During our visit to the 2011 Long Beach Comic Convention, we bumped into (and thankfully didn’t slip) the Cannibal Banana. We asked what his deal was and he gave us details about the character’s motives, his potassium seeking goggles that help him with a deficiency, and weighed in on a hypothetical Twilight versus Jersey Shore battle.
It turned out the Cannibal Banana was just a booth banana for Sheika Lugtu (@OMGcow). You can check out her quirky online comic diary here.
Just when you thought meeting Stan Lee and Elvira was awesome, word on the street is that Mark Hamill will also be attending Comikaze Expo this weekend!
Just let that sink in for few seconds.
Guess what, tickets are still $12 for one day or $20 for a two day pass!
In case you don’t know (I really hope you do know who he is), Mark Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord Ozai in Nickelodeon‘s Avatar: The Last Airbender, and various other animated series, films, and video games.
Check his IMDB page or Wikipedia page for a full list of credits.
He’ll be there at the Sushi Girl Panel Nov 5th at 5pm! Room 306AB! I for one, can’t wait for this weekend!
Comikaze Expo is Los Angeles’ first and only large-scale, multi-media pop culture convention. Guests of honor include legendary comic book created Stan Lee, and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Additionally, there will be star-studded panels with artists, writers and creators and cast reunions from Nickelodeon’s All That and the Police Academy movies.
Comikaze also boasts independent film screenings, live shows, celebrity appearances, fan contests, games, portfolio reviews and even a masquerade ball. Expect this expo to be a bit different than your regular comic convention, as Comikaze seems to focus more on the community and culture.
Find more information on their website.
Tickets are only $12, but if you want discounted tickets, you can purchase them off of Goldstar.
Long Beach Comic Con – Lance Henriksen and David Finch are coming to Long Beach Comic Con on Oct 29-30, 2011.
I remember seeing Lance Henriksen spewing milk during his “death” scene in Aliens. Ever since then, I can’t drink milk without thinking of that scene. Of course, he’s been pretty active since that memorable film moment, appearing in many other movies, in TV series, even in video games.
In fact, LBCC is his last stop for his book tour of his biography, “Not Bad For a Human – The Life and Films of Lance Henriksen”. The book features art by several artists, including Eric Powell, Sienkiewicz, Mike Mignola, Tim Bradstreet, Ashley Wood, Kelley Jones and Tom Mandrake.
On the flip side, is David Finch who hasn’t worked in the film industry like Henriksen. He started out in Top Cow Productions on the popular Cyberforce title. Since then, he’s worked on various Marvel titles, such as Ultimate X-Men, Avengers, and World War Hulk. As of January 2010, Finch is signed onto DC as an exclusive artist. He’ll be writing and drawing a new series, “Batman: The Dark Knight”.
For more information please visit http://www.longbeachcomiccon.com/
On March 16 to the 18th 2012, Anaheim, CA is getting a new tenant and its WonderCon! Traditionally in San Francisco, Wondercon finds itself having to either cancel the show or move due to renovation at San Francisco’s Moscone Center. In reaction to WonderCon announcement, ReedPop’s C2E2, which has been waiting to announce dates for its own show in March 2012, will now seek alternative dates while Wizard World has announced that it will postpone its April 2012 Anaheim show to help alleviate an overcrowded calendar.
“It certainly was not our wish to move,” commented David Glanzer, director of marketing and public relations for the nonprofit event. “However, when faced with the prospect of canceling the show for a year or moving locations, after careful consideration we decided to keep WonderCon on the 2012 calendar at a venue that could accommodate our needs.”
Though I am a bit sad to know they had to move, I am happier to know that its moved significantly closer to home
For more information go to WonderCon Home page
Doomsday is coming August 31st, 2011 to the DC Universe! It’s the end of the universe as we know it! Sorry this isn’t the character named Doomsday, but this is a reboot of many of the franchises out there. How many you ask? Try 52 brand spanking new series! Okay so many of them are from the same franchise like Batman (Batman, Detective Comics, Batman: The Dark Knight, and Batman and Robin just to name a few). But you do have a name like Jim Lee as co-publisher! Likewise some folks get new shiny costumes!
Yes those are blue tights on the bottom, not red.
But what does this really mean though I’m not quite certain. Does this destroy 70 years worth of lore and streamlined to newer folks, or perhaps a different way of retelling a story without having to dig through priceless comic books that can’t be opened to retain its sell value? I can’t help but reflect what Marvel tried around mid 90s by rebooting various comics like the Fantastic 4 and the Avengers after Onslaught.. the idea was scrapped of course and any mention of it was considered an alternative reality. Perhaps the same may occur if it doesn’t do well and we’ll consider it Earth 3 or something.
Rebooting isn’t technically anything new, folks die one day and then resurrect the next time following (Jason Todd comes to mind), but a whole universe is another story! Some may find some form of success like the “Ultimate” series from Marvel, others may not. Smallville seemed successful (to some extent, but that was TV). It does raise questions about the current storyline that exist right now, do they continue or just a dream and filler for the reboot. Is Dick Grayson back to being Robin or does he continue on as Nightwing? Which Green Lantern is coming back first, Hal Jordan or John Stewart or do they both represent different sectors of the Green Lantern corp? In the end I can’t help but think of a computer when something goes wrong, the first question that comes to mind from any technician was, did you try restarting? Was it really broke in the first place? Guess time will tell.
For more information go to DC’s 52 Page
IDW today announced Kevin Eastman returns to the franchise he helped started, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Originally conceived by Eastman and Peter Laird in 1984 as a one-off parody, it ballooned into a cultural phenomenon, that includes multiple television series, four featured films, numerous video games, and a wide range of toys and merchandise. Being a kid in the 80’s you couldn’t help but be a part of turtle power!
Imagine my surprise to hear that Eastman had returned to his beloved franchise, after selling off his stake in the franchise in 2000, and will be co-writing, doing page layouts and providing variant covers. He will be assisted with his co-writer, Tom Waltz (Silent Hill: Past Life, Infestation: Outbreak) and art work by newcomer Dan Duncan. The first two issues will feature covers by Walter Simonson and Sam Keith, while Fred Hembeck will take on issues 3 through 5 with homage’s to the classic covers. Eastman himself will help provide some variant covers. The comics itself is a reboot of the franchise that features new storylines that they hope to bring to millions of fans.
I will be the first to admit however that I haven’t read much of the comics growing up, I remember my cousin had the first volume and we would read it and was completely fascinated with it but that was decades ago. The cartoon was iconic growing up and probably helped sell a ton of pizza in the process.
However one wonders does being away for over 10+ years take away any of the edge? Only time can tell but here’s hoping to a legion of new and returning fans of the “Heroes in a Half Shell.”
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES #1 ($3.99, 32 pages, full color) is now available in comic stores throughout North America.
MAD Event Management is proudly presenting their 2nd annual Long Beach Comic-Con (LBCC) on October 29 and 30th!
An annual event held at the Long Beach Convention Center each fall, it is a celebration of comic books and pop culture. Within you’ll find talented writers, artists, illustrators, and creators of all types of pop culture. Likewise you can also find exhibitors promoting and selling various products, guest signings, and meet and greet sessions with celebrities. Some of this years guests include Felicia Day (actress from The Guild), Amanda Conner (artist and illustrator of Power Girl and Atlee), and Stan Sakai (creator of Usagi Yojimbo) just to name a few!
There are a couple exclusives such “Zombie Hero Exclusive Print” by Arthur Suydam (Hero Initiative). Other events include the LBCC Masquerade Ball, various tourneys for World of Warcraft TCG and Magic the Gathering and more!
For more information please visit http://www.longbeachcomiccon.com/
Comic-Con has come and gone and we are a bit sad by that, but good times were had by all and this year was simply outstanding! What were your favorite moments? What costume/cosplay outfit stood out to you the most? Can’t wait to see more ?
We’ll keep you posted with our aftermath coverage but for now save the date for next year! July 12th to the 15th 2012!
For more information go to the official San Diego Comic Con site!