It’s always sad to hear about someone in comics dying, but there are times when it just comes out of nowhere. Yesterday’s news about Dwayne McDuffie’s unexpected death was one of those headlines that just made me say, “Wait…what?!?!”
I wish I had time to write more, so I’ll just toss these out:
1. Justice League Unlimited was fantastic.
2. McDuffie wrote the best Flash story of the short post-“Lightning Saga” relaunch: the Flash/Wonder Woman team-up in Justice League #20.
Video game character and Sega mascot Sonic the Hedgehog turns 20 this year, and his comic book will be celebrating with a special 20th anniversary issue in #225.
Archie Comics’ press release notes that Sonic is “the longest running continuously published licensed comic of all time” and holds the record for the “longest running video game inspired comic.” It’s also the longest running comic book about a speedster not named the Flash. Second place is Impulse at 90 issues (including #1,000,000). (Admittedly, there aren’t many to begin with.)
In fact, since DC has relaunched The Flash several times, Sonic may actually take the #1 spot in a couple of years, measured by number of continuous issues. The current records are:
With #225 coming out this summer, they’re only months away from passing Wally West’s series, and will pass Barry Allen’s just two years from now!
Sonic the Hedgehog #225 hits comic shops on June 1, and newsstands on June 7, 2011.
Amanda Pays, who played scientist Tina McGee on the 1990 Flash TV series, and Joyce Hyser, who played recurring character Megan Lockhart on the show, will be appearing at the next Hollywood Show on February 12-13 at the Burbank Airport Marriott Hotel in Burbank, California.
Tina McGee was one of several elements from the then-current Wally West series to be incorporated into the TV series, and she became Barry Allen’s support crew and one-woman research team. Megan Lockhart was an original character, a detective hired to discover the Flash’s identity. She later found herself mixed up in the Trickster’s origin. More info: Flash TV Series supporting cast.
(Via Scott Ray)
The 2011 nominations for the Joe Shuster Awards are out, and The Flash artist Francis Manapul has been nominated for the category of Outstanding Comic Book Artist. The awards recognize the achievements of Canadian comic book creators, publishers and retailers.
This is his second nomination; he was also nominated last year, but the award went to Stuart Immonen.
(Via The Source)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
How do you prefer the Flash’s earpieces to be drawn? (red suit)
| Wings. | 19% (46 votes) |
| Lightning bolts. | 12% (29 votes) |
| Wings for Barry, lightning bolts for Wally. | 58% (137 votes) |
| Wings for Wally, lightning bolts for Barry. | 4% (9 votes) |
| So that’s what those things are! | 2% (5 votes) |
| No preference. | 4% (9 votes) |
| Other. | 1% (2 votes) |
Update: The results are in.