By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 6/9/2016
Disclaimer: I was a sponsor and paid guest for Awesome Con held last weekend in Washington, DC so considered this a sponsored post. That said, as you know, I write a lot about comic cons, and I am not a spokesman for Awesome Con. These are my honest opinions and if you have any questions please […]
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/13/2012
A new self-publisher showed up at C2E2: Campaign Comics and creator Shia LeBeouf. He’s keeping it low key in artist alley. “We’re just here to have fun,” he said while signing his ogn.
Everyone wants to be in comics.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 9/7/2011
I never got around to writing a big meta post about this year’s San Diego, but one of the things I would have written about is the increasing frenzy over celebrity spotting. I was reminded of this by a content farm post I cane across entitled The best place to meet celebs at San Diego Comic-Con:
We didn’t really spend much time hanging out at the Omni, but had to pass by it on our way to our parking garage everyday and EVERY time we saw a celebrity. The hotel is not only a popular place for celebs to stay during Comic-Con, it’s also a popular place for parties and press events, making it the perfect place to do a little star-gazing.
The first time we passed by we saw Jon Favreau crossing the street to the Hard Rock Cafe, we saw Colin Hanks arriving for an event the same night, the next day we randomly saw Anna Torv taking a smoke break and Glee’s Harry Shum Jr getting into a waiting car. One day we even saw The Avengers’ Clark Gregg signing endless autographs for fans.
And, speaking of badges, the absolute best way to get up close and personal with celebs is to have a press pass, which are notoriously easy to get for Comic-Con. If you have a blog or website that is updated regularly and occasionally mentions comics or comic book movies, it’s definitely worth applying for press pass. Press registration opens a few weeks before Comic-Con and compared to other fests we’ve covered is pretty easy to navigate (and get excepted). If you score a press pass, you’ll have opportunities to attend round table interviews, press conferences, photo calls, etc.
There was also a post from Wil Wheaton that I made note of. Wheaton is about as accessible as a celebrity can get with blogging and tweeting and generally being a friendly and open person, but even he has his limits:
On the way out of the Syfy party on Saturday night, a pretty horrible thing happened. I wasn’t going to talk about it in public, but I can’t stop thinking about it, and I think this needs to be said.
[snip] When we walked out of the SyFy party on Saturday night, a pack of people — probably 12 or 15, I’d guess — appeared out of nowhere, and surrounded me. They shoved pictures into my face, thrust pens at me, and made it so that I couldn’t even move. They separated me from my friends and my son, and, quite frankly, terrified me.
Let’s stop for a second and think about this: in what kind of world is it acceptable to surround a person you do not know, separate them from the people they are with, and essentially trap them? Maybe in crazy entitled psycho world, but not the world I live in.
I tried to scrawl my signature on a couple of things, just so some of those people would move and let me keep on walking, but whenever someone took something away, something new immediately took its place. Somehow, +Felicia Day saved me. She reached through the m
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 8/16/2011
While not as bloody an incident as the 2010 stabbing, this year the fever pitch of Hall H at Comic-Con was again marred by violence when Welsh actor Rhys Ifans, who plays the Lizard in the upcoming Spider-Man movie, got into a scuffle with a security guard, which resulted in a citizen’s arrest by said guard.
The incident was said to kick off when Ifans, who might have had a tiny bit to drink that afternoon, him being Welsh and all, went outside for a smoke with his entourage, and upon trying to get back in, found his entourage didn’t have the proper credentials. After a shouting match with the guard, Ifans reportedly gave her a shove, went on stage looking pale and rattled, and upon getting offstage, was arrested.
However, the charges won’t stick. Police were unable to find enough evidence for an indictment.
Gina Coburn, a spokeswoman for the San Diego Office of the City Attorney, said: “After reviewing differing witness accounts, our prosecutors concluded there was not sufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
We’ve been assembling some other evidence to support this theory which we shall perhaps present to you before Comic-Con 2012.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 8/12/2011
This is from the Enquirer so salt and all that, but apparently Maddox Pitt-Jolie, adapted son of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, is dying to be an action star, so they are grooming him to play the lead in the movie adaptation of Paul Pope’s upcoming BATTLING BOY comic — which PItt’s production company has optioned.
According to the insider, Angelina is pushing hard to get Maddox the lead role in “Battling Boy,” a science fiction epic being produced by Brad’s Plan B production company.
Based on a graphic novel, “Battling Boy” is about the young son of a god who leaves his immortal mountaintop home to fight monsters.
What about Battling Boy the comic? It’s been in the works a while but is almost complete, we hear. Colorist Hilary Sycamore posted a page or two of the colors on her website. Can’t wait.
UPDATE: Paul Pope hopped on Twitter to set the record straight:
I am here to tell you officially it is not true.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/24/2011
.
Well, another Comic-Con is drawing to a close, with the traditional annual Buffy sing-along, this time in Hall H. (Perhaps they could also add a “Mayhem of the Music Meister!” event as well?)
So, here’s some more interesting tidbits from Comic-Con…
Rock it To The Bang Bang Boogie Dept.:
ComicsAlliance reports that Superman gets depowered, but not deflowered, in the next volume of “Superman: Earth One”. J. Michael Straczynski states that Superman will be temporarily depowered, and tries to hook up with his sexy neighbor, but fails.
Holy SNOT, Batman! Dept.
Alex Schranz creates an amazing Batcave out of Lego bricks, to minifig scale!
(Here are some other Bat-Lego creations! Click on the photos to be taken to the websites for even more amazing creations!)
1 Comments on The Watchtower: Comic-Con — Superman, Batman, Archie, William Shatner, Joss Whedon, and Other Sexy Topics, last added: 7/27/2011
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By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 6/29/2011
An Englishman and a Scotsman talk about Doctor Who. Of Course.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 6/21/2011
The Hollywood equivalent of 24 Hour Comics Day is something called the 24 Hour Plays, which finds writers penning short plays overnight and actors performing them the next day. The event was held the other night in Santa Monica and current Doctor, Matt Smith delighted nerds everywhere by dressing as Batman for a play called “Gotham Autopsy”:
At the start of his play – called Gotham Autopsy – Matt was covered in a sheet in a mortuary before he came to life as a confused Batman. Comedian and Don’t Mess With Zohan star Nick Swardson starred as Robin. Also in his play was Kick Ass star Lyndsy Fonseca and fellow Brit Saffron Burrows.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 6/13/2011
Based on this photo of artist Jamal Igle explaining the whole “Superman renounces his citizenship” story from ACTION COMICS #900 to him, his feelings are mixed.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/27/2011
Speaking of con wars, this rather odd story from UGO goes on and on about how great this weekend’s Anaheim Comic-Con is going to be, without ever mentioning of the fact that it is part of the Wizard World Tour:
Anaheim brings the masses together for an unforgettable weekend of tributes, gaming, celebrities and general geekery. The weekend is not one to be missed, and here are a few reasons why:…[snip] For smaller conventions, it’s always a question of what talent they’ve found to show up for the event — and ACC is obviously not messing around. In attendance are Battlestar Galactica’s seductive Number Six aka Tricia Helfer, the man behind Darth Maul, Ray Park, Shaft himself, Richard Roundtree, Harry Hamlin from the original Clash of the Titans, Q from Star Trek: The Next Generation, John de Lanice and many, many more. Plus Adam West and Burt Ward — because it wouldn’t be a Comic-Con without them!
Obviously the story was written from a press release of some kind, but you’d expect a site of UGO’s caliber to at least name an actual comics-type person attending, even if the show itself, being in SoCal and all, is more of a Nerdlebrity con than a comic-con. Comics guests don’t even get their own guest category:
It’s this kind of thing that makes some industry-watchers a little sad that CCI didn’t enforce their “Comic-Con” trademark a little more stringently — with more policing, it’s very likely that the Anaheim show would have been given the more accurate name “Reality Rocks Expo II.”
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 4/18/2011
Just in case you wanted MORE evidence of how horrible a comic-con without the comics would be, here is a side-splitting yet appalling VIDEO of that disastrous Reality Rocks Expo we told you abut that featured scores of reality TV stars milling around a bleak, deserted LA Convention Center. Current TV’s Ben Hoffman files a hilarious report that reveals just how much reality stars revel in their vapidity. All that is missing is a little cannibalism and you’d have an outtake from The Road.
A few years ago we had an argument with someone about whether Marvel’s head honcho Joe Quesada was more famous than, say, the guy who got his ass whupped first on season four of The Ultimate Fighter. With his many appearances on cable (including Colbert), frequent quotes in newspapers of record and so on, we’d still give the edge to Quesada. Maybe that wasn’t the most perfect match-up actually — MMA fighters actually DO something — but surely the top stars of comicdom are more famous than any random contestant on that show about the dog walkers.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 1/4/2011
Stan Lee got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame this afternoon. Todd McFarlane was there to help, and The Hollywood Reporter caught the moment.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 11/19/2010
It is nice to see that Emma Watson has grown into the lovely young lady we always hoped she would be. Now if she can just avoid drugs, bulimia and Noel Fielding. Maybe she can star in a comic book movie next!
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 9/30/2010
The folks at Penny Arcade are running “Rob Liefeld Pose” * contest to promote the Liefeld inspired video game Comic Jumper. And artist Rob Liefeld entered it himself.
Liefeld, 43, once starred in an ad for Levi’s 501 jeans, and the photo reveals that he’s stayed in shape since his modeling days.
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 7/25/2010
Once again, I’m on Watchtower duty here at Stately Beat Manor on Friday night. A tremendous thunderstorm rages around me, and I wonder, “Is this turret grounded?”
Heidi continues to report from the front lines, embedded with the various tribes attending Comic-Con International: San Diego.
It’s Raining On Prom Night
Entertainment Tonight reports that Jerry O’Connell, promoting Piranha 3D, is alone at Comic-Con. His wife, Rebecca Romijn, is attending her 20th high school reunion, meeting her Berkeley (California) High School prom date!
Somehow, I don’t think she need worry about her figure.
Jeff Smith Presents!
Since this is still Comic-Con International, the entire shebang commenced with comics legend and trailblazer Jeff Smith. Comic Book Resources covers the action!
So, what’s new? How about, not one, but TWO! new Bone series from Scholastic?
First up is a new comics series, written by Tom Sniegoski, drawn by Smith, titled “Bone: Tall Tales“, which is a reworking of “Stupid, Stupid Rat-Tails” with extra stories (and color!) added. It should ship sometime in August, but is on sale at the Cartoon Books booth.
Then, there’s a new series of Bone stories, chapter books titled “Quest for the Spark”. The first book is due February 2011, and features new Bone characters returning to the valley years after the original Bone series.
Smith was asked about the movie in development at Warner Brothers, but replied there is not much to show. Expect a panel next year, he suggests.
Jeff Smith also asked his fans for help:
Continuing his power point presentation, Smith said that next year marks the 20th anniversary of the creation of “Bone.” As a result, he’s asking fans of the series to offer suggestions on how to celebrate the anniversary. Smith said he’d like to receive feedback on his official website from fans within the next six months.
An Infinite Canvas?
Threadless, purveyor of fine t-shirts and other graphics, presents a four-issue comic book story, on four t-shirts!
Comics Alliance has the story about the story, and features images from all four Ts.
The designs — which will be on display at a special after party hosted by Threadless tonight in San Diego — all follow a storyline written by Thompson, and can eit
1 Comments on There Are Many Here Among Us, last added: 7/25/2010Display Comments Add a Comment
By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 6/26/2010
We’re sure this has been around forever, but we just saw it at ArtPatient.
Cool. Wish I had gone.
Hmm… no mention of Con Wars with Wizard World Philly?
The week before was MegaCon (slowly evolving away from their comics-centric mission after being sold to Fan Expo).
MeCaf was also last weekend, as was Phoenix Comicon.
My big criticism? It’s held in the summer.
DC has roughly 80K university students, not to mention more in Maryland and Virginia (UMD, UVA, George Mason, Johns Hopkins…)
That photo op is the old Carnegie Library. It was once slated to house Judy Chicago’s “Dinner Party”, but UDC… well… Now it’s in Brooklyn.
The library was replaced in 1972 by a design by van der Rohe, a rare International Style building in a city of neoclassicism.
If you need to get away, I suggest the National Portrait Gallery/SAAM in the old Patent Office, at 8th and G. (Free admission, because Smithsonian.)
The convention center is nice… it’s also the home of the National Book Festival.
I’ve been there for BEA, and ALA.
The trick is to go up or down when you enter, as streets crisscross the site.
For cheap eats, there’s Mayur Kabab House next to the Methodist church on 11th and K. It’s been there since at least 1994, when I lived/worked at HI-DC across the corner.
North of the CC is Giant Food at Ninth and O.
Also.. when ranking shows, I’d go by attendance:
200K+ Comiket
100K+ CCI, NYCC, FanExpo Toronto
75K+
50K+
Also, note which shows use all of the convention center, and which have expanded outside.
This was one of those shows where it was kind of a bummer to be sitting behind my Artist Alley table the whole time. It was a great show for me, don’t get me wrong, and it was great meeting everyone and selling my Poop Office crap. But there was so much great stuff going on, I wish I could just attend it!
Couple other cool highlights that I noticed:
The MAGFest area had a free arcade, something that’s a staple of gaming conventions, but should really be at more comic conventions! There’s something magical about being at a comic convention and hearing that arcade Colossus scream!
Geppi’s Entertainment Museum had some display cases with some pretty valuable comics and a wonderful tribute to Darwyn Cooke. They also had a copy of Spawn #1 on display, which made me laugh and also feel a bit old.
It’s a very easy show to get to by public transportation, with a subway stop literally right at the entrance to the convention center. So it’s very easy to get a more affordable hotel room somewhere in the larger DC Metro area and then just take the Metro in each day.
Our table was within sight of the kid’s area (the K-Zone!), and it looked like they had tons of fun activities for kids the entire weekend.
Apparently there was some kind of science fair going on, too. I didn’t get to see it, but that’s cool as hell. There was also an entire segment of the show floor made up of government science agencies like NASA and the Dept. of Energy. Great use of the DC location!
Awesome Con is definitely on my list for next year. Comics & Politics sounds like an awesome panel!
I only went Sunday and so experienced the cons without many pros. Running out of program booklets by 10:15 AM Sunday, delaying the Capaldi and Coleman Q&A by 2 hours, shrinking the Q&A down to 35 minutes, and cancelling the Sunday costume contest without any announcement all pointed to massive disorganization. I’ll be interested in seeing what you say about this “too fast too soon” problem in your later post.
Not living up to the posted online photo timing policy caused major problems: “For your comfort we have implemented a “group” system much like the zones used in airports. Hence select photo ops are subdivided into 15 minute sessions per group – ex. Group 1 starts at 5pm, Group 2 at 5:15pm, Group 3 at 5:30pm, etc. This allows you to only arrive a few minutes before your group start time rather than wait an hour or more.” They clearly sold way too many photo ops to fit into each 15-minute slot (and continued to sell more even when they knew they were way off schedule).
https://store.epicphotoops.com/awesome-con/2016