There is no better experience for a fan than sharing something we've enjoyed in a communal setting with people who feel the same way. Last night's viewing of Battlestar Galactica at the Bagdad theater and pub was that sort of experience. The fact that actress Katee Sakhoff was there with us just added to the joy of the whole thing.
I arrived a couple of hours early and the line already for the free screening already stretched around the block at about five hundred people. The theater only holds six hundred. Even with that I got pretty good seats that were close to the stage and had an even greater perk that I'll mention later.
The Bagdad theater has been around Portland since the invention of film. It's an absolutely beautiful old school theater with carved ornate pillars and Egyptian designs throughout it's interior. I have happy memories of seeing the King Kong remake in 1976 at this theater (and even better memories of seeing the original Kong at the Backstage theater directly behind the Bagdad which is sadly now a bar.)
The gorgeous Bagdad theater.
These showings have been hosted by local rock station personalities Cort and Fatboy. I listen to these guys on my commute home from work because, besides being super funny, they're both tremendous geeks who read comics, watch sci-fi, etc. With these guys you'll might hear references to Star Wars, Star Trek, Watchmen and Thundercats all within a five minute span of their show. You can see the appeal for me.
Before Battlestar began they started showing a live feed of the Sci-fi network as they were setting up. Next Generation popped on and the crowd cheered. That was when I felt like I was hanging out with the right people.
Hey, that's not Starbuck!
Just before Battlestar aired Cort and Fatboy took the stage. Of course they look nothing like I imagined from their radio voices. For one thing Fatboy isn't a fat boy. He's a short, skinny very buff guy.
They laid down the ground rules for when Katee arrived- telling us to keep it clean because her parents and boyfriend were going to be there. Then they got the crowd cheering in chants of "so say we all!" and doing the Battlestar clap. While they were talking Katee Sakhoff and her crew snuck in and sat just a couple of rows behind me. The crowd roared in approval when she arrived.
The episode was pretty good but to be honest I got a bigger kick out of watching Katee Sakhoff watch us react to the stuff that was happening. When Baltar would say something weasily and the crowd would laugh she seemed to get a tremendous kick out of that. Screen/ television actors probably don't get to enjoy this sort of direct feedback to their work very often.
After the episode had ended and we'd watched the previews they called Katee to the stage and she took questions from a line of mostly women. Judging by a big part of the questions Katee has a very big lesbian following.
She told some hysterical stories about Edward James Olmos (that model of the sailing ship he smashed up a couple of seasons ago was on loan from a museum and valued at 50k - "anybody else would've been fired") and a sad story about the actor that plays Sam who she's very close to in real life. He was apparently in an accident recently and may not walk again, which is why they had to put him in a tub in these final episodes.
Katee also talked about recently being diagnosed with Thyroid cancer and some of the other challenges she'd faced as an actress. She told about how she decided to get into acting after watching Jaws when she was six years old with her dad. This almost led to divorce among her parents. That story hit a little close to home as I did the same thing with our young daughter and Mrs. Wormer was none too happy.
All in all I found her very engaging and funny. She ended by apologizing that she couldn't be here for the finale next week.
That's Cort and Fatboy next to Katee.
The rest of us were told no photos with Katee but not KUFO employees.
* Link to the person who tagged you. * Leave a comment on their blog so that their readers can visit yours. * Post the rules on your blog. * Share the seven (7) most famous or infamous people you have met. Or go with the original 7 weird things about yourself. Or with Sandra's change and list your 7 favorite writing websites. Lots of choices! * Tag 7 random people at the end of your post. * Include links to their blogs. * Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
I’m going with 7 famous people.
Bruce Campbell Bruce was showing his film Bubba Ho-Tep around at various venues in 2002 to interest a distributor. Dean Wormer and Misses Dean were kind enough to invite me and the SO along. We waited for hours outside the Hollywood Theater in the cold to get in. Well, the gals waited outside as Dean and I got to go inside and wait in another line to do a meet and greet with the B-Movie legend before the film started. I had brought my DVD copy of The Evil Dead for Bruce to sign. While there, I decided to buy a hardback copy of his book If Chins Could Kill. I thought: “hey, why not get two things signed.” Well just before I got to meet him the crew told me that Mr. Campbell only signs one thing per fan. Oh well, I did want to read his book at some point.
Bruce was very nice and shook my hand and I sat and talked with him a few moments. As he signed my DVD with “Stay Groovy.” I mentioned that I really enjoyed his mini doc Fanalysis that was on the DVD and wondered if he was going to do another one. He said that they had something in the works. I never saw it but I’m sure it ended up on some DVD. I then blabbered some dumb crap about myself that he could have cared less about, but I was feeling ill so I wasn’t thinking clearly. I did have the good sense to say that I enjoyed his work and wished him well before I left.
Mr. Campbell was nice of enough to meet all the folks that had waited to get something signed, so nice in fact that the showing of Bubba Ho-Tep was delayed much to the dismay of our spouses waiting outside in the cold. Eventually, we all sat down together and, after a lively introduction by Mr. Campbell, enjoyed the film.
Erin Grey I think it was in 1998 when Erin Grey stopped by Portland during a comic convention. I had a big crush on her when I was in grade school because of her staring role as Wilma Deering on the Buck Rodgers TV show. You know the one that was a little too disco for it’s own good right? Well, as the years went by I realized that she was the best part of that program (well, her and Doctor Theopolis that is) so; when she came to Portland I decided to meet her.
When I got to the comic show, I realized I was actually a little nervous, which was strange because it’s not like she was mega famous anymore but, maybe it was due to the fact that hardly anybody ever came to Portland. She looked great, Erin had taken care of herself over the years and she reminded me of one of those hot moms. I talked to her a little bit and asked if she had anything coming out, and she responded that she up for a role and she hoped she was going to get it. That made me a little sad because I think that Grey is good actor, but Buck Rogers typecast her. She was seriously considered for the role of Janeway on Star Trek Voyager. How awesome would that have been?
I bought a signed copy of one her Buck Rogers pictures and I also bought a copy of her book Act Right. Incidentally, it was at this convention that I realized the Portland Comic book show was held in really awful space, the basement of the Memorial Coliseum. I felt a little ashamed that guests had come from all over the place and were stuck in this dank, dark dungeon. And Sure enough, she never came back to Portland just like all the other media guests that have come for the convention.
Will Eisner Yes, the godfather of American comics and the creator of the Spirit actually came to Portland once thanks to Dark Horse Comics. In august 2000, Things From Another World (Mike Richardson’s other company) hosted the meet and greet with the grandmaster. He was obviously in town to convene with the Dark Horse bunch and it was a simple matter for him to cross the street for the event at the comic shop.
I was having trouble deciding what to have him sign, but I ended up bringing the first two volumes of the Spirit Archives that had just been published previously that year. I arrived early with my niece and we ended up being the first in line. My niece didn’t have a clue who Eisner was but I hoped that someday she’d realize how special it was to meet him, although I’m still not holding my breath.
When Will Eisner came into the shop, he looked just like I thought he would, like a kindly grandfather. He was very affable and was very happy to sign my copies of the Sprit archives especially since he hadn’t seen them yet. When he recognized that Alan Moore wrote the forward, he examined fondly “Oh Alan!”
My niece got mildly annoyed because he kept confusing her name with the name of one his great-granddaughters, but I had great time. I would have loved to chitchat with him but the line was already very long. I had my picture taken with Will and I used one of those disposable cameras, which I promptly lost. Oh well, it was great to meet one of my comic creator heroes particularly given that he passed away a few years later in 2005.
Linda Harrison Linda played Nova in the first two Planet of the Apes films which are part of my favorite Science Fiction film series of all time, so there was no way I was gonna’ pass up seeing her. She came to Portland in 2004 (I think?) to the Portland comic convention.
I hauled along my Niece again, she didn’t know who Linda was either but I figured she might watch the Planet of the Apes movies eventually. Linda was very nice and agreed to have a picture taken with my niece. As you can see from the shot, she looked great. I bought and had her sign one of her photographs. It was she, the cast and the crew from the first POTA film. Everybody was on the beach where they shot the scene in which Dr. Zaius gets tied up. When I later took to look at the picture, I realized that everybody in that photo was dead expect for Linda Harrison and “Chuck” Heston.
Cat Yronwode Author, critic, hippie, and sex magic promoter, Cat Yronwode, has worn many hats throughout her life but I knew none of that when I went to see the Eclipse Comics booth back in 1985 or 86. At that time, she was the editor-in-chief of one of my favorite comic companies and that was good enough for me as a pimply-faced teen. Being a huge fan of Eclipse Comics because they published lots of different genres, I collected many of their titles and I couldn’t believe they were actually coming to Portland. Plus, I had read many of cat’s editorials so meeting her personally was something I built up in my mind.
When I first got to the Eclipse table, Cat Yronwode wasn’t there but she soon walked up with some Eclipse titles in hand. She commented to her crew how she was able to find some good back issues to add to their library. I knew what she was talking about because Eclipse had been flooded out a few years before and all their back issues were lost. Cat then sat right down and began interacting with the fans.
Now being a celebrity novice, I didn’t realize that bringing a ginormous stack of comics for her to sign was a pretty rude thing to do. But she was very cool about it and said something nice about what great fan I must be. I realized my mistake when Dean Mullaney, Eclipse’s publisher, said he was only going to autograph one title and suggested she do the same. She ignored him and went right on putting her name on all my Scout comics, Miracle Man comics and Alien Encounters comics (my three favorite titles). Then, when she was done, she handed me one of the Eclipse Comics metal buttons they were selling because I was such a big fan. I wore that button proudly for many years before I stored it away someplace.
Cat Yronwode became one of my favorite comic book people that day. She treated me so nicely when she could have totally blown me off. Cat didn’t and so created a very loyal Eclipse Comics fan. I always felt she was the major reason that Eclipse had been such a success in the 1980s. Eclipse Comics went out of business in 1994, but she had left in 1993. What does that tell you?
I met Paul Chadwick, the creator of Concrete, in 2005. He was nice enough to do an on camera interview:
Mike Richardson Mike Richardson is the founder of Dark Horse Comics. Back when the company was first starting out in 1986, Dark Horse always had a booth at the Portland Comic Book Show and Mike was often there. He was a soft-spoken, easygoing sort of guy that was happy to meet the fans. Nowadays, Mike’s a bigwig with 300, Sin City, and Hellboy, being huge media successes so he has no need to slum it with the little folk or modest comic book conventions that take place in dank dungeons, but this year he is gonna’ be at the Stumptown Comics Fest, so I think this newer, homegrown convention has, shall we say, arrived?
I’m just gonna tag Lady Bug… I broke the rules… sorry Moody...
Stephen King had a great discussion about The Dark Tower, comic books and Marvel’s Gunslinger Born/The Long Road Home series on NPR’s Talk of the Nation. Although brief, it’s very interesting. Check it out here
Copy from the NPR website:
To the delight of Stephen King fans, the latest installment in the Marvel comic book series inspired by his Dark Tower epic was released in early March.
The illustrated saga was kicked off in the graphic novel Dark Tower: Gunslinger Born, which introduced young hero Roland Deschain in the midst of his coming-of-age journey. The newly released Dark Tower: The Long Road Home, is a continuation of the narrative, with the young gunslinger on the run with his posse.
King collaborated with writer Peter David, consultant Robin Furth, and illustrators Jae Lee and Richard Isanove on the project.
"I'm just somebody who's always been interested in how things work in different medium," King says. "I have a tendency to say 'yes' to projects rather than to say 'no' just because I'm curious. I want to see how things turn out." The best-selling novelist has written more than 40 novels, and his books appear in 33 languages in 35 different countries.
"Comic books are almost like movies on paper," King says. "They came to interest me as a medium because they exist in their own category."
It’s great because Mr. King is bringing new fans into the medium. In fact, during the discussion he plugs Y: The Last Man and gets one of his call-in fans to take a look at Vaughan's fantastic comic. The big news for me is that Marvel will adapt The Stand into comic book form.
Picture from the Portland Lumberjax via the Portland Tribune.
When you cross an über jock with an über geek the results can be rather stunning. In this Photo we have Dallas Eliuk, a lacrosse goalie for the Portland LumberJax, and his wife Daria O’Neil, a Rose City radio celebrity. The local non-daily paper, The Portland Tribune, wrote up an article about Eliuk for the sports section this last Friday (see article here), and man, is this guy a hardcore Batman fan or what? From the story:
The geekdom of Dallas Eliuk can be traced back to his childhood, watching Adam West play Batman on television and reading DC Comics about the Caped Crusader. Today, it’s displayed in Eliuk’s thousands of collectibles and his own alter ego… …Growing up in Vancouver, British Columbia, Eliuk says, “my first spoken word was ‘Batman.
What's most amazing is the fun, geeky relationship Eliuk has with his new wife.
Eliuk met his match in his new bride, Daria O’Neill, a radio personality with 105.1 “The Buzz.” As their relationship took off, Eliuk broached the subject of Batman – and Spiderman, since Eliuk isn’t naive enough to think that only one superhero saves the world. Sunday cartoons told him that. Eliuk couldn’t believe that O’Neill loved comic books and superheroes, too. This sort of thing just doesn’t happen with women, he thought. It had been such a “big issue” with his ex-wife… …The couple tied the knot New Year’s Eve at home, but O’Neill says a Batman-theme marriage celebration is planned for spring or summer. There will be heroes joining Batman on one side, and villains with leather-printed Catwoman on the other side. Guests will register by Batcomputer. No word on whether the couple will then take the Batplane on their Bathoneymoon.
I used to listen to Daria quite a lot a several years ago so it was a bit of a surprise to discover that she’s really into geeky comic stuff along with her husband. But the two of them sure make a great looking couple right? They made an appearance at the last Portland Comic Book show as Batman and Catwoman, but unfortunately I was in Japan. I love it when a good-looking folks let their freak flag fly. Maybe I can sneak into that wedding and snap a few pictures? Heh heh!
BAC has tagged me (See here ) and now I must make up 7 untrue facts about myself... As if I ever told the truth. heh heh
1. In 1998, I published a book titled Assyrian Sight. It is a historical fiction novel about Babai the Great, an Assyrian Christian leader, set during the 7th century. Several devastating wars between the Byzantine Empire and Persia figure prominently in the plot.
2. While vice chairman of the Nomenclature for Organic Chemical Transformations Board, I instituted several sweeping changes to IUPAC Nomenclature for Transformations methodology. Most namely the Theisberg index for evaporation.
3. I've been a guest lecturer at the Banff World Television Festival for several years now and was awarded best director in 2004 for the horror comedy Slayerrellla.
4. I had a quickie with Paula Abdul at the Espoo railway station in Espoo, Finaland. She was drunk at the time.
5. During a trip to the UK in 1995, I had a psychotic break with reality and stole a Dennis Dagger fire truck. I drove it around London like a maniac and ended up in the Thames River near the Isle of Dogs. It was a very sad and bitter time in my life.
6. In 2003 I was a judge at the Iowa Film Critics Awards. I was proud that I was one of the members that helped push Lost in Translation over the top to receive the best picture award.
7. I was engaged to Manoli Wetherell, the New York Bureau Chief Engineer for National Public Radio. She dumped me for a much more sophisticated person.
I'm tagging no one as no one ever does my tags, so what's the point? (except Snabulus, so you can do it if you want)
Stan “the Man” Lee is 85 today. Yup, the grand poobah of the modern funny book has reached five and eighty years. Paradoxically it seems to me like he should be older, yet, at the same time he's much too youthful to be that age.
As child I worshiped Stan, I really did, he was the greatest guy in the universe. He made all these fantastic characters and was behind the scenes controlling the fate of the entire Marvel Universe. You see, when I grew up, every Marvel comic I read, said “Stan Lee Presents” right there on the splash page. OK, maybe he didn’t write it, or even edit it but certainly he KNEW, what was happening ‘cause his name was right there. And then, I heard his voice on TV. That’s right! It was like Moses and the Burning Bush, with a higher power's voice broadcast from on high. “This is Stan Lee…” “What’s that Stan? You want me to buy more comics? OK, I submit to your will” Well, all he was really doing was introducing Spiderman and Hulk cartoons, but he had such a wonderful voice, full of power and majesty. His very breath seemed to confirm all the crazy kid ideas I had about him. It’s hard to imagine in this day and age with the Internet and Youtube, but the sound of Stan’s voice had a strong affect on me. It was almost as if one of his comic book creations had come alive. He wasn’t just a name on the page anymore, he was the living, risen God… ahem… comic creator, and like God he was everywhere. Everywhere in this case being New York, controlling Marvel comics, and Hollywood, controlling the TV shows.
This all happened without me reading one comic written by Stan, with the possible exception of a reprint of Amazing Fantasy #15.
The majority of comics that Stan had penned were out of reach for a kid in the early 80s. The prices were already sky high on the collectors market and there were no reprints. Well OK, sure, there was Marvel Tales… but that had funny “old looking” art so that couldn’t possibly be the comic masterpieces I was imagining in my head.
As I got a little older, I realized Stan wasn’t really involved in comics that much any more and so I found the “Stan Lee Presents” thing kind of charming, then confusing, and finally silly. Eventually, to my shock, there began to be all kinds of accusations that Stan was merely the co-creator of all these superheroes and that he had stolen all the credit away from the artists that he had worked with over the years, most notably Jack Kirby.
When Stan’s backlog of comics finally began to be published in collections I could afford. I was shocked again. They didn’t meet up with my expectations. Where were the fantasy masterpieces I had built up in my mind? The stilted dialog, the over exposition (so endemic to silver and bronze age comics), and simple storylines threw me for a loop. The constant footnotes in the comics I had read prepared me for the gospel… and what I received were amusing, dated, little adventure stories. I wasn’t crushed though, because somewhere inside me I new this was true, but until I actually got my hands on Stan’s stories, I kept the IDEA of his Silver Age masterpieces alive.
I guess what I’m tying to say is that the Stan Lee I knew was a crafted fiction, created by Marvel, Stan himself and me. He was as illusionary as any character he had shaped. It seems crazy, but how could have I ever honestly considered myself a huge fan of his when I had read next to nothing he produced.
It was soon after that, that I abandoned comics for nearly a decade which was fine because it was the 1990s and by then Stan’s funny dated, little stories didn’t look so bad when compared to the crap the was on the shelves at the time.
This post might sound like I’m complaining about Stan on his 85th birthday, but I’m really not. I’m just working through the warped perception I had of him, of which I am partially to blame. As an adult, I have become much more interested in the real story behind comics, including the people. How were stories made, how were deals struck and how much pain was suffered. The pain that many of the creators went through as the industry chewed them up and spat them out are some of the tales that engage me now, (I’m still haunted by Bill Everett’s end days). Stan is the real success story in all this. I guess that’s the most important thing to take away from my blathering. He’s the beacon of dreams, the scion of success in the comics industry, and why many folks still want to “make comics.” Plus, he’s entertaining to listen to and polite. Courtesy is contagious, is a lesson that Dan Didio could sure learn from Stan as we are all getting rather tired of Mr. Didio's deliberate jabs at females.
What I appreciate now about Stan Lee is the man rather than “the Man” who presents. That’s what I liked best about Who Wants to be a Superhero, just listening to Stan speak was fun and his teaching the world at large what it really means to be a superhero was a good reminder. A lesson the big 2 sadly need to relearn. So Happy Birthday Stan! Thanks for the fun adventures that paved the way for all the comics that I read, even if that way wasn’t actually paved with gold… or silver for that matter.
While I'm trying to find time to write my next installment of Trip to Japan. I thought I would post this flyer that I picked up at Fuji TV for a Japanese Band. I know nothing about them but they sure have an interesting look especially that gasmask guy.
I enjoyed the 1st episode of season 2 of Who Wants To be a Superhero? They’ve obviously got a bigger budget with more special effects and a longer season. I liked the fact that no one was eliminated right off the bat as happened last year. It’s kinda sad that we never got to know Levity, from season one, because he was kicked off so soon. So it’s nice that everybody got a real chance this time around. With an expanded season, it seems like there will only be one elimination per episode. That’s a good too because it will be more difficult to figure out who has been kicked off ahead of time.
1st impressions:
Basura: Weird arty girl that you wanna get to know.
Braid: bored homemaker, good costume.
The Defuser: Cop guy who took Superhero “values” to heart.
Hygena: Funny homemaker, this season’s fat mama.
Hyper-Strike: amped up wild man with real skills
Mindset: the stereotypical comic fan, classic scifi silver age hero
Mr. Mitzvah: Spoiled rich guy with interesting personality quirks.
Ms. Limelight: Miss Airhead, but nice enough.
Parthenon: sorta classic golden age style mystical hero.
Whip-Snap: down on her luck, gal who is glad to be here.
The fact that feedback went around and told everyone they were on the show was a nice touch, with Whip-Snap’s reaction the best of the bunch.
Should I guess who is gonna get kicked off next? I’m really terrible at that sort of thing but I’ll say Ms. Limelight is gone next time around.
I watched some of the coverage of Comic Con on G4. It was nice to see the reveal with the news that Karen Allen will be in Indy 4. Maybe there’s hope Lucas won’t screw this up… …maybe. Here’s the vid:
I’m also getting excited about the special edition DVD of Blade Runner, but the interview with Ridley Scot was kinda lame.
The Neil Gaiman interview was much better and now I’m looking forward to both Beowulf and Stardust.
Some of the hosts on G4 show are irritating with their fake enthusiasm and no comic book knowledge comments.
I was also happy to learn from Heidi MacDonald’s blog that Mark Waid is now the editor-in-Chief of Boom! Studios. They’re making big waves with great comics, why not bring on a big name.
This has been on youtube for a while, but it sure is interesting to see Stan in a younger man's clothes, not too long after he wrote most of the stories he's famous for.
You have to see it to believe it. This is one of those moments that will go down in pop culture history. Stephen is really shocked but still manages to get the jokes out. Jane actually seems rather turned on for real. Wow! see Here
Edit: here is the threesome with Gloria Steinam and Jane Fonda he was talking about Here
I’ve been combing the on-line vids for all manner of Star Trek Mash Ups, so I can’t understand how I missed this one. Thanks to Chris Roberson for finding this gem on youtube. This makes my week! I try not to post videos that others have just put on their blogs but I just couldn’t resist. You’ll actually feel like you’re on LSD! :D Maybe we need a Shatner Musical!
Japan gets Spiderman before the states?! See here Well, I guess Sony Pictures IS fitting the bill. Plus, the Spiderman franchise's second biggest market is Japan, so why not. I have this feeling that Spiderman’s struggle resonates with Japanese folks, you know, the whole: noble hero that does the right thing but is unknown. I never really thought about it before, but that whole quiet nobility of Spiderman is kinda in the Japanese mindset.
You might think that Spiderman is a new thing with the movies, right? Well not exactly. Spiderman was licensed for a Japanese TV show back in the 1970s. He had a giant robot and fought space monsters in prototypical tokusatsu fashion. Japanese folks for the most part thought Spiderman was basically a corny Japanese TV show character, and couldn’t understand why the US would make a version of him. Here a clip of the opening:
When they saw the original American Spiderman though, they were quite simply, blown away. Spiderman became a huge hit in Japan. Even my SO was surprised at how good the first film was and she finally understood why I like this superhero stuff so much. So, the deep recesses of the Japanese mindset was primed for Spiderman and they now get the world premiere for Spiderman 3. Spidey’s turning Japanese… ah.. ...but he already was since 1978!
I was off on a daytrip to Seattle this last weekend for the Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC). The festivities commenced in Qwest Field (Seahawks Stadium) Event Center south of downtown just off of I5. Having the con in a new building (they blew up the Kingdome a few years ago) really provided a nice atmosphere for the event and the experience was a total contrast to the Portland Comic Book Show. This being its 5th year, it’s my understanding that ECCC keeps improving by leaps and bounds. Since Seattle is a city that people have actually heard of, there was an extensive list of creators, media guests, and exhibitors. Personally, I was just happy that there were enough booths and events to keep me engaged for a few hours making the drive up worth it. This funny realization came over me as I was strolling through the crowded stalls. See, I was keen on talking to some of the media folks and artists but once I was there, I felt uncomfortable walking up to them when I had no intention to buying their stuff. It just seemed rude. All, I wanted was a moment of their time, but with other much more rabid fans shelling out huge piles of cash for signed pictures and sketches, it seemed pointless. Not that I didn’t have a good time mind you. It was just that I felt like more of an observer, which was surprisingly enough for me. Maybe it’s the filmmaker aspect of my personality. Dunno, I guess going to a con were they actually have a significant amount of famous folks made me really think about it for the first time. The Boom! Studios booth was one place I didn’t shy away from. These guys are publishing the kinda stuff I wanna’ read. See, I’m kinda burned out on superheroes. Dark Horse, Vertigo and Dynamite Entertainment are wetting my appetite for other genres but its not enough. Boom! on the other hand, burst on the scene about 2 years ago with a concept to serve the fan with a need for alternative genres. They publish supernatural thrillers, adventure, sci-fi, and horror comics. Where others companies dabble, Boom! Studios delivers. Their current claim to fame is Talent, a paranormal comic, which has been optioned for a film. These guys are also publishing Cthulhu comics, so I’m pretty excited about what they have coming down the pike. I picked up Pirate Tales, Cthulhu Tales, Tag and Savage Brothers. The Engima Cypher looks really good too, but I was running low on cash. I had a great conversation with Ross Richie the publisher of Boom! Studios. He spoke at length about his love for comic books and the need for his company in the market place. At first, he gave his standard pitch about why his company produces the kinda comics they do, but once he realized he was speaking to the converted Ross became much more relaxed. He loves working with guys like Keith Giffen, and pretty, much let’s them do want they want, what as novel idea. I tried to express my appreciation, rather poorly I might add, that finally somebody grasps that we really need more choices in our stories, and that Boom! is really filling that role. Ross understood and said that he knew there were readers like me out there. That’s why he started the company. It was a pleasant surprise when I realized that Clint Hollingsworth the creator of the web comic, The Wandering Ones was at the con. I really enjoyed meeting Clint and his wife Susie. I like post-apocalyptic stories a lot, so it was wonderful to pick up a copy of the collected strips, as I dislike on-line orders. The Wandering Ones is a wilderness survival story set in 2066 with tribal survivors of a devastating plague hunting, tracking and fighting their way across the Pacific Northwest. The art reminds me of the roleplaying game Aftermath for some reason. I urged them to visit Portland someday if they could fit it in.
Feedback (Matthew Atherton) was there. He was the guy that won Who Wants to Be a Superhero He was by far the most popular media star, as he had a steady stream of fans all day long. Feedback was charging for photos so I had to stand back to get this shot. It was difficult as you can tell because of the crowd.
Here’s a shot of Margo Kidder and Peter Mayhew. One woman started to freak out because she had not realized Peter was at the show, and apparently she’s a big fan. She actually said “I’m gonna freak out!” I got out of the way quickly.
Some of the cast from Farscape made it to ECCC. Lani Tupu (left standing), Wayne Pygram (sitting) and Gigi Edgley (standing with sandwich right). I wish I was a fan of the show then I could have talked them, but alas, I’ve only seen a few random episodes of Farscape so I had nothing to say. Apparently no one else had anything to say either because their booth was pretty quiet. Lani was always on the phone, he must have been arranging his next gig, or making it look like he was arranging his next gig. Gigi was always eating a sandwich every time I walked by. She had a pleading look like “please let my finish this. I’m starving.” Seriously, there is nothing hotter than an attractive woman stuffing food in her mouth. I finally felt bad, so I went up to Wayne and thanked him for coming and told him enjoyed his work. Which is true as Scorpius was the coolest character on that show.
Here’s some creators that I didn’t stand in line for: Frank Cho
Brian Michael Bendis Gene Ha
Here are those Star War guys again!
Here is the Top Shelf booth. Brett Warnock, their publisher, didn't want to be in the picture. See Brett! I didn’t get you in there.
I stopped by the booth of the folks that write the Comics Fairplay blog. We had a fun time chatting. I think they’re on to a great idea in terms of the right way for fans to participate in a con. Thanks for the free comic guys!
All and all I had a great time but before we (Me and my SO) left Seattle, we had to get some chow. The nice thing about the ECCC being at Qwest Center is that the Chinatown-International District is nearby. It’s only a few blocks away and really easy to get to with the pedestrian overpass. My SO hasn’t had any good Japanese ramen in a loooong time, so we finished up our trip by stopping off at a new shop called Samurai Noodle. Well the place was very busy and the food was excellent. So if your hungering for real Japanese ramen, Samurai Noodle is the place to go.
Apparently Prince William really does like the girls as this boob grab at a London club demonstrates. Contrary to the rumor that his romantic relationship with girlfriend, Kate Middleton, was merely a Hollywood style ruse to disguise his man loving desires, Prince William let his straight flag fly when he posed for a picture with 18yearold Brazilian, Ana Ferreira. She stated:
“I was a little bit drunk myself but felt something brush my breast. I thought it couldn’t be the future king — but now I’ve seen the picture it’s no wonder he has a smile on his face! He has big manly hands and certainly knows what to do with them.”
Looks like those man hands are strictly for girly grabbing after all. The British press (see here) has rightfully exposed William’s hidden frat boy behavior, as this gigantic secret could very well bring down the house of Windsor. What a scandal, Prince William isn’t quite the sensitive royal we thought he was. He likes to party with the ladies?! How shameful! Will the queen ever be able to live it down that her grandson is a raging heterosexual. Good thing there weren’t other significant stories going on in world so we could hear about important news like this. At least we now know that, Kate Middleton wasn’t going out with him for his money, it was his big manly hands!
Well if you haven't heard the news by now let me tell yah, Marvel has pulled another boner and killed off Captain America. I think they just did it to make a few quick bucks. I always liked Cap; he's a good guy. He's like Marvel's Superman but he ain't got no powers that’s what I enjoyed about him. Folks will likely say this has deep meaning because the country has been torn apart by the war blah blah blah.. This is just a moneymaker folks, and just like Superman they'll bring him back. Not that I'm really following much marvel comics right now mind you but fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. Oh well, at least he went down trying to protect our superhuman civil liberties.
I just happened to catch the Colbert Report when he devoted his nightly segment ‘the word” to Cap. I enjoy how he pokes fun at folks for taking these things too seriously while letting his fanboy colors wave.
Access to this video will expire on 4/9/07 so I'll have come back with something to fix this post but until then enjoy.
Note: The date says 4/9/07, I was gonna transcribe Colbert’s talk but Comedy Central took the video down early, maybe for the Easter Weekend. Needless to say, it was really funny but now it’s gone and I’ve got nothing to replace it with. I’ll look around the Internet for written excerpts.
I was thinking about that Shadow over Innsmouth movie, titled Cthulhu mentioned in a post by snabulus a while ago, well I finally put 2 and 2 together. You see, I have always thought that Tori Spelling had a fish face, not that there is anything wrong with that. I’m huge fan of sushi mind you. But remember the jolly Dagon worshipers of Innsmouth have been boinking the original creatures of the black lagoon for generations. These horrific unions produce inbred children that look human at first, but slowly transform into grotesque fish folk over time. Brings new meaning to fish lover doesn’t it.
Now I wouldn’t want to cast aspersions on Tori’s genetic background or family traditions, she’s as rich as a Marsh so she’ll get over it. But I realized that having her in this film is a masterstroke. Her large unblinking eyes, her extended soggy lips, call you to worship great Cthulhu and his little buddy Dagon without saying a word at all. Sends shivers down your spine, doesn’t it? Although, I’m sure Tori is the nicest deepone hybrid you’ll ever meet. Now, if I could just locate that debauched spot off the coast of California where these Hollywood elites are copulating with humanoids from the deep that fancy TV royalty. I probably won’t get around to seeing this film as I have better things to do like pull out my chest hair with clamshells but if you want to see the trailer her it is:
