I spy with my little eye, a comics convention!
Just walked in through the door, still huffing and puffing from the freezing uphill run to the house. Had one heck of a busy day today. I wasn't even thinking of going out - Hollywood was too far to go for a protest and I really hated the traffic getting there. Then late last night I was browsing scans_daily when someone mentioned Newsrama (ie news for comics website) was reporting from Wizard World LA. Wha-? A comics convention in my own city and I didn't know?
Holy crap, thought I, as I scrambled to look up the transit maps and make it to the show. I know. War protest = no. Comics convention = yes.
To be honest, I do want to be involved in the comics industry somehow AND I told Sal I would help her find out ways to break in for internships and such. Plus I thought it might help me be motivated for Script Frenzy, listening to writers and their work. Politics, however, is one of those things I can talk about but am wary of entering. Horrible, yes, and one day I'll explain. But let's glide over that for now.
Comics conventions are by definition the unholy meeting place for sci-fi geeks, comic nerds, and businesses hawking their wares. No, not really, I just made that out to make it sound interesting. Where Wizard World differs from Wondercon or the San Diego Comic Convention is that it's set up by Wizard Magazine. The comic news magazine is one of the most widely-read publishing tool, boosting awareness of the many different kinds of comics out there. In addition, Wizard's sister publication concentrates on the toy market (another focuses on anime). Therefore, at Wizard World there weren't any animation booths but there were plenty of comic heads and toy people. It's a more intimate affair than Wondercon, and most of the panels are dead simple: comics writing, how to self-publish a comic or screenplay, or company-specific interests. Through the weekend, there are plenty of anime episodes and anime movies screening as well but the crowd came to listen to the comics talent.
The first panel I attended was by Peter David, author of numerous Marvel and DC titles as well as Spy Boy for Dark Horse. I've also a lovely book by him called Writing For Comics With Peter David. It's the introduction to the basic structure of storytelling using the examples of comic books he's written. It may be old hat for some, but I appreciated the advice he has, especially for characterisation. His work is particularly character-driven, something I try hard to achieve. The last Nanowrimo novel had some good moments, but the cardboard stereotypical characters made slogging through the 50K words very tedious.
David hoped to get through characterisation and plot in the one hour he was allotted, but hadn't planned for anything outright. Instead, he lectured on what he felt was essential in creating characters or developing existing ones. He advised, don't be a dick and name characters after real life people (my words actually, not his). This is a good lesson to remember as famous comic guy Todd MacFarlane created a character named Tony Twist, like a real life hockey player, and gave his similarly named character some very terrible attributes. The real Twist sued MacFarlane and won. Me and Sal's old, old works have a character rather unoriginally the same as a dear friend's. The thinking was something along the lines of 'we'll immortalise you in print' . Yeah, but what if the character turns out really shady along the road? Something that may make people associate our friend with something unpleasant? Not a good idea.
Most of David's talk centered around writing superheroes. Fair enough, the man's signed to Marvel comics exclusively. Not being a Marvel reader, it was a bit weird listening to someone gush about Spiderman. After all these years, I still don't get what's so great about him. But David got the imagination going by trying to add a realistic touch to Spidey, for instance by adding a web gauge to his suit. What if Spidey ran out of web fluid in mid shot, swinging through the air? He'd need one then, wouldn't he? Then with the drastic moves so popular nowadays to gain sales, he urged writers to think long-term. Sure, kill off this one pretty important guy, but what happens in the next issue? How do you move on from that huge event?
Here's another thing: creating superheroes is fun. Isn't it? Go back to when you were a child dreaming of being like Superman. Then one day you thought, I could be the best superhero ever! Even better than Superman! But without the outside underwear. What powers should I have? I know! And then you'd list every cool possible powers there'd be: flight, teleportation, speed, x-ray vision (a fave of mine too) etc. And then you think of a name for yourself, something like Amazing Amanda! or Stupendous Girl! David suggests coming up with the character and backstory first, then with the powers and costume to complement that. Yeah, where's the fun? Well, this method makes for a more interesting character. For instance, Peter Parker, science nerd, is bitten by a spider. That's the first thing we learn. It's only after this event is explained that it makes the 'logical' leap to Spiderman with the powers of, you guessed it, a spider. Brilliant stuff, which is what's I was scribbling in my writing pad after this panel - but more on this later.
One great example David gave of group dynamics is the daddy of all superhero groups: the Fantastic Four. It can be summed up as such: the scientist, the muscle, the attention-grabber, and the maternal female. There's so much stuff going there, from the clash of personalities (intellectual vs strength vs brashness) to their powers (flow-y Mr Fantastic, Invisible Woman, down-to-earth and craggy Thing, and the bright heat of Johnny Storm). Get the balance right and you're set!
David never got to talk about plot. One last thing I remembered from his talk was a quote on Batman. Why does Bruce Wayne dress as a bat? 'Because he's bat-shit crazy'. Hahah, amen! I still love the nutter though.
The next panel was on colouring with Peter Steigerwald. Unfortunately, he hadn't his computer hooked up. Nothing came to help and the hour was spent answering questions from the audience. A bit of shame for me, because I know nothing about the work colourists do and wanted to see first hand the tools that were used. Nevertheless, the panel was still entertaining and informative. There are dos and don'ts, good practices, bad practices. For instance, it's far easier to cut the lineart into manageable shapes for colouring. That way, if someone doesn't agree with say the colour of a skirt, it's easy to go back, isolate that feature, and change. An audience member asked the more technical questions like how to make cigar/cigarette show up as more transparent, what tablet to get, a good scanner etc. I asked about references and good examples of colouring. He dropped a WHOLE bunch of names including Dave Stewart and Laura Martin. Steigerwald also mentioned one colorist for her work on the Batman titles, where for one panel set in the night she gave the door an orange colour. She couldn't remember what the reasons where, but it worked by heightening the drama. And all based on her gut feeling.
Other good materials, he suggested, could be a mannequin used to shine a torchlight on in order to eye where it's lit, looking around and concentrating on drop shadows, and the real life example of the Lincoln statue at the memorial in DC. He said there's a series of famous photos of the statue lit from different angles, where not done properly gives a thoroughly different vibe than that of the pensive, honourable figure we have. It's the simple things that add up, essentially.
After this panel, I thought about taking a break. A quick calculation doodle on the program however, didn't look likely for a bite to eat. I'd have to miss out on two panels, which were only a half-hour apart. I bit the bullet and headed for the self-publishing talk. A lot of the stuff mentioned here were the same as when I attended my first comics convention (Wondercon) in 2000: work with good artist to showcase writing, learn scriptwriting, market your work to stand out from saturated market, have good relationships with retailers, and come up with a business plan. What I wanted to know more about was the financial ins and outs, but one of the panelists (their main investor and business partner) had missed the flight and wasn't going to make it. The big difference now and then is the more viable and cost-effective webcomic, which was covered in the next panel. By then I'd had enough and decided to go out for food.
Yelp.com helped me find a nearby place with hummus and falafel. I'd hope to have the time to visit Phillipe's, birthplace of the french-dip sandwiches, but the lines on the weekends are long and the bus took forever. I decided to trudge through the wind and past sports fans towards the restaurant. First off I made a mistake of asking a traffic cop to point out a sign because he starting muscling in and asking about Wizard World. Before I knew it, I'd handed over my copy of Wizard magazine and he was asking for more free moolah. I said no, and ran to cross the street. Bloody hell. Only in LA. The winds nearly blew off my raspberry beret many more times that walk, and more dangerously, kept kicking up dirt and gravel into my eyes. Plus walking in LA, even in crowded-to-a-driver downtown LA, is no San Francisco. Bloody road and living blocks are HUGE.
On the way I back I met with a nice fashion student, helplessly trying to hold on her fabric samples in the freak gusts. People in LA do have a reputation for being surly, but once you get pass the shallowness we're really friendly. Honest. Take the bus driver this morning, he sang out the bus stops in a gospel fashion. Or the father and son who peppered me with friendly questions about comics as we crossed the road. Or the bloke who got out of a car and handed a lady in the bus stop his day pass because he wouldn't be using it again. We're classy, I tells ya. Well, not that copper.
Anyway, back at LA Convention Center, I had enough time to scope the exhibition hall. I wouldn't be visiting on Sunday, and I wanted to make the best of what time I had before more back to back panels. Amanda Conner, who is one of my favourite artists, was booked up again. Which is always a big, damn shame. If I ever get to the San Diego comicon I will be making a beeline to her booth first thing to ask for a commission. Then I found $0.50 comics and bought a dozen. My favourite of the bunch is Cadillacs & Dinosaurs. Don't know what that is? Watch this:
It single-handedly ignited my old love of paleontology and my newfound love of hot, classic cars. Yee-ha!
Finally, we're at the meat of Saturday's programming (sorry everyone else): DC Countdown to Crisis. If that means nothing to you, that's okay. It's basically the forum for DC comics to reveal upcoming projects and answer questions from fans. But it had special guest, Darwyn Cooke. God, I'm going to be embarrassed when I attempt to count how many times I have mentioned his name on this LJ. Anyway, usually editor Dan Didio plays King Fool but with Cooke in tow, there were plenty of genuine laughter-making from these two. Seriously, put the two on Broadway already.
First up, DC Universe Zero priced at $0.50. Yay? Hey, it's half a dollar, right? Priced so to thank for the fans who bought the weekly comics that comprised '52' and 'Countdown'. Uh, count me in if I had the money. I bought a couple of issues of Countdown. By couple, I mean 2. And only for the last few pages reserved to spotlight a specific character in the DC Universe. This new Zero book will have some plot ends tied up, and new ones out there. Meh. What else am I going to say, other than I'll buy it?
James Robinson, most famous for his work on Starman (I don't care for Neil Gaiman's Sandman, but if you were reading this in the 90s but not reading Robinson's Starman, what the hell man?), and Bob 'Time Master' Wayne were the straight man of the panel. One of these days, I'm going to collect every TPB of Robinson's Starman, and pencil out a day to read it in its entirety. Back then, I used to borrow the trades from LA Public Library. It was always disappointing to learn some comic geek had borrowed the volumes out of order. Why would you borrow 2 and 4, but not 3, jerk? Back to the story at hand, Robinson was very fixed on getting through to the audience the things he was working on and his vision for the characters. For instance, Jimmy Olsen, who he envisioned as the best investigative reporter the Daily Planet has ever had in the future. Yeah, I snickered too. Then Didio cut in, saying Robinson had spoiled the ending of Countdown's fight between Olsen and Darkseid, leaving the poor man to look stricken. There was another moment like this where Didio would say that was a spoiler, and Robinson would stop in horror, but Didio was joking. Evil, evil man.
Robinson is also working on a new Justice League book. At first I thought, geez, another one? It's like offering yet another chocolate chip cookie at a bakery, except with some minute change, like sprinkles. Mmm... cookies. Er, but this one will bring in the justice (my words, not his). It's the group that handles those featured on the FBI's top list of fugitives, and they'll even go through time for justice. How many more times can I write justice? The members include one Green Lantern, Batwoman, Supergirl, Ray Palmer, Freddie Freeman, Starman, and a character Robinson promises we will love. Later on, an audience member asked if the premise of this new book isn't too similar to one already out in 'Batman and the Outsiders'. Didio explained the difference is that the Outsiders do what Batman wants. That's the sort of thing that bothers me. The idea that superheroes or guys in capes feel like they have the wherewithal to jump in and make decisions without any sort of supervision. That old adage, who watches the watchmen thing. But then there's always that giant suspension of disbelief with superhero books, isn't there?
There was a moment where Ray Palmer was announced for the new Justice League book and Cooke had to repeat the name. I guess he hadn't been keeping track of the DC current events. Apparently due to what's happening in Countdown he will no longer be known under that superhero name, but will retain a costume and shrinking things. There are a lot of things here, because I can't be bothered to cram in more geekery before I start to dress up as Jabba the Hutt for Halloween. Anyway, at his confusion (?), Didio quipped 'Dude, get out of the Fifties!' This happened again when a fan asked about the young Kryptonian child (son of General Zod!) adopted by Lois and Clark. Cooke was heard asking, 'Who the hell is Chris Kent? Where have I been?' Aw man, it does really put the recent craziness into perspective. Who knew all those years ago that the stories would get so damn complicated?
Oh and one fan, dressed as Green Arrow (met previously in another panel and had a girlfriend dressed as Black Canary) made the mistake of starting his sentence with 'Jason Todd is one of my favourite characters...', and some people booed. Cooke jumped in and said 'You poor sonuva...' before we all roared into laughter. Jason Todd, second Robin, infamously killed by votes to a phone-in line. Distasteful death, but set ramifications for the Batman character and his interactions maybe for the better. But does the ghastliness of his death by fans mean it's okay to bring him back? Since reading, and re-reading, the trades of 'Under the Hood' I had grown attached to this bloodthirsty, all avenging Jason Todd. But the weird, neutered one that's in Countdown in miles away from what he was depicted upon re-entry into the DC Universe, it's kinda to the point where I want to off him myself. Enough with the mischaracterisation. Who is he supposed to be now? The fan wanted to know if Jason will have his own book. Answer: he will be featured heavily in some storylines, but no book.
Good news from Cooke is that he sees a return to The Spirit sometime, of which I am grateful. I'm sure my eyes and ears will be sorely abused by Miller's adaptation, and will need all the comfort I can get. Additionally, there's a 'Jonah Hex-goes-to-Canada-and-all-he-did-was-fight-with-crooked-Mounties' story. I'll probably get a copy for Sal; her and her Mounties. And an upcoming project with the Justice Society of America characters with Robinson. Hurrah!
A fan did ask about the continuity problems with the multiple books and weekly issues. It sucked when during Sinestro Corps a major character was in peril, but in the weekly he was obviously fine after that whole event. Suddenly buying Countdown was like buying spoilers. Not good. Didio did say they're trying to build month by month continuity (at which point Cooke's mocking laughter made everyone laugh). I guess after Sinestro Corps, they're making a priority on clearing that kind of continuity errors. People booed another fan when the only audible part of his question was regarding Marvel comics - it turned out he was asking about Captain Marvel, a DC character. Yeah, it's a pretty loyal crowd.
I asked if, with the Legion of Superheroes and The Batman shows being canceled (the former a great show, the latter not), their Johnny DC titles would be too. To my delight, the answer was no! In fact, DC Comics is building the children's lines with comics for boys and girls, and separately (I worry about this, girls comics be ponies?). The books include Legion, The Batman, Superfriends (don't laugh), Teen Titans Go, the adorable Tiny Titans, the Cartoon Network stable of shows, and a new one called Billy Batson & The Magic of Shazam. How cute is the art by Mike Kunkel below? (pic from newsrama)
I was also surprised to hear Cooke shout out 'Art Balthazar Rules!' Uh. Okay? Balthazar is the creator of the Tiny Titans book. So the book now has Cooke cred. Have I not posted Tiny Titans before?
After all the jokes that were made at Nightwing's former costume starting from nearly twenty years ago, it's still pretty damn awesome to see it referred to. And in a kid's book, no less. BWAHAHAH!
Cooke also mentioned wanting a project get-together with Jann Jones, she of the squeeing when Beast Boy Puppy is mentioned. That would so rock my world. Also, as it does seem weird that an adult like myself would continue to buy piles of Johnny DC titles, I should start to get some sprogs so I may have a legitimate excuse.
For your perusal, Newsrama's got their own account of the afternoon here. Trust me, or them, it's up to you. Oh fine, be like that will you?
After all that, I couldn't concentrate at the Co-Writer panel, even with all the big writing stars onstage. One of them reminded me of Ed Brubaker and my rather foolish grudge, causing me to slip out and just walk around the exhibition hall. I passed by a booth where a comic art caught my eye. Yep, it was Balthazar. But why's he drawn a cigar-smoking, beer-drinking alien? Bought it. As I rounded the corner, I saw a familiar style. I went and did a double-take. Yep, Todd Nauck! I just had to ask for a sketch. Whilst waiting, and trying not to feel intimidated by the loudspeaker that told us to buy our stuff and get out, I chatted with Nauck's lovely wife. She asked about my raspberry beret, Nauck added the part about the kind you find in a second-hand store, and I explained it a bit. I did self consciously wonder about my eyebrows at that point. Last night in a fit of boredom, I accidentally plucked too much. There's this huge sizable bald spot that I tried covering with eyeliner. I looked like Joan Bloody Crawford. It wouldn't wipe off, unfortunately. I tried rubbing it in, but ugh. Anyway, I was so surprised with the finished sketch that I said it was worthy of 'fangasm', which made the two laugh. Seriously, they are so very nice. See 'em at a convention? Drop by and ask for a sketch. It really made my night and will make yours too.
By this time I was absolutely knackered and had to wait forever for the damn bus in the freezing cold. Damn the weather. It was so bad that rather than wait 20 mins at the open-air transit center for the next bus, I jumped onto the outgoing one and headed out in a different direction from the house until it circled around. It took me three hours to get home, but I was well toasted by the warmth of the bus's heater. I took the time to reflect on what I had manage to scribble down during the day for Script Frenzy.
Good news is that I had fun figuring out Simon's (the protagonist) and his backstory. The bad news is finding out his backstory is way more interesting than the actual plot. I didn't want to write a drama, searching for roots story. I wanted a mystery story. This is why Chandler had basically no background info on Philip Marlowe revealed, other than through his mannerisms and the dropped hints. Now I have a choice of pursuing that drama, but since I'm thoroughly not in the mood for it, I'll have to start again with a better idea. And probably bring back a character from the NaNoWriMo novel. You don't see many mystery films with just one protagonist, do you? Aside from 'Chinatown'. I ain't writing 'Chinatown'. Heck, I ain't even writing Scooby Doo. We'll see.
Sunday, here I come! Joking, I'll be asleep the entire day. Wrapped up in the comforter, beside the heater.
PS Sal, didn't ask about DC internships. Sorry :(
Holy crap, thought I, as I scrambled to look up the transit maps and make it to the show. I know. War protest = no. Comics convention = yes.
To be honest, I do want to be involved in the comics industry somehow AND I told Sal I would help her find out ways to break in for internships and such. Plus I thought it might help me be motivated for Script Frenzy, listening to writers and their work. Politics, however, is one of those things I can talk about but am wary of entering. Horrible, yes, and one day I'll explain. But let's glide over that for now.
Comics conventions are by definition the unholy meeting place for sci-fi geeks, comic nerds, and businesses hawking their wares. No, not really, I just made that out to make it sound interesting. Where Wizard World differs from Wondercon or the San Diego Comic Convention is that it's set up by Wizard Magazine. The comic news magazine is one of the most widely-read publishing tool, boosting awareness of the many different kinds of comics out there. In addition, Wizard's sister publication concentrates on the toy market (another focuses on anime). Therefore, at Wizard World there weren't any animation booths but there were plenty of comic heads and toy people. It's a more intimate affair than Wondercon, and most of the panels are dead simple: comics writing, how to self-publish a comic or screenplay, or company-specific interests. Through the weekend, there are plenty of anime episodes and anime movies screening as well but the crowd came to listen to the comics talent.
The first panel I attended was by Peter David, author of numerous Marvel and DC titles as well as Spy Boy for Dark Horse. I've also a lovely book by him called Writing For Comics With Peter David. It's the introduction to the basic structure of storytelling using the examples of comic books he's written. It may be old hat for some, but I appreciated the advice he has, especially for characterisation. His work is particularly character-driven, something I try hard to achieve. The last Nanowrimo novel had some good moments, but the cardboard stereotypical characters made slogging through the 50K words very tedious.
David hoped to get through characterisation and plot in the one hour he was allotted, but hadn't planned for anything outright. Instead, he lectured on what he felt was essential in creating characters or developing existing ones. He advised, don't be a dick and name characters after real life people (my words actually, not his). This is a good lesson to remember as famous comic guy Todd MacFarlane created a character named Tony Twist, like a real life hockey player, and gave his similarly named character some very terrible attributes. The real Twist sued MacFarlane and won. Me and Sal's old, old works have a character rather unoriginally the same as a dear friend's. The thinking was something along the lines of 'we'll immortalise you in print' . Yeah, but what if the character turns out really shady along the road? Something that may make people associate our friend with something unpleasant? Not a good idea.
Most of David's talk centered around writing superheroes. Fair enough, the man's signed to Marvel comics exclusively. Not being a Marvel reader, it was a bit weird listening to someone gush about Spiderman. After all these years, I still don't get what's so great about him. But David got the imagination going by trying to add a realistic touch to Spidey, for instance by adding a web gauge to his suit. What if Spidey ran out of web fluid in mid shot, swinging through the air? He'd need one then, wouldn't he? Then with the drastic moves so popular nowadays to gain sales, he urged writers to think long-term. Sure, kill off this one pretty important guy, but what happens in the next issue? How do you move on from that huge event?
Here's another thing: creating superheroes is fun. Isn't it? Go back to when you were a child dreaming of being like Superman. Then one day you thought, I could be the best superhero ever! Even better than Superman! But without the outside underwear. What powers should I have? I know! And then you'd list every cool possible powers there'd be: flight, teleportation, speed, x-ray vision (a fave of mine too) etc. And then you think of a name for yourself, something like Amazing Amanda! or Stupendous Girl! David suggests coming up with the character and backstory first, then with the powers and costume to complement that. Yeah, where's the fun? Well, this method makes for a more interesting character. For instance, Peter Parker, science nerd, is bitten by a spider. That's the first thing we learn. It's only after this event is explained that it makes the 'logical' leap to Spiderman with the powers of, you guessed it, a spider. Brilliant stuff, which is what's I was scribbling in my writing pad after this panel - but more on this later.
One great example David gave of group dynamics is the daddy of all superhero groups: the Fantastic Four. It can be summed up as such: the scientist, the muscle, the attention-grabber, and the maternal female. There's so much stuff going there, from the clash of personalities (intellectual vs strength vs brashness) to their powers (flow-y Mr Fantastic, Invisible Woman, down-to-earth and craggy Thing, and the bright heat of Johnny Storm). Get the balance right and you're set!
David never got to talk about plot. One last thing I remembered from his talk was a quote on Batman. Why does Bruce Wayne dress as a bat? 'Because he's bat-shit crazy'. Hahah, amen! I still love the nutter though.
The next panel was on colouring with Peter Steigerwald. Unfortunately, he hadn't his computer hooked up. Nothing came to help and the hour was spent answering questions from the audience. A bit of shame for me, because I know nothing about the work colourists do and wanted to see first hand the tools that were used. Nevertheless, the panel was still entertaining and informative. There are dos and don'ts, good practices, bad practices. For instance, it's far easier to cut the lineart into manageable shapes for colouring. That way, if someone doesn't agree with say the colour of a skirt, it's easy to go back, isolate that feature, and change. An audience member asked the more technical questions like how to make cigar/cigarette show up as more transparent, what tablet to get, a good scanner etc. I asked about references and good examples of colouring. He dropped a WHOLE bunch of names including Dave Stewart and Laura Martin. Steigerwald also mentioned one colorist for her work on the Batman titles, where for one panel set in the night she gave the door an orange colour. She couldn't remember what the reasons where, but it worked by heightening the drama. And all based on her gut feeling.
Other good materials, he suggested, could be a mannequin used to shine a torchlight on in order to eye where it's lit, looking around and concentrating on drop shadows, and the real life example of the Lincoln statue at the memorial in DC. He said there's a series of famous photos of the statue lit from different angles, where not done properly gives a thoroughly different vibe than that of the pensive, honourable figure we have. It's the simple things that add up, essentially.
After this panel, I thought about taking a break. A quick calculation doodle on the program however, didn't look likely for a bite to eat. I'd have to miss out on two panels, which were only a half-hour apart. I bit the bullet and headed for the self-publishing talk. A lot of the stuff mentioned here were the same as when I attended my first comics convention (Wondercon) in 2000: work with good artist to showcase writing, learn scriptwriting, market your work to stand out from saturated market, have good relationships with retailers, and come up with a business plan. What I wanted to know more about was the financial ins and outs, but one of the panelists (their main investor and business partner) had missed the flight and wasn't going to make it. The big difference now and then is the more viable and cost-effective webcomic, which was covered in the next panel. By then I'd had enough and decided to go out for food.
Yelp.com helped me find a nearby place with hummus and falafel. I'd hope to have the time to visit Phillipe's, birthplace of the french-dip sandwiches, but the lines on the weekends are long and the bus took forever. I decided to trudge through the wind and past sports fans towards the restaurant. First off I made a mistake of asking a traffic cop to point out a sign because he starting muscling in and asking about Wizard World. Before I knew it, I'd handed over my copy of Wizard magazine and he was asking for more free moolah. I said no, and ran to cross the street. Bloody hell. Only in LA. The winds nearly blew off my raspberry beret many more times that walk, and more dangerously, kept kicking up dirt and gravel into my eyes. Plus walking in LA, even in crowded-to-a-driver downtown LA, is no San Francisco. Bloody road and living blocks are HUGE.
On the way I back I met with a nice fashion student, helplessly trying to hold on her fabric samples in the freak gusts. People in LA do have a reputation for being surly, but once you get pass the shallowness we're really friendly. Honest. Take the bus driver this morning, he sang out the bus stops in a gospel fashion. Or the father and son who peppered me with friendly questions about comics as we crossed the road. Or the bloke who got out of a car and handed a lady in the bus stop his day pass because he wouldn't be using it again. We're classy, I tells ya. Well, not that copper.
Anyway, back at LA Convention Center, I had enough time to scope the exhibition hall. I wouldn't be visiting on Sunday, and I wanted to make the best of what time I had before more back to back panels. Amanda Conner, who is one of my favourite artists, was booked up again. Which is always a big, damn shame. If I ever get to the San Diego comicon I will be making a beeline to her booth first thing to ask for a commission. Then I found $0.50 comics and bought a dozen. My favourite of the bunch is Cadillacs & Dinosaurs. Don't know what that is? Watch this:
Click to viewIt single-handedly ignited my old love of paleontology and my newfound love of hot, classic cars. Yee-ha!
Finally, we're at the meat of Saturday's programming (sorry everyone else): DC Countdown to Crisis. If that means nothing to you, that's okay. It's basically the forum for DC comics to reveal upcoming projects and answer questions from fans. But it had special guest, Darwyn Cooke. God, I'm going to be embarrassed when I attempt to count how many times I have mentioned his name on this LJ. Anyway, usually editor Dan Didio plays King Fool but with Cooke in tow, there were plenty of genuine laughter-making from these two. Seriously, put the two on Broadway already.
First up, DC Universe Zero priced at $0.50. Yay? Hey, it's half a dollar, right? Priced so to thank for the fans who bought the weekly comics that comprised '52' and 'Countdown'. Uh, count me in if I had the money. I bought a couple of issues of Countdown. By couple, I mean 2. And only for the last few pages reserved to spotlight a specific character in the DC Universe. This new Zero book will have some plot ends tied up, and new ones out there. Meh. What else am I going to say, other than I'll buy it?
James Robinson, most famous for his work on Starman (I don't care for Neil Gaiman's Sandman, but if you were reading this in the 90s but not reading Robinson's Starman, what the hell man?), and Bob 'Time Master' Wayne were the straight man of the panel. One of these days, I'm going to collect every TPB of Robinson's Starman, and pencil out a day to read it in its entirety. Back then, I used to borrow the trades from LA Public Library. It was always disappointing to learn some comic geek had borrowed the volumes out of order. Why would you borrow 2 and 4, but not 3, jerk? Back to the story at hand, Robinson was very fixed on getting through to the audience the things he was working on and his vision for the characters. For instance, Jimmy Olsen, who he envisioned as the best investigative reporter the Daily Planet has ever had in the future. Yeah, I snickered too. Then Didio cut in, saying Robinson had spoiled the ending of Countdown's fight between Olsen and Darkseid, leaving the poor man to look stricken. There was another moment like this where Didio would say that was a spoiler, and Robinson would stop in horror, but Didio was joking. Evil, evil man.
Robinson is also working on a new Justice League book. At first I thought, geez, another one? It's like offering yet another chocolate chip cookie at a bakery, except with some minute change, like sprinkles. Mmm... cookies. Er, but this one will bring in the justice (my words, not his). It's the group that handles those featured on the FBI's top list of fugitives, and they'll even go through time for justice. How many more times can I write justice? The members include one Green Lantern, Batwoman, Supergirl, Ray Palmer, Freddie Freeman, Starman, and a character Robinson promises we will love. Later on, an audience member asked if the premise of this new book isn't too similar to one already out in 'Batman and the Outsiders'. Didio explained the difference is that the Outsiders do what Batman wants. That's the sort of thing that bothers me. The idea that superheroes or guys in capes feel like they have the wherewithal to jump in and make decisions without any sort of supervision. That old adage, who watches the watchmen thing. But then there's always that giant suspension of disbelief with superhero books, isn't there?
There was a moment where Ray Palmer was announced for the new Justice League book and Cooke had to repeat the name. I guess he hadn't been keeping track of the DC current events. Apparently due to what's happening in Countdown he will no longer be known under that superhero name, but will retain a costume and shrinking things. There are a lot of things here, because I can't be bothered to cram in more geekery before I start to dress up as Jabba the Hutt for Halloween. Anyway, at his confusion (?), Didio quipped 'Dude, get out of the Fifties!' This happened again when a fan asked about the young Kryptonian child (son of General Zod!) adopted by Lois and Clark. Cooke was heard asking, 'Who the hell is Chris Kent? Where have I been?' Aw man, it does really put the recent craziness into perspective. Who knew all those years ago that the stories would get so damn complicated?
Oh and one fan, dressed as Green Arrow (met previously in another panel and had a girlfriend dressed as Black Canary) made the mistake of starting his sentence with 'Jason Todd is one of my favourite characters...', and some people booed. Cooke jumped in and said 'You poor sonuva...' before we all roared into laughter. Jason Todd, second Robin, infamously killed by votes to a phone-in line. Distasteful death, but set ramifications for the Batman character and his interactions maybe for the better. But does the ghastliness of his death by fans mean it's okay to bring him back? Since reading, and re-reading, the trades of 'Under the Hood' I had grown attached to this bloodthirsty, all avenging Jason Todd. But the weird, neutered one that's in Countdown in miles away from what he was depicted upon re-entry into the DC Universe, it's kinda to the point where I want to off him myself. Enough with the mischaracterisation. Who is he supposed to be now? The fan wanted to know if Jason will have his own book. Answer: he will be featured heavily in some storylines, but no book.
Good news from Cooke is that he sees a return to The Spirit sometime, of which I am grateful. I'm sure my eyes and ears will be sorely abused by Miller's adaptation, and will need all the comfort I can get. Additionally, there's a 'Jonah Hex-goes-to-Canada-and-all-he-did-was-fight-with-crooked-Mounties' story. I'll probably get a copy for Sal; her and her Mounties. And an upcoming project with the Justice Society of America characters with Robinson. Hurrah!
A fan did ask about the continuity problems with the multiple books and weekly issues. It sucked when during Sinestro Corps a major character was in peril, but in the weekly he was obviously fine after that whole event. Suddenly buying Countdown was like buying spoilers. Not good. Didio did say they're trying to build month by month continuity (at which point Cooke's mocking laughter made everyone laugh). I guess after Sinestro Corps, they're making a priority on clearing that kind of continuity errors. People booed another fan when the only audible part of his question was regarding Marvel comics - it turned out he was asking about Captain Marvel, a DC character. Yeah, it's a pretty loyal crowd.
I asked if, with the Legion of Superheroes and The Batman shows being canceled (the former a great show, the latter not), their Johnny DC titles would be too. To my delight, the answer was no! In fact, DC Comics is building the children's lines with comics for boys and girls, and separately (I worry about this, girls comics be ponies?). The books include Legion, The Batman, Superfriends (don't laugh), Teen Titans Go, the adorable Tiny Titans, the Cartoon Network stable of shows, and a new one called Billy Batson & The Magic of Shazam. How cute is the art by Mike Kunkel below? (pic from newsrama)
I was also surprised to hear Cooke shout out 'Art Balthazar Rules!' Uh. Okay? Balthazar is the creator of the Tiny Titans book. So the book now has Cooke cred. Have I not posted Tiny Titans before?
After all the jokes that were made at Nightwing's former costume starting from nearly twenty years ago, it's still pretty damn awesome to see it referred to. And in a kid's book, no less. BWAHAHAH!
Cooke also mentioned wanting a project get-together with Jann Jones, she of the squeeing when Beast Boy Puppy is mentioned. That would so rock my world. Also, as it does seem weird that an adult like myself would continue to buy piles of Johnny DC titles, I should start to get some sprogs so I may have a legitimate excuse.
For your perusal, Newsrama's got their own account of the afternoon here. Trust me, or them, it's up to you. Oh fine, be like that will you?
After all that, I couldn't concentrate at the Co-Writer panel, even with all the big writing stars onstage. One of them reminded me of Ed Brubaker and my rather foolish grudge, causing me to slip out and just walk around the exhibition hall. I passed by a booth where a comic art caught my eye. Yep, it was Balthazar. But why's he drawn a cigar-smoking, beer-drinking alien? Bought it. As I rounded the corner, I saw a familiar style. I went and did a double-take. Yep, Todd Nauck! I just had to ask for a sketch. Whilst waiting, and trying not to feel intimidated by the loudspeaker that told us to buy our stuff and get out, I chatted with Nauck's lovely wife. She asked about my raspberry beret, Nauck added the part about the kind you find in a second-hand store, and I explained it a bit. I did self consciously wonder about my eyebrows at that point. Last night in a fit of boredom, I accidentally plucked too much. There's this huge sizable bald spot that I tried covering with eyeliner. I looked like Joan Bloody Crawford. It wouldn't wipe off, unfortunately. I tried rubbing it in, but ugh. Anyway, I was so surprised with the finished sketch that I said it was worthy of 'fangasm', which made the two laugh. Seriously, they are so very nice. See 'em at a convention? Drop by and ask for a sketch. It really made my night and will make yours too.
By this time I was absolutely knackered and had to wait forever for the damn bus in the freezing cold. Damn the weather. It was so bad that rather than wait 20 mins at the open-air transit center for the next bus, I jumped onto the outgoing one and headed out in a different direction from the house until it circled around. It took me three hours to get home, but I was well toasted by the warmth of the bus's heater. I took the time to reflect on what I had manage to scribble down during the day for Script Frenzy.
Good news is that I had fun figuring out Simon's (the protagonist) and his backstory. The bad news is finding out his backstory is way more interesting than the actual plot. I didn't want to write a drama, searching for roots story. I wanted a mystery story. This is why Chandler had basically no background info on Philip Marlowe revealed, other than through his mannerisms and the dropped hints. Now I have a choice of pursuing that drama, but since I'm thoroughly not in the mood for it, I'll have to start again with a better idea. And probably bring back a character from the NaNoWriMo novel. You don't see many mystery films with just one protagonist, do you? Aside from 'Chinatown'. I ain't writing 'Chinatown'. Heck, I ain't even writing Scooby Doo. We'll see.
Sunday, here I come! Joking, I'll be asleep the entire day. Wrapped up in the comforter, beside the heater.
PS Sal, didn't ask about DC internships. Sorry :(