NYCC '13 Day Three Recap

NYCC is one of my favorite times of the year, but I am not a fan of Saturdays. All the coolest stuff happens on Saturday because that's when all the working people can come. It makes sense, but it also makes for a very crowded con. So, instead of walking the floor like I had been doing the past few days, I decided to make Saturday my panels day.

My day started with the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary panel, which was filled with writers, podcasters, and comic book artists discussing all things Who. It was a great panel, but it wouldn't be a Doctor Who panel without a Doctor. The 6th Doctor himself, Colin Baker crashed the panel, along with Big Finish Productions chairman and co-executive, Jason Haight-Ellery, and the man you never want to hear say, "EXTERMINATE," Nicholas Briggs.

Next, I ran to the J. Michael Straczynski panel, only to remember a couple minutes later that I needed to be on the other side of the Javits, trying to get into the Once Upon a Time panel. I left Mr. Straczynski in the middle of an interesting conversation with a fan about radioactive residue in Canada to hurry over to the Empire Stage. I went into the Marvel Video Games, got the scoop on what's coming up, got to geek out over the new stuff coming to Marvel Avengers Alliance and LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, then settled in for the Once Upon a Time panel.

The Once Upon a Time Panel wasn't the most exciting panel I went to that day, but it was extremely informative and a good time was had by all. We got to see the first act of this week's episodes of Once Upon a Time and Once Upon a Time: Wonderland, and we were treated to a surprise guest - Jennifer Morrison.

NYCC '13: Day Two Recap

Day Two of New York Comic Con always feels like a real con day because it's a totally full convention center. The crowds are double the volume and double the headache.

I opted to skip the people troughs this morning and arrived just before 11. First stop was checking out the latest offering from Mega Bloks. Their new Call of Duty items look fantastic! Then I went on a freebie hunt for a bit, snagging a lot including special collector's item for our bags! I also ran the gauntlet of autographs at Dark Horse comics. I got to chat briefly with Mike Norton and Dennis Hopeless (The Answer!), Bryan J. L. Glass (Furious), Donny Cates (Buzzkill and Hunter Quaid), and Eliot Rahal (Hunter Quaid).

My favorite was sitting down to interview Vivek J. Tiwary and Andrew C. Robinson about their upcoming book The Fifth Beatle. These two guys are great and having read it, I know they have created something amazing.

NYCC '13 Day 1 Recap

Yesterday, New York Comic Con '13 kicked off. This year, they're doing things a little different. Con attendees have to go through a security checkpoint and get their badges checked in. I wasn't sure if it would cause problems for people trying to get in, but at the time we arrived, it seemed to be working. This was created to help cut down people trying to use counterfeit passes, and it made things feel a little more organized, which is always nice.

Wilderowens and I started the day in the queue line. Haven't had that experience in a while, and it was a good reminder as to what it feels like to be jam packed with a bunch of people who are all excited to go to the same place as you. Some of the costumes I saw on line were amazing. I just wish I could have gotten some pictures, but everyone was moving too fast, and I'm too short to get good overhead shots. 

SDCC '12: Thursday Recap

I'm actually writing this early Friday morning on line to get into Ballroom 20. Yesterday was a whirlwind of waiting on lines and putting faces to names.


We started off the day checking out the Batmobiles. All of them. It was very awesome. The owner was there, and he showed me a pic of a Keaton-era Batmobile limo. That exists. I will now make it my mission to ride in it.


After that, Getsuyobi wandered the floor and took pics of cosplayers while I went off to finally meet Bryan Young in person. Yup, our favorite writer is a real person! It's one of the best parts of con, getting to meet people that you have chatted with online.


Then, I went over to the San Diego Blood Drive. If you ever get a chance, please give blood. It's a worthy deed. However, my time was exceptionally busy, so it took me two hours to finish draining.


After that, Getsuyobi and I went around town for a bit, checking out all of the popup stores. In case you haven't been to SDCC, not all the action happens in the convention center. Plenty of companies have popup locations available to everyone. We hit up the Magic The Gathering store for some variant art cards, then went to the Yahoo Movieland for pics related to Expendables 2, Paranorman, and Total Recall. While on line there (lines being a general theme), we heard about free AMD processors being given away a few blocks up. We decided to check it out and randomly found it at the Geek & Sundry HQ! Best part is yours truly got the very last spot for their autograph signing! Woohoo! Got a small hug from Felicia Day and a pic and some FaceTime with Sandeep, who I'm mildly obsessed with. And of course, a fee AMD processor from AMD.


If our day ended there, it would be complete but after a quick ice cream break, it was off to w00tstock 4.0!!!! Now the offical recap will follow with lots of juicy goodness about the 270 minutes we spent there but I will give this. Levar Burton on stage singing the Reading Rainbow theme song with Wil Wheaton as a backup singer.


Will our plucky reporters make it into Ballroom 20 for panels? Will they get coffee? Stay tuned to twitter for minute to minute updates! Until tomorrow, Wilderowens signing off!


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Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey at Midtown Comics Book Club!

Zoe, Thor, Ryan and Fred
chatting about Comic Book Comics!

This month, the Midtown Comics Book Club featured the ever-awesome Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey, who were talking about the collected edition of Comic Book Comics!

In case you haven't been reading Comic Book Comics, this series chronicles the history of comics through creative storytelling and design.  Many of the stories are ones that we hear as comic readers but never get the full story.  Van Lente and Dunlavey do their best to provide an unbiased look at how the comics industry came to be.  We have all been big fan since this release party for the fifth issue, the All-Lawsuits Issue!

Here are some tidbits from their Q & A, masterfully moderated by Midtown's Thor Parker and Zoe Gulliksen:

Mike Dawson and Troop 142 at Midtown Comics Book Club

You will get this poster
once you read the book.

Our November book club featured Troop 142 and its creator, Mike Dawson. As always, Midtown Comics' Thor Parker was our fabulous moderator. It was such a fun night with lots of laughs.

This post is SPOILER-FILLED so if you are allergic to spoilers,

go read another tasty article on [insertgeekhere].

In case you haven't read Troop 142, here is the lowdown. This tale follows Boy Scout Troop 142 on their week-long summer camp. The boys work hard, earn badges, do drugs, torture each other, and grow bacteria in spam. So basically, being regular teenage boys. But before you start thinking this is just a kids' tale, this story addresses sexuality, drugs, self-esteem and institutional mentality.


I truly enjoyed this story.  As a lifelong, proud Girl Scout, this brought back my own fond memories of summer camp.  While we weren't as gross as the boys, we still had similar experiences.  I also appreciated the honest look at Boy Scouts.  The organization has had a lot of problems in the past, especially surrounding religion and homosexuality.   However, this story also touched upon the positives of the organization - the important skills and traits developed.  I have always credited scouting for teaching me responsibility, morality, woodworking and honor, among other traits.  For any scout or non-scout that reads this book, I hope that you feel the good as well as the bad.

There were a few boy scouts in the audience, so the discussion felt less question & answer and more conversational. It was a nice change and had a relaxing feel.  Here are some of the highlights:

Glee: Grilled Cheesus

As I said in my previous post, Glee's sophomore season has not been living up to its hype (if that's even possible). There's an unevenness that's become more apparent than last year's back nine. We're five episodes in and they have been all over the place.

MAJOR SPOILERS!!!! 

Seriously, don't say I didn't warn you. 

Read on at your own risk

There are three storylines of importance in Grilled Cheesus - 

1) Finn sees what he believes to be Jesus in the grill marks of his sandwich, hence “Grilled Cheesus.” He attempts to pray and when what he prays for comes true, he believes it was due to a high power, leaving him with the desire to share this with the rest of the glee club. Later on, when something unfortunate happens to a fellow teammate but gives Finn something he asked for, he starts to question whether Grilled Cheesus is good or bad and eventually, his beliefs, already tentative and not fully formed, are seriously shaken and he’s left asking more questions.

2) Kurt goes through a family crisis. His father ends up in the hospital, comatose. The glee club tries to rally around Kurt, offering support and prayers. Kurt pushes them away because he doesn’t believe as they do and because he’s carrying around so much guilt, because of  his behavior prior to his father’s heart attack, that he has a hard time seeing how everyone is trying to help in their own way. For Kurt, his lesson is not about believing in God but believing in something more than what the five senses tell us.

3) Lastly, Sue’s story with her older sister, Jeannie, is a smaller storyline but just as important. Jeannie has Down’s Syndrome but that has never mattered to Sue. To Sue, she’s everything. She’s Sue’s hero, but Sue noticed, when they were very young, that people would treat Jeannie differently and cruelly. Sue would pray for her sister to get better and when she didn’t, Sue stopped believing. A conversation with Jeannie about God shows how at ease she is with her disorder, while Sue is the one who continues to struggle.

Memorable moments include -

Puck, giving one of the most profound and humorous statements of the show, saying, "Oh, I got no problem with the guy. I'm a total Jew for Jesus. He's my number one Heb. What I don't like seeing is people using J-money to cramp everyone else's style, 'cause it seems to me that true spirituality or whatever you want to call it is about enjoying the life that you've been given. I mean, I see God every time I make out with a new chick."

Brittnay - “Whenever I pray, I fall asleep.”

Jeannie says she doesn't believe God makes mistakes and asks Sue if she wants to be prayed for. Sue's voice cracking a tiny bit as she says, "That'd be nice."

Kurt singing a beautiful stripped down version of “I Want To Hold Your Hand” with flashbacks documenting significant moments with his father, including a not to be missed tea party.

This was an interesting episode. It wanted to say a lot but aside from the stellar performances of Chris Colfer and Jane Lynch, I felt it missed the mark. Wanting to explore spirituality is one thing but to lay it on so thickly is off putting. Why was Rachel singing  "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" Was it because it had the word "papa" in it or was it one of the few "Jewish" songs they could find that wasn't overly religious? I don't know but as beautifully sung as it was, it didn't belong there. Giving Mercedes two spiritual songs, one of which took place in a church, was too much.  There were comments made that didn't feel authentic, as if they were just put there to continually convey the show's message. I strongly believe that the questions asked should be explored but it felt as if they were being crammed down our throats.


I'd also like to point out that I do not believe that Finn wouldn't have known earlier about Burt being in the hospital. Kurt might have forgotten to tell him but Finn's mother knew. Why wouldn't she tell him as soon as she found out? I just don't buy it. I'd also like to know how old was the grilled cheese sandwich before Finn finally ate it? I get the symbolism behind the gesture but eating a cold, several days old grilled cheese sandwich is not that appealing to me. It was moments like these that kept taking me out of the story. I had to keep re-watching in order to find the good moments and it turns out there are many of them.


Jane Lynch was stunning. You could see her pain and anger simmering beneath the surface. Her scene with her sister made me want to cry because it was Jeannie comforting Sue. Chris Colfer was beautiful. He can mesmerize a person with both his acting and singing. Not a small feat, especially for someone so young. Mike O'Malley's portrayal of Burt is unpretentious and wonderful and he didn't even do much in this episode. Even Cory Monteith at the end of the show had me interested. Seeing Finn's faith shaken added a new depth to the character that hadn't previously been there. It's nice to see him growing as an actor. I also want to acknowledge Robin Trocki, the actress who plays Jean Sylvester. It's not often that shows use actors with disabilities, especially older actors with disabilities, and I think it's fantastic Glee does this because not only does it helps color the world of Glee and make it more realistic, but she can act! It's about time. Other than Chris Burke, who played Corky on Life Goes On, when was the last time you saw someone with Down's Syndrome or any other disability playing a role that was meaningful and important? Life Goes On has been off the air since 1993! I don't know about you, but I want a world as diverse as possible when it comes to the shows I watch.


I don't get worked up about a show's message very often. I like asking questions, being forced to think and a good controversy. I might dislike the writing or acting, I might hate where a storyline is going or cheesy special effects (I look to you X-Men Origins: Wolverine) but "Grilled Cheesus" bothered me enough that for a moment, I seriously considered not watching Glee anymore. Then I stopped, thought about it, and decided I love the show too much to just give up on it like that. I'll keep watching and hoping the show pulls itself together and in the meantime, keep you informed on how it's progressing.

* Sorry for the delay.  The other ep. reviews will be out this week and then done as each new ep. comes in.