With all that out of the way, Wizard World Philly was a blast. In the four days it was open it managed to bring something new and interesting each day. The amount of people in attendence was tremendous. There were tons of artists who set up tables; from Greg Capullo to George Perez. This convention had celebrities out the wazoo; Stan Lee, Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, the original Buffy, Kristy Swanson, Melissa Joan Hart, WWE's Lita, CM Punk, Chris Hemsworth and the list goes on.
The cosplayers were in good taste this year, with an alarming amount of them dressed as Fin the Human from Adventure Time, including CBC's own, Hector Ramirez. There were various panels and programs; How to edit and write comics, How not to make a comic book, Jedi Weapons Training, Q & A with the various celebs and Sci Fi Speed Dating. The latter of which didn't pan out to well for most of the guys who attended. Sadly.. as expected.
In the end Wizard World impressed and exceeded my expectations. I can't wait to see what they throw at us next year.
I have to say. This one was tough. It came down to the Stegman variant of AvX #5 and Det. Comics #10. In the end AvX won out thanks to a little mystique and creativity. There was just something about the placement of the Phoenix Force across Hope's eyes and the way her attention sort of turned toward the camera/reader. And the tears... It just did me in. I would love to have it as a poster, without that obnoxious AvX banner Marvel is posting over everything.
The CoW this time around is The Flash #5. I'm the first one to admit that colors are my thing, particularly bright colors... Specifically, red, yellow and purple. This Flash cover has two out of three and they're awesome together. Like seeing a McDonald's sign after you haven't eaten in three days. The blur effects really bring the speed and sense of urgency to life. The contrast of the blue/green skulls in the background help to add to the mood; "Get there in time Barry or Death." I still miss the Hermes wings on the boots though...
This weeks cover is from Batgirl #5. The lure of this cover for me was the contrast between Batgirl and her background. The picture really captures the cold of a blizzard really well. The way the storm fades out the background architecture to near silhouettes, establishes a sense of isolation. It's just Batgirl all alone and this unseen assailant, who seemingly has already gotten a peace of her. The red from the blood and Barbara's hair are the most attractive things in the picture. The white scenery really helps the red pop.
Here are your news stories for this week. And oddly enough, not a single story from EIC Frankie Rodriguez.
Return of The Shadow
By Hector Ramirez
Dynamite Entertainment, like IDW, is known for bringing back old comic titles and revamping them has done it again with one of my favorite older titles. And so far, there have had ample success with such titles as Red Sonja, Vampirella, the Green Hornet and Zorro. Yet, this time, Dynamite is taking another classic hero from the early 1930s and bringing him into the 21st Century. The Shadow will be returning to comics this April and Dynamite Entertainment is pulling out the red carpet. The legendary pulp hero will grace pages in a new ongoing series thanks to the team of Garth Ennis and artist Aaron Campbell. Dynamite believes Ennis was born to write for The Shadow where as Ennis himself has admitted that he was on the list of established characters that he’s wanted to write for.
Garth Ennis said, "The Shadow is probably the last established character I like that I haven't gotten around to writing yet, certainly on this side of the Atlantic. It makes a kind of bloody, bullet-riddled sense: I always had a feeling our paths would cross sooner or later."
From radio hero to comic book hero, Ennis promises to leave his stamp on The Shadow.With Shadow having farther reach, now dealing with events that have worldwide consequences, this reboot has promise and I will definitely be following the series. The Shadow #1 written by Garth Ennis with art by Aaron Campbell will hit shelves this April.
Through the Eyes of Cap
by Darryll “YTC” Carter
Taken from the pages of Entertainment Weekly, Joss Whedon speaks about his approach to the Avengers.
“So much of the movie takes place from Steve Rogers’ perspective, since he’s the guy who just woke up and sees this weird ass world. Everyone else has been living in it,” says Whedon.
I don’t know about you guys, but I didn’t get enough of Captain America from his solo film. With the Iron Man franchise working toward its third film, I’m surprised Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) isn’t the keystone character of the film. It is good to see that the audience will be following the team’s leader, Cap. We look forward to seeing what Whedon does with Captain America in the film. The Avengers hits theaters near you, May 4th and select theaters in 3D.
Come May the “Second Wave” of DC’s new 52 will start when 6 current titles are cancelled to make room for 6 new titles. The following titles will be cancelled, “Men of War” ,“O.M.A.C.”, “Hawk and Dove”, “Mr. Terrific”, “Black Hawks”, and “Static Shock”. Although these books are being cancelled, their characters will be seen in other titles.
The new titles include, “Dial H for Hero”, “Batman Incorporated” “Earth 2”, “Worlds Greatest” “GI Combat” and “Ravagers”.
“Dial H for Hero” is about a magic phone that grants its users super powers when they dial ”hero.” “Ravagers” is a spin off of “Superboy” and “Teen Titans” involving the rogue agents from N.O.W.H.E.R.E. “Batman Incorporated” pits the Batmen from around the world against Talia al Ghul and her forces with Damian Wayne in the middle of it. “Earth 2” is the new JSA title done by the prolific James Robinson and artist Nicola Scott. “World’s Greatest” is the story of Earth 2’s Power Girl and Huntress stuck on our Earth. And finally “GI Combat” deals with the war time forgot.
Obviously there will be readers disappointed with some of these cancellations and I admit I’m not too thrilled about losing Static Shock. Another thing that catches my and possibly the attention of others is that they are introducing a revamped Earth 2 and a revamped JSA that should be interesting. Another interesting choice making Power Girl and Huntress Earth 2 characters I’d like to see how that plays out. DC has been doing great things(new logo excluded) and it seems it will continue with this new wave .
From Film to Panel: “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
by Darryll “YTC” Carter
Stieg Larsson fans rejoice. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is being redone again… But for a different medium; the graphic novel. The book is being published by DC Entertainment and has already been given a creative team.
Denise Mina will be scripting the book. Lee Bermejo is doing the cover, while Leonardo Manco and Andrea Mutti are on ink and pencils. Each member of the creative team has worked on a Vertigo (DC’s grittier label) graphic novel . Mina, Manco and Bermejo all worked on Hellblazer.
Karen Berger, executive editor of Vertigo had this to say about the creative team; “We’re thrilled to be adapting this incredible story into a series of graphic novels. Denise, Lee, Leonardo and Andrea have such great passion for the material and stylistically they’re a perfect match to bring it to comics life. Their beautifully dark and visceral work will certainly blow us all away.”
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a part of Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy. In the United Statesalone over 17 million copies have been sold. If the sales are any indication, we can be sure to expect DC to publish/produce the other two books as graphic novels in the future. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is marked for a November 2012 release.
As most fans know DC comics has changed their logo just a few years ago from the classic 4 stars in a circle around the DC to the current single star shooting around the DC. Well apparently DC has decided that it’s time for another change and I for one couldn’t agree less. The new logo will have a very plain D being peeled off of a very plain C. This is one of the most foolish decisions in marketing history. What gave them the idea that this logo needed changing the current logo is iconic. The new one sucks .
For more of EZ Rider, go here:
One of the few Tokusatsu Reviews I know. Great guy with a good set of reviews, a few countdowns and some specials. Tokusatsu is special effects in japanese but it is what the genre of live action stuff like Power Rangers and Kamen Rider Dragon Knight are based off of. Toku Time or Reviewtopia: Toku Time is where you can find him.
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In the end Wizard World impressed and exceeded my expectations. I can't wait to see what they throw at us next year.
