Category: News

NYCC: A Post-Game Analysis

comicart2-4363435Fifty-nine weeks ago I slammed the first two New York Comic-Cons pretty hard, so it’s only appropriate that I comment on this year’s jamboree. The previous shows were held in February, so the mere fact that people waiting in line this year didn’t have to suffer in below-freezing wind chills is, in and of itself, a vast improvement.

The show was better organized, crowd flow on Friday and Sunday was almost manageable, and the convention staff from Reed Communications (not the volunteers, who were great) drifted more towards being hospitable and informed. In fact, they were neither hospitable nor informed but you could tell that this year somebody suggested being so might be a good idea.

Saturday was pretty much the same premise as last year: “What if you tried to squeeze the entire population of Manhattan into a phone booth?” They claim attendance records were broken and that would be nice to believe, but it would be even nicer if they were at a venue where they could actually obtain enough space so that people could walk down the aisles without getting bashed in the face by an endless number of backpacks and tripped by an equal number of light sabers.

I can’t help but wonder what the show would have been like if god hadn’t helped out. Passover started Saturday and the New York metropolitan area contains a lot of religious Jews. And the pope was in for the weekend, so a lot of Catholics were attending one or another event. In fact, it looked like he was on Frank Miller’s Dark Knight panel.

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Demons of Sherwood: Back to the Forest

In today’s brand new episode of Demons of Sherwood, by Bo Hampton and Robert Tinnell, Robin and his Merry Men escape from the monastery to Sherwood Forest. But what waits for them in the dark? And are they ready?

Credits: Bo Hampton (Artist), Bo Hampton (Colorist), Bo Hampton (Letterer), Bo Hampton (Writer), Mike Gold (Editor), Robert Tinnell (Writer)

More: Demons of Sherwood

 

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Happy Birthday: Phantom Girl

Born on the 4th-dimensional planet Bgztl in the 30th Century, Tinya Wazzo shared the rest of her people’s ability to phase out of reality, becoming completely intangible.

Tinya decided to use those abilities to help others and sought out the Legion of Super-Heroes, becoming their fifth member as Phantom Girl.

She was a Legionnaire in good standing for many years, and was romantically involved with one of her teammates, Jo Nah (Ultra Boy).

ComicMix Radio at NYCC: Familiar Faces and Plans for ’09

It was the homestretch here in New York City yesterday when we rounded up some of the biggest news items from New York Comic Con, including a new Farscape series, more Dark Tower from Marvel and Mark Waid on Spider-Man. We also spent a family-friendly minute with comics legend Joe Kubert.

Head back to the floor – just press the button!

 

 

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‘Farscape’ Comics on the Way

In the past few months, BOOM! Studios has had a spate of comics picked up for movie adaptations, but now that flow of comics-to-screen is reversing course. The publisher just announced a deal with the Jim Henson Company to create multiple four-issue series adapted from the sci fi TV show Farscape.

The show ran for four seasons before an abrupt cancellation, and the new comics look to expand on the untold parts of the story, according to the press release sent over from BOOM. The creative team hasn’t been announced, and the art at right is preliminary.

"Farscape took science fiction television to a new level and ushered in a whole host of shows that wouldn’t have been possible without Farscape‘s pioneering. As a long-time ‘Scaper’, I am incredibly excited to mine the dense universe of Farscape for new stories and adventures in comic book form," said BOOM! Marketing and Sales Director, Chip Mosher. "I watched the show as it came out, I bought the DVDs the day they hit the shelves, and I can’t frelling wait to publish these comics!"

The Farscape comic book series will be taking advantage of the upcoming webisodes to be produced by The Jim Henson Company in association with RHI Entertainment for SCIFI.COM. The webisode series will re-unite Farscape executive producer Brian Henson with creator Rockne S. O’Bannon.

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Battlestar Galactica Interview: Mark Verheiden on Starbuck’s Relationships and Cylon Motives

Welcome to the latest installment of Battlestar Galactica Weekly, our recurring Q&A with Mark Verheiden, co-executive producer of the hit Sci-Fi Channel series Battlestar Galactica. Each week, we’ll interview Verheiden about the events of the week’s episode, what those events might mean for both the season and the series, and hopefully unearth some clues about what to expect as the final season of Battlestar Galactic nears its conclusion.

Along with posing our own questions to Verheiden, we’re also taking questions from fans — so be sure to send your questions to me, your official BSG Weekly interviewer, after each episode airs at chris [at] comicmix [dot] com. New episodes of Battlestar Galactica can be seen every Friday at 10 PM EST on Sci-Fi Channel. You can view previous interviews via the links at the end of this article.

This week, Verheiden answers questions about the third episode of Season Four, “The Ties That Bind,” which aired April 18, 2008. Note: These questions contain spoilers so read at your own risk.

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COMICMIX: (from reader Susan): It makes sense that you want to break Kara and Sam up to make way for Kara and Lee to get together in the final season, but what’s with her brutal treatment of him in this episode? In seasons two and three, it seemed like she truly cared about him in spite of her deeper feelings for Lee, now her behavior seems truly unsympathetic. Why is this continuing, while Lee/Dee got to end cleanly?

MARK VERHEIDEN: Kara has never been the most stable of characters. She’s been through and continues to go through some extremely difficult, frustrating experiences. Not the least of which involves disappearing for two months, being almost shot by the President, and now struggling to command a ship looking for…well, something she can’t quite put her finger on. 

It’s sort of a truism that you hurt the ones you love, and maybe Anders caught the brunt because he was the only one who stood there long enough so she COULD go off on him.  But please remember this is Battlestar Galactica, where emotional entanglements can change on a dime…

CMix (from reader Molly): Are Kara’s words to Sam, like when she tells him “she’s not the girl he married” meant to be taken at face value? I always thought that what she said in “Rapture” was true, that she loved and hated both Sam and Lee. And I liked that ambiguity as it made Kara more sympathetic.

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NYCC Photo Gallery: ‘Create Your Own Superhero’ Kids Day Event

Sunday afternoon, John Gallagher led a standing-room-only workshop for kids to create their own comic book heroes.  Gallagher, creator of Buzzboy and NASCAR Heroes, cited his own work as a model.  For example, his villain, Doc Cyber, a mad scientist, saw the error of his ways and decided to use his abilities for good, thus becoming a baker.  John then suggested his students create a character who is "just like you."

The results?  See for yourself!

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Superman Blue … Archie Orange, by Mike Gold

In the comments section of my column of two weeks ago, I told Van Jensen that today’s broad spectrum of color could not be printed on the cheap toilet paper employed in the days of yore. That stuff would soak up ink like a spirit gets sucked into Harold Ramis’s ghost trap. Back in those days just after the invention of papyrus, color artists were limited to a palette of three values each of red, blue and yellow, plus black. Not a lot to work with.

Still, as Van implies, the end result was fine. It didn’t bother us, just as riding a horse to work didn’t bother us. Except… except … it bothered me.

To be specific, blue hair bothered me.

I understand why hair was blue: if it were black, it’d just look like Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne had a big blob of India ink atop their brainpans. You couldn’t make it look like hair, and not everybody could have brown, red, or blonde hair. The blue stuff was supposed to suggest highlights, but with a few dozen colors to choose from, what can you do?  (more…)

ComicMix Radio Interview: Marc Guggenheim on ‘Amazing Spider-Man’ and ‘Eli Stone’

Quick! Connect George Michael and Peter Parker using only one name!

The link is writer Marc Guggenheim, who in his off time from Amazing Spider-Man is pushing to get his ABC show, Eli Stone, renewed at ABC. Having a show in the shadow of Lost isn’t that easy!

 

 

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NYCC Photo Gallery: Writers, Directors, Producers and Stars

At the New York Comic Con this weekend there were plenty of fans roaming the halls and the show floor dressed as their favorite comics character, purchasing issues of their favorite comics and manga and attending informative panels about upcoming comics and movies.

There were also quite a few celebrities in attendance — and we have photos!

Check ’em out:

 Milo Ventimiglia of Heroes, producer of Devil’s Due Publishing Rest

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