Pictures from the 2019 Comic-Con International, part 2 (Wednesday, 7/17)

Let's look at Wednesday's pictures at Comic-Con 2019!

Preview Night started early for me this year, as I was lucky enough to get tickets to the Conan O'Brien taping that took place before the convention officially opened. This means getting up early and waiting in line - a Comic-Con tradition! - to officially get the tickets you had semi-reserved. I got in line at about 7:30am; there were several hundred people in front of me. But I got my tickets and was set loose at around 10:00.

From there I hopped back over to the convention center to complete the booth setup...and to see some of the displays while there was time.

The Comic-Con tarp thing that hangs outside of the convention. Still looking good after another year in storage!

One of the nearby parking garages was dressed up in an Avengers promotion.

I saw a few interesting things on the show floor. This Marvel Two-in-One cover caught my eye, for some reason.

And, oh, this Action Comics #1, graded 8.5, as well. That's a $2 million book right there. Sheesh. The other ones aren't bad, either.

The Conan taping started at around 3:45 that afternoon. The Spreckels Theatre looked snazzy, as always.

Here I am with some friends! I'm apparently showing off my bracelet.

The guests on this day were from the It sequel. Bill Hader giggled through most of the interview. It was a weird show - more raunchy than I had expected. I know that Conan recently moved to a new 30-minute format, but this show ran an hour. Everyone was excited to be there! And when the show ended, we burst out of the theater and galloped toward the convention center. It was great to be able to see the show without having to miss any time at the convention.

I got inside about a half hour before the floor opened. It's always fun to see things right beforehand - there's a nervous energy going through the crowd of exhibitors.

And here's the Dark Horse staff getting those yellow bags ready...

...and I saw Robert Kirkman walking around the floor...

And then it was open! And it got crowded fast.

One of my first stops was the Marvel booth. I'm a sucker for SDCC comics and Marvel has had some interesting ones the past few years.

Some Captain Marvel costumes and props were on display by the booth!

I passed by Grae Drake, former Rotten Tomatoes gal and current Ms. Moviefone, and we got this very natural picture together.

In years past, I was able to do most of my shopping on this night (to be fair, I shop every day, but I get the bulk of my "must have" items on Wednesday if I can). This year, for whatever reason, the lines seemed to move more slowly than I remembered. I stood in the Marvel line for quite some time, and when I got out, there wasn't a lot of time left to see and do other things. But I did see this Alien statue!

So, I apparently have a three-issue comic series coming out this fall from Keenspot? This was interesting to see. I'll write more about it at another time, but a lot of this was unexpected.

Here's my friend and collaborator Mario Wytch, who I met for the first time in person, despite knowing him online for about 15 years. I also learned at this show that his last name is not pronounced "witch".

After the show ended for the night, I stopped by the Chuck Jones Gallery in the Gaslamp district, one of my go-to locations every year. It's always a fun place to stop and see.

There were some neat Fantastic Four prints on display among the other items.

NBC's The Good Place had a pancake diner right in the Gaslamp, which seemed to be one of the more popular attractions during the show.

Super7 once again had a neat offsite pop-up shop; this year it was called the "Boodega" after being Skeletor and Hordak's Lair for the past few years. The line was just as long as it always was, though, and because I don't have any particular affinity for the Universal movie monsters, this was as close as I got.

It was a pretty low-key night all around, but it was a big day with Conan in the morning and early afternoon. After getting some pizza, I was ready to head back and get ready for Thursday. We'll look at those pictures soon!

Pictures from the 2018 Comic-Con International, part 8 (Sunday, 7/22)

Comic-Con! Sunday! Lets go!

The DC booth often features displays of costumes from current and upcoming adaptations. I don't often get to see them because there's almost always a crowd during the show, they're set up in the middle of the booth area, and I'm (um) afraid to wander in there before the show opens up. But hey! Here's Zach Levi's Captain Marvel costume!

Here's another Batman who Laughs! The Batman who Laughs is a weird character with lots of belts. That is all.

Wait'll this guy sees the concession stand prices.

I saw Lesley Vamos! What a lovely person!

Here's David Ross, AKA Cowboy Santa Tick, as Iron Fist!

This is maybe the fourth time I've seen Matt and John Yuan as I've walked through the convention hall. They're both very nice and they're very forgiving of the fact that I bring up their roles on Arrested Development every time I see them.

Have you seen The Orville? It's pretty much Star Trek Lite, but I think I like it. These are good costumes.

This is a meme, right? It's a meme.

Is this a gender-reversed Peter Pan thing, or are both of these people dressed as Tinker Bell? I thought the wings were especially nice.

I think this was from my "rush around and take pictures of everyone in costume" part of the day.

It's easy to focus on this very-nicely-done adult and kid Gamora, but also don't forget to spot the guy in the unicorn costume talking with Stan Sakai in the background.

I got to talk for a bit with Dave Garcia, Tick artist and apparent Buffalo Bill reenactment model! Dave's a really great guy and I'd love to write a Tick story for him to draw some day.

Robin is also a Very Serious Person.

The glowing mace is a nice touch.

This is dang movie quality. Maybe it doesn't stand out as much as some of the more elaborate costumes, but this is one incredible Dr. Zaius costume. The mask is incredible! And when he talked, his mouth moved! I loved this.

Every year, 5:00 on Sunday brings the end of the show, and a frenzy of the teardown process. Everyone is always anxious to pack up and go, but I think it's nice to take a second and appreciate Comic-Con for the great opportunities it provides fans and creators alike.

I walked by as the staff was apparently taking their end-of-show picture, this one in front of the Deadpool animatronic booth.

If you cut Deadpool in half at the waist, what would happen? Would his top part just grow new legs, or would both halves regenerate, creating two Deadpools? Where does the core of his healing factor reside? Answer me, Internets!

The 2018 show was a really memorable one. I got to step band and enjoy things a little more than usual this year. I'll be returning once again in July!

One more set of pictures before we put this to bed. We'll make it!

Look Magazine, February, 1940: "How Superman Would End the War"

In 1940, more than a year before the United States officially entered World War II, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created a two-page Superman story for Look Magazine, titled "How Superman Would End the War". I had seen reproductions of the story a few times before, and it always fascinated me with how bold it was for the time it was published. I never thought I'd get a chance to even see the original magazine, let alone own a copy, but a few weeks ago, I somehow managed to purchase the issue in question from February 27, 1940.

The issue is oversized by today's standards, probably one and a half times larger than modern magazines. The copy I got is in pretty good shape, minus some stress to the spine. The colors on the cover are still bright and stark, in line with the photo coloring done in that time. The cover features Hollywood star Rita Hayworth shaking...maracas? Well, okay. In the top left, under the logo, Superman gets a blurb.

The "What it Means to be Neutral" article featured so prominently on the cover is a bunch of claptrap about why the US should leave Europe to its own devices and how the First World War didn't accomplish anything good, and I guess is a product of its time. The inclusion of a Superman comic that takes much the opposite stance makes it stand out all the more in a magazine that is mostly filled with puff pieces and large photo spreads.

Incredibly, the page before the comic has a short feature on both Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, something I'm sure National Comics (later DC Comics) would be disinclined to do. The features names Superman as a "new" character, which makes my head swim to think that it was ever the case. This was published fewer than two years after Superman showed up in Action Comics #1, so he was absolutely a new at this point. To put it in perspective, Batman was first published 11 months earlier in Detective Comics #27, Captain Marvel first showed up the very same month as this edition of Look Magazine, and Wonder Woman was still more than a year and a half away from existing.

The comic itself is only two pages long, but Siegel and Shuster, both Jews who were undoubtedly keenly aware of the atrocities happening across the Atlantic, pack it full of action, and it resonates emotionally, despite the odd juxtaposition of a fictional character with real-life despots.

Most of the magazine's interiors are black and white, but adding just one other shade to this story (an extra publishing expense) loans some depth to the story. Its placement almost makes the story seems as if it's published in full color.

Take a second to think about how incredible this page is - and how something similar would probably never be published today. Superman crashes into Hitler's secret headquarters, and then swoops into Moscow to grab Stalin as well, lugging them both to the League (League?) of Nations in Switzerland.

While much of America was still debating on whether or not to involve themselves in the war, Jews often were the most vocal about the need to intervene. The Three Stooges, for example, lampooned Hitler months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

I often wish that today's comics - specifically Marvel and DC - would take a more pronounced stand on social issues like they had in the past. That's not to say that there aren't still brave creators working for those large companies, but their corporate ownership has, naturally, watered down these voices in an attempt to remain as marketable as possible to broad audiences. But comics have a great history of standing up for those in trouble, and they can have a stronger impact than some may think. The above panel is just incredible!

I took a few other pictures of the magazine's interiors, but I don't want to take away from the comic itself in this post. Well, okay, I'll post an ad from (I think) the inside back cover. Is this the first ad for a Nestle's Crunch Bar?? And it's only a nickel!! Lookit that.