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!

Pictures from the 2014 Comic-Con International, part 6: We'll Never Stop (Matt Groening, Godzilla, Venture Bros. and more!)

You thought that I was done showing pictures from Comic-Con?  NEVER!  Who knows...maybe these will wrap right around until Comic-Con 2015 shows up.  It'd be like a party that never ends.  Let's see some pictures!

This was the result of the furious last-minute work that I witnessed on the day before the convention started.  Why Godzilla came back to Comic-Con, as the movie was already released months in advance of the show, is beyond me.  But it provided something for the back lawn of the convention center, which had in previous years been mostly...lawn.  I look to see more and more take up space in this area in years to come.

I spotted this at the Alex Ross booth while walking the floor in the morning.  It was tempting to buy some Fantastic Four art at the show, and though this is most likely the only original Ross art that I'll ever be able to afford, $500 seemed a bit much for these sketches.  I might regret not ponying up for this one day.

I didn't go to too many panels at Comic-Con this year, but I was glad that I was able to sit in on the Venture Bros. panel at an adjacent hotel.  I waited in line in the hot sun (it was warmer than usual this year) and got a nice burn on the top of my head (...), but it was a fun panel, as always.  On the double screen is co-creator and Tick alumni Jackson Public!

Friday was a big costume day.  I mean, they're all big costume days, but I saw more on Friday than on previous days.  Here's an in-character Judge Dredd!

I assume this fellow is wearing stilts.  A very impressive costume on a very hot day.  Also, hi, Sailor Moon.

After the convention, it was time to stop at the should-be-world-famous Taco Truck.  I was thrilled to see it back this year, and it did not disappoint.  Delicious.

After eating my chicken burrito, I made my way over to the New England Comics booth.  On the way there, I passed by Simpsons and Futurama creator Matt Groening (!), who was just browsing, probably happy that no one was bothering him at the moment.  I, of course, ruined that peace and solitude, but Groening was very friendly and gracious.  I gave him a copy of The Naked Man at the Edge of Time, which I luckily happened to be carrying with me, and got this nice picture.  I made sure that I blabbed a bit about Futurama, which I'm convinced will return with new episodes before long.

This gentleman was trying his hardest to make it to the bathroom, but he kept being stopped by passers by for pictures.  It's hard to blame them when a Ninja Turtle walks by.  This picture was taken, no lie, right after he knocked a little kid over.  It was something.

This guy obviously made a good Silver Surfer.  Here he is with the Invisible Woman - don't see enough good Fantastic Four costumes at these shows - and the Sandman.

We had a small (but enthusiastic!) FUBAR signing at Jenny Wood's "Flutter" booth on Friday afternoon.  We had posters made up for it and everything!  It was very exciting.  Here's Jennie signing a poster as fellow FUBAR contributor (and "Punky Brewster" artist) Lesley Vamos looks on!

Group shot!

James Urbaniak, voice of Dr. Venture on The Venture Bros. cartoon, walked by the booth and I immediately chased him down.

I was having a string of luck as soon after I saw Bruce Timm, a fantastic artist and one of the driving forces behind the 1990s Batman: The Animated Series.

Then it was back to the Tick booth, where Ben Edlund signed books and sketched for fans.  It's pretty awesome that Ben still hangs out at this booth (and recognizes my existence) after all he's accomplished as a writer and producer.

I'm pretty sure that this guy dressed up as the Sub Mariner in 2013.  Here he is as the Weapon X Wolverine.  The pouches on his waist were apparently functional, as he answered a phone call soon after.

I'll never get tired of seeing Chairface Chippendale costumes.  This was a very good one.  The lycra headpiece really sells it.  Top notch.

I'll leave you with this nightmare imagery as this closed down Friday at the convention for me.  I'll save some pictures from the evening for next time.  There'll always be a next time, folks.

FUBAR Comic-Con signing! Awesome Toy Blog! Weird Al!

Comic-Con is just a few days away, and it's shaping up to be even bigger than ever before.  I'm trying to pack, make last minute plans and figure out some semblance of a schedule for the coming week.  I'm flying in to San Diego a day earlier than I did last year, so hopefully that helps me get accustomed to the west coast in time for the show...but let's face it, no one is ever really prepared for Comic-Con. I'm hoping for the best.

Plans don't get much more last minute than this, but I'm still finalizing a few details on some exciting news.  There will be a small FUBAR signing at Comic-Con, complete with a few exclusives to boot.  The picture at top is of our con exclusive poster, measuring 11x14 and featuring the "Ace of Spades" Free Comic Book Day cover.  It sells for five bucks!

The signing will take place on Friday the 25th in the small press section, booth M-06.  I'll be there along with Chuck Dixon and Jennie Wood to sign some books and say hello.  Eric Esquivel and Lesley Vamos are scheduled to make some appearances as well!  The time for the signing is tentatively set for 3:30-5:00, but we're still working out individual schedules.  Let's keep our fingers crossed.

I'll hand out a bunch of these post card sized flyers before the singing to hopefully drum up some interest.  The front has the pertinent details...

...and the back has a place for autographs!

There'll also be a special item for backers of the "Mother Russia" Kickstarter. Cryptic!

The Awesome Toy Blog is a great site with lots of great information on, well, toys in general, but I use it most to find a list of convention exclusive merchandise.  The site compiles it and I scan it to see what I need to get for SDCC and other conventions (but mostly SDCC).  The site recently put up a post about the Tick exclusives from New England Comics!  I'm glad someone (uh...) tipped the site off about them!



In the category of "dream come true that might quickly turn into a nightmare" comes news that "Weird Al" Yankovic will have a panel all to himself at Comic-Con on Saturday.  This is fantastic news until you find out that the panel is a limited ticketed event and you'll probably have to wait in line for seven hours just to get a chance at a ticket.  There are better ways to do this, Comic-Con...just look at Nerd HQ if you want to know how to do it right!

Regardless, I'm going to try to get into the panel and see Al once again, so I hope that it's relatively painless.  Al just released his new album, "Mandatory Fun", which is, of course, a gift to humanity.  I'm doing my best to learn all the lyrics to the new songs before Saturday.  Above is the video for what might just be my favorite song on the album, "Foil"!  Watch and enjoy.  And then go buy the album.

Best of luck to all heading out to San Diego for what is sure to be a great, manic time.  I'm sure to come back with lots of pictures.

Thing sketchbook, part 14

Lesley Vamos - Comic-Con International 2013

I found Australian artist Lesley Vamos on the last day of Comic-Con at a table shared with Jimena Sanchez.  As I had mentioned before, Lesley and Jimena had collaborated on a number of projects, notably a book a postcards, and I was impressed with the work that each of them did - and really, isn't it great that they could collaborate on comics from different continents?  It warmed the cockles of my heart.  Anyway, both ladies added their renditions of the Thing to my sketchbook and I'm happy to have 'em.  This cartoony Thing is a real treat.

Rafer Roberts - Beyond Comics signing 2013

I'm always happy to join in on some FUBAR-related events, but it's an extra treat when those events produce new Thing artwork.  Beyond Comics in Frederick, Maryland held a big FUBAR signing that I was able to join in on.  In between signing books and meeting with fans, I was able to harangue a number of talented folk into drawing sketches in the book.  First up was Rafer Roberts, he of FUBAR, Plastic Farm and Thanos and Darkseid fame.  I asked Rafer to draw a helmeted Thing, and he immediately knew just what I was talking about.  The Thing wore a helmet for a while after getting his face slashed up by Wolverine (whatever) as opposed to, I don't know, seeing a doctor about it or something.  It was a strange look for the character but it was a notable one.  Rafer did a great job all around.

Steve Becker - Baltimore Comic-Con 2011/Beyond Comics signing 2013

Steve Becker, art director of the FUBAR line, started sketching the Thing at the 2011 Baltimore Comic-Con, but ran out of time.  Since then, I've had a mostly blank page saved in the book in hoped that I could wrangle Steve into finishing the sketch, and he took up the baton at the Beyond Comics signing.  The result is an angry Thing that stands out among the others.  I'm loving the emotion with this one.

M. Giles Crawford - Beyond Comics signing 2013

Giles Crawford is another FUBAR contributor who added his take at the Beyond Comics signing.  Giles, a native Australian (that's two for this post), asked if he could do something goofy for the book, and of course I told him to go for it.  I added in one caveat - I wanted this drawing to be the first image drawn horizontally.  The result is a watercolored Thing mermaid.  Brilliant.

John Shine - Beyond Comics signing 2013

John Shine took the sketchbook after Giles had his way at the Beyond Comics FUBAR signing, and, unbeknownst to me at the time, started drawing his own rendition of the Thing.  He decided to go with the original "lumpy" Thing, though this is more reminiscent of John Byrne than, say, Kirby.  It's a beautiful, moody piece that does the most with the space available.  This here is a classic Thing with a lot of heart, and I'm thrilled to have it included.

That's it for now, but there's more Thing sketchbook to come.  Hooray!

Thing sketchbook, part 13

The Thing sketchbook took a trip to Comic-Con with me this year, and there are some great entries to show.  Here's the 13th installment of the Thing sketchbook!

Liz Robbins - Comic-Con International 2013

Liz Robbins is, along with husband Benn Robbins, part of the Robbins Studios creative team.  Liz worked on the Mangalicious Tick series for New England Comics a few years back, and I had the pleasure to spend some time with both Liz and Benn at this year's Comic-Con.  Always the opportunist, I believe that I've now grabbed sketches from everyone possible at the NEC booth and I'm happy to round out the rotation with Liz's entry.  Also, the Thing's cigar in this image kind of looks like a carrot.

Walter Simonson - Comic-Con International 2013

Walter Simonson is a comic legend, and even though he might be best known for his memorable, lengthy run on Thor for Marvel, he also had a brief but action-packed and all-around incredible run on the main Fantastic Four title around the mid-300s.  Walt has come back to comics in recent years and I couldn't be happier for it.  I saw him signing and sketching at IDW's booth on Saturday of the show and immediately approached him - but as luck would (or would not) have it, he was packing up to leave the area.  Interestingly enough, he was just heading back to his artist alley table where I soon met up with him again and landed this undeniably Simonson-esque Thing sketch.  I've always been a fan of Simonson's signature as well, how it forms a dinosaur with the letters of his name.  An extra treat!

Hannah Nance Partlow - Comic-Con International 2013

Hannah Nance Partlow is a comic book designer and letterer who, in recent months, has worked extensively for BOOM! Studios.  She also lettered the short "Zombie Shark" story for me, so when I found her at Comic-Con, I knew that I had to get some of her work in the sketchbook.  I asked her for a specific sketch, one of the new "Miss Thing" character from the Fraction/Allred FF title.  Miss Thing is a model girlfriend of Johnny Storm who...puts on the Thing suit.  She takes her place in the Thing sketchbook alongside the one image of the She-Thing!

Josh Shalek - Comic-Con International 2013

On the last day of Comic-Con 2012, I went around the small press section and bought a few books that caught my eye; one was a collection of strips from the webcomic "Welcome to Falling Rock National Park" by Josh Shalek.  In 2013, I found Shalek again and got him to add this unique sketch into the book.  Josh had a few new comics available at the time, including one that I bought called "Dancing with Jack Ketch" and another with an ancient Egyptian theme, which inspired this Pharaoh Thing.

Jimena Sanchez - Comic-Con International 2013

On the last day of Comic-Con, I found Jimena Sanchez and Lesley Vamos in the small press section and was impressed by their collaborations.  Sanchez is from Mexico and Vamos from Australia, making their partnership cross-continental in nature.  I bought a few things from them, including a book of postcards titled "From Me to You", and was fortunate enough to get sketches from both artists.  This first one is from Sanchez, and it features a cute, almost Charles Schultz-like Thing, complete with a "4" patch and light grey stones.  This is an understated image but one of my favorites.

More Thing sketches to come!  HOW EXCITING!