362 Days Until Comic-Con 2010

The 40^th Anniversary of Comic-Con came to an end Sunday. I had many mixed feelings for one, I'm still giddy over experiencing one of the true geeky moments ever. At the Blackest Nigh Panel Saturday, a fan asked if we could all repeat what occurred before the screening of Green Lantern: First Flight Thursday. We all rose as Geoff Johns lead the fans in the Green Lantern oath. I'm still kicking myself for not taking a photo of fans with their fist in the air charging their rings.

I am so happy that the drawings for the Green Lantern figures were done (managed to leave the convention center with all colors, but only one of the blue, anyone want to help?), for at least a year, we won’t have to deal with the drunken power hungry Elite staff (so rude!), but sadly, the weekend is over and it’s time to return home.

I managed to attend one last panel Sunday, Women of Marvel. Writers and artists for Marvel, Marjorie Liu (Dark Wolverine), Christina Strain (World War Hulk), Colleen Coover (Marvel Adventures,) Sonia Oback (X-Force) and Emily Warren (Secret Invasion). I originally thought this would be a discussion on such icons like Sue Storm or Emma Frost. Instead it was a talk about how women can get into the comic business.

Liu, who is a New York Times bestselling author, was an established novelist and broke into the comic business that way. She said that she came to her first Con and handed out a card. After three years of talks, she made it.

Other panelist talked how aspiring writers need to “do comics of your own.” You don’t need to seek an artist like Jim Lee either, since telling a story by drawing stick figures works too. Another pro said that comics don’t “have to be super hero” focused anymore, “can be adventure or slice of life.”

Women of Marvel Panel (Photo taken by Chris Carrera)

Strain answered the question of why not many women are in the comic industry, “the reason there isn’t women in comics is because there aren’t women looking.” She said most girls are holding their boyfriend’s place in line at Cons instead of getting portfolios reviewed. However, female artist in Europe are trying to get into comics in America.

X-Men #500 cover colored by Strain (http://www.pinkkryptonite.com/DodsonUXM500.jpg)

Strain spoke of coloring one of the variant covers of X-Men #500 where the ladies take center stage, heard of an article in which the author called the piece sexist and objectifying women. What the other didn’t know is that three women worked on the cover. Strain said, “You don’t have to save me from the evils of Marvel.”

With the next Comic-Con set for July 22, 2010, it’s very sorrowful, but at least I have time to save up for the possible raise in ticket prices and the rumor that Comic-Con might move to Las Vegas to accommodate the increasing amount of multimedia fan base.

The Greatness That is Geoff John

What do Adam West, Olivia Munn and Geoff Johns have in common? They are three of the celebrities we meet Saturday at Comic-Con. Geoff Johns is the writer for Blackest Night and Flash: Reborn, I knew who he was and during the first panel on Thursday, I hadn’t realize the magnitude of his greatness. I’m a freelance journalist and I just love the method of sitting down and writing. I’ve written short stories and poetry for classes and the journey an idea can take is something that still leaves me in awe, I hope that in fifteen years from now, I still feel that way.

Maybe that’s why I’m so entranced with Johns, in his panel for the Blackest Night, he talked about how Blackest Night is a very personal story for him, during a panel on Thursday, he gave advice on two books that up coming writers should read, A Writer’s Journey and Shot by Shot. It could just be the writer thing or the fact that after Thursday I found him very attractive, but when we ran into him at the DC booth after his panel for Blackest Night was out, I became giddy and overwhelmed when he signed my Blackest Night #1 comic and posed for two pictures, one I was included in. Thank you Mr. Johns for making this series and event so very important for comic fans and writers; this is the event that is changing my view storytelling.

Chris, Geoff Johns and I.

Marvel: Dark Reign panel had already begun when we arrived, would have made it on time, but ironically, we were in line to buy Hal Jordan figures (plus I won the ticket drawing to meet the hosts of G4’s Attack of the Show). The announcements were just wrapping up, but it was reviled that Nick Fury is coming to save the day in The List: Secret Warriors.

The Iron Man vs. Iron Patriot fight is coming said writer Matt Fraction, Tony Stark will be in his Mach 1 suit and at the lowest point in his life and Norman Osborn will be in a “tricked out” suit.

During the Q&A session of the panel, a fan asked what if Wolverine had killed the Skrull Queen at the end of Secret Invasion, what could have happened. The fan asked if Marvel if there were any plans to explore this idea in a What If one shot. Joe Quesada, Marvel Editor-in-Chief, said, “There is now.” Quesada went on to say that in the transcripts from the panels, suggestions are taken seriously.

A young fan dressed as the Vision asked very bold questions of the panel, his second question was when will all the heroes come together and say to Osborn that he “isn’t the man, Obama is?” This earned the fan, Christian, a spot on the panel next to Fraction. Fans then proceeded to ask him questions, what is he reading? What does he want to be when he grows up? Quesada joked that Christian would be signing later at the Marvel booth.

One big announcement that came from the DC Universe panel was that after Flash: Reborn is completed, Johns will be writing the new monthly book for the character. DC announced that they now have the rights to classic comic T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents. G4’s Blair Butler will be on the cover of Booster Gold #23 posing in a Gold Fan Club tee. Donna Troy, Dick Grayson and Mon El will head the new Justice League of America written by James Robinson. JSA All Stars was also announced and was said to tell why these heroes broke apart from the JSA.

Musician and comic fan, Scott Ian, was on the panel and was introduced as the writer for Lobo: Highway to Hell. Ian said, “Everything I’ve ever wanted to see is in this book.” Also breaking was that Teen Titans will get in a new leader in Deathstroke.

At the Blackest Night Panel a few key points where made: 1) Johns said that it’s “not about who’s dead, it’s about who’s alive” when it comes to the motives of the Black Lanterns. 2) It’s all about humanity. Primal emotions like rage to survive and avarice are present in the event then there are more complex emotions like love and hope. 3) Dex-Star, the Red Lantern rage kitty will be fighting against Krypto, Superman’s dog! I love the rage kitty! 4) The spread of dead heroes that Hal Jordan showed the Flash in Blackest Night #1 is very important.

Olivia Munn dressed as Emma Frost at the G4 booth. (Photo taken by Sylvia Quintanilla)

One of the largest lines Saturday was for the ticket winners of the Attack of the Show drawing. Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn signed autographs for two and half hours, before the signing, the duo were filming and interviewing for the show at a booth above fans down in the Exhibit Hall.

On our way to Artist Alley, we noticed white gloves and saw that Munn had dressed as X-Men beauty, Emma Frost. Munn also donned the costumes of Wonder Woman, Lara Croft, Harley Queen and Silk Specter.

That morning I had won the drawing to meet Munn and Pereira, I gave the ticket to Chris who had his Munn Playboy signed and Pereira signed her photo on the poster G4 had for them to sign as well as his name. Munn was apparently stunning in person and Pereira was funny.

Only one more day of our first ever trip to Comic-Con.

Munn at signing (Photo taken by Chris Carrera)

Blackest Night Insanity

There’s a problem at Comic-Con I’d like to share, I’ve
experienced this pandemonium first hand and am surprised that the local media
isn’t covering it.

The Comic-Con Exclusive of the Blackest Night Hal Jordon
action figures have caused such a ruckus at the Con that not even the lines at
Hall H come close to. For three days, Hal Jordon figures dressed as the Green,
Yellow and Blue Lanterns have been one of the main must haves of the Con. The
green figure had only 3000 available, yellow and blue had 1500 each, each day,
the line for the figures has grown as the amount available has shrunk.

People that I have meet in lines waiting to hear where the
ticket drawing will be, people being pushed around by over confident security
guards and staff, people that have been trampled and fallen just don’t
understand how the same problems have remained as the staff prepares day after
day for the same drawing.

Today for the Blue Hal Jordon, the Hope Lantern ironically,
a few people had been in line since 7:30 a.m. Friday, we arrived at 8 a.m. and
had a good spot in the “unofficial” line, thirty minutes later, and the woman
in charge broke us up, fire hazard being the reason. I guess when too many
vendors tell too many people to line up on the same floor, fire marshal codes
need to be enforced.


Fans waiting in line for the Hal Jordon ticket drawing. (Photo by Sylvia Quintanilla)

After two hours of false alarms of where the line for the
ticket drawing for a chance to buy a maximum of two action figures, at least a
couple hundred people where neatly in line, just like the lovely staff had
instructed us, the woman in charge vanished and a swarm of people followed her
outside the Salis Pavlion to a patio, they changed the
location, everyone who was in the neat line ran outside. I later learned a man
fell on the way out the door fell and hurt his knee. After the yelling and
threats died down, it was clear that the staff was making a point, this drawing
wasn’t for the fans, it was an opportunity to prove they control us. Later at
the Graffiti Designs booth, the vendor selling the figures said they weren’t
the ones who decided to make the tickets a raffle, the staff did and the
vendors dislike it too. Nice to know someone is on our side.

Three major panels were nearly back to back, first up was
Marvel: X-Men, hosted by X-Men group editor, Axel Alonso. Writer, Matt
Fraction, Dark Avengers/Uncanny X-Men: Utopia, said the ending for Utopia is
something readers won’t see coming.

Daniel Way,
Deadpool, said the next challenge for Wade Wilson will be to try and be a good
guy by joining the X-Men and joked, it “doesn’t go well.” Way said this asks
the question, “Can he be a hero at this point” or is there “too much bad
history?”

For Dark Wolverine, writer Marjorie Liu said Wolverine’s son
Daken learns that the “hero business isn’t as easy as he thought.” Daken will
be “taken down a notch” and his reaction will be interesting.

One of the biggest announcements of the panel was the return
of Magneto to the X-Men. September 2009, fans will learn where he as been and
what’s up his sleeve as Nation X begins in Uncanny X-Men.


Magneto is back. (Photo By Sylvia Quintanilla)

Two months later in October, Necrosha, an X-Force, New
Mutants and X-Men Legacy cross over begins that might rival DC’s Blackest
Night, 16 million mutants will return. “Wow” was heard from the audience, to
which on the panelist replied, “Suck it Blackest Night!” Alonso said, “Cheer
louder, (Geoff) Johns isn’t here.”


Necrosha (Photo by Sylvia Quintanilla)

Following the X-Men panel was DC: Batman: New Dynamic,
hosted by Ian Sattler. The identity of the new Batgirl was kept under wraps,
though jokingly panelist including Greg Rucka, Michael Marts, Paul Dini and
Dustin Nguyen “confirmed” that Bruce Wayne, the Joker and possibly even Anne
Hathaway could be suiting up in the new sexy Batgirl suit. Tony Daniels, Battle for
the Cowl, was
announced to becoming back to Batman for a few issues. “Substantial changes for
Gotham” have occurred in the last year said
Sattler, but they are so much more than Bruce Wayne no longer being Batman.


Dan DiDio at the DC Nation panel wearing the Red Lantern shirt. (Photo by Sylvia Quintanilla)

Dan DiDio, Senior VP/Executive Editor of DC Comics was the host for the DC Nation panel. DiDio had on all the lantern shirts, red for rage, yellow for fear, blue for hope, orange for avarice, violet for love, green for will and indigo for compassion. DiDio handed the shirt right off to the panel guest will the best reason for the
emotion. The best reasons included rage for the long lines at the Con, hope
(this answer really should have won) that Twilight never comes back to
Comic-Con again and love for DiDio, a man kissed the editor’s head. DiDio, as
well as Geoff Johns yesterday, mention his excitement of seeing people wearing
the different colored lantern shirts at the Con, the idea is “catching
on.”

Official Day

Eddie Berganza (left) hosted Spotlight on Geoff Johns (right) at Comic-Con 2009. (Photo by Sylvia Quintanilla)


The San Diego Convention Center is expected to house “140,000 people over the weekend” according to the KUSI News in San Diego, Calif.

I saw at least a couple of thousand were waiting in line for the Twilight Saga: New Moon panel at 1:45 p.m., I read on CNN.com that people camped out since midnight Wednesday to catch a glimpse of Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. Though I wasn’t able to get into the panel, I did get a Team Edward crown.

Missing out on the New Moon panel freed up my time to go to the Spotlight on Geoff Johns, the writer of the biggest summer event for DC Comics, the Blackest Night. Johns was very witty and told outlandish stories of his times as an intern and then assist to Richard Donner (Johns wrecked Donner’s “free car” on the Warner Brothers lot).

Johns announced that the projects he is working on are Adventure Comics, Superman Secret Origins, Blackest Night: Flash and the Flash movie. Speaking of the Blackest Night, during the Superman Panel, writer Greg Rucka confirmed he will be writing Blackest Night: Wonder Woman, what twisted enemy would like a word with her?

At the Superman Panel, it was said by a writer that the upcoming story arcs to all Superman universe titles will lead to a 2010 event.

Though Johns couldn’t say anything about the Flash film, he did give a great answer and possible hint for the story of the movie. When asked about the mass appeal of a Flash movie he said, “People are caught up in speed.” With everyone texting, checking e-mail and eating breakfast in the car, “people forget to slow down.”

Johns’ Spotlight, like most panels at the Con, was in a question and answer format. One answer to a sophomore in college majoring in journalism was simple yet great advice from one of comic books well known writers, you “just need to write.”

When asked if he’d taken on a Batman story one day and what he’d like to do, Johns replied he’d do a “grounded take on Batman,” and he’d “probably give him a yellow ring (Green Lantern reference, Yellow Lanterns instill fear).”

“I believe in the thematic of over coming fear” said Johns as the reason why he took the job of writing the Green Lantern. Johns added that people all deal with the theme. Johns said that he will not be “leaving Green Lantern for a long time.”

When asked about the intense violence in the Blackest Night, Johns responded “(I) don’t know what you’re expecting.” Adding that the event is “very story driven” and “is really emotional.”

Black Lantern rings were handed out at a table in the DC Comics booth, wearable rings are in all five Comic-Con Green Lantern Exclusive Collectibles as well (but why would you want open those?), Johns mentioned at his Spotlight that other colored rings will be coming soon.

Eddie Berganza, is an editor at DC Comics and hosted the Spotlight, recalled his first meeting with Johns saying it was at a Comic-Con years ago. Berganza said that Johns was enthusiastic then and still has that enthusiasm now. “DCU has become the Geoff Johns Universe,” said Berganza.












Catwoman, myself, Chris and Batman. Comic-Con, where you meet your heroes!

Preview Night

There should be an iPhone app, Where Are You at Comic-Con?


That was the first thing I heard after we received our
badges for the Con. A two minute wait for the badge, two and a half hours for
the wait to get into the Exhibit Halls for the Preview Night that was available
for Four Day Members and three hours of stunning art work and more waiting in
line and the random Playboy model.

The sight of thousands of people from all over the world was
very humbling. With the prices that comics can go for now, $3-$5 depending on
the series or event, you could sometimes wonder if it’s worth it. Seeing how
this “hobby” or lifestyle, whatever you want to call it, affects so many people
was something else. Fathers watch over their sons as they read #0 of the
Blackest Night, “Daddy, what happened to Batman’s parents?” This is a legacy to
pass on to generations.

The one of the main attractions to Preview Night was the
Graffiti Designs booth; there for each day of the Con, people could buy an
exclusive collectible of Green Lantern Hal Jordan as a green, yellow, red,
orange and blue lantern.

The catch? Tonight the Green Hal Jordan was limited to 3000 collectibles,
each person was limited to two and when we arrived after waiting in line for
two hours, our plan of getting the collectible first was derailed. The line
wrapped around twice, the tiny booth had the line capped off and people were
asked to return in 45 minutes.


I returned an hour later to try to get in the line for the collectible, people were pushing, and
others were courteous.. A man in the line waiting to get into the buying line
noticed hands waving frantically in the air. The overwhelmed exhibitors of
Graffiti Designs were handing out green tickets, a ticket guaranteeing one to
two collectibles. For the rest of the four days of Comic-Con, this booth will
hand out tickets for the remaining colors; I suppose they just figured it was
smart to start handing tickets out tonight.


I stand tall at 5’4”, a couple of people in front of me,
very tall gentlemen pushed and I teetered back, I’m not very graceful I would
have fallen over, goodie bags and all if it weren’t for a very nice man that
held me up. We both made it to the table where workers were handing out tickets;
the girl in front of us put her roll of tickets away and left. My friend asked
if we could just buy now, another worker and handed us tickets. My friend and I
both bought two collectibles each. I don’t know who that man was, but I’d like
to thank him again for holding me up in line and making sure we both received
tickets. The kinship of comic fans was well alive.



Here’s to getting a good night sleep and braving the crowds
tomorrow.

Six Days to Comic-Con 2009

Chris Carrera holds the variant issue of DC's biggest summer event, The Blackest Night #1
(Photo by Sylvia Quintanilla)

By Sylvia Quintanilla
For the Sun-News

LAS CRUCES ‹ For 40 years, comic fans, writers and artists have gathered in
San Diego, Calif., for the most anticipated comic convention, Comic-Con
International. The sea of costumed fans and incognito celebrities can be
found at the July four day event.

According to The Comic-Con Magazine, the convention "started in 1970 by an
enthusiastic band of comic, science fiction, and movie fans." The first Con
had just 300 people in attendance; in 2007 125,000 people were in
attendance. The yearly summer convention "has grown to become the country's
largest comics and popular arts event."

"I expect to experience the genuine feel of the comic book industry with
fans and publishers alike," said Chris Carrera, 21, a senior at New Mexico
State University.

The 40th Anniversary of Comic-Con will be the first time Carrera will be
attending. The exclusive collectibles and comics have had Carrera saving his
money for July.

"I'll be going as a Jedi for a couple of days," said Leah Traina, 19, a
sophomore at NMSU. Traina and her friend wanted to go to their first
Comic-Con last year, but "weren't able to pull it together." Traina and her
friend will also be dressing up as a few Marvel Comics favorites, the Wasp
and Scarlet Witch.

Traina, who read her first comic at 8 years old when her dad gave her his
"old of Calvin and Hobbes books," didn't really start getting into them
until four years later. Traina's favorite hero is X-Men's Gambit.

"I've been reading comics since I was three, but before I could read, I was
always entranced by the detailed works," said Carrera.

Carrera's favorite hero is Batman: "I've always had an appreciation for the
character's development and felt sorrow when the mantle of the cowl was
passed on to his protégé Nightwing."

Comic-Cons feature panel discussions from writers from DC Comics, Marvel
Comics and many more publishers. Movies of the sci-fi genre as well as comic
related are always a big draw at the Con. This year, the cast of the
Twilight Saga: New Moon will return to San Diego to discussion their highly
anticipated release.

Films have always been at the Con, according to www.ew.com, in 1976
attendees were shown "slides from a movie called 'Star Wars,' a year before
the film's release."

"I think comic books have had a great impact in bringing some Las Crucens
together," said Carrera. "The New Mexico State University Comic Book League
meets every week to discuss current events in the comic book universes."
Both Carrera and Traina are members of the League.

Las Crucen Alvin Diaz, 29, owner of The Cave Comics and Games, said fashion
and entertainment have affected Las Cruces; comic movies have midnight
releases at the Allen Theatres. Diaz said, "I see more people nowadays
wearing T-shirts and/or sporting tattoos of their favorite comic
characters."

Diaz, who has been to Comic-Con twice, said the event is important since it
helps comics. "It helps comics by bringing them into the mainstream," he
said. "Helps against the stigma that comics are just for the immature."

"Comic books are used as a world compass," said David Gibbs, 40, owner of
Dave's Comics and Games in Las Cruces. He said people have told him they are
better people thanks to the Green Lantern and Batman for their "code and
honor."

Comic-Con International will be July 23-26 at the San Diego Convention
Center.