DCC: Day 2

Denver Comic Con:  Day 2

What a long day it was.

Day 2 of DCC was everything I expected it to be.  Crowded.  While the numbers didn't match CCI by a long shot, the density did, but it in no way prevented me from having just as much fun.  On the contrary, because of the reduced numbers, I knew I wouldn't have to wait as long for panels which meant more time to explore.

Cosplay:
Once again, the costumes came out and, for better or worse, at least these folks had the cojones to try.  There were some pretty amazing creations.  I saw a Gambit I wanted to molest, but he cruised through the crowd too quickly to snap a pic.  Still, I captured as many as I could with my subpar camera.  I'm hoping my friend Tony, with his super pro digital SLR will be willing to share.  For the day (and what I captured), I think the girl who rocked Miss Martian Manhunter was by far my favorite. While her costume wan't the most intricate, she embraced the whole character.

You can check out all of my DCC cosplay photos on my DCC 2012 Facebook album.

Artists and Exhibits:
I spent most of Day 2 going through Artist Alley and the Independent webcomics area.  While the merch is cool, I love to meet the people who are putting their blood, sweat and tears into their work.  These guys are the most fun to talk to.  Their portfolios are phenomenal, and I can't understand why some of them haven't been picked up by some major labels.  Remember, I've seen some pretty crappy art in my comic reviews.  Ugh.  They work for pennies and everyone is willing to do work on commission.  It's pretty amazing of them.

The other place that I'm so excited about is the DEAD Academy.  This local school is all about helping artists and budding artists learn more about comics, writing, drawing, film and fx.  They offer classes and workshops to help anyone learn more about some of their amazing crafts.  I'm definitely going to explore this more and it makes me feel good that I'm helping to support local.  Where in middle-America do you find something like this?

Panels:
I like the smaller panels like the ones at this con, because it gives you a chance to learn about just one of the people, the main focus, and your hour isn't split among several people.  I was also impressed that the "crowd questions" were far more interesting and complex than some at CCI.  People here actually listened and changed their question if it had already been asked.  Kudos, Denver.

James Marsters - Ah, Spike.  What else can you say about James Marsters, but he grows on you.  He was able to take that badboy vampire that you love to hate and turn him into a character that you loved to love.  Even since, with his roles on Smallville and Torchwood, that smile just can't be beat. And for those of you that missed it, he was sporting quite the package in his tight black jeans. Wat that a stake in his pocket or...?

The best Marsters story of the panel revolved around his "gay kiss" in Torchwood.  It seems that his fiancé found it super sexy, his director found it entertaining enough to do about 20 takes and he learned one thing about kissing men: make sure you've shaved very closely.  What an awesome sport.  It's cool to see that actors can embrace the role, no matter their own orientation and simply realize, they are representing the human experience.  Period.  Another reason to love him.

Kristen Bauer - This woman is hilarious.  Whoever thought she couldn't play the hard, edgy, yet sexy female was way wrong.  I'm glad Alan Bell and HBO gave her the chance.

Bauer was able to talk a lot about her role as Pam and what she's enjoyed most about working on True Blood.  It's amazing to learn how HBO extends the filming of this show to really give it the attention and quality it deserves.  We learned a lot about filming "vamp speed" and that this season we will learn about Pam and her back-story as we have learned so much about the others.  I'm super excited to know more.  Pam has always intrigued me.

The funniest story from her panel was in working with Eric trying to perfect languages and pronunciation in Swedish and Russian.  Since Alex made such a fool of her not being able to distinguish between a Swedish and Danish word, she somehow managed to get him to memorize "I want to fuck you in the ass" in Russian as one of his lines. Really?  WHo wouldn't want to work with these people?

Best moment of the day:
At an artist's booth, I turn around to see Aaron Douglas (Tyrol from BSG) standing next to me looking at the guy's work.  The artist says to Douglas, "Has anyone ever told you that you resemble a character on BSG?" to which Douglas replied, "Yah I hear that a lot.  I think he's taller though, and better looking."  This exchange went back and forth with other people trying to convince the artist it was actually the actor.  It ended in a fun photo op and laughter, but the exchange was unforgettable.

Have an awesome Sunday, Denver Pride and Father's Day.  I'm off to catch Day 3 and some of the Pride festivities downtown.  Hope to see you there!

DCC: Day 1

Day 1: Denver Comic Con 2012

When you go into something based on your experiences with something much larger, you tend to be...stunned.  When I arrived at the Colorado Convention Center last night around 3:40 (registration started at 4), I found a line wrapped around the building. Somewhat expected.  When I made it through registration in a half hour and discovered I had another hour and a half to wait until the Exhibit Hall opened... unexpected.  So in the interim, I did some listening, exploring and some picture taking.

The kid behind me in line and his friend in her "slutty shorts" were talking about all the people who had dressed up.  He insisted he could have been Deadpool, and he could have been a better Deadpool than all the other Deadpools he had already seen, since there were so many Deadpools and so many varieties of Deadpools, he just didn't have time to make a costume in the last six months.  Then, noting all the people dressed up, he said he was going to go home and put together a costume to wear on Saturday.  I'm sure it will be better than anyone else's.

Costuming:

There were some great and not-so-great costumes running around, but I applaud anyone who is willing to step out there and take a risk dressing up.  One thing that got me worked up right away though: "If you're going to cosplay, don't get annoyed when people stop and ask you for a picture."  The first group of people I encountered, when I praised their costumes and asked for their pictures, rolled their eyes, slumped their shoulders and acted completely put out.  Hey kids, it's 4:45 on Day 1.  You better get used to it or change into some street clothes.  I got their picture anyhow to show what grumps they were.

There were some outrageous Iron Men robots, a very brave Aquaman, a Powergirl with boobs to rival those in print, and a cute Batwoman working a booth who had clearly never done anything like this before but looked great nonetheless (I took her picture for you, Mr. Kane).

I think my favorite so far were the Robin, Red Hood, Nightwing trio I saw running around.  I don't think they were all together, so it made the encounter that much more incredible.

You can check out all of my DCC cosplay photos on my DCC 2012 Facebook album.

Exhibit Hall:
After waiting a bit and re-feeding my rockstar parking meter, I got "in line" for the exhibit hall. After experiencing lines at CCI, this one was easy peasy.  Strangely, I got in line directly behind two friends, Craig and Tony and spent the rest of the time there with them.

Having learned a little from San Diego, I wandered the Exhibit Hall not trying to see everything.  Since it was a relatively small hall in comparison, I knew I'd be able to come back and explore more.  I found some great items that I will return for this weekend and decided to avoid Artists' Alley totally.  I want to spend a great deal of time there on Saturday.

Yes, I left a little early and didn't partake in any "around the town" events, but got a solid foundational feel for the rest of the weekend.  Given the size and Sunday's repeat panels, I may not go back for Day Three, but Saturday is always the biggest day at any con.  It will definitely be worth the trip and all the money I'll spend in the hall.

And of course, I hope the panelists will be good too.

Denver Comic Con 2012

It's about time...

That's been the tagline on a lot of the publications put out by the organizers of Denver ComicCon 2012, the Queen City's inaugural "official" Comic Convention. And I agree.  It IS about time.

Since I heard about this con after my curiosity with the Comic Book Classroom, I became excited.  There have been cons ALL OVER, but never in my town.  Denver always seems to be the last to get anything (feel the self-pity?), so there's no way I was going to pass this one up.  I bought tickets almost immediately.

And then I found out it was the same weekend as Denver Pride Fest. D'OH!

But who am I kidding?  I have been to more PideFests than I can count, and if I'm really going through withdraws on Sunday, Civic Center is barely a half mile away.  Forget it!

I'm going to Denver Comic Con!

I figured that I'd document the experience.  Why not?  It's Denver's first con and it's only my second after going to ComicCon International in San Diego last July. Sure I've been to StarCons and StarFests in the past, but this is really the first Comic-centered one.  Since those are the focus of everything I do here, I'm obliged to at least mention it, right?  Right!  Expect to see more.

So DCC2012 will get it's fair share here.  I'm excited about the guests (even though some of my "must sees" have canceled), excited about the artists and especially excited about the cosplayers.  I haven't done the whole dress-up thing since I was a "blue shirt" at StarCon in high school, but I'm dying to do it again.  My new Fanboy friend Rafa has been my inspiration.  Maybe next year.  Until then, I can snap lots of pics.

And who can pass up the SuperBigBlueBear?  I hope they have the real one dressed up too.

Later skaters.  I'm off to the Convention Center.

photo courtesy of facebook.com/DenverComicCon

Decisions: Nightwing and RedHood

More "Bat" storylines. I never would have thought I'd be following so many.

Warning: Most likely contains spoilers.

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Issue #2

Nightwing

Issues #2 and #3

Re-cap:  Nightwing is still fighting Saiko who is bound to kill Dick Grayson for being the most ruthless killer in Gotham. In an effort to help his old gal pal, Raya, he flies to Atlantic Aity to meet the dying owner of the circus, Mr. Haly, who turns over the circus to Dick.  But after Dick leaves, Saiko shows up and slaughters Mr. Haly who dies to protect the secrets of the circus and Dick's secret, one he doesn't even know himself.  In Chicago, Nightwing tracks down former friend Zane to get information on who contracted Saiko to kill him.  It seems Zane has gotten himself some RF superpowers lately, but  they are only a temporary setback for Nightwing.  Eventually we learn, they both want the contract killer dead.

Issue #3

What Soars: I like the way the writers and illustrators handle concepts like flashback and internal struggle.  The artistic style is so distinctive for each, that you never question exactly where you are or what's going on.

What Crashes:  If I had to pick something, it would be that the story seems to jump, geographically too far and too quickly.  One minute we're in Gotham, then in AC, then Gotham, then Chicago, then Philly.  I'm feeling a little whiplashed.  It doesn't detract from the story itself, but it does make it slightly hard to track in the brain.

Decision: I'm going to keep reading Nightwing, if only to figure out the mystery of this story.  But that's not why.  The writing and the art are wonderful. There's something about the artistic style, of characters flying through the lanscape as ghost trails, that really appeals to me.

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Issue #2 

Red Hood and the Outlaws

Issues #2 and #3

Re-cap:  The "team" is on a quest through the Chamber of All to avenge the slaughtered All-Caste.  To enter, they must give up their most sacred memories as collateral to S'aru the Proctor the being guarding the vault of the All Caste.  Entering the Escher-like maze of stairways, they find the vault has been pillaged and the Untitled have left something behind, but before they get it, they must defeat a hideous beast. Starfire gets swallowed by the monster but then uses herself as a bomb to blow it up from the inside.  They recover this treasure, the one with the secrets to everything: A Colorado snow globe.  Huh?  Surprised they survived, the little buddha gatekeeper returns their memories, but Jason doesn't want his back.

Issue #3

What Soars: Exposition and understanding the backstory of these characters is key and the writers do a good job of weaving those tales into the story.

What Crashes:  The art is a little rough sometimes, but it doesn't detract.  In fact, sometimes it's as if the artist is completely different for Kori than the rest of the characters.  I'm starting to think I might need to add Starfire to my arm.  Yowza!

Decision: This story is a fun adventure and while I like the humor and the rugged, renegade, non-hero characters (and love me some Starfire), I'm not sure how long I can stick with this title. I'll give it a few more issues to WOW me, but if it doesn't, it may have to slip by the wayside.

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All images copyright DC Comics and used under the guidelines of Fair Use.

Game Of Thrones and my absence

This will teach me not to make any images relative links within my blog.  In trying to retain the utmost respect for copyright, I have found that almost every picture on my blog is now a broken link.  I suppose when I have time, I'll try to go back and fix them all.  In the meantime, I'm blogging away, but mostly for FBOTU.

In addition to my weekly Being Human (US) recaps (which will most likely end here in a few weeks) I have picked up recaps for HBO's Game of Thrones.  I have to say, I couldn't be more excited although I was both amazed and appalled by the deaths last season.  But what I will tell you is that I am most looking forward my Khalissi and her dragons, any direwolves, and the bastard John Snow. Oh to be the cloth on his loins.

Countdown: 45 minutes to the premiere.  Beware!  Don't get spiked!

Decisions: Birds Of Prey and The Huntress

No, it's not Lady Marmalade, but these girls are just as tough and sexy.

Warning: Most likely contains spoilers.

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Issue #3

Birds of Prey

Issues #2 and #3

Re-cap:  Canary and Starling are reeling from the sudden explosion of the man they were trying to protect.  Turns out he had a bio-bomb in his head triggered by hypnotic suggestion.  What will technology come up with next?  In an effort to find those responsible, Canary recruits Katana and Poison Ivy. They encounter and defeat some bad guys with strange inviso-armor and the same bio-brain bombs as  prisoner of war kill switches.  While they don't get their man, they do get the names of some other "walking dead" and set out to rescue them.  In a masterfully orchestrated train rescue, Canary learns she's been implanted with a brain bomb herself.

What Soars: Any time you have strong women leading the charge, I'm all for it.  While gun-slinging, butt-kicking badassery aren't the best role models for young women, it's also important to me that female characters in comics aren't always the sidekicks, the background art, or the talentless comic relief. Our own world is made up of people (male, female, straight, gay, disabled... the list goes on) who are strong badasses in their own right.  Our comics should reflect that.  I also like the storyline here.  While it can make you think, "huh?" at times, there's a lot of action, plot and conflict in a short 20 pages.  It's important to me that a reader gets his money's worth when buying comics.

What Crashes:  Can you tell I'm picky with art?  While the pencilling in this book is not awful, the rendering of Poison Ivy makes her look old and haggard.  I'm sorry, but that's not the Ivy I know.  The story seems a little far-fetched as well.  Hey, I know this is sci-fi and you can pretty much dream up anything you want, but my brain has been running over the whole idea of Dinah being implanted by a simple kiss. It's a hole-filled plan I'm not sure I buy.

Decision: It's interesting and fun to see chicks kick some butt.  While the cliffhanger has had me wondering, "What next?" I'm not sure this is a title I want to follow in the long term.

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Issue #2

Huntress

Issues #2 and #3

Re-cap:  Huntress is still in Italy trying to track down the mob boss responsible for trafficking weapons and women. While she's able to knock off henchmen pretty easily, she keeps running into walls when it comes to apprehending the big boss, Moretti.  Her pursuits take her to Pompeii and she learns about an arrangement with Magreb to accept and protect their outgoing leader.

What Soars: There's really very little wrong with this.  The artwork is pretty good, the story line is complex and action packed.  This would be a great book to pick up for "Bat" fans into crime drama.

Issue #3

What Crashes:  I thought I could be into this title, but I'm finding that I'm just not into stories of mob boss crime and politics.  No matter how sexy and powerful Huntress is, and I know she's doing the right thing, I'm just not engaged.  Perhaps it's too much "reality" for me.  I guess if I wanted to hear about trafficking, I'd turn on the news.  I'm also not sure I buy that her tiny arrows do so much damage AND can support her weight when climbing.  Also, there was one scene where Huntress shot an arrow which ricocheted multiple times before embedding itself in the side of a ship.  Suddenly it had a bomb strapped to it.  You think they would have caught details like that somewhere along the line.

Decision: It's only a six issue run, so I was really hoping to see it through, but I simply can't do it.  I'll save my cash for other, more compelling titles.  I'm hoping with the more "sci-fi" permise, I'll be more into the Huntress in World's Finest come June.

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All images copyright DC Comics and used under the guidelines of Fair Use.

Decisions: Batgirl and Wonder Woman

This time, it's two big girls who can hold their own.  No help needed.

Warning: Most likely contains spoilers.

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Issue #3

Batgirl

Issues #2 and #3

Re-cap:  Barbara Gordon is trying to get back in the game of Gotham crime-fighting and her target is the Mirror, a god-complex vengeance criminal who is righting the miracles with justice.  In his own life, a miracle saved him from a car fire where the rest of his family burned.  Since then, he is carrying out killing those people who should have already died. Batgirl is on his list.  Meanwhile, Barbara is constantly having to prove, to her father and to Nightwing, that she can take care of herself.  Even though doctors have told her to take it easy or her condition could deteriorate, she's back in full-force.

What Soars: I like that Batgirl is back although I'm not sure how she was ale to recover from her paralysis.  I guess that's sci-fi.  Anything can happen.  I'm also interested in this Mirror criminal.  It's an interesting concept and I'm excited to see how it plays out.  Unfortunately, this guy doesn't seem like he'll have a long career in Gotham crime.

What Crashes:  I realize that Barbara and Dick have a history together and that they are in this never-ending flirtation cycle, but bringing him in to Issue 3 just seemed like needless filler.  I felt like I was watching a bad Lifetime movie as Nightwing tried to convince her that they were concerned because they love her.  Barf.  If she was a man, would they still be having the conversation? No. Point made.

Decision: I'm going to finish this story arc off because I want to see who Mirror is and how this conflict plays itself out, but when it's done, I'm done.  

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Issue #2

Wonder Woman

Issues #2 and #3

Re-cap:  Diana returns to Paradise Island with Zola and Hermes because it is the only place she can protect Zola.  Zola is carrying Zeus' baby and a jealous Hera will stop at nothing to kill the child.  Strife arrives at Paradise Island and the Amazons attack. Her powers turn them on each other and mass slaughter ensues.  While grieving, we learn that Diana's origin story, being molded from clay, is untrue and she is actually a daughter of Zeus which puts her in even more danger from Hera.  Angered and ashamed, she leaves Paradise Island and vows never to return.

Issue #3

What Soars: I really (and I do mean really) like that the Wonder Woman story gets back to its origins in mythology.  While seeing her battle alien and real-world criminals is exciting, I get enough of that in Justice League and any other title.  Going back to some of our world's legends and myths is truly fun for me even if they are modernized.  It's why I liked the Percy Jackson series so much.

What Crashes:  I'm not sure.  There's just something about this series that hits me the wrong way and I can't pinpoint it.  The art is acceptable in most cases, the story is interesting although common place (Hera wants to kill Zeus' illegitimate child. Isn't this a career for her?) but maybe it's because it's either not going fast enough or because they are spending too much side time on Diana's backstory.  Maybe you should be the judge. And Wonder Woman is a little too barrel chested for me in most panels. Frown.

Decision: I'm going to follow this through Issue #6.  It's a natural stopping point in most books and I want to see how it plays out. Maybe by then I'll have figured out what's bothering me.

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All images copyright DC Comics and used under the guidelines of Fair Use.