The two coasts have the biggest conventions in the industry (San Diego and New York Comic Cons) while the WizardWorld shows that dot the country are dying a slow death. To try and provide an alternative to these shows, Chicago will be getting the Windy City Comicon this month. While Wizard does still run the old Chicago show, it's moved outside of the city proper and quite frankly it could die any day now.
While the Windy City Con doesn't seem to be powerhouse show that new York and San Diego are, it does have the possibility to be a great second tier show like Charlotte's Heroes Con. Some of the guests attending the inaugural show will be Gene Ha, Skottie Young, Mike Norton, Tim Seeley, Will Pfeifer and plenty more. You can always check out the full guest list.
So for those of you in the Chicago area on October 25th, why not head over to The Center on Halsted. Admission is only $5.00, so what can it hurt? Make sure to let us here at PK know what the deal is on this new, and hopefully long running, new show.
Who would have thought eating a puppy would look so cute!
On to the Gator's week in review!
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BAM! ... We're going to start out this week with the monthly sales reports for the Big Two. Published by Heidi MacDonald over at The Beat, here are the sales and details for the August sales for Marvel and for DC.
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BAM! ... Continuing on the theme of a great series of articles, Todd Klein continues his studies of logos throughout the history of comics. This iteration focuses on DC's House of Mystery. You can check out both parts one and two right now.
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BAM! ... Can a new Daredevil film be in the works? Why won'tBen Affleck be involved? IESB talked to FOX studio head Tom Rothman and got some answers. Not all, but some.
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BAM! ... Good news for the end of the year, BAM! KAPOW! is reporting that the new Punisher film will, in fact, be rated R. Yay for violence!
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BAM! ... It's been circulating the blogosphere for a week now, but once more here is Tom Spurgeon's list of fifty comic book essentials. What has not been as widely seen are two fantastic responses to the list. The first is from Alert Nerd and the other from Chris's Invincible Super Blog.
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BAM! ... It's always good to keep abreast other genres even if they're not on your everyday radar. The Advocate takes a look at lesbian manga and just how the Japanese readers react to it.
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BAM! ... Amy Poodle over at the Mindless Ones has an unabashed love of Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly's recently ended All-Star Superman series. Want to know what the unabashed love is all about? Check it out here.
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BAM! ... And finally for this week, did you know that back before he was all emo and brooding, Batman was gay?!
In the interest of full discretion, let me first say that I am not a devout follower of Watchmen. I think it's a good book and I appreciate its finer points, but I do not think it's the be all and end all of graphic novels. I'm weird like that (and many, many other ways).
What I'm even less a fan of is the fact that Zack Snyder (director of 300) is making a film of Alan Moore's graphic novel. Much of what I did enjoy in Watchmen would be damn near impossible to translate to film, but they never asked me. Who did they ask? Apparently one Mr. Devin Faraci of CHUD.com.
Here's a snippet of what he had to say.
I was sold after the set visit. I knew that Zack Snyder 'got' Watchmen, that he wasn't turning it into 300, that he and his team were paying an obsessive amount of attention to detail and fidelity. After talking to Zack on set (and at a couple of other events - I must have interviewed this guy about 20 times on the subject of Watchmen) I knew that he was attempting to service the graphic novel and not trying to bend it to his style or his will. I also knew that he wasn't just making a slavish adaptation - his film would attempt to live on its own.
I was sold on the intentions and on the approach. My mantra was 'If Watchmen is bad it won't be due to a lack of love and effort.' My new mantra is 'Watchmen won't be bad.'
That's how good the 25 minutes that Snyder screened for the press was. From the scenes we were shown I feel comfortable saying that Snyder has nailed it. Watchmen looks amazing.
Some books should not be made into films. Simple fact, there are just certain stories that are made for print and should not be made into a movie - especially a live action film with actual people.
Top of the list of this category is one of the most well known Manga books in the world, Dragonball. The series of crazy acrobatics and insane aerial battles look just fine in print, but seeing a flesh and blood actor with glowing (and vertical) blond hair battle a seven foot tall lizard man while flinging balls of crackling yellow energy is just something I don't think modern cinema is able to realistically convey.
That said, 20th Century Fox is bringing this insane film to theaters on April 10th, 2009. The official trailer will hit the net and cinemas on October 17th, but we're internet people. We don't wait for official launches. No, we watched the leaked footage someone recorded on their cell phone at a convention.
You know that witty opening I always have before passing the buck along to my gator friend to entertain you for the weekend? Yes, that one. I don't have anything this week.
So sorry.
Hey, look! My gator friend has some stuff to show you. Look over there!
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BAM! ... It looks like Peter Parker has moved from staff photographer for the Daily Bugle to staff writer. He should stick to the photographs.
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BAM! ... Sean Kleefield wonders about the nature of an iconoclast. What brought on this thought-provoking essay on the complexities of modern day pop culture? Isn't it obvious. Pinky and the Brain!
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BAM! ... Did you watch the V For Vendetta film and scratch your head in confusion? You're in luck! Those wacky aces over at BAM! Kapow! have been nice enough to throw some subtitles onto a pivotal section of the movie so you can find out just what the heck V is talking about in his oh-so-sexy Hugo Weaving voice.
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BAM! ... Russ FIscher over at CHUD.com gives us a sneak peek of a new animated anthology film created by some of the biggest names in indie books. All of the features focus on being afraid of the dark, or what's in the dark, and it looks quite interesting.
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BAM! ... Do you find it increasingly difficult to find quality bara books in the U.S. Do you have absolutely no clue just what the hell bara is? Either way, Yaoi911.com have a special section up just for you!
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BAM! ... Wired.com has a quirky list up showcasing some of the best comic book-inspired tattoos. There's nothing more I could add here to make it sound cooler. Just click the link.
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BAM! ... And finally, we take a look at what it's like to be an intern at the House of Ideas. Is it all it's cracked up to be or is it a dream-shattering horror show?
Another week has come and gone and this Goblin is beat! It always seems that the commute into NYC is more work than actually working in the city. Build a few more bridges on tunnels, Mr. Bloomberg!
It was a quieter than normal week here in the comic shop wing of the Gay Gamer castle. We should be rectifying that in the week ahead. But, never one to miss out on a bit of nostalgia (no matter how recent), our little gator friend has a week's worth of stuff you may have missed out there in the open blogosphere. He's mighty tired after helping swim across the Hudson River - screw the Lincoln Tunnel, he's faster - so let's see what he has to report and let him go back to sleep.
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BAM! ... Okay, so you know you're gay and you read comic books. Maybe you even watch some Sci-Fi Channel and have a wookie costume in your closet. But does that mean you're a Gay Geek? Take the test and find out.
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BAM! ... Brad Curran over at CBR's Comics Should Be Good has some issues. Well, he has issues with the comics industry. (He may have other issues as well, I profess I'm not nearly as close to Brad as I would like to be ... yet.) How many issues does he have, you ask? Excellent question. Head over to CSBG and check out Brad's "60 Things I Hate - Well, More Like I Don't Care For ABout Comics."
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BAM! ... Hollywood has latched onto comics as a never-ending pool of ideas and has converted many properties to both movies and TV. But what about the other side of the coin? Comic By Comic takes a gander at when TV shows escape the box and get locked onto the printed page - it's a list of the good and not-so-good television-to-comic adaptations.
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BAM! ... Graffiti is fun. Illegal, perhaps. Gratifying, definitely. Comic Foundry is spotlighting a crafty new graffiti artist and some of their work.
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BAM! ... The Mindless Ones have a new article discussing the finer points of martial arts. Oh, they not talking about its meditative effects or the skill it takes to master the art. No. They're arguing about who would win: Iron Fist or the Badger. God bless imaginary fights.
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It has been a long week and the one coming up is going to be even longer as I'll be working my ass off at a temp gig. Forgive me for bypassing the witty opening this week and seguing right to our amphibian friend.
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BAM! ... Why so serious? Why not take a walk on the lighter side of lighter side of Gotham with the Joker and Harley Quinn?
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BAM! ... Did you think Superman Returns was the worst Superman film that could have been made in the 2000s? Think again.
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BAM! ... Do you love DC Comics? Or do you hate them and want to walk all over them? Either way, we've got you covered with this hip fashion accessory.
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BAM! ... Sarah over at Alert Nerd takes a look at a phenomenon somewhat unique to superhero comics and their fandom. Just what is the root of character loyalty and how far is too far?
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BAM! ... Have you ever asked yourself, "What happened to Misty Knight?" If you haven't, you don't have to since Rich from Comic By Comic asked first. If you have, you just may have too much free time on your hands (like Rich!).
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BAM! .. Via Heidi MacDonald's The Beat we get this month's installment of Marvel'smonth-to-month sales for July of 2008. If the magic bullet is more your speed, we also have DC'smonth-to-month sales for the same period. Soak up the sales lingo.
If I have a favorite internet writer (besides every one of these fine folks at Pink Kryptonite, natch), it would probably be Devin Faraci. He writes for CHUD.com and is one fo the rare people whose reviews on film I'll actually care about. He's also a great writer and thankfully gets to talk to a slew of fantastic people in Hollywood.
Why am I mentioning ll this, you ask? Well, because the estimable Mr. Faraci recently talked to Iron Man director Jon Favreau for some time and walked away with a bunch of news on the forthcoming Iron Man 2 (which I would pay to see have the sub-title of Electric Boogaloo.
Welcome to the home improvement wing of the Gay Gamer Castle. Mondays are all about sprucing up the everyday and that means a new desktop wallpaper for your computer!
This week's desktop artwork comes from one of the best artist's in Marvel's stable today, Mitch Breitweiser. He started out on the revamped Drax the Destroyer limited series before moving on to Captain America. Luckily for us, Mitch likes to practice by drawing random comic characters and splashing them on his Deviant Art page.
For today's artwork, we have a blast from the past as World War II allies Namor the Sub-Mariner and Captain America reunite - probably to beat on some Nazis as they always seem to pop up when these two are together. It's also a mini-celebration as I'm overjoyed to have a worthwhile (nix that, great!) Namor book once again. The blogosphere is buzz with the book, including our very own Jono in this week's PK Review Session.
This is the first week post-summer here in the states and our gator friend is focusing on his AGGRO half. You'll have to excuse his rather brusque nature this week as he's dealing with kids going back to school and soccer moms invading the streets again. To deal with these increased annoyances, he's stocked up on some weaponry and is ready to handle may problems that may arise.
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BAM! ... Let's start this week's column off with some humor. With all these characters having kids these days, it was only a matter of time before a play date was formed.
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BAM! ... Comics as a form of propaganda is nothing new. Be it Captain America during World War II or trying to suppress people's rights, comics have been used to sway people's minds many times over. Why not try just one more?
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BAM! ... Henry Pym: Hero, Psycho, Skrull. Looking for a complete history in an easy to read chunk? You're in luck!
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BAM! ... In one of the weirder semi-crossovers we've seen to date, the Dark Lord of the Sith take on the World's Greatest Comic Magazine. That's right. It's Darth Vader vs. the Fantastic Four ... sort of.
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BAM! ... Women as villains have always held a special niche in superhero books. From Malice to Catwoman to the White Queen, evil women tend to swim in sex. Why is this? Valerie D'Orazio would also like to know.
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BAM! ... Take a few minutes, sit back and read up on the history of the Justice League of America logo in all its many (many!) iterations. Courtesy of legendary letterer Todd Klein.
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BAM! ... And to wrap up this week, let's take a quick look at the upcoming sequel to the limited series Marvels. A hard act to follow, this new volume will take photographer Phil Sheldon to the 70s and 80s of the Marvel universe. Will it be as groundbreaking as the original? You be the judge.
Mack Rawden over at Cinema Blend talks up the recurring theme of nerds in teen films. While a ubiquitous presence from day one, we seem to be in a resurgence of nerd culture lately.
And Mr. Rawden has seem to have had enough. Rawden bemoans movies that glorify the underdog as something of an annoying underachiever and someone who deserves our scorn. The jocks who mercilessly torment the nerds and abuse them for four years? They're the real stars.
Is anyone else sick of dweeb protagonists complaining about getting hit with dodge balls? I am. Picking off the fat kid isn't even mean--it's Natural Selection, motherfuckers.
Now I'm not going to go off on a rant about how odd it is for a grown man to be justifying throwing dodgeballs at an overweight kid, but what in Mr. Rawden's past has brought him to this point of delusion?
Why is it that every single goddamn high school movie now is about unathletic, unpopular, undesirables weaseling their way into a roll in the hay with the most beautiful girl at school? That's not even an admirable goal. Most of the cheerleader types are vapid vortexes of slutiness and stupid opinions.
Okay, now it's fairly obvious he's just jealous and over compensating. It would seem that perhaps Mr. Rawden was in fact counted among the nerd populace and is now rebelling as best as he can by condemning his roots.
If he doesn't want to be associated with nerd culture, he should probably not be writing for a movie blog.
Far be it from Reed Exhibitions to let the flame ever die on one of their flagship shows. News on the 2009 New York ComiCon has begun and I'm nothing but happy to act as an information facilitator.
The date for this year's con is the weekend of February 6th (the weekend after the Super Bowl, for you more sports-minded readers). I am most definitely not looking forward to walking the LONG block behind the Javits Center from the ferry again. It was quite nice the weekend in question this year, but new York Februarys are nothing to sneeze at, not to mention the wind that rips right through you off the Hudson. Brrr.
Tickets aren't available yet, but they will be shortly. You can go to the NYCC registration site to sign up for n e-mail announcement when tickets do go on sale.
To keep up to date, you can read the Medium At Large blog, run by the organizers of the New York ComicCon and its sister shows. You can even e-mail Lance Fensterman directly at LFensterman@reedexpo.com and let him know who want to see as a guest or guest of honor at the 2009 show.
Moment Of The Week #8
Well last week Ruby Summers blasted the competition easily for Moment of the Week! Just like the old saying goes, never underestimate a girl made out of living gemstone with laser eyes. This week we take a look at some astounding moments from last weeks Spider-Man: Secret Invasion, Wolverine, New Avengers, Final Crisis: Rogue's Revenge, Ultimate X-Men and Thunderbolts. (Marvel heavy, last week) So join me after the jump, and be warned. Spoilers lie beyond. So if you still have to pick up any of these books, don't read ahead because it'll ruin the surprise!...
