Thothblog

I enjoy comics.  I do.  I look forward to the weekly Wednesday and/or Saturday trek to my comic store.  I enjoy the look and smell of the new books, the great conversation with the various patrons and store owner.  Its a chance to take a little step out from the regular world and to revel in the enjoyment that is comic books.  As for the comics themselves, the people who are integral to the books, whether they be weekly or monthly or even one-shots, these people get to help create and continue worlds that many people find escape in and find every day enjoyment in.

Brian Cunningham is clearly not one of them.  Don’t get me wrong, his name appears in Teen Titans Issue 78, not on the cover, but inside, in fairly big letters credited with editing the book.  Now in case you aren’t familiar with what an editor does, or you are a DC editor and have NO idea what so ever, I am going to throw out a quick list of things a comic book editor should be doing.  Comic book editors help the overall flow of a universe, they ensure that if say Superman shows up in a Flash book, that some crazy writer has ensured that the character is not dead or actually a solar system away doing something else.  Continuity.  They also make sure that writers and artists are not taking too many liberties with characters and that certain plot lines and such get followed and nobody is swearing up a storm on page 7.

So now that we have an understanding of what comic book editors should be doing most comic fans will be scratching their heads wondering why that doesn’t happen more.  Unfortunately I don’t know, but Brian is a prime example of how comic book editors are milking their books.  I say milking because I would wager that a pothead deciding between hot dogs or Doritos at the local convenience store exerts more brain power in that decision than Brian put into Teen Titans issue 78.  Now, I can forgive the fact that the printer didn’t bother to bind the book with two staples (every copy at my store like this) and there is no way Brian could have stopped this.  I also understand that Brian is stuck with a wickedly lazy creative team so we are going to get 3 panels with the same damn image in it and Rose apparently has her family 5 o’clock shadow going.  Got it.

Ya know what I would not expect to see though is a Slade who is sporting a goatee in most of the book, just not have one at all in a random panel.  Especially when 2 panels away the almost SAME FUCKING IMAGE HAS HIM WITH A GOATEE.  I get that artists and inkers and colorists can be lazy.  BUT AT ANY POINT DID YOU ACTUALLY LOOK AT THE PAGES.  Just add another name to the giant list of editors who don’t do shit for comic books.  Congrats Brian, the list isn’t distinguished but at least its long and for the moment, your on top.

Brian Cunningham and DC comics, consider your chops busted.

Lazy Art

I am sitting in the San Diego airport thinking back on the awesome San Diego Comic Con.  What an exhilarating feeling.  It is nice to have things wind down, be able to decompress a little and look back on what will be very fond memories and stories that I have about this very unique con.  This con has been filled with tons of new experiences and for those who couldn’t or didn’t want to attend, I think you missed an excellent year.

For me day 4 was just a whirlwind of last minute needs and grabs, hitting the fulfillment area and doing some last search and discovery.  Don’t get me wrong, Sunday is not the wind down, get nothing done day that some cons have.  San Diego produces an intricate arena for bargaining and discussion.  I don’t think I tagged price for a single item I got on Sunday and I know there were more deals to be had.  Sunday has traditionally been my day for working on my Where the Wild Things Are book and the sketches it contains and this Sunday was no different.  I was able to add to the book in some very significant ways and was denied in others.  I began the day chatting with Art and the rest of the Electric Milk Productions (I think that’s right) over at their small press booth.  I gave art a page in the WTWTA book, and he did an excellent Max and company going over a waterfall.  He also seemed excited about getting to update the page next year.

Afterwards I did have to fill a 3 hour volunteer shift and damn if they just have too many volunteers that they can manage correctly.  Spent most of the time sitting on my ass doing nothing and I do hate to waste precious time.

Afterwards I continued on with my quest for gem finding and sketch collecting.  I went by Dean Yeagle’s both and he add to his WTWTA page.  Many thanks to Dean and company.  Afterwards I then walked the length of the floor, collecting various last day schwag before making my way to Darrow’s booth.  Found Geoff in his booth not doing a damn thing, just kinda twiddling his thumbs.  Without going into story he did not add to his page.  From there, artist alley was a calling and it was a short jaunt to shoot over there and get some more books and signatures/sketches.

Two big highlights of the day, first, I finally got a yes out of Frank Cho in getting a page in the WTWTA book and he did an excellent monster, so many thanks to him.  However, the big highlight of the con, was getting stuck in line to have my Mouse Guard signed by David Peterson.  The line was worth the wait as I had the chance to meet Bill Willingham when I was chatting with David and his wife, who are just the most delightful people and I hope they had fun on Monday at DisneyLand.  Got a sketch from David, got a signature and got an exclusive invite to Bill’s after con gathering.

All morning I have been debating whether to go into detail about the evening and I don’t think I will.  I will leave it at; Bill is a most gracious host who definitely took a chance on inviting me given the circumstances.  I had a BLAST! And a big thank you to Bill, Brad, and Matt, the decompression was awesome and I can’t wait for next year.  Thanks guys and safe flights/drives.

Alright everyone, I hope I did the con justice and if you have any questions, feel free to drop me an email or leave a comment.  Chat with you all soon.

So besides the 3 hours of stacking freebie crap (I was misinformed about the cushyness of this specific volunteer assignment) yesterday was all about the panels.  Panels and lines actually, seeing as how one can’t always Jedi line Trick a line.  Started off the day with the Chuck Season 3 panel.  Don’t know if any of you were thinking about going to this and didn’t but if that was the case, oh the sites and sounds you missed.  It begin with a fun little Subway (the sandwich) filled clip of the creators and Zachary Levi chatting about the cancellation and how it worked out cause they went the kung-fu route and were out of stories.  Then they get the call that they have been renewed and while Zachary is happy, the creators don’t know what to do.  At that point they call upon the Jeffster duo to save the day and then Jeffster came out on stage and performed Fat Bottom Girl, keytar and all.  Half way through the rest of the cast came out and sang along.  After there were questions and jokes and it was a truly excellent panel.

Insert Volunteering mundane here…

Oh, one side note, at the end of my shift and young man, his brother, and mom were passing the freebie table and the brother was in a wheelchair.  He hit the young man accidentally and this kid fell down and was hurt pretty bad (he has CP).  I ended up assisting as it took the EMT’s over 25 Minutes to respond.  25 minutes?!  Absolutely appalling.  So do not get hurt at comic con because they do not have the competency or capacity to assist those who do get hurt.  This kid should have been moved first in the queue because of his pre-existing condition and instead a painful 25 minute wait.  I had to brow beat the Elite III staff in to doing what I was telling them and then the EMT’s tried to have the kid stand on the bad leg (most likely knee and ankle damage) and then wanted to put some ice on it and see if it responded!!!  X-ray and MRI you tools!  Don’t worry, the full story will go in the book.

Any who, after the adventures at freebie table, I made my way to the Hall H where I entered thusly into it, beaming with curiosity.  Had the opportunity to see the Zombieland clips and panel, it was most excellent and I highly recommend it.  After the Sony panel and some 2012 (which does look very exciting) came the event everyone was waiting for.

<Insert Black Sabbath Iron Man song and head banging here>.  Oh yes my friends…. Iron Man 2.  Afterward those who could not get in, and yes there were lots of them, asked me if how the panel was I could only answer in the most befitting way:  Totally Awesome.  Fav was there with Downey, Chedle, Johansen and Rockwell.  This panel came out swinging.  Fav showed a thank you for Iron Man and then some stunt footage from the movie which wrapped only a couple days ago.  The lights came back on and then Robert stood up for all fans and demanded not the filler but the meat.  And Fav produced!  Oh did he ever produce.  Ran the trailer twice and it was amazing.

Iron Man in all his glory: Check
Scarlett Johansen in all her yummyness: Check
Whiplash played by Mickey Rourke: Check
Nick Fury pestering Tony Stark in a giant donut: Check

and thats it…oh wait, there was one other thing, War Machine kickin ass:  MOTHER LOVIN CHECK!  This movie is going to do quite well I think…oh yes, quite well indeed.

After the Iron Man panel we had the opportunity to stay and Kevin Smith came out (fat Kevin Smith).  A good panel with lots of jokes and cursing.  It was quite fun.  At this point I had to go to a mystery BBQ with my hosts so my apologies to the cast of Legend of Neil, I wanted to see it but alas was not able.  Sad day indeed.

Stay tuned for Day 4 as most of my day will be spent on the exhibit floor collecting various awesomeness!

Admittedly Day 1 can knock a lot of new 4 dayers on their ass.  Thursday is long and brutal.  There is a lot of walking and minimal amounts of waiting in line if you are re conning the various major booths you want to hit and planning out your day.  This is even more true if you are volunteering and have to hold your crap for 3 hours because volunteers don’t get a place to put their stuff (really??).  Day 2 on the other hand can be just as brutal depending on where your focus is.  Day 2 is a variable day for myself and is dependent on what panels are going on and what sort of action is on the exhibit floor.  This year day 2 was all about maximizing time.  While I volunteered all 4 days, today my assignment got waived and I just got checked through.  Began the day in the WB panel.  Very much worth it.  For those not there, we had the chance to see extended footage from Where the Wild Things Are, a personal favorite of mine.  The panel also offered a look at the Book of Eli coming out, which the stars made an appearance for, Mina Kunis, Gary Oldman, and Denzel Washington.  All 3 did very well and had strong presence on the stage, Denzel even cracked a joke that was certainly a “had to be there” situation but played well in the room.  The WB panel offered a glimpse of the New Nightmare on Elm Street (did not know we were rebooting this???) and to be honest, it looks good!  The last movie I saw for the WB panel was The Box.  Cameron Diaz and James Marsden.  The premise looked really good and then Cameron blew the end of the movie;  SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT The hidden antagonist are aliens. So go ahead and highlight the text if you want to see the bomb Cameron dropped yesterday.

Of note, I found out later that I missed the Jonah Hex panel with Megan Fox and Josh Brolin…sad day as I heard they were quite funny.

So as I rushed out of the WB panel to get to the Big Bang Panel, I was saddened to find that line was massive…..MASSIVE!  Stupid BattleStar Galatica panel.  So using a little Jedi Line Trick I procured way into the panel.  I won’t comment on the Battlestar panel as I have no idea what was discussed.

The Big Bang Panel on the other hand was MOST excellent, although the clip footage was a montage of the previous season (LAME!).  Everyone did very well up on stage, strong presence.  Most of the questions were for Jim Parsons, as he did get nominated for an Emmy.  We covered the 2 season renewal so that is exciting and there was talk of relationship “changes” in this season.  So I think we will finally see a Penny and Leonard romance (more than a date).  The crowd was also treated to come hither faces from Kaley Cuacoo, which I am sure many a boy’s heart swooned.

I spent the rest of the day in Ballroom 20 and saw new footage and information from 24 and Bones.  For fans of those shows it looks like their respective next season’s should be strong.

Finally, the Dollhouse/Whedon panel wrapped up the evening and what a wrap up it was.  We started with watching the unaired episode from season 1, Epitaph, and it is quite the thrill ride.  The Q/A panel went very well, both Joss and Eliza Dushku were present and answered many questions.  About half way through Eliza did bring out some other cast members, Fran Kranz and Dichen Lachman.  I think both of them were a little overwhelmed, did not say much and were quite fidgety.

So that was Day 2 and it didn’t have the suspense that Day 1 had, but had the chance to see some excellent clips and panels.  A good day!

Technically the San Diego comic con begins its annual festivities on Wednesday night.  However, for a solid majority of those at the con, the real day of fun is Thursday.  This is when the magical nerd gathering takes place and all of us crazy convention goers beam with the hope and enthusiasm of a fun filled con.  Of course by Sunday this has all gone away but no reason to jump into that yet.  Thursday is the day of gathering…information of course.  Even the little inkling in the back of your brain reminding you of hours that will dwindle by as you are confined to line after line does nothing to quell the pure excitement of the comic con atmosphere.  For the Thursday morning con goer, the promise of schwag, promos, and exclusive memorability are drive enough to get us through the day.

As Thursday’s go, this year had two very interesting highlights.  First, the volunteer aspect of my badge and entrance needs.  Having missed the 4 day pass, I instead opted to go to the con entirely for free by volunteering for a 3 hour shift during the day.  What an amazing decision.  I had to work the end of the day (4:00 - 7) and armed with my intense self and a hefty dose of huzpah I embarked on a 3 hour journey that was easily worth the reward I received (free pass into the con).  I began my shift by standing around for 30 minutes.  First by a planter, then by some ropes and ultimately back by the planter.  This I got to walk in another line and go through a second checkin process.  By now I had already begun my clever ways seeing as how I had wanted to see the dexter panel from 5-6 pm.  I few kind words at the first checkin desk got my assignment for the next day posted before my shift (guess the checkout doesn’t have to go through the system).  Then a few more flattering words to a young blonde in check in 2 (an attractive young woman who i think was just happy not to have another guy avoiding eye contact because he was unable to form a cohesive sentence) scored my the coveted Ballroom 20 position.  Of note, there were 7 of us in a group of 80+ who got to work ballroom 20.  Interestingly, that is where the Dexter panel was.  Beaming with energy, us hearty 7 made our way towards ballroom 20 with the distinct pleasure of!!!!!  guarding locked doors next to lines.  This would not do at all.  After about 10 minutes I wrangled my way back to the hall with the doe eyed fawn look and the willingness to be the head coordinator’s lackey.  Lackeys have great privileges, not the least of which is getting to watch the panel in question while the staff talk crap about other staff members.  Remember folks, ALWAYS know your place.

The other notable piece of Thursday was the Twilight panel.  This is not to say that I would go or be caught there, however the notable fact is that this brough a ton of various people out into the light of day.  Tons and tons of 12 - 30 year old women who are in love with the head vampire.  Oddly, this demographic (the 18+ at least) did wonders for the attractive women rate at the con.  Previous years have relegated the “hot girls” to models working booths or the occasional girlfried that was tricked into coming to the con.  (Of note, you will never see the girlfriend a second time as this would imply dating continued after the previous con outing.)  This year the aggregate rate rose dramatically and higher rates are expected all 4 days.

So what did we do??  Besides volunteering, I scored some wicked new sketches (will pic and upload tomorrow), purchased some quality books, both comic and trade, and cultivated some excellent Sunday purchasing relationships.  Sadly nothing new to the WTWTA book yet, but I have a couple prospects to add to the book in the next couple days.

Also had a chance to listen to Geoff Johns speak about some various projects current and coming up, so I do have a few spoilers for everyone.  After blackest night, there will be a Flash Blackest Night which will include some of the dead rogues.  Johns will be working on Adventure Comics at some point and a Superman secret origin.  One of the big pieces was a questions asked that resolved around Johns taking over Batman.  Sounds like that could happen next April, but with John’s amazingly poor lying ability, should be a shoe in.  He chatted about the Flash movie briefly and the Green Lantern movie,  He also referenced two books that helped him:  The Writers Journey and Shot by Shot are in his list of great books, so check them out.  No word on a white or rainbow lantern, but apparently the codename for this project was care bare lanterns, so it sounds like some jokes have been made.  John’s will also be doing some work on Justice League (again, crappy liar) in the coming future.

Finally, I did get to see the premier for the Green Lantern cartoon.  Looks amazing, spectacular and advances the story quickly through the movie.  A defininite purchase by any fan.

Well everyone, I am calling it a day.  Have a great night and check back tomorrow for more info!