Con-Man: San Diego 2016

Ah San Diego Comic-Con, the mecca for all things creative arts. This was a landmark year as I spent nearly a week in San Diego and even took a few hours to train with bodybuilding legend Frank Zane in nearby La Mesa. Arriving on Tuesday, downtown SD in the Gaslamp Quarter was hopping as usual and local businesses and bars were ready for Con with comic book art and signs luring in passerby. Doctor Strange banners adorned streets, BB-8 and Pokemon imagery filled windows. Things were made a little easier this year as badges were sent out instead of needing to be picked up at the not that close Town and Country.

Walking around early Wednesday morning at 6:00 AM and soaking in the peaceful calm before the storm, I saw pop ups for Amazon, South Park, NBC and Conan O'Brien's Funko face plastered on buildings and trains. Our Comic-Condo was right in the Gaslamp again but unfortunately faced a busy street and it was far from soundproofed. My sleep would get worse as the week went on. A few pre-Preview Night Jameson's got me surprisingly feeling no pain as I checked out the Exhibit Hall where DC had costumes from Wonder Woman and Suicide Squad on display, a bronze Captain America statue made a stop on it's way to Brooklyn, Star Wars costumes and the like all warranted a quick photo. The show felt a little samesie as I kept running into the same stuff but that's going to happen when you've been to as many shows as I have. I meant to make my way over to a parking lot screening of Super 7's new original He-Man and the Masters of the Universe animated short but them Jamesons had me wanting to hit the sack...

Panels through the week included the increasingly con attending Edgar Rice Burrough's where we learned that Carson of Venus is being adapted into a film series, Jim Davis of Garfield fame made his first Comic-Con appearance and picked up an Inkpot in the process. King of WeirdCool Thomas Jane and the cast of The Expanse were on hand for the season 2 announcement and Hall H, while ever so crowded, seemed a little light on programming this year. It's been my observation that since 2010, the Hollywood Bubble has slowly burst so at some point casual fans will stop trying to get in. There's always Seattle, Salt Lake and New York.

Con-Man: Hotel Life

This Tuesday is the Comic-Con International hotel room request lottery. Starting at 6:00 AM, Pacific Standard Time, hopeful hotel guests will be put into a waiting room where they'll try to lock up a room during San Diego Comic-Con from their top 6 choices. While we get a condo, I know plenty of people who rely on the hotel lottery. So here's a guest post from my Con-rade over at High Phalanges, Annemarie:

"I get more anxious about the hotel sale than I do about the badge sales. It’s so bad that I have nightmares about the sale. It’s one thing not to get a badge to SDCC, but to get a badge and NOT have a place to stay would be THE WORST. Also, everyone and their freaking mothers wants that golden egg of a hotel room: the prestigious Omni, the peaceful ocean views of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront, the trendy Hard Rock Hotel, and so on."

"Every year over a hundred thousand people compete for a limited number of rooms sold in the SDCC Hotel Sale, and every year there is excitement, disappointment, bargaining with higher powers, and, if you’re like me, lots of coffee and alcohol. It’s a messy process that starts with staring at a clock, clicking the link when it’s time, and filling out a tedious form...and this is all done in record time (because you have been preparing for this moment all year and the first people always get the best hotel choices). And then the waiting begins. This is a three day window in which one waits to find out if they got one of their six hotel choices and if not, then they hope they got a decent hotel in hotel circle."

Check out the rest of her thoughts at High Phalanges and good luck!

Gotta Hear! Piece of the Action Podcast

This past weekend I sat down over Skype with my #ActionMovieBro Eoin from The Action Elite. This time out we discussed San Diego Comic-Con, July birthday boys Wesley Snipes, Michael Biehn and Arnold Schwarzenegger, Navy Seals, summer movies and all things The Terminator! So sit back and let us talk you through traffic, your ride home or lying in the middle of the floor.

Con-Man: San Diego '15 Saturday

Ready for an old timer story? Back in the late 2000's, I'd wake up at 3:30 AM, get down to San Diego Comic-Con around 6:00, have breakfast, jump in line and walk into the show. Cut to 2015, my 11th year attending and 4th volunteering in my usual 6:00 9:00 AM spot and walking over to the convention center at 5:30 AM there were already shuttles and lines with throngs of attendees. The last two years I directed traffic for various toy or autograph lines but on this day got put in for ADA, that's when you wait in line for someone who is physically unable. My fellow volunteers and line waiters were fun to chat with, I met one woman who has been coming to the show for 20 plus years and still loves it and surprisingly have met several first time attendees. In line I also met Comic-Con celebrity, The Button Lady, a woman who dons one of six capes adorned with themed buttons she makes herself of Firefly, Marvel, etc.

After hearing that people were walking into Hall H for the Warner Brothers/Superman VS. Batman panel, I tried my luck and went over for Quentin Tarantino's Hateful 8 where the writer/director would be unveiling footage along with cast members like KURT RUSSELL, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen and Bruce Dern. Sadly my streak of being able to walk in ended after 30 minutes in line, the chute in front of me made it in but not mine. A friend relayed some photos and info from inside and I got to see Russell's bitching mustache. Next I wandered the floor some more then headed to the Hilton for some programming in the Indigo Ballroom. I ran into Nerd Reactor reporter and Unicorn enthusiast Laura and spotted several guests and celebs having lunch. Guess how much a Moscow Mule runs at the Hilton's Odysea Bar? $18 frigging bucks! And it's not even gallon sized! A couple of Jameson Gingers later I popped in to catch John Barrowman doing his one man panel where anything goes. The Torchwood, Doctor Who and Arrow star is a ball of energy who made himself and the audience laugh. The Barrow has fond memories of working on Who and Torch but is quite enjoying his stint on hit Arrow at the moment. He and a question asker went into a beat box version of the Who theme song after Barrowman had the gent bounce his pecs. Openly homosexual and married, Barrowman was an inspiration for the audience to be who they are and do what they love as long as you know, nobody gets hurt.

Next was a panel I was super pumped for, an early screening of SyFy's 10 part series The Expanse followed by Q&A with the cast and creators. Based on a series of novels by Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck, the duo moderated and let us know that the show isn't quite finished but still looks Damme good. And they weren't lying. Set in a future where factions on Mars, the Asteroid Belt and Earth compete for air and water, we meet Detective Miller (Thomas Jane) as he sweet talks hookers, bashes heads and searches for the missing daughter of a very rich man. Then there's the ice salvaging crew of the Rocinante headed by Holden (Steven Strait) who respond to a distress signal from a derelict vessel. While on Earth we meet business woman Chrisjen (Shohreh Aghdashloo) who works to keep the "Belters" in their place. All in I really enjoyed the episode and look forward to more, heck, I've even like to check out a couple of the books now. Sets of Mars, space stations and ships are impressively huge and there's a nice working class element to everything as Miller's space phone is cracked, you have to smack the elevator controls to make them work, etc. Jane is cool, a touch shady with heart, looking very trim and noir here in dark clothes, vests and a fedora while Strait has a tired but strong authoritative quality that works well for the character.

Afterwards, a huge panel was introduced starting with the King of WeirdCool himself, Thomas Jane followed by Strait, Aghdashloo, Cas Anvar, Dominique Tipper, Wes Chatham producer Naren Shankar, writer/producers Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby. Cast and crew talked about having three stages at Pinewood in Toronto, including the largest for the show which was rare for television to physically represent such scale. Changing things from the book and taking elements from future installments for the first season, Fergus and Ostby praising novelists Abraham and Franck for being natural screenwriters, letting the series breathe versus compacting like in film, Thomas Jane imagining he's a rocket pilot while sitting on the toilet and how many "shit"s or curse words the cast gets per episode. A fun panel and a terrific looking show, I'm excited for the premiere in December. Outside I ran into the great guys from #ThatHashTagShow Daniel and Josh as they were compiling and rendering all of their videos, photos and news from the day. D and J attended Sunbow Celebration and I'm looking forward to having them out for another event soon.

It was back to the floor for some more walking where I found a buddy from Rotten Tomatoes, photographer homie Jeremy and founder of Beyond Fest/Mad Movie Titan himself, Mr. Christian Parkes who was set to speak on a panel. The Bold Voice of Contemporary Horror Film: Fantastic Fest, Beyond Fest and SpectreFest brought together actor/producer Elijah Wood, filmmakers Sarah Adina Smith, Roxanne Benjamin, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead along with Mr. Parkes, XYZ Films' Mette Marie Katz and Blumhouse Development exec Ryan Turek. The panel spoke about the current state of independent horror being at an all time high with several festivals giving them the spotlight rather than being relegated to midnight. The entire panel were fans of horror as youngsters and now as professionals are banding together to make, sell and distribute their work with low budget, friend and family produced films finding audiences, leading to bigger and better things. Previews for several upcoming horror flicks were shown with Wood's comedy/fright mash up Cooties looking like a funny and bloody time while I can't recall the other two titles...One was an Australian flick about two brothers whose mother comes home from surgery a changed woman and it looks creeeeepy! In a Comic-Con first, I saw rules being broken as Parkes threw out DVD's to the crowd which is apparently strictly forbidden, probably for liability reasons, being warned by staff then doing it again. A quick round of trivia closed the entertaining hour with winners being given passes to Beyond or Fantastic Fest in LA and Austin.

Parties awaited but lines are lame so we opted for some libations and conversation at the Comic-Con'do. Leaving the next morning I realized this was the most fun I'd had in 11 years of attending. There's nothing else like San Diego Comic-Con and there never will be. Many a friend commented that it seemed to be less crowded with less cosplay this year so maybe my prediction that the Hollywood bubble bursting, more shows popping up and casual fans giving up is coming true. It's still the biggest and the best Con I've been too and I've been to a lot. See ya next year!

Con-Man: San Diego '15 Friday

 
Phew, another fun yet long and crazy day at San Diego Comic-Con 2015! Checked out the floor and found some amazing Predator themed Mini-Mates where you can get plastic versions of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny Glover and Carl Weathers as Dutch, Harrigan and Dillon respectively. Crappily, they were coming soon and not yet available...It was off to the 75th Anniversary of The Shadow and Doc Savage with artist/publisher Anthony Tollin and writer/producer Michael Uslan. The duo discussed their early encounters with Shadow and Savage and how the two pulp heroes have influenced their lives and careers since. Tollin's Sanctum Publishing has republished nearly 200 Shadow novels and almost as many of Savage. Uslan's first writing job at DC Comics came when The Shadow was canceled but retroactively revived after final sales numbers came in. With no script, Uslan saw his opportunity and pitched a Shadow tale that saw him fighting smugglers using barrels going over Niagara Falls to move drugs across country lines. The two also discussed just how much Batman ripped off The Shadow in the 30's as writers back then thought comic books and pulps were so disposable they figured no one would notice. An attendee was dressed in a terrific Shadow costume that looked straight from the 1994 flick while the Shane Black scripted Doc Savage in development was teased and producer Uslan was visibly excited at the progress. As an added bonus, we got a copy of some collected The Shadow stories along with new issues of the Doc Savage/Shadow/The Avenger team up Justice, Inc. from Dynamite that Uslan is a writer on.

Next it was time for From Novel to Comic to Film: Turning Books into Other Forms of Pop Culture that had a stacked panel including author Hugh Howey, comic book writer and artist Jimmy Palmiotti, Guardians of the Galaxy co-writer Nicole Perlman, Book of Eli scribe Gary Whitta and literary agent Kristin Nelson. This was a fun and very informative panel as everyone was very versed in the comic book, novel and movie worlds. Lots of talk about studios being risk adverse and everything needing to be based on something existing and successful. Mention of defunct Radical Entertainment where writers could pay to have their scripts turned into comic books and plunked into stores in order to use to pitch to studios. The most famous result being the high watt yet uneven Cowboys and Aliens. Surprisingly, no mention of Whitta's work on upcoming Star Wars flick Rogue One but I did snag a copy of his first novel, Abomination. The panel reiterated writing whatever because you want to, not because you think it will sell to Hollywood. In a bit of insider sharing, apparently Los Angeles comic stores Meltdown and Golden Apple organize their titles by what has been optioned and what hasn't so producers can find properties faster. Howey is in the midst of a career high with Wool becoming an international best seller that's been optioned by Fox and Sand that will hopefully become a TV series. Some interesting talk about translating a property for the media and not being shackled to the source material finding success with Game of Thrones veering from the novels or lackluster with too faithful Watchmen or in Palmiotti's Jonah Hex case, 100 + issues a not a thing made it to the screen. Hollywood!

Again I meant to tackle more panels but ended up walking around the floor and going over to schedule my annual volunteer shift of directing traffic at 6:00 AM. After a little break at the Comic-Con'do, it was back to the show for the best time to walk the exhibition floor, the final hour before closing. It's empty so you can see everything and get to what you want. Well except Funko who closed their booth early because they sent their staff to work an event...great business plan...And MTV who had a shaved headed Manu Bennett signing to promote new show The Shannara Chronicles. I ran into artist and now friend of Dammaged Goods William Stout and checked out more great art, statues and comics. Fox was hosting a game show on the floor asking if you could Beat the Geek at movie trivia. After answering a few questions from the sidelines contestants couldn't, I was put in for Cult Classics, not knowing Edward Scissorhands and Fight Club trivia but winning out thanks to my knowledge of Speed and Commando! My prize? My choice of digital download of several Fox titles, I picked Aliens. Because you know, James Cameron, Michael Biehn, Bill Paxton and Lance Henriksen! After dinner plans fell through I walked over to Petco Park where an interactive zone with Peanuts and Point Break were set up among others and a zombie themed run had taken over the stadium. Up several blocks was Skeletor's Lair Pop Up Shop from Mattel with Convention exclusives like tee shirts, Chia Pets, figures and more. The place was decked out with Skeletor art, felt like villain wall paper and a bust of Battlecat!

It's an early morning tomorrow filled with volunteering, more floor walking and panels so no partying tonight. Have fun and see you Saturday!

Con-Man: San Diego '15 Thursday

After getting in most of my floor walking Wednesday at Preview Night, there was no rush to get over to the show today. After a little spell walking on the comic side of the exhibition floor I headed up to the first panel of the day, Peanuts 65th Anniversary! It was more a tribute to Charles M. Schulz with representatives from the museum up north and several artists inspired by the man. Of course it was a love and appreciation fest with the artists discussing Schulz's simple and economic style being one of the most difficult to emulate. Apparently, Schulz's famous squiggly line style came after he got on heart medication so it became even harder to copy. Of course The Peanuts gang is still firmly in our mind with a new movie on the way, holiday specials on every year, MetLife ads, etc. A limited series comic book based on Snoopy's Red Baron adventures is due out in September and looks like a lot of fun.

Then it was over to Bringing Toys to Life in Video Games: He-Man and G.I. Joe Complete the Toy Soldiers: War Chest, an action/strategy game coming out in August that pits armies from the Dark Lords, etc against 80's favorites G.I. Joe, Masters of the Universe and just announced Cobra and Assassin's Creed! Like Toy Story meets Warcraft, gameplay looked like a lot of fun as you're on a play set in a child's room. Controlling armies you can play as the hero Duke or He-Man. Joe historian and Hasbro exec Derryl DePriest, Mattel Director Mark Morse and game producer Josh Mast talked about the evolution of the title and translating the figures to the digitized world. As a Joe aficionado, DePriest asked for some broken thumbs and various fan favorite vehicles, sticker decals and the like. While He-Man was originally going to be based on the 1982 figure but if you'll remember, only had 5 points of articulation so they used a newer model in order to provide extra animation and movement. In a nice touch, you call down upgrades and support like Battle Cat or a new tank and it drops in it's original packaging box. There was some fun trivia (Duke was the first mail order figure available, "Let the power return" signals the transition from He-Man to Prince Adam, etc.) and Toy Soldiers looks like a good time.

I was late so of course Jim Lee's panel was fully booked but I just wandered over to see his former protege Humberto Ramos' Spotlight panel. To start, the Spider-Man, Impulse, Crimson and Out There artist/creator was awarded with Comic-Con International's Inkpot Award which identifies individual contributions to the worlds of comics, science fictoin/fantasy, film, etc. It was a stacked guest list to help Ramos including Jimmy Palmiotti and writer extraordinaire Mark Waid who helped start the dialog. Ramos always loved Spider-Man and got into the business by submitting his work and going to conventions for portfolio reviews. A still prominent artist told him to give up and now they share panels at shows, so eat that, douche! Industry stalwarts Tom Brevoort and Walt Simonson were early supporters, telling Ramos he had something special and to keep working. My favorite Ramos work came from his stint at the creator owned Cliffhanger label in the 2000's where high schoolers vs demons book Out There ran for 20 some issues. Asked about his contemporaries Joe Madureira and J. Scott Campbell who had trouble shipping books in a timely manner while Ramos put out two books, Ramos felt they owed it to the audience to finish their story and wrapped up first series Crimson. Unlike Joe Mad's fun but perpetually late Battle Chasers which went on hiatus and never returned. Everyone on the panel more or less described Ramos as the nicest guy in the world which was more difficult than succeeding. Ramos was humble, funny and thoughtful throughout so his success is well deserved.

There were several more panels I meant to check out but got caught up reuniting with friends and colleagues like #ActionMovieBro David J. Moore. While I'm here for fun, David has work to do and just came from interviewing Wesley Snipes, promoting new NBC show, The Player. It's a very rare thing when you can discuss hardly known action movies at a rapid fire pace. Was looking forward to checking out Miami Vice 30th Anniversary Retrospective but I totally forgot my badge coming back to the show and opted to go to Happy Hour with some cosplayers instead. Later that night it was time to support the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund at their welcome party. Was a nice shindig at the Westgate's old school hotel where we had some delicious Incredible Hulk cocktails. Our pedicab driver told us about a semi-hidden bar on our way that was Alice in Wonderland themed complete with trick entry. We made it though and continued the Con-ebration. It's been a really fun year and it's not even time for Friday! See ya at the show!

Con-Man: Summer Swell

It's been months since I've been to a convention, months! July is going to be a Kaiju near double event with two of the biggest shows around coming in hot and in a row. Anime Expo takes over Downtown, Los Angeles July 4th Weekend while San Diego Comic-Con International starts on Thursday, the 9th. Then a new, smaller show has popped onto my radar, August's Central Coast Comic-Con on the 28th-30th before the last show of the summer, The Long Beach Comic Con September 12th and 13th, phew!

My inbox has been inundated with guest, event and press releases regarding movie premieres, new apps, products, cartoons, toys and interview opportunities for 2015's Anime Expo. It was also announced that organizer SPJA - The Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, has signed a five year contract to stay in Los Angeles. AX has brought in 100,000 plus attendees and exhibitors for years and 2015's show is projected to bring in 280,000! With nearly 300 exhibitors representing gaming, fashion, toys, music, film, animation and a whole lot more, AX brings in an estimated $55 million bucks into the city during it's 4-day stay. This will be my first year attending in earnest as last year was more of a taster or lookie loo if you will. I only spent a few hours walking around but got a feel for the vibe, attendees and offerings. Basically, a whole lotta cosplay and Japanese culture. Panels run the gamut of how to survive your first con, music, karaoke, new and old anime screenings, fandom, audio mixing, e and board gaming, tips on moving to Japan, voice actor studio and much more. Recognizable brands like Dragon Ball Z, Sailor Moon, Naruto, Ultraman, Robotech and Cowboy Bebop will be well with premieres and screenings. There are multiple separate ticketed events going on like the Maid Cafe, an interactive experience of dances, music performances, photo ops and more or late night Fate/Stay Night Special with screening, Q&A and a concert. Gonna get weird, gonna get crazy, gonna be weirdcrazy!

The following week is the big one, the mecca of all things popular culture, the one, the only, mother fudging San Diego Comic-Con! Comikaze, New York, Salt Lake, any Wizard World show? Children.  Amateurs in comparison. No other show gives you face value like SDCC. Your ticket gets you into the convention, exhibit hall and programming. No Gold or VIP upcharges here. No major plugging to plop down $50 bones for a photo or autograph. Heck, you don't even need a badge as there's plenty of art shows, fan gatherings, movie screenings, parties, Q&A's, concerts and the like going on outside the hall in the streets of downtown San Diego. In a first, late night TV host Conan O'Brien will be hosting four shows from a local theater and moderating a panel. In a probable other first, San Diego Comic Con is banning selfie sticks, GoPro poles, Google Glasses, streaming, e-cigarettes and drones! Good, it's hard enough walking around when a million people stop dead in their tracks in the middle of an aisle or stop to take photos of cosplayers. If anything, SDCC could pioneer small areas between booths for photos so traffic isn't as impacted.

In another step towards weeding out casual fans only looking for famous faces, SDCC has made news over which Hollywood studios would be sitting out this year. Once a part of press junkets, high profile Con flicks turned box office flops like Scott Pilgrim VS the World, Green Lantern, Cowboys and Aliens and Ender's Game have cooled studio presence. This year Marvel, Sony and Paramount are all sitting out as they lack product to promote. Plus, Marvel doesn't need Con anymore, they've got their own events at Disney owned theaters and shows like the El Capitan and D23 Expo. Lionsgate will be back with the final installment of The Hunger Games after bypassing a panel for Mocking Jay Chapter I and The Expendables III. SyFy network has an abundance of screenings and panels lined up with the Thomas Jane starring The Expanse getting an early screening a full 5 months before it's broadcast debut in December. The King of WeirdCool is scheduled to attend. In recent years television has made up for the lack of movies and this year will be no different. Game of Thrones, Agent Carter, The Flash and The Walking Dead are all lined up for panels, some of them in the 6,000 plus capacity of Hall H.

Then of course there's a whole side of the convention center dedicated to comics, artists, toys and swag. Dogs big and small like Marvel, DC, Top Cow, Dark Horse, BOOM!, DelRey, IDW and so many more will be on site. Artists and writers like Stan Lee, Jim Lee, Humberto Ramos, Jeff Smith, Jim Steranko and William Stout are among the dozens of already announced special guests not even including the hundreds filling up Artist Alley. I'll be looking to fill in some gaps in my growing Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commando's collection as I've just about tapped out on Terminator, Big Trouble In Little China, Aliens, Rocketeer and Captain America toys and trinkets. It's gonna be mad. It's gonna be fantastic. Embrace it! See you in San Diego!

Con-Man: WonderCon 2015 Sunday

Although total attendance for WonderCon is less than half of San Diego, the great alternate show still managed to sell out 3-Day badges as well as Saturday. I always tell people who are discouraged by the coordinating commitment that is SDCC to check out WC as it's a fantastic show in it's own right with plenty of swag, comics, art, games, panels and special events to keep you busy with little of the headache. Sunday we rolled in for the annual Nerdist panel as they keep expanding and have recently moved into new office space. New shows, podcasts, even an improv class is on the way. We found some better convention center food near the arena with sammiches and fajita bowls next to burgers and hot dogs. Some more walking around the floor led to more flipping through comic boxes where it became Liefield Sunday with a haul of The New Mutants as well as finding the last issue of the 2004 6-part mini-series relaunch as well as the Shatterstar mini-series. Back to the Arena we went to catch WB's The Flash panel that had cast members Danielle Panabaker, Candice Patton and Carlos Valdes joined by executive producer Andrew Kreisberg. A cool sizzle reel played first showcasing some end of season craziness featuring the Rogues teaming up as well as Gorilla Grodd and another crossover with Arrow. The panel was a lot of fun and they mentioned an Easter Egg I missed. Apparently in a recent episode where you see The Flash fighting Professor Zoom with his mom in the middle, the Flash emblem has a white circle around it versus Gustin Grant's current red. What does that mean? That there's still a mighty big chance that John Wesley Shipp will be revealed as an alternate Flash from the 90's show and give us what we all want! YESSSSSSS!

Some fun cosplay included a Predator and a female Terminator along with a first sight for me, U.S. Agent! When Captain America gave up the mantle under government pressure, Johnny Walker stepped in, a former pro wrestler who had been suped up by the Power-Broker but was also kinda crazy. When Steve Rogers battled and defeated Walker for the title, Walker donned the black Captain outfit Steve adopted during his non-Captain America crime fighting. Thus becoming The U.S. Agent, a more aggressive and maybe psycho version of Cap who would butt heads with Cap's buddy and West Coast Avengers leader Clint Barton aka Hawkeye. The dude was surprised as nobody knew who he was but he looked great. Coolest swag of the day had to have been the comic book and movie themed rugs that included Cap's shield, the Millennium Falcon, Han frozen in carbonite and Space Invaders. I feel like we should have picked one up cause it would have really tied the room together...

Some more walking around Artist Alley and we decided to call it a day. It was another great show and some big news hit at the very end as Comic-Con International announced that they would be moving WonderCon to the Los Angeles Convention Center in 2016 over the March 25-27th weekend. This year that would put it up against Seattle's Emerald City Comicon on the west coast but ECCC is expanding to 4 days in '16 and moving to April 7th-10th. It'll be cool to have WC in downtown but I dunno, Anaheim's a lot easier to get around than downtown. There's also only 5,000 some hotel rooms within walking distance of the convention center compared to 13,000 in Anaheim and 11,000 in San Diego. There's not much to walk to as L.A. Live will quickly be overrun and the surrounding area doesn't make you feel uber safe as gentrification is butting up right into Skid Row. It's only a one year contract though as Anaheim is scheduled to undergo renovations and expansion. The show has moved before, starting in Oakland, moving to San Francisco then down to Anaheim. It will be interesting to see if there's an uptick in Hollywood studio presence since it's literally in their neighborhood. Until then, see ya in San Diego!

Con-Man: Spring Circuit

While it's cold and snowy across much of the country, Spring Time is nearly here and that means conventions! This weekend is The Long Beach Comic Expo, sister show to The Long Beach Comic Con. They're pulling out all the stops to make this their biggest Expo ever with lots of comic book and media guests as well as some back to back stacked programming.

Long Beach Comic Expo | Saturday & Sunday, February 28 - March 1 | Long Beach, California

Looking forward to the G.I. Joe animation panel as a nice primer to next week's Sunbow Celebration double feature. The Gargoyles panel is a nice touch as is the spotlight on legendary X-Men scribe Chris Claremont. Cool to see Magnet and Magnolia previewing new movies as well as the Eat. Geek. Play. Studio hanging out with Stan Sakai and Gerry Conway among others. Genre movie favorite Lance Henriksen is attending but I'm disappointed a panel wasn't scheduled. Lots of topics covered though with writing, diversity, cosplay, webcomics, marketing and more over the two days.

Emerald City Comicon | Thursday - Sunday, March 27-29 | Seattle, Washington

We're heading back to the great green north to check out Emerald City for a second time. This will be our only out of state show we're attending again as Calgary Expo and Salt Lake City were fun but just not as convenient or special enough to lure us back. Hoping to get out to Arizona or Nevada for a new show in 2015 though. ECCC is shaping up to be another great time with guests across the Artist, Writer, Cosplayer, Novelist and Celebrity spectrum. Comics guys like Kevin Eastman, Tim Sale, Humberto Ramos and Dan Jurgens will be on hand while celebs Hayley Atwell, Michael Bell, Levar Burton and John Wesley Shipp will be sure to provide some great spotlight panels. The Cinema Series is back with Karen Allen, Stan Lee and Brandon Routh attending screenings of Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Avengers and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. Congratulations to Jennifer Blanc and Michael Biehn as they're expecting a child together meaning we won't be seeing them on the flight up again like last year. Biehn will be participating in an Aliens reunion panel at Monsterpalooza in Los Angeles the same weekend of ECCC.

WonderCon | Friday - Sunday, April 3 - 5 | Anaheim, Calilfornia

Coming back to Anaheim for it's 4th year is San Diego Comic-Con International's less crazy but nearly as awesome sister show WonderCon. First tip for attending, don't stay at the Clarion. Stay at the Hilton since it's connected or if you feel like walking a couple blocks, The Red Lion, cause they have mini-fridges in all their rooms. Anywho, WonderCon is great, it really is like Comic-Con junior. You've got the huge exhibition floor, tons of vendors, lots of guests and programming with literally half the madness. The show is still being put together but the likes of Darwyn Cooke, Jae Lee, Dustin Nguyen and Rick Remender caught my eye on the Special Guests list. Warner Brothers is bringing latest DC animated flick, Batman vs. Robin as it holds it's world premiere during WonderCon. Also announced is special event Superman: The Richard Donner Years Celebrity Super Reunion with producers, actors and writers.

Star Wars Celebration | Thursday - Sunday, April 16 - 19 | Anaheim, California

Two weeks after WonderCon it's back to Anaheim for the show I bought tickets for 20 months ahead of time, Star Wars Celebration! Originally scheduled to coincide with the release of the new films, Star Wars Celebration is now hitting early as the flicks won't be ready until the holidays. No matter, it's still looking like a fantastic show with Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Kathleen Kennedy, J.J. Abrams, Kenny Baker, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and so many more guests scheduled to attend. On top of that, they're screening all 6 Star Wars movies! There's also an art show, cosplay contest, speed dating, podcasting and much much more lined up.

Grudgement Day: Con-Man

I'm trying to think what my first Comic Convention experience was, I believe it was a small show in my hometown at a local hotel meeting room or Elks Lodge.  I must have been in middle school because my dad took me and patiently accompanied me as I checked out the tables full of back issues.  There were a few artists set up for meeting fans but I didn't know who the heck they were yet.  I picked up a short stack of comics and happily went on my way.  The regular flea market and toy shows at the Fair Grounds always had comics for sale but they weren't the main focus.  The Mid-Ohio Con in Easton was a decent sized show at the Hilton, I hear they moved to a bigger venue then were acquired by Wizard World in 2010.  A little history shows that Mid-Ohio Con used to be held in my hometown in the early 80's complete with guests like John Bryne, Frank Miller, Stan Lee and Kevin Eastman!  In 2004, my friends and I attended our first major show, Wizard World Chicago.  Mind you, this was when Wizard was still a magazine and not some company that randomly ran conventions and held stake in a now defunct MMA league.  My buddies and I drove from Ohio to Chi-Town, riding the train, eating pizza and breaking door frames in our hotel with a chin up bar (yup, I was working out on any schedule in any situation even back then).

Wizard World Chicago was a lot of fun.  The floor seemed pretty big and I picked up all kinds of good swag like a Jack Kirby Captain America trash can, lots of comics, probably a bust or two and then we saw him, mother fucking Rob Liefeld had a table and was doing sketches.  I don't recall programming being much in those days at WWC so we plopped down in Liefeld's line to get an original piece of art.  Well, we learned the hard way that a guy can only sketch so many sketches in an hour and we were way back in line.  We ended up getting some comics signed and chit chatting with the former Marvel superstar artist and creator of X-Force turned co-founder of Image Comics.  Since we weren't coming back the next day, Liefeld told us to e-mail him and he'd send us something.  10 years later and I'm still waiting.  Plus he was a dick on Twitter and friends with a negative neckbeard movie "critic" so my days of supporting him are long gone.  Unlike Jim Lee who is just the coolest, most random guy you could ask for in the industry.  He brought Mrs. Fields cookies to the audience one time, changes up his panel focus every time and generally loves to spread the gospel of comic books.

Today, Wizard Magazine is no more but Wizard World Conventions are EVERYWHERE.  Literally.  There are 25 shows across the country with a focus on celebrity signings, cast reunions and of course, comic book writers and artists.  It's where Pop Culture comes to life says their website and what gets the most real estate on said site?  The revolving list of celebrities you can pay to meet.  A guy from the Harry Potter movies, someone from a 90's TV show, a Star Trek cast member or 7, etc.  There's Admission then there's VIP Admission so you can bypass lines, hobnob with guests and get the best seating at panels for an upcharge.  What's wrong with all of that?  Technically nothing, more comic conventions are a good thing.  I travel to 8-10 shows a year but haven't been to a Wizard World since Chicago.  These are no longer comic book conventions, they're pop culture conventions.  Having attended shows big and small, happy and sad, I consider shows like Wizard World and Salt Lake City new-age types with their focus on celebrities to bring casual fans in then include comics, artist alleys and special events.  It's a nice mix for the most part as you can go see one of your favorite actors at a spotlight panel then look around the floor for comics and swag.  Artist Alley is always fun and I've met a couple of cool peeps who get to make a living doing what they love.  Most of the time they're selling personal takes on beloved genre movies and TV titles rather than hocking their own comic book or creations though.

So what's the point of all of this?  I dunno, I just feel like all this prodding of fans for more and more dinero is not good for the convention scene and why Comic-Con International's San Diego and Wonder Con remain by far the greatest example of a show.  Why?  Because they're a celebration of the popular arts.  They produce 3 solid shows a year and aren't trying to take over the world. They're non-profits but provide the absolute best experience one could ask for, as long as you're ready for the crowds and lines.  Once inside, your ticket grants you access to every event and can keep you busy from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM if you've got the energy.  No Paid Events, no Additional Ticket required, none of that.  Wizard World and SLCC are businesses out to make money and are now using their size to pummel fans and competition alike.  For example, fan clubs used to get free tables at WW shows to boost awareness and raise money for charity but now they have to shell out hundreds of dollars just to get a space.  Kind of tough when you're not there to sell merchandise.  Then there's the cases of Wizard World moving into new territory in what seems like a bid to dominate the local scene, which they deny.  Take for example Minneapolis, Minnesota where Wizard World scheduled their show two weeks before long running local non-profit SpringCon after failing to acquire the brand.  However, SpringCon claims the beef gave them a boost in public profile, similar to what Salt Lake received when San Diego sued them.

But doesn't the abundance of shows give more awareness to the peeps over in Artist Alley?  Yes, I'm not saying WW is evil or should hold less shows, I just wish we got more variety.  I fear we're getting into cookie cutter conventions here so one show will be like any other just in a different town.  The same celebs tour the country at these shows, selling the same things, telling the same stories.  More crowds for celebs means more foot traffic for Artists but when you're making the lions share of profits from selling prints, magnets and stickers based on someone else's ideas, I figure you might get tired of it, like a talented band who can only book gigs doing covers of well known groups because no one will pay them to play their own material.  Whereas Comic-Con boasts over 1,000 panels with 100's of guests/speakers from fans to professionals covering just about every topic known to man like writing, drawing, painting, collaborating, social themes, legal advice and how-to, Wizard Shows maybe eek out a few dozen panels, most of them spotlights on well known celebs or artists. 

Oh well, maybe this new abundance of shows will help ease the crowds in San Diego.  With an attendance cap and Hollywood interest waning, it'll be nice for us die-hards if there's a few less people cramming the aisles.  I'd like to see specific subject shows grow like the He-Man/She-Ra Power-Con (which couldn't make it in New York), Bot-Con, G.I. Joe Con, Austin's Mondo Con and am looking forward to Los Angeles' latest, Comic Arts Los Angeles, a free event to promote the world of comic books, graphic novels and the creators behind them.

Con-Man: Long Beach Comic Con 2014

It's been a busy week getting back to regular life with a late night screening of The Equalizer on Thursday, Nightcrawler at Beyond Fest Friday then Long Beach Comic Con Saturday.  Doing the Damme thing since 2009, LBCC has expanded into two shows annually, a smaller show in May and a bigger one in September/October.  While Long Beach was one of my favorite shows behind San Diego Comic Con, recent events seem to have peaked in terms of exhibition floor, guests and panels.  While Southern California doesn't have too many competing comic book focused conventions per se, the rise of Wonder Con Anaheim, Comikaze downtown and the like make me wonder if Long Beach isn't at risk of being passed by.

The good is still the good.  Long Beach is a quick jaunt down the 405 from Los Angeles, parking is ample and the surrounding Pike contains a glut of outside attractions in the forms of restaurants, bars, a $1 book store, movie theater and the Queen Mary village.  The convention center is beautiful and spacious but in past years where movie replica cars and food trucks lined up outside, nary an outdoor attraction was present this year.  Inside, there was a decent sized crowd of attendees and cosplayers and the floor in Exhibit Hall C was filled if not packed.  Vendor wise I ended up grabbing some random issues of Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos and Captain America, trades of collected The Phantom newspaper strips and some Walt Simonson Thor.  Funko figures were everywhere and there was a decent amount of vendors selling comics new and old.  I even spotted a first, Miami Vice action figures!  So great to see Crockett and Tubbs in plastic form. 

Long Beach Comic Con staple RAW Studios had a sizable booth set up with artists Tim Bradstreet and William Stout as well as X-Files spinoff Lone Gunmen star Dean Haglund.  Bradstreet had some wicked The Shadow prints for sale and we chatted for a few minutes with Mr. Stout who had just returned from Austin's inaugural MondoCon.  As always, he's a cool guy but I wish he had some artwork from the Masters of the Universe film with him.  Last year we met Lance Henriksen at the booth who was awesome and in years past co-owner Thomas Jane would be hanging out.  Without either of their mainstream name and face recognition present, it was pretty quiet around the table.  Elsewhere on the floor you had comic dynamos like Mark Silvestri, Jimmy Palmiotti, Len Wein and James O'Barr meeting the fans but overall, guest wattage was a little low this year.

Panel wise there was plenty to choose from ranging from cosplay to drawing lessons to character and artist/writer spotlights but nothing really jumped out at us, sadly.  Instead we took to the Pike and hit up the $1 bookstore where I continued my The Phantom theme and grabbed the movie tie-in novelization for the 1996 swashbuckler starring Billy Zane and the WWII set The Monuments Men.  Next door at the Auld Dubliner a friend met up with us for a few Dublin Donkeys, Jameson and Ginger Beer with lime in a copper cup.  Sound familiar?  I just had a weekend theme of Moscow Mule's last week which just had vodka instead.  Two of those bad boys and I was feeling good.  The bacon and cheddar topped tator tots and Shepherd's Pie were delicious as well.  Saying our goodbyes to my former co-worker, we headed back to the show and did a final lap, flipping through some more comic boxes, checking out action figures and more of artist alley. 

On my way out I couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic for Long Beach Comic Cons past where RAW Studios held film screenings and Thomas Jane sat in front of my friends and I for The Mist.  Or the spectacle of the Zombie March that I believe set some kind of record with a few thousand participants.  Panels with William Stout, Iron Man 3's Shane Black and Seth Green for Robot Chicken were sorely missed for their insight, inspiration and laughs.  I know LBCC has been competing with Comikaze in the last couple of years for dates and then new kid on the block were in Long Beach advertising, now that they've established themselves as a force on the con circuit, I hope they haven't tied up all the guests and exhibiters because we need more cons, not less.  But I can appreciate Long Beach keeping the focus on comics, artists and writers instead of just hocking paid opportunities to interact with celebrities.

Con-Man: Salt Lake City Round Up

Saturday was a short day where we hoped to get Danny Glover's photo, see Simon Helberg and maybe Stephen Amell before doing a last walk of the floor for any unseen swag.  We breezed on in the door with our Gold passes and I headed for Photo Ops where a very small line was formed.  I'm not one for paying to interact with celebrities but I hadn't spent much at the show and I had a significant discount so I figured what the hey, it'll make for a funny Christmas card.  Danny Glover has always been an actor I've enjoyed, especially in the Lethal Weapon series and Predator 2 where his clap in Gary Busey's face actually saved a rude asshole and his rude asshole assistant one day at work when I was ready to beat up an old man and his underling. 

After a few minutes on the floor we realized we'd seen everything the day before so we headed to Simon Helberg from The Big Bang Theory's panel.  An announcer/organizer type came out several times to pump up the crowd with bad jokes and asked us to scoot in to make room for people coming in.  Compared to the light hearted fun of Alan Tudyk and emotional frankness of Manu Bennett from Friday, Helberg's panel was a bit awkward and got pretty old.  Sure I've seen the show he's famous for but I'm not exactly it's biggest fan.  More than one question was in regards to guest stars and all I could think about was the BS fact that they're all supposed Flash fans but John Wesley Shipp from CBS' own The Flash television show never guest starred.  Also, there wasn't an introduction per se, whereas Manu Bennett can have a quick sizzle reel of action pieces, Helberg's clip consisted of him telling jokes without audio.  He seemed like a nice guy but the moderator didn't do much to prep the crowd and talk about Helberg's career, beginnings or how he got involved with the show and just handed the mic(s) to the crowd.  Coupons were handed out for Helberg's autograph and photo op so when people asked for photos on stage they were awkwardly denied.  One question asker said San Diego sucked but I'm sure he's never actually been there to see how clown shoes Salt Lake's show is in comparison but we'll get to that later.

The panel got lame kind of quickly with too many kids asking incoherent questions or people making comments instead of asking anything and then the fawning fans asking for up close and personal time.  They just gave you coupons to meet him, if you want a face to face experience, you gotta pay!  That's how this show works!  Helberg did get to talk about his studies at NYU, thinking the show would be canceled due to the writer's strike, being in awe of Stephen Hawking, the loneliness of shooting his astronaut subplot, working with Joss Whedon for Dr. Horrible, how a movie he directed is based on his bumbling, bad luck ridden attempt to win his girlfriend back and that he can't name favorites among the cast since he would alienate others.  Even though we had primo seats for Stephen Amell, having only seen season 1 I figured the panel would be very season 2 and upcoming 3 heavy so we decided to bounce.  It was off to the arcade for another crack at Captain America and The Avengers.  Armed with about $10 bucks in quarters we triumphed over additional villains like Crossbones, Juggernaut, Ultron and then the Red Skull himself, on a space station!  After 5 stages and about 25 minutes of gameplay, we had defeated the game and the universe can sleep safely once again.

Then it was time for our photo op with Danny Glover.  I honestly thought no one would be queued up but I was wrong.  There were dozens of people already waiting.  I had planned to say something to Mr. Glover but once we got in with him, he was just so kind and happy to be there that all I could do was shake his hand, ask how he was doing and smile like a goof.  A truly enjoyable experience and the photo is now hanging in the den.

Parting thoughts on Salt Lake Comic Con?  It's a fun show but still has to work out a lot of their logistical issues.  Thursday's wait time and disorganization was pretty unacceptable to me although Friday went smoothly.  Saturday got real crowded and it's estimated that 120,000 peeps rolled through in total.  But if their staff can't handle that capacity, maybe they should consider capping ticket sales.  Oh wait, they're for profit so no, that won't happen.  Their info book didn't include an actual schedule of events and there could have been a lot more signage around the floor for special events, panel rooms, etc.  The exhibition floor was decent with lots of variety but we got through it pretty quickly.  Panel wise beyond actor spotlights were mostly fan run and listening to super fans talk about a subject really isn't that interesting or educational compared to someone involved professionally in a comic, movie or book discussing their experience.  How does it compare to San Diego Comic Con?  It doesn't.  At all.  I hope attendees will stop comparing themselves to the show because they're not on the same level.  At all.  They might have crammed nearly as many people into the show but they also gouged them to buy upgraded ticket packages that didn't even get you much.  The entire show is based around selling autographs and photos whereas SDCC is about celebrating the arts with over 1,000 panels to choose from. Nothing was going on outside the show unlike San Diego where half a dozen venues offsite offer more activities, many for free while SLCC had special events with Kevin Sorbo and Hulk Hogan available for a separate ticket price.  So for their own sake, I hope fans and organizers of SLCC work on making their show better, not trying to compete with San Diego because they're not in the same league and mouthing off about something you've never even experienced is just sad.

With Salt Lake City being such a religious town, the show did not occur on Sunday so our flight back to Los Angeles included no less than Bruce Campbell, Jon Heder, Cary Elwes and Lou Ferrigno.  Lou is still a pretty big boy and Bruce has that great, distinctive voice that could read you your rights and be entertaining.  I'd probably come back to Salt Lake Comic Con but only for Thursday or Friday, there's just not enough going on to keep you there for 3 days.  I hear there's a huge outdoor store outside SLC complete with an indoor shooting range and full sized Ferris wheel so that would be cool to check out.  Until then, America needs your help!

Con-Man: Salt Lake and the City of Lines

It's going to be an interesting month for me as trips to Seattle, Salt Lake City, Des Moines and Columbus for work and play have me hopping out of state 4 out of 5 weekends.  Today, we were off to Salt Lake City, Utah to attend a new show and see the city.  Unfortunately, today was a bit of a shit show.  Arriving in Salt Lake, the area seems big, open and well kept as the downtown is a harmonious mix of old brick buildings, houses and new age hotels and sky scrapers.  Beneath that up and coming veneer is a surprisingly quiet city with little foot traffic, homeless on every corner and some of the poorest organization skills I've ever seen.  We can start with the cabbie who didn't know where our hotel was and had to look at my phone instead of having his own GPS.  Then there was the generic Red Rock Brewery and restaurant that looked clean and modern enough but their rotisserie chicken was drier than one from Costco and the fries definitely not fresh from the fryer.  On the way in, there was a line outside the convention center and some fellow attendees at our hotel tiredly told us of having to wait in line for over an hour to get their tickets then another hour to get into the exhibition hall.  I'm well aware that SLCC had a huge first year attendance showing complete with fire marshal intervention but their FanX convention a few months later seemed to streamline their efforts for a smoother running show.

That was not the case today.  You see, SLCC is the best and worst of new age conventions.  Having more conventions is great.  But the rise of the dozens of Wizard Worlds and shows like Salt Lake raises major concerns for this con-goer as these shows are not about quality control, they're about bringing in crowds.  Then gouging them with different levels of pricing and paying for the opportunity to interact with their favorite actors and pop culture personalities.  There was a line for General Admission then a separate, shorter line for those who coughed up extra cash for Gold and VIP packages.  After an hour in line, the Gold/VIP crowd stopped dead in it's tracks.  Volunteers and Security had no idea what was happening and were getting increasingly defensive and sensitive.  It's not their fault, they're not in charge, so me being the Doer I am, set off to find some answers.  A Security guard had nothing for me, she suggested I look for a Team Lead, said leader couldn't quell my concerns so she went to find her manager.  Of course, being an asshole won't get you any further up the line so I simply said I knew he was busy but asked what was going on with the line because we weren't going to get into the exhibition floor with how many people were in front of us and I also didn't want the last 90 minutes to go to waste if they closed down the registration lines.  Said Manager was in the process of opening up 2 more lanes as there were only 4-5 people taking care of the Gold/VIP lines.

I don't know how SLCC didn't anticipate the crowd.  The inaugural show drew in 72,000 goers which was a record for a first year show and put them on the map.  A cease and desist letter from San Diego Comic Con only increased their awareness.  Their FanX show brought in over 100,000 attendees so I figured they would be prepared for this year but they totally weren't.  This is where SDCC shines, yes, there's long lines, but once they get moving, they fucking move.  I've never waited this long to get into the exhibition hall or to pick up tickets in San Diego.  There's dozens of employees to check you in compared to the 5 SLCC had on deck.  So if you're gonna talk shit against the big show and compare yourselves to them, try doing as they do to not piss off your core audience.  A guy behind us went into the General Admission line that wrapped around the building twice and ended up getting his tickets before we did in the shorter line that we paid extra to be in.  Their Twitter feed was full of complaints and while they apologized and are looking to make amends, I still can't understand how they didn't expect crowds and lines on the first day.  Whereas SDCC is a non-profit that caps attendance to give X amount of attendees the best show possible, SLCC is a for-profit company that wants as many people in the door as possible yet doesn't staff up to meet demand.  In the end it took over 2 hours to pick up our badges and we didn't even get into the show.  On the plus side, we met some cool people in line, two of whom were huge Optimus Prime fans but total opposites in regards to football to which I made the observation that sports drives people apart while popular culture brings them together.  So once again, F-you, sports!  Plus, the Gold ticket included a plethora of items like Bruce Campbell branded Con Cash, a discount on a photo op which I otherwise wouldn't even contemplate, a T-shirt, etc.

Afterwards, we walked to Wendy's where it was more lines as there must be something in the air here that no one is prepared as there was one cashier frantically and frustratingly trying to take then send orders off.  At one point she exclaimed she was still waiting for 8 sandwiches.  Are there no managers in the great Salt Lake?  Does no one want their day to run smoother?  I understand things run a little slower here than in Los Angeles but I doubt the locals like waiting in line at Wendy's either.  Although my Double, fries, Frosty and chicken nuggets came out in excellent time and of course, were delicious.

Let's hope Friday and early entry pans out or there's going to be fucking madness.

Paneled Goods: Big Trouble In Little China

By now I'm sure you're aware that John Carpenter and Kurt Russell's 4th cinematic collaboration Big Trouble In Little China from 1986 is one of my favorite movies.  Of all time.  A flop upon release, the film has built up an epic cult following and this year alone has seen multiple screenings around Los Angeles, a UK special edition Blu-Ray, tee shirts and comic books.  At San Diego Comic Con, I picked up the first 2 issues of BOOM!'s new series as well as a their SDCC exclusive which I thought was a 90's style issue # 0 but it was just the first issue with a different cover...

Picking up directly after the events of the film, Big Trouble In Little China is the continuing adventures of Jack Burton and the Pork Chop Express.  Written by The Goon's Eric Powell with an assist from director John Carpenter and pencils by Brian Churilla, BTILC is an amusing read but not quite enough to get me back into monthly reading.  # 1 starts right after the end of the movie which saw big mouthed, not very swashbuckling Jack Burton drive off into the dark, rainy night with a mysterious monstrous creature on the back of his truck after defeating the thousands year old wizard Lo Pan with help from Chinatown residents Wang Chi, an ass kicking, high flying, truck driving restaurant owner and Egg Shen, a tour bus driver and sorcerer.  In The Hell of the Midnight Road & The Ghosts of Storms has Jack becoming the creatures ipso facto guardian since he killed former master Lo Pan with a knife to the forehead.  Dubbing him Pete, Jack returns to Chinatown in time for Wang's wedding in a bid to try and get rid of the creature.  Unfortunately, the vengeful, high kicking Wing Kong burst in and then Qiang Wu , a warrior disciple of Lo Pan shows up.  Wang attempts to do what he does best, which is kick ass with flying kicks, but gets snatched in mid air by Qiang Wu.  Qiang is ready to kill Wang unless Jack travels the Black Road in the Hell of the Seven Faced Widow to retrieve the jars that contain the spirits of the three storms, Thunder, Rain and Lightening.

Of course, never afraid of a challenge and full of John Wayne style bravado, Jack accepts and hits the road along with Egg Shen.  With Six Demon Bag in hand, Egg leads Jack to the Midnight Lands via a door opened from a brick wall via chalk outline, adding to the mystical quality of the book.  Along the way, we learn more about Jack's past and run ins with unusual lovers and adversaries like a vampire ex-wife and a father in law who heads a cult to resurrect a Babylonian demi-god.  There's lots of banter throughout with plenty of Jack talking to himself and classic lines "Like I always say" or "When some wild eyed..." so the tone and spirit of the film is well at hand.  Adding some pretty funny and out there backstories also gives the comic a nice zaniness similar to the film that stopped to explained nothing.  Artist Churilla gives Burton a nice Kurt Russell-esque quality complete with strong chin, pseudo mullet and the tank top/jeans/tall leather boots outfit with pencils and gives Victor Wong's Egg Shen the appropriate goofy, wise and weird appearance.  Eric Powell seems to have a pretty solid grasp on the world and tone of the story but not a ton happens in the second issue.  While Carpenter is a big name, the original film script was written by W.D. Ricther then Gary Goldman so I wonder if they were consulted.

I thought it was a little weird that Jack wouldn't be at Wang's wedding but there's a line thrown in about Jack being on the run from the cops which harkens back to the opening of the film when an attorney asks if Egg knows his whereabouts.  Then at the wedding there's no sign of Gracie Law, Uncle Chu, Eddie, Margo or anything of the Cheng Sings.  Where's James Lew?!  While a fun read, colorful and a nice continuation of the movie, at $4 bucks a pop I don't foresee myself keeping up regularly.  Hopefully a couple of cons from now I can pick up a nice collected edition.

Until then, keep on shaking the pillars of Heaven.