Monthly Archives: July 2013
Comic Con Costumes Round Four: Saturday Morning
Just added a bunch more costume pictures to the photo gallery. Read the rest of this entry
Casual Doctor Giveaway!
I am excited beyond words for this!
The piece of art that melted my heart at Comic Con this year was Sara Richard’s Tenth Doctor print. I’ve talked with Sara, and we’ve arranged a giveaway for Doctor Who fans worldwide (although, in the U.S. I will pay less shipping).
This contest combines my two latest passions – Doctor Who and the art of Sara Richard.
If you are a fan of the Tenth Doctor (and what rational person isn’t), you can choose the print Sara made, inspired by “Idiot’s Lantern”. The Doctor and Rose with a motor scooter? **swoon**
I don’t even want to make a funny comment. My little heart is melting…
If you are not a fan of the Tenth Doctor (I’m looking at you, Greg…) Then, you at least must want a print of the TARDIS.
This is so beauteous, it takes my breath away.
Amazing.
If the TARDIS in the clouds doesn’t get you, how about that double helix staircase?
I wish I’d had enough cash to buy both of these prints at Comic Con. But, alas, I did not. I only purchased this one.
However, you can have one of these prints at no cost to you, if you follow a few simple instructions.
1. Be a follower of this blog (I don’t care if you read every post, although I hope you do. Just please register to follow.)
2. Reply in the comments to this post with the following information. Who is your favorite Doctor and why? (You can post a few words or a whole dissertation. Either way, I love it! (If you say anyone other than 9 or 10, I will argue with you, though)
3. Be somewhat lucky, because I’m going to pick one winner at random.
So let’s argue about who the best Doctor is. And, then, let’s hug it out and agree that the universe is an amazing place.
The contest will close at noon, Central Time, on Friday. Please reply soon…
– CCG
Also, while you’re here, you may want to check out the Doctor Who cosplay from Comic Con or my friend Greg’s thoughts on the Doctor Who TV movie.
Casual Comics Review: Atomic Robo #1
Here’s a comic that I picked up at San Diego Comic Con – one of many. The guy manning the booth at Red 5 (the publishing company) was super-jazzed to tell me all about Atomic Robo, and now I know why. Read the rest of this entry
Doctor Who TV Movie: From the Archives
A new article from a friend to the CCG. A fascinating, in-depth look at the TV movie (that I have not yet seen). Greg lived and loved every minute of Doctor Who. And, as someone who worked at a Fox affiliate, he’s got some keen insight.
Check out his thoughts at:
http://www.from-the-archive.co.uk/2013/07/50who-my-favourite-fox-failure.html
Contest Winners – Dexter
Congratulations to Julien (from NE) and Kendra (from the great state of VA) on winning the Dexter lanyards.
I know I said I was giving away one, but I had two. Since there were only two entries, I thought:
a. This is the right thing to do
b. My wife will be glad I’m clearing up my post-SDCC tornado
They both promised photos, so I’ll post them when I get them. Hopefully, there are no Dexter-style rituals involved in the pictures sent.
Thanks for reading, you two!
– CCG
SDCC Recap: The rest of Thursday
A lot of other stuff… Then, Gerry and Marty!
The “Ode to Nerds” panel was cool. Then, a lot of other stuff happened. I wandered the convention floor for a while, shopping and taking pictures of people in costumes.
Because 2013 was my first Comic Con since starting to watch Doctor Who, I put special effort into getting pictures of Doctor Who Read the rest of this entry
Casual Comic Review: New Avengers #1
Marvel, you are drunk.
The last time I checked in with the New Avengers was when the New Avengers was new. Back in the days of “Civil War”, when Luke Cage and Jessica Jones had a baby. She was on the run because of the Civil War. Whatever happened to that baby? Read the rest of this entry
SDCC Thursday: Ode to Nerds Panel
Here’s another panel I hit in Thursday. Or rather, one that hit me.
Ode to Nerds
Left to right: Ummm… A bunch of writers. I didn’t note what order they were sitting in. Sorry.
This panel was an absolute revelation to me. It was on my radar, but to be honest I only went for two reasons.
First, I needed someplace to sit while I ate lunch. Second, Anthony couldn’t make it and he had been geeking out hard to see one of the panelists, Chuck Palahniuk. (Weird that his name doesn’t trigger spell check – there must be a “Fight Club” fan in charge of Microsoft’s dictionary).
The description in the official guide didn’t give me much to go on: “Everyone knows that published science fiction authors reign on the Geek Heirarchy charts, because the Internet tells us so! Join panelists as the genre’s top names in publishing celebrate all things geeky and nerdy, with Charlie Jane Anders of io9.com. Geek out with Cory Doctorow (The Rapture of the Nerds),Chuck Palahniuk (Doomed), Patrick Rothfuss (The Name of the Wind), Austin Grossman (You), D. C. Pierson (Crap Kingdom), and Robyn Schneider (The Beginning of Everything). “
The first thing that hit me was what a tremendous job Charlie Jane Anders did moderating this panel of authors. I’ve just recently come to read, appreciate, and ultimately cherish the job that io9 does covering culture. So, I recognized the web site in the programming guide, but had no idea who Charlie Jane Anders was.
I’ll tell you what. Charlie was great. She was enthusiastic and knowledgeable – a great combination for a moderator. I’d never read anything from any of the authors on this panel before, except for “Haunted” by Chuck Palahniuk. Now? I’ve got a long list of these titles on my Amazon wish list.
The panel opened with a “Geek Hierarchy Chart” and launched into a discussion of people and their passions. The whole conversation made me fall in love with Comic Con all over again – there’s not just acceptance of “difference”, but celebration of it.
The best thing about this panel was the energy and encouragement these authors had for other writers. The panelists were, to a person, passionate about authors staying true to themselves and doing what they love.
There was a hilarious discussion that started from a comment about 50 Shades of Gray that I won’t repeat here because I just showed my mother how to subscribe to this blog. I’ll wait a few weeks until she loses her login and forgets about it to post the details.
My favorite comment of the panel came from Robyn Schneider. She talked about all the different kinds of fandom present under the nerd umbrella. She said, “They’re all pockets on the same pair of nerd jeans.” Then she immediately seemed a bit embarrassed that she said “nerd jeans”. Don’t worry Robyn, we get you.
The panel was very inspirational. I appreciated the discussion regarding publishing. Specifically, there was a discussion that, too often, people measure the worth of a writer by whether they’ve been published or had a movie made. I don’t want to spoil the metaphor by misquoting it here. And since this panel caught me off guard, I didn’t have my pen and notebook handy to capture specifics. Suffice it to say, there was an acknowledgement that many writers are hobbyists and there are greater aspirations than being published.
I will, however, be keeping my eye on io9, Charlie Jane Anders, and the authors on this panel. And next year, I’ll be specifically seeking out more programming like this at SDCC.
If a video of this panel exists, I’d love to see it and provide a link. I’ve still only got six skill points in Google, though, so I haven’t been able to find it on my own.
In the meantime, you can watch Robyn Schneider introduce her appearance at Comic Con on Youtube. It’s fun and will give you an idea of the geek enthusiasm that abounded.
– CCG
SDCC Artists: Sara Richard
There are many talented artists at San Diego Comic Con each year. Earlier this week, I posted the fantastic Run Lola Run art I purchased from Tess Fowler.
I asked Tess if she knew anyone who had interesting Doctor Who art for sale, and she recommended Sara Richard as an artist with an interesting, colorful Doctor Who print. Boy, was she ever right.
I fell in love with her print of The Tenth Doctor and Rose. I think it perfectly captures exactly what I love about the series. Fun, whimsical, and oh, so, happy. It’s a perfect slice of simple companionship and happiness amid the chaotic beauty of the universe.
Looking through Sara’s portfolio, I thought I’d ask if she could do a commission. I have loved the movie “Amelie” since the day I saw it at the Dundee theater. I think it’s the only movie I’ve ever seen where there was actually a standing ovation at the end. I thought Sara’s style was perfectly suited to capture the joy and wonder of “Amelie”. Happily, she accepted the job and I could not be happier to add this piece to my collection of original art.
I speechless. Love. It.
Thank you so much Sara for everything. It’s impossible for me to look at these and be blue.
Check out Sara’s artwork online at www.sararichard.com . Click around to find her portfolio and store. And buy something there. You’ll be glad you did. The scans of these pieces can’t come close to matching the beauty and color of the originals.
– CCG
SDCC Recap: Thursday.5 (First half of the day)
Holy smokes… These recaps are a lot longer than I thought they would be. Here’s the first half of Thursday:
Thursday.5 Recap:
So. Thursday at Comic Con. After a late night on Wednesday, it was up and at it bright and early. I showed up at about 5:00 or so to get into a line. Not a specific line. Just a line.
Like I said before, Comic Con is not something you do, it’s something that happens to you.
I met the first of many, many, many wonderful people in that line – Maria. Maria ended up being something like my line wife for the weekend. At SDCC, you wait in a lot of lines for a long time, especially early in the morning. A line buddy has been a must for me in past cons. We were both planning for the legendary “Hall H” line Friday morning and agreed that whoever showed up first would hold a spot in line for the other one.
Great job, Line Clan! Starbucks and new friends will help you survive any line at Comic Con.
There are many unwritten rules of Comic Con. Line protocol is chief among them. I could easily do a thousand words on the unwritten rules of lines at Comic Con, but then they wouldn’t be unwritten any longer.
Maria and I chatted, we talked to our line mates, and then eventually I went to get coffee/hot chocolate for all of us when Starbucks at the Hilton opened at 7:00 am.
I was torn between two panels – “Getting into Comics the Marvel Way” and the “35th Anniversary BSG” panel. The Battlestar Galactica panel in 2011 was awesome, so I decided to hit up the BSG panel again. Besides, I knew that’s where Justin and Michelle were headed anyway. Since the doors open at like 8:00 for people to get into specific lines for 10:00 panels, knowing if there’s anyone in line to talk to can be an important guiding factor.
BSG 35th Anniversary Panel
Richard always looks like he is hopped up on something… “Goofballs”, perhaps?
Richard Hatch always hosts the Battlestar Galactica panel. He also always looks like he just sprinted across the entire convention center and tumbled through the curtain just in the nick of time. But I kid, Richard. Mr. Hatch is one of the best people you can find at Comic Con each year. He’s almost always up in the autograph pavilion, and I’ve found that, as long as there’s not a big line, he’s usually willing to chat for a while about Battlestar and everything else he has going on.
Joining Richard on the panel were a bunch of people who worked on various recent incarnations of BSG and Caprica. The “surprise guest” was none other than Academy Award nominee Edward James Olmos. Kevin Grazier, science advisor/consultant for many sci-fi shows was also a treat.
Two big reveals stand out to me. When asked about things in the show that caused controversy, Kevin Grazier related that he got angry mail from viewers asking how, as a science advisor, he could let pass an ending that ultimately advocated a theistic universe. In response, he said that the theistic viewpoint was something the creative team agreed on at the outset as governing rule for the fictional universe of BSG and, thus, the viewpoint of the series was completely consistent with the rules they set out at the beginning.
Seriously, dude. Give us a “So Say We All”. We’re dying for it!
Also, for BSG fans, it was said that the conclusion of the first “So Say We All” speech that Adama gives was a creation of Edward James Olmos. The reactions of the actors are genuine as they slowly join him in the chant since it was the first time they heard it and weren’t sure what to do.
They ended with a trailer for Richard Hatch’s new web series “Cowboys and Engines”, which I include here not as an advocate of the quality of the series, but as a favor to Mr. Hatch for being such a nice guy throughout the weekend.
The Blacklist
The next panel I saw was “The Blacklist”, a new program set to air Monday nights on NBC in the fall. The Official Comic Con program calls it “highly anticipated”. I don’t know whether I believe that.
I mostly went out of curiosity, since the show’s star, James Spader was in attendance. I’ve always thought he was an interesting actor who has gradually come to play a caricature over time. Based on his comments at the panel, I can tell you that’s because he loves that caricature so much, he’s chosen to live it in public.
He’s the bald one…
The premise of the show is intriguing. Twenty years after a government agent goes rogue, he inexplicably returns and surrenders himself. He’s got a lot of intelligence on terrorist operations and appears to want to cooperate with the authorities who, of course, don’t trust him.
There’s a weird Silence of the Lambs homage in the show. I was going to call it an “undertone”, but it’s right there on the surface. They lock him up and he refuses to speak to anyone except a young woman who is new to the agency. The first scene where they meet is visually lifted from the Silence of the Lambs.
The show had a few unexpected moments, but the pilot was still ultra-cliché. Lots of questions, not a lot of answers. How is Spader’s character related to the young agent? Can she trust her husband? What is his agenda? Will the show be on the air long enough to answer any of these questions?
Megan Boone did a great job in the pilot, and I hope this helps her career take off. I just don’t know that network TV can support another show like this. I’ll wait until the first season ends before watching the whole series, just in case it gets cancelled mid-season.
So, there’s more SDCC highlights to come. Plus polls and more. Stay tuned…
– CCG
Casual Comics Guy 
