Emerald City ComiCon 2010 Day One
This weekend is Emerald City ComiCon! I'm going to try and update for each Saturday and Sunday separately, as I completely failed at posting a write-up last year. I apologize up front for any inadvertant typos.
ECCC has a reputation as a low-key convention. Not so, this year. With Stan Lee, Leonard Nimoy and Geoff Johns (finally!) on the guest list, it was jam-packed and in the words of several tweeting creators "crazy busy". I found that was true for me, as well. In 2008 and 2009, I spent both days attending panels, getting a few commissions, doing a little shopping and actually talking with the creators. I had even had time for a leisurely lunch. This year, I spent Saturday attending two panels with no time for lunch, requested commissions, and attended two panels in between working my way through crowds and standing in lines. Next year, ECCC officially adds another day and will expand to Friday. It feels weird to be one of the grown-up conventions. O_o
I chose DC Nation over Leonard Nimoy (they were scheduled concurrently) because DC Nation is always fun and I actually had a question to ask. There's already a brief report on DC Nation posted over on Comics Alliance and reposted for discussion at noscans_daily. A major reason I chose to attend this panel is that in my experience, DC Nation is much more lively, fun and friendly than portrayed in the comics news outlets. So, here's my version of 2010's first DC Nation:
Never mind. I saved this section for last and now I'm completely wiped out. I'll try again tomorrow. It was FUN and interesting (According to Robinson, "Mon-El will be back in the Phantom Zone by War of the Supermen." *sniff*) I asked the Lian question and there was more to their answers than reported. Also, Geoff gave me a red ring "for my rage" and he touched my shoulder. *swoon*
I also attended the Green Lantern panel with Geoff Johns, Pete Tomasi, Doug Mahnke, Patrick Gleeson and moderated by group editor, Eddie Berganza.
They opened the panel with a rather boring slideshow, though several times Berganza would ask the artists what they thought of this page or that and they'd reply how nice it turned out. It was funny. :D
Then they opened the floor to questions and answers. I have little commentary on most of these, but in summary, the answers were: Geoff gave a really thoughtful response to why he chose the Black Hand as a villain - it involved Hal's "living in the moment" vs. Hand's obsession with death.
The announced Green Lantern Corps co-feature will not be implemented; instead the book will be thirty pages an issue. The artist will be Fernando Pasarin.
A young adolescent boy in a blue lantern costume asked, "Why did the Orange ring affect Hal immediately, yet the effect on Luthor was delayed?" (summary) Geoff gave another really thoughtful response: Lex lives each moment in avarice, so he's developed his own very strong sense of greed; whereas, Hal is living for others and therefore when he was exposed to the ring, it was like hitting an empty space and it just imposed it's will there. (bad summary)
Hector Hammond will have a big role in the upcoming arc and Cowgirl will return. The different color Corps will be working together - though they'll never be friends - after Blackest Night. The GLs will be exploring 2814, including going to Zudar and other new worlds. The next arc will have the characters going, "We made it through the book of prophecy, now what?" There will be more Book of OA and the ten new laws. The non-lantern heroes and villains given a ring in BN will maintain tenuous ties to their Lantern counterparts, but will not retain the rings.
Green Lantern Warriors will feature Guy as the lead and a supporting cast of "other strong GL characters". The book will be important to the lantern mythology and all of the lantern books will continue to tie into each other, telling different parts of the story.
[Yikes, I'm tired now - my apologies if this section is completely incoherent.]Some guy droned on about conspiracies in the government and did you know you can make a green lantern - it's just liquid nitrogen! Geoff politely asked him if he had a question.
MARK WAID ASKED A QUESTION! "Wouldn't it be great if Hal Jordan had another adventure in the 58th century? Possibly with The Flash?" (paraphrase) Geoff: Maybe.
Geoff completely failed at giving a reasoning behind Ray Palmer being a Compassion Lantern and Diana being a Love Lantern when the descriptions in their respective BN tie-ins seemed to indicate it would have been more appropriate for them each to have the other's ring.
There was a running joke with Pete Tomasi feigning offense at all the questions being for Geoff.
MY QUESTIONS! I asked if joy or sorrow would be incorporated into the story (as they seem to be pretty important emotions). Geoff said "no happy corps or sad corps" :( Then I asked that "considering Khufu is part of the source powering the Star Sapphires, will we see a male Star Sapphire?" To my utter shock, this question was met with hearty applause and shouts of "YEAH!" from male voices. Geoff said, "Maybe... keep reading." If they make Carter Hall a Star Sapphire I will squee to the heavens! *ahem* Then Geoff ruined it by saying perhaps men weren't capable of sacrificing for love.[/incoherence, hopefully]
Most of my day was spent commissioning sketches, though sadly Sean Phillips and Skottie Young both cancelled. No scans yet, but a report on what we're getting and artists' rates:
This year, Ashley and I decided to try for a Fast Pass from Tim Sale ($150). Damn, it was nerve-wracking! He took eight people today and we were numbers seven and eight. It was totally worth it, though. I now have an absolutely wicked Tim Sale Obsidian. The first time he'd ever drawn Todd, he said. I hope to have a scan up by Monday. While he worked, we discussed the neighborhoods we grew up in (adjoining!), baseball (specifically the merits and drawbacks of Mike Cameron in center field), and how Ashley and I got into the JSA. Tim was very personable and it was really interesting to watch him work. Ashley requested Ted Knight and Tim delivered a great version - Ted looks quite stern!
Colleen Coover has raised her rates to $40 a sketch (double last year's $20 price). I decided she was worth it and bough a really cool Harlequin (Molly Maynne) to go with the Alan Scott I requested last year. I also got a really cute Stargirl for my daughter. Ashley pre-paid for a full-commission Al Pratt and Al Rothstein concerning breakfast.
Dean Trippe charges $30 for a sketch, but we both asked for more than one person, so he charged us each $40 which I think was reasonable. He delivered a perfect Red Tornado (MA!) and the Cyclone Kids for me and a really sweet Sylvester Pemberton and Pat Dugan for Ashley.
Because Super Spy includes a story about a woman swimming the English Channel, Ashley requested Libby Lawrence and Johnny Chambers, breakfast and tension from Matt Kindt who charges $100 for a full-color 8x10 watercolor. The end result was literally stunning and prompted him to want to research the characters further. He said he really enjoyed creating it and liked the piece. :)
For pick-up tomorrow from Steve Sadowski, we have Michael Holt for me and Ted Grant (with golden age curls looking "like a pin-up") and (of course) breakfast for Ashley. He's charging $75 for a full-body sketch this year. Steve showed me a teaser of his Ted sketch and it's a shot from behind - it looks hot! Btw, his husband, Shane Rooks shares his table and sells some pretty cool prints for $5 - last year I purchased a print of this awesome Starman (Thom Kallor) from him.
Ashley and I also requested sketches from Stephen "JB" Jones who charges only $20 each for full-body sketches. She's getting a Cap sketch saying "Atomic Comics is great!" for her store and I'm getting Robin for my son.
Also for Ashley, we commissioned Jay/Alan in a romantic setting from Jo Chen ($50); Dian Belmont and Wes Dodds in his mask with (you guessed it!) breakfast from Jeff Lemire ($50); Courtney Whitmore from Pete Woods ($50); "Our" Rick Tyler ("You want this gay dude GAP model as this guy?") from Alex Maleev ($100); and Maxine Hunkel ($20) from this guy neither of us have ever heard of after we bought prints of his super-cute Captain Marvel. She also ordered a semi-commission (rather than a $20 head-shot sketch) of Sandra Knight from Dustin Nguyen.
We were too late for JH Williams III ($100) and Aaron Lopresti ($100). Dough Mahnke charges $80 for a head & torso, though I didn't make his line on Saturday. As they're studio mates, I imagine Patrick Gleeson's rate is similar - last year he charged $60 for my Alan Scott head & torso.
Phil Hester does headshots for free! Barry Kitson does full-body shots for free, but you'd have to wait in line (sometimes all day) to get it, so not for me.
There were still quite a few artists I didn't make it too - hopefully, it won't be so crowded on Sunday and I'll make better time.
Finally, toward the very end of the day, I had a nice little chat with Sterling Gates: Pete Woods is sharing a table with him and Sterling introduced himself as I was waiting in Pete's line. He asked, "like Lucy Lane" when I told him my name, then laughed and said, "only not evil." I explained how I was planning to come see him tomorrow with comics in hand, and that I had a little list of things to talk with him about Supergirl. He asked if they were good; I said, "progressively good." He asked me to explain, so I told him I had been reading Puckett's run on Supergirl and enjoying it, so I balked a bit at the immediate retcon of elements in the Reactron arc.
However, the "Guilding Day" issue is one of my favorite issues of any comic ever - it's so rare to see a Mother/Daughter relationship explored in comics - especially in such a touching manner. He enthused over Alura for awhile, explaining how he's tried to make her more stern than Robinson's and Rucka's version, as he's wanted her traits to give Kara both security and something to rebel against.
I told him I also enjoy Cat Grant and that I love how Lana has such a prominent role in the book. He asked what I thought of the fall-out in their relationship over the Insect Queen as he's heard split-opinions on that. I told him that I was okay with it, especially as it parallels Kara's relationship with Alura, but that I want her relationship with Lana to continue. He assured me it would.
SPOILERS OF SORTS: He's working on developing Kara's romantic relationship with Brainiac 5 and the next Supergirl Annual will feature a meeting with the Legion. He briefly addresses Kara's reactions to Owen Mercer's actions from Blackest Night: Flash with the authorial intent to distance her from him. Cassie Sandsmark will be making an appearance soon and he is very interested in exploring their friendship. The Super-books will no longer be interweaving after War of the Supermen and will lose their triangle numbering.
He's also pitched an idea that's been rejected that he hopes to get reversed: A one-shot team-up between Supergirl (Kara), Batgirl (Steph), and Wondergirl (Cassie) fighting the Queen of Fables. Sounds like fun! Be sure to let DC know if you'd want that book.
Adorably, immediately after talking with Sterling, I went to pick-up our sketches from Dean Trippe. After a few minutes, Sterling came up behind me (he'd been looking for James Robinson) and introduced me to Dean. He remembered my name even! :D
Sunday, I plan on actually talking with creators, attending Sunday Conversation (LOVE that panel) and perhaps the Superman panel, and hopefully getting a chance to shake Nimoy's hand and thank him for Star Trek.
ECCC has a reputation as a low-key convention. Not so, this year. With Stan Lee, Leonard Nimoy and Geoff Johns (finally!) on the guest list, it was jam-packed and in the words of several tweeting creators "crazy busy". I found that was true for me, as well. In 2008 and 2009, I spent both days attending panels, getting a few commissions, doing a little shopping and actually talking with the creators. I had even had time for a leisurely lunch. This year, I spent Saturday attending two panels with no time for lunch, requested commissions, and attended two panels in between working my way through crowds and standing in lines. Next year, ECCC officially adds another day and will expand to Friday. It feels weird to be one of the grown-up conventions. O_o
I chose DC Nation over Leonard Nimoy (they were scheduled concurrently) because DC Nation is always fun and I actually had a question to ask. There's already a brief report on DC Nation posted over on Comics Alliance and reposted for discussion at noscans_daily. A major reason I chose to attend this panel is that in my experience, DC Nation is much more lively, fun and friendly than portrayed in the comics news outlets. So, here's my version of 2010's first DC Nation:
Never mind. I saved this section for last and now I'm completely wiped out. I'll try again tomorrow. It was FUN and interesting (According to Robinson, "Mon-El will be back in the Phantom Zone by War of the Supermen." *sniff*) I asked the Lian question and there was more to their answers than reported. Also, Geoff gave me a red ring "for my rage" and he touched my shoulder. *swoon*
I also attended the Green Lantern panel with Geoff Johns, Pete Tomasi, Doug Mahnke, Patrick Gleeson and moderated by group editor, Eddie Berganza.
They opened the panel with a rather boring slideshow, though several times Berganza would ask the artists what they thought of this page or that and they'd reply how nice it turned out. It was funny. :D
Then they opened the floor to questions and answers. I have little commentary on most of these, but in summary, the answers were: Geoff gave a really thoughtful response to why he chose the Black Hand as a villain - it involved Hal's "living in the moment" vs. Hand's obsession with death.
The announced Green Lantern Corps co-feature will not be implemented; instead the book will be thirty pages an issue. The artist will be Fernando Pasarin.
A young adolescent boy in a blue lantern costume asked, "Why did the Orange ring affect Hal immediately, yet the effect on Luthor was delayed?" (summary) Geoff gave another really thoughtful response: Lex lives each moment in avarice, so he's developed his own very strong sense of greed; whereas, Hal is living for others and therefore when he was exposed to the ring, it was like hitting an empty space and it just imposed it's will there. (bad summary)
Hector Hammond will have a big role in the upcoming arc and Cowgirl will return. The different color Corps will be working together - though they'll never be friends - after Blackest Night. The GLs will be exploring 2814, including going to Zudar and other new worlds. The next arc will have the characters going, "We made it through the book of prophecy, now what?" There will be more Book of OA and the ten new laws. The non-lantern heroes and villains given a ring in BN will maintain tenuous ties to their Lantern counterparts, but will not retain the rings.
Green Lantern Warriors will feature Guy as the lead and a supporting cast of "other strong GL characters". The book will be important to the lantern mythology and all of the lantern books will continue to tie into each other, telling different parts of the story.
[Yikes, I'm tired now - my apologies if this section is completely incoherent.]Some guy droned on about conspiracies in the government and did you know you can make a green lantern - it's just liquid nitrogen! Geoff politely asked him if he had a question.
MARK WAID ASKED A QUESTION! "Wouldn't it be great if Hal Jordan had another adventure in the 58th century? Possibly with The Flash?" (paraphrase) Geoff: Maybe.
Geoff completely failed at giving a reasoning behind Ray Palmer being a Compassion Lantern and Diana being a Love Lantern when the descriptions in their respective BN tie-ins seemed to indicate it would have been more appropriate for them each to have the other's ring.
There was a running joke with Pete Tomasi feigning offense at all the questions being for Geoff.
MY QUESTIONS! I asked if joy or sorrow would be incorporated into the story (as they seem to be pretty important emotions). Geoff said "no happy corps or sad corps" :( Then I asked that "considering Khufu is part of the source powering the Star Sapphires, will we see a male Star Sapphire?" To my utter shock, this question was met with hearty applause and shouts of "YEAH!" from male voices. Geoff said, "Maybe... keep reading." If they make Carter Hall a Star Sapphire I will squee to the heavens! *ahem* Then Geoff ruined it by saying perhaps men weren't capable of sacrificing for love.[/incoherence, hopefully]
Most of my day was spent commissioning sketches, though sadly Sean Phillips and Skottie Young both cancelled. No scans yet, but a report on what we're getting and artists' rates:
This year, Ashley and I decided to try for a Fast Pass from Tim Sale ($150). Damn, it was nerve-wracking! He took eight people today and we were numbers seven and eight. It was totally worth it, though. I now have an absolutely wicked Tim Sale Obsidian. The first time he'd ever drawn Todd, he said. I hope to have a scan up by Monday. While he worked, we discussed the neighborhoods we grew up in (adjoining!), baseball (specifically the merits and drawbacks of Mike Cameron in center field), and how Ashley and I got into the JSA. Tim was very personable and it was really interesting to watch him work. Ashley requested Ted Knight and Tim delivered a great version - Ted looks quite stern!
Colleen Coover has raised her rates to $40 a sketch (double last year's $20 price). I decided she was worth it and bough a really cool Harlequin (Molly Maynne) to go with the Alan Scott I requested last year. I also got a really cute Stargirl for my daughter. Ashley pre-paid for a full-commission Al Pratt and Al Rothstein concerning breakfast.
Dean Trippe charges $30 for a sketch, but we both asked for more than one person, so he charged us each $40 which I think was reasonable. He delivered a perfect Red Tornado (MA!) and the Cyclone Kids for me and a really sweet Sylvester Pemberton and Pat Dugan for Ashley.
Because Super Spy includes a story about a woman swimming the English Channel, Ashley requested Libby Lawrence and Johnny Chambers, breakfast and tension from Matt Kindt who charges $100 for a full-color 8x10 watercolor. The end result was literally stunning and prompted him to want to research the characters further. He said he really enjoyed creating it and liked the piece. :)
For pick-up tomorrow from Steve Sadowski, we have Michael Holt for me and Ted Grant (with golden age curls looking "like a pin-up") and (of course) breakfast for Ashley. He's charging $75 for a full-body sketch this year. Steve showed me a teaser of his Ted sketch and it's a shot from behind - it looks hot! Btw, his husband, Shane Rooks shares his table and sells some pretty cool prints for $5 - last year I purchased a print of this awesome Starman (Thom Kallor) from him.
Ashley and I also requested sketches from Stephen "JB" Jones who charges only $20 each for full-body sketches. She's getting a Cap sketch saying "Atomic Comics is great!" for her store and I'm getting Robin for my son.
Also for Ashley, we commissioned Jay/Alan in a romantic setting from Jo Chen ($50); Dian Belmont and Wes Dodds in his mask with (you guessed it!) breakfast from Jeff Lemire ($50); Courtney Whitmore from Pete Woods ($50); "Our" Rick Tyler ("You want this gay dude GAP model as this guy?") from Alex Maleev ($100); and Maxine Hunkel ($20) from this guy neither of us have ever heard of after we bought prints of his super-cute Captain Marvel. She also ordered a semi-commission (rather than a $20 head-shot sketch) of Sandra Knight from Dustin Nguyen.
We were too late for JH Williams III ($100) and Aaron Lopresti ($100). Dough Mahnke charges $80 for a head & torso, though I didn't make his line on Saturday. As they're studio mates, I imagine Patrick Gleeson's rate is similar - last year he charged $60 for my Alan Scott head & torso.
Phil Hester does headshots for free! Barry Kitson does full-body shots for free, but you'd have to wait in line (sometimes all day) to get it, so not for me.
There were still quite a few artists I didn't make it too - hopefully, it won't be so crowded on Sunday and I'll make better time.
Finally, toward the very end of the day, I had a nice little chat with Sterling Gates: Pete Woods is sharing a table with him and Sterling introduced himself as I was waiting in Pete's line. He asked, "like Lucy Lane" when I told him my name, then laughed and said, "only not evil." I explained how I was planning to come see him tomorrow with comics in hand, and that I had a little list of things to talk with him about Supergirl. He asked if they were good; I said, "progressively good." He asked me to explain, so I told him I had been reading Puckett's run on Supergirl and enjoying it, so I balked a bit at the immediate retcon of elements in the Reactron arc.
However, the "Guilding Day" issue is one of my favorite issues of any comic ever - it's so rare to see a Mother/Daughter relationship explored in comics - especially in such a touching manner. He enthused over Alura for awhile, explaining how he's tried to make her more stern than Robinson's and Rucka's version, as he's wanted her traits to give Kara both security and something to rebel against.
I told him I also enjoy Cat Grant and that I love how Lana has such a prominent role in the book. He asked what I thought of the fall-out in their relationship over the Insect Queen as he's heard split-opinions on that. I told him that I was okay with it, especially as it parallels Kara's relationship with Alura, but that I want her relationship with Lana to continue. He assured me it would.
SPOILERS OF SORTS: He's working on developing Kara's romantic relationship with Brainiac 5 and the next Supergirl Annual will feature a meeting with the Legion. He briefly addresses Kara's reactions to Owen Mercer's actions from Blackest Night: Flash with the authorial intent to distance her from him. Cassie Sandsmark will be making an appearance soon and he is very interested in exploring their friendship. The Super-books will no longer be interweaving after War of the Supermen and will lose their triangle numbering.
He's also pitched an idea that's been rejected that he hopes to get reversed: A one-shot team-up between Supergirl (Kara), Batgirl (Steph), and Wondergirl (Cassie) fighting the Queen of Fables. Sounds like fun! Be sure to let DC know if you'd want that book.
Adorably, immediately after talking with Sterling, I went to pick-up our sketches from Dean Trippe. After a few minutes, Sterling came up behind me (he'd been looking for James Robinson) and introduced me to Dean. He remembered my name even! :D
Sunday, I plan on actually talking with creators, attending Sunday Conversation (LOVE that panel) and perhaps the Superman panel, and hopefully getting a chance to shake Nimoy's hand and thank him for Star Trek.