I came home from school and there was a message from Stan Lee asking me to come out to the New York Comic Con! Wow. I guess they didn't tell him I was already going.
I wonder if this means ticket sales aren't as good as last year? Or that sales haven't picked up enough to cover the increase in floor space? Or are they just trying to get as many people in as they could?
Either way, I have Stan The Man on my answering machine. Which is somewhat cool!
Yeah, I know I just made two other posts. But this one is going to be a catch all for all the other, smaller new items I want to rant about. It could be a long one. And all over the place.
ITEM!!! I will be attending the New York Comic Con: I know, I know. I have been critical of the NYCC in the past. But it is practically in my back yard and it is quickly becoming a place where my comic loving friends from NEPA and I can meet up.
I will only be going on Friday, however, for those of you who will accept that as a protest. A wedding and Kids in the Hall tickets interfere with me making a weekend out of it.
They are making changes to some of the issues I had with the convention. Not necessarily the changes I think they should make, but at least they are addressing the problems. When I got my ticket, the letter, instead of saying I could proceed directly to the show floor like last year's did, at least alerts me that there will be a line. Why there needs to be a line is beyond me, but at least now I know. Not that knowing does me any good, because I can't get there early, like they recommend, because I have class that day. Of course, if I had a VIP badge, which costs $400, I could get directly in. This is quite a bit more expensive than Wizard's baseline VIP package, and you get far less swag for it.
They also addressed the issue of not everybody getting a chance at an autograph with their special guests (last year, all the ticket were handed out a good 8 hours ahead of schedule due to demand). Their solution? Charge for it! $200 for Mike Mignola and Grant Morrison, $350 for a VIP party with Stan Lee, $500 for a party with Neil Gaiman. The proceeds for the last one go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a worthy cause, but the rest I guess the money goes to NYCC. I guess there could be a better way, but at least this give the people who want Grant Morrison's autograph but can't camp out overnight a chance at meeting him.
ITEM! Bill Richardson creates divisive act, calls for unity: I was going to give this one it's own post, but decided against it. I will say this: if you are a man who kept his name in the political spotlight through mentioning his friendship with the Clintons--even going so far as to speak to Anderson Cooper for 10 minutes about watching the Super Bowl with Bill Clinton--then you go and give your Superdelegates to his wife's opponent, you, sir, are a hypocrite and are in no position to ask for unity. And the fact you gave them to Obama after your state voted for Clinton is even worse. Worse yet is the fact that you stated that the Governors should give their Superdelegates to whoever their states votes for makes you the king of all hypocrites. Sure, he might have been just following his own beliefs, but lets just see if he lands a place on Obama's ticket somewhere.
ITEM!! Firefly might be coming out with a special edition of the complete TV series: If I thought for a second that buying this might get another season or movie out of the cast and crew, I'd buy it. But it reeks of the powers that be trying to wring a little more dough out of their fevorent fan base. I mean, really. Will there be enough new stuff on this edition that I have to buy it? If so, why not put it on the first edition in the first place. It's not like you seriously thought it would be this popular at the time, was it?
ITEM!!! Comic Book Resources updates it's look: I don't like it. The old way might not have been fancy, but at least you knew that the left side had news, the right had columns, and the new ones were at the top.
ITEM!! Comics Should Be Good starts its 100 Greatest Creative Team Runs countdown!: The idea is to list the Top 100 creative teams or creators who worked on a book for an extended period of time. Clicking above will take you to 100 to 91, clicking here will take you to 90 to 86.
ITEM!!! Entertainment Weekly runs down the 20 Worst Comic Book Movies: Their definition of "comic book" is a bit stretched. I'm not certain, but I don't believe Brenda Starr ever was a comic book. But, regardless, it is fodder for conversations at your local comic shop.
ITEM!!! Kids on the Block to reunite: I'm with Joel McHale. I doubt the apocalypse is ever going to arrive. I mean, if this isn't a sign, then nothing is.
ITEM!! Set pictures from The Spirit released: You know, the more I see of this movie, the less I want to see.
ITEM!!! Uwe Boll will stop making movies if they gets 1,000,000 signatures on a petition asking him to stop: Finally! A cause everybody can get behind!
ITEM!!! Fraction and Brubaker off of Iron Fist, Johns and Katz off of Booster Gold, Ellis off of Thunderbolts: My reactions, in order:1) Noooooooooooooooo!!!!! (Swierczynski is, really, no replacement), 2) Noooooooooo!!! (If DC really wanted to give fans a treat, they'd have Jurgens take over the writing as well. 3) Wait a minute? Marvel is still publishing Thunderbolts? (No, seriously, are they still publishing Thunderbolts?)
ITEM!!!: Marvel fan is a contestant on Deal or No Deal: Spoiler alert: The guy opens a million on the first case. The banker reveals himself to be Mephisto and offers to put the million back in play if the guy gives up his marriage.
ITEM!!! New Guiding Lines columns published: There's a link to all of them.
ITEM!!! Also, my article on the Geppi Entertainment Museum is posted: Click above for the link to that.
Yes, the All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder was recently a focus of an article in all places, the Wall Street Journal. Comics being covered in such a storied periodical has impressed a lot of people. But not me. Why? Well, because I don't impress easily. Because I'm a bit of an ass. And also, for these reasons, which I will organize in convenient bullet point form.
1. The 12 year old comic fan who used to buy All-Star Squadron every month is giddy with glee! These are some of my favorite characters. Add to that Jerry Ordway on art, forget about it! It will be like old home week!
2. The 36 year old cynic in me want to say enough already with the retconing the Crisis on Infinite Earth's retcons! I mean, is there any changes left from that story that hasn't been reversed? And who thinks this won't be all wiped out with Final Crisis? Anyone?
Hello all,
By now, you should have heard about the controversy that Brian Michael Bendis' dialogue for Dr. Doom in a recent Mighty Avengers caused. Here it is if you missed it.
Ouch! Fat Piece of Furniture? Cow mouth? Whore's Heart? This does not sound like the Doom we all know and love!
Anyway you slice it, it is still a pretty bad piece of dialogue. And what's especially odd is that Bendis usually is pretty good with dialogue.
Kevin Church has a more Doom worthy dialoguing effort. But I believe we should go in a different direction. Not only should Doom speak out of character, but he should speak as an entirely different character:
Victor Von Doom as played by Corky St. Clair. I think this is what Bendis was going for.
R.E.M. are back!
Well, that is what almost every other review of this CD says. Funny thing is, R.E.M. never really went anywhere. They've been around. What those reviews should have said is "R.E.M. finally sounds like those CD's I own, Document and/or Green and/or Out of Time and/or Automatic for the People!"
Granted, the post-Bill Berry R.E.M. albums were not quite as "love every song on the CD as soon as I open it", but they did grow on me. Up has a lot of great songs. Reveal had a couple. Around the Sun has had a time to grow on me, but it will.
But don't be fooled by the other reviews. This isn't R.E.M., the happy rockers of Shiny Happy People or Radio Song. They rock on this album because they are angry at the geopolitical situation. Think Orange Crush with a harder edge.
At least most of the songs are that anyway. Man-Sized Wreath and Until the Day is Done in particular. Both are about the war and the Bush Administration's reaction to it.
But this doesn't mean that the album isn't enjoyable. Old time R.E.M. fans, the ones who go back further than Document, will appreciate the CD. The jangly guitars are there. The drums pop a bit too much in comparison to Bill Berry, but not to be a total detriment.
Another CD I picked up and actually listen all the way through (my wife being overseas has gave me a need to find other things to do), was this follow up from Panic! At the Disco.
I liked their first CD. I thought they were in the tradition of My Chemical Romance but with a slicker flair for the dramatic. I looked forward to see where they would be going in the future.
Where they went, apparently, was the world of "What If?, specifically, what if the Beatles stayed together and made music in the 1970's.
Seriously, they have the harmonies and horns of the later Beatles stuff, with a slight AM radio vibe thrown in.
I guess it's good for what it is.But, personally, if I wanted to hear a Beatles CD I'd, well, put on a Beatles CD.
