Voice actors are an interesting bunch of people. Take the Simpsons. They’ve been on the air for years now. Would you recognize the voice actors if you saw them while shopping at your local supermarket? We know the voices but often overlook the faces behind them.
Katie Leigh spoke with us and gave us the low down on her accomplishments as a voice-over actor. One of her biggest achievements is being on the longest running radio show, Adventures in Odyssey as Connie Kendall. Katie also talked about the challenges of auditioning and keeping her voice in shape. She also offers advice for aspiring voice-over actors but says she doesn’t have plans to give up voice acting because she enjoys working with great people.
00:01 – Rocketeer talks about loving jet packs as a kid and who he thinks would make a great Rocketeer if the franchise was rebooted
01:28 – Bad Girl (No More Heroes) likes that her character is a psycho despite her cute dress and mentions getting photobombed by Big Bird
04:12 – Knights Who Say Ni (Monty Python and the Holy Grail) sends a special St. Patrick’s Day message to all
05:35 – Zombie Snow wants to do special effects makeup and shares her influences
07:30 – Vulcan Zombie Red Shirt is another fun mashup and introduces a term to me: “bi-fi” (Stars Wars AND Star Trek fan)
09:29 – Chowder is known for eating and talks about running in the rain to avoid messing up his makeup is a big fan of Guillermo Del Toro
11:30 – Joker would actually prefer to be Flash
13:05 – A steampunk fan caught my attention with a creature on her shoulder and talks about the convention scene in her neck of the woods.
15:03 – Spade Slick is much less known figure but still shows up at WonderCon
16:51 – Soranik Natu (Green Lantern) would love to see more of the Green Lantern Corps talks about meeting a man with a green lantern wedding band
19:25 – The Mad Masker and Samara (Mass Effect) are very impressive. The Mad Masker talks about the most complicated mask she’s made
23:03 – Batman likes his character because he is relate-able and is trying his hardest to stay away from trailers. Batgirl talks about photobombing and tackling someone, on accident of course. Check out his site: http://batmandeathwish.com/
25:13 – I try to get find gold every day and this was probably it for day 2. A gender bender Batgirl gets lots of folks to take his picture. He owns it and knows that’s what people like. I had a problem with the recording so some of this fabulous interview gets cut 🙁
27:50 – Rick Grimes (Walking Dead) was kind of to talk to me after being harassed by another cosplay fan for various poses.
29:47 – The Riddler loves the intelligence of his character (and also the neurosis aspect). He’s a big fan of Jim Lee and particularly loves the way he makes the Justice League look
32:02 – Ang (Avatar the Last Airbender) loves his characters development and talks about getting some spotlight with the music composer of The Legend of Korra
33:51 – Super Skrull really made me laugh and you can see how much I lose control of the camera. Check out his Facebook page
36:00 – An avid convention fan talks about his love for comics and creators
37:46 – Jar Jar Binks stays in character. I don’t even know what happened here
At first I thought I saw David Cross venturing into a new endeavor of comic books. I stepped closer and met the man behind Wuvable Oaf.
Like many great artists, Ed Luce prefers letting people experience and interpret his characters on their own. He describes Wuvable Oaf as a “queer Scott Pilgrim” and a melting pot of his interests. Growing up, Ed read Marvel and DC comics, and eventually grew into illustrating. He confesses he didn’t feel his style had the necessary polish for super heroes. He later dove into the world of independent comics such as Eightball and the Hernandez brothers. His fine art background further shaped his style of using detail and big shapes.
I asked about crowd reaction to his work and Ed mentioned a few security guards finding connection with the oaf. Ed commented that everybody knows a wuvable oaf (it’s true!) and that the figure even transcends sex.
Check out the Wuvable Oaf online and follow the Wuvable Oaf on twitter: @wuvableoaf
Co-creator of Splatter Comics, Kyle Brummond, talked to us about their fresh approach to story telling. Kyle describes the multimedia experience of Splatter Comics that combines still images, voice acting, sound effects, and narration.
Kyle later shares the inspiration of Splatter Comics’ latest creation, Army of Nun, starting from a bumper sticker. He also notes the benefits of Google when researching the subject as well as talking with friends who were in real life experiences.
Those interested will be pleased to hear that Splatter Comics is offering their content for free online with the possibility of print versions later.
We start talking about movies and Kyle mentions a famous book series he would be interested in seeing on the big screen. Obviously, I had to ask Kyle who he would pick to portray the lead role in Army of Nun.
Ken Tanaka spoke with us and brought us into his heavy hitting book, “Everybody Dies, A Children’s Book for Grown Ups”. Ken describes his style as Ken Tanaka-esq and says he is also working on another title called “Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What the Fuck”.
Ken recalls his early interest in comic conventions and being encouraged by friends like David Mack.
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.
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!
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
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
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.