Events and Convention Coverage

This upcoming Comic Con in good ole New York City is going to be amazing.  There are some very good panels lined up.  Seth Green and the creators of Robot Chicken are back.  I am very excited about this one.  I just hope I can get good seats.  According to my friend who went to Seth Green’s panel last year, she waited through about two panels so she could stay in that room to see Seth.  That’s crazy–rewarding, but crazy.  Milo Ventimigilia is back to talk about a comic instead of Heroes, but he’ll probably talk about heroes soon since the second half of 3rd season is almost out.

One panel I am extremely excited for is Dead Like Me.  One of my favorite shows that was prematurely canceled is back to promote a straight to DVD movie created to tie up the lose ends of the show.  They left it at such a cliffhanger with a question that needed to be answered and, since the show was canceled, it couldn’t be answered.  I can’t wait!

I’ll see YOU at Comic Con!

Last year’s Comic Con had many high points for me, but the high point for most people was the “Venture Bros.” panel. Occupying a full size ballroom, it was standing room only to see the people responsible for Adult Swim’s most popular series currently. The room was packed with fans, some in costume to see the series creator and voice of Hank Venture, Chris McCullough, James Urbaniak (Dr Venture), Michael Sinterniklaas (Dean Venture), and Doc Hammer (Dr Girlfriend (!)). I was there to cover the Con, but I was really there as a fan more than anything. I love Venture Bros. Because I used to watch Johnny Quest religiously as a kid and teenager. When I would think back on the show I would think about how odd it was that these two kids (Johnny Quest and Hadji) were constantly being thrown into life-threatening situations and saw more than their fare share of men die at the tender ages of 15 or however old they were. I am pretty sure they even killed some people themselves. It all made me wonder, what the hell were these kids going to be like when they grew up? Actually, Johnny Quest left me with a lot of questions, some of which I probably think about waaay too much….

But that’s neither here nor there. I believe that the people who appreciate Venture Bros. the most are the ones who grew up watching the cartoons and action TV shows that VB takes many of it’s references from. The plot is hysterical in and of itself, but it’s the pop culture references that put the entertainment value of the show over the top. That is not to say that you have to get the references to find the show entertaining, I just think that is how one gets the most out of the show. The strength of the show is in the writing; VB has some of the wittiest, smartest, most natural sounding writing on television. It’s the writing that attracts fans who are not familiar with the references and the source material for the show. I have personally enslaved many of my friends to the show by simply exposing them to one or two episodes that they never would have watched on their own. Once they were taken in by the unparalleled humor of the show, they were hooked.

The best part about the Venture Bros. experience was that the people responsible for making the show are just as funny as the show they produce. The ease with which they interact with each other translates well to the screen. Watching the Venture Bros. panel was very much like watching the show itself. The personalities of the writers and the actors clearly shine through in the finished product; it is a good thing that they have such amazing personalities to do the show. Fortunately for everyone in attendance, a great show makes for a great panel, and the crowd was in stitches for much of the way-too-short time we had with the principle players. They showed a preview of Season Two, which had everyone in attendance foaming at the mouth to see it. At this date Season Two has aired, and it was well worth the wait, living up to the hype built around it at last year’s Con. The best part of the panel was that outside of the panel you could find people like Doc Hammer and James Urbaniak wandering around the Convention floor just like anybody else. Just saying, the same could not be said of Seth Green. Anyway, this year Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick will be at the Con as Special Guests. If this article has sparked any interest in Venture Bros. For you, or if you already a fan, it is well worth it to seek out their company this year. I know I will.

Anyone who is aware of Peter David and his vast catalog of work should not be surprised to know he describes himself as a writer of stuff.

Stuff indeed. His more than twenty-year writing career includes a critically acclaimed twelve-year run on The Incredible Hulk and work in comics that include Supergirl, Aquaman, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, X-Factor, Wolverine, The Phantom, and more; his But I Digress column that appears in Comics Buyer’s Guide; the beloved Sir Apropos of Nothing, which is the first novel in a hilarious trilogy that continues to make many, including RPGers, laugh until they cry; and several Star Trek novels that include Q-Squared, The Siege, Q-in-Law, Vendetta, A Rock and a Hard Place, and one of the most bestselling Trek novels of all time, Imzadi.

With a body of work like his, it would not be completely unfounded to assume David is a bit of an unapproachable diva. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Perhaps it’s because David has not forgotten his roots, that is, when he was an aspiring writer who had primarily churned out fanfic. It was Stephen King who autographed a copy of Danse Macabre for David and wished him luck in his writing career. It’s not surprising to learn that David now inscribes the same well wishes to his own fans who tell him they, too, are aspiring writers. While I suspect that gratitude has played a part in David’s being so open to his fans, I also suspect that he’s just a genuinely good guy and that his writing successfully reaches his fans because his sensitivity is sincere.

Take one of my favorite But I Digress columns, for example. After the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States, David wrote a poignant article where he showed not so much his pain (though it was certainly there) but also his vulnerability. For me, it was one of the few pieces of literature published in the wake of the attacks that did not seek to capitalize on the tragedy and instead sought to share in that desire to heal and expressed authentically and with dignity the frustration of not having been able to stop it or make it all go away. Having reread the article the other day helped me put into clearer perspective David’s ability to tackle difficult subject matters in what he writes, such as the manner in which he fleshed out the themes initiated by Bill Mantlo for The Incredible Hulk, where Bruce Banner deals with memories of abuse at his father’s hands. David manages to tackle such subjects in a sensitive manner that at the same time doesn’t make his readership uncomfortable.

Despite knowing about David’s approachability, when I was tapped to copyedit his most recent Star Trek novel, I was a little nervous. The production editor (a friend and colleague) hired me and informed me the manuscript was by a big-name author so I should be light-handed and particularly sensitive with any queries and notes, especially regarding plot. Once I started work, however, I decided the right thing to do was to treat the manuscript no differently from any other on which I work. That is, I kept the tone of my queries polite, but made edits as necessary and explained my reasoning in the margins. I admit that when I returned the project, I fretted that perhaps my edits were more than David and his editor were expecting to see. Further, I hoped he wouldn’t be offended by my notes and questions regarding a few plot points I felt required clarification or revisiting.

I heard from the production editor a couple weeks later, after David and his editor had assessed my work. David took the time to express gratitude for the edits and comments and even rewrote some passages as a result of my questions and comments. It’s always nice to hear that authors aren’t upset by the hard work copyeditors do, but David went that extra mile and took the time to write a nice note to the production editor. It’s refreshing to work with big-name authors who don’t make you feel like you can’t touch them editorially for fear of tantrums. It’s even more rewarding when they prove with a few lines that they are, in fact, down-to-earth and, well, approachable.

No, after twenty years, it’s clear that David doesn’t need any luck. Here’s to twenty more years, Mr. David. I for one look forward to working with him again, even if indirectly as a freelance copyeditor.

At 17 mins, this TED talk maybe a little wordy and in-depth for a blog post, but if you’re hankering for a thoughtful look at the science and theory behind comics, Scott McCloud is for you.

 

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So, it’s after 4 am, and after fighting to try and get SOME sleep before this point, I started thinking about a current trend in Marvel Comics - the revitalization of characters.  I’d been looking for something to write about, so I figured that this was as good a topic as any, and hey, maybe it’ll put me to sleep.  Moving on.

As a quick explanation of what I mean, I’m going to use Marvel’s event from a couple of years ago, Annihilation.  For those unfamiliar with this small-scale (and I mean that only in the sense of the number of comics involved) cosmic event, I’m going to give you the basic scoop.  There’s this old villain, goes by the name of Annihilus.  He’s a big ugly bug-lookin’ dude from the Negative Zone.  His first appearance was as a Fantastic Four villain in 1968.  Long story short, up until Annihilation, this guy was a chump.  A lot of people forgot this guy even existed, which is why when he damn near destroyed our universe in Annihilation, just about everyone was surprised and taken aback.  It took the combined forces of Drax the Destroyer, the Super Skrull, Ronan the Accuser, Nova (whom had recieved a significant power boost), several of Galactus’ Heralds, Galactus himself, and a few other prominent cosmic forces to stop Annihilus and his Annihilation Wave, an army of horrible bugs that he himself had fathered.  In the end, the Skrull Empire was absolutely destroyed, the Kree were hurting significantly, several powerful cosmic entities were straight-up dead, and there was general unrest and unhappiness in the universe.

Annihilation seems to have ushered in a new age in Marvel, an age in which old, forgotten characters are dug up and given their times to shine.  Names that are genuinely considered obscure are coming into the limelight.  As often as you hear “Man, Wolverine wrecked those Hydra guys”, you may be hearing “Did you see how Rocket Raccoon shot up those Badoon!?”  Is this a good thing?  On the one hand, it’s great.  Marvel is putting their rich creative history to good use, and it has lended itself to some interesting plot twists and devices - 3-D Man’s usefulness in the recent Skrull invasion, for example.  However, at the same time, it could end up confusing or turning away newer readers.  Not all of us have encyclopedic knowledge of the Marvel hero roster.  I myself have said once or twice, “Who is this guy and why is it a big deal?”  The best example I can give of this is the most recent issue of Avengers:Initiative.  Over the course of the book’s run, we’ve been shown a mysterious and powerful woman called Mutant Zero.  We only ever see her in action once or twice, and we never, ever see her face.  Nobody knew who she was, though we all had our theories.  The recent issue reavealed who she was.

SPOILER ALERT FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MIGHT ACTUALLY KNOW WHO THIS IS, it was a character called Typhoid Mary.  END SPOILER, GUYS.  ITS COOL, YOU CAN COME OUT NOW.

This  reveal was a bit of a disappointment to me, since I haven’t got a clue who the hell this character is.  I’ve got three or four Hero Clix pieces of her, but I don’t even know what her powers are.  Hell, I didn’t even know she was a mutant.

Over all though, Marvel’s current practice of revitalizing old characters seems to be working out well.  Books are selling, readers are happy.  That’s what they want, right?  Excelsior!

Here’s a list of books to look into for more examples, off the top of my head:

Immortal Iron Fist

Guardians of the Galaxy

Annihilation (all involved books)

Annihilation: Conquest (All involved books, again)

Avengers: Initiative

Adam the Blue Marvel

Let me know if I missed any.

Well, maybe not the best, but still, an absolutely great later season episode of the Simpsons aired today, and its theme…

COMICS!

Or at least, that was the the theme of the secondary story, where Springfield gets a new comic shop, with ultra cool Comic Book Guy replacement, Milo (voiced by Jack Black). Not only is the story great for all the clever comic inspired gags (”Superman dies, Aquaman dies, Casper dies…”), not only is it great because I long to run an comic shop half as awesome as Coolsville, not only is it great because of Comic Book Guys “going out of business” banner… it is great because this episode features Alan Moore, Art Spiegelman and Dan Clowes - all guest-voicing as themselves!

Nothing beats Alan Moore chuckling over Little Lulu. Nothing. And let’s face it, he’ll need cheering up after this…

Bruce Timm is one of the most important men in my life. I only found this out very recently though. You are probably asking yourself if Bruce Timm is one of the most important men in my life, one would think that I would at least have been aware of him before very recently right? Well, I say in response, you do not know me very well. I am very often ignorant of the people who are responsible for the things that I enjoy the most. And Bruce Timm definitely qualifies as a man who is responsible for a good deal of the most enjoyable, quite frankly highest quality television available since the early 1980’s. Let me guide you through some of the CLASSIC cartoons that Mr. Timm has been a part of.

Mr. Timm is most well known for his involvement with DC’s entire run of animated series, from “Batman: The Animated Series” on. These series all had a good deal of continuity, which is essential to quality, and ran from one to another in a fairly smooth fashion. Batman blended into “Superman: the Animated Series” (with “Batman Beyond” in between), and Superman went to “Justice League”. “Justice League” then went on to become “Justice League Unlimited”, and next the Wonder Woman animated movie that will premier this year. He also executive produced much of “Teen Titans” and was involved with many of the various Batman, Superman, Batman Beyond, and Justice League animated movies that were made during the DC animated series illustrious run. Now, I must say here that I have always been FAR more of a Marvel guy in terms of comic books, but when it comes to cartoons, DC wins in every category by far. The best compliment that I can give to “The Dark Knight” is that it almost was as good as an episode of the original Batman series.

Batman the animated series had a way of giving depth to characters that one wouldn’t think possible. I always said it had the best acting on television, which was especially bad since it was animation. Many of Batman’s villains in this incarnation where portrayed as tragic figures, especially Mr. Freeze, Clayface, and Two-Face. You never knew which way Catwoman was leaning (good or bad) and seemingly, neither did Selena. Harley and Poison Ivy very nearly deserved a show of their own. And then there was the Joker. People will argue this of course, but my favorite incarnation of the Joker is Mark Hamill’s. He was insane, dangerous, murderous, hilarious, and had the best laugh. You could always count on Joker episode to deliver, and it is hard for any series to be consistently good with any character. As for Batman himself, he started out as clearly having a Batman side and a Bruce Wayne side, but as the series progressed, and really, it helps if you think of all the series as one continuous story with different story arcs focusing on different characters, he becomes more Batman-all-the-time. It makes sense however as the dangers they face become more and more serious, and as Superman begins to lose control of his anger…

Ah, but there we encounter the greatest story in the animated series, the evolution of Superman into a real boy, as I like to call it. Superman as we all know is an alien. And all he really wants is to be human. Well, in the animated series Lex Luthor and Darkseid give him his wish, introducing him to two particular human emotions; pride and anger. Over the course of the series, Superman learns that he likes being THE Hero, that he does not like losing, and he does not really know how to handle frustration. One of the most psychologically thrilling storylines is the degradation of Superman’s control over his anger, and the effects it has on the Justice League, and the world in general. If the last Superman had some of that substance it would have been way more interesting. I mean, I enjoyed “Superman Returns” but it just does not stand up to the Superman storylines from the “Justice League Unlimited” series.

Bruce Tim has Produced, Directed, wrote, and Art directed all of these series. These are quality works, and just part of his professional body. I watched all of these shows religiously, and though I still Make Mine Marvel, when it comes to superhero cartoons, nothing surpasses DC’s masterpieces, and it is in large part due to Bruce Timm. It is, in fact, these shows that have pushed me to want to write even more. So, thank you Mr. Timm, for putting out some really good cartoons for all of these years, when a lot of other companies were really half-assing it. Timm’s work has shown me what is possible when people take a fantasy seriously and put hard work into it; a truly great story can be born, and in some cases completely reborn.

People are strange. Mighty strange. It takes all kinds to make this green-blue ball of ours to keep spinning, and luckily, the world has all kinds to give.

This is all the more true amongst the Nerd population. New York Comic Con ‘08 had everything from traditional comic book nerds to not-at-all traditional yaoi freaks. Here are some photos from the truly bizzare.

One of our cast members being taken hostage by Boba Fett. Little does the Fett know that Matt is possessed by the devil. Click this link to open our gallery, then click the pic to see it full sized, and then watch the eyes!

The Christ Child all grown up.

Pure madness.

NonProductive Events is your one stop shop for all the juicy gossip, blogs, pics, vids, twits, critz, zahhz, and other yet-t0-be trademarked Web 2.0 nonsense that… you can… what was I talking about again?

Hmm. Well. NonProductive Events is that. All that. That is to say, it’s a concentration of our in depth interviews and thoughts about the events we cover on the show. You feel me?