Category Archives: Fandom

Wizard World Los Angeles Is Back – But Why?

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I put on my robe and wizard hat.So, Wizard has just announced the return of Wizard World Los Angeles Comic Con in September, stating that they’re filling “a real need for a Fall event that encompasses all the best that pop culture has to offer.”

The thing is, we’ve already got a Wizard con in the area (Anaheim Comic Con, running this weekend), and we’ve already got a fall convention of about the same size (Long Beach Comic Con in October). The three convention centers are all within 30 miles of each other, so they’re going to draw from the same pool of attendees, and the same pool of comics guests. And since Wizard is big on trying to present a uniform experience for all of their cons, we can expect Anaheim and Los Angeles to be basically the same.

I can only think of two reasons for Wizard to add Los Angeles at this time:

  • They’re planning to move back to the more well-known location after moving out to Anaheim last year. Is anyone here at Anaheim right now? Can you tell me whether they’ve announced dates for next year?
  • In keeping with past Wizard convention behavior, they’re trying to muscle out Long Beach for daring to step in and put together a successful convention from scratch (and one that actually focuses on the “Comic” part of “Comic Con”) when Wizard canceled WWLA 2009.

(via Bleeding Cool)

Toronto Comicon (Fan Appreciation 2011) Photos

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On April 9, I attended the first day of the free “Fan Appreciation” show in Toronto. This is the first year it’s been held for the entire weekend, but unfortunately real life got in the way and the spouse and I were only able to go for one day.

It was a pretty good show, with some great guests (including Flash artists Francis Manapul and Ethan Van Sciver) and quite a few vendors selling comics and action figures. I managed to get a couple of Professor Zoom figures and a Flash figurine, and commissioned Red Robin artist Marcus To for a drawing of Captain Boomerang.

Captain Boomerang, by Marcus To

The woman waiting in line behind me for Marcus To got this Impulse sketch from him, which she let me photograph.

Impulse sketch

Here’s Francis Manapul working on a Wonder Woman picture for a fan. I also saw him drawing several Flash pieces, and he drew the Flash on a t-shirt which was later given away in a contest. I didn’t take any photos of the shirt, but the gentleman who won it did!

 Wonder Woman in progress, by Francis Manapul

Alas, we ran out of money quickly (part of that real-life thing I mentioned earlier), and eventually left the show early. After leaving the convention, we went for lunch and wandered around some of the nearby streets before heading back to the car. And stumbled across this: the dressing rooms, washrooms, and hair/makeup trailers for the television show Flashpoint! The series is filmed in Toronto, of course. It was fun to see it given the name of DC’s imminent crossover.

The makeup trailer for Flashpoint

Spike's dressing room trailer

And then we walked by Piper Street, so I had to take photos of that too.

Piper St in Toronto 

Piper's Gastropub

All in all, it was a pretty good day for a Flash fan!

Flash Costume Photos From Wondercon, C2E2 (2011)

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All reports are that this year’s WonderCon was a great convention, and a lot of fun, though crowds are beginning to become an issue. I had to miss it this year, but one of the great things about the Internet and social media is that you can still capture some of the experience of going to a con without leaving your home.

So, here’s a round-up of the Flash-related costume/cosplay photos I’ve found on Flickr from WonderCon and C2E2.

Flash & GL

Green Lantern/Flash

Psykitten Pow as the Flash and Mia Ballistic as Green Lantern at WonderCon (previously seen in this costume at San Diego 2010), photo by LynxPics. They were part of a much bigger group, which is up next after the cut.

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Still More Flash Cupcakes

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Remember the Hostess Flash Cakes from last fall? Or the Flash cupcakes my wife made after seeing them? Or the Flash and GL cupcakes that Jeff sent in after seeing those?

There’s more.

Over the last few months, I’ve stumbled on several more sets of Flash-themed cupcakes online.

Enjoy the photos!

Comic-Con Hotels

San Diego Convention Center and Hilton.Hotel reservations go on sale in just half an hour for Comic-Con International, and fans across the world are gearing up for a grueling session of reloads and busy signals. I’m sitting it out this year — which actually feels kind of weird, since I’ve dealt with it every year since 2006 (and possibly 2005, but I think that may have been the last year it went smoothly) — but with the baby, we figured it would be better to make it a one-day trip this year.

To those of you planning to wade into the fray, I wish you the best of luck. And if you don’t manage to score a room through the convention block, I hope these tips for staying in San Diego that I wrote last year will help you find an alternative.

Flash Cakes and the Flash Fury

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Remember those Hostess Flash Cakes? Shannon writes in:

Just thought I would share with you, we were in our local store and found Flash Cakes awhile back (we haven’t found them since though), and loved the whole idea. My boyfriend, Joe, is an Indy wrestler for RCW (a few others as well) and goes by the name Flash Fury. When we found the cakes on the shelf, he grabbed up a box up did a little pose with them for a picture, our friends at the wrestling shows love the picture. We are hoping to find more Flash cakes to take with us to the shows. We love them!

Great story, Shannon! Thanks for sharing!