NYCC Gives Us Possibilities...

This image recently came from the NYCC. While it could be for anything from a comic book line to a new cartoon series, I'm hoping for new toys. As I've said in a previous post, the Micronauts are a personal favorite of mine. If they're coming back and it's handled right, sign me up!

Wizard and Toy Fare Magazines Both Officially Dead

Pardon the extra post this week, but I just had to jump in here with this after finding out the news.

Yesterday was no fun at all as I found out two of my favorite comic and toy-related magazines have just bit the bullet. Wizard Magazine and Toy Fare are both officially dead...as in "instantly". No warning, no explanation, just canceled.

While I'm the first to admit Wizard Magazine passed its heyday a year or more ago (thanks to the new format they adopted), it was still a highlight of my month to see it arrive in the mail around the 26th. I found a lot of really cool stuff in there, and especially liked some of the articles.

The real bummer here is the death of Toy Fare. I really just discovered the book in 2009 and had a subscription since (I had grabbed the occasional issue, but nothing constant until then). I can't count the number of statues and toys I've rushed to the computer to pre-order after seeing them in full-color in the book. They seemed to have a jump on Previews and just about anywhere else. I have no idea where to go from here to get my statue and toy news fix.

The unfortunate thing is that Toy Fare seemed to stay strong in content. While Wizard suffered and seemed to really just be printing filler crap there towards the end, Toy Fare consistently had good information.

All of this as Wizard Entertainment announced they'd be continuing the Wizard World Conventions...but now that they've killed the advertising monster they had every month in print I have no idea how they intend to get the word out there about it. They are still planning on going with a digital magazine called "Wizard World" starting next month, but I guess I'm still old school because I prefer my magazines in print. I don't mind reading blog posts and such, but an entire magazine on my computer doesn't appeal to me. And no, I don't own an iPad--and this won't be the thing that sways me to drop $600 on one either.

So now we have a gaping void out there. Who will rush to fill it...or has the internet truly killed the market for print magazines?

Wizard World Update and Shall We Play A Game?

This past weekend I went to Wizard World in Atlanta and I have to say it was amazing. Last year I went to the San Diego Comic Con, this year I've been to Imagicon, Dragon-con, and now Wizard World Atlanta and it was hands-down the best of the four. It wasn't as big as Dragon Con, but it was a true comic book convention. Every booth (except one) had comic books for sale, and the artists there were great. Ethan Van Sciver sketched me an incredible Batman that is now overlooking my stairway, and did I mention there were comic books? There weren't as many costumed folks there, but the ones that came were impressive too. No shoulder-to-shoulder aisle crushes or anything, just good clean fun. Khristian is going to hit more on that next week. He was able to score an interview with a major cast member from the upcoming Green Lantern film who wasn't listed to be there, but showed up anyway! 

For this week, I found this neat little quiz program and decided to throw together a crossword puzzle for you guys. Let's see how much of a comic book fanatic you are!

Time yourself and see if you can finish this in less than 5 minutes!

You can find the quiz page here! Then come back and post your time so we can see who the real comic fanatics are!

If you like doing stuff like this, let me know and I'll put together a harder one for the more serious fanboys out there.

Where Does He Get Those Wonderful Toys?

We hit CGC comics just a couple of weeks ago, so let's hit something else near and dear: toys! Action figures, accessories, vehicles, and secret bases...every little kid's dream.

As a recent visitor to 3 different comic book conventions this year, I've seen the frenzy toy collectors go into when looking for "that figure". You know which one I'm talking about. It's the one they need to finish the collection, or that rare one that everybody else seems to be searching for.

To make it worse, each package has to be perfect! If there's a single dent, split, tear, or crack in any part of it, it becomes worthless to the collector. Now keep in mind, these are the exact same guys who mercilessly taunted Beanie Baby collectors years ago.

When I was growing up, I never once considered the future value of some figure my parents bought me. I didn't lovingly cradle in it in its case and think, "I'll hold on to this for years and sell it someday." Nope, as soon as I got to the car with it that package was in a hundred pieces and I was having fun the way God meant that toy to be used!

Looking back on it now, I do realize how much those Star Wars, Mego Superheroes, and GI Joe figures would sell for today...but they were worth that much to me back then as I saved the world time and again from whatever super villain I happened to create. My grandmother would carefully sew costumes for my Mego figures which allowed me to have heroes like Nomad (the blue and yellow version), Stingray, White Tiger, and a lot of other characters that still haven't seen figure form.

Today I still collect toys, and I still open them to display them (some of the time). I have a fairly nice JLU collection, along with the DC Universe stuff. Marvel isn't having the best showing recently, but that's probably because they haven't had much come down the pike. Still, even with my desire to have a good collection of cool toys (at this moment, I am surrounded by 13 different Galactus figures and statues and I'm on a constant scan of Ebay for new ones), there are some lines I won't cross.

Spending $100 on a figure just doesn't grab me. Toys rock. Toys are cool. But they are still just essentially toys. They're plastic and paint. I've seen frenzied comic con fans go crazy trying to talk down a collector who has some special Batman figure for $125, and they end up paying $100 for it anyway.

I watched a guy at the SDCC this year telling someone else that he didn't have any money left to eat on, but at least he had this year's exclusive Green Lantern figure. My friends, to me that is going too far. While I'd love to get my hands on a Hal Jordan Blue Lantern figure as much as the next collector, I do value that whole "eating and paying the bills" thing more. Toys are meant to be fun, right? Hasn't Buzz Lightyear taught us anything in 2 movies?

Don't get so uptight! Why does it have to be perfect anyway? You're just going to either sell it to someone else, or stick it in a box in the attic somewhere.

The first season of "Big Bang Theory" had a wonderful moment that poked fun at comic geek collectors everywhere. Leonard is selling off his comic collection and his friends circle like sharks trying to grab the Golden Age Flash figure so they can complete the JSA collection. He holds up a Georgi LaForge action figure and threatens to open it if they don't get out of his way. Everyone treats this as a hostage standoff at that point. It's hilarious! And unfortunately, it's true for some folks.


So what about you? Does your heroic taste move beyond comics and into another area? What's the most important figure in your collection, or the one you'd most like to have?

Dragon Con 2009!

Well, as I write this we are packing up and getting ready to head home after a stellar weekend at our third comic convention of the year, and my personal favorite. Yes, we hit San Diego this year, but Atlanta's DragonCon remains my favorite. Here's why:

1. The costumes. For one thing, there are a ton of folks here dressed up as superheroes, and they are in costumes that show a love for the character. For the most part, you can tell a lot of time and effort went into this. Yes, there are those strange sword-fighting anime kittens and blood-drenched zombie accountants running around, but there are heroes that can sometimes catch you off guard. Despite their weak showing at SDCC, they ruled Atlanta.

2. The comics. Believe it or not, there were almost as many comic books available here as at SDCC. That's due mostly to the fact that the SDCC is covered with toy sellers, media presentation booths, and lots of other weird things. While I was only able to pick up one CGC comic this trip (I have a full post coming on CGC comics, so don't get me started), I bought it from Crazy Ed's Comics, and this guy actually gives you a reader comic of any CGC you buy, which I think is top notch all around. And the prices of the comics here are actually reasonable! There are dollar comic bins! These are things I missed at SDCC for the most part.

Unfortunately, the balance point is the lack of toy dealers. I was unable to get anywhere with my JLU figure collection (I didn't see a single one for sale here carded or loose), though there were a few goodies I was able to find tucked away between the fairy cosplay booths.

3. The celebrities. Another big wow factor here, but many of the celebrities from SDCC were here for autographs as well, and they were really nice and approachable for the most part. No, we didn't see Robert Downey, Jr. and none of the "Lost" folks gave us any clues for the upcoming season, but fans of older Sci-Fi shows were given a real treat. Malcolm McDowell, Leonard Nimoy, Patrick Stewart, and even William Shatner were here, so Star Trek fans could rejoice if no one else could. Battlestar Galactica (new and old), Smallville, Buffy, and a lot of others shows were represented with major stars, and the autographs were reasonable (and sometimes free!).

4. The artists. While those at the SDCC were charging $500 for sketch cards, these guys were charging $20 for custom drawings. Let me give you my highlight: George Perez, another of my favorite artists, sketched Galactus for me on a 10x6 card for $20! Want to wager a guess as to how much that would have cost me at SDCC from some of the guys there? Here's a hint: it would have involved 3 figures.

5. The lines. There were folks here complaining about the lines (and some events like the Leonard Nimoy/Patrick Stewart/William Shatner panel were blocks long) but for the most part everything was incredibly reasonable. If you needed to go to the bathroom, there was a stall open somewhere. If you wanted food, you could have it in your hands within 10 minutes (and still be paying mall prices for most of the food).

We waited two hours in one line for the "MST3K/Cinematic Titanic" panel, but that got us front row seats right in front of the panel (Trace Beaulieu, Mary Jo Pehl, and Frank Conniff). The highlight of the trip for me was easy to pick: Trace and Bill Corbett both signed my "Crow" statue from the MST3K 20th Anniversary set! That has now become my prize treasure of the trip (and I know that makes absolutely no sense to you if you're not a fan of MST3K and came here just for another comic book rant). It was well worth the time and effort.

If you're in the Southeastern part of the U.S., are a comic book fan, and aren't taking advantage of Dragon Con you really should. I heard several people saying they thought it would be slow this year because of the economy, but if anything there were more folks here this year than last year. Definitely a fun trip worth taking.

Next week, I blow the lid off a hot scandal of comics! Well, not really since there is no scandal, but we'll talk about it anyway. Put your deep thinking caps on for next week!

SDCC - The Rundown

Ok, so things have slowed down enough to gather my thoughts about the SDCC. Truthfully, it was a lot of awesome, a lot of aggravation, and a lot of amazement. If I ever went back again (doubtful, but you never know) I would have such a better game plan than this time around.

First off, I got to meet my favorite artist of all time: Neal Adams. I brought around about a dozen comics over the course of the weekend for him to sign, and will keep them all as treasures. My kids couldn't understand who he was, so I told them, "Think of him as my Alex Ross." Then they understood.

Last year at the Dragon-Con in Atlanta, Joel, Trace, and Frank from Cinematic Titanic were there and I got to see some of the MST3K cast live. Unfortunately, they didn't riff a movie live, which would have been a major highlight. However, at the SDCC I got to see Mike, Bill, and Kevin do a live riffing of a hilarious short called "Shake Hands with Danger", featuring some of the most gruesome construction accidents you could imagine in a training video. I had to keep reminding myself to watch the guys rather than the screen because this was a chance to see poetry in action. The next day my wonderful wife waited in line for me for almost 2 hours so I could slip in to take her place right before the guys started signing autographs (thanks, honey!). I got to meet-and-greet my favorite MST3K team and watch them riff live...major highlight!

To top it all off as far as the lectures go, I got to see my all-time favorite author in person: Ray Bradbury. I had no idea he was coming or I would have brought a book for him to sign as it ended, which would have been the pride of my library. Still, it was amazing getting to see him in person. His body is obviously giving out, but his mind is as sharp as ever when he speaks.

I got to meet my favorite Doctor Who: Colin Baker. That was a pretty nice treat. He signed the SDCC exclusive Doctor Who figure I had purchased. At the same time, there was some guy there with him that had something to do with Lord of the Rings, but I didn't recognize the name. The people around me were freaking out though with "Lord of the Rings meets Doctor Who! How cool!". I get the feeling I missed something important there. He's in the picture with Colin so if you recognize him, please tell me who I missed.

I also got to meet Adam West, who was just as cool in person as he seems on TV. I literally ran into Wesley Snipes and Joe Morton on the exhibition floor (fortunately, Wesley didn't go all "Blade" on me, but was really a nice guy). Lou Ferrigno was there looking just as big (if not bigger) as he was in his Hulk days. Gil Gerrard and Erin Gray from my old 80's "Buck Rogers" TV days were there (Erin looked the same as always, but I could have eaten lunch with Gil and never recognized him).

As far as shopping goes, I managed to find the Holy Grail of comic books that I have been searching for as a gift for my wife: Peanuts comics! Those things are harder to find than you'd think, but we managed to grab 3 issues from out of all the sellers there. It was like an Easter egg hunt for me.

I found out something equally important though: sellers will drastically reduce prices as time goes by. Day 1 everything is expensive. Day 2, it gets a little cheaper. Day 3 they're trying to cut each other's throats to get you buying stuff from them rather than the booths around them.

Finally, I ran into the CGC people and gave them 4 comics to be graded. It's my first time doing something like that (I've bought a lot of graded comics, but never turned any in from my own collection for grading). The pearl of the group I turned in is an old Deadman comic that I had just had Neal Adams sign. It'll be a month or so before they come back home, but that'll just give me something else to look forward to.

And finally...Things I Don't Understand About Comic-Con:

1. $20 for an autograph???? Your studio flew you there, put you in a hotel, paid your expenses, and you're charging people $20 to sign a book, comic book, or toy???? Guess what...the fans are the only reason people give a care who you are and they're the only thing separating you from the rest of the mob just milling about on the exhibition floor. Without the fans you're just that lonely guy sitting behind the booth trying desperately to get someone to read his "independent comic" or buy his "independent film". Treat people with respect and just sign your stinking name for free!

2. $6 for a hot dog???? If I were in a starving country trying desperately to conserve food, I could see this. But that's just wrong.

3. A line for everything???? You want a shirt? Get in line. You want a toy? Get in line. You want a $20 autograph? Get in line. You need to use the toilet? You get the idea. The only booth that gets real props from me for their "exclusive" toys sales was Entertainment Earth. The booth was always open and the line never got above 20 people because they kept it moving and had plenty of stock. I managed to get the Minimates, the Flash "Giants of Justice" figure, the Halo figure, and a couple of Twilight Zone bobble heads with no hassle. Thank you, EE!

4. How much for that artwork???? I understand you are an artist. I understand that a page from a comic book is considered art. What I do not understand is how anyone can say "Yes, that page is $12,000" with a straight face and expect anyone to buy it. I know Alex Ross is awesome, but please! And he wasn't the only one trying for those prices. It seemed like every artist there felt a baseball-card-sized drawing of Batman was worth at least $500. I definitely went into the wrong line of work.

Looking forward to Dragon-Con in September. It's a lot closer to home and to be honest it just seems more laid back. At SDCC you could feel the tension in the air as the crowds got so bad you couldn't even stop to look at anything, and there were surprisingly few people dressed up this year (at least where I was). Last year we walked into our hotel lobby for Dragon Con and saw the entire Justice Society standing there for pictures. Stormtroopers everywhere, major and minor superheroes galore, and a few rather imaginative costumes in there too. While I'm still not ready to dress up or anything, it's fun to see the time and effort others put into it. Great stuff!

So the SDCC was a wonderful experience all around. We really enjoyed it and are glad to say we had the experience, but I doubt we ever do it again.

Tune in Monday as we take a very special look at our "Blackest Night" Wish List!

San Diego Comic Con!

We're back! I know I said I'd have updates on a daily basis, but I was what is affectionately know as "a noob" when it came to this Con. I had no idea it was literally a dawn-to-dusk event that required hours of waiting in lines for literally everything and paying drug-money prices for hot dogs and pizzas! I have to say, however, that this was probably the highlight of the comic-collecting portion of my life!

I will have a full rundown on everything later this week after I've had a chance to unpack and upload some of the pictures I took. Let me just give you some teaser info: I got to meet and talk to my favorite comic book artist of all time, my favorite television heroes of all time, and my favorite author of all time! More on that later this week!

There was a lot of buzz going around that they were thinking of moving the Con to Los Angeles because the San Diego Convention Center was just too small to hold it all. I have to say that would be a good idea. This was my first time there, but the crowds were just horrible. The aisles were constantly packed and it was a continual upstream battle to get anywhere on the exhibition floor.

And if you wanted some "Convention Exclusive" toys you could forget it. Hey Hasbro and Mattel: if you know the Con is sold out and you know your "exclusive" toys are going to be selling like fire, why not make lots of them so we can all have them instead of just making a handful and letting people battle to the death for a ticket that lets them stand in a line that might get them a toy after a few hours of waiting, but then again it might not.

The exclusive Green Lantern figures were the worst of all. You had to wait in line for hours so you could reach into a bag with pink tickets or green tickets. If you pulled out a green ticket, you could buy a Lantern. A pink ticket got you the knowledge that you had wasted three hours of your life you'd never get again. People were selling them for $100 a piece on the floor after paying $12 for them. What a crock!

Before I go let me close this out by saying that if you haven't already pre-ordered the new Green Lantern: First Flight cartoon going on sale tomorrow, you need to do so. We saw it there and I have to say it's the best thing DC has put out in years! I've been collecting Green Lantern comics since I was a child and know his origin backwards and forward, but they managed to keep me wondering what would happen next. Get this movie!

More updates later this week!