Went to the Emerald City twice since last we talked... 
Oh, Emerald City Comicon, where have you been all of my life? It was a truly great time for Cristi and me as we met fans from the Pacific North-West and beyond. This was our first trip to Seattle, and it definitely won't be our last. The area is incredible to see, which made our short visit even harder (we were only there through Sun-Mon and didn't get much time to see the sights... and Seattle has a sci-fi museum!). I went ahead and registered for next year's convention, so we'll definitely be headed back.
While in Seattle, we were hosted by Phil and Kaja Foglio, and we couldn't have asked for a better stay. As if being under the very roof where
Girl Genius is made wasn't cool enough, we got to hang out in one of the most truly amazing domiciles I've ever been in. The sign in the bathroom alone was worth the trip: "Please do not flush while ship is inertialess." I've got to get one of those for our own house. Safety first, you know.
The con itself was non-stop fans and geeking out. Just about everyone in comics was represented there, even ones that were
kind of on the fringe of the industry. I sketched a bunch too, with
this one for "Space Monkey Comics" coming out particularly well, I think.
Addendum: A scan of another sketch I did arrived via e-mail. It was done for a great Darth Vader costumer, and features the Sith Lord and Zodon! I was neighbors with both
Here There be Robots, and the artist from "Spider-Man: Reign,"
Kaare Andrews. No, I didn't ask him about how Peter Parker's... "organic material" killing Mary Jane with cancer was dreamed up, though it was tempting. :) Also tempting was
this item, but alas, it wouldn't have fit in my luggage. It's also kind of weird to think that it could probably all fit on one of those joystick-keychain things they sell for 5 bucks at Wal-Mart these days.
For those who've never run into me at a con, the Pulp Gamer Podcast interviewed me at GAMA, and
and posted the results here. You can also get a feel for how my voice gets abused when I'm out at conventions; I do tend to go on and on with table visitors if the subject of TV, movies, comics, video games, RPGs, the internet, novelty music, or where the best restaurants are comes up.
But I said I'd been to Emerald City twice, and so I have: The wife and I went and saw "
Wicked" for the first time this past week, and it's a darn good show. Only one tune really stuck in my head, "Popular," but the story is what grabbed me. In a nerdy-crossover moment, let me put forth the idea that "Wicked" is what the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy should have been: We knew Darth Vader, we knew a little about his past, but wouldn't it have been interesting to learn something suprising about him? I don't want to give away the play, but in "Wicked," we discover the origins of several Oz characters (according to this story, that is) as well as the early interaction between Glinda and Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West). It also was a story about how "wickedness" can be applied to someone via public opinion, which was something I expected to happen to the Jedi in Episode III. Perhaps if Lucas were to write a
musical...
I've also FINALLY witnessed the spectacle of "Iron Man." If you haven't gone yet (which would be a big suprise to me), you should go. Robert Downey Jr. is the perfect Tony Stark, the story is tight and doesn't have any terribly slow moments, and it's one of those films where two hours seems to fly past. I will say that there's a sequence that looks a LOT like an homage to Robocop 2, and Iron Man's superhero career consists of, what, about a week of movie-time? The now-famous Easter Egg after the credits fills me with hope, but I want the guys in charge of adapting superheroes to take note that Thor is very easy to get
terribly, terribly wrong. On a trivial note, I patted myself on the back for noticing that one of the photos of Jeff Bridges as "Obidiah Stane" came from the movie, "Tucker."
Normally, I try to keep the links here clean, but I had to post this next set. Some preface: In the UK, there's a news-quiz show that's terribly funny called "Have I Got News for You." Currently, it has a series of guest-hosts anchoring the show, and recently, the geek icon Brian Blessed manned the center chair! Now, this is "uncut," so there's quite a bit of blue language, and it gets worse the longer it goes, so be warned. Anyway, here's
part one, and the other 5 parts are in the "related videos" menu to the right. Vultan fans rejoice!
The first-run UK Doctor Who had a very clever twist to an old sci-fi setup, but it also introduced a new character that I'm not sure was the greatest idea. But I've been wrong before, so let's hope she's a good addition to the Who-niverse. Meanwhile, over in Battlestar Galactica, we got a bit more advancement towards Earth, I think, and thank the Lords of Kobol that we haven't seen a single flying motorcycle.
In other news, a
Witchblade movie is in the works. My first exposure to the story came in the Yancy Butler TV series. The first season was the strongest, I think, with the exception of the second episode involving the guy with the flamethrower. The only other "hang on a minute" moment came with a remote-control snake that was, of all things, a fashion accessory for a photo shoot. The second season wasn't as coherent as the first, but it was still entertaining. I was rather looking forward to a third season when it was cancelled. So, I then sought out the comic. The comic wasn't the greatest thing I'd ever read; all of the female characters looked the same, and just about every story was an excuse for the Witchblade to undress its weilder. It came from the "bad girl" era of comics, so I guess that makes a kind of sense. I've not seen the Witchblade Anime, though I hear it has a reputation for being quite violent. So... there are multiple directions this movie could take, but I sure hope it doesn't follow the comic verbatim, at least not the early ones...
Links to make up for a lack of lucidity last Friday:
- A little Labyrinth behind-the-scenes:
Contact juggling.
- I'd love to have
this guy teach me some arts and crafts. Phenomenal!
- Time for some ninja-ing with
Armed with Wings. Use your eagle and your sword to solve puzzles and vanquish foes.
- Not a very detailed trailer, but when
a movie promises Moon Nazis, I think I need a ticket. "Iron Sky" looks like it'd belong next to "Sky Captain," I believe.
- Here's a game with an interesting mechanic:
Planet of the Forklift Kid. Cleverly use (what else?) your forklift to reach the exit of each level.
- There's a new
Galaxy Quest comic coming soon, where we can hopefully find out how Fred Kwan became Adrian Monk...
-
Sadtrombone.com is a good site to keep handy the next time someone tells a joke that falls flat while you're at the computer.
- Something for the kids:
Zombiez is a game you can break out at the next birthday party or other multi-kid gathering. Just be prepared to explain to the parents when the kiddos ask for brains on their mac & cheese.
- I'm always on the hunt for names when I'm writing, and
this site could come in handy, especially if I ever start having martial arts characters that yell out the names of their attacks. If I do start doing that in a non-ironic way, please send help. :)
- Finally, this is the
end of the internet. You know what to do...
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