Pictures from the 2017 New York Comic Con, part 1 (Friday, 10/6)

The Tick's tour de force continued in October of 2017. After the first six episodes landed on Amazon's streaming service in August, the team prepared for the next batch to arrive in February by setting up at the New York Comic Con, just a few miles away from where the series films most of its scenes. After being dumbfounded at how incredible the Tick setup was at Comic-Con in San Diego, I wondered if there would be any promotion at the next big show in New York. Short answer: there was.

It's hard to compare NYCC to San Diego's Comic-Con, in large part because of the space available for the two shows. SDCC sprawls out over the city, while NYCC is mostly confined to the Javits Center in Manhattan (though there were a few offsite locations and events this year, notably at the New York Public Library). The weather contributes to this; San Diego has sunny July days ripe for outdoor events, while it's tough to judge what the weather will be like in New York in October.

At any rate, The Tick had a large presence on the main show floor with one of the bigger displays of the show. Once again, Amazon stepped up with their promotion of this show. Near the row-100 area of the floor were banners and signage, an area for a lineup and...a full-size "Dangerboat" replica. Naturally, this is the first thing I did upon entering the building on Friday, my first day at the show.

The line took about 45 minutes to get through, and as I was approaching the front, I started to notice some of the people just ahead, behind the exhibit ropes. I lucked out quite a bit as I was getting in just as a number of actors and producers were arriving to get a peek at the exhibit. I managed to get a picture with Scott Speiser, "Overkill" on the show, and Barry Josephson, one of the show's executive producers! Josephson asked if I was a fan of the show. I said "yes".

Dangerboat itself looked a but unassuming on the outside (maybe that's the point), but the inside was just incredible!

Here are a couple shots of the inside, which included a lot of interactive screens. You could get an ID sticker printed, steer the boat, and grab a can of Fo-Ham.

Thanks, Dangerboat.

The Dangerboat AI could also be found on board! It followed you around and talked to you at various points. It tried to poke fun at my Steelers hat, but as we all know, that's a futile pursuit. They're going to win their seventh Super Bowl in a few weeks, just FYI.

The Overkill uniform could be found as well!

I wonder where you buy carpet that simulates ocean water.

Naturally, I grabbed a bunch of the free Tick swag on my way out, which was precipitated by the arrival of talk show host Wendy Williams (who was in full Wonder Woman gear). I then hit the convention floor, where there were a lot of great costumes to be seen, including Pickle Rick.

Ghost Riders!

I wonder what makes you decide to put a television screen on your head. Kudos to this guy in any case, and great job with the group Saga costumes.

Here's one I didn't expect to see - it's Captain Telsa from the Image Comics Descender series!

I've always enjoyed the Robotman (from Doom Patrol) design. Hey, Cliff. Oh, and Telsa makes a second, background appearance.

I wonder how Psylocke got her sword through the entrance?

And Dr. Doom got his blaster through as well. I guess Doom gets what he wants.

Check out this kid in an honest-to-goodness Sewer Urchin costume from the Tick animated series!

I think I've seen this guy as Bloodshot before, but hey, if it works, go with it. Great job.

Here's Black Panther with blurry motion action!

Yondu and Mary Poppins was a popular choice this year.

This gentleman retrofitted what looks like a snowboard with wheels to make a pretty neat Silver Surfer costume!

I'm pretty sure BoJack and Princess Caroline were actually taking a moment and not posing as their characters, but they inadvertently relaxed in the most BoJack poses ever.

Rick's gon' give it to ya.

Well, the hammer placement is a bit unfortunate, but that's still a pretty great Steel costume (Power Girl is good as well).

DC had their regular setup spot at the far end of the convention hall. This time they put their Justice League costumes on display.

On the way out for the night, I ran into DC's Scott Snyder, who was gracious enough to take a picture with me. Snyder is writing the (pretty enjoyable) DC book, "Metal", and he managed to stay on brand for this picture. Pretty savvy, guy.

That's it for Friday pictures! More to come!

Back to School: "Gender Through Comic Books" at Ball State University

A few days ago, comic writer Mark Waid posted an entry to his blog about a Ball State University course that combines comics with higher eduction (two things I'm interested in) in the form of a new, massive open online course (abbreviated as MOOC, which sounds too much like "mook" for me) titled "Gender Through Comic Books".  This course, which runs from April 2 through May 10, 2013, will be taught online and features open registration - with no enrollment cost.

This already is a pretty tempting offer, but it turns out that Waid and a number of other comic book creators will be involved, through interviews, in this course as well.  Waid mentions the likes of Brian Michael Bendis, Terry Moore, Brian K. Vaughn, Jonathan Hickman, Scott Snyder as well as others.

Here's the official solicitation info from the Ball State course page:

Gender Through Comics: A Super MOOC is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) coming Spring 2013 that examines how comic books can be used to explore questions of gender identity, stereotypes, and roles. This highly engaging learning experience is designed for college-age and lifelong learners.

The course, led by Christina Blanch of Ball State University, uses a study of comic books incorporating highly interactive video lectures, online discussions between students, and real-time socially driven interviews. Interviews with the comic industry's biggest names such as Terry Moore, Brian K Vaughan, Mark Waid, as well as others address questions of gender representations and constructions involving both men and women.

Aaaand I'm sold.  I signed up for the course and will be taking it along with, apparently, over a thousand other people.  I'm not sure what the course will involve as far as texts, schedules or grading, but I'm excited to see what it's going to offer.  I've even got a student page at Ball State's webpage!

It's a bit sparse right now.  But I'll personalize it soon and add a link for, I don't know, Franks and Beans or something.

This is an exciting opportunity for anyone who enjoys comics, women's studies or new educational advancements.  The course is taught by Christina Blanch as part, it looks like, of a doctoral program at Ball State, so hopefully this thing gets her a PhD in something or other.  I'll post updates on the blog as the class meets - or, if you'd like, you can take the class with me and hundreds of other friends.  Just go to https://www.canvas.net/courses/gender-through-comic-books and sign up!  It's quick and easy, and it should be an interesting experience.  Kudos to Blanch and Ball State for coordinating this course and offering it to the general public.

Oh, and they got Stan Lee to narrate their YouTube ad.

News on The Baltimore Comic-Con, Batman/Avengers movies, Brink and more!

It's time for new about things!  Hooray!

- The Baltimore Comic-Con recently updated its website with a list of guests, including some of my favorite creators like Scott Snyder, Geof Darrow, Chrissie Zullo, Walter Simonson...and me (I'm on my own list of favorite creators?  How gauche).  The convention website not only listed me, but everyone I was planning on taking to the show with me as well.  I got four passes, but at the time I filled out the application I wasn't sure on what I'd do with the last one, so I just wrote down "George Newman", not knowing that it'd eventually be published (perhaps in the convention program, which would be fun).  George Newman, of course, is "Weird Al" Yankovic's character from the movie UHF:

Unfortunately, though, Weird Al will not be appearing at my table at the show.  Unless he reads this, thinks it's a funny joke, and decides to show up as if to say "I get it...and I approve".  In which case, there's a seat waiting for you, Al.

- I got a confirmation e-mail for the Saturday, August 6th filming date for "The Dark Knight Rises" at Heinz Field.  The grammar is atrocious as expected (apparently an apostrophe can be used...whenever) but there was some good information included in this mass mailing.  The scene being filmed is described as the "kickoff scene" which could be literal or could refer to this being the opening shot for the movie (though I doubt it).  We're encouraged to make signs and bring them (presumably as long as they don't say things like "BRUCE WAYNE IS BATMAN" or "watch Franks and Beans!"), colors to wear are black and gold, and the scene in the movie will take place in late fall or early winter.  So, yes, at the beginning of August we'll have to wear winter coats.  I'll update everyone on how many die of heat stroke on the set.

- Sean Kleefeld wrote a pretty cool blog (and took the above picture) about his experience for the recent "Avengers" casting call in Cleveland.  It sounds like, while there were fewer people to show up, it was pretty similar to the Dark Knight casting call in Pittsburgh.  Kleefeld writes, in part:

There seemed to me a refreshingly diverse mix of people there. I figured it would be heavily fanboyish and, while they were clearly represented well, there were all sorts of other people too. Obviously, the aspiring actors and actresses with resumes in hand but also a range of folks who just heard about this and thought it might be interesting and/or fun. Plus, one thing that I'm ashamed to admit hadn't occurred to me prior to going, someone mentioned that he was guessing about half of the attendees were simply out of work and needed a job of any sort.

Read his full blog here!  This movie will soon film for four weeks in Cleveland and for one week right outside of Pittsburgh.  Maybe I'll manage to sneak on as an extra at some point, if only because both Joss Whedon and Nathan Fillion (of Firefly/Serenity fame) are both involved in the project.  And then we'll all become best friends and they'll bring the show back as a result of that new friendship.

- Paul Tucker is knocking our John Watkins: Phantom for Hire story out of the park.  Above is a panel from a recently completed page.  This is what happens when you smoke, kids.  You die.  So don't do it.

- Brink, the webcomic I'm currently lettering (by James Emmett and Daniel Erenberg), has recently updated with several new pages!  Check it out and follow along here!

- And finally, here's a picture of a sack of potatoes.  Enjoy.

Random thoughts on the DCU reboot

Like many comic fans, I was surprised at the recent news that the entire DC Universe will be starting over, with 52 (FIFTY TWO!!!) new #1 issues to be released in September.  And, also like many fans, my first reaction was something akin to this: "I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS!!"

But now that there's a little more information circling about and, more importantly, we've all had some time to process this announcement, my opinions have mellowed somewhat and I now have a more stoic approach.

When it comes down to it, DC Comics is a money-making enterprise (though it could be argued that their greatest monetary value comes as an R&D tool for various other entertainment purposes, not the least of which can be witnessed from the slew of DC-related movies in development), and the company certainly has the right to retool its line of books and its characters as it sees fit.  And when you look at the state of the industry, it's no surprise that one of the biggest companies would want to try something different.

I recently found out that Doom Patrol had been cancelled, and for good cause - issues were selling in the 9,000 copy range.  When one of the two biggest comic companies in the world is selling a book that has only 9,000 readers, change is bound to happen.  (I will say that Doom Patrol, month in and out, was my favorite book that I could barely understand what was going on while reading it.)

Overall, though, I'm not going to worry about, say, Superman's lack of red underwear, because I'm fairly certain that, after a while, the things I like will eventually be reinstated.

 

Sure, there are things that irk me about this new direction for DC.  I hate, for example, every single costume in the above Teen Titans image.  Sure, Robin's going for the retro-cool look (that's similar to Firehawk's costume, isn't it?  Something like that), but the others...holy moley.  Superboy's taped a piece of paper to the back of his shirt?  And he has a big Superman tattoo?  R...really?

I also hate, with a passion, the renumbering of long-running titles like Action Comics and Detective Comics.  It took 73 years for Action Comics to reach issue #900 only to have it dialed back to a new issue #1?  Bah.

But here's the thing: there is no way on Earth that Action Comics won't be renumbered by the time it would reach issue #1000.  Heck, there's even a chance that Detective Comics will roll over to #900 in the less than two years that it'll take.

Superman will eventually have his classic "S" shield back.  Flash will probably lose that weird chinstrap thing he's got going on.  The good stuff will stay, the unnecessary changes will change back.  It's that simple.

And there are some cool things being solicited for this "new" universe, in fact.  For example: A NEW SWAMP THING SERIES  BY SCOTT SNYDER!

I am so excited for this book, after reading Alan Moore's fantastic work on the character and Snyder's impressive current Detective Comics run.

Also, DC is taking real steps to reach out to digital readers: it had to happen sooner or later, and releasing digital copies of books on the same day physical copies come out is historic for the medium.

I'll admit, though, that most of what I'm hearing is rather ho-hum.  No real big name creators and such seemingly random choices as to which characters get books of their own.  It seems like DC is trying to create a lineup of varied books (featuring culturally diverse characters) that, in a perfect world, would appeal to a wide range of readers, new and old.  But there's a reason that the Demon, Hawk & Dove, Sgt. Rock, OMAC and Mr. Terrific don't currently have books on the shelves.

The litmus test for this new direction, of course, will come in the months following September.  I'm sure that the new Justice League title will sell like gangbusters and that many others will start out strong (the media push has to count for something, after all), but I'm also sure that some of these other new titles will fail - it would be foolish to think otherwise.

The only thing we fans can do is wait and see what happens.  I'm willing to let events unfold as they may - I'll buy the titles I enjoy and I won't buy the titles that don't interest me or aren't well done, as I always do with few exceptions.

But really...Superboy's new costume is horrendous.