Sunday Spotlight: IKEA

My wife and I paid our second visit to IKEA yesterday, the fabled Swedish furniture store. Perhaps you've seen it from the highway.

 Assuming your highway is in Singapore, where this photo from Wikipedia was apparently taken.

The problem with our first visit to IKEA a few months ago was that we really didn't know what we were in for. I thought we could walk in, pick out a shelf, and do some window shopping along the way. I was not expecting to go apartment hunting. We walked through a labyrinth of living rooms, dining rooms, bathrooms, each furnished with a consistent theme that prompted us to start categorizing these mock living spaces as, "wish we could have that," "wish we had a friend who had that," and, "meh." By the time we reached the end of the showroom floor, I was worn out.

Then there was an entire floor of rugs, lampshades, and picture frames that we hadn't counted on.

Followed by the gigantic warehouse where we actually picked up the box containing the assemble-it-yourself shelf that we had picked out a few hours before.

Followed by a checkout line comparable to the queue for a Star Wars premiere.

Followed by a small food court and a mini-mart with assemble-it-yourself Swedish food.

Followed by the trip across the bustling parking lot back to the car, and the realization that the do-it-your-shelf may or may not fit into the back of the car.

I suppose the huge food court at the entrance should have been a clue that you don't simply "go shopping" at IKEA. You're there for an afternoon, whether you're buying a potholder or a twelve-piece dinette set.

This time, we came prepared. We started our adventure by sitting down to a glorious meal of Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes, veggie wraps, and Mountain Dew. (The food was quite good.) We had a list, and we stuck to it: lollygagging was kept to a minimum by moving through the store with purpose, rather than the wonderment and promise of 50¢ hot dogs that characterized our first visit. We abandoned our previous mindset of, "find what's cheap, and then see if we like it," replacing it with, "find what we like, and then consider if it fits into the budget." Overall, our second experience was much more in line with what Jonathan Coulton sang about.

Now we're well on our way to making a home, as opposed to living in a place created by the haphazard mingling of trappings from our previous lives apart. Of course, that means I need to vacuum the carpet before we move everything into place. But that's a small price to pay for having somewhere that we can truly call ours.

Comic-Con International 2012

Holy LouFerrigno! It's Comic-Con time again, Exfanders, and, as usual, neither Nathaniel nor myself are in San Diego to bring you all the exciting news and announcements!

What can I say? It's expensive to fly out there, get a hotel (if you can), and, oh yeah, there's that whole thing about there being 250,000 other folks roaming the streets and convention centers that tend to scare me off.

I do have a few buddies and coworkers who are out there, and I have been covering the event from the safety of the East Coast, though, so I know a few things that are going on. Such as the absolute madness of the show this year. Which, somehow, has managed to multiply since last year.

The madness, I mean.

Apparently there are more people, and they got there earlier than ever, and they grabbed all the exclusive toys and comics and whatever before the actual show even started on Thursday. Yep, that's right. Swag was sold out on Preview Night Wednesday, a trend that I saw firsthand last year at the New York Comic Con.

The good news? People love conventions. The bad news? They don't care as much about the comics as they do about the movies, the swag, and the experience of being at such a pop culture event.

Not to be Chicken Little or anything, but them's just the facts, man.

Still, as I always say around this time of year, it is nice to see and hear so much about geek culture permeating the mainstream. For one week, at least, we are the coolest kids on the block.

The Great Comic Book Adventure, 2011 Edition

Today is an epic day, my friends. An epic, excellent day. As I write this (on the epic counter in my kitchen whilst drinking a not-so-epic cup of decaf), I am mentally preparing myself for a day filled with adventure.

As we do every year at this time, Nathaniel, neko-chan, and I go out on a comic book shop quest so spectacular that it often puts even Indiana Jones' most memorable treks to shame.

It seems like we always end embarking upon this quest on the Thursday of the week between Christmas and New Year's, which works out pretty well. You see, two of the shops we'll likely hit up today are running holiday sales.

This trip truly is epic and destined.

In years past, our Great Comic Book Adventure has taken us to many places and we've faced down many challenges. Like traffic, overcrowded restaurants, and (my) complete lack of a sense of direction.

And today? Well, today Nathaniel may very well come in direct contact with the horrible beast known as sushi. We will see how he fares. Plus, it's pretty cold out there this morning. I might need to wear my heavy coat.

Keep us in your thoughts, Exfanders. Things might get a little dangerous.

Exfanding Radar: The Fan/Pro Bill of Rights

So this is interesting. And, in my opinion at least, completely necessary.

From writer extraordinaire Peter David, last week saw the release of The Fan/Pro Bill of Rights, a document that I wish all fanpeople (of any and all fandoms) would take a moment to read.

Mr. David covers quite a few things in his missive and they all have to do with how fans and creators should act towards each other at conventions.

This document warmed my (black little) heart, as it covers topics specifically mentioned right here on this blog just a few short years ago.

Mostly quite serious, but sometimes hilariously tongue-in-cheek, this new Bill of Rights is both useful and entertaining.

It's a guide for fan/pro interaction, and I think it's especially useful to read over before one attends his or her first convention.

So go check it out, already.

And happy Saturday!

New York Comic-Con / Anime Festival 2011 Recap: Part Two

Hey! You made it back for part two! Good for you! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please refer to yesterday's post where we began this (epic, sprawling, and only a little whiny) recap of New York Comic-Con 2011.

Yesterday we covered Big Ideas, like how the layout of the convention was a bit offputting and how it really isn't a comic book convention anymore. Today we talk about the Good Stuff, like who we saw, what we bought, and what our favorite aspects of this absolutely massive show were.

Finally, without further preamble, here's part two. We dive right into the good stuff, so enjoy! And leave comments--we know some of you guys were there!

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Alex: So, since we're talking about positive things. For me, the biggest positive? Hands-down it was Artist Alley (the comics version, I mean). The sheer number of quality creators at this show was staggering and impressive.

I've never been, but I can only surmise that NYCC's Artist Alley is comparable only to San Diego in terms of numbers and quality. You had the top artists in all of comics, all literally lined up in (several) rows.

While commission lists filled up at a ridiculous pace--some artists had over 60 names on their lists before Friday morning!--there were plenty of opportunities to say hello to people, get autographs, and to purchase prints, original art, or pre-prepared artwork.

This year's Artist Alley was a whole lot easier to navigate than was last year's, and walking around never felt too crowded. Which is a good thing when you're babbling on to Stéphane Roux about how big a fan of his you are.

I was (for once) smart enough to get on pre-convention commission lists and I made out like a bandit. Take, for example, this Victorian Huntress commission by artist Mike Dooney.

He had a long, long list of pre-show commissions which he opened up over a month before the first day of the con. On the other side of that particular coin, Marvel artist Ryan Stegman opened his commission list the weekend before the show started. And, I was told, I managed to be the first one on that list!

As I do at all cons, I added to my Death gallery (yes, yes, I know, very morbid), starting with this moody image by Mr. Stegman:

I was also fortunate in that an exhibitor's badge and a buddy who got in Thursday night allowed for me to get on commission lists at the show. So I managed to get on Supergirl artist Mahmud Asrar's list--one that grew exponentially throughout the weekend. I think I was number five on that one.

I was pretty much blown away with what he came up with, especially considering the amount of work he had to tackle over the span of four days. I know a lot of people give artists grief--"What do you mean you won't get to my sketch today?!?!"--but let me tell you something:

They work their butts off at these cons.

And a whole lot of them do so in an attempt just to cover their traveling expenses. I think people tend to forget that their art is their life, and even though it's someone the vast majority of us wishes we could do for a living...it's still work.

And it's hard work.

My last addition to my Death Miscellany was by Matthew Clark, the fantastic DC artist on books like Doom Patrol and Superman/Batman. I've been a fan of his work for a while and I was thrilled to be able to get a sketch. And, really, "sketch" doesn't do this piece justice.

What can I say? I love Neil Gaiman's Sandman, and as endearing as Morpheus might be, I think it's safe to say that Death is everyone's favorite character from that seminal work.

But enough about Death. Let's move on to The Batman. Now, as with all of these pieces, I really do need to actually scan them and not just use my phone to snap quick photos of them.

But it's late, I'm tired, and at some point Nathaniel needs to add his bit to this here post. So, rounding things out, here's The Dark Knight in all his creepy, moody glory.

This one is by Stuart Sayger, who may be the nicest person in all of comics. And after this weekend I can safely say that there are a lot of nice people in comics.

I spent most of the con in Artist Alley, obviously, and with that lineup, why would I go anywhere else? I love original art, but there's something really special about commissioning a favorite artist to do a drawing just for you.

Nathaniel: Hey, I got some fancy doodles, too. I just can't talk about them until after Christmas. Wouldn't want to ruin the surprise.

[Checks calendar. Definitely after Christmas now. Venture Bros. fans might enjoy these sketches I commissioned for the two friends who introduced me to the show. The first is by storyboard artist Jon Roscetti; the second is by background artist Denny Fincke, whom I had the pleasure of chatting with for a bit. From both, I had asked for a character they haven't been asked to draw much of. Incredibly, without prompting, they both came up with Henchman 21.]

Actually, I can talk about my fiancée's sketchbook. After having spent two-and-a-half days marching around Comic-Con in costume, she wanted nothing more than to take a break on Sunday afternoon and sit in line anywhere just to get off her feet for a while...and she left me her sketchbook to get a few doodles from the attending artists.

Normally, I just gawk at art and then move on to the t-shirts and action figures that I understand. Buying prints I can do, but talking to...people? Convincing them to scribble something artistic in a little notebook?

Surprisingly fun.

Systematically working my way up one aisle and down the next, I passed by every artist in the comics alley, and later, the anime alley. Most of the doodles I got were from people I'd never heard of, which became overwhelmingly obvious when I started inadvertently soliciting colorists and artists' assistants for professional sketches. One person drew a shoe. Another drew a turret from Portal.

This is where my convention experience began to pick up: I was conventioning with a purpose again. "Show up and have fun" only works when you have no idea what you're getting into; this time around, I knew exactly who and what I wasn't willing to wait in line for 2+ hours to see, and I'd already done about all the shopping I could afford to do. Collecting pictures for my gal gave me a direction, and it got me to thinking about some doodle projects of my own...

I met an an artist whose work I'd seen and whose name I forget, complimenting him on the cool and unusual Blackest Night cover that was featured in an old Waiting for Wednesday post, which always catches my attention when the image shows up among the posts spotlighted in the LinkWithin widget at the bottom of each post we write.

I met up with my brother-in-law a few times, who was also collecting scribbles. While he was getting his first sketch of the day (I'm awful at names, so I don't recall who this person was, either), I stood nearby and perused the merchandise on the artist's table. I walked away with $3 worth of Chris Wnuk: Secret Jew comics (click to make the funny bigger).

One of the highlights of the afternoon was meeting C. Martin Croker. Now, I wouldn't have immediately recognized the name, either, but a helpful handmade sign behind him covered all the basics: this was the animation director for Space Ghost Coast to Coast, who also voiced Zorak and Moltar.

Fantastic! This is why I go to conventions.

We had a nice little chat about Space Ghost, and I mentioned how my gal and I enjoy it the most when we're deliriously tired--the show suddenly becomes obscenely hysterical. He followed up with a story about how he and the people with him at the time, when the nonstop news coverage became too overwhelmingly depressing to bear, sat down to Space Ghost in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. Wow.

After our conversation, I asked if he'd mind doing a quick sketch for my fiancée (I had to bribe him, as per the pricing guide on his sign), and he drew a partial Zorak, providing running commentary in his authentic Zorak voice the whole time. Once again, fantastic.

I actually covered a tremendous amount of ground at the convention--between Saturday and Sunday, I combed the entire Artist Alley for comics, the entire Artist Alley for anime, every corner of the Dealers' Room, the Autograph Room (once just about everybody had packed up and left) and most importantly, the food court. A few highlights of my wanderings:

- Star Trek action figures I'd never seen before. And I was a pretty avid collector when the Playmates line of TNG figures was out, tapering off (but still paying attention) shortly after the DS9 figures showed up. Remember Lt. Carey on VOY? No? Well, Playmates didn't forget.

- A t-shirt with the following wonderful (horrible) logo on it:

- The DeLorean from Back to the Future, the Michael Keatmobile, and the Adam Westmobile. Yes, the DeLorean is that blurry in real life.

- Lots of Mega Man costumes. Hey, they had a panel on Mega Man comics--these are totally valid costumes for this convention.

Lastly--and there are plenty of other tales and mini-tales to tell, but I'll close with this one--my brother-in-law, my wife-to-be, and I were headed out on Saturday evening as the Artist Alley was closing down when we ran into a table we were not expecting to see. Not, like, turned a corner too fast and toppled over a table; what I mean is that we were surprised to find a table showcasing my fiancée's all-time favorite episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation: "The Inner Light."

I prod my gal, gesturing toward the table, and she rushes over with mouth agape at the stack of scripts and photos of "The Inner Light" (along with scripts of "Starship Mine" and pictures from the DS9 episode "Armageddon Game")...and for-sale replicas of Picard's iconic flute from the episode--the one that sold for $40,000 at auction. This is an episode that is incredibly dear to the Star Trek fan community.

Meanwhile, my brother-in-law was saying, "Wait, what's 'The Inner Light'?"

While my fiancée recoiled in shock, I responded plainly and informatively, "It's one of the most popular episodes of Star Trek." Morgan Gendel, The bespectacled, respectably graying gentleman behind the table responded with what sounded like genuine, humble gratitude: "Thank you."

I turned to him, paused for a second, and asked, "You wrote the episode?" Indeed he had. At last, this table started to make sense. We didn't have much time to chat, as the convention volunteers were already shooing everyone off the floor, but I made a mental note to stop by the next day. I also reminded my fiancée to bring her copy of "The Inner Light"--just that individual episode on VHS--for a signature. We split up the next day and she went to see Morgan separately, but he apparently expressed surprise that such a VHS existed in the first place. Now it's a collector's item, for sure.

My brother-in-law and I stopped by first thing in the morning on Sunday to say hello, and a conversation ensued about pitching the script for "The Inner Light" multiple times before it was accepted, differences in opinion on the Captain America film (which I still haven't seen--gotta catch up!), and how obnoxious it is for Morgan's family to watch movies with him, a scriptwriter with a penchant for picking everything apart. We agreed that modern movies tend to have too big a focus on the special effects and not enough care put into the scripts...which led me to the Big Question.

"I assume you've seen the newest Star Trek movie?"

As you may recall, I was not the biggest fan of the newest Star Trek movie, yet anything I've ever heard from the casts and crews of the various Star Treks about the 2009 film has been nothing but positive. It revitalized the franchise, it made the series relevant again, it would've done creator Gene Roddenberry proud, etc.

"It had a lousy script." I don't believe those were Morgan's exact words, but the sentiment was the same. Begin spoilers.

Writers Orci and Kurtzman were determined to shoehorn in Leonard Nimoy as Spock, to reassure people that he was, is, and forever will be Spock (no matter who else after him wears those ears), and as a result, they couldn't just tell a good story--they had to work their story around Spock Prime. The new Spock, played by Zachary Quinto, could certainly pull of the role skillfully...but his romantic relationship and emotional outbursts drew his character in a different direction than the classic Spock he could have played so well.

I also brought up the lack of carefully crafted situations that organically created emotional responses from the audience. I used the example of Spock's mother, Amanda--oh she's falling, she's falling, we should probably grab her, she's falling, she's falling, oh she's dead. Now we've manipulated the audience's emotions and needlessly scarred one of the main characters for life. Paraphrasing Morgan: "Right. If you want to get an emotional response, just push a character off a cliff."

End spoilers.

After two years of being in the minority amongst fans and Trek actors alike, it was refreshing to find another writer (in addition to the author of Star Trek by the Minute) with an eye on the script who ended up with some of the same misgivings I did. Perhaps I'm more of a critical moviegoer and less of a curmudgeonly traditionalist fan than I once thought.

But hey, you probably didn't come here to read so much about Star Trek. Let's conclude with Chewbacca playing Pac-Man, some actual props and costumes used in the movie Iron Man 2 (which we jointly reviewed last year), more convention costumes (sorry to say, I missed my fleeting chance to snap a picture of Axe Cop), The Goon on wheels, and the most elaborate free sketch I could have hoped for (note the coffee cup).

New York Comic-Con / Anime Festival 2011 Recap: Part One

As we've been talking about for over a week, the Exfanding Crew once again made the Great Geek Pilgrimage to New York City for Comic-Con, the pop culture convention that tries reaaaallly hard to convince you it's actually a comics convention. As has become an Exfanding tradition, Alex and I have collaborated on a joint recap of the festivities.

Fair warning: This first part is where we wax philosophical about the convention itself. If that's not your cup of...wax...we invite you to join us tomorrow for Part Two instead. There will be stories. There will be pictures. There will be...time to talk about that at the end of the post.

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Nathaniel: Writing about this year's convention is like trying to explain the plot of a sandbox game such as SimCity. Though you can describe a general sequence of events--dealing with rowdy mobs in the street, then getting yourself a statue, then burrowing yourself into horrible debt--the real story comes from looking at the finished product and examining how your choices and circumstances influenced the final result.

So, let's skip to the end: I walked (or, rather, limped) away from Comic-Con with an empty wallet, a small pile of video games, a handful of books, and a fifth of the things I had wanted to bring back for other people. I had gotten into one anime screening, met a number of people who make a living off of their creativity, and snapped a few pictures of neat costumes and famous cars. I had spent some quality time with friends and family, and I did genuinely enjoy myself, but the sense of wonder and surprise that permeated my experience last year had all but evaporated, condensing into a cloud of disappointment and cynicism that trailed me at a respectable distance until I finally figured out what I and the convention planners had been doing wrong since PAX East.

Alex: Well, that's all, folks! Thanks for reading!

Just kidding. Despite Nathaniel's "cloud of disappointment and cynicism" (which he should really think about getting checked out by a doctor), there's plenty to talk about when it comes to this year's NYCC.

First off, Nathaniel's right that this year's show just had a different feel than last year's. Maybe it was because NYCC 2010 was Nathaniel's first comics convention and my first NYCC since the inagural one several years before.

Maybe it was because everything seemed so much more expensive at NYCC 2011, from parking to artists' commissions to comics, trades, and toys at dealers' booths. Maybe it was the fact that there seemed to be more people, somehow, than last year.

Maybe it's just that we're both a year older and a year wiser.

Clearly it's not that last one. So, just what was it that made this show so...strange? Because that's what it was to me, at least--strange. And that's how I've described it to people who couldn't make the trip in for the con. And, not surprisingly, that's how people I've spoken to after the show described their feelings about the con.

NYCC 2011 felt at times like a small comics show--especially early on Friday at Artists' Alley--and then at other times there were so many people that moving around was almost impossible. Getting in was a lot easier than last year--I came a little after the show opened and was able to walk right through the doors--exhibitor's badge or not.

Once inside, though, the show just...I don't know. it felt different, is all.

The pricing certainly had something to do with this feeling. Because the convention cost so much (and I know this for a fact) for a retailer, artist, or small press publisher to set up at, prices needed to be altered accordingly.

There were items on sale for multiples of actual cost, and it seemed like all "name" artists started their show commissions at $100 to cover flights, hotels, and NYC living for a couple of days.

But I don't think the cost was the biggest reason why this con felt different from last year's show.

I think this year it became abundantly clear that the organizers--and the big exhibitors like Marvel and DC--wanted NYCC to become, essentially, San Diego. And not "San Diego Light," as it's been referred to in the past.

That's the big take-away for me from NYCC 2011.

This show has grown tremendously and from all accounts it seems like it will continue to grow. It wants to be everything San Diego is, but it's tough to do all that in a space as confining as the Javits Center.

And before you go all nutty on me--I realize that the Javits is a big convention center. But its area is not great (it's right off the Westside Highway) and it has limited access to restaurants and places outside of the con to hang out.

Sure, I know enough to head over to 7th Ave for some good places to eat, but for the most part people tended to congregate inside and directly outside the show. Which made for a lot of people standing around, let me tell you.

More than that, though, the Javits is not laid out for one big convention. Rather, it's set up for several smaller shows. And that makes traversing the corners and hallways of a massive con like NYCC rather difficult as many more people than should the spaces allow try to cram through hallways from one exhibit floor to another.

Nathaniel: Compounding the issue is that the Javits Center wasn't just hosting Comic-Con; the New York Anime Festival was there, too...as a part of Comic-Con. But not as a part of Comic-Con. Let me get this out of my system, and then we'll move on to the happy stuff.

First, let's look at the floor plan for this convention (click to enlarge):

There were two Artist Alleys in completely separate locations--one for comics and one for anime--yet all the panels and screenings for both conventions were in the same area downstairs, and all the anime and manga vendors were strewn about the Dealers' Room (or the "Show Floor") alongside all the other vendors. It's no wonder the halls were so crowded--the Anime Festival alone was so disjointed that people who came exclusively for that convention had no choice but to push through 3/4 of the convention center any time they wanted to go from one place to the other.

The convention organizers made an obvious attempt to change the location and layout of certain areas that suffered from excessively heavy traffic last year, but I'm not sure that traffic flow improved at all...and the lines just got worse.

I remember how annoyed I was at PAX East for having to wait in line at least 30 minutes to get into any panels or presentations. Aside from a screening of Fate/zero, the prequel to an anime series I saw in college and liked well enough, I missed everything I had any interest in attending. Unless you were in line two hours in advance, there was no guarantee you'd get in--and even that wasn't enough time for some panels.

The panel on the upcoming Avengers film was, unsurprisingly, the entire reason some people came to the convention. Never-before-seen footage and special guests such as the dude who played Captain America? What comics fan wouldn't want to go? Certainly not my brother-in-law, who arrived at the queue for the panel some three hours before it was scheduled to begin...only to find that the line had reached maximum capacity some 4 hours before he got there.

I've heard of people waiting in line overnight to see the latest Star Wars movie, so perhaps this shouldn't surprise me. Seven hours, though? Possibly as many as 12 hours or more for the people who got there first? That's not right. If rabid fanboyism or convention overcrowding were entirely to blame, I could more easily shrug it off, but look at just a few of the other panels and events competing with The Avengers:

- A SyFy Channel original movie about zombies
- A panel concerning an anime I've never heard of called Fairy Tail
- A talk with the developers of the Dragon Age video game series
- A conference on social realism in Spanish comics
- A pizza party

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. At least the Dragon Age panel had the sense to tout actress Felicia Day as a reason to attend, but still, I saw no place any mainstream comics fan would rather be. As was the case with Wil Wheaton's keynote speech at PAX East, there was no overflow room with a video screen set up so that latecomers could at least watch a live broadcast of this huge panel they couldn't get into.

It doesn't annoy me that there were crowds and lines. It annoys me that they so easily could have been thinned out. Without the use of flamethrowers.

Alex: But, surely, there was something positive about the show, right? Well, sure. As long as you didn't mind enormous crowds--rumor has it there were 85,000 people Saturday alone--and you saved up some serious cash to get a fraction of the cool things that were available for sale.

And, also, for lunch.

I'm exaggerating (a little), and I really do want to focus on the positive aspects of NYCC 2011. But let's just finish this bit off, shall we? I think, when it comes down to it, New York Comic-Con has become something else entirely.

It's stopped being a comics convention (if it ever really was one in the first place) and it's become a pop culture event. Like San Diego or the Super Bowl, NYCC is mainstream news and it attracts true celebrity to its geeky, geeky halls.

And I'm not just talking Lou Ferrigno and Elvira. I'm talking major Holywood players--like Robert Downey, Jr. and Scarlett Johansson. And I'm not picking on Lou and Elvira--they're conventions mainstays and have a definite place in comic con history.

But when you start talking about people like the entire casts of both The Walking Dead and The Avengers in the same room in back-to-back panels? That's just...that's just an entirely different level, man.

With all that to distract people from the real star of the show--you know, the comics--you'd think that retailers took a hit. It's interesting, though. I've read some accounts online that say retailers did exceedingly well this year.
Which is great, and now that I think about it, that makes sense. Retailer booths were pretty much jammed throughout the show--sometimes to the point where even if you wanted to check out someone's wares you couldn't because of the row of people standing in front of them.

The wares, I mean.

Right.

----

That's a reasonable place to break, right? We'll pick up again tomorrow with Part Two, and we promise we'll jump straight into the action. There will be stories. There will be pictures. There will be...time to talk about that all tomorrow.

Oh. And also. Floating car:

Retrospective Conventioning

It's inevitable that two busy bloggers such as Alex and myself will get caught up with filler posts for the first few days following a convention weekend, but as I'm looking back at previous posts about conventions, I'm seeing a lot of striking contrasts and alarming comparisons to what transpired at the New York Comic-Con / Anime Festival this year. There's more than enough joy to share, but I get the distinct feeling that our upcoming recap is going to be far more contemplative than story-driven. We'll share pictures and tell our tales, but don't be surprised when we start putting this year's convention alongside previous ones in order to examine the trends and revelations in our conventioning experiences.

That being said, if you missed them the first time around or wouldn't mind a refresher, consider taking a peek at our convention stories from the last few years. They're beefy, and a few of them might take a little while to get rolling, but they tie in quite well with what we've got planned for later in the week. Even when they're totally unrelated, our convention stories are often some of the funniest and most worthwhile posts of the year (as evidenced by the fact that a few of these were mentioned in our "Best of Exfanding" Year in Review posts).

If you're new to the convention scene, check out Alex's introduction to conventions, and/or jump right into one of these:

- New York Comic-Con / Anime Festival 2010 (Alex and Nathaniel)

- PAX East Video Game Convention 2010 (Nathaniel)

- Boston Comic-Con 2010 (Alex)

- BookExpo 2010 (Alex)

- BookExpo 2009 (Alex)

- New York Anime Festival 2009 (Guest post by neko-chan)

- Connecticut Renaissance Faire 2008 (Nathaniel)

- Baltimore Comic-Con 2008 (Alex)

- Otakon Anime Convention 2008 (Nathaniel)

Takin' a Break

Bear with us a few more days as we recover from Comic-Con 2011; once we sort through all the swag and catch up on (some of the) sleep, we'll be back in full swing with the same nonsense you've come to expect from us. In the meantime, it might be worthwhile to take a peek back at last year's jointly written Comic-Con recap, in which Alex and I went back and forth telling one continuous story without bothering to identify who was speaking (erm...writing). We dare you to tell the difference.

Full recap of this year's con to follow. Eventually.

NYCC Intermission

You're gonna have to excuse us for today, folks. I'm busy recovering from the madness that was New York Comic Con and Nathaniel is busy experiencing more of said madness as the show wraps up Day Three this afternoon.

Obviously, there's plenty to talk about in regards to this show and we'll be sure to cover it all at some point this week.

Right now, though, I'm busy catching up on the work I didn't do on Friday in order to attend the show. I'm doing so with my feet up and a strong cup of coffee in hand.

I'm also having flashbacks to walls of people, packed panel rooms, the best Artists' Alley on the planet, and a really good time at what has become the premiere con on the East Coast.

So I'll say so long for now but expect plenty of con recapping in the very near future. Happy Sunday, everyone.

Hello from La La Land

So, yeah. New York Comic Con. Kind of a big deal. Yesterday (that's Friday, I think), while not sold out, still managed to pack quite a punch of people. Today? Well, today is sold out. Not a ticket remains. No room at the inn. People in every direction.

I can't even imagine.

There were times yesterday where I was crammed in an aisle, walking (more like shuffling, really) shoulder to shoulder with a whole mess of humanity. Mass of humanity? Mess. Mess of humanity; I'll go with that.

In addition to getting a slew of artwork--pretty much all of my pieces were purchased before the show started, a practice I will use again next year--I had the unique opportunity to attend this year's NYCC as an exhibitor. I helped a friend of mine unload and set up his small press booth and I even got to man that booth while he took a break.

It's an interesting experience, exhibiting at a comic con. Exhibiting at one the size of NYCC is even more of an interesting experience.

And let me tell you--it's tough to be a small press publisher at any show--but at the (second) biggest show on the planet? It's brutal. I sat behind the table and watched as people eyed up the goods--the comics and prints available at the table--and maybe even stopped to chat or grab a piece of candy from the bowl we put out.

And then I watched a whole lot of them walk on by and do the same thing to a number of other booths in the aisle.

Stop, maybe say hi, definitely grab some free candy, and then walk away. I certainly can't blame anyone for not spending money--especially considering ticket prices and NYC parking and restaurant pricing.

But at least flip through the books if you're gonna take the candy, ya know?

Anyway, if you're going to the show today or tomorrow, have an amazing time and (try to) see everything you want to see. You probably (absolutely, 100%) won't get to everything, and there are going to be lots and lots of people. But enjoy it, because this year especially, this show is proving itself as THE place to be in the comics industry.

There's a different feeling about the show now--and I heard quite a few people compare it to San Diego both in terms of location size, attendance, and importance within the industry.

Oh, and be sure to stop by the small press booths (on the way to the incredible Artists' Alley) and flip through a few books by people you've never heard of. It's good for the soul.

Have fun out there, Exfanders.

Q: How Can You Tell When a Convention's in Town?

A: Alex buys lots of comics art.

The New York Comic-Con is on, and already my blogging compadre has...well, I don't actually know how much art buying he's done yet, but he's definitely taken some pictures:

Somewhere, Bruce Wayne is naked.

Cool. Creepy. Doesn't look like anybody's wearing this Batsuit, either.

This...is not an empty Batsuit. Gotta diversify your portfolio, I guess.

Stay tuned: We'll be at Comic-Con (and the Anime Festival!) this weekend, and I can guarantee there will be stories, anecdotes, and musings from both the guy who knows what he's talking about, and me.

Something Wacky This Way Comes

This weekend I decided to officially kick off the Halloween Season by sitting down to watch Something Wicked This Way Comes, the 1980s Disney film adapted from Ray Bradbury's classic American novel.

In the film--and, obviously, in the novel--a weird and mysterious carnival comes to a small town and enraptures the denizens of said small town.

While I was lost in that film--one that was shown to me for the first time in a middle school English class, many years ago--I couldn't help but think of comparisons to something that will be happening to New York City later this week.

Just as the arrival of the strange Mr. Dark whipped townsfolk into a frenzy in Something Wicked, come Thursday New York Comic Con will have much the same effect on New Yorkers.

The Weird and Mysterious comic convention--second only to San Diego in terms of size and scope--will blow into the City that Never Sleeps and take it over completely for four days of wacky, weird, and wonderful.

And, as always, Exfanding will be there to cover it all!

Well, okay, so maybe we won't be there for the whole thing. Um. Nor will we be "covering" what's going on in any journalistic sense. We'll mostly be, um, shopping and gawking at things.

Mostly.

But we'll be there. Oh, yes, we'll be there.

And I'd say come by and see us, but we'll be wandering around aimlessly with no real command station, booth, or table. Plus, Nathaniel and I might be going to the show on two different days. Which would be like meeting Laurel without the Hardy, really.

And there will be about 85,000 other people there, so really, the chances of you finding either of us is pretty slim. Heck, the chances of me finding Nathaniel (if we're there on the same day, of course) will be pretty slim.

And I can spot that beard from space.

Anydigression, if you're in town and you like comics, anime, and/or general dorky wacky, I'm gonna go ahead and assume that you'll be there. And if you are going to be there, please feel free to drop us a line--either at our email addresses listed to the right or in the comments section below--and let us know what's got you all hopped up on the nerd gas.

I'm sure we'll have some kind of recap and/or attempt at something as the con is moving along and I'm willing to bet it'll be charming, classy, and hilarious.

So stay tuned, have fun, and for the love of Galactus keep that stack of books for Brian Bendis to sign at somewhere around...oh, say one.

Or two.

Let's say two.

Hello Again

Hello. I've been away for a while. But now I'm back.

It hasn't been the best couple of weeks for me or for my family, but I'll get into that some other time. Mostly because I can't bring myself to write about it, just yet.

In time, though.

As for today, well, I'm trying to get things back to normal. At work, at least, things seem to be normally insane, so there's that to keep me warm at night. I literally have piles of things on my desk, and on my floor, and on the empty desk in the empty cube next to mine; all things that I need to get done sooner rather than later.

All things that probably will take much longer to do than the time I've allowed for myself to do them in.

But despite this overwhelming feeling that I should just run as fast as I can to the nearest exit, I wanted to share the following with you, because it made me smile, and I hope it makes you smile, too.

A lot of things were reported coming out of Comic-Con a couple of weeks ago, and this little item managed to get lost in the shuffle. According to a number of sources (including Bleeding Cool), a little boy became separated from his father during the show.

He was scared, and he needed help. And, at Comic-Con, who do you turn to when you're scared and you need help?

The Flash and Wonder Woman, of course.
The boy went to the two super heroes because, as he said, he knew them. And if that doesn't melt your heart, then you, dear reader, have become way too cynical for even comic book fandom.

Back tomorrow with more.

San Diego Dreaming

So. San Diego Comic-Con, huh?

Preview Night was last night, and in just a couple of hours, the madness that is the official Day One will begin in San Diego. Hundreds of thousands of fans, creators, actors, directors, and--I'll just say it--weirdos, will make their pilgrimages to the mecca of geekdom, or the Dork Prom, or whatever else you'd like to call it.

And here I sit, at my desk, thousands of miles away.

As much as I've talked about not really wanting to be at Comic-Con--you know, because of my utter abhorrence of large, sweaty crowds--I always feel a bit left out on the first day of the show.

First days are always the best--everything's new and everyone's excited.

As cons wear on (and I'm assuming this is especially true of something as insane as San Diego), things tend to drag a bit. People get tired and frustrated with the crowds, or money runs out, or you just get to the point where, if you see one more cosplay Blue Beetle, you swear you'll start throwing haymakers.

Maybe that's just me.

Anyway, for today at least, I'll be all whimsical about what I'm missing--all the sights, sounds, books, art, panels, explosions (What? There's a new Michael Bay movie out now), creators, etc.

But here's a way to "be there" without ever having to leave the comfort of your own home. Or, in my case, my own car.

Starting tonight at 6:00 PM and running straight through until 3:00 AM Monday morning, the official Comic-Con Radio channel will cover, well, I'm assuming pretty much everything that's going on at the Show of Shows.

That's right. Comic-Con has a radio station. An official radio station.

And it's on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio, channel 141. You can check out the details right here, and remember to tune in today, starting at 6.

San Diego Comic Con Week: 2011 Edition

And here we are again--it's Monday of the year's biggest comic book week. Starting in just a couple of days, Comic Con International will once again descend upon San Diego, and the entire geek world will have its eyes squarely focused on every bit of minutia the convention spews forth.

But before the madness begins, we get to read Tweets from important comic book-type people, telling us all about their pre-San Diego preparations.

A week in sunny San Diego sounds nice and all, but I think I'd rather live vicariously through the Internet, and just read about all the goings on at the show.

Too many people, too much happening at the same time.

I'll take my chances at a smaller show, thanks, and I'll happily read about San Diego from the safety of my cubicle.

Speaking of living vicariously, today I wanted to share a link to a wonderful Comic Con story from Grant Morrison. It's about the time he met Superman.

Really.

Go check it out, right here at the Hero Complex website.

Book Expo America 2011

Well, Book Expo America 2011 has come and gone, and, ironically, I missed out on the event completely. Why? Because I was too busy making books to leave the office.

Irony is funny sometimes.

Still, plenty of people from my company did manage to make the trip into New York City and the Javitz Center, and from all accounts, this year's show was way less...depressing...than last year's.

In fact, it seems like things were downright upbeat at the 2011 edition of BEA.

But as with anything in publishing these days, you need to peel back the layers and look at what's really going on. Traditional publishers are having trouble making the shift to digital--something that, in today's world of bleeding edge technology, is staggeringly frustrating and, frankly, incredibly stupid--and at big shows like BEA, the major publishers do their best to put on a smiley face.

Now, certainly there was more to smile about at this year's BEA as opposed to last year's show, which featured curtained booths from exhibitors who had to pull out of the show at the last minute because they couldn't afford to make the trip. And there was even a digital presence there this time around.

But it's funny.

Depending on who I speak to, the story changes. Anyone over a certain age has come back into the office and said things like, "Well, attendance was up, and that's a good thing," and "According to the numbers, book sales are up from last year."

Well, okay. But last year saw a cataclysmic year in the industry. Anyone remember Borders?

Anyone under a certain age that attended the show has said things like, "There wasn't enough digital product." Which, really, should be the title of the book about the publishing industry, once the whole thing collapses in on itself.

For a cold, hard, and so-common-sensical-it-hurts look at the state of publishing today, I recommend this article, over on BNET, written by Erik Sherman about Book Expo.

It's good reading, I promise.

And, if you happen to work in publishing, then you already know everything in the article is true, but it's just nice to see someone putting it out there so bluntly. Because everyone else on the planet recognizes the importance of digital books, except for the people making the decisions about them at the publishers--both big and small.

Hopefully, by next year's BEA, this won't even be an issue. But it's a safe bet that it will be...

"Sakura Matsuri" and Other Words You'll Need to Wiki

Exfanded by Neko-chan

My college Anime Club, of which I am the VP, is known for three things: being friendly and welcoming to anyone who walks in the door; eating copious amounts of bento boxes and pizza; and liking Gurren Lagann a bit too much. We are not known for our organization and planning, and our definition of "field trip" means walking down the street to the Asian Bistro, yet this semester our club went super saiyan: we organized a button drive to raise money for Japan; we set up a cosplay photobooth at our Spring Fling; we sent a small squad of cosplayers to Anime Boston; and we sponsored our very first campus event - taking a busload of 46 students and faculty to the Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.

We were to meet the bus out front of campus at 8:30 am on Sunday morning. Now I half-expected the other students to groan, seeing as most of them still perceive waking up before eleven as a Herculean feat, but they were all there at 8:15, and most of them were fully decked out in cosplay outfits or yukata. I wore my own yukata, which I had made a few days beforehand from quilting fabric, and I managed to wrangle Nathaniel [Editor's note: That's me!] into helping me tie the obi sash (which, despite our combined force powers, still came undone less than an hour into the trip). [Editor's note: Not my fault!]

Concern about the day's proceedings started when we watched the bus miss the turn into campus and continue driving down the main road in the wrong direction. It being Sunday, the dispatch office of the chartered bus company was understandably declining to answer their phones, so we simply waited and hoped that the bus driver would realize the error of his ways and return to us someday.

At almost nine o'clock we finally caught sight of the bus once more, headed this time to the wrong side of campus. Seeing that our bus driver had a bad pathfinding AI, we sent our club president on a fetch quest to retrieve the bus and bring it to the designated meeting place.

Once that crisis was averted, we loaded everyone on and finally got underway...to the Bronx. Apparently our bus driver was wearing Ozzie pants that day. Our tickets were for the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. Our bus contract stated we were to be dropped off at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. We verbally confirmed with him we were going to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. He decided to go to the Bronx. And when we told him to pull over he blamed us for not providing him with written directions. And although he owned a GPS, he did not have it on because he did not know how to use it. And the Five Burroughs bicycle tour was blocking off half the roads we needed to drive down. Great. So we had a student set up the GPS with the right address, and we had some of the older gentlemen on the trip provide verbal directions to bypass the road blocks, and we arrived late to the festival having gained valuable XP from learning what bus driver to NOT hire for our next trip.

Luckily, most of the major performances and entertainment did not start until later in the day, so we still had some time to wander around the garden. I made my way from the entrance to the Cherry Esplanade, where rows of sakura trees were in full bloom, and the entire area seemed coated in pink frosting. I stopped to photograph the flowers, and to simply take in the beauty of the garden, which I had never visited before.

On my way down the Esplanade, I passed a number of cosplayers from shows I had never heard of, and one of them had an impressively big sword. I think it must have been too heavy of a prop to carry around, though, because every time I passed by that area during the course of the day he was still standing there having his picture taken, and the herd of fangirls around him seemed to multiply like singers in a Morning Musume video.

My next destination was the Yoko Trading booth, where I browsed through their selection of vintage kimonos, imported fabrics, and handmade accessories. Although I could have easily bought everything on display, my wallet talked me out of it, so I decided on a single cat-shaped pin made out of vintage fabric. I would post a picture of it here, but the kawaii overload would cause a cascade error in your positronic network.

Continuing down the main path, I came upon a series of tiny greenhouses which seemingly had no entrance, but had people inside. I determined I would get to the bottom of this mystery, which mainly involved circling around them again and again in bewilderment until I finally noticed the entrance was from a below-ground tunnel branching from the main greenhouse. Entering the building, I saw that there were several displays of award winning bonsai.

Some of them were 60-75 years old, and had been tended by multiple generations, each one helping to prune and shape the curve of the plant in a new direction. Most of the plants had been named after a haiku which helped to illustrate the character of the plant's growth. I've never really been much of a bonsai person, but I appreciate art, and the presentation of these plants helped to personify them and bring out the individuality and vitality of each one, showcasing them as "living sculptures" instead of just plants.

After exfanding my views on bonsai, I met up with another club member and toured the smaller greenhouses which had previously eluded me. Each one contained plants from a controlled climate, ranging from desert to tropical. I have to admit the tropical greenhouse was my favourite, as it contained the most lavish flowers, but the other ones were equally as interesting.

There was a scratch and sniff display of edible plants, there was a plant that had leaves taller than I am, and there were plants that looked like reject concept art for Final Fantasy monsters. I couldn't help thinking of the Literal Music Video of "White Wedding" while I was in the desert greenhouse, though, as there truly was "nothing safe in this room." Most of the plants were covered in spikes, or drills, or barbed wire, or other natural defenses, and everything was shaped like a monster, a cannon ball, or a blunt weapon. It was cool in a scary kind of way, but I think I prefer plants that don't resemble random encounters.

Seeing as the greenhouses were located next to the cafe, I was understandably hungry upon exiting the building. I decided to bypass the standard menu, and head back toward the Cherry Esplanade where there was a food tent selling Japanese snacks and bento. I had had a craving for taiyaki, and had been looking forward to getting it all week, but alas there was no taiyaki to be had. Instead I had a feast of cold soba, edamame, green tea mochi, onigiri, and hanami dango.

Just as I finished eating, the Taiko drumming performance started on the stage at the front of the tent, and I tried to work my way through the crowd in order to watch the musicians and dancers. Unfortunately, the crowd was so impossible to cut through that it was worthy of Goemon's Zantetsuken, so I worked my way around to the side of the tent, instead. There were fewer people there, but the view was obscured by the hazy plastic of the plastic rain guard, making it hard to distinguish anything beyond mere silhouettes. Once I reached critical eyestrain levels, I decided to simply listen to the music from a comfortable position on the Esplanade, where a few of the other club members were already relaxing.

Following the performance, I headed off to the J-lounge Stage to see Uncle Yo perform his geek-centric stand-up comedy routine. He had some great jokes, including why Gendo is the best father in anime, why Gurren Lagann is a perfect example of the male mentality, and why Japan cannot make us thin.

After meeting up with a group of friends at the performance, we were defeated by a wandering ninja, we listened to off-key and out-of-sync singers remind us why they have day jobs, and we leafed through manga selections that made me feel old and out of touch with the current younger generation of Naruto-crazed, Poké Ball-wielding, Kingdom Hearts-playing hooligans.

Since the group was headed to the bonsai exhibit that I had already explored, I made my way to the puzzle plaza where Maki Kaji, the Godfather of Sudoku, was holding a meet-and-greet. Mr. Kaji is a master puzzle-crafter and an inventor of various math and logic games, and he is the president of Nikoli, the puzzle book company that owns the rights to Sudoku. I had a chance to use my rusty Japanese in conversation with him, although I probably sounded as coherent as Mr. Saturn, and then he signed my book of "Extreme Sudoku" puzzles.

Continuing on, I passed by a demonstrator who was showing a crowd how to fold basic origami pieces, and then wandered over toward the art exhibits to see the traditional Gyotaku fish prints, and Becky Yee's "Back to the Streets" photography series. Gyotaku are created by rubbing rice paper directly on a painted fish, which is kind of gross to me as someone who does not eat seafood and would prefer that fish be left alone; therefore I didn't spend much time looking at the prints, and instead moved on to investigate the photography.

The photographs were interesting in concept because they juxtaposed the cosplaying counterculture of Japan's youth demographic with the traditional and elderly demographic of the family-owned shopping districts. The photo shoot was intended to both reassure the older generation that a change of clothing does not necessarily reflect a loss of values, and to also remind the youth culture that the old-fashioned shopping districts are a valuable Japanese heritage that should be preserved rather than allowed to fade and decline.

Returning once again to the hub of the Esplanade, I waited outside the tent for the Samurai play to end, and then nabbed a good seat for the Minbu dance performance. The folk dancers showcased a variety of traditional cultural and religious dances that coincide with various seasons or festivals over the course of the year. It was interesting to see how they utilized subtle variations in their uniform to alter the character of each dance, such as adding a bandanna and baggy pants to indicate a farmer's clothing, or adding a longer underskirt to indicate a more formal dance.

It is also interesting to see how cultures develop an ingrained form and order to their arts. For example, the traditional Japanese clothing silhouette is comprised of a robe that is folded crosswise at the front and belted in place. Even the crow costume of the Minbu dancers maintained this silhouette, combining a fringed, beaked hat with a black, belted robe. Conversely, Western fashion is based on the tunic silhouette and the button-down shirt, and most of our traditional costuming maintains those forms.

Another example of this sort of cultural detailing is a culture's distinct way of using props and masks in their performance arts. Each culture will invariably use those same items differently. Whereas American dancers might roll a top hat down their arm to show class, or wave a fan to show femininity, or use a mask to conceal their identity or individuality, the Minbu dancers affixed bells inside their hats and used them as tambourines, attached fans to their foreheads and feet to create the illusion of fish and flowers, and held their masks like a puppet to give gestural expression to a wooden prop. I believe it is these subtle differences that truly highlight the intrinsic beauty of a culture.

After the performance I had just enough time before the bus was scheduled to leave to wander through the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, which was filled with koi, turtles, waterfalls, stone lanterns, and wooden shrines in a breathtaking combination of crisp orthagonal planning and organic natural accents. It was the highlight of my day, and I could easily have sat there for hours. I took so many pictures that I reached the memory limit on my camera and had to delete old photographs just to capture the all the shots I wanted.

I ran back to the meeting spot, and managed to sneak a quick look inside the flower arranging exhibit while we were waiting for the stragglers to gather. Luckily we had a different driver for the return trip, one who actually knew where she was going, so the only excitement on the trip home was hiking the five blocks from the garden to the bus pick-up location, and making sure everyone was accounted for and safely on board, which somehow took four of us to confirm.

Apart from our initial navigational woes, everything turned out great. The day was beautiful, the scenery was awe-inspiring, the performances were filled with talent and ingenuity, the people were insightful, the food was delicious, and we didn't leave anyone behind. Overall, our first big excursion was a triumph {note: huge success}, and the club will definitely return next year.

(Photography Sources: The Sakura Matsuri banner is the property of the BBG. The "Back to the Streets" image is the property of Becky Yee. The image of Uncle Yo is his own. The image of Maki Kaji is his own. The images of the Minbu dancers, the hanami dango, and the flower arranging exhibit are the property of their respective owners. All other images are the property of Neko-chan.)