December 27, 2010
I ended up going to four comic book conventions in 2010, mostly in Southern California (plus one in San Francisco). Based on this year’s experience and past experiences, here are my thoughts on each show.
1. Comic-Con International
Comic-Con International in San Diego is the ultimate pop culture fan experience. They have everything you could possibly want to see, including comics, movies, video games and more. The downside: they have everything everyone else could possibly want to see, too. So it’s crowded, hectic, and requires planning months ahead in order to make sure you have a ticket and (if you need one) a hotel room. Comics publishers have a major presence, as do movie and video game studios, collectibles manufacturers, etc. and there are so many events on the schedule that you’d need a group of 20 people to see everything. If you can, try to go more than one day. This is the con I’m most familiar with, having attended every year since 1990.
CCI 2010 report.
2. WonderCon
Comic-Con International’s little sibling, WonderCon in San Francisco, is a nice balance of everything San Diego has to offer, but less crowded and less, well, insane. Comics take up a bigger part of the show, with the major publishers always well-represented, but movies and TV have a presence here as well. I’ve been to the last 3 cons.
Wondercon 2010 report.
3. Long Beach Comic Con
Only in its second year, Long Beach Comic Con makes a great impression as a convention that’s actually focused on comics and the people who make them. The artists and writers area is the central feature of the main floor. Programming is light, but the mid-level comics publishers have a strong presence. The emphasis on authors and the light crowds (this was only its second year) make it a good place to meet artists and writers without standing in incredibly long lines.
LBCC 2010 report.
4. Anaheim Comic Con
Wizard World’s return to the LA/OC area, despite the name change, is more focused on pop culture than comics. There’s little publisher presence, minimal programming, and a major emphasis on celebrities and dealers. Good for costume spotting. It’s fun, but if I had to pick one or the other, I’d definitely go with Long Beach. Technically this was its first year, but I understand Wizard World is trying to make all of their shows the same type of experience.
Anaheim 2010 report.
And Beyond
There are a lot of smaller cons that I either haven’t been to at all or haven’t been to recently. The roughly-bimonthly Los Angeles Comic Book and Science Fiction Convention at the Shrine comes to mind, for instance, and the California Comic Con in Yorba Linda. And aside from WonderCon and APE, I’m not really familiar with the Northern California scene — or, for that matter, the Inland Empire here in Socal.
Are there any other California-based fans here? What cons do you like to attend?
August 22, 2010
Some items I’ve written about elsewhere that might be of interest to this site’s readers.
First up: I’ve finally found the time to finish my San Diego Comic Con write-ups! Here’s Saturday and Sunday at Comic-Con International!
Review: I liked Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. It was a fun movie/comic/video game mash-up, and it’s a shame that so few people have gone to see it.
Speaking of reviews and things that are insanely late: I found some interesting reviews on Amazon this week while looking for long-delayed fantasy books, including Tokoypop’s Labyrinth and Dark Crystal series. I found it most amusing that George R.R. Martin’s fans are already reviewing A Dance With Dragons…even though the book isn’t finished yet. More precisely: they’re reviewing the wait for the book!
August 13, 2010
It’s been three weeks since Comic-Con International, but costume photos are always in season. Here are some of the people who came to the con dressed as the Flash. I’ve posted a few of these before, but not all of them. Some of the photos are mine, but most of them are from other photographers on Flickr. In each case, clicking on the photo will open the original page with larger images.
Authentic Custom Costumes
These are the costumes that were clearly home– or professionally-made, but that stuck to the standard designs.
First up is Mike Rollerson’s photo of a really impressive female Flash. I’ve seen her in a number of other costumes at various conventions, including Catwoman and Psylocke. Keep reading – there’s another picture of her later on.
The Superman/Wonder Woman/Flash trio on the right made a huge impression, judging by the number of photographers who snapped pictures of them at the con. The Flash is a very exact copy of the costume from the game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, down to the boots and the armbands, though he’s thrown back the hood and put on sunglasses instead. I’ve seen at least one picture of the group where he’s tossed on a red sweatshirt over the costume that looks like Bart’s from Smallville.
This group includes a more traditional Flash. As with many large groups, I’m not sure how many knew each other and how many were just invited to join in for having a costume with the same theme.
Read the rest of this entry »
August 9, 2010
Yeah, I know it’s been two weeks, but coverage is still trickling out.
High Five Comics has posted their con report.
I write about the Gaslamp Crush — the bottleneck in Downtown San Diego just outside the convention center which has become a sort of geeky version of the Las Vegas Strip.
The Source posts highlights of DC Comics’ photos from Comic-Con
CBR TV talks to Geoff Johns.
Gamer Live has a video interview with Marv Wolfman talking about DCU Online.
Mark Evanier considers the role of other media at Comic-Con.
August 2, 2010
The Flash wasn’t the only speedster super-hero at Comic-Con this year. Meagan VanBurkleo dressed up as Velocity from Top Cow’s Cyberforce.
Check out her site for more photos and a write-up of the costume. If you have time, read her article at Game Informer on SDCC: A Cosplayer’s Perspective.
» Full index of Comic-Con coverage
August 1, 2010
Some links related to the Flash and Comic-Con International.
Francis Manapul writes about SDCC, Beast Legends, and Flash #4.
Titans Tower Monitor Room has been posting convention sketches from Comic-Con International, including Kid Flash by Sean Philips [Update] and another Kid Flash by Francis Manapul.
DC Comics has teamed up with Converse for super-hero shoes, starting with Batman, Superman and Green Lantern. Somehow they managed to skip the hero who’s famous for running.
I’m still working on my overall convention report. Here are Thursday and Friday. Half-done, half to go!
» Full index of Comic-Con coverage
July 29, 2010
I’m still working on my review of The Flash #4, and hope to have it ready by tonight. In the meantime, you may want to check out this Flickr gallery of Flash costumes at Comic-Con (photos taken by other people), or my Thursday Con Report.
July 27, 2010
It’s been a crazy week here at Speed Force. To help you keep track of it, here’s an index to all of our Comic-Con coverage, between me covering the show onsite and Devin covering the online news.
Events
- DC Nation Kickoff (Thursday) live blog. (Dan Didio, Jim Lee, James Robinson, JT Krul, Nicola Scott, Jeff Lamire, Bill Willingham, Bob Wayne)
- DC Focus: Geoff Johns (Thursday) live blog.
- DC Nation Special Edition (Friday) live blog. (Geoff Johns, JMS, Grant Morisson, Jim Lee, Dan Didio)
- No Ordinary Family (Saturday) features some cool speed effects for Julie Benz’ character.
News
Sightings
More than Speedsters
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I’m going through my Comic-Con photos looking for Flash-related pictures I may have missed, and found this pair from the DC display including Blue Lantern Flash and Black Lantern Reverse-Flash…
…along with Orange Lantern Lex Luthor, Indigo Lantern Atom, Black Lanterns Batman, Hawk, Hawkman & Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern Hal Jordan. And I think that might be Star Sapphire Wonder Woman behind Hal.
» Full index of Comic-Con coverage
» More Comic-Con photos
July 26, 2010
One of the downsides to attending a convention is that you miss all the announcements at panels you didn’t attend — like an Astro City movie deal! *ahem* Anyway, on to speedster news.
At DC Universe Event Horizon, James Robinson stated that the Justice League would be battling the Crime Syndicate at some point, with Jesse Quick battling Johnny Quick , Batman vs. Owlman, Supergirl vs. Ultraman etc.
At DC Focus: Teams, incoming Teen Titans writer J.T. Krul said that Bart Allen “is past the Impulse stage but he still has that innocent, light-heartedness about him.” (Quote from Newsarama, may be paraphrasing him.)
At the Superman panel they announced that Superboy #3 will feature the first-ever Superboy/Kid Flash race.
» Full index of Comic-Con coverage
