Category: Conventions

Pop Culture Squad > Comics > Conventions
With Further Ado #249: Collab or Team-Up?

With Further Ado #249: Collab or Team-Up?

Posted on by Ed Catto

Collabs. All the cool kids in the business world, from tech start-up founders to crafter brewers, know all about “collabs”. (It took me a while to realize it’s short for “collaborations”.) These collabs are all about two companies (or individuals) partnering for a project, in order that they create something unique and memorable. Something that probably wouldn’t happen if each party had just worked on their own.

But comic people and geek culture know what these collabs really are.

They are Team-Ups!

I think my first “Team-Up” was issue #70 of The Brave and the Bold. This was the January 1967 issue; so, it was on sale during the height of the Batman ‘66 craze. There was one problem: it didn’t look like a pleasant collaboration to me. Two heroes, Batman and Hawkman (who was new to me back then) were beating the stuffing out of one another. In the background, a crashed Batmobile was still smoking. This was presumably the result of the Caped Crusader’s and the Winged Wonder’s fight. These two crimefighters were even pulling at each other’s masks, which must have been in direct conflict with some unwritten superhero code. Continue reading “With Further Ado #249: Collab or Team-Up?” →

Watch the Death of Superman Panel from ITHACON 2023

Watch the Death of Superman Panel from ITHACON 2023

Posted on by Bob Harrison

Thirty years ago Superman died. Amazingly, that was not the end of the Man of Steel, but the storyline that led up to to that momentous event and the subsequent stories that immediately followed it have become a huge part of the history of the character.

At ITHACON on April 21, 2023, I hosted a panel with writer Roger Stern and colorist Glenn Whitmore and we discussed how the story came to be and the execution of it. At the time there were four monthly “Superman” books and Roger Stern was writing Action Comics. Glenn Whitmore was coloring all four of those books.

Roger Stern began writing comics professionally in the mid 1970s and had long runs on Amazing Spider-Man and Avengers, as well as a memorable run on Captain America for Marvel Comics, among other titles. His work at DC Comics included creating the Will Payton version of Starman as well as long runs on Superman titles. Glenn Whitmore started as a colorist for DC Comics in 1988 and has had long career in comics working for DC, Archie Comics, and others. He has been involved in some incredible comics over his career.

Please enjoy the below embedded video of the discussion with these excellent comic creators:

With Further Ado #245: Keeping Ithacon Fresh after 46+ Years

With Further Ado #245: Keeping Ithacon Fresh after 46+ Years

Posted on by Ed Catto

As you know by now, I’m really excited for ITHACON this weekend – April 22nd and 23rd. For me, it’s the perfect way to spend a weekend because it’s a comic convention that you can get your arms around and still be exposed to big ideas and brilliant people.

But as the nation’s 2nd longest running comic convention, you’ve got to work hard to stay fresh.

(As a digression, Shelton Drum, who runs the 3rd longest running comic convention, HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC, also does a fabulous job of keeping it fresh….and I can’t wait to attend his show in June!).

So, with all that in mind, I wanted to highlight some of our “new” things at ITHACON this year:
* * *

A New Publisher: A Wave Blue World

Continue reading “With Further Ado #245: Keeping Ithacon Fresh after 46+ Years” →

What To Expect at Ithacon 46 – April 22-23, 2023

What To Expect at Ithacon 46 – April 22-23, 2023

Posted on by PCS Staff

You may have heard about Ithacon, the second longest running comic convention in America, before. Our own Ed Catto is a major force behind making it a terrific little comic show. It is going to happen next weekend, and as the weeks leading up to it are now down to just days, we wanted to let you know all the amazing things that will be there.

First of all Pop Culture Squad will be attending. Mike Gold is a Featured Guest and will be the subject of the discussion panel “Reinventing Characters with Mike Gold” on Saturday 4/22 at 11:30AM. You won’t want to miss it.

Also Bob Harrison will be representing Pop Culture Squad and hosting and participating in a bunch of panels at the con. Follow this link for a look at the complete programming schedule.

The list of Featured Guests also includes Will Dennis, Jamal Igle, Roger Stern, Glen Whitmore, Tom Peyer, and Stuart Moore. The full list of guests can be found here.

Here are some of the things to look for at Ithacon from their announcements that you may have missed.

Continue reading “What To Expect at Ithacon 46 – April 22-23, 2023” →

With Further Ado #244: Five and a Half Questions with Mike Reiff (An ITHACON Prelude)

With Further Ado #244: Five and a Half Questions with Mike Reiff (An ITHACON Prelude)

Posted on by Ed Catto

I can’t wait for ITHACON! It’s coming up soon – April 22nd and 23rd. And if you buy your tix before April 16th, you also get this amazing swag bag. Trust me – there’s so much cool merchandise in these that it totally offsets the (modest) ticket prices.

Educator and writer Mike Reiff will be presenting at ITHACON this year too, and I couldn’t be happier. I caught up with him just so I could keep track of everything he’s up to!

* * *

Question #1

Ed Catto: You are doing so much work with Graphic Novels and kids now. Can you tell me about it all?

Mike Reiff: Well, I would first note that I’m working with an outstanding team at Ithaca High School (IHS) on this – from the support of the district leadership to building principal Jason Trumble to a great English department, when we think about our recent push to diversify our literacy offerings – with “diversify” a complex and expansive term – one person couldn’t do what’s being done, it takes a team. So I’m speaking as a reporter as much as an implementer of some of the shifts, and some of the graphic novel work pre-dates my active involvement in this, including texts taught in classrooms and a astonishing array of graphic texts offered and promoted by our High School librarian team. Continue reading “With Further Ado #244: Five and a Half Questions with Mike Reiff (An ITHACON Prelude)” →

First Comics 40th Anniversary at C2E2

First Comics 40th Anniversary at C2E2

Posted on by Bob Harrison

This year is a momentous anniversary at Pop Culture Squad. The independent comic book company First Comics launched forty years ago  and published its first issue in March of 1983. Mike Gold, one of our key contributors at PCS, was the founder and editorial director at First.

First Comics was the little comics company with some of the biggest stars in comics before comic superstars was a thing. Names like Mike Grell, Howard Chaykin, John Ostrander, Timothy Truman, Jim Starlin, Mike Baron, and Steve Rude are just some of the comics greats who were regulars at First. It was fertile ground for independent creator-owned comics. The genres included superheroes, science-fiction, space fantasy, spy thriller, political satire, humor, and more. The publisher produced interesting comics that challenged the larger publishers to adapt. They innovated by producing the first digitally created comic in Shatter, by Peter B. Gillis and Mike Saenz and bringing the manga title Lone Wolf and Cub to American readers. Continue reading “First Comics 40th Anniversary at C2E2” →

With Further Ado #343: SXSW Part 3- Mrs. Davis, Tetris & Motion Comics (kind of)

With Further Ado #343: SXSW Part 3- Mrs. Davis, Tetris & Motion Comics (kind of)

Posted on by Ed Catto

Let’s take one more bite out of the SXSW apple. I’ve been writing about this business + music festival. There was a lot going on, and here’s three more pop culture efforts to focus on:

Who’s That Nun?

AI’s been such a big topic, a scary topic, It makes sense that an action hero will rise to fight it. I hadn’t quite expected this particular action hero.

In the spirit of the “Keep Austin Weird” mantra that is woven into the background fabric of the SXSW festival, it was kind of fun to see a couple of nuns whoosh by in a pedicab. But then when I saw “HAVE YOU SEEN THIS NUN?” posters plastered around downtown Austin, it was apparent something was up.

It was all a promotion for the upcoming Peacock show, Mrs. Davis. The Hollywood Reporter described the show like this:

Mrs. Davis is a perfectly timed warning about AI Madness

It’s a Catholic nun vs. AI in a wild new drama for the creators Damon Lindelof (The Watchmen) and Tara Hernandez (Big Bang Theory) that pits faith against technology run amok: “The most exciting thing about ‘Mrs. Davis’ is that there’s nothing like ‘Mrs. Davis.’”

Continue reading “With Further Ado #343: SXSW Part 3- Mrs. Davis, Tetris & Motion Comics (kind of)” →

With Further Ado #242: SXSW Part 2 – Flatstock

Posted on by Ed Catto

South By Southwest (SXSW), the business + music festival that seemed an awful lot like a giant comic convention to me, was stuffed full of an almost incomprehensible amount of many things to see and do. It isn’t conceivable that anyone could do everything there – even if they figured out a way to forgo sleep.

Flatstock was one of those events-within-an-event that I’m really happy I got a chance to experience. Continue reading “With Further Ado #242: SXSW Part 2 – Flatstock” →

With Further Ado #241: SXSW Part 1 – Vault Unbound

With Further Ado #241: SXSW Part 1 – Vault Unbound

Posted on by Ed Catto

My head just about exploded at the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals (SXSW) this past week. This is an amazing event- kind of like the love child of San Diego Comic-Con and a musical festival and a business conference with a ton of forward-looking panels. There’s so much to dissect and analyze. I’ll be doing a deep dive in next week’s column.

But to give you a taste of it, I will focus on the lone comic panel at the SXSW this year – the Vault / Def Leppard / Kajabi panel.

This was a high-profile event that was designed, on the surface of it all, to celebrate Vault’s upcoming Hysteria project with Def Leppard. Phil Collen of Def Leppard was on the stage, along with Vault CEO Damian Wassel and Kajabi’s Sean Kim as part of the new Headshell imprint. Continue reading “With Further Ado #241: SXSW Part 1 – Vault Unbound” →

Continued After the Next Page #022: Planning Panels and Conventioning in the Windy City and Ithaca

Continued After the Next Page #022: Planning Panels and Conventioning in the Windy City and Ithaca

Posted on by Bob Harrison

In the “before times”, people would come to the gathering place and wander the concourse taking in the sights purchasing shiny wares with no fear of deadly disease. That was three years ago. Are we back to that point? Probably not, and probably not for a while still, but we are getting closer.

Comic convention season is back in full force. That break in con scheduling that we normally have from before the December holidays until late February didn’t really happen this year. Most people seems to be willing to return to the circuit with little concern for the pandemic creating coronavirus. The best part of this is that my social media feeds are not filling up with tales of infections or even the dreaded con-crud.

All of this has me even more excited to begin my 2023 convention season in a couple of weeks. Your intrepid correspondent will be part of the press contingent at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, more commonly known by its geek friendly acronym C2E2. I will be walking the floors all three days talking to exhibitors and fans and checking out some of the interesting panel programming.

However, the most exciting panels, in my not so humble opinion, will take place on Sunday April 2, 2023. I will be hosting two panels a Reed event for the first time in my career, and I am beyond excited. Continue reading “Continued After the Next Page #022: Planning Panels and Conventioning in the Windy City and Ithaca” →