The Mix : What are people talking about today?

Ed Catto: The San Diego Alternative

anissia-croft-pres-of-camillus-con-1480063The business world, the SyFy Channel, California, ComicsPRO, Hollywood, pop culture and everyone on planet earth who loves entertainment has spent the last week been focusing on Comic-Con International. And as you may know, it’s still often referred to as San Diego Comic-Con. It’s a gloriously bloated beast of a show, overcrowded and overwhelming. And I just love it.

For change of pace, let’s pause to celebrate the front line of Geek Culture on a smaller scale. Specifically, let’s look at the hard-working folks who create, build and manage one of the nation’s many small comic conventions.

img_8964-3950661Last week I had the honor of attending Camillus Con, the Finger Lakes New York nerd and geek culture celebration. You may not be familiar with this one, but they’ve been doing it for a while. In fact, this convention was celebrating its fourth birthday.

Camillus is one of those gorgeous little upstate towns with an undercurrent of creativity and fan passion. And both were on display for this show.

Camillus Con President Anissa Croft (“Like Tomb Raider,” she said with a mischievous grin as she spelled her name for me) is charming and infectiously energetic. And she’s quite a cosplayer. She explained how the show has grown and figuratively pitches a tent big enough to include cosplayers, anime fans, comic nerds, artists, artisans, quidditch players and even the local library.

modern-mythos-7707846Cosplay was in full force at this show. Oh, there were the standards, like Power Girl and Spider-Man, but as a less frenetic, less crowded show it allowed all the cosplayers to have a little more fun acting out as they posed for snapshots. And beyond the standards, there were so many cosplayers with both strong costuming skills and big smiles.

A few highlights from the people who made it happen:

Modern Mythos Comics & Collectibles is run by a longtime collector. He was selling comic book back issues in the dealer’s room. He explained that his collection had grown too large and the time has come to start selling it. (I certainly know how that goes.) His loss was my gain – especially in picking up three gorgeous comics with wonderful Dave Stevens covers.

ling-tang-7930367Ling Tang is an artist with a delicate flair and a myriad of images to sell via her studio, Illusions of Grandeur. She was warm and friendly, and like so many convention exhibitors, just as eager to chat about the topics du jour (Pokémon Go and Dungeons & Dragons), as she was to shift into selling mode.

syracuse-nerd-8793561James P. McCampbell lets everyone know he is a Syracuse Nerd and proud of it with his shirt. His artwork displayed his passion and his salesmanship reinforced his own boundless enthusiasm.

While some of the mid-tier comic conventions try to position themselves as the cure for everything that’s “wrong” with San Diego Comic-Con, it seems to me that if you don’t like big shows then smaller conventions with heart, like Camillus Con, are the way to go.

Until they too get huge, of course.

John Ostrander: Our Lonely Nation Turns Its Eyes To You

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The Republican National Convention Circus came to town last week and they made the big clown their ringmaster.

As you might guess, I am not a supporter of Donald Trump. Evidently neither is Senator Ted Cruz, who declined to get behind the party’s nominee during a nationally televised prime time speech at the Republican National Convention. That was interesting.

jon-stewart-and-stephen-colbert-5750739ComicMix is about pop culture and you certainly can examine the RNC from that perspective. It was entertaining, in a sick way, and had more than a few surprises. It was like a Big League version of a reality show… and Trump knows about reality shows, believe me.

However, I think that the best thing coming out of the RNC was the return of Jon Stewart. He appeared at least twice on his old buddy Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show (I’m writing this before Friday night’s show; he may have shown up yet again) and it was a pleasure to see him.

Stewart was the host on The Daily Show between 1999 and 2015. The Daily Show is the mock news half hour that became the source of news for many people, and Stewart became the jester version of Walter Cronkite. He was a comedian and a critic employing commentary and satire and jokes. Often he was just silly but he also made some very solid points when he chose to do so. Underneath it all, there is a very intelligent, well read mind and a real sense of moral outrage.

I was not happy when Stewart announced his stepping down from The Daily Show in 2015. “What? With the 2016 elections just around the corner. Say it ain’t so, Jon! We need you!” His successor, Trevor Noah, has done a fine job but, damnit, I wanted Jon Stewart!

This week I got him or at least a taste of him. He and Stephen Colbert are great buddies and Stewart is an executive producer of The Late Show. Colbert says Stewart is not just a name in the credits but an active participant. In the first segment, Colbert knocks on a cabin door out in the woods where Stewart has supposedly gone into seclusion. He is not aware that Trump is the GOP presidential nominee. It’s short and mostly an excuse for both men to do some spit takes.

On Thursday night, however, immediately after Trump’s acceptance speech at the RNC, Stewart not only returned but Colbert let him take over the host desk. He also let him go off not just on Trump but on Trump’s supporters, especially at Fox News, some of Stewart’s favorite targets in the old days.

It was a vintage Stewart rant. The man hasn’t lost a step, IMO, nor any of his outrage. And he knows his funny. It was classic Stewart delivery, too, and the return of his voice to TV. Aside from the scraggly beard and the t-shirt (adorned, for this segment, with a clip-on tie), the segment could have been Jon at The Daily Show. Colbert, aside from popping up once or twice, gave Stewart his head and it reminded me why I miss the guy and how much we need him now.

I have a feeling this won’t be the last Stewart appearance on The Late Show, at least between now and election day. I hope not. There are others filling the gap (especially Samantha Bee) but it’s not quite the same. I wants me some more Jon Stewart.

Man, do I miss that man.

Is Marc Alan Fishman Throwing in the Towel?

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It’s typically around this time of the year where I admit to you that I feel like giving up on comics. On reading them. On writing them. On drawing them. On attending the innumerous conventions. On being so far on the outskirts of the industry I want so badly to be right in the center of, it feels like the mountain between success and where I stand is nigh insurmountable. Truly from this vantage point, I can’t see even beyond the first plateau before reaching menacing storm clouds.

Why so glum, chum? Well, for starters… My own book, The Samurnauts: Curse of the Dreadnuts is just killing me. Between a full-time job, a plethora of freelance work, and two full-time children? My energy reserves around 11:30 begin to wane heavy. If I can ink a single figure in a night, I call it a victory. For those who play the home game, even know that Unshaven Matt Wright and I dedicate Friday nights to just Unshaven Work. But after we compare war stories of being husbands and fathers, after we go over what we did and didn’t catch on our DVRs (when we, you know, have time to even watch them), after we look at one another’s (lack of…) progress from the week before… well, we scribble, and scratch, and dream of the day the book is done.

Funnier still, we are all actually really wanting to start our next projects when this book finally gets done. Natch.

Beyond my personal book woes, comes the inevitable pangs of being far out of reach of the Mecca of comic-dom, the San Diego Comic Con. Unshaven Comics made one single attempt to get in, on a whim. We faintly heard the show-runners laughter booming from our south-suburban Chicago homes. To see the various postings, announcements, and general hilarity that spews forth from that geeky humanity bomb brings those deep seated resentments all indie creators must feel from time to time: Why not me?

And pair that with that that feeling where you’re elated for your fellow creators when they have a huge announcement (David Peterson’s Mouse Guard being greenlit for a movie, or knowing they’re filming Chris Burnham’s Officer Downe, or that Katie Cook is just minting mini mountains of money making work for Star Wars and some other properties she loves)… but then look back at your professional résumé and silently weep a bit. Natch.

It’s usually around this time I take stock of what all my little studio has accomplished. I look to the four complete Samurnaut books that have sold thousands of copies. I sift through memories of Baltimore, Charlotte, New York, Columbus, Kokomo, and Detroit. I bask in my Facebook Friendlist literally choked with true friends made solely because me and my two best friends decided to make comics and sell them. I inhale all of this slowly. Repeatedly. I squash those doubts, fears, regrets, and pains from my mind.

So we’re not in San Diego. Doesn’t mean we can’t do it next year. So Samurnauts isn’t minting us movie and merchandising deals. The first trade will be done in time, and ready for the public before the end of the year. Once that’s in our burly paws? Well, that’s when we can do more than dream. And when it comes to those jealous flashes from our friends and associates success; well, that’s met quickly with an old adage from the WWE locker room. “When those on top are over the most? Then it’s good for all of us.” The more comics continue to dominate TV schedules, movie releases, and merchandising meccas… the more demand there will be for more content. And so long as we believe that our content is worth the look? Well, we’ll be ready if someone ever does come a calling. And if they never do? Well I will still leave with thousands of fans, legendary friends, and a lifetime of memories.

With all that in mind? Consider the towel back on my shoulders. That’s the good part of being down. So long as you believe in yourself…

There’s always hope…

But for real, if Trump is elected, there’s no hope. Pack your things and meet me in Canada. FanExpo is great, aye?

 

 

Graphix to Publish Debut Children’s GNs by Contest Winners

scholastic_graphixappbanner_sm-959x225-e1422574656794-8457053San Diego, CA—July 22, 2016—Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education, and media company, has announced a contest to find talent to debut on its acclaimed Graphix imprint for children and teen readers. Graphix focuses on creator-driven books that bring exceptional art, rich content, and strong storytelling to realistic fiction, memoir, fantasy, and more. The Graphix imprint is committed to finding and championing new voices in the children’s graphic novel space. This contest will seek submissions from debut comic artists who are U.S. residents, 18 years or older, and who are unpublished and not currently under contract to publish a book with another publisher. Up to five winning entries will be selected to receive an offer to publish their work with Graphix and a $15,000 advance. The full contest rules and submission requirements, including information about what the Graphix editorial team looks for in manuscript proposals, can be found at the contest’s dedicated website: www.Scholastic.com/GraphixContest. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Void where prohibited.

“This search will expand our outreach beyond those already involved in the publishing world, giving us the opportunity to welcome new, innovative, diverse talent to our Graphix list,” said David Saylor, Vice President Creative Director, Trade Publishing, and founder and Editorial Director of Graphix. He added, “We look forward to receiving a variety of submissions across all genres, with strong storytelling and engaging art. Graphix is committed to publishing the next generation of graphic novels created just for kids and teen readers, and this nationwide contest is an exciting new way to attract submissions to the Graphix list.”

To help promote awareness of the contest, the Graphix editors will attend various conventions throughout the U.S. leading up to the April 1, 2017 deadline. They will appear on panels alongside some of the top graphic novelists published by Graphix. The first stop is San Diego Comic-Con on Friday, July 22nd at 12:30PM at the San Diego Convention Center in room 24ABC. The panel, titled You Can Be the Next Scholastic Graphix Artist, will feature bestselling and award-winning comics creators including: Jeff Smith, whose color editions of his epic BONE series launched Graphix in 2005; Raina Telgemeier, the #1 New York Times bestselling creator of the Eisner-winning Smile and Sisters; and debut author/illustrator Ru Xu, whose full-color graphic novel NewsPrints will be published by Graphix on January 31, 2017. Joining these talented graphic novelists in San Diego will be Graphix founder and Editorial Director David Saylor, Senior Editor Cassandra Pelham, and Editor Adam Rau to discuss what they look for when acquiring new work.

Submissions will be accepted via the dedicated website through April 1, 2017, and up to five winning entries will be announced on or about June 20, 2017.

Martha Thomases: Convention This!

1876-democratic-national-convention-6609428

What do you think about when you think about conventions?

If you’re a pedant like me, you might think a convention is a social norm.

If you’re a corporate type (sometimes like me), you think a convention is a trade show where industry insiders get together to discuss current developments in their field, while a variety of vendors try to interest potential new customers in their products.

If you’re a political junkie (also like me), you might think a convention is an event at which a political party nominates its candidates.

And if you’re a geek (again, I self-identify), you think a convention is a long weekend of panels, exhibits, cosplay and shopping.

As it happens, I enjoy all but the first of these conventions. My dad took me to a few shopping center conventions and I loved walking through the exhibit halls, considering new kinds of fixtures to put in the stores I imagined I owned. Once I went to a television convention where various studios shilled their programs for syndication, and I met Pat Robertson and Alan Thicke. And I used to love ABA, the convention for the American Booksellers Association, where bookstore owners planned their fall purchases.

This year, the political conventions of our two main political parties wrap around the San Diego Comic Convention. Can we tell them apart?

  • Both political conventions and SDCC involve huge numbers of people who have traveled great distances to be there. Some people are there because it’s their job, but most are just fans who aren’t involved in any of the decision-making.
  • Both star celebrities who are paid to be there. Both feature people marketing a current project and, maybe, auditioning for the next one.
  • Both disrupt normal city life for residents, who put up with it because the celebrants spend a lot of money.
  • Both seem to encourage people to dress up in outlandish costumes or, at the very least, funny hats. In both cases, some people do this more successfully than others. A lot of them do this well enough that strangers want to take photographs. Nobody does it well enough for me to want to give them any money.
  • Both feature mostly straight cis white Christian men, many of whom are thrilled to be part of the majority for a change.

There are significant differences, however.

  • Comic book conventions don’t have boring speeches that monopolize the entire space. Instead, there are several parallel programming streams, so that if a speaker can’t hold the attention of the audience, the audience will leave. As a result, comic book conventions are more entertaining.
  • Comic book conventions don’t attract protesters who carry guns. Not yet.
  • Many people who attend comic book conventions are thrilled to discover comic books that are new and different from what they expect.
  • Political conventions have a lot more places to sit.
  • Political conventions don’t have long lines at the bathrooms because people are using the stalls to change into more spectacular outfits.
  • The only late-night television host who makes jokes at Comic-Con is Conan.

I won’t be at any of these events, but I look forward to bitching about them from the comfort of my living room.

 

Captain America Statue Unveiled in San Diego

captain-america-statue-1-e1469042772601-2288771Glendale, Calif. – Since his creation in 1941 by Jack Kirby and Joe Simon, Captain America has gone through numerous evolutions, but  always remains as one of the world’s most influential and inspiring Super Heroes. Kicking off a new phase of the year-long celebration of 75 years of Captain America, Marvel Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media have unveiled a slate of heroic activations taking place at San Diego Comic-Con and beyond to honor the First Avenger, along with a wide range of celebratory merchandise.

Headlining the Captain America 75th anniversary celebration, Marvel has collaborated with high-end collectibles maker Comicave Studios to create a one-of-a-kind Captain America statue that will be displayed at the Marvel booth #2329 at Comic-Con International on July 20. Comicave Studios worked closely with Marvel artists in New York and a Brooklyn-based sculptor to design the bronze tribute, standing at over 13 feet and weighing 1 ton. The statue will continue to stand tall on the show floor throughout San Diego Comic-Con for photo ops with fans, and 1/12-scale bronze replicas of the statue will be available for purchase. Plus, a custom comic book was created by Marvel Publishing writers and artists to integrate the statue into new storytelling.  This one-of-a-kind comic will be available in limited quantities at San Diego Comic-Con and future Captain America events.

Following SDCC, the commemorative statue will journey via truck across the country to Brooklyn, NY – the hometown of Steve Rogers – for a limited engagement in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Fans can follow the truck along its cross-country route through photos on social media sites like Marvel and StyledByMarvel Instagram. The statue will be on display in the Children’s Corner of Prospect Park for a two-week temporary installation, kicking off with a dedication ceremony and community event on August 10th from 1-3pm. In the evening, a special viewing of the recent blockbuster film, Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War, will take place in Prospect Park as part of the culmination of the Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams’ “A Summer Movie Under the Stars” program, which will be airing four Captain America-focused movies every Wednesday from July 20th to August 10th.

“comicave-custom-comic-cover-e1469042815602-9770045To the rest of America and the world, he’s Captain America; to us, he’ll always be Steve Rogers, ‘just a kid from Brooklyn,’” said Borough President Adams. “Brooklyn is proud to be the base of celebrations for Cap’s 75th anniversary, which will be capped by a larger-than-life statue traveling around our borough — befitting of this larger-than-life character. Prospect Park is the place to be this summer to enjoy the Captain America!”

After the half-month stop in Prospect Park, the Captain America statue will move to the plaza outside Barclays Center on Atlantic and Flatbush Avenues for September, during which several Marvel fan activations take place. From late October through the remainder of the year, the statue will adorn the soon-to-be-opened Bed Bath & Beyond® in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Fans of all ages will enjoy a specially re-designed statue base, for heightened interactivity and photo opportunities with Captain America, as well as see and shop for a variety of unique Marvel items, including limited quantities of scaled replicas of the bronze statue itself.

“Since 1941 Captain America has remained one of the most influential Super Heroes in comic book history,” said Paul Gitter, senior vice president, licensing, Marvel at Disney Consumer Products. “He has evolved as a character throughout the years, but remains constant as a moral compass within the Marvel Universe and leader of the Avengers. The tribute statue and other activations are the perfect way to honor 75 years of this iconic Super Hero and to celebrate the borough of Brooklyn in New York City.”

Also joining the 75th celebration at San Diego Comic-Con are Marvel’s leading merchandise partners including Hasbro, Funko, and Jakks Pacific who will be commemorating “Cap” through new collectibles. As previously announced, Comicave Studios will also be offering different scales of replicas of the bronze statue itself at San Diego Comic-Con.  Additional licensees including Mad Engine, Mighty Fine, Freeze, C-Life, Her Universe, What’s Your Passion, Nick Graham, Café Press, Jay Franco, Kiddesigns, HJC Helmets and more will all feature new Captain America merchandise at major retailers this Fall.  These collections will highlight Captain America’s iconic shield and cover categories including apparel and accessories for kids, women and men, home goods, electronics, and toys. There will even be new Brooklyn-themed artwork available for a range of apparel and accessories.

Tweeks: SDCC 2016 Preview

 

Maddy & Anya are setting forth on their 3rd year covering San Diego Comic-Con International for ComicMix and as the Tweeks plan what to see and squee over, they share some of their picks for the best of SDCC 2016 for those lucky to hold passes, as well as those who are just coming down to the Gaslamp Quarter to soak in this crazy nerd fest.

Some topics covered are Wonder Woman’s Invisible Jet, Jeremy Jordan, Sherlock, Marvel, Chris Pratt, Anna Faris is Unqualified, Ghost-mode free Lyft rides, local geek theatre from Turning Tydes, Supergirl, Supernatural, the Yelp! Pokemon Go filter, Voltron, We Bare Bears, Steven Universe, Moana, Wynonna Earp, and Nerd HQ. We also sing.

Follow The Tweeks on social media for all kinds of Con updates, like which celebrities are #TeamAnya & which are #TeamMaddy, and the chance to win free swag at our booth appearances (otherwise known as when we need to charge our phones & sit down for a bit in the ComicMix booth).

 

Google Play Books Introduces Bubble Zoom

Bubble Zoom 2Last year, Google Play made it easier to find and read your favorite comics on your phone or tablet, including a new vertical scrolling experience. We wanted to use our other superpowers, like machine learning, to improve the digital comics experience even further. Machine learning is the technology that makes the digital things in your life more useful, like finding the right image in Google Photos by searching for “hugs” to “dogs.” So what happens when we bring our machine learning capabilities to the world of comics?Whether it’s reading up on the origins of Justice League or enjoying a reboot like Invincible Iron Man, we love our heroes and villains at Google and there’s nothing more thrilling than flipping through your favorite comic when the battle is on — THWACK!

At San Diego Comic-Con 2016, we just announced Bubble Zoom: a new way to read digital comics on phones and tablets. It zooms into the speech bubbles of a comic book one-tap-at-a-time, making them super easy to read on your mobile device. It’s much easier to read digital comics one-handed as Bubble Zoom automatically identifies and expands each speech bubble for readability.  No more compromising the full-page experience or getting lost while panning around.“Justice League (2011) Origin – Vol 1.” and “Invincible Iron Man Vol 1.” read using Bubble Zoom.

Bubble Zoom 1Bubble Zoom will be available on the latest version of Google Play Books app for Android as a technical preview with all Marvel and DC collected volumes supported. We’re also celebrating this preview with a 50% off sale on select DC Comics and Marvel comics in the Google Play Store — just use the code SDCC2016 by July 24th, 2016.

Rolling out today, you can upgrade Play Books and provide feedback on supported comic volumes in the app as this exclusive experience is only the first step. As we continue to teach our machines to read more comic book styles, our goal is to eventually bring Bubble Zoom to all the comics and manga ever made.

By Odin’s beard… go read some comics!

Posted by Greg Hartrell, Head of Product, Google Play Books

Dennis O’Neil: “Dell Comics Are Good Comics”

beany-and-cecil-150x221-6831849O bitterness! O shame! I devoted a lot of bandwidth last recently to blathering about Howdy Doody, a marionette who had his own, pioneering, television show, a kiddie show back when I was, in fact, a kiddie. Nothing wrong with that. No bitterness, no shame.

howdy-doody-150x210-5146086But… This bandwidth-waster is part of an enterprise devoted to comic books and I neglected to mention that our little bestringed buddy had his own comic book. It was published by Dell, which seemed to like puppets since it also had Beany and Cecil Comics, Rootie Kazootie Comics, and Charlie McCarthy Comics. (Okay, Charlie was a ventriloquist dummy, but isn’t that a kind of puppet?)

charlie-mccarthy-150x209-7868373Before I knew much about the business that put food on my table for about a half-century, I was even less aware of Dell than I am now. Actually, I’m not sure I knew what a publisher was, but there were these comics that didn’t feature Superman or Batman or any of the other costumed heroes that gave pleasure to warm afternoons when I didn’t have to endure the leaden misery of school. During those vacation days I read comic books and it is likely that I read some Dells, probably the ones about funny animals, the same funny animals that I sometimes saw at the picture show before the cowboy movie of the week began entertaining me. I doubt that I read any that featured Howdy, Beany, et.al. because I was getting interested in puppets and ventriloquism and wouldn’t I have remembered comics that combined my enthusiasms? Well, maybe not.

rootie-kazootie-150x211-4915152But about these Dells… they were different. And I wasn’t sure why then and I’m not sure why now, though if I actually examined one I might detect what give them their specialness. (I mean, I must have learned something all those years that I sat behind editorial desks.)

Later, after the witch hunting 50s, Dell’s titles seemed somehow above the fray, and in a way they were. Instead of sobbing mea culpa and joining the comics Code Authority like most of the other publishers that survived the persecutions – there weren’t many – Dell chose to ignore the censors. “Dell comics are good comics” the company’s slogan reminded its readers. This genteel rebellion had no effect, apparently, on sales. Dell continued to publish for years.

There is probably a lesson to be learned in all this, somewhere, but I’ll let you ferret it out. Whatever it might be, it probably has nothing to do with puppets, the ostensible subject of the current effort, and maybe nothing to do with bitterness and shame, but that might bear further investigation.

Why do people want to engage in censorship, anyway?

Ash vs Evil Dead hits DVD August 23

ash-national-3d-combo-packshots-e1469041895964-3925615From the creators of The Evil Dead comes a new STARZ Original Series, Ash vs Evil Dead. The STARZ Original series is the long-awaited follow-up to the classic horror film The Evil Dead.  The series is executive produced by Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, The Grudge), Rob Tapert (The Evil Dead, The Grudge), and Bruce Campbell (Burn Notice, Oz the Great and Powerful, The Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, Army of Darkness), the original filmmakers, and Craig DiGregorio who serves as executive producer and showrunner. Campbell reprises his role as Ash, the stock boy, aging lothario and chainsaw-handed monster hunter who has spent the last 30 years avoiding responsibility, maturity and the terrors of the Evil Dead. When a Deadite plague threatens to destroy all of mankind, Ash is finally forced to face his demons – personal and literal. Destiny, it turns out, has no plans to release the unlikely hero from its “Evil” grip. Bring the terror home on Blu-ray™ and DVD August 23, 2016.

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