My Adventures at Wizard World Philadelphia 2013 Part 1

STAMPEDE!!! ... For John Cena on Thursday!

My Adventures at Wizard World Philadelphia 2013
 (Part 1)

DAY 1:

             Wizard World Philly 2013 was an adventure to say the least but definitely a fun outing. After taking the bus from where I reside to the Greyhound Station in Philadephia, I stepped out to enjoy the sun. With less than 2 hours to kill, I ran some errands and grabbed a little snake before the convention began. And was I ever glad I did.

            I hit the convention floor after communicating with BI’s own Hector Ramirez. As I and the rest of the press entered the hall, I saw people beginning to make a mad dash. Where to do you say? Well, it was Thursday at the convention. The first day. No one was really there but  … oh yeah, the Fruity Peebles eating, multicolored wearing, charismatic wrestler we know as John Cena. And when I say people were sprinting … they were literally running down the convention lanes to get to the line to see John Cena.

            After seeing that stampede roll by, I began to walk the convention floor. Merely 5 steps after I turned around, I noticed a very LARGE set up for Zenescope, with books ready to be sold and multiple staffers ready to sell them. The table was actually several, turned into a large cube for Zenescope’s set up. It was easy to see and it was in the main walkway of the convention. That was my first time on that table and ended up picking up the Godstorm trade paperback (for only $10 bucks= YEAH!!!) and the Neverland hardcover (for $20 … love it!). After that brief adventure, I began to walk down the aisle. As I passed more and more awesome things … like TARDISes (there were 2 there), the DeLorean, the Batmoblie, a GIANT Skeleton monster & even a great display full of figures … I made my way into Artist Alley.  And I saw a slew of artists … Greg Horn, Jerry Gaylord,  Bob Layton, Tom Raney, Bryan Turner and so many more.

            I stopped to go over and see my friend and BI’s own Jake Estrada, who had come up from Florida for the Convention. Jake and I chatted it up as he was wearing gear with the Broken Infinite logo on it … abet the old logo but still representing BI , yeah!  I had then met up with Hector Ramirez, who was excited and autograph crazed at the time. We ended up talking with Jake for a bit … and missing one of the panels I had planned to go to.  Whoops.

            After talking with some other people I knew (Scott Beach & Shawn Alleyne) and getting a good feel for the convention floor, it was nearly closing time. Yup. Time FLEW!  Hector and I shot pics and video and then the announcement for the show about to close was heard. After getting the feel for the con and talking with some creators, tomorrow was poised to be a great day.


---
                                    

Cobra Commander was Scouting on Friday & Saturday!

DAY 2:

            Friday had arrived. I was up early and was shaking off sleep when I met up with Darryll B Carter (Vice President of BI). After shooting a quick promo, which may show up later … we entered. There was definitely more people today than there was on Thursday. And it was exciting. I ended up walking around the tables, introducing Darryll to Jake in person and then we set off to do a few interviews. We lucked out as we got to spend a few minutes interviewing Tom Raney (That will get posted soon). After that, we got to talking with creator Scott Beach and I egged on Darryll to perform the interview. Darryll did me proud, doing an excellent job on the interview while I was the cameraman. Ah … I hadn’t been a cameraman in a LONG time.  Before I lunch, I was stopped by Cobra Commander who was asking me to join Cobra. He talked of World Domination and that Cobra was all powerful. I just smiled and walked away.

            We met up with Hector than journeyed to Reading Terminal for lunch. And boy, did we enjoy our lunch … Chinese food. Cooked in front of us. After we finished lunch, we raced back  Hector had ended up going to a Meet and Greet event while Darryll and I killed a little time. Our respected panels didn’t start till 5pm. As Darryll was looking at artists, I once again stopped at the Zenescope table. And as I looked over the $1 issues, I went back to the trades. Originally, I was going to pick up Grimm Fairy Tales vol 1, to kind of really get into the swing of it all. I had read a few of them but nothing in succession. And with news of their upcoming Animated Series (see my views on that in a separate post) … I kept looking at the Dream Eater Saga. A couple years back, I had done a news story on that very crossover event.  Yet, I had not picked it up. I had always promised myself I would. After a few more minutes of deciding, I grabbed both volumes of the crossover and resigned to my fate.

            After which, I stopped at one table and got a quick grab bag for a $1 which contained for different comics: The Lethal Foes of Spiderman # 2, Deadpool Team Up 897, Red Sonja # 65 and Action Comics # 875. Feeling good, I had met up with Darryll and Jake then rushed to the panel rooms. Darryll had decided to tackle Webcomics Bootcamp while I was going into Marvel: Breaking Into Comics the Marvel Way but as I went through the panel I found out some interesting information (which I will post in a separate article) that also may have helped me change my life . . .


TO BE CONTINUED  . . . 

1st Impression: SUPER BRAWL-CRONUS VS BLACK CLOUD Review

SUPER BRAWL: CRONUS VS BLACK CLOUD
Written by Scott Beach
Art by Stanley Weaver Jr, Shawn Alleyne & Blair Smith
Beach Productions


FLIPPING THROUGH:

            We start with our hero coming to another country in a devastated city. As he walks over to see only one victim still alive … long enough to see that last man die. Suddenly, Cronus is attacked by our villain who joins him on the Marquee, Black Cloud. And it’s pretty brutal from the get go. Black Cloud is seemingly faster, stronger and possibly, smarter than our hero.

            The battle is epic with damage, destroyed buildings and more. As the battle goes on, it is clear who the victor is and how much trouble the battle revealed for the future.


ART:

            The art this issue was really good. The edgy-ness of Alleyne’s inks really brings out Weaver’s pencils this issue. While there were little amount of characters, Weaver and Alleyne really do a good job of angle and sharp panel work. There is definite influences of anime and Superman fights in this that really show but are done with class and style that make it appealing. Classic tropes like WHAM were neatly seasoned over the story.

            There is a new age look with classic comic sensible. This was an epic better for the majority of the book and it was definitely stunning to look at. Blair Smith’s colors only amplified the intensity of the work, giving us a strong showing. The battles are kinetic. The backgrounds are good. And the anatomy is hyper realized. Real solid work from the art team. My only gripe is the pictures where it’s distanced away … some look good, a couple looked a bit off. Still, a solid job.


WRITING:

            You know, there is a lot of information in this issue that was missing. We don’t know what country Cronus was in. We don’t know the origins of  Black Cloud and Cronus. Yet, Beach makes the issue accessible with a brief synopsis of events and who Cronus is. Beach gives us a great classic comic book writing style with exposition in boxes done extremely well. We get to see the thoughts of our hero while also getting some sharp writing from Beach.  The book does not insult your intelligence as it gives you good narration as we watch a WAR between these two combatants.

            Beach created a mockingly, enjoyable villain in Black Cloud. He certainly seems like he’s smart and he loves verbally messing with his foe. The little moments at the beginning and end of personal reflection and seeing a bit of Cronus’s world does make it intriguing. For a first issue, while not telling us much, it did give us a lot. Grand battle between 2 strong, smart and powerful people. Cronus is a slave to duty while Black Cloud is evil for the sake of enjoying being evil.

            Dialouge felt natural. The  characters felt real. The battle was epic. The lack of quiet moments only hurts the book slightly as Beach gives you enough intrigue with the expositions, conversations and final pages of the book. I am looking forward to the next issue and Beach has made me a believer of Cronus.


OVERALL IMPRESSION:

            The art was very good, detailed and gripping. The story was balanced, intriguing and full of energy. While we don’t know much about the characters, the book left you wanting more. And the writing and art is something I think I would find in one of the Big Two. Overall, a class act with this book.


RATING:

            I give Super Brawl: Cronus vs Black Cloud # 1 an 8 … out of 10. Really good book if you like to see a clash of titans. Pick it up at www.cronuscomics.com

Wizard World Philly 2013 Exclusive: Interview with Scott Beach

Join Darryll B. Carter, BI's own Vice President, as he takes some time to interview up & coming indy writer Scott Beach on his book Super Brawl: Cronus vs. Black Cloud, and much more.
  Forgive the shaky camera. - Frankie