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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 #246: ITHACON Student Writing Competition – Taking a Look at Black Butler

Posted on by Ed Catto

ITHACON 46 was a rousing success. It seems like just about everyone had an outstanding experience. As part of the class I teach the Promoting and Managing ITHACON Class at Ithaca College, each year we embrace this annual tradition with the “With Further Ado” column.

Each year, I ask the students to submit a column on pop culture as if they were the author of this space. Our crack editorial staff pours over the submissions and selects a winner, and they get published on this website. (The fact that it gives me a couple of weeks break right after ITHACON is of no concern to anyone but me.)

Anyway, we have three amazing columns to publish this year.

Our second runner-up of this year’s fill-in columnist contest is Collin Longo and his thoughts about manga called Black Butler. Congrats to you, Collin!

Black Butler is a manga series created by mangaka (author) Yana Toboso, published in Square Enix’s magazine Monthly GFantasy. Having been published since September of 2006, the manga is currently ongoing with one hundred and ninety-eight chapters and thirty-two physical volumes released. In October of 2008, an anime television series of Black Butler was released, it now having three seasons, an original video animation (OVA), and a feature length movie. Several other adaptations have also spawned such as a live action movie, a video game, and even five stage musicals. Continue reading “With Further Ado #246: ITHACON Student Writing Competition – Taking a Look at Black Butler” →

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:
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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!

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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)” →

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” →

ITHACON Returns This April and Pop Culture Squad Will Be There

ITHACON Returns This April and Pop Culture Squad Will Be There

Posted on by PCS Staff

A long running tradition in Central New York is returning, and tickets are on sale. Pop Culture Squad will once again have a presence at the ITHACON comic convention which is held at Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY. The show organizers have released ticket information that you can find below:

Press Release: Continue reading “ITHACON Returns This April and Pop Culture Squad Will Be There” →
With Further Ado #197: Winner of the Third Annual Guest Columnist Contest 2022 – Reece Clausen

With Further Ado #197: Winner of the Third Annual Guest Columnist Contest 2022 – Reece Clausen

Posted on by Ed Catto

I have reached the end of this year’s Ithacon season. The class of Ithaca College students that promote, plan, and execute the convention have come to the end of their tasks. As has become a tradition, this column has become a venue to host the winner of the “guest columnist” assignment that the students complete.

Last week, we published the runner-up Tyler Haraden’s piece. This week we are publishing the winner’s column. Reece Clausen combined some new pop culture news with a bit of opinion and some genuine fanboy emotion while discussing the Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga video game. Those are the three things we strive for in this column.

I look forward to bringing next year’s winners to you and hope that they are as wonderful as this year’s.

The Urge to Purchase Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is Destroying Me

by Reece Clausen, Ithaca College

The balance of the force has been shaken. The draw towards the dark side of the force is consuming me faster than Anakin Skywalker being told that he can save his wife from certain death. In case you somehow did not read the title of this article, I’m talking about Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga that just released. Now, I’m a 21 year old college student and I have fond memories of playing Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga when it released in 2007. Now, I and many other people my age can tell you that this game was our childhood. I have so many fond memories, from starting fights in the cantina hub, smashing my controller over the podracing level, and constantly killing my friends for no reason other than it was funny to see them fall apart into many Lego bricks. Like I said, good times.

Now when I found out back in 2019 that there was going to be a new Lego Star Wars game that would include levels based on all nine films, my hype levels were through the roof! Fast forward three years and delays, and the game has finally arrived! The gaming community has been giving nothing but praise for this game and all the new things it has brought to the table. Over 300 characters, open world environments, expansive levels, and all the humor you would expect from a Lego game, this masterpiece has it all! It even has Obi-Wan saying “Hello there.”, and multiple jokes about Anakin Skywalker not liking sand! What more could I want? The world is falling in love with this game, and I’ve waited so long for it. Except there is just one problem. I am a broke college student. Continue reading “With Further Ado #197: Winner of the Third Annual Guest Columnist Contest 2022 – Reece Clausen” →

With Further Ado #196: Third Annual Guest Columnist Contest 2022 Runner-Up Tyler Haraden

With Further Ado #196: Third Annual Guest Columnist Contest 2022 Runner-Up Tyler Haraden

Posted on by Ed Catto

Well it is that time of year again. Spring is finally really here, and kids are getting antsy because school is coming to an end. As I have mentioned, I teach the Promoting and Managing ITHACON Class at Ithaca College, and we have developed a bit of a tradition that ties this column to the class.

Each year, I ask the students to submit a column on pop culture as if they were the author of this space. The crack editorial staff at PCS pours over the submissions and selects a winner, and they get published on this website. (The fact that it gives me a couple of weeks break right after Ithacon is of no concern to anyone but me.)

Anyway we have decided that we will publish two columns this year. The first one is the runner-up and the winner will be posted next week.

Just a reminder the first year we did this, there were two columns published Anthony Hernandez and Tyler Jennes. Last year we published three winners: Jordan Green, Maya Lewis, and Caleigh Clarke.

The runner-up of this year’s fill-in columnist contest is Tyler Haraden and his lament for the lack of Grand Theft Auto VI.

Will we ever see Grand Theft Auto VI?

Guest Columnist Tyler Haraden – Ithaca College

Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is one of the greatest gaming titles ever released. Developed by the famous game development company, Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto can be traced back to its first game of the series, Grand Theft Auto One, released back in 1997. Since the release of GTA One, we have seen many great games including Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto Four, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, and more. Continue reading “With Further Ado #196: Third Annual Guest Columnist Contest 2022 Runner-Up Tyler Haraden” →

With Further Ado #195: Whew! A live convention, and it was fantastic!

With Further Ado #195: Whew! A live convention, and it was fantastic!

Posted on by Ed Catto

Whew!  Last week I pulled back the curtain as we were in the throes of planning for ITHACON. It was the first year we’d be back live, after the pandemic restrictions, and there was a lot of anxiety in the air.

And as you might recall, ITHACON is a unique show: Bill Turner, the founder, is still very much involved, but I have the privilege of teaching an Ithaca College course about tradeshows and conventions, and as a part of that class, the students promote, plan, and manage ITHACON.  Having worked for Reed Elsevier, I set the bar really high too.

But you know what? It all worked out. The show was a huge success.

I’ll rely on the photos to tell the tale this week, but I still want to fire away with five random thoughts (If I was trying to impress you, I’d label them as “Five Insights”) about ITHACON 2022.

1. People like people – and they are excited to gather together. There were a lot of happy smiles all around and just about everyone: the attendees, the guests, the dealers/exhibitors, the cosplayers, the students (they did all the work), the volunteers, the Comic Book Club of Ithaca (and even the facilities staff) reported they had a great time.

2. ITHACON attracted the people who wanted to be there. Attendance was down from when we were last in person, but that was expected. And you know what? We didn’t want it too crowded anyways. This resulted in quick lines and opportunities for fans wander about and to discover new things.  The dealers were happy too; many of them told us tales about how ITHACON 45 was their best show in a while/ever!

Continue reading “With Further Ado #195: Whew! A live convention, and it was fantastic!” →