New York Comic Con has released its first batch of guests. It's not a big batch, but it's an important one.
Listed as Spotlight Guests are:
Amanda Connor - Harley Quinn, Power Girl, Before Watchmen: Silk Spectre Jimmy Palmiotti - Harley Quinn, Wool, Retrovirus, Power Girl, Jonah Hex, Deadpool Jill Thompson - Scary Godmother, Wonder Woman, The Sandman, Death: At Death's Door Charles Soule - Daredevil, She-Hulk, Death of Wolverine, Swamp Thing, Superman/Wonder Woman Humberto Ramos - Extraordinary X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man, Superior Spider-Man, Crimson Nick Spencer - Captain America: Sam Wilson, Morning Glories, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents
And in what is being called his final New York Comic Con Appearance:
The one and only Stan Lee.
I'm a little sad this will be Stan's last NYCC appearance, but it's easy to understand. He's in his 90's, and the traveling takes its toll. Besides, he still has Comikaze Expo. Hopefully, he'll still put in an occasional appearance there.
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The last day of con is always so bittersweet. I'm sad that it's almost over but at the same time, I can't wait to go to sleep and I definitely won't miss the crowds. Sunday at NYCC is also fun/aggravating because it's Kids Day! I like seeing all the adorable cosplaying kids but it's harder to walk since there are tiny obstacles running around. It's also the grossest day of the con since some people fail to observe basic needs. But still, Sunday has some perks, including great deals to be had from dealers that want to carry home as little merch as possible. Sadly, my partner in crime, Wysefyre, was unable to come today so I was bummed that she missed out on the last day merch.
This week, we celebrated Geek Pride Day and the 100th Birthday of the New York Public Library. Even if you haven't been to the NYPL, you still know those iconic lions. (via [insertgeekhere] and Mental Floss)
In crazy spoiler news, if you are interested in The Amazing Spider-Man, check out this clip from Stan Lee about his cameo in the newest flick. Like I said, Villain Spoiler Alert! (via Bleeding Cool)
My favorite thing about geeks is how enterprising we are. If we want something that doesn't exist, we do our best to create it. So this week brought the news of a new con hitting the circuit - Power-Con / Thundercon 2011. This is a joint con for Masters of the Universe and Thundercats fans. Hello my childhood! (via Robot 6)
As San Diego Comic Con gets closer and closer, we get to see how desperate fans get for tickets. It brings a whole new perspective to the event. What would you do for SDCC tickets? (via Bleeding Cool)
If you need a laugh, go and check out Geek to Me's twitter feed because he has started a new hastag about the Most Interesting Geek in the World. It's some funny stuff. (via Geek to Me)
Finally, we want to just say thank you to all of the service men and women that have protected our country with their lives. Have a great Memorial Day weekend.
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This past week was filled with sadness as the worst earthquake in their recorded history hit Japan, resulting in a Tsunami felt throughout the entire Pacific.For more information about how you can help, here's a great article by the Huffington Post. If you are still trying to locate someone, Google released a people finder tool to help. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected.
Free Comic Day is fast approaching, and I can say that I am excited. Not just for the free books but because I never know what I will find. Bleeding Cool has previews for all 33 fcbd books for this year.
Stan Lee is cracking up geeks everywhere this week by finally answering the age old question from Mallrats, "What is the Thing's dork made of?" The answer is what we all expected.
If you are a big Scott Pilgrim fan, you will be happy to learn that there are four unreleased songs from the movie. They are from Beck, who did all of the songs for Sex Bob-omb.
Over at Geek to Me, they have a guest editorial from Sean “Blazek” Emes, who makes a very good argument that competitive gaming should be considered a sport. Having suffered from Wii elbow, I can say that gaming can be very, very physically dangerous.
Next time someone tells you that comics are pointless, idiotic reading for kids, make sure to show them this. For Women's History Month, the Smithsonian has created videos and comics to teach kids and adults about some of science's most influential women.
Pssst... Did you know that we are having a Bonanza? A crazy Autograph Bonanza where we give stuff away? Wanna take part? ;)
And now, just because its funny, I give you Angry Batbirds. You can check out more of them here.
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The Guardian Project comes to life today at the NHL All Star game, on the Versus Network at 4 pm ET. This will be the kick-off of the largest group of new superheroes in comic history. Each team has their very own hero, with unique abilities. With 30 original superheroes, Stan Lee has truly mastered a huge undertaking. Today, we get to see what the very first mission is that the Guardians undertake to protect the world.
My Hometown Team!
Over the past few weeks, they have been releasing photos of their heroes on the Guardian Project Facebook page. Video clips of the heroes have also been seen on the Versus network. Each of these Guardians have been designed by the great Neal Adams.
This new universe keeps sounding better and better, and I am getting more and more excited. Go check out The Guardian Project now!
If you haven't heard, there have been some exciting developments at Marvel this week - Tom Brevoort was promoted to Senior Vice President of Publishing and Axel Alonso was named Editor-in-Chief. With Joe Quesada moving up to Chief Creative Officer, this is going to bring forth a new age of Marvel (cue dramatic music). Completing the trifecta of Marvel family news, Stan "The Man" Lee received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. To celebrate, we're dedicating this week to all things Marvel.
For Major Brevoort -
What I like about this video is that it manages to capture the intensity and scope of the story in just a few minutes while leaving you wanting more.
For Colonel Alonso -
Who would have thought Wolverine's Theme to be so mellow and Jewel-like?
And for Generalissimo Lee -
I think Spider-Man's animated evolution coupled with The Ramones is a wonderful way to illustrate the long journey Monsieur Lee has been on. He keeps getting bigger and better and rocks hard!
Congratulations everyone! You deserve it and we can't wait to see what you do next.
@Wilderowens here with more NYCC info. While at NYCC, the whole team was able to attend the Guardian Project Panel starring Stan Lee! (Unfortunately, we were not allowed cameras or recording devices, so I will do my best to explain what we saw through words and mime.) To be honest, we had no idea what this panel was about, just that there was a Stan Lee signing attached. That sold us. We were near the front of the line and waited for about two hours, just chatting with Deadpool and working on our schedules.
As part of this panel, we got limited edition numbered posters designed by Neal Adams, which is neat. So going in, we rush to get as close as we can to Stan..I mean, the stage. Still no clue what's going on. Then it starts....
I have to take a minute to talk about introductions. At these events, the moderator introduces each panelist with some small details. However, big names don't get introductions because everyone knows them. Stan Lee, well he hates being introduced as "the Man that needs no introduction", so he was kindly introduced as "The Man Who Loves People" Stan Lee!
The Guardian Project is a joint venture with the National Hockey League, but is not going to be a hockey story. The main protagonist will be a human boy who has the ability to summon a number of heroes with a wide range of unique powers. The heroes will be original creations from Stan Lee, each based on an NHL team. There weren't any clarifications made about the actual plot, but based on what we saw it seemed kind of like a Ben 10-esque action show targeting a younger audience.
Stan Lee talked about how he played street hockey as a kid and how excited he was to work on this. He was originally going to do this with another unnamed league but they dropped out at the last minute. He loves hockey so to do this with the NHL seems like his dream come true. Stan Lee was the one who brought Neal Adams in to create the art, which is spectacular.
We also heard from some staffers on the project and learned some fun facts. This project took eight years to figure out how to work a story around the teams. The NHL saw this as a great way to connect with their younger fan base. They truly wanted to be partners in this project. We got to see an exclusive trailer with the characters. (And this is where the mime begins.) We saw all 30 characters but they ran by very, very quickly for the most part. The one that really stuck with me was the San Jose Sharks hero, who was a regular guy with a shark head. He looked really cool. They also showcased the NY Rangers hero (way to play to the crowd) and he was an actually ranger! The one that they featured the most was the LA Kings, who appears to be the centerpiece of the NHL Guardians. In the video, they also talked about motion capturing actors to simulate the heroes, which leads me to believe that this might also be a TV series but nothing was clarified.
The initial reaction from comic book fans that I spoke with about this was a not-so-optimistic reaction. I have to admit, my first thought was similar, but after they kept talking about it, I began to change my mind.
1- They are creating brand new characters, not reusing the mascots.
2- The stories are told in the hockey world, but not about hockey.
3- These comics are not for you and me, they are being written for a youth crowd. That makes a lot more sense.
Their big reveal is on January 30, 2011 in Raleigh, NC. Stay tuned here for more updates.
@Getsuyobi here for our third and final recap of our day at New York Comic Con. Sunday held a lot of special events at the con: Kid's Day, Movie Screenings, Special Panels and last but not least, our own personal Legends Day. As you may have read in our Friday recap, we scored not one or two but three tickets to the Guardian Project Stan Lee signing this afternoon. In addition to looking forward to that, it was also the day we planned on camping for signatures from the Romita family. How did it all go? Well... we had successes and frustrations, but in the end we escaped the day with our coveted autographs.
Before the drama, let's talk about what else was going on in Con-Land on Sunday. As I mentioned it was Kid's Day at NYCC and the young nerds-to-be were out in full force. Children under 12 got in free and there were plenty of activities planned to focus on this huge demographic of tiny people. Animated Heroes had a big presence with the premiere of Cartoon Network's "Firebreather", a Ben 10 Celebration for 10/10/10, Marvel's Super Hero Squad, and many more presentations and panels. There were also lots of constructive events like drawing lessons and lightsaber training. The best part of it all was probably the adorable costumes the kids got to dress up in. It looked like Party City's Halloween section exploded in the lobby. We got to see little heroes, Jedis and even what appeared to be a lightsaber toting hobbit (for real).
There were also plenty of "adult" events going on (not like that, perv!). With panels for AMC's The Walking Dead, the 10th anniversary of Unbreakable, a screening of the new full length Gundam 00 movie, and spotlights featuring the likes of John Romita Jr. & Sr. and the cult legend, Bruce Campbell. Many of these were on our schedule for the day, but unfortunately most were missed. As promised we have a tale of heartache and drama for the last day of Comic Con 2010.
It started as any other Con day would, masses of people of all ages walking to the Javits Center with their poster tubes and foam swords in hand. Our first priority of the day, mine especially, was the last Autograph Alley session with the Romita family. If you don't know who the Romitas are (shut your head in a door), they are a father and son duo who both have an amazing body of work in the comic industry. Most notably each penciled for Amazing Spider-Man in their respective generations. I was the first on line at the table at 10:30am for the noon signing. I got to speak with some other die hard fans while waiting, and wait we did... well past noon. Due to a scheduling snafu (yeah I said snafu) the Romitas were not aware that close to 100 fans were waiting on line to meet and greet them. The staff at the Alley and the team at the Marvel booth were very sympathetic and did everything they could to get people to another scheduled signing at the Marvel booth. The [insertgeekhere] team ran into a unique dilemma however; while we were promised places in line if we went to the Marvel booth, we now had only 15 minutes before the ticketed Stan Lee signing. Luckily, a very helpful NYCC Hero was able to work with us and alert the booth that if we could make it they'd let us in. So, dejected but still hopeful, we headed downstairs to meet Mr. Lee.
The Stan "The Man" Lee signing was a ticketed raffle event from the Guardian Project (more on that later, we promise) panel on Friday. As we waited on line we got to chat with some other lucky winners. One of whom was actually already a reader of IGH! Before we knew it the line began to move and we were all very excited, that is until the line kept moving past the room and up the escalator... confused glances were exchanged and questions to the staff went unanswered. Like lost sheep, we each followed the person in front of us hoping that our journey was not to a slaughterhouse. The line quickly dissolved as we were led through the main lobby of the Javits Center and some courageous leadership by our own @Wysefyre kept most of us together. We were led to a balcony meeting room and we all hastily formed a new line holding our tickets up so that others could find us in the crowd of the lobby. A little annoyed, but happy to have gotten through, everyone started to get out their various prints and books out for the signing. Then we were told by a staff member that Mr. "The Man" would only be signing the poster that was given out at the Guardian Project panel... the same one that many did not have on them because no such instruction was given at the panel. Annoyance turned to anger as we felt more and more like we were being toyed with. The angry fans who did not have a poster were able to negotiate a signature on their raffle ticket, but nothing more. Once the signing started it was a cattle drive through as guards took the posters from the fans and handed them to Stan, who in turn signed them and put them on the table to be retrieved. The whole event was being videotaped and photographed for their own PR and the already disheartened fans were asked to step aside and not block their shots of Stan signing like a robot.
After the Stan Lee debacle we raced to the Marvel booth, where the staff from Autograph Alley was able to get us to the front of the line. We all got our signatures from the Romitas as well as genuine apologies for the scheduling error that led to our morning drama. After surviving all of that the team was pretty much shot. We'd had a roller coaster ride of emotions and traveled the length of the jam-packed Con floor twice over. One last sweep of the floor to say hello to the Blind Ferret crew and the Tenacious Toys team and we decided that we'd take a lunch break and ended the day at Burgers & Cupcakes on 9th Ave. On the way out we were met with some karmic fortune and actually ran into Mark Waid, lead writer for multiple Marvel titles and the creator and writer of Irredeemable from BOOM! Expecting nothing more than to be able to gush a little and express our appreciation for his work we were all thrilled when he offered to sign something for us and even take a picture!
In much higher spirits we enjoyed a great lunch of custom burgers and gourmet cupcakes. I had a burger with cheddar and double-thick bacon, then for dessert a marble cupcake with chocolate and peanut butter ganache. With only an hour left of the Con we decided to lick our wounds (and cupcakes) and call it a early day. As we all dozed on the train home, we reflected on all the ups and downs of the day. It was by far the strangest close of a Con for any of us and we all will have lots more opinions and thoughts to share. Over the next few days, we all plan to review our notes and come out with some more in-depth reviews and commentaries, so please stay tuned for more. If you want to know when we do update, give us a follow @IGHInsider.
Wilderowens here with our Quickie Recap for Day 2.
We all overslept so we got to the hall around 11am. Getsuyobi went to wander the floor in search of comic book cover prints while Wysefyre and I went to the ReedPop resume session. I was able to talk with a member of their HR team about possible career opportunities and Wysefyre asked about volunteering. After that, Wysefyre started a crazy amount of panels, and I wandered the floor.
During my wanderings, I met so many great people, so here is the rundown. First up, Mike Cavallaro, the artist for The Life and Times of Savior 28 (and the number one thing I was looking forward to). It was awesome to talk with him and exchange contact info. I plan to write more about him and Savior 28 in the future. I learned about another project he worked on called Foiled and also met Jane Yolen, the writer. I got the first book and learned that they are working on the second one.
I met Matthew Dow Smith when I got a copy of the Supernatural comic signed for my sister. He also works on the Dr. Who comics, which I must start to read. I continued to wander and found a copy of Firebreather and got it autographed by Phil Hester and Andy Kuhn. They are premiering the Cartoon Network movie tomorrow! Finally, I got to hang with the great Georges Jeanty. He is the main artist for the Buffy comics and quite possibly the friendliest guy I know. Love him and his work!
While I was hobknobbing, Getsuyobi was at The Thing panel and Wysefyre was at a whole bunch of panels. She was in an amazing Voiceover panel that she hasn't stopped talking about, that was run by Emmy-winning vocal director, Stevie Vallance. She attended the LXD panel, which is an amazing dance group that has a web series. This group also includes our favorite Glee dancer, Harry Shum Jr. or as you know him, Mike Chang.
After lunch, I went to the V Panel (also on my list) and there was so much goodness in that panel that all I can say is wow. I promise to elaborate soon. :) Getsyobi and Wysefyre attended the Comedy Central panels:Ugly Americans and Nick Swardson's Pretend Time. I couldn't make it inside but I could hear the laughter and all I heard was how funny it was.
For tomorrow, we have Legends Day. We have our Stan Lee tickets and we are going to get on the line for the John Romita, Sr. & Jr. signing. If you are on the line, find us! We always love a good line party.
Day one of New York Comic Con is over and we are now slowly recovering and preparing for day two. We'll go into more details about the panels after NYCC but here's a brief recap of the day for the IGH team.
Getsuyobi and I got on to the exhibition hall around 12-12:15. We had all upgraded to the VIP passes and that alone made it worthwhile. Wilderowens, unfortunately, had to deal with her day job and joined us about an hour later. We walked around the somewhat empty floor, checking out the booths and picking up fun, free swag. Video games were tested, Yeti codes were looked for with blacklights over at the Animal Planet booth (check it out, it's awesome!), we got to see some amazing costumes and then we headed over to the Cultyard.
The Cultyard was cool. We saw a lot of great vendors. One of our favorites was the RockLove. Her jewelry is amazing. Wilderowens and I each got the Zydrate Gun necklace. We will be talking more about RockLove later on. We also got to make good on a promise to bring cookies to Marvel's own Jeff Suter. While on our quest to find him, we also got to meet Tim Dillon, which made me happy because I've been following him on Twitter for a long time and wanted to say hi. Then Wilderowens went in search for the elusive and coveted Frank Miller signing bracelet and Getsuyobi and I went downstairs to enjoy overpriced pretzels, sit and chat with tired Con goers and check out the panels.
This is the point of the adventure where we hit some troubled waters. Stan Lee was going to be doing a panel after one I had really wanted to go to. The plan had been to go to the X-Men panel and stay for Stan Lee. However, because the Stan Lee Guardian panel involved tickets to a signing with Stan, the room was to be emptied after X-Men. Since meeting Stan is a huge opportunity, the decision was made to give up X-Men and wait on line for Stan. Getsuyobi and I snagged a spot right at the front of the line and Wilderowens joined us shortly, her quest for the bracelet ending in disappointment. :( We camped out on the line for nearly two hours and made friends with several of the people around us, including the gal who will eventually become Slutty Big Bird and Deadpool.
The panel information says that in order to go to that signing, attendance at the Guardian panel was required, but no one knew how that was going to be handled. We had hoped that by getting on line early, they would be handing out tickets at the door and the first 60-100 people who got in would get the tickets. It turned out not to be the case. We were all let into the room and during the panel, told to check under our seats for a ticket. I don't know how we got so lucky but all three of us scored a ticket and we're going to meet Stan Lee on Sunday!!! We're so excited about this but do wish they had been a little clearer about what was going to happen.
After we got out and finished celebrating our ridiculously amazing good fortune, we headed over to catch the second half of the "Note to the Spiderman IV Movie People: Be True to Your Parker" with Tom DeFalco and, who I think was, Fred Van Lente. It was a fun fan forum-type panel that had a very funny crowd. Then we had hoped to learn more about how to be better bloggers at the Geek's Guide to Podcasting and Blogging panel but were disappointed to find it was a panel entirely about podcasting. Oh well. We were all starving at that point anyway, so we cut out early and went to Ben's Restaurant for dinner.
At Ben's, they were having a rehearsal for their new interactive comedy, The Bar Mitzvah of Harry Boychick. It was interesting trying to eat dinner with people coming up to you, trying to get you to participate but the best part was just as we were getting ready to head over to the Geek Girls Network tweet up, the drama started to unfold and getting out was a little difficult. We wanted to know what happened but we also really wanted to leave. It looks like it'll be a really fun show and we'll try to come back and see it.
The tweet up was held at Stitch Bar & Lounge and featured the music of Kirby Krackle. Lots of fun was had, though it was a little difficult to hear the person standing next to you. We got to meet new people and catch up with others we hadn't seen in a while. We then decided it was time for sleep and headed home, hoping to go to bed at a semi-respectable hour, so we'd be ready for day two of the con because day two is always more insane than day one. More people, more panels, more chaos, and more fun! We are doing our best to tweet when we can, so keep watch on our twitter @IGHInsider!
With less than one week to go, we're working out our final "plan of attack." We have different things we are going after, so we're sharing our top 5 picks.
Wilderowens Picks
1. Mike Cavallaro - The Artist for The Life and Times of Savior 28
I never enjoyed a comic book like I enjoyed Savior 28. This book tells the story of the fall from grace of the worlds favorite Superhero. The art reminds me of classic Action Comics or Captain America and the story is a haunting portrayal of what happens to those we admire, especially in America. This is the comic book that I truly enjoyed and can't wait to thank him for it.
2. The V Panel
One of the panels I wanted to see at San Diego Comic Con that I just didn't make it into. I think this is an awesome show that pushes some boundaries, especially for network TV. Since the show doesn't come back until November, there may be some great spoilers for the new season.
3. The Unbreakable Panel
This movie is my favorite Shamalayn movie, so celebrating it during con is a highlight for me. Yes, I know that this isn't really recent but sometimes it is a good thing to remember the past enjoyments. And, considering all those involved in the film, those "special surprises" could be pretty awesome.
4. Artist Alley
The best thing at NYCC is Artist Alley. It is huge, filled with artists from every area of the comic world and they are all willing to hang out with you. Every year, I pick up amazing pieces of art from artists that I love and artists that I just met. If you want to connect with the heart of the comic world, spend some time in Artist Alley.
5. The Cultyard
I am not really sure how this will turn out but I am excited. It is being billed as a eclectic grouping of vendors with a lot of artistic talent. With all of the vendors there, I foresee myself spending a lot of money.
Wysefyre's Picks
1. Stan Lee, John Romita Sr. and John Romita Jr.
I don't think I need to explain much about this. These men are icons and their words and art showed me a different way to tell a story and ultimately set me on the path to geekdom. I am willing to wait outside all night, if it means I get a chance to say thank you to any or all of these men. If not, I'll settle for seeing them in panel.
2. The LXD featuring John. M. Chu
The LXD are some of the most amazing dancers you will ever see and if you're a Gleek, you'll recognize Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike aka the other Asian)as one of their dancers. The dance series can be viewed on Hulu or their website. Director Jon M. Chu (Step Up 2: The Streets, Step Up 3D) will be showing a sneak preview and answering questions.
3. Anime Press Your Luck
I grew up watching games shows and this was by far, one of my favorites. It was the Whammys. They got me every time. While I'm not a huge anime fan, I think it's a perfect fit for Press Your Luck and I'm really excited to see how Sonic Whammy Enterprises pulls this off.
4. Intro to Animation Voice-Over Acting with Stevie Vallance
As someone who's studied acting, voice-over work interests me for a variety of reasons. I'm dying to know more about the process and the chance to turn myself into a "Toon" and watch others do so is going to be fricking hilarious.
5. Bruce Campbell
The man is finally coming to NYCC. Not only is he the star of the Evil Dead movies and currently co-starring on Burn Notice but he's done oodles of movies, tons of voice work and is an accomplished author. He's Bruce Campbell. baby. Need I say more?
What are you excited about and what do you think we are missing?
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