New York Comic Con - 2013.

In October of this year I left my native island of the United Kingdom and made the long trip to New York City for NYCC – This was my 2^nd time attending the convention and my first time attending it without being incredibly incapacitated by a Big Apple induced hangover.

http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com

I attended NYCC on Saturday, which is always the busiest day at any convention.

The pro’s of hitting the Con floor on Saturday:

. The atmosphere is electric, the cosplayers are out in full force. 

. The sheer amount of like minded people makes you feel a little less weird for getting excited over exclusive toys as a 25 year old man.

. The convention is full swing.

The cons of hitting the Con floor on Saturday:

. Its so busy that its hard to really get a good look at what you want sometimes.  

. You’ll queue for 3 hours for a $12 slice of pizza. 

. The stereotype of comic geeks having a certain odour about them are most definitely apparent.

Over all, I have to say, this convention is a breeding ground for real hardcore fanboys yet maintains more than enough exhibition and merchandise for any level of comic, movie, gamer, anime or Sci Fi fan. As testament, my girlfriend came along for the day and she couldn’t help but enjoy the whole experience. It’s no secret that the fat-cat studios and corps have kidnapped our beloved stories and characters for use on the big screen and gross over merchandising, but NYCC has managed to find the perfect balance between promoting popular culture and a truly geeky experience. For example, you can go and pick up your obscure 1^st printing of Captain Britain in Spanish, an indie Manga book and some exclusive Transformers figures, all whilst dressed as a cyber-punk Hobbit and no one will bat a lash . . . but you can also go and pick up a limited Breaking Bad print, a Batman New Era Hat and all the popular Graphic Novels without Fanboys sneering at your lack of true fandom and absence of a homemade superhero outfit.

For me, the balance between these two different types of attendees were truly brought together in “The Block”, this section of the Con took up a large section of the floor. It was full of independent artists selling limited works and adapts of past and current popular cult Film and TV shows, as well as selling the latest in trending figures and statues, graffiti art and clothing. It was clearly aimed towards the casual collector who wanted something special and unique to take from the Con, whilst retaining its roots in anti-culture.

Click here for a New York Times article on The Block

You can’t visit a convention without being utterly astonished by the amount Cosplayers. If you don’t what a Cosplayer is, its basically a more respectable word for the term for “Fancy Dress” Please don’t make the mistake of telling a Cosplayer you love their Fancy Dress, they will most probably swipe at you with there 6 foot paper mache sword or strike a violent pose relevant to said character. It seems that NYCC was no exception when it came to attracting the fantastical, overly happy and seriously dedicated costumed crusaders. Thousands of them . . . THOUSANDS.

Gender is no boundary.

Inanimate objects are no problem.

IRON THRONE COSPLAY - MUST WATCH

Artist Alley this year was moved into its own hall. In it, sat hundreds of talented pencil-man, creatives and writers. I had the pleasure of meeting the creators of two of my favourite books. Chew and Revival. All artists were happy to sketch, sign, chat and have a laugh. The mutual love for comics and animation was apparent by the light hearted yet buzzing atmosphere. Conventions in the UK seem to push the Artists to a back corner, literally, in an alley. We should be taking a leaf out of NYCC’s book and give these guys a prime spot, after all, they are the reason we are all here. They created the Characters we have all grown to love and will create future titles, hero’s and worlds for us all to obsess over.

In a nutshell, NYCC seems to have organised and staged an impeccable place of pilgrimage for any fan, of anything, within the realms of TV, Film and Comics. San Diego will forever be known as the “mecca”, but I can safely say that if the organisers of NYCC keep this delicate balance of fun and business. It will surpass your experience of any Convention by having nothing but respect for its Artist’s and Fans that make it all so awesome.

I hope you enjoyed the read and this has made you think about taking a day out to visit a convention in your city. I'll be visiting the Majority of London based conventions in 2014, but if things come together nicely . . . SAN DIEGO!

Stuff for the Casual Nerd. #1

This is the first in a line of posts of the same name that I plan on posting. Its basically a short list of geeky artifacts and artwork that us casual nerds would love to have. The merchandising for comic, cult TV and Film has gone interstellar and you cant move for comic character t-shirts in Topshop and other such "trendy" retailers. Each to their own, but some of us want something a little more special that can identify us to other like minded obsessives. 

So heres a few things that don't hurt the wallet but give you that geeky fix you crave.

A personal favourite of mine, as Back To The Future is one of my all time favourites. This is the Grays Sports Almanac iPad case. If I were to see this under the arm of someone on the train, i would automatically think to myself "me and this dude could totally be friends" despite knowing nothing about him. The same way that fans of The Smiths recognise each others Morrissey quiffs and feel an instant connection through mutual misery and heartache.

Your iPad may not wield future telling sporting results (its 13 years out of date anyways) but it will get you nods of approval and make you feel awesome. Exclusive to Firebox.com at £19.99

The weather has been pretty impressive here in the UK, so winter isn't coming any time soon. But regardless, the popularity of Game Of Thrones is unquestionable and isn't exclusive to the hardcore warcraft type geeks. 

This cook book features foods stuffs mentioned in both the books and TV show. I say grab your friends, dress up in fur coats, light enough candles that the fire brigade are on standby, make some black bread, mead, stew and poor some ale into a few tankards and speak with a northern accent the whole night. Surely thats the best way to get the most out of this cook book? Check ThinkGeek.com

I'm going to assume that the majority of us aren't addicted to crystal meth but are huge Breaking Bad fans? The signature blue narcotic produced by our boys Jessie and Walter is now available in a less harmful chemical make-up, in the form of bath salts and this won't melt through your tub, along with the person in it . . . great scene!

Be sure to not have this go through airport security and expect some weird looks from friends using your bathroom. This is cult marketing and merchandising at its finest and once again, the awesome people over at Firebox.com have clenched the exclusive right to sell this in the UK for just £14.99

Art for passionate fans.

Its the small things in someones room/house/apartment that say the most about them. For me, nothing identifies my personality more than the music, art and movies I love. So i've compiled a few a list of places that sell awesome artwork to grace your walls with.

One craze that seems particularly popular right now are the undoubtedly ultra cool minimalist style movie posters. Simple design based illustrations that depict famous and popular moments from cult movies and TV shows.

First up, the team over at Minimal Prints have an awesome selection of posters. These are only £10 a pop which is a total bargain. They aim to design prints that show off your love for film and retain a sense of style at the same time. Sometimes dressing up as Batman and going to a comic book convention sacrifices style points but shows unconditional fandom. So these posters are a perfect balance.

  

Head over to www.Minimal-Prints.com to grab a cost effect and stylish print now. 

If you're looking to spend a little bit more and get a piece of artwork that is limited or exclusive then look no further than Dark City Gallery. I recently bumped into these guys at the London Film & Comic Con. They had, by far, the most standout and sleek looking stand at the entire convention. Clearly, they were catering for guys like myself who wouldn't be found arguing on geek forums, but will be sitting with a coffee and Empire magazine on the train. 

Dark City Gallery

Dark City gallery are more expensive, but for good reason. All their prints are limited and numbered. They also offer framing options which I can honestly recommend as they looked amazing in their frames at the Comic Con.

Dark City Gallery

This Superman print is a personal favourite of mine. The minimal pre WWII Hollywood style is a refreshing break from the comic book illustrations so often portrayed by comic book fan art and posters. This also adds to the history of Superman, as he first appeared in 1938 in Action Comics and compliments the Golden Age of comics perfectly.

Dark City Gallery

Next up we have the amazing and more illustrated styles of Art from the guys at Under The Floorboards. These guys really caught my eye at London Film and Comic Con. The art they were selling was instantly outstanding. Bright colours, tons of detail and geeky references within the illustrations. These prints are very high quality and many are limited. If there is something you have seen on the stand at a convention, a piece on flickr or anywhere else (but doesn't appear on their store), then you are welcome to send them an email and ask for price and availability.  

Under The Floorboards

Under The Floorboards

Under The Floor Boards

So there it guys, a great way to spend some extra cash on making your living space way more personal and expressing your love for all things your geeky for. Lets face it, you'd spend the same amount on those mass produced, low quality and generic Ikea prints of Flowers and red buses on black and white backgrounds. And this way . . . . you put money in the hand of the Artists themselves and support other passionate fans to create more amazing artwork.

THE WALKING DEAD. 10 YEARS OF ZOMBIE SURVIVAL.

In October, The Walking Dead will be celebrating 10 years of being of gracing the racks at comic stores with its 115th issue. To say this comic was an unexpected hit is an understatement. In a time when comic sales were dwindling, who would have thought a zombie soap opera would show the superheroes how its done? In a decade The Walking Dead take on a life of its own, with character obsessed fans, a stream of merchandising and no thanks to its astronomically successful TV adaptation.

To celebrate, there will be 12 different covers for issue 115. There will be your standard cover, a blank cover (for sketches) and 10 variants that will create one large piece of joining art work depicting iconic moments from the series. The comic store Infinity & Beyond will be exclusively selling limited edition bundles containing all 12 covers, all signed, with a Certificate of authenticity and an exclusive A3 print.

This is a must have collectable to any Walking Dead fan. These covers will not have reprints and will fly out fast.


               For more information on how to Pre Order your set now just click the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Infinity-Beyond-Comic-Shop

NEWS: Warner eyeing actors in mid 40's for Batman

San Diego Comic Cons biggest announcement was arguably the introduction of Batman in the second Man of Steel movie. For me, this was a good move because the idea of a Justice League movie just seems a bit odd, as the characters in JLA will be particularly difficult to translate to screen (watch Green Lantern).

The first I asked myself was "Who the hell will play Batman?" Which I think is the question on all our tongues. Hardcore fans will be arguing over what Batman will be portrayed in the film, as throughout the comics, there are multiple series which range Batman in different suites, circumstances and age's.

Sourced from www.Batman-on-film.com

So the rumour coming from Batman On Film is that Warner Bros are eyeing actors in they're mid 40's, which squashes the idea of Batman being played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. 

The phrase that has popped up along with this rumour is Batman will be a "grizzled veteran who has been on the job for several years" Seeing as Henry Cavill is newly in his 30's, this should give Snyder some good room for character dynamic between the two. It will also save time with in the first act of introducing Batman as a new hero on the block, but maybe he's an already present feature of the universe they have created in Man Of Steel.

I vote Idris Elba or Josh Brolin for the new Batman. But as with Cavill, a lesser known actor could really create something special in this new DC Universe. 

May Thy Force Be With Thee'

Star Wars Gets The Shakespeare Treatment

Star Wars fanatics would argue that George Lucas is as an important storyteller as William Shakespeare. Feuding families, rebels, wars and forbidden loves are both well documented by both writers. So, I'm going to have to say, its not really that hard to draw comparisons between the two.

This new piece of creative awesomeness that is Star Wars merchandise is a retelling of A New Hope, in the style of Shakespeare. Something that now I've seen done, seems long overdue. Lets face it, English High School lessons would have been a lot more fun.
As well as the beautifully well transcribed story by Ian Doescher, the reader gets to feast their eyes on 20 stunningly original illustrations that would fit well on the walls of some castle/spaceship - same thing really.

One of my favourite websites for quenching my payday thirst is Firebox.com (available to buy £11.99). A place I recommend all you casual nerds should go to lightly litter your apartment and living spaces with all your favourite geeky pleasures. The best thing is, they have the First Act of this intergalactic re-imagining to read digitally here - http://media.firebox.com/pdfs/Star-Wars_excerpt.pdf

OLBOY REMAKE. TRAILER REACTION.

Western and Hollywood remakes of cult foreign cinematic hits are a notoriously difficult venture. Not just for the Directors, but also for us fickle movie fans. I for one am guilty of being that guy who stands over people saying “yeah, the original is way better, but you probably haven’t seen it”  Then immediately hearing how much of hipster I sound afterwards. After all, sometimes it works . . . The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was an absolute blinder, so good in fact that its one of the few remakes that divide film fans and seems to go against the golden rule of “The original is better”.

When I first heard that Oldboy was getting a Hollywood reboot, I was the first to slap my hand on my forehead and moan about how it shouldn’t be touched. Just like bands should never cover Queen. Its just one of those flawless original movies that sits proudly in your DVD collection along side the likes of Ong Bak, Leon and Thirst, that you assume will stand alone in time.

The trailer took me by surprise if I’m being honest. Spike Lee is clearly a fanatical film fan and probably new the tall order that stood in front of him when tackling this modern day classic. He has a great knack for making “Hollywood” movies look independent and honest, but still adds that sexy-noir vibe that is so difficult to get right.

Josh Brolin also gives me no worries at all. After watching the trailer for the first time, he looked completely in place and I can already see him with an octopus crawling around his war beaten face. Also, it’s not hard to resemble Min-Sik Choi with a mop of hair and an all-consuming beard. So Brolins acting will really shine through that Maine of his

The only concerns I have will be the storyline and transcription. The twist at the end of the original Oldboy will make anyone with a female family member cross their legs and throw up in their mouth a little. These kinds of extremely uncomfortable subject matters are writhe outside of mainstream western filmmaking, but seem quickly tackled in foreign cinema. Maybe we desensitise ourselves because we effectively read these things on screen via subtitles, instead of hearing them blurted in English by some Hollywood super star, meaning the shock factor has a wider spread reach amongst audiences? I am putting my faith in Spike Lee to keep the story the same, it would be tragic if he catered for the sensitive mass of cinema goers and didn’t bring them into a riskier form of storytelling.

In this trailer, we get a glimpse of what is undoubtedly one of the highlights of the original. Which is the “Hammer” scene. A desperate fight in a hallway, between our man with a rusty hammer and an exaggerated of un seemingly loyal henchmen. The little teaser shot in the trailer already looks fantastic and shot differently, probably something fanboys will be annoyed about initially, but as long as they do the whole scene in one un-cut take, then I’ll be a happy chappy.

Time to put our qualms with remakes aside and put our Faith into Spike Lee. This looks promising.