I think I’ve used, and reused, that old saw about a picture being worth a thousand too many times. But still, you get it. Everyone loves the cosplay pics from San Diego Comic-Con.
So..here’s a few good ones from last week’s event for you to enjoy!
“One man’s civilization is another man’s jungle, yeah. They say evolution’s in the air. I’m dancing in my underwear, ‘cause I don’t care.” From Piggy In The Middle, written by Neil Innes.
If you’re reading this roughly around the time of posting — 9 AM Monday EDT, I believe — you should know that about one out of every four of my comics friends presently are stuck in airport waiting rooms — not just in San Diego or Los Angeles, but in those horrific “hub” city airports. Maybe that’s because, to me, “Hub City” reminds me of a place that actually is worse.
I like the San Diego Comic Con. It’s a great place for me to catch up with old friends and maybe impress panel members with my great wit and charm. It is very crowded. Extremely crowded. As in “the world’s largest cattle car” crowded. Even back well before I needed a cane to clear the Guardians of the Backpacks from my path, I needed a cane to clear the Guardians of the Backpacks from my path.
Yeah, I’m just a heartbeat away from going into Rodney Dangerfield. “I’m okay now, but you should have seen me a couple days ago in San Diego.”
I’ve been to so many comics conventions that my life feels like it’s been one long, unending show. I’ve done as many as two dozen in one year, and six or seven panels in one day. I was younger then, full of grit, wit, and myself. To this day I dream about going generic shows in big cities — but in those dreams I’m wandering around the convention center looking for a good place for lunch. My dreams are getting to be frighteningly realistic. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: What Goes Around…”
Another one of the many cool parts of San Diego Comic-Con was seeing the magnitude of Fantastic Four merchandise and fan excitement. There was such a positive buzz about it all, and the movie was debuting that Friday of SDCC.
But the explosion of FF-iness wasn’t always the case. Years ago, when I was in college and attending a comic convention, ITHACON, there was practically no Fantastic Four merchandise. So I made my own FF shirt. I couldn’t find any unstable molecules. I had to use ordinary fabric. No Flaming On that day.
(And that gentleman in the photo that the young me was shaking hands with was the great artist, Murphy Anderson.) Continue reading “With Further Ado #358: Fantastic Merchandising”
I admit it. I’m one of those types that “never met a microphone I didn’t’ like”. And I love San Diego Comic-Con Panels. There’s a lot this year; so swing by, and join the fun:
Small press publishers: What makes the difference between an item that will get news coverage, previews, and interviews and what won’t? Many publishers have no idea what to submit to the press, how to submit it, or why they are being overlooked for coverage. Comics journalist Rik Offenberger (First Comics News, G-Man Comics) moderates this panel of comic journalists who will tell you what they are looking for in your submission: Thursday July 24th 10:30am in Room 10.
Promoting and selling books and comics gets weirder and more difficult every year. Can you really judge a book by its cover? This panel takes a deep dive into what makes a cover in today’s marketplace, and why it is—or isn’t?—important. And to make it that more complicated, what really is important for selling books in today’s digital age? Join Chip Kidd (Random House), Will Dennis (DSTLRY), Jen King (Space Cadets Collection Collection), Cully Hamner (Blue Beetle). Bob Harrison (Pop Culture Squad) and I will be moderating this innovative panel.
And a little about Chip Kidd, officially a Comic-Con Special Guest
As you may know, Chip Kidd is the three-time Eisner Award–winning author and designer of Batman Collected, Batman: Animated, and Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz. As an editor of graphic novels for Pantheon Books for the last twenty-five years, he has worked with the best in the industry.
This one is right after Kris Longo’s Panick Entertainment Panel at 4:00 (room 25ABC) -so why not drop in for both?
Continue reading “With Further Ado #356: Panel Planning for SDCC ’25”
You might remember that last episode, in preparation for San Diego Comic-Con, we took a look at the comic convention scene from 50 years ago, via a 1974 Creation Con program book I had stumbled across.
As an addendum to that, here’s what Stan (and his Marvel team?) wrote in Stan’s Soapbox after that comic convention:
Even as I sagaciously scribble these imperishable words, this summer’s much publicized Cart Art Convention is slowly drawing to a close here in New York. Boy, how I wish you could have all been here to toast our own Roy Thomas, as he was the co-guest of honor a special luminary packed luncheon; and how I wish you could have heard and applauded Johnny Romita, Marie Severin, Gil Kane and a host of other Bullpen bit-timers who lent their time and talents to some of the zingiest panel discussions and demonstrations in the place! Those of you who compromise the riotous ranks of Foomdom, be sure to watch for your next ish of Foom which will clue you in to most of the fun and frivolity of the Comic Art Con of all. As for the rest of the lustrous legions of Marveldom -Onward.
Ok, so he really didn’t say much about it after all. In typical Stan fashion.
For me, San Diego Comic-Con was fun and fulfilling in so many ways. And I’m eager to share that all with you all. Not only did I come back with some comics to read, I also came back with Covid. So, this week’s column is a short one. We’ll get back in the groove next time.
But until then – here’s some amazing Cosplay from SDCC 2024:
“Oh Ricky, what a pity, don’t you understand that every day’s a rerun and the laughter’s always canned.” — From Ricky, written by Weird Al Yankovic
I have no idea why they still call it “social media.” We all know there’s very little social about it.
In fact, if you had been raised on the planet Mars and you perfected your command of American English from, say, reruns of “I Love Lucy,” you would be likely to think of it as anti-social media. You might share this opinion all day until the time when your fingers dance over your keyboard and you, too, feel you’ve had enough of those other assholes.
Case in point: You may have heard about the big Marvel movie panel a couple days ago at the annual San Diego Comic Con clusterfuck, or “SDCCC” for short. Anyway, it was revealed — to the surprise of a very, very few — that Doctor Doom was going to be the big bad in the next two Avengers movies, the second coming out sometime after global warming melts down the 12 remaining movie projectors. So they had their big reveal and, to a fanfare that actually came within a mile of Donald Trump’s Don Kirshner-like unveiling at the RNC, out in full, jerry-rigged green robotic glory, came the actor signed for the role.
In case you were still watching I Love Lucy reruns on Mars and you had yet to be informed, that actor was Robert Downey Junior. Continue reading “Brainiac On Banjo: Oh, Quit Your Bitching!”
San Diego Comic-Con is almost upon us! This sprawling event has survived a pandemic and the writer’s strike… and is looking to be back to normal this year. Whatever that means. Is there ever really a normal for pop culture?
With that in mind, this week we’ll take a look at the comic convention scene from 50 years ago. I stumbled across a 1974 Creation Con program book a little while back at a great comics shop – The Comics Crypt in Eatontown, NJ. This store leans into their branding with a hearse (complete with logo) in the parking a lot and inside, instead of the traditional long box, there’s a cornucopia of back issues for sale in a coffin!
I lament the fact that the San Diego’s Souvenir Book is now digital only. What a drag for all these old fans who collect paper magazines, right? And this year, one of the Guests of Honor, Joe Jusko, contributed an amazing cover.
But that wasn’t the case for 1974’s Creation Convention. It’s a real program with a sturdy cover. It IS a bit small – approximately paper-back size – and sports a lovely Howard Chaykin (he’ll be at SDCC this year too, at least digitally) with cover of a beautiful cowgirl riding a rocket called Bronk II. It’s all evocative of nose art- those wonderful pin-up girls that adorned the front of WWII planes. Continue reading “With Further Ado #308: The Comic-Con … From 50 Years Ago!”
It’s a busy week for fans and professionals as they all (we all?) get ready for the world’s biggest Nerd Prom: San Diego Comic-Con. It’s a fascinating combination of creativity, passions and entrepreneurial dreams. There’s hustle and hucksterism. It’s also about friends and reunions and smiles and encouragement.
I hope to see you there. I’ll be spending a lot of time at the Atomic Toybox booth (#2549), Don McGregor’s booth, and at a series of panels. Drop in and say “Hi”! Here’s my sched:
Small press publishers: What makes the difference between an item that will get news coverage, previews, and interviews and what doesn’t? Many publishers have no idea what to submit to the press, how to submit it, and why they are being overlooked for coverage. Comics journalist Rik Offenberger (First Comics News, G-Man Comics) moderates this panel of comic journalists who will tell you what they are looking for in your submission: Alexander Raymond (Monstar public relations), Ed Catto (Agendae, Pop Culture Squad, Captain Action), Francis Sky (First Comics News, Massacre Twins), Heidi MacDonald (The Beat), JC Vaughn (Gemstone Publishing), Josh Waldrop (Ultima Digital Media), Michael Kingston (Headlocked Comics, BOOM! Studios), and Rob Salkowitz (ICv2, Forbes).
AHOY Comics has made a name for itself on the comics scene with its acclaimed creators, witty satires, and commitment to bold and risk-taking storytelling. Author and legendary director Lloyd Kaufman (Troma), comics creators Matt Bors (Toxic Avenger, Justice Warriors), Mark Russell (Second Coming), Tyrone Finch (Deadweights), Melissa F. Olson (Project Cryptid), Juan Castro (The Wrong Earth), and AHOY Ops guy Stuart Moore (Captain Ginger) discuss the future of the publisher that asks its readers to expect more. Get the scoop on exciting upcoming projects like award-winning writer Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows’ sword-and-sorcery satire Babs; Pulitzer finalist Matt Bors and Fred Harper’s take on Troma’s Toxic Avenger; Tom Peyer, Jamal Igle and Castro’s epic multiversal satire The Wrong Earth; Russell, Bryce Ingman, and Peter Krause’s gut-bustingly funny superhero parody My Bad; the star-studded, cryptid-packed anthology series Project: Cryptid, and more. Continue reading “With Further Ado #307: See You in San Diego”
Ok, I guess the cat is out of the bag! San Diego Comic-Con has invited Don McGregor to be a guest of honor this July. And for his spotlight panel, I’ve been asked to be the moderator. As if anyone can “moderate” Don McGregor. He’s a man of many passions -always ready with larger-than-life stories, and contagious laughter, his strong friendships, and his focus for doing the very best he can.
And like everyone else, I’ve always found his best is always pretty damn good!
Clearly, the convention has saved the best for last this year. Don’t miss Don’s spotlight panel: It’s Sunday at 1:00 pm in Room 4.
And to help you get ready for this panel, let me steer you to this podcast. I had so much fun interviewing Don a few years ago, and John Siuntres ran it as a Word Balloon Podcast episode! You still can give it a listen right here.
Comic fans know of Don’s many accomplishments: the Black Panther stories, his Killraven adventures, Sabre – one of the first indie series to bravely navigate the direct market, Nathanial Dusk, Alexander Risk, Zorro (in comics and newspaper strips)…the list goes on and on. Just last month, in fact, I stumbled across an issue of Doctor Strange that Don wrote that was new to me!
Beyond that convention appearance, I’ve the privilege of interviewing Don several times for several different articles. Every time, he’s fascinating and fresh with new stories and clever insights.
This Zorro article was originally published in TwoMorrow’s Back Issue #138, on sale about three years ago. It’s full of so many of things that make Don a longtime fan favorite. So, allow me to reprint a part of that article here for your reading pleasure. Continue reading “With Further Ado #306: Getting Ready for SDCC (part 1) – Don McGregor preparations”
Comic Conventions can be a lot of fun, but they take a lot of energy, time and money to do “right”. Here’s a glimpse at just a few more of the publishers who leveraged their onsite efforts to the fullest at San Diego Comic-Con last month.
This cool start-up is more than just ComiXology 2.0. In fact, it might be the opposite. It’s been reported on everywhere from NY Times to The SDDC blog. Over on Reed’s Popverse, Chris Arrant summarized the start-up in this fashion:
Almost a year after leaving Amazon’s digital comics platform ComiXology, two of the company’s former leaders have announced what’s next — both for them and, if their ambitions are successful, comics as a whole. Get ready for DSTLRY, a new kind of publishing company.
ComiXology co-founder/former CEO David Steinberger and his former head of content Chip Mosher are aiming to rethink how business is done, and how to give creators what they deserve, with the company, partnering with major comics creators, major publishers, tech strategists, and even a movie producer to launch a company for creator-owned comics that aims to be a new kind of comics publisher.
Their SDCC booth was big and bold – and surprisingly uncluttered. It was located opposite where I usually find Mark Wheatley (he took a year off), right in the center of things.
They offered convention exclusives of their Devil’s Cut One-Shot. This reminds me of the old days when the TV networks would preview the seasons new shows with short clips of each one. Continue reading “Further Ado #260: Spinning Out of SDCC – Part 3”
