Chicago Comic-Con 2009 Day 3 and Wrap up

I slept in very late for me on Sunday, and didn’t make it to the con until about 1pm.  That game me about an hour to shop until the DC Sunday Conversation panel at 2

On the way to the panel, I ment “Pants” from the Comic Geek Speak podcast, my favorite Comic Book podcast; in line for the same panel.  It was really great to meet him, since I was able to let him know what I great enjoyment I get from their show.

After the panel, it was back for some last second shopping before the con closed.

In wrap up, I was asked on the Comic Geek Speak forums if it was worth the trip out to the con.  This is what I had to say

I would say yes and no. Yes in the fact that I really needed a little time away (long story), and the fact that I got to see Perez again and let him know he is still my favorite. As well as meeting the other creators that I got to meet.

No in the fact that I was more dissapointed on the lack of the DC and Marvel (Boom, Dark Horse, etc…) booths than I thought. Having all those tv, movie, and wrestling people kind of brought things down for me, since most of them were charging so much for autographs, photos, etc…

Overall it was a great time for me. I don’t have a local shop, but when I do get to go to one its always rushed and I don’t really get to spend the time that I want too. Being able to take all the time that I wanted to look at whatever I wanted too was really great and has really energized my enthusiasm for comics more than it has in a long time.

From a comics industry standpoint, it also gave me first hand knowledge on how we have heard on some of the podcasts on how Marvel is flooding the market with stuff. I can’t tell you how many $5 trade boxes i went through that were full of scores and scores of Marvel stuff, I would say 95% of it. Some of it was only a few months old. Today I was even able to pick up the first three Brand New day hardcovers for $5 a piece. I haven’t read Marvel for years, and I was able to get a lot of stuff that I have wondered about this weekend.

That is it for this con.  Coming soon, COMIC BOOK REVIEWS!

Fantasy & SciFi Lovin’ News & Reviews: Chicago Comic-Con: Edward James Olmos

Fantasy & SciFi Lovin’ News & Reviews: Chicago Comic-Con: Edward James Olmos

Chicago Comic-Con: Edward James Olmos

This was a pretty cool moment for me, getting to meet and briefly interview Admiral Adama (Edward James Olmos). I’m a big Battlestar Galactica fan and everything about that series was top-notch.

Also, Olmos told me that he’ll be working on the Green Hornet film.

Marvel’s most dangerous mutant has a deadly reunion with one of his toughest foes in WOLVERINE: MR. X | Marvel.com News | Marvel.com

Marvel’s most dangerous mutant has a deadly reunion with one of his toughest foes in WOLVERINE: MR. X | Marvel.com News | Marvel.com

Chicago Con ‘09: Wolverine: Mr. X
Marvel’s most dangerous mutant has a deadly reunion with one of his toughest foes in WOLVERINE: MR. X

Posted: 2009-08-10 Updated: 2009-08-10 11:16:06

Chicago Comic-Con ‘09
» Chicago Con ‘09: Assault on New Olympus
By Tim Stevens

Mr. X carved out a reputation in the world as an unstoppable assassin until he tangled with the man he modeled himself on and lost. Wolverine has lived his life trying to contain his berserker rage and working on being an honorable human being-he found Mr. X’s amorality repulsive and would have ended the man given the chance. You just knew the next time these two met, things would not be pleasant. January 2010 marks the end of waiting for the unpleasantness to begin.

WOLVERINE: MR. X, a one-shot written by Mr. X creator Frank Tieri and drawn by Paco Diaz Luque, chronicles this rematch and reveals what Mr. X has been up to between his devastating loss to Wolverine in “Bloodsport” and his re-emergence in THUNDERBOLTS.

On the surface, these nemeses seem to have quite a bit in common: both men for whom violence comes almost second nature and who have used these skills to great effect over the course of their lives. However, as MR. X editor Jeanine Schaeffer tells it, the deeper you dig into the characters, the more complicated comparing them becomes.

“They may be similar in strength and in the ability to kill, but Mr. X, psychologically, is Wolverine’s exact opposite,” she points out. “While Wolverine was created to be the ultimate killing machine, Mr. X worked to transform himself into such.”

Given the long hard road Mr. X traveled in order to rival Wolverine, his defeat at his role model’s hands came as a shock to the system that he needed to overcome before he could move on. Facing off with Logan once more may be the next step in that process for him.

“Mr. X was introduced as this guy who couldn’t be beaten, who couldn’t be stopped, and who couldn’t be matched-what we saw during ‘Bloodsport’ was that he was actually none of those things, especially as he relates to Wolverine,” Schaeffer recalls. “You want to talk about pride, this is it! The best moment in a character’s journey is when his fatal flaw trips him up, and it’s cool to see him realizing it, too, and how he reacts to that.

Internal struggles can often be difficult to portray artistically on the page. While Diaz recognizes this fact, it did not scare him away for the project. In fact, it only made it more attractive to him.

“Mr. X is a very psychologically complex character, something which is incredibly hard to portray,” the artist acknowledged. “If we then consider his traumatic past, his telepathic abilities and his deep knowledge of combat techniques, we’ll end up with a character that not only represents Wolverine’s perfect antagonist but also a stimulating challenge for any artist.”

Meanwhile, another factor entirely drives Wolverine in this battle.

“Wolverine feels responsible for this guy, because not only has Mr. X basically modeled himself on Wolverine, but Wolverine was stopped from killing him the last time they met,” Schaeffer reveals. “This is like tying up loose ends. Also, he probably just wants to beat the crap out of him out of total disgust that he even exists.”

With such evenly matched combatants fueled by such personal motives, no one has a clear advantage. Schaeffer credits this ambiguity with fueling the story and giving readers a glimpse of a Wolverine that most are not familiar with:

“I really think the meat of this story is in the battle of wills, and it forces Wolverine to confront his instincts in a way he’s not used to doing. I also like Wolverine when he’s dealing with the responsibility he’s saddled himself with, rather than the responsibility that comes with being an X-Man. Frank has really hit upon a side of Wolverine’s story that we don’t often get to see or explore: the mental will that it must take to be everyone’s favorite Canuklehead that I think readers will be really pleased with what comes out of it.”

Diaz also stresses that the story allows for these beats to be delivered not just through combat but also through the ever mounting pressure he portrays in his art.

“The tension between Wolverine and Mr. X grows after every scene. I’m definitely thrilled with this story and I hope we’ll be able to transmit that energy and enthusiasm to the readers.”

Look for more coverage of Chicago Comic-Con 2009 all weekend long on Marvel.com!

Edward Olmos Cast in ‘Green Hornet’ – Cinemspy.com

Edward Olmos Cast in ‘Green Hornet’

Venerable character actor Edward James Olmos has joined the cast of The Green Hornet, Hollywood Snitch reports.

According to the site, Olmos made the revelation at last week’s Wizard World Chicago Comic-Con. No word yet on which character he might play, but the cast thus far includes Seth Rogen, Cameron Diaz, and Jay Chou—who was recently brought aboard to replace Stephen Chow as Kato.

“I’m on my way to do The Green Hornet,” revealed Olmos, who is recognizable for appearing in the recently-ended Battlestar Galactica series. “It’ll be a lot of fun with Seth [Rogen], Nicolas Cage and Cameron Diaz.”

Cage is reportedly in talks to play the film’s villain. Michel Gondry is directing The Green Hornet for release in 2010.

Olmos’ other memorable roles include playing Gaff in Blade Runner, Lt. Martin Castillo in Miami Vice, Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver, the head of the Quintanilla family in the film Selena, and as a recently widowed father in the PBS drama American Family: Journey of Dreams

ForceCast.net: Special Report: Chicago Comic Con 2009

ForceCast.net: Special Report: Chicago Comic Con 2009

Special Report: Chicago Comic Con 2009
Posted by Jason on August 11, 2009 at 06:31 AM CST:

The Star Wars presence at the 2009 Chicago Comic Con was HUGE! Join Jimmy Mac as he braves the throngs to bring you interviews from the show floor with the talents behind some of the Saga’s most indelible characters: Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), Tom Kane (Yoda in Star Wars: Clone Wars), Howard Chaykin (illustrator of the original Star Wars film adaptation from Marvel), Jerome Blake (Mas Amedda and others), Maria De Aragon (Greedo), Anthony Forrest (Sandtrooper), and Doug Wangler (Quinlan Vos). Chicago Comic Con brought Star Wars fans from across the country to the Windy City and The ForceCast brings it to you, leaving NO FAN LEFT BEHIND with this special report!

Keep checking ForceCast.net for more reports from Chicago Comic Con 2009 and be sure to listen to our interview with Steve Sansweet from the event!

Updated:Check out Jimmy Mac’s photos from Chicago Comic Con on our Flickr page.

Chicago Comic-Con 2009 Day 2

I had a great day yesterday, things were packed by the time I got down to the con.  I started out the day in Artist Alley to see what I could see.  Weaving through the crowd, I come across Phil Hester and bought a page from Green Arrow #31, page 7 specifically, and got it signed by him and Ande Parks for a really great price of $25!

I also got two great prints by Jason Metcalf for $5 each

The Robin: Search for a Hero Trade (for half price) signed by the artist Freddie Williams II

and last, but certainly not least, got a copy of Legion of Three Worlds #4 signed by George Perez, and also got a picture of him.  I showed him that picture of him 13 years ago, and he really got a kick out of it!

Over all a great day!  Enjoy the rest of my pics from yesterday:

Warren Peace Sings the Blues: Wizard Chicago 2009: Oh, comics, why do you test me

Warren Peace Sings the Blues: Wizard Chicago 2009: Oh, comics, why do you test me

I have to agree with a lot of his comments, but I have still had fun.  More of the aritcle at the link above

Saturday, August 8, 2009
Wizard Chicago 2009: Oh, comics, why do you test me

After seeing some of the heights of the comics medium at MoCCA 2009, the view of the industry/medium/genre from a mainstream standpoint at Chicago’s least-exclusive convention is enough to make one come crashing back down to earth. As seemed to be the trend with any talk about the San Diego Comic-Con, comics themselves seem to be an afterthought here, with more space and attention devoted to wrestlers, models, actors, and toys than to the art form that gives the convention its name. It was even more so than in years past, since both Marvel and DC didn’t bother to show up (outside of some panels), and neither did most of the smaller publishers like Image, Dark Horse, or Oni Press; the only publishers that seemed to have any presence were Top Shelf, Avatar, and Ape Entertainment. Instead, visitors were greeted with booth upon booth bearing these sorts of wares:

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Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources – Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment » Chicago Comic-Con ‘09 | Friday

Great coverage of yesterdays festivities

Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources – Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment » Chicago Comic-Con ‘09 | Friday

Chicago Comic-Con ‘09 | Friday

* Posted on August 7, 2009 – 11:05 PM by Michael May

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Chicago Comic-Con Day 1

Wow am I tired.  I spent about 6 hours walking the convention floor trying to complete my run of the first Dreadstar today and I am bushed.  I scored more $5 dollar trades, and actually found three of the Dreadstar issues I was looking for.  Things went a lot better after I stopped walking around aimlessly.  Probably going to hit some of the $1, 50 and 25 cent bins tomorrow and might try to pin down a time I can get some comics signed by George Perez.  Not much else to say, i’m too tired to think   Enjoy some pics

Chicago Comic-Con 2009 Day 0

Long lay over at the airport wore me out and I ended up getting into town right at the time preview night started.

By the time I got to the hotel and got ready, it was about 5:30, so I high tailed it to the convention center.

It is about a mile (through skyways and the parking garage) to get there from my hotel, so the old out of shape feet were already hurting by the time I got there.

When I got there, I just pretty much walked around aimlessly in a daze just taking in the amount of dealers that were there already.  Several dealers were already selling things pretty cheap.  $5 trades!!!  I ended up with $87 dollars with stuff for just $20!  Well anyway, I need to start getting around, the con has already started and I need to get ready.  Enjoy some pics

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