WonderCon: Talking with Cosplay Fans (Day 1)

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We love talking with fans. They all have unique backgrounds and stories to tell. Here are some folks we talked with on day 1 of WonderCon 2012

00:00 – Lady Loki tries to hold up her costume and says she loves the evil aspect about her character

01:15 – Sally Jupiter (Watchmen) loves her spunky personality and says she loved the movie even though there wasn’t a giant squid.

02:59 –  Introspective White Emo Ranger explains his character is lost in the UK and how he never gets respect. The man behind the masks discuss working at Knotts Berry Farm and watching his childhood memories go down the drain.

05:01 –  Darth Malgus from the Old Republic does a great job on his ongoing costume

06:37 – David checks out the Game of Thrones booth where they Photoshop your head on a spear

07:17 –  A generic steampunk fan explains the allure of steampunk and his addiction to conventions. He schools me on how dieselpunk differs from steampunk. Check him out at amberstreet.com

09:59 – Belle (Beauty and the Beast) likes her character’s intelligence and ability to find the beauty within. Check her Facebook page here 

11:21 – Genie (Aladdin) loves her character’s comedy. Esmeralda (Hunchback of Notre-Dame)  loves her character’s free spirited nature.

12:45 –  Archangel (as he turned by Apocalypse) loves his character’s look after turned by Apocalypse. He wants to see a Cable movie and reveals who he thinks should lead that role

14:18 – Ash Williams (Evil Dead) loves his character’s groovy attitude and one-liners. When asked about other characters he cosplays, he responds saying his girlfriend and him are working on Jessie and James from Team Rocket. Check out his web series Epic Online and his girlfriend’s charms at oborocharms.com

16:54 –  This fan takes pride in cosplaying Latino characters and decided to do Carlos Oliveira (Resident Evil)

18:27 –  Jill Valentine (Resident Evil) is a true gamer who loves independent characters. She’s a graphic designer that drew inspiration from the Metal Gear and Legend of Zelda series

20:07 – This young man proves all you need is passion to come up with a fresh interpretation of a comic favorite, Silver Surfer.

22:21 –  A luchador fan loves all the fantasy and theatrics of wrestling.

23:55 – The American McGee’s Alice takes a darker approach to the tale.

26:18 –  Dr. Who loves the series because they can revive the series and use any actor they want. As a history student, he hopes to teach or use his knowledge for law enforcement.

27:38 – Rainbow Dash loves her character’s cockiness. Her costume was took a great investment of time to make, especially the wig. Her and Princess Celestia share a story about having breakfast at a business convention full of serious professionals in suits.

29:25 – An ewok and Hawkgirl walk into a bar…

31:22 – Khaleesi Daenerys Targaryen (Game of Thrones) convinces me that I might be missing out on a great show

32:24 – Gambit decided to come to WonderCon all the way from Vancouver, BC.. As a costume maker, one of his most laborious projects was cutting out scales for an Aquaman suit.

Day 2 Photos of WonderCon

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As promised Day 2 photos, so many things to see!  Day 3 photos coming soon!

Photos and Highlights from WonderCon Day 1

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March 16th, 2012: WonderCon Day 1.

Despite the weather, it did not stop fans from coming out to the Anaheim Convention Center!  There was things to do, various objects to buy and people to see.

Here a couple highlights of the day and photos (listed in no particular order):

  • Meeting old friends and making new ones.
  • Various panels ranging from movie and tv previews and teasers to workshops on for scriptwriting and more.
  • Meet and greet your favorite celebrities, artist or writers and getting their autograph or work.
  • Game of Thrones Head on a Pike. It’s more exciting then it sounds, but getting your head photoshopped on a pike is pretty awesome!
  • Swag! Ranging from solving trivia to playing a multiplayer game of Kid Icarus on the Nintendo 3DS
  • Exclusive World Premier of Superman vs the Elites (which comes out on June 12, 2012).
  • Great costumes (despite the rain)!  There was even a Khaleesi from Game of Thrones with heart eating action!

We got more photos on the way!

WonderCon: Interview with Michelle Mauk

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Michelle Mauk and her sister, Tina, talked to us about her manga/comic influenced comics. Michelle spoke about her use of vivid colors and graphics to tell a story and gave of list of influences that included Katsuhiro Otomo, Moebius, and Tim Burton.

Michelle shared her insight on the digital revolution and the necessity for artists to come up with colorful content that grabs readers’ attention. She later offered some humbling advice to aspiring artists.

When asked about subjects she was on the fence about, Michelle talked about her attempts at creating superheroes but returning back to characters on the outskirts of society.

Check out more of Michelle Mauk’s work here and follow her on twitter: @michellemauk

WonderCon: Bay Area Ghostbusters

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Have you ever felt there might be something strange in your Bay Area neighborhood? Who would you call? The Bay Area Ghostbusters of course!

Rather than trapping ghosts, the Bay Area Ghostbusters help raise money for various local charities such as children hospital appearances, Relay For Life, and the Bay Area Food Bank.

It turns out that the Bay Area Ghostbusters are one of the younger pieces of a much larger pie that includes chapters located all over the world.

As far as their gear goes, it’s all crafted, not bought.

Learn more more about the Bay Area Ghostbusters here

WonderCon: Interview with Audrey Soffa

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The very chatty Audrey Soffa talked about her web comic, the Bunny System, where adorable things do horrible things. Who knew something so cuddly and cute could start getting into deep things like politics and emotions. She says her series is for those that love animals and violence but is kid friendly, save for some swearing and intimate contact.

Audrey also talked about her series, Sauce, where the main character screams “sauce” and throws up.

Some of Audrey’s influences include Charles Shulz, Bugs Bunny, and poetry.

Check out Audrey Soffa’s work here

Michael Bay’s Bombshell: Ninja Turtles are Aliens

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Platinum Dunes, Michael Bay’s company, is producing the new live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie on December 25, 2013. The kicker however is that the pizza-loving heroes in a half-shell will be even more than simply teenage mutant ninja turtles when they return to the big screen next year.

According to Bay, who was speaking at the 2012 Nickelodeon Upfront in New York last week, said that the Turtles are really aliens!

The internet is, of course, angry!  What do you think?

Source

Casa De Mi Padre

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Casa de mi Padre opened this weekend.  The film is in Spanish with English subtitles.  It’s about Armando Alvarez who’s a rancher in Mexico, his brother comes back home and not only brings along a soon-to-be wife, but criminal trouble.  Now put Will Ferrell and an overly dramatic telenovela (soap opera), in the spirit of Black Dynamite and you get the greatness that is… Casa de mi Padre.

The good; Will Ferrell, doing what Will Ferrell does.  You either love it, or you hate it.  For some, this might be classified as part of the bad, for me, it certainly is not.  Ferrell hams it up and plays to the audience, and he does it in Spanish.  What more could you want?

Well, you get Bernal and Luna who are typically serious dramatic actors, but now they’re doing that in a comedy and it just adds to everything.  I won’t ruin the ending, but there’s a slow-mo death scene that is hilarious.

One more thing, that won’t ruin the plot, there are a number of mannequins throughout the film, it’s both creepy and hilarious.

The bad; I seriously can’t find any.  But if you’re not a fan of this type of comedy then you’ll have more to add to this section than I do.

Overall, a thoroughly entertaining comedy.  They make the film scratchy, the editing is jumpy, there are numerous continuity errors and it’s just a whole lotta fun.  If you hate reading and atypical comedies, don’t see Casa de mi Padre, but if you enjoy awkward laughing and over the top humor coupled with guns and Mexican drug lords, go see this masterpiece.

WonderCon: Interview with Dave Kellett (Sheldon/Drive Comics)

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Dave Kellett was nice enough to talk to us about Sheldon and Drive Comics. Dave talked about his origins, death of newspapers, the independent artist advantage in the digital age, advice about making a living off giving content away for free, and the inspiration for the pug in his book “Pugs: God’s Little Wierdos”

Check out Sheldon Comics and Drive

WonderCon: Interview with AdaPia d’Errico (for Camilla d’Errico)

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We spoke with AdaPia d’Errico about the works of her sister, Camilla d’Errico. She showed Camilla’s latest creations including Tanpopo and Sky Pirates of Neo Terra, which is coming out as a Facebook game later this month. The game is set in the world of Neo Terra and is described as a “Mario Kart in the sky”.

Check out more of Camilla d’Errico’s work here

WonderCon: Interview with Mantium Industries

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While strolling through the WonderCon floors, we noticed some interesting versions of the Star Wars R2D2 droid that were made of aluminum and carbon fiber. We spoke with Mantium Industries and discovered what they’re up to. A representative from Mantium Industries was kind enough to discuss their building process, customization, and future projects.

While most people will stop to ask about the robots, Mantium Industries also crafts cosplay gear like swords and costumes.

Check out Mantium Industries

WonderCon 2012

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WonderCon has wrapped.  We’ve been out all weekend covering as much of the convention as we can. Stay tuned for the usual good stuff: interviews, panel news, and reviews.

UPDATE

Here is our growing list of coverage:

Interviews

Photos

Talking with Cosplay Fans