Category Archives: Fandom

Covering San Diego (2009)

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In a few days I’ll be off to Comic-Con International in San Diego. It’ll be my 20th year attending the con. Now I feel old.

Anyway, I’ll be posting about my experiences at the con in several places:

Here’s a list of my past convention reports and photos, including San Diego 2003–2008, Wizard World Los Angeles 2007–2008, and WonderCon 2008–2009. I’m also almost done with the Convention Tips list, which should wrap up Wednesday morning.

Thoughts on the Anaheim Comic-Con Announcement

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Anaheim Comic-Con LogoEver since Wizard canceled Wizard World Los Angeles back in January, just two months before the event, they’ve claimed that the show was not actually canceled, but merely “postponed” (as opposed to WWTX, which was canceled outright). They can probably stop claiming that now that they’ve announced Anaheim Comic-Con, launching April 16-18, 2010.

In the six months since Wizard World canceled half their convention slate, the owners of New York Comic-Con have announced a new Chicago-area show, C2E2, launching next April 16-18 (does that date sound familiar?), and a group of former Wizard staffers have put together Long Beach Comic-Con, starting October 2-4, to take the place of the missing WWLA. Wizard, meanwhile, has renamed Wizard World Chicago as Chicago Comic-Con (its original name before they bought it a decade(?) ago), bought Big Apple Con, and bought Paradise Toronto Con. Or, to be more precise, Gareb Shamus, owner of Wizard, has bought them.

Immediately obvious:

  • Anaheim Comic Con replaces Wizard World Los Angeles on the WW slate.
  • Shamus is downplaying the Wizard World brand name for the convention circuit.
  • Whether intentional or not, Anaheim Comic Con is scheduled to maximize damage to their primary Chicago competitor.

Making some Magic

Wizard.Six months ago it looked like the LA/Orange County area wouldn’t have any big conventions for a while (aside from being 2-3 hours from San Diego). Now there are two. The timing (April) is far enough from both San Diego (July) and Long Beach (October) that it won’t feel like overkill to hit all three. It’s even far enough from WonderCon (usually February or Early March) that it might be worth hitting both.

And I did have fun at WWLA last year and the year before.

And yet… Continue reading →

Comic-Con Trolley Tips

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The trolley is a good way to get around Downtown San Diego. Here are some tips for making the most of it during Comic-Con International:

  • Trolley maps and schedules are on sdcommute.com and sdmts.com. Here’s a direct link to the trolley map.
  • You can get a 4-day pass online at sdcommute.com. They mail it, so it’s probably too late for this year, but next time…
  • There are 2 trolley stops near the convention center: Convention Center and Gaslamp Quarter.
  • Downtown trolleys run every 15 min/day, 30 min/evening, until around midnight (later on weekends)
  • Trolleys are crowded, especially on Fri and Sat, so plan for at least 30 min delay.
  • MTS has posted the special event trolley schedule for the con (via @SD_Comic_Con)

Check out my full list of Tips for Comic-Con here at Speed Force!

On the Hunt: Finding Back Issues, Then and Now

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How I searched for back issues of comics in…

1989:

  1. Look at the local comic store.
  2. Wait for a convention that my parents were going to.

1999:

  1. Look at the local comic store.
  2. Drive around to other stores.
  3. Save up for San Diego Comic-Con.
  4. Look on this new site called eBay.

2009:

  1. Look at a couple of local comic stores.
  2. Look on eBay and Mile High Comics (singles)
  3. Look on eBay and Amazon (for trades & hardcovers)
  4. Look at a convention.
  5. Look for other sources on the net.

Two main things have changed: mobility (I couldn’t drive when I was 13) and the Internet. Continue reading →

Flash Panels at Comic-Con 2009

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DC has posted their panel schedule for Comic-Con International. Some panels where the Flash is likely to come up include:

Thursday, July 23rd

2:15-3:15 Spotlight on Geoff Johns
He is the mastermind behind the smash-hit, critically acclaimed Flash: Rebirth and DC’s most anticipated book of the year, Green Lantern: Blackest Night. Wondering what makes Geoff Johns tick? Don’t miss this panel hosted by Eddie Berganza, Group Editor—DCU, interviewing one of the most exciting talents in the DCU. Room 6DE

Notes: I missed this one last year because it conflicted with a Robert J. Sawyer spotlight panel. I don’t regret going to the RJS panel, but I did miss some cool stuff at this one. With luck, I can make it this year.

5:00 -6:00 JSA: The Great Society
DC’s legendary super-team enters a new era with top talent and explosive storylines in the second half of 2009! Get the inside scoop on everything JSA right here including info on the exciting spin-off title Magog and the main series Justice Society of America from the creative minds behind the franchise. Hosted by DC’s Senior Group Editor, Mike Carlin, with top talents Bill Willingham (JSA), Matt Sturges (JSA), Freddie Williams (Final Crisis Aftermath: Run), Amanda Conner (Power Girl), Jimmy Palmiotti (Power Girl) and more! Room 5AB

Friday, July 24th

3:00-4:00 DC NATION
Calling all NATION recruits! Bring your friends and hear top talent discuss where the DC NATION is heading from 2009 and beyond. Sr. VP – Executive Editor Dan DiDio hosts this exciting discussion with Ian Sattler, James Robinson, Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka, and more! Join them for a VIP look into the most talked about stories and events of the summer! Room 6DE

Notes: I’ve been to DC Nation twice — once at last year’s CCI hosted by Dan DiDio, and once at this year’s WonderCon hosted by Ian Sattler. Say what you like about DiDio, but he really brings energy to the panels he hosts.

4:30-5:30 Wednesday Comics
Wednesday Comics gives a fresh twist to a grand comics tradition by reinventing the classic newspaper comics section and filling it to the brim with today’s top talent and characters! Learn all you need to know about DC’s excitingly innovative weekly 12-issue series from the title’s mastermind, DCU Editorial Art Director Mark Chiarello, and an all-star list of panelists! Believe us; you’ve never seen a panel or a project like this! Room 5AB

Notes: I’m not sure if I’ll make it to this one, but assuming the first few weeks of Wednesday Comics hold up to their promise, I’ll certainly make an effort.

Saturday, July 25th

12:45-2:00 DCU Editorial Presentation
Dan DiDio, Senior VP / Executive Editor DCU, Ian Sattler, Senior Story Editor—DCU, and countless DCU talent are gathering for a discussion that’s not to be missed. Now that Blackest Night is upon us, what lies ahead for your favorite heroes? Got a question for your favorite DCU creator? Come on by! There’s no greater gathering of top-tier creative talent! Room 6B

Notes: Generally, these are more or less DC Nation Part 1½. You get some retread from the previous day’s panel, then some new stuff, then the reader question-and-answer. I’ll have to see what this is up against.

2:15-3:15 Green Lantern: Blackest Night
The dead are rising in the DCU – who will survive when the Blank Lantern Corps attacks? This is your only chance to hear what’s coming up in Blackest Night, the most anticipated comic event of the year! Featuring all the key figures behind the biggest, coolest threat to the DCU in years! Hosted by Group Editor Eddie Berganza with Geoff Johns (Green Lantern), Pat Gleason (Green Lantern Corps) and others! Room 6QUAD

Notes: I have no idea what room 6QUAD is. Ordinarily I’d assume they meant 6CDEF, but I’ve seen 6DE listed on its own.

Sunday, July 26th

2:00–3:00 Sunday Conversation with Dan DiDio
As the con comes to a close, sit back and unwind as Dan DiDio and friends invite you to a relaxed Sunday afternoon comics discussion. Share your opinions and listen to others as some of comics’ biggest names talk about their love of all things comics. All are welcome, no RSVP required. Room 2

Notes: I’ve never been to one of these. Anyone else know what they’re like?

Farewell, Geocities

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After years of rumors, Yahoo has finally decided to close Geocities sometime this year.

I can’t say I’ll miss GeoCities itself — but there are still a lot of sites connected to comics fandom hosted there. Some are kept current, some are old but still contain useful information, and some are snapshots of an earlier era of online fandom

It was a time before MySpace and Twitter and Facebook. Before Google and Wikipedia. Before “weblog” was shortened to “blog,” back when discussions took place not on forums but on IRC, newsgroups and mailing lists, and even having an email address meant you were kind of weird. Everyone with a website belonged to 2 or 3 webrings, fan sites handed out awards to each other regularly, and Jonah Weiland’s name always appeared in front of “Comic Book Resources.” It was still worth asking your local store for a copy of Comic Shop News, because it wasn’t just a digest of last month’s Newsarama articles.

At the time I started Flash: Those Who Ride the Lightning (on a server provided by my college) in the mid-1990s, a lot of comics fan sites were on Geocities, including several that I helped out with. The first profiles I made of Flash villains were written for the long-gone Scarlet Speedster website, and I remember contributing bios to an Impulse site at one point as well.

Of course fan sites appear and disappear all the time. I watched a lot of fan sites die out during the late 1990s as people graduated from schools, started jobs, went into the military or just stopped posting. As various Flash sites fell by the wayside, I expanded the scope on my own site to fill the gaps they left. (Evidently I had too much time on my hands.) After a while it was kind of a last-site-standing situation, until Dixon relaunched Crimson Lightning (originally a review site) as a blog a few years ago. It’s nice to see a resurgence of Flash fan sites lately.

As for the sites still on Geocities today: some, especially the ones that are still active, will no doubt move over the next few months. Others will simply vanish, taking with them a piece of fandom history.