ComicCon Costumes, Conclusion

Now, on its own this is a nice Green Lantern costume (I don't believe she was trying to be a specific Green Lantern, and since they all look a little different anyway it doesn't matter; I just picked a fairly basic female GL costume for comparison), but what really makes these two shine is the Guardian of Oa costume on her kid. The Guardians are often called "smurfs" by some of the Green Lantern Corps because of their size; they would come up to your waist or at best armpit heightwise. Thus the addition of her own little Guardian boosted this costume from good to awesome. I understand why she wouldn't facepaint her kid's face blue though.

At first I wondered how this guy was hunching over to get his head where it is before realized this is a kid in the suit. An absolutely ingenious zombie costume!

Here we have Zatanna, from the Justice League, and Jean Grey, also known as Phoenix of the X-Men.

I'm going to try explain the awesomeness of this photo in as brief a manner as possible, but it's going to be tough. The first cool thing about this picture is I think this was all one family. Represented here we have 5 of the 7 "Corps" that are running around in space in the DC comics universe. Traditionally there have been Green Lanterns (who is the only one the layman might have heard of), and lately a bunch of other color Lanterns have popped up (Black Lanterns, Red Lanterns, etc). To have a family come representing all the different Corps was very cool (and how cute is the Green Lantern kid in the stroller?)

I'll be honest, at first I thought these were kind of lame Stormtrooper costumes. Then I realized they were actually Stormtroopers from Lego Star Wars, and instantly they became awesome (especially because 3 of them were trooping around together). The sharp-eyed amongst you may notice that the guy dressed as a cop they're talking with is actually dressed as a member of the GCPD, aka the Gotham City Police Department, from the Dark Knight film.

Here we have Silk Spectre and Nite Owl from the Watchmen, as well as Link from Zelda. The Nite Owl costume isn't that impressive because it is obviously store bought; if the Silk Spectre costume is store bought at least it was a lot better quality. I didn't bother taking pictures of people in store bought costumes since they never look anywhere near as good as the homemade ones.

And just to finish things off, here is the Ecto-1 (from Ghostbusters) and the original Batmobile. Hope you enjoyed!

ComicCon Costumes, Part 2

This is my friend Justin (who works at Galaxy Comics, my comic shop of choice), who always has great Hallowe'en costumes. This year he went to the Con as Max from Where The Wild Things Are. I saw at least one other Max at the Con as well.

Rolling right along with people I actually know, Mike is a regular at Galaxy Comics, and he was dressed for the Con as Dan, from Street Fighter. You can't see it in the picture, but Mike also has the ponytail going on just like the picture of Dan I've provided.

This guy had a great Dr. Octopus costume (from Spider-Man 2). The arms looked really great, and it was pretty easy to find him in the room!

These Deadpool costumes are awesome on multiple levels not necessarily evident to the non-Comics reader. Disregarding the fact the taller Deadpool is actually a girl, her costume looked absolutely amazing. You might think the pink scarf on her head doesn't make sense, but considering the character of Deadpool is...unique, to say the least, it would actually be perfectly in character for Deadpool to wear something like that on his head. The kid Deadpool is equally impressive in that the jacket he's wearing works so well as a costume, and since Deadpool can often look different, he is just as authentic as the other costume. The other thing that makes this pair awesome is that a "Kid Deadpool" will be appearing in the comics soon!

On the left we have Rogue and Gambit from the X-Men, and on the right we have a female interpretation of Vegeta, from Dragonball Z. Really I didn't think the Gambit costume was that great, it was the Rogue costume I noticed first as being a good job. The Vegeta costume looked good too. And yes, for those of you who noticed Silent Bob behind them, I know he's there, but without a Jay (not me, the character) to compliment him he could just pass as another Con attendee.

And finally for this installment we have Nightcrawler, from the X-Men. Loses points for the shoes, but gains point for how much that all of that body paint and the tail. I think he looked better in person as the blue face paint isn't showing very well in the picture.

I'll have one more post of ComicCon costumes and that will wrap up my ComicCon reporting!

ComicCon Impressions

On Monday I wrote about how my time was spent at ComicCon this past week-end. Today I want to elaborate a bit on some of my impressions on how the Con was run and things I heard or observed while there.

At first I liked how the Con was all within the same huge room and how things were laid out in sections, I realized partway through the first day that it is not necessarily the best set-up. This was apparent while Marv Wolfman was trying to conduct a Q & A session about writing comics. I was one of a handful of people taking the workshop, and we could barely hear anything Marv had to say, and vice versa. We were put in an area directly next to the Main Stage area, where Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca from Star Wars) was holding a Q & A session. While I don't begrudge Chewie getting his panel time, the problem was he had a microphone and Marv didn't. Add in the noise from the Arena area (a Norse fighting demo was going on at the time) and I could tell that Marv was very frustrated that we couldn't hear him.

I don't know that it's own room is necessary (though it would be preferable), but when holding a smaller workshop like that I think it would be better to put it in another area of the room. Marv commented that we could probably hear him better if we were at his table in Artists' Alley; I think he was right.

On the topic of Marv Wolfman, I just want to say what a joy it was to listen to him talking about how important it is to put the characters before the plot. He made it very clear that rather than picking a plot and trying to shoe-horn characters into it, pick the characters first and see what plot develops. He is a man who is all about the story before the commercialism, and it really showed in his descriptions of how to write.

I mentioned in my Monday post that I did not attend the Adam West panel. I had planned on it at the beginning of the week-end, but had no desire to by Sunday afternoon. I think the reason was I didn't like how the comic professionals were not getting the attention they deserved. There was a special "Autograph Alley" for special guests at the Con; the top notch comic guys like Marv Wolfman weren't in that area! Some broken-down old WWF wrestlers, the man inside the Chewbacca suit, a guy from the A-Team...these guys outrank the comic talent at a comic convention? There were constant reminders over the PA to go and get the "celebrity" autographs, but no reminders to go see Marv Wolfman, Bob Layton, or Gordon Purcell?

The World of Comics panel had at best 30 people in the audience, and when it started the creators were worried they were going to outnumber the audience. I guess that means that a lot of the people at the Con aren't there for the comics aspect (which would explain why there were more women at the Con then I expected), which I found disappointing.

Audience numbers aside, I really enjoyed listening to the World of Comics panel discussion. I was a little disappointed that when I asked a question I really wanted Marv Wolfman to answer only Gordon Purcell did, but that's okay, he gave a good answer. I really liked Marv's answer to a question about the future of big "event" comics; his answer was big events are good when you have a great story to tell, they aren't so good when they are created strictly to be an "event" to sell comics. Bob Layton came back on that topic with the business end of it, saying the bean-counters don't care if a comic is an event or not, they're just worried about how many units are sold. It was interesting to see the two kind of disagree on the subject.

Something that I really enjoyed about the Con was how friendly and helpful most people were to each other. I spent a few hours digging through boxes at a booth for back issues (they weren't organized AT ALL, but that's why they were so cheap), and the whole time everyone would help each other out while digging. For example, I overheard a kid and his dad talking about looking for Fantastic Four comics. I think three different people, myself included, started tossing Fantastic Four books to them as we dug through whenever we found them. If someone had just been through a box, they might ask what you're looking for and tell you if they saw any of it or not to save you time. There is a community feel at the Con because of the shared love of the hobby that is really nice.

On the whole I enjoyed my experience, and I would like to go back again. Who the special guests are would help determine if I'd go for the whole week-end again or just for a day. And by special guests I mean the comic pros that are present; the celebrities really didn't interest me this year (I was also turned off of Adam West I think because of his $40 charge for his autograph). If you're looking for something fun to take the family too, I'd say check out the Con; there was trick-or-treating throughout the Con on Saturday as a safe alternative to doing so on the street, which was a nice touch.

ComicCon Costumes, Part 1

One fun thing about ComicCon's is the costumes. A lot of work goes into many of the costumes (some not so much!), so it's great for the creators to have a place to show off their work. They are also amongst the most popular people at the Con, as they constantly get requests for pictures. When asked to pose for a picture, these people never complain, as it is a huge compliment. A lot of people even drop into a pose without being asked, which makes their costume look even better.

Here is a selection of costumes from the ComicCon that I photographed. I didn't get pictures of many of the costumes there (and I regret missing out on some now), but here is a nice sampling. I'll provide information for you on who they are dressed up as and any neat notes about the costume. And just for fun, if I can find an image of who they are dressed up as, I'll post it for comparison. I'll do a few of these throughout the week to showcase the fabulous work these people put into their costumes.

To be honest, I originally thought this girl was Princess Toadstool from Mario Bros. However, I realized when I uploaded the picture that she is in fact Kaylee from the television show Firefly, a show that I cannot recommend highly enough. Firefly only lasted one season but developed a cult following when the show hit DVD; you can pick up the whole series for less than $30, I suggest you do so!

Also from Firely, Captain Mal Reynolds. I tried to find a picture that showed that this guy nailed how Mal wears his gunbelt, but couldn't find one that showed off the coat well enough. Oh well, this guy's costume still rocked.

Here we have Master Chief, from the video game series "Halo". This guy did an amazing job; if he wasn't moving you'd swear he was a statue, not a guy in a suit.

For the life of me I couldn't figure out who this guy is supposed to me, and it's bugging me. I'm sure I'll kick myself when I find out. It's hard to see in the pictures, but his eyes were actually lit up blue as well.

Here is my friend Glenn as the Punisher. A Punisher costume can be really easy (black pants, skull t-shirt, black coat) but Glenn went the extra mile by adding various pouches to the costume that make a big difference. I forgot to ask if he brought the toy guns he'd altered the last time he dressed up as the Punisher.

Ghost Rider is another character that can be easy to do; put on a leather jacket, black pants, and a skull mask and you're done. This guy outdid himself by actually riding around the Con on his chopper-style bike with the flames coming out of his head. Those who have seen the Ghost Rider movie will recognize the classic "You..." pose from the movie.

Hope you enjoyed the costumes, I'll put more up later this week!

ComicCon Report

This week-end I attended my first ever comic convention, the Central Canada ComicCon. I had a good time, and I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and highlights of the convention.

The Con had a lot of different retailers set up; there were four booths with a very large assortment of comics available, some smaller booths with more older (aka. more valuable) books but less variety, and then booths ranging from board gaming to toy collectibles to clothing, etc. I was kind of surprised to see the Warren golf course had a booth, but I grabbed some coupons for a discount on green fees there, so I may have to try that course some time. Part of the room was dedicated to video games (mostly Rock Band and Street Fighter, though I did get to see the brand-new DJ Hero) and video showings (but really, who goes to a convention to watch tv?). A good chunk of the room was set up for comic book professionals (who were available for autographs and were selling prints, sketches, etc) as well as the special guests (who all charged $20-$40 for an autograph!). There was also the Main Stage area where Q&A's were held throughout the week-end, and an exhibition arena for live demonstrations.

I spent some time walking around, checking out everything that was available. There were some cool collectible toys that I remember from when I was a kid, but I don't recall them being as expensive back then. I ended up getting a good-sized stack of comics on the first day, and got a VIP pass for Sunday that allowed me to buy $1.00 comics at $.50 at a specific booth.

I went with my friend Caleb, and he wanted to see the Julie Newmar Q&A, so I went with him for that. For those not in the know, Julie Newmar was the first Catwoman on the old Batman television show (starring Adam West, also at the Con). She was a...quirky old lady. She wanted to be different so she sat on the panel table instead of in a chair, and then proceeded to talk about her stockings (and while adjusting them so the pattern was on the right part of her legs she was coming way too close to flashing the whole audience, as she was wearing a skirt). If you're a Julie Newmar fan then I guess the Q & A was good, but since I've only seen her on the Batman show I didn't have a ton of interest.

After returning from a battery-run for my camera (in which a man in a leather jacket approached us on the street and said "I don't need gas money, my sister isn't sick, and I'm not dying, I just want $1.80 for a King Can of beer") I snapped this picture, mostly to prove that such a thing actually exists. This is the Illuminari Dance Group. As best I can tell, they are Klingon belly dancers. I swear I'm not making that up.

One of the highlights of the first day was meeting Marv Wolfman. Marv is the comic writer who created the New Teen Titans, Blade the Vampire Hunter, and has been a top notch comic professional for 40 years. He also does work in film, television, and is the writer for the DC Universe On-line computer game coming out in a year or so. Marv signed some of my Teen Titan comics for me, and also signed the original script for Nightwing 131 I bought from him. I then realized later I should get him to sign a copy of the actual Nightwing 131 comic, so I hit a booth to find it and went back to get Marv's signature.

The other comic professional I made a point of seeing was Bob Layton. Bob is known for his work on Iron Man primarily, but I've always loved his work on Hercules. As such I got him to autograph one of the Hercules mini-series' he did in the 1980's. I also brought along an Iron Man comic he did to get autographed for my friend Mark, who is a huge Iron Man and Bob Layton fan.

Later in the day I participated in a Comics Writing workshop that Marv ran, but he was rather unimpressed with the lay-out. Rather than have it in a separate room, we were in a small area right next to the Main Stage, where Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca from Star Wars) was having a Q & A. The problem was, Mr. Mayhew had a microphone, and Marv didn't. There was also a Norse fighting group demo going on at the arena, so the handful of us in the workshop (shame more people didn't sit in) crowded around Marv's table and we shouted back and forth trying to be heard. At one point Bob Layton (one of the other big name comics pros at the Con) came over and said "Are you having a panel?". He was shocked to see us doing the session in the middle of the room next to another panel session. Basically Marv and Bob agreed that the set-up for the panels was completely gong show (my word, not theirs), which isn't good. If the Winnipeg Con wants to draw top-notch talent to come, having the guys who come saying we're bush league (again, my term, not theirs) isn't going to help.

Anyway, it was great to hear Marv talking about the importance of writing your characters, not forcing them into a plot that won't work for them. He obviously takes a lot of care in his work and it really came across in the Q & A.

The other highlight of the first day was the costume contest. I didn't see the whole thing, and unfortunately was too far back to be able to take pictures, but there were some really impressive costumes. Of note was a guy who came out dressed as Indiana Jones. What was cool about this guy was he whipped out a bullwhip and started doing whip tricks, getting wickedly loud snaps out of it. He got one of the largest rounds of applause. Unfortunately I couldn't get a picture of him when he was whipping (and I didn't see him again to get a picture of his costume).

On Sunday I spent most of my time going through back issues bins, and got another stack for a great price ($.50 a book!). I skipped the Q & A with Adam West; I'll detail a little more in my next post about the Con why. I got to chat with one of my old card buddies from Winnipeg, which was nice. The highlight of Sunday though was the World of Comics Q & A session. Bob Layton, Marv Wolfman, Gordon Purcell, and Lovern Kindzierski were all a part of the panel, and it was great hearing about how things work in comics, or why they did things a certain way. I'll detail some of what they discussed in another post.

Quick info for the non-comic people here (basically everyone reading but me and Mark I'd imagine), Bob Layton is best known for his time as artist on Iron Man back in the 80's, but he still does a little comic work here and there today while focusing more on television and film. Gordon Purcell is one of the big names in regards to Star Trek comics (of which I don't read, but he used to do work for Marvel and DC I'm familiar with). I already introduced Marv's resume. Lovern Kindzierski I'd never heard of, but he was the co-founder of Digital Chameleon, a professional colouring company that used to do work for Marvel and DC before folding a few years ago; fun fact I didn't know about Digital Chameleon tough, it was a Manitoba company!

Left to right: Bob Layton, Gordon Purcell, Marv Wolfman, Lovern Kindzierski

This post is getting to be pretty long, so I'll leave this as a summary of what I did at the Con, and I'll go into a little more detail on my impressions and reactions to things I saw and did in another post (and add anything I forgot in this one!). I'll also post up pictures of some of the costumes beings worn around the Con; some are really impressive! I'll leave you this picture as a costume teaser.

Central Canada Comic Con

I have been a comic book collector for approximately 18 years. In that time I have amassed over 3000 comic books (if you break down collected editions into single issues it's probably over 4000). I don't buy comics to hide them away in hopes that they will one day allow me to retire on their accumulated value, I buy them to read them. And after 18 years and 3000 comics I have never been to a comic convention.

That changes this week-end!

I am going to be attending the Central Canada Comic Con in Winnipeg, and am pretty excited about it. While there certainly isn't the same scale or celebrity presence as you'd see at the big conventions in San Diego and Chicago (hosts of the two largest annual comic book conventions in North America, if not the world), there are still a few big names I look forward to meeting.

The headliner for the event is Adam West, who most everyone knows from his stint on the "same Bat time, same Bat channel" Batman television show. The younger generation may be more familiar with him as the Mayor of Quahog on Family Guy. I haven't decided if I'm going to stand in the giant autograph line I'm sure he will have, but I will be on-hand for when he speaks for sure.

Julie Newmar, who played Catwoman on the Batman show, will also be present, as well as Peter Mayhew from Star Wars (he played Chewbacca). While I enjoyed Star Wars I wouldn't classify myself as a huge fan (I'm more of a Star Trek kind of guy), but my friend Caleb is pretty pumped to meet him.

But I'm not going to a Con to see television celebrities, rather there are two comic book creators in particular I'm very excited to see. Bob Layton is one of them. Bob is most well known for his work on Iron Man, but I intend to get him to sign copies of the Hercules mini-series he did in the 80's. But the creator I'm really, really excited to meet is Marv Wolfman. Marv has been active in comics and television for many years (if I remember correctly he was one of a few big name comic writers to work on the original He-Man cartoon), and he may be the most well known for his reinvention of the Teen Titans. I just so happen to own issues #1 and #2 of that Teen Titans run (I have a few more too but these are of particular significance), which feature in #1 the creation of the new team and possibly more notably #2 features the first appearance of Deathstroke, a major player in the DC universe since his inception. I am greatly anticipating Mr. Wolfman signing these comics. Ironically his signature might bring the value of the book down, but I really don't care (I'll explain how comic grading and signing works if the interest is there in a future post).

It should be a fun week-end, though surprisingly my wife has decided not to attend with me. I tried to talk her into coming, because the guys who actually have wives or girlfriends are amongst the coolest of the cool at a comic convention! ;)