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:

Spider Island Infests NYC!

This Wednesday, the web hits the fan as Spider Island overtakes NYC.  The summer of 2011 will be known as the summer of the Marvel cross-over events.  Marvel’s Fear Itself is kicking into high gear and the hammer-fest still has a ways to go before the grand finale.  There’s also the mutant version of a messy divorce that is Schism, happening on the west coast.  (From what I understand Wolverine & Cyclops go to war with each other over the decorative china).  Meanwhile on the East Coast our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man leaps right into Spider Island, one of the biggest Spidey-centric cross-overs in years.  In preparation for the event the Marvel Marketing Machine (alliteration!) has the web-head’s home town covered.  More on that in a bit.

He looks like Sesame Street's resident meth addict.

The thing that makes any super-hero “super” is that they’re one of a kind.  Someone with skills or abilities beyond normal people, and they use those abilities to be a symbol and a beacon for everyone else.  So... what happens when everyone else gets to have your super powers too?  It’s no secret that the Earth-shattering event that is the crux of Spider Island involves every man, woman, child & apparently some of the animals in New York City mysteriously gaining the powers of the Amazing Spider-Man.  The pieces have been falling into place for a few months now, first with teasers and rumors, then with the prologue “Infested: The Road to Spider Island”.  Manhattanites begin showing displays of spider-proportionate strength, sticking to walls that they shouldn’t, and other high flying acrobatics.  All the while watched by a menacing furry green figure that fans immediately will recognize as the Jackal.  The Jackal may be the most hated and despised villain of the whole spidey-verse; however that’s mostly because he was responsible for the never-ending clone saga.



While the mention of the Jackal may be enough to give fans who remember the clone saga a headache, I personally am psyched to see how Dan Slott treats the character.  The Amazing Spider-Man has been helmed by Slott since last November and in my opinion we’ve seen some of the best new stories in years.  He’s earned my trust and I am ready and raring to go for his latest tale. 


There are tons of rumors and spoilers circling the internet in the wake of San Diego Comiccon, but to be honest I hate spoilers.  I prefer to stay away from the message boards and let the story unfold.  I have however read some interviews and info that came about from the SDCC Spider-man panel and the things implied have me incredibly excited for the future.



The fallout of Spider Island will be truly epic and the possibilities for some amazing storytelling seems boundless.  Millions of normal people swinging around Manhattan?  Crazy.  All the other super-hero denizens of Manhattan also getting spider-powers?  Wild!  What about the villains, them too?  Holy Web-shooters Batman!  Ready for the big one?  J Jonah Jameson, spiderfied.  ::mind ‘splode::

The Amazing Brush-Head

The idea of not only seeing my favorite super-heroes slug it out, but the entire ASM supporting cast fighting alongside them is something that, as a  fan, I honestly would never have even thought of as a possibility.  The other twist will be that Peter Parker will get to swing mask-free without fear of exposure for the first time since Civil War.  In fact, Dan Slott has said this will be a Peter Parker story. 


And who better to save the day?  As a fan I’ve always identified with Peter Parker on a very personal level.  The struggles he’s gone through as Peter, especially in the past few years have really struck home and solidified my connection to the character.

It begs the question: Where did MJ's shirt go?

If your excited as I am, then you wanna celebrate the kicking off of this event.  Maybe even get the down-low from the creators?  Well, Dan Slott and crew are obliging in a big way this week.  First, there’s "Spider Island in the Club" at the People's Improv Theatre tonight 7/26 at 8pm. Tickets are a mere $5 and you'll get to hear it straight from the man himself. Sponsored partly by Midtown Comics you can also count on plenty of great prizes and giveaways. Then Wednesday night to celebrate the release of the aptly numbered issue #666 Dan Slott, Fred Van Lente & Joe Caramanga will be doing a signing from 6 - 7pm at MidTown Comics downtown store. I'm going to do everything I can to get to both, so check it out and keep an eye out for us!

This post was brought to you by the letter "Ooooooooo"

Review: Alpha Flight #0.1

Alpha Flight is an odd Point One issue because it is not a jumping on point for an ongoing series. Alpha Flight is a series that is being resurrected, so I looked at this more as a primer. 

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

go read another tasty article on [insertgeekhere].

In this issue, we get to meet Alpha Flight, a team of Canadian superheroes. They were brought back to life during the Chaos War and now they continue to protect Canada. The country is thrown into chaos because of the upcoming election and poor economy.  As we see each Alpha Flight member get called to help stop the damage, we learn about each member and the past that still haunts them.  Ultimately, it is their past that put Canada in the danger they are fighting.

I didn't love or hate this issue but I left it feeling intrigued. I felt like I had questions but not anything that hurts the story for me. The story did a great job introducing the characters and a bit about their different personalities.  They also set the stage for ongoing political unrest, including in the ranks of the superheroes too.  As the story unfolds, I am sure we will see what problems Northstar and Guardian have with the government.  I wonder how long it will take Northstar to rejoin the team. 

Finally, it was a nice change to read a superhero comic not set in America.  It does have a different feel, although it is hard to explain.  I think that overall, this is a good introduction to this team and I am intrigued to see what happens next.

Alpha Flight #0.1

Written by Fred Van Lente and Greg Pak

Art by Ben Oliver with Dan Green

My Point One Journey so far: 
* Point One Update
* Review: Secret Avengers
* Review: The Avengers

* Review: Uncanny X-Men

* Review: Thor
* Review: Captain America
* Review: Uncanny X-Force

* Review: Hulk

* Review: Deadpool

* Review: The Amazing Spider-Man
* Review: Wolverine

* Review: The Invincible Iron Man

* My Point One Plan

* The info about the Point One Initiative

 

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My Time at MoCCA Fest!

I went to MoCCA Fest for the first time this year and I went as a volunteer. Volunteering is an awesome, fun way to support your show and your comic addiction all in one. I highly recommend it as a unique way to see the show. While you won’t have as much freedom than if you went as just a fan, there are a lot of benefits to volunteering. You meet and work with amazing people who are as passionate as you are about geek culture. You also get to see the show in a way fans never realize. The work that goes into these festivals and cons is insane and crazy and not always organized, but the passion is always there and it shows in every worker that is there. The show also provides you with great incentives. For volunteering I received a free pass to the show, meals, a t-shirt and a ton of free books at the end. If you are going to volunteer though, please honor your commitment. These organizations only succeed because of volunteer support and dropping out at the last minute is unfair to them and the other volunteers.

I was working on the programming team, which meant a few things. There was a lot of technical setup, some actual responsibility in making sure that the panels ran smoothly and the panelists were happy, and the opportunity to see a lot of awesome panels. I promise, I did work, but it was great to see panels I never would have gotten to see if I was on my own. Plus, I got to meet and hear some amazing people at the panels including Jerry Robinson, Jackson Publick, R. Sikoryak, Bill Plympton, Al Jaffee, Kate Beaton, Sarah Glidden, Lisa Hanawalt and Jeffrey Lewis. Even when I was standing outside of the panel guarding the door, I got to meet Greg Houston, an illustrator for NBM. While at the time he was just looking for caffeine, we chatted, and I have had the chance to look at some of his work and it is fantastic. I really hope to learn more about his upcoming projects soon.


The most entertaining panel I attended was The Cross Hatch Carousel. It was a live comic reading starring Kate Beaton, Lisa Hanawalt, Jackson Publick, Julie Klausner, Jeffrey Lewis and R. Sikoryak with my Programming boss Brian Heater moderating. For all of you thinking how can reading comics out loud be entertaining, you just have no idea. The excitement that they brought to the reading really made it fun. Also, the comics were just super funny. Because of this panel, I actually cornered R. Sikoryak (He told me to call him Bob! Squeee!!!) and made sure that he put me on his mailing list for the next reading. I will make sure to bring Wysefyre and Getsuyobi for all of the fun.


The most interesting panel I attended was the Batman, The Joker and Beyond: The Career of Jerry Robinson. I loved hearing all the side stories about his work. Two tidbits stuck in my mind. Mr. Robinson’s brother was a champion bridge player and his family played a lot of cards. When he was up one night working, the idea struck him for a new villain and he grabbed a deck of cards from them and The Joker was born. The second tidbit was in the creation of the sidekick for Batman. Despite popular belief, he didn’t name Robin after himself. When they were working on a name for this character, Mr. Robinson thought back to his favorite story, Robin Hood, and that’s where we got the Boy Wonder from. It was neat to learn about comic history from someone who was there living it.

Despite my busy panel working schedule, I did get a chance to walk around the show a bit. I got to meet a ton of interesting people. I actually hit up a lot of the same places that Wysefyre and Getsuyobi went. I swung by Jeph Jacques to pick up my own copy of Questionable Content after reading Getsuyobi’s copy. I also visited Pronto Comics and Lush Comics and had a blast talking with those two publishers. We really hope to bring you more from them soon. I stopped by the Evil Twin Comics table to say hi to Fred Van Lente and Greg Pak, who was sharing the table on Sunday. I got a copy of Greg Pak’s Vision Machine, which was a fantastic story. I encourage you to read it and I will be posting more about it soon. I got an awesome necklace from Amy Lynn Duengfelder’s table. She had some fantastic stuff and I am looking forward to really exploring her work. At Richard Codor’s table, I picked up a signed copy of the Joyous Haggadah, which is totally getting me in the Passover spirit. I also saw some great Star Trek, Star Wars and X-Men artwork at Justin Peterson’s table but at that point I was out of cash and totally kicking myself. His website is on my list to visit next payday! Same thing happened at Braden Lamb’s table, where I saw some terrific Star Wars art. Serves me right for being conservative at the ATM. One thing I did miss on the floor was the freebies and discounts that a lot of the volunteers were getting from the vendors. I was so focused on the tables I wanted to see that I missed out on some good deals but maybe next year!

I really enjoyed the feel of the show. It was a group of creators that really wanted to just hang with their fans. Yes, Wysefyre is right that there were creators that didn’t sell themselves correctly, but this is a nice change from a big con. I really didn’t miss the tables and tables of back issue sellers and was totally happy to be in a giant Artist Alley. Next year, you should join me as a volunteer if you can because it is a great experience for a great organization.

Let us know what you thought of MoCCA, did you love it, hate it....

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MoCCA Fest Musings & Tips

MoCCA Fest was this past weekend, and it was an interesting experience. Part of what was appealing to me about it was that it's a great place for indie comic creators to display their work. I didn't know what to expect, but I went in hoping for a good time and a chance to be introduced to new works.

Saturday, Getsuyobi and I arrived around 2 pm, Wilderowens was already there volunteering (she'll tell you all it),  and we walked the exhibition floor. We stopped at few booths, but other than a few exhibitors who we were familiar with, we didn't meet a lot of new people. There was something about the vibe of the show that didn't seem to work for us. Talking about it later, we came up with some reasons why.  Here they are as well as a few tips on how to make things better for next year.

1 - The accessibility of the exhibitor. It is hard to approach someone when they are deep in conversation with their friends or when they appear to be intensely concentrating on their latest piece. We want to be able to talk to you about your work but when your head is down and you don't even notice us standing there, then we will walk on by.

2 - Lack of assertiveness. The exhibitors are there to show off their work, so what aren't they calling us over or simply saying hello when they see us look their way? There was a guy from Pantsless Comics who was saying the most random things but also calling attention to himself and his group. It was impossible to ignore him and they were great to talk to. I'm not saying randomness is the only way to get people's attention, but it doesn't hurt. A little assertiveness goes a long way.

3 - Have a business card. I understand that many of the exhibitors might not be comfortable in this kind of environment. It might be their first time or they're not used to the crowds or whatever, so I get that it might be a little difficult for them to sell themselves and their products. They also might just be very busy. BUT if I want to get in touch with you and find out more about your work and maybe even help promote it, I need to be able to contact you. Vista Print offers free and low cost business cards. Get some and then hand them out to everyone who expresses an interest. 

And finally, this last tip might not be doable for everyone but it definitely can only help the creator - try to bring with you someone who knows and supports your work. That way if you have to go to the bathroom or need a break, someone will be there to promote your work while you're gone. I bring this up because one of the more fascinating comics I saw was from Origami Comics. The comic was shaped as a fortune teller. I loved those as a kid. It was beautiful to look at, and I definitely wanted to talk to Ken Wong, but he was nowhere to be found. The people next to him gave me his card but they could not answer any questions about it. That one made me really sad. I'm definitely going to try and find him at NYCC. So please try to bring someone who can give you extra support.

Now that I've talked about some of the not so great experiences, let me discuss the good. The people that we did speak to were great. I came across a most unexpected find with Ryan Sias' children's book "are you eating something RED?" It's the perfect gift for my niece.

Fred Van Lente and the fake Ryan Dunlavey (Fred's wife) were wonderful. Had a lot of fun with them at the Evil Twin Comics table. Mrs. Van Lente knows how to sell. She saw us looking at the table, told us about the various works and encouraged us to pick stuff up and mess everything up (within reason, of course), and Mr. Van Lente talked to us about his work and was just very approachable.  

Pronto Comics was there. They do a lot of work helping creators self-publish projects, collaborative and solo, as well as helping creators build their portfolios. One of these days, I will make it to one of their meetings. I want to see how it all works.

TopatoCo was awesome as always. They have great stuff and given my slightly unnatural love for Questionable Content, it's always nice to see Jeph Jacques. Getsuyobi got an autographed QC book complete with a Pintsize drawing.

Finally, we got to talk to Lush Comics. Lush Comics is a comic book publishing platform for folks who want to share and sell their art. It was great talking to Justin Mound about it and we plan on getting more info so we can pass it along to you. 

So overall, for Getsuyobi and I, the Fest was a mixed bag. Some good, some not so good and some just okay. Now that I have an idea of what it is like, next year I'll be better prepared. 

Did you go to MoCCA Fest '11? What did you think? Do you agree or disagree with my tips? And do you have any suggestions? Let us know!

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Are You Ready for an Autograph Bonanza?

If you have been following [insertgeekhere] lately, you may have noticed that we have gone to a lot of events lately. Combine that with my secret stash, and do you know what I have? A BONANZA!


Not just any bonanza, but an autograph bonanza! And I'm not just calling it that because I like the word bonanza. We have a crazy amount of autographed items to give away!


We have in stock:

Supernatural: Origins #6 signed by artist Matthew Dow Smith

American Vampire #12 signed by writer and creator Scott Snyder

Comic Book Comics: All Lawsuit Issue #5 signed by writer Fred Van Lente and artist Ryan Dunlavey

The Fall signed by writers Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan


And for good measure, a sealed death bag of Fantastic Four #587, which has a chance of being signed by Jonathan Hickman.


Excited yet?!


To win, you gotta follow us at @ighinsider and tweet this or post it on our Facebook page. Do both for double entries!

"Come on down to [insertgeekhere]'s Autograph Bonanza!" 

Contest ends March 26th at midnight EST and is open to US and Canada only.

Comics Book Comics Release Party

This Wednesday, I attended the Midtown Comics Release Party for Comic Book Comics #5 by Fred Van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey. This series studies the history of the comic industry, with this issue dedicated to the comic lawsuits. Also on the panel was Jeff Trexler, the pro bono lawyer and writer for Newsrama, who consulted on the issue. The panel was expertly moderated by Midtown Comics' own Thor Parker, who introduced himself this time. ;)


The lecture started off with the guys telling us two of the stories from the book. This was the same slide show given at the NYU law school. The two stories they read were The Grabbers and Mouse Pirates. The Grabbers is about the copyright fights between creators and publishers, with a focus on the Copyright Act of 1976. The Mouse Pirates is about a publisher that parodied Disney characters into porn. Both Van Lente and Dunlavey (Dunlavey even had a cold!) impressed me with how well they did voices for all of their characters. Guys, if comics doesn't work out, go into voice acting.

After storytime, we learned about how this issue came to be. It took a long time to research for stories. After Van Lente wrote it, they had Trexler check everything. He did say that Van Lente did a great job on research.


One fan asked how this series has been received by Marvel, since they both have worked for Marvel. According to Dunlavey, Marvel is a big fan of this series and even tried to do one with him but it didn't pan out. Van Lente did stress that the stories in this issue reflect very different regimes in these stories. Trexler added that comics like this and internet forums have made companies rethink how they handle pursuing cases. They are now much more open and transparent.


The best tidbit that came out of this whole discussion is this from Van Lente. When discussing the impact that this history had on the industry compared to other industries, he said that the history of comics is held up by certain franchises, which makes it hard for creators to parody or satire. The companies may never be able to pay back creators.

I even asked a question! I asked about the stories they found that didn't make it in to the book. There were two stories they mentioned. One was about the Trademark and Copyright characters on the front of the book. They had a story about the differences between trademarks and copyrights, but Van Lente said it just didn't fit with the flow. The other story was a comic version of the Creators Bill of Rights as an airline pamphlet. When Dunlavey began to sketch it out, it was just too big of an undertaking for it to fit. I would still like to see that if you get a chance though!


Finally, we got a little insight into the next issue, which is sadly the last one. In it is the Future of the Comics Industry including Japanese comics, graphic novels, digital comics and piracy.


If you are interested in the law or comic history or just plain fun, go pick up this issue. I personally find the law incredible boring but this kept my attention. They made the subject matter fun and easy to understand. The story they didn't read, 1986 AD is a fascinating read about how American Comics impacted in Britain with Captain Marvel at the center of it all! Go pick it up today!!!


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New York Comic Con 2010: Quickie Recap - Day 1

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!

Stay tuned for Quickie Recap - Day 2! - Wysefyre