Disconnected Ramblings on ECCC 2008

May 12, 2008 | Pete

It’s no San Diego, and it’s no New York, but Seattle gets a comic convention of its own–The Emerald City ComiCon. Yes, one word. Don’t ask me. Ask them. My original plan was for a trip to SDCC this year, but for a family of four, that’s no easy trip to plan in the space of three months–not on my income at least. So, instead, I turned my attention to more local fun. And boy, am I glad I did.

The convention was held in the Washington State Convention and Trade Center, which is the same place PAX–The Penny Arcade Expo–moved into last year. The place is HUGE. We walked in and just sort of stood there at first, taking in the place. What was really astounding was that the place was packed! They had all the booths and tables set up in a grid, and there wasn’t more than six to eight feet of walking space between the booths. Quarters were definitely tight, and there was certainly the potential for something to get ugly, but then, this is Seattle–home of distant politeness. Combine that with the generally passive nature of the average comic book nerd (once they’re off the Internet, that is), and you get a very mellow, enjoyable experience. (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends > Cruelest Month Edition

April 22, 2008 | Poe

ODD: T.S. Eliot’s famous poem The Waste Land begins with the lines, “April is the cruellest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing / Memory and desire, stirring / Dull roots with spring rain.” One interpretation of this is while the cold winter keeps us numb and forgetful, the regeneration that comes with spring is painful, reminding us of happier times, now long past.

I know this is certainly true for me. Spring arrived in New England last week, and whenever I found myself walking down a sunny street, the birds chirping and the smell of fresh blossoms in the breeze, I was instantly treated to a series of nostalgic sensations ranging from my childhood to just last year. I remembered “playing guns” in the forest behind our old house on Silva Street; setting up Transformers in a living room lit by the afternoon sun; trekking with my old dog Friskie through Miles Standish State Forest. I hear the cry of a seagull and I’m stepping across the large stones of the Plymouth Jetty, listening to the water lapping at the rocks. (more…)

ToyFare #130

April 17, 2008 | Poe

I’m currently working on an article for an upcoming issue of ToyFare, but I thought I’d take a few minutes to peruse the latest issue.

Cover: For some reason, Harrison Ford’s face seems to be difficult to sculpt (much like Bruce Campbell), but the larger the format, the easier it appears to be–and Sideshow nailed it with their Premium Format Indy here.

Customizing 101: I’ve never been clear on the whole “Sucklord” thing. How can he sell action figures made from molds of real Star Wars figures? This is one of those underground things I’ve never looked into, like the Church of the Subgenius. Still, that figure’s cool.

Hot Plate: “Aquaman the A-Lister…I like the sound of that.”

Page 16-17: Most of the figures on these pages are cool, but the only one I’m positively getting is the Wendigo–whom ever time I think of, I hear the goofy voice from the early-90s X-Men arcade game screaming “Weeeendiiiiigoooooooo!!!” (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends > Farked Edition

April 15, 2008 | Poe

ODD: The big news today is that yesterday, unbeknownst to me, my Spider-man 3 post was linked to on Fark (specifically, in the Geek section). To understand what that means, yesterday PGPoA received 300% more visitors than an average day. Pretty awesome. My immense thanks to the anonymous person who submitted it!

END: If anyone is going to the New York Comic Con this weekend and might be willing to pick up a particular exclusive for me, please shoot me an email. (more…)

Odds ‘n Ends > Spiffy Edition

April 8, 2008 | Poe

ODD: As mentioned yesterday, we did a little sprucing up here at PGPoA. If you’re curious who the bear in the menu is, don’t worry–she’ll be showing up in The Toybox soon. And has anyone figured out who the “Comics” guy is? If not, you’ll find out if you pick up Toyfare #130 in a week or two.

END: My review of DCUC wave two was over 4,000 words long, so I’m just curious–how many people actually read the whole thing? I’m thinking I may be writing way too much for the attention span of your average websurfer. (more…)

Wizard TV: “Prime of Your Life”

March 18, 2008 | Poe

From the fine folks at ToyFare comes this great Twisted ToyFare Theater video:

WWLA Transformers TTT @ Yahoo! Video

Funny, I would never have thought Ultra Magnus had the stones.

ToyFare #129 (May 2008)

March 15, 2008 | Poe

ToyFare 129 Picked up the latest issue of ToyFare this week. In the tradition of all uninspired stand-up comedians, let’s see what’s in the news this month…

Cover: Iron Monger from Hasbro’s Iron Man movie line. I have to admit, he looks totally awesome, though I’m wondering whether those hips are ball jointed. Haven’t seen any of these figures in stores yet, but that makes sense since the street date is the 23rd.

Inside cover: Ad for Diamond Select’s second wave of Battlestar Galactica figures. The Cylon looks badass–that’s going to be a hot seller. It looks like they may have fixed up Starbuck’s face a bit, but she still looks more like that woman from Stargate SG-1 to me.

Page 9: Who’s Mandalore the Indomitableâ„¢? I’m way behind on this Star Wars Expanded Universe stuff. Last thing I remember is Kyle Katarn and those badass Darktroopers.

Page 10: Ill-favored N2/Mirage Toys made a Mad Max line that actually wasn’t so bad. (more…)

5 Questions with > Scott Beatty

February 21, 2008 | Poe

Got a real treat today, folks: an interview with Scott Beatty, comic book writer and walking DC Universe encyclopedia!

Scott BeattyCodename: Scott Beatty
Specialty: Wordsmith, Plastic Raconteur
Base of Operations: www.scottbeatty.com
Bio: Scott Beatty has worked extensively for DC Comics since the mid ’90s. His latest work includes DC’s weekly series Countdown to Final Crisis.

(more…)

Wizarduniverse.com 2.0…? 3.0…? New!

February 6, 2008 | Poe

Wizarduniverse.com has a long-overdue, spiffy new look.

Rather than going to a specific magazine, you click on the topic–comics, toys, anime and so forth. I’m not sure how effective this will be; without any explicit branding of Wizard, ToyFare and Anime Insider, the site may function as an alternative to buying those magazines for many fans, rather than a promotional tool. Perhaps that’s the intention…as a wise man once said, “Print is dead.”

Check out the set visit to The Dark Knight–there are some fun new details in there (spoiler warning, of course). And of course, be sure to check out ToyFare‘s first animated episode of Twisted ToyFare Theater. It’s like Robot Chicken, only it came first.