Speed Force

I’ve finished my Long Beach Comic Con write-up! It was a fun convention, very artist– and writer-focused, and definitely worth visiting annually for Southern California comic book fans. Head over to K-Squared Ramblings to read the whole review!

CBR has the transcript from Saturday’s 50 Questions in 50 Minutes With Mark Waid at Long Beach Comic Con. Among those questions was someone asking about a story the writer has hinted at for a long time: something disastrous happened the first time Wally West tried to travel through time as Kid Flash, something traumatic enough that it made him extremely reluctant to use the ability at all.

Waid decided to answer the question.

Possible spoilers in the event that he ever writes the full story.

Read the rest of this entry »

I had fun this past Saturday at Long Beach Comic Con. I haven’t had time to write up a report yet (probably tomorrow), but I’ve posted my photos on Flickr.

Enjoy!

For the Southern California folks, this weekend is the second annual Long Beach Comic Con. I had a great time last year, and plan to go again this year for one day, if time permits.

One of the fun panels last year was 50 Questions in 50 Minutes with Mark Waid. The former Flash writer and current BOOM Studios EIC is doing it again this year, and collecting questions on CBR. The deadline for submitting questions is 3:00 PM Pacific Time on Friday.

On another note, my new employer has been sending me to the Adobe MAX conference this week. I can’t even remember the last time I went to a trade show, but I’ve been to a lot of fan conventions, including two Wizard Worlds at the same convention center (Los Angeles), so I can’t help but compare them. Read the rest of this entry »

Some quick convention notes:

Flash: Rebirth artist Ethan Van Sciver will be at Wizard World’s Philadelphia Comic Con* this weekend, and will be signing this afternoon from 3:00-3:45.

Comic-Con International is gearing up for next month’s event with transportation news: they’re adding shuttle service to hotels in Mission Valley, Shelter Island, and North Harbor Island. Also, they’re partnering with some downtown San Diego parking lots to sell pre-paid parking. Amazingly enough, spaces in the lot below the convention center still seem to be available!

If you’re headed to San Diego, or to any other convention this summer, you may want to check out my Tips for Comic-Con.

Long Beach Comic Con has only been around for a year, but they’re already offering a limited-edition lifetime membership for $129. That’s comparable to three years at the full-weekend price of $45…or just over one year at Comic-Con International (currently $100 for 4½ days). They’re running a contest though the end of July to win one of the lifetime memberships.

I enjoyed the first LBCC last October, and I definitely plan on going back this year if I can.

*I don’t link to the individual convention pages anymore because they keep moving them around. Not to mention renaming the cons.

Well, I did attend three comic conventions in 2009…but not the three I was expecting! WizardWorld Los Angeles was canceled with just two months’ notice, but Long Beach Comic Con stepped in to fill the gap.

I’ll most likely be staying in California again next year, so here’s what next year’s convention season looks like for me:

WonderCon

April 2–4, 2010; San Francisco, California. Probably.

The last two years have been a lot of fun. It’s a lot like San Diego Comic-Con used to be before it exploded, actually. (It’s also a good excuse to travel and visit people in the Bay Area!) This one’s still up in the air for now, since they haven’t started selling tickets yet, but despite the distance, it still ends up being cheaper than San Diego.

» Wondercon 2009 report and photos.
» Update: WonderCon 2010 report and photos.

Anaheim Comic Con

April 16–18, 2010; Anaheim, California. Maybe.

The show that officially replaces Wizard World Los Angeles is only 10 minutes away, so it would be a shame to skip it. And it’ll be close to the time that Flash and Kid Flash are launching. But it’s also only two weeks after WonderCon, and Wizard, or Gareb Shamus, or whoever is in charge keeps doing things that annoy me.

» Update: Anaheim Comic Con 2010 report and photos. After a lot of dithering, I went for it.

Westercon 63: Confirmation

July 1–4, 2010; Pasadena, California. Maybe.

It’s been years since I’ve been to a general science-fiction/fantasy convention. The last one was the 2006 WorldCon in Anaheim, L.A.Con IV, which I experienced through the haze of a summer cold and Day-Quil. I’ve considered Westercon the last two years, but the last two have been Las Vegas and Tempe, Arizona in July. Admittedly Pasadena is a good 10 degrees hotter in summer than where I live, but it’s probably not as hot as Vegas or Tempe…plus I can commute to Pasadena.

» Update: Westercon 63 Report. I finally decided to go.

Comic-Con International

July 22-25, 2010; San Diego, California. Definitely.

I’ve been going every year since 1990, and I’d hate to break that streak. Even if it ends up being too expensive to stay in town next year, it’s just close enough to commute for a few days.

UPDATE: I’ve just learned via Twitter that one-day tickets go on sale tomorrow (Tuesday, December 15). Four-day tickets are already sold out, so if you plan to go, but don’t have tickets yet, now’s your chance!

» Comic-Con International 2009 report and photos.
» Update: Comic-Con International 2010 report and photos.

Long Beach Comic Con

October 29-31, 2010; Long Beach, California. Definitely.

I had a good time at the first event this year, and just discovered that they’ve set a date for next year! The website also mentions some sort of one-day event on February 20, but doesn’t provide any detail.

» Long Beach Comic Con 2009 report and photos.