Comic Geek Speak Supershow 2010

This past weekend we were lucky enough to be able to attend the CGS Super Show (CGSSS) held in Reading Pennsylvania. The Super Show is the comic convention come community get-together for the CGS podcast and associated folks of www.thecomicforums.com (who host many comic and podcast forums including the Geek Syndicate forums as well as our very own WFTT forum). This year the CGS crew were also celebrating their 5th Anniversary of starting to podcast, as well as recently having hit 1000 recorded episodes…which is one hell of a feat.

The original Super Show was held in September 2008 which I attended on my own, this time I was accompanied by my wife (and co-host) Ang and our son Lucas. Because of the community aspect of this convention it’s unlike anything I’ve experienced in the UK. Things kicked off Thursday night with a gathering at the home of one of the CGS hosts at which I got reacquainted with some old friends and introduced to some new ones.

The first official event was at a bar in West Reading on Friday evening and was absolutely packed. The entire top floor of the bar was given over to CGSSS and rammed full with wall-to-wall geeks. One great idea the CGS guys had was to sell pint glasses with a one-of-a-kind design for the show on them. I bought two and I’m hoping at least one of them makes it back to the UK safe and sound!

The show covered Saturday and Sunday and was at a factory turned Expo Centre in Reading. Unlike last year, this year’s event featured a selection of panels, but before I talk about those let me run through just some of the people in attendance:

• Walter & Louise Simonson
• David Petersen
• Jamal Igle
• Mike Norton
• Freddie Williams II
• Lee Weeks
• Harold Jennett (of Geek Syndicate’s very own webcomic!)
• Gabriel Hardman
• Bryan Glass
• Adam Withers and Comfort Love
• Danielle Corsetto

And a whole ton of others! At the very heart of Super Show are the artists, essentially CGSSS is an Artists’ Alley with a few retailers around it. Given this bias combined with the community aspect (quite a few of the creators are active participants on the forums) you also have the opportunity to pre-order sketches from some of the artists as well as getting amazing deals on the day itself. Because of the community aspect you find artists offering particularly low prices for Super Show and most are just in a generally good mood. Walt Simonson was doing free head sketches and both Lucas and I scored free sketches from Mike Norton and Andrew Charipar.

The area for the con itself is small-mid sized I would say, it was bigger than the shrunken Bristol Con last year but not quite as big as BICS. However there’s also not the superfluous retailers that sometimes clog up a con.

One unique feature of the show is the Crap Comics Trade-a-thon, the somewhat unfortunately named brainchild of Bill Hughes (host of Just Bill’s Comic Book Drawerbox). Essentially a few tables are set aside to allow people to bring and trade comics with one another. You could either make trades in advance or your could just leave a pile and take from other people’s piles. Remember one man’s crap comics is another man’s classics. The whole thing ran on the honour system (as our US hosts put it) which all the visitors respected. I brought about 15 trades and swapped them out for a bunch of others. Yes I could have sold them on ebay and maybe got a few quid for each but so much hassle and I’d never have been able to pick up these trades with the money. I would love to see a UK con do this, I think it could be brilliant…but it doesn’t make anyone any money so I’m not sure it’ll ever happen.

The panels were a fairly late addition organised by a member of the community.  We attended one hosted by the 501st Legion Garrison Carida (Star Wars costumers) and then Lucas was invited to help judge another panel, hosted by another GS contributor Amber Love, as DC artists Mike Norton and Jamal Igle as well as indie artist Dave Wachter were challenged with coming up with a new look for Mad Hatter.

I’m told by those who attended that the Simonsons hosted an absolutely wonderful 90 minute discussion and from popping my head round the door I could tell that the Great Grant Morrison’s X-Men debate was both heated and hilarious.

The 501st were out in force (pun intended), I’ve seen them at UK cons but never such variety. One absolute highlight was the Chewbacca costume which stood 7′ 9″ tall and had all been hand-made by the guy wearing it…now that’s dedication.

These guys and gals knew exactly what line to take with kids, when to play it in-character and be a bit mean, and when to play nicely to put scared children (and parents!) at their ease.

One other great guest was Pasquale the Balloonisimo, he’s a balloon artist who makes the most amazing balloon sculptures of comic characters. I’ve never seen these elsewhere and they are just stunning.

The CGS Glee Club ran karaoke at the bar on Saturday night but by the time that kicked off I’d escaped with some of the guys to a Hooters to watch the UFC pay-per-view (the sacrifices I make for geekdom!)

All in all it was a great weekend. Ang is hooked and says she’d love to come back next year and Lucas (who was the star of the show I reckon) says Super Show is his favourite…nuff said.

Advert Break – Pre-Order Nothing Shocking!

Looks like things over at Road Crew are speeding up. Not only has Tommie Kelly got his new Book collection NOTHING’S SHOCKING up for Pre-order from today but you can also pre-order Issue Two of the New Bi-monthly Road Crew comic FOR SALE! The Pre-orders are open for one week only and in this time you can a host of free bonus’s including Ecomics, Music downloads, free miniposters and all books/comics come signed. Not One to be missed, especially as the VERY SPECIAL EDITION of Nothing’s Shocking will only be available in this one week window. It contains ten extra pages, a variant cover and a nice big inked sketch from the author.

Multi-Author Signing this April at Forbidden Planet

Forbidden Planet are having another of their special Multi -Author Signings. This one will is to celebrate two brand new NEWCON PRESS anthologies.

Dave has attended a few of these events and has really enjoyed them so if you a fan of any of these guys(or even if you just a fan of the genre) then it’s worth putting in an appearance.

NEWCON PRESS PRESENTS…

Diary Date: Thursday 22nd April 5 – 7pm

FORBIDDEN PLANET is delighted to be hosting one of our famous multi-author events. To celebrate two brand new NEWCON PRESS anthologies, THE BITTEN WORD and CONFLICTS, at 5pm on April 22nd, Forbidden Planet 179 Shaftesbury Avenue, London will be playing host to: -

· Keith Brooke
· Eric Brown
· David L Clements
· Andy Remic
· Sarah Singleton
· Kari Sperring
· Sam Stone
· Ian Watson
· Ian Whates

This is a new-format signing, no tables, no queues – we open out the store floor and give readers a chance to meet the authors and talk to them about their work. An array of fantastic books will be on hand to be signed – including Ian Whates’ CITY OF DREAMS AND NIGHTMARE and Ian Watson’s ORGASMACHINE.

Also available will be special pre-publication copies of Andy Remic’s SOUL STEALERS, second book of his successful CLOCKWORK VAMPIRE series from Angry Robot Books.

Forbidden Planet, London is the largest store of its kind in the world. The biggest names in Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Comics have visited us for signing events, including: Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Terry Gilliam, Simon Pegg, William Gibson, Mark Millar, Guillermo Del Toro, Brian Froud and Stephen King.

For more news about our signings please go to: http://www.forbiddenplanet.com/Signings.html

Press Release – 2000 AD Launches US Graphic Novel Line!

So 2000Ad  are going to start releasing their awesome titles to our US cousins across the seas. This is great news as I know a lot of US folks who are going to love this news.

Check out the press release.

Judge Dredd takes on the US:
2000 AD announce the launch of US Graphic Novel Line

Oxford, UK

Today: Rebellion Publishing is pleased to announce the upcoming US launch of iconic British comic 2000 AD’s US Graphic Novel list this June. The books are to be printed in the United States and distributed by industry major Simon and Schuster. The new North America-only list includes classic collections, outstanding new work from the hottest up-and-coming talents as well as thematic compilations which collect the work of some of the biggest names in comics, such as Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, Garth Ennis, Grant Morrison, Alan Davis, John Wagner, Brian Bolland, Pat Mills, Mark Millar and many others.

2000 AD will be releasing two books a month, with the first two books going on sale June 15th 2010.
The first releases are:
• Judge Dredd Case Files 01, a 400 page collection of John Wagner’s iconic creation Judge Dredd – this starts an ongoing series of Judge Dredd collections which are already European bestsellers.
• The Complete D.R. & Quinch: Alan Moore and Alan Davis’ comedy masterpiece, featuring a new Alan Davis cover and excerpts of Alan Moore’s original script.

Founded in 1977, 2000 AD was acquired by the internationally-renowned independent video game developer, Rebellion, in 2000. In the ten years of its ownership, 2000 AD has gone from strength to strength, with the definitive Graphic Novel collections becoming best-sellers throughout the UK and Europe. Many of the biggest-names in comics today honed their skills and wrote their first important works within its pages.

For many years 2000 AD Graphic Novels have only been available in North America in highly sought-after imported editions through the direct comics-store market. 2000 AD has developed a large following in the United States, evident in the success the cult British comic has had selling out at every San Diego Comic-Con. This new list meets the clamouring demand from thrill-seekers throughout North America for Judge Dredd and 2000 AD’s roster of stellar characters.

Available from June 15th 2010
Judge Dredd Case Files 01 by John Wagner Brian Bolland, Mike McMahon, Carlos Ezquerra et al,
978-1-906735-87-6, $19.99 US, $27.00 CAN
The Complete D.R & Quinch by Alan Moore & Alan Davis – 978-1906735-88-3, $17.99, $23.99 CAN

GS Reporter: Nuge

Source: 2000ad

Toy Story 3 – Meet Chatterphone and Chunk

So here’s another batch of characters from the upcoming Toy Story 3.

A New Comic Festival Coming this April

It seems that there is another Comics show on the horizon in the form of the UniComics Festival which is taking place at the University of Hertfordshire.

Check out the press release below for all the info and check back tomorrow for some more details on some of the events taking place.

Iron Man 2 – Welcome to ‘Stark Expo 2010′

In the run up to the Iron Man sequel the media folks have started to roll out the viral wagon with a fancy website promoting ‘Stark Expo 2010′.

You can check it out here.

GS Reporter: Nuge

Knight and Day – Trailer 2

Cool dude, pretty lady, lots of guns, lots of explosions, lots of one liners…what’s not to like right? For some reason this trailer just left me cold which is weird as I usually love this kind of trailer. It was like it was trying, way too hard, to say ‘Look I’m this cool, hip and funny spy flick come see me’.

GS Reporter: Nuge

At the moment this is sitting snugly in my ‘wait for it to come on Sky Movies’ box. Let’s hope they can prove me wrong.

Two Geeks with No Name Podcast: Series 1 Empires: Episode 5 Oceanina

“After a brief schizo moment from Kehaar the Geeksyndicate networks Professors of Poncy-Poncy get to grips with the Superpower of Oceanina from George Orwell’s 1984. All the likely suspects are tackled but somehow Babylon 5, TNG, Original Star Trek, Idiotcracy and The Dark Knight Returns all feature in the ID parade.

Guests stars via e Power of Note by Intro-Girl and massive Tekker Girl.

Comments and feedback as always welcome.

Kehaar completed the Liverpool Half rathon in a not bad for a fat lad time of 2 hours and 7 minutes if you wish to sponsor http://www.justgiving.com/Andrew-Clark1 and remember if you give a man a fish it will feed him for a day, but if you give him a net he can start on a Sea Devil cosplay.

The Comic Forum project details are here http://www.thecomicforums.com/forum2//index.php?showtopic=166930

Direct download: TGWNN1-5Oceanina.mp3

Subscribe now to get Two Geeks with No Name Podcast and the other fantastic podcasts on the Geek Syndicate Network!

Best Star Wars Rap Video Ever!

Check it out here

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice – Official Trailer 2

I quite liked the first trailer and my opinion hasn’t changed much on the second trailer viewing. There’s some cool effects going on in there and after seeing him in Kick Ass I’m loving Nic Cage at the moment. Alfred ‘Dr Octopus’ Molina as the villain, yep all good with that. Not as sold on the actual apprentice but we’ll see.

GS Reporter: Nuge

Europe’s first on-console interactive show to launch 8th April

Future’s FirstPlay gets ready to launch on PlayStation 3

Debut episode of Europe’s first on-console interactive show on sale from 8^th April

30/03/10 – Future, the special-interest media group and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today confirm that FirstPlay – Europe’s only on-console interactive show – launches its first weekly episode on Thursday, 8^th April.

Available exclusively to UK gamers through Sony’s PlayStation 3 (PS3) console from the PlayStation Network (PSN), FirstPlay delivers brand-new high definition video reviews and previews every week, plus exclusive downloadable content and much more.  FirstPlay is delivered to your console for just 99p an episode. Money-saving subscriptions are also available for £8.99 a 90-day subscription.

FirstPlay offers gamers a whole new way of consuming media alongside magazines and websites, raising the bar with high quality production values, trusted editorial and interactive elements. FirstPlay unites the respected Official PlayStation Magazine team with a hand-picked group of TV and games industry veterans.

Introducing gamers to the FirstPlay experience, highlights in the first episode include the definitive verdict on Square Enix’s eagerly-awaited Just Cause 2 – rewarding viewers with an exclusive in-game item for use by Rico Rodriquez.  FirstPlay also gets to grips with Sony’s God of War III – showcasing the epic scale of the game in glorious HD and scores a revealing first-look at EA’s Fifa World Cup 2010 – due for release late April.

Bringing gamers closer to the biggest games for PlayStation 3, FirstPlay reveals its interactive gallery function, including screenshots and artwork from Formula One 2010, Ghost Recon: Future Soldier and Red Dead Redemption. Gamers can use each image as an XMB background wallpaper and also find out more about the games thanks to the accompanying audio captions.  With a vast variety of content available through the PlayStation Network, FirstPlay’s Network Highlights section brings a round-up of the latest PlayStation Minis, films and digital comics in a weekly package.

Tim Clark, Editor-in-Chief of FirstPlay, said:

“We’re tremendously excited to be finally launching FirstPlay, and to be bringing our brand of editorial direct to PS3 owners on their consoles. It will be an evolving service, but our focus will always be showing gamers the most exciting things on PlayStation systems.”

FirstPlay’s debut episode launches Thursday, 8^th April – and then goes weekly on the PlayStation Network store, costing just 99p or £8.99 per 90 days.

As a huge gamer one of the things I’ve always felt has been lacking in the UK is a decent gaming show on TV. I know there’s a wealth of gaming websites with news, reviews, videos etc but there’s something about an actual show that appeals to me.

I’m not sure how I feel about paying to watch a gaming show on my PS3 but as any kind of decent games related show is sadly lacking in this country I applaud the team at Future for trying to fill the void.

I’ll definitely be checking out the first few episodes to see what it’s like.

I’ll report back on my thoughts once I watched the first episode.

GS Reporter: Nuge

GS Exclusive – Creator of Primeval Confirms Filming Underway and Reveals Some Series Info!

Doing the rounds on the net today I saw that it had been reported that filming had begun in Ireland on the new series of Primeval. I figured rather than speculate I would go to the source and ask the man behind Primeval, Adrian Hodges. Not only did Adrian confirm that filming has indeed started but he also  gave us some exclusive  tidbits on what fans can expect from the new series.

Here’s what he had to say on the matter.

Yes, I’m delighted to say we started shooting last Monday and the other details as reported on digital spy are pretty much right so far as casting and timing goes. Needless to say I’m delighted we’re back in production – it’s been a hard and bumpy road to these new series but we’re glad we got there, as the show is doing better than ever worldwide and in my opinion has a long way to run. I can’t say too much about the new series yet, but I can say that while we’ll be retaining our “creature of the week” series format, we’ll also have a strong serialised element that will run right through both series 4 and 5 with a major revelation about the mystery behind the anomalies coming in episode 7 – which will be the climax of series 4.

Thanks to Adrian for taking the time to respond to us.

GS Reporter: Nuge

Kick-Ass : Creating the comic, making the movie

Ahh, the “Making of” book. For you kiddies out there, back in the days of VHS video if you were nerdy enough to want to know about the making of a film you didnt just pop in disk 2 of your special edition dvd, you went out and bought the making of book. And being a film anorak I have a pile of these dating right back to Dune and the original Crow movie (complete with cool pics of the Ghost Cowboy deleted scenes). But I can actually say this book is unique amongst all the others I have read. And the reason? Mark Millar.

You see whereas these books are usually written by a film journalist employed to hang around the set and put something together, this one is written by Mark Millar who as you probably know is the author of the comic book on which this movie is based. And as the movie and the comic were actually produced in tandem this book is as much about the creation of the print version as it is about the film version.

As a result there is almost no detail on special effects etc but lots on the writing process and the design work both by the movie team and John Romita Jr in the book. There are pages from Millar’s notebook showing how the story came together and how his creative process works, early emails between Millar and the director discussing the project’s shape and notes from the lovely (hey, shes a redhead) Jane Goldman on the scripting process.

Some movie purists might not enjoy so much time being devoted to the comic’s creation, and some comic purists might be annoyed to read how much the comic was geared towards its movie counterpart, but personally I loved it. Mark Millar out and out says that the movie people had some cool ideas and why the hell shouldnt he incorporate those into the comic if they work? Having read Kick-Ass I can say it doesn’t seem compromised in any way and from the look of the trailers the movie is equally out there.

I tore through this book fairly quickly, a sign of how much I enjoyed it, and was glad to find that unlike a lot of these books I have, 3/4 of it wasn’t taken up with a very spaced out copy of the shooting script. Some people like scripts in their making of books, to me it always feels like filler. As you would expect there are also areas devoted to the cast where you get their take on it all, but again what I enjoyed was Mark Millar’s comments on what it was like seeing these people bringing his characters to life.

This really is a making of book geared towards the comic fan.

Stars out of Five – Four. Maybe after I see the movie and re-read it, it’ll get bumped up to a five.

Dry Slaps – One… for the two pages which basically reprint blog entries from Chloe Moretz (Hit Girl) ‘s personal website. Reading pages of a 13 year old girl going “Im super excited.. its so cooool… you guys are AWESOME” in the middle of the book just weirded me out.

GS Reviewer – Richard McAuliffe

Doctor Who Series Five – First Images of the New Tardis Interior

So here’s the first look at the new refurbished Tardis, looks very bright and pretty. I still haven’t decided if I like the new look or not but time will tell. The thing however that I noticed straight away was stairs…stairs people. I hope this means we can expect to see a bit more of the Tardis interior in this series. Hell, I think you could set an entire adventure in the Tardis and that would be cool.

I’m really interested to see how this change happens in the show.

So can’t wait for Saturday now!

Head over to the Radio Times for more images!

GS Reporter: Nuge
Source: Radio Times