it into a “comic-county fair”!

Think that’s crazy?  Consider CeBIT, held every year in Hannover, Germany.  Held at Hannover’s Messegelände (fairground), that electronics trade show uses 5 million square feet in 27 different halls and attracted 312,000 attendees in 2012 (850,000 during the dot-com boom).  CCI:SD caps attendance at 130,000.

So, what sort of space does Cal Expo offer?  Here’s the map of the fairgrounds.  Specifically, Buildings A, B, C, D, the Pavilion, the Cove, and the Expo Center.  The PDF of building specifics is here.

• Building A 27,700 sq.ft., with 8,600 sq.ft. on the mezzanine.  [Connects with Building B]
• Building B [identical to Building A]
• Building C 28,000 sq.ft.  [column free, connects to Building D]
• Building D 20,000 sq.ft.  [column free]
• The Pavilion 98,000 sq.ft.
• The Cove A shaded seating area, seats 4100, stage measures 48 x 40 ft.  (Think “Hall H”.)
• Expo Center 58,870 sq.ft.  Eight buildings sharing an outdoor brick plaza.
• #1 = 7,549 #2 = 5,987 #3 = 7,929 #4 = 7,860 #5 = 7,934 #6 = 7,832 #7 = 7,931 #8 = 5,848

That’s a grand total of 277,470 sq.ft. of space, larger than the 260,560 sq.ft. used in Moscone South.

The column free space of Building C and D would be perfect for the larger exhibitors.  Each Expo Center building could cater to a different fandom, grouping retailers together.  Or the Expo Center could be one big miss-mix-mashed bazaar, encouraging attendees to wander from one building to the next, and congregating in the middle.

Hotels?  There are many north of the fairground, so shuttle buses would be used, just like at every other comic con in the country.  Big Fun lists local transit options to downtown. Or, unlike most other shows, you can camp in your RV.  Parking?  15,000 spaces, $10 a car.

What about the weather?  According to Wikipedia, the average temperature in Sacramento for April is 47-72 degrees Fahrenheit.  San Francisco?  50-64 degrees.

Will people travel from San Francisco?  Well, to drive from Moscone to Anaheim takes 6 hours, 45 minutes.  From Moscone to Cal Expo?  1 hour, 35 minutes.  Lots of parking!

The Big Fun Map.  The Golden1 stage is The Cove.

——————-

So, those are the most likely solutions for WonderCon.  I’m hoping that Moscone and CCI can come to some agreement, while Anaheim can become another great regional convention.

This answers some questions yet raises more:

For months a huge question mark has loomed over the location of 2013’s WonderCon, one of the largest comics conventions in the United States. In an exclusive interview with Comic-Con International’s v-p of marketing and public relations David Glanzer, he revealed that the answer is Anaheim—but that could change, as Comic-Con International, the non-profit organization that runs the show, may still get dates in the fall for a Bay Area show. In which case that show will be WonderCon and the Anaheim show will be rebranded an as-yet unnamed new SoCal show.

But as of right now, WonderCon is slated to be held March 29-31, 2013 in Anaheim—which also happens to be Easter weekend.

I will be exhibiting for the very first time at Wondercon this year. This year’s Wondercon will be taking place at the Anaheim convention center. I will be at the Artist Alley table AA-185.

Get Your Tickets: http://www.comic-con.org/wc/

Speaking of WonderCon, although Marvel was a proud participant in the 1987 show, they haven’t been an exhibitor at WonderCon in many a year– a string that will be broken in 2011 — presumably to promote their movie slate. To mark the occasion, they are releasing a show variant cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli:

Marvel is proud to announce that to commemorate their first appearance as an exhibitor at WonderCon, they will be producing an exclusive Uncanny X-Men #534 WonderCon variant! Featuring some of the most popular X-Men, this beautiful cover by Giuseppe Camuncoli, created specifically for this San Francisco-based convention, will only be available for sale at the Marvel Booth (#801) while supplies last!
 
Marvel will be arriving in full force at WonderCon in San Francisco, April 1-3, with a big booth (#801), wide array of panels, can’t-miss announcements, giveaways and more! This is the first time that the House of Ideas is exhibiting at the convention and we’re breaking out the big news and big guests!
 
Meet all your favorite Marvel celebrities at the Marvel Booth (#801)– like Joe Quesada, Axel Alonso, Jeph Loeb, Marko Djurdjevic, Jason Aaron, Rick Remender, Giuseppe Camuncoli and more— and don’t miss the ­Marvel: Welcome To The X-Men and Marvel: Cup o’ Joe panels for some major announcements about the future of Marvel’s most popular characters, along with the Marvel Television: Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes & Marvel Anime panel for a sneak peek at the hottest Super Hero animation of 2011.
  
“Being from San Francisco, I am ecstatic about how strong Marvel’s presence will be at WonderCon this year,” said Axel Alonso, Marvel’s Editor-In-Chief. “And with San Francisco now the adopted hometown of the X-Men, it just made perfect sense to create a variant for this show which celebrated the city and its achievements.”

Joe Field, inventor of Free Comic Book Day and owner of Flying Colors in Concord, has passed along a video called WonderCon 1988 Review, created as a promo tool to get more exhibitors and publishers to attend the ‘89 show — then called the Wonderful World of Comics Convention. With next week’s show being the 25th anniversary of the Bay Area confab, he’s been posting several historical videos to his YouTube account, and this one will blow your mind with its vivid depiction of the primitive conditions our comics forefathers labored under. In addition to a younger version of Joe himself playing Anderson Cooper, you see younger Stan Lee, young Fabian Nicieza, young Tom DeFalco, and several other young ‘uns in local TV coverage of the 1987 event.

Several interesting factoids emerge from the coverage. For instance, the size of the comics market is given as a $300 million a year business. (Today, it’s $680 million.) It’s also noted that about “3/4 of the comics readership is adult!!” Amazing prices of anywhere from — brace yourself — $12,000 to $20,000 for back issues is marveled at. The show’s 4200 attendees — up 25 percent from the previous year! — make it one of the biggest comics shows in the country. And Mark Bodé’s MIAMI MICE parody comic is reported to have sold over 180,000 copies.

180,000 copies.

Field mentions that there are about 100 comics shops in the northern California area in the video — compared to about 60 today.

The funniest thing about the video is how the news reports look like — instead of being a mere 25 years old — they could be 50 years old. The anchors are so slow and grave they could have stepped out of a Superman movie serial.

On the other hand, the convention scenes could be from today, if you just lowered the shoulder pads and jeans’ waistbands a bit.

Comic-Cons — an eternal pastime.

Today we're bringing you our monthly roundup of cool youth media and marketing events you or colleagues from your company may want to attend. If your company hosts an event relevant to the youth media or marketing space that you'd like us to... Read the rest of this post

1 Obama Superman T-shirt
1 Green Lantern T-shirt [with the love symbol on it]
1 Amazing graphic novel by David Petersen, "Mouse Guard Fall 1152." *happy dance*
1 Wonder Woman Comic book
1 Wolverine Comic Book
1 Ronin Comic Book [gift for hubby who hasn't read a comic book since prolly never but likes it]
1 banana
2 bottled waters