Author: Emily S. Whitten

Emily S. Whitten Looks Forward to NYCC 2016!

Columns
October 4, 2016

The New York Comic Con is upon us once again, and I can’t wait. This year, as usual, I have a massive list of things I want to see, people I want to talk to, and, of course, merchandise I want to take a gander at (not to buy it, of course. Oh no no no! Certainly not, considering I have way too many collectibles already. I’m just going to look. Really. Just…you know, a little bit. No buying here, nosiree…um). There are also a few cool parties floating around…and you know how I love a good party.

Everyone who goes to NYCC has their own unique wish list of what they want to experience while there. But in case you aren’t sure what you want to see first, here are some of the things I’m most looking forward to. Maybe they’ll appeal to you, too!

Panels

I’ve finally managed to catch myself up on a lot of the great shows out there. The first of these is The Walking Dead. I had to take a break on that show after the first season, despite the awesome character arcs, because there was just a leetle too much zombie head-squishing for me to handle non-stop (from which information we all know how I’d fare in the zombie apocalypse. I’d be the one hiding behind Daryl). But once I started in again I just couldn’t stop – the show is such a great adrenaline-plus-compelling-character mix, with just the right balance of cliff-hangers.

So this NYCC, I am super-psyched to finally experience a Walking Dead panel without my usual concern about spoilers. So many cast members are going to be there (Andrew Lincoln, Norman Reedus, Danai Gurira, Steven Yeun, Michael Cudlitz, Lauren Cohan, Sonequa Martin-Green, Melissa McBride, Lennie James, and Alanna Masterson) and I can’t wait to see what they have to say about the new season.

Now that I’m back into Gotham (and also have had the pleasure of meeting several of the fantastic cast members and even interviewing one) I can’t miss a Gotham panel. NYCC is offering “Inside Gotham,” with David Mazouz, Erin Richards, and Robin Lord Taylor, and it’s definitely on my list. I’ve already seen a couple of Gotham panels thanks to Dragon Con, and from that I know these folks are definitely worth the price of standing in line. Gotham panel? I’m so there.

Netflix and Marvel are killing it with their partnership on shows like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage. Now that Luke Cage has dropped, next up is Iron Fist. I’m particularly curious to see how the mystical martial artist will fit into the street-smart collection of characters that Marvel has developed to date – so there’s no way I’m going to miss the Iron Fist panel, which will give us a sneak peek into what’s coming to Marvel’s Netflix line-up March 17, 2017.

Speaking of The Walking Dead and Daredevil… I am kind of notorious among some friends for loudly declaring that I can’t stand The Punisher (which stems in part from his actual character, and perhaps in part from the fact that every Marvel blind box toy I’ve ever opened magically morphs into The Punisher right before I open it. Seriously. At one point I had six little Punishers, and none of them by choice. Argh.)

But I will admit that The Punisher as portrayed by Jon Bernthal in the Netflix Daredevil series was really well done; and also I will say that while Shane on The Walking Dead was an infuriating character, he was also really psychologically interesting, given the intersection of his love for his best friend, his obsession with his best friend’s wife, and the misogynistic tilt of that obsession that clearly took it out of the category of real love and into a dark, scary place, despite his firm belief that he really loved her.

NYCC is doing two spotlights on Jon Bernthal, with most of the focus being on his role as The Punisher; and given my interest in the way he portrayed both of those characters, I’m going to do my best to get to at least one.

And finally, it wouldn’t be a New York Comic Con for me without going to see the Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles panel. I’ve been covering the show for four years, since NYCC 2013, and I haven’t lost my love for it (or the excellent cast and crew) at all. It’s such a great show, full of humor, and heart, and fun characters, and cool animation; and I’m stoked to see what else the cast and crew have to share with us since the last time I chatted with them at San Diego Comic Con. Whatever they bring us, it’s a guaranteed good time.

There are tons of other panels out there, and my FOMO will undoubtedly be in full swing, but I can’t do it all! So after attempting to see all of the panels above, I’ll probably move on to my other goals, such as visiting the:

People

There are a lot of really cool entertainment celebrities at NYCC, and I might get the opportunity to chat with a few; but when it comes to catching up with guests, my favorite people to talk to are always sitting in Artist Alley. I can’t even begin to list all the cool and talented people I want to see on this year’s comics guest-list; but I do know for sure that I’m already looking forward to walking the vast aisles of NYCC’s Artist Alley and seeing what everyone has brought to the tables this year.

One thing I really love about NYCC is that, despite the focus on entertainment guests, their Artist Alley is full of top-quality folks (and while I won’t list them all, I will say I’d be sad to miss Amanda Connor, Amy Chu, Art Baltazar, Clayton Henry, Cully Hamner, Dan Govar, David Gallaher, Dennis Calero, Dustin Nguyen, Fred Van Lente, Greg Pak, Janet Lee, Jeremy Haun, Jim Calafiore, Jimmy Palmiotti, Joe Harris, Katie Cook, Louise Simonson, Mark Brooks, Mark Morales, Matteo Scalera, Reilly Brown, Sanford Greene, Sara Richard, Thom Zahler, Tony Moy, and Walter Simonson, among others). And maybe along with seeing some old friends and new I will finally, finally meet Fabian Nicieza, after several conventions wherein we are both there and I don’t get to his table in time. Here’s hoping!

Of course after a hard day’s work seeing panels, wandering Artist Alley, and also, of course, exploring the con floor and merchandise and admiring some awesome cosplay, everyone needs to unwind. And although NYCC doesn’t compete with SDCC when it comes to the after-hours hangouts, I have managed to locate a few cool-sounding…

Parties

Sonicboombox is organizing a couple of parties this year, and I fully intend to hit at least the Friday one. This party will be at the Bowlmor Times Square, and is combined with the Image Comics After-Party. I attended that one last year, and had a really fun time; so that’s at the top of my list for this year. Sonicboombox is also doing a Cosplay dance party at Slake NYC on Saturday – and both the Friday and Saturday events feature giveaways, cosplay guests and photo booths, and fun stuff to do there (dancing, bowling, arcade games, or whatever takes your fancy). All the details for those events and ticketing can be found here.

If bowling alleys aren’t your thing, another Friday option is the Super Smashed Bros. V party, hosted by NYCRavers. This party is definitely for gamers, with a video game-themed EDM line-up of music, and a Super Smash Bros. tournament with cash prizes (for those who would rather play than dance!). It’s easy to get to via train, and goes late into the night.

Friday offers plenty of gamer-friendly options, with the GBX 2016 Electric Underground Party at Space Ibiza going on as well. With “the best anime/gaming/nerdcore music remixed into EDM” to dance to, this sounds like another one that gamers who also like to hit the dance floor would love. And, of course, as with most NYCC parties, cosplay is welcome.

The only reason I might not make it to Sonicboombox’s Saturday party is that it’s the same night as the Adult Swim Tyrannic’s Third Maiden Voyage. This is “a three-hour cruise along the Hudson, featuring a night of NY views & city sights, an up-close look at Lady Liberty, a live performance from a secret musical guest, and the company of your Adult Swim Friends & Family.” The last couple of years they’ve done this, I thought it looked really fun (being a huge fan of boats and being on the water, as is clear from my mega-excitement over my upcoming voyage on January’s comic-con cruise, Fan2Sea); but schedules never quite aligned before. This year, they have, and I RSVP’d early to make sure I didn’t miss out.

Well! That’s probably enough to keep me busy; but as with every NYCC, I’m also looking forward to having unexpected adventures. And in-between all of that, I’ll be keeping tabs on my plans via the NYCC app, which you really should have if you’re going adventuring at NYCC.

So snag that, make your plans, and if you see me at the con, don’t forget to say hey!

And until next time, Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten: Fan2Sea –The Comic-Con on a Cruise Ship

Columns
September 28, 2016

I’ve always wanted to go on a cruise. I love being out on the water, and have even joked that I’d live in a tiny house surrounded by water if I could. So it’s kind of silly that I’ve never been on a cruise, isn’t it? And I love comic-cons, as anyone who’s ever read my column will know. So when I first saw that someone was organizing Fan2Sea, a comic-con on a cruise ship (and one with an adorably punny name, at that!), I thought, “What? I have to go! Also, this absolutely sounds too good to be true! Because it’s a comic-con. On a cruise ship. How can this be?!?”

And then I saw the line-up, and my mind boggled even more. Because after a million and three recommendations from literally everyone I know, I’m in the midst of watching the Netflix original, Stranger Things. I’ve also just finally caught up on The Walking Dead (to which I am completely addicted – despite the zombie-ick factor – because it’s just so good). I’m super excited about Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (and everyone knows I loved the first one). I am a longtime fan of Batman, a.k.a. The Dark Knight. And I am, as every single person except maybe someone living in a hole on a remote island knows, a huge Deadpool fan. No. Seriously. It’s like I never stop writing about him. Ever. Yep, that kind of a huge fan.

So when I went to look up the details of Fan2Sea, and I saw that their line-up includes cast members from Stranger Things, The Walking Dead, and Guardians of the Galaxy, and also Deadpool and Batman comics creators, my mind pretty much exploded from excitement. Add to that the excitement of going on a cruise, with all the cool experiences that has to offer; and port stops in Tampa, Key West, and Cozumel, Mexico (I’ve never been to Mexico! But I’ve been meaning to go!); and it’s a wonder I’ve even been able to pick up all the little brain-pieces.

Fortunately, I recovered my wits enough to determine that I had to know more about Fan2Sea. Like: where did it come from? Who had this marvelous idea? Is it going to be as awesome as it sounds? More awesome?!? (Which I might not be able to handle, but I’m willing to take the risk.)

To get answers to all of the questions swimming through my overheated brain, I got in touch with the people who are putting on this wondrous event, and Stefan Lawrence of Rethink Leisure & Entertainment sat down with me to give me the lowdown on everything all of us con-goers need to know before we decide that we must embark on the grand Fan2Sea adventure. Read on for all the details!

ESW: So who came up with the idea for a comic-con on a cruise ship, and what was the inspiration behind it?

SL: We were brought this project by one of the investors who had the idea of a boutique-style comic-con on a cruise. It’s a response to some of the larger comic-cons. They’re delightful, they’re amazing, but there’s also so much friction involved – there’s the waiting in lines, there’s the crowds – a lot of it can be a little bit stressful even if you love this stuff. So we have partnered with a travel agency that specializes in themed cruises; and had the idea to do basically a boutique comic-con – where it’s a limited number of people, and you’re eliminating all of the standing in line, waiting around…all the bits and pieces that make comic-con both maddening and delightful at the same time. We want to take all the good stuff and eliminate all the other bits. So you’re staying at a luxury hotel, on board this ship. You’re not waiting in line forever to get to huge panels. We’re running the big panels twice so that everybody will get a chance to see all the big panels on the ship. It’s a lot about making this the most artist-friendly and the most fan-friendly convention that anyone’s ever attended.

ESW: I know some of you come from a theme-park background; and it sounds like at least some of you have gone to enough comic-cons to know what they’re like and know why something else is needed. Can you talk about the background of the team that is making this happen?

SL: I work for a company called Rethink Leisure & Entertainment. We’re a theme-park design company made up of a gang of ex-Disney Imagineers, ex-Universal creatives… So the thing that we’re really good at is customer experiences; basically creating fun events and experiences for guests. So that’s always our focus. Because whether you’re master-planning an entire theme park or you’re doing an attraction, you’re constantly thinking about how an experience is from beginning to end. So that’s been our focus from day one. We don’t want to welcome you on board the boat and be like, “Here’s a bunch of celebrities – have at it.” We want to make sure that the experience is fun the entire way though. So for instance, we’re working with the 501st in Tampa so that the moment you get on board, there will be storm troopers that are welcoming you on board the ship on the gangway. We’re going to have themed parties every single night. We really want to make sure that it’s…kind of a “surprise and delight” thing. So that you feel like this is a party that was created and curated just for you.

ESW: It sounds like your Rethink staff comes from some of the best companies geeks are familiar with; what are some other things that Rethink has done that we may have heard about?

SL: We ourselves are a fairly young company; we’ve been around for about three years now. In the sort of comics space, we designed the world’s largest toys and collectibles store, which is in Dubai – it’s called Comicave. It’s 17,000 square feet, it has themed areas – we actually have a full Iron Man hall of armor in there; there’s a Star Wars collectibles room that looks like the Death Star; there’s the “rooftops of New York,” which is where you can buy all of your single-issue comic books; there’s an otaku anime and Gundam area – so that’s one example, and the whole store is pretty spectacular.

In terms of our team here, they’re the people who have worked on everything from – we have the show writer from Harry Potter in Orlando, and Universal Studios Orlando and Hollywood. They wrote all the scripts for the rides for Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. One of our senior creative directors here was on the opening day team of Universal’s Islands of Adventure. The President and CEO worked on Disneyland Paris. People here have worked on Transformers, the ride. Everyone here in the office lives and breathes pop-culture – so shifting over into this realm of things really is not much of a stretch.

ESW: So are you guys super excited to be getting into this area?

SL: Speaking just for myself – I love this stuff. I love comics, I love movies – this is all stuff that I do anyway – it’s all completely up my alley. So to be in this playground is a delight for me personally. But we also have an office full of people who have desks covered in toys, and we all make the pilgrimage down to San Diego every year and come back with mounds and mounds of stuff. So it’s all a world that we love already. It’s tangential to what we have done in the past, but it’s completely in our wheelhouse in terms of what we love.

ESW: You’ve talked about your goal, which is making sure everyone has an amazing time. Can you give me both the immediate picture of what this particular cruise experience would be like for a fan; and then what goals Rethink has for the future?

SL: The immediate experience is that we want this to be like a big geeky slumber party. As opposed to a comic-con where everybody is on the show floor during the day, and then you have to disperse and go find parties or whatever else you feel like doing. We’re going to be running panels into the evening; but then when the evening time comes, we are going to transition into parties. We’re having cosplay karaoke; themed DJ parties; outdoor movie nights on the pool deck that are going to be themed, with themed cocktails – so like the first night we’re doing a double feature with Jaws and Piranha, and so we’re going to have Blood in the Water themed cocktails that go along with that. We’re going to have complete Stranger Things ‘80s themed parties. So we’re looking to extend the entertainment, so when you come out of your panels and you’re like, “What’s next?” there’s a full array of things to do.

We’re working with the chefs on board the ship to provide special menus – so that you can have a Game of Thrones menu that you can choose in the dining room, or you can have a Bladerunner-themed future Asian fusion-style thing that you can choose as part of your menu. We’re running movie marathons all day every day – so there’s always going to be something to do. And even when you go back to your cabin, we’re partnering with a company called Monster Channel that runs late-night monster movies as programming, so there will be a bespoke monster movie channel that you can turn on in your cabin at all hours of the day. And there’s no one else on the ship except comic-con attendees. Some ships will buy a block of rooms for a themed event – but we have the whole ship; so everybody on the ship is going to be there for this one thing.

ESW: You know what it reminds me of, in a good way, is the way Dragon Con works, in the sense that you get to stay in the place where everything is happening, as opposed to trekking to a convention center. But again, Dragon Con is a big, big show; and the Fan2Sea experience sounds like a more intimate experience without the hassle of the habitrails or anything. That sounds amazing.

SL: Exactly – and we are filling every single venue that we can fill with programming. We are taking over almost every single open bar or space. So you can just wander through the ship and see something cool that’s happening.

ESW: That is amazing and brings me to the question of: what with being on a cruise ship, that has a comic-con, and stops in ports and everything – how in the heck are we going to overcome our FOMO, our Fear of Missing Out? Because it sounds like the sort of thing where I just want to do everything, immediately. Any tips for people who are like, “This sounds good, but I’m overwhelmed by all the potential awesomeness?”

SL: Not to worry: well before the cruise sails, we are going to be releasing schedules and checklists you can put together. I know people who go, for instance, to Disney World, and they program everything to within an inch of its life, and that’s how they vacation; and I know people who want to go on a journey of discovery, and they’re like, “I just want to go out and see whatever I want to see, as I want to see it. We are going to give you the tools to be able to plan everything beforehand, if that’s what you want to do; or if you just want to wander into the cinema and see what’s playing, or wander down to the pub and join the trivia quiz that’s happening, or head on over to cosplay karaoke because you hear it from down the hall; the ship is set up to accommodate both things. You can rigorously plan your day; but then you can also take it as it comes.

We are being careful to get out of the way of some of the bigger stuff – so if you definitely want to see a Stranger Things panel, we are not going to be doing something exactly in that category somewhere else at the same time. We’re trying not to cross programs so that there are two blockbuster programs at once. We are trying to make sure that the program gets out of the way of itself. But, you know, you are going to miss something, because there’s just going to be too much happening for you not to.

ESW: Sure – and that happens at every con. So I’ve been to a ton of comic-cons, but I’ve never been on a cruise. For those of us who are cruise newbies, are you going to be putting up tips for that, and if you want to experience everything on the ship, are you going to feel like you’re losing out on that if you take time to explore the ports?

SL: The ship gets in to port usually at about 8:30 in the morning for both Key West and Cozumel. We are delaying our big programming until later in the morning on those days; so the big panels will probably start around 11 or 12, although that’s not final yet. So that if you would like to go to port, you can do so. You can get off, go check out Key West, go check out Cozumel; but necessity dictates that we will have to start the panels sometime. So we are giving some windows of exploration if that’s what you want to do. We are also cognizant that we are programming things to go late into the evening – most of the programming will last until three or four in the morning. So you can also sleep in a bit, because the earliest programming will start around 9:30 or 10:00. So there’s no crack-of-dawn programming.

ESW: So if this all goes well, what’s next?

SL: Our goal is to be the comic-con destination of the year. Like, we’re never going to be San Diego Comic Con, or that scale; we’re never going to be New York Comic Con. But outside of that, we want this to be the coveted destination so that when this goes on sale, people are excited, and they can’t wait to see what the line-up is. We want it to be something people look forward to every year, and get excited about; and they can sort of make their own, and it can be something special that happens. We want this to be a yearly tradition. And our goal would be to start with one a year; but a West Coast and East Coast launch would be something else we’d be interested in doing – but we’ve got to get this one done first! But I think people are going to be surprised to see what a good-quality experience this will be, for fans and guests – and the quality of our guests is top-notch, as well. And then we want to grow this as an experience every year.

ESW: I like that. So if you are someone who has been to a ton of comic-cons, but you’ve never been on a cruise, what would you tell people about why they should try this experience?

SL: If you’ve never been on a cruise ship before, you might be surprised by actually how nice they are. We went and did a visit to one of the sister ships earlier this month; and the ship is absolutely spectacular, the venues are gorgeous and themed, the cabins are really, really nice, the restaurants are fabulous; it’s going to be completely unlike staying at the Marriott and going over to a con. The actual experience is going to be completely different than your usual con experience – but in a good way.

ESW: It sounds amazing, Stefan; and thank you for this great information!

After our interview, Stefan also let me know that the con has just implemented a fab booking feature for those of us who want to experience Fan2Sea but aren’t sure who else might want to go and be our roomie, and who can’t afford to just book a whole room without roomies. Now, if you go to the Eventbrite page, the ticket choices include several room options where you can book a bed in a four-guest cabin, and roommates will be assigned by gender. The individual bed ticket includes all fees, too, so it’s easy to know what you’re paying for the whole experience. Pretty cool!

Well that wraps up this column, but stay tuned for more Fan2Sea news in the upcoming weeks – and also, when January rolls around, for con reports from yours truly, because I’ll be going on this amazing comic-con cruise, experiencing everything so that I can share it with you, my faithful readers.

…But really, you should go too and share it with me in person, because OMG why wouldn’t you?!

Hope to see you there!

And until next time, Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten: Dresden Files’ Jim Butcher Talks Peace Talks

Columns
September 26, 2016

I am, as I have previously noted, a big fan of Jim Butcher’s long-running series about the modern-day wizard Harry Dresden, a.k.a. The Dresden Files. The stories and characters are great fun and the books just keep getting better, and more complex, and deeper overall. If you haven’t encountered the series before, I highly recommend it; and of course Wikipedia has a handy list of all of the books if you need to see where to start.

At Dragon Con in 2013, I sat down with Jim to hear more about book fifteen of the series, Skin Game. It was a delight talking with Jim and getting to learn the latest on a world I’ve grown to love. And now, fortunately, I’ve gotten to have that experience again – this time, at Dragon Con 2016 and with book sixteen, a.k.a. Peace Talks. Jim shared all kinds of great information on what we’ll be seeing in this latest Harry Dresden adventure – as well as a couple of tidbits about Dresden-adjacent character stories that will be coming our way soon. So read on to find out all the juicy details! And, if you are so inclined, you can also watch the interview here.

ESW: Jim, Skin Game left us with so many characters with potential storylines that could be the next focus. The next book is titled Peace Talks. Please tell us about how everyone sits down, holds hands, and has a little peace talk. What are we going to be seeing?

JB: For the past several years within the storyline there’s been a lot of unrest in the supernatural world, because some lunatic destroyed the Red Court of vampires, who were one of the major players in the supernatural world. As a result of that, a power that has been lying low and quiet for a long time has started asserting itself into the vacuum that the Red Court left behind.

ESW: And that is the Fomor? I was wondering when we were going to see more about what they’re doing.

JB: Yes; who are not just the Fomorians of legend; but the Fomorians got driven back into the sea long ago, so they’ve been collecting the refuse from all the other pantheons of bad guys who’ve managed to survive whatever conflicts were going on at that point. So they’ve been causing a lot of trouble, and they’re getting everyone together for peace talks. They want to establish themselves and they’ve requested a summit.

ESW: So they’re the instigators of this.

JB: They are.

ESW: Because so far from what we’ve seen of them, they’re mostly just hostile.

JB: Yes, they’ve been universally hostile and suddenly they show up and say “Let’s sit down and talk.” And everybody’s like “…Okay. We’ll do that.” So of course Harry’s going to be involved in it. Generally speaking, it’s going to be a meeting under the Accords. All these different powers, all these supernatural influences are coming to Chicago. Harry gets to see that coming and say, “Man, I feel bad for whatever city that’s going to happen in. Because nothing could go wrong with that!”

“Yeah, it’s going to be here.”

“…What?”

ESW: Of course it’s good for the storyline for it to be in his town, but on the other hand you’re going, “Hmmm, why would they pick Chicago? I wonder…”

JB: Chicago is one of the great crossroads of the world.

ESW: It’s a major hub.

JB: For all kinds of travel, for shipping, for railroads and air; so it is the place in the middle of this continent. But anyway, so they’re having the meeting there; I’m sure everything will be fine.

ESW: Hah! I’m really bummed that Harry no longer has his giant map of the city that he built, because that would be really handy to have in this situation.

JB: It would. It would be totally awesome to have.

ESW: Perhaps he could be tinkering with another one while all of this is going on?

JB: Oh, well he would, but he’s busy being a dad!

ESW: Yes! I was going to ask, because at the end of Skin Game we have Maggie, who is so precious, and Mouse (who is so gigantic), and now Harry kind of seems to be settling into his role as a dad. What’s going on, is she still with the Carpenters?

JB: The way that Harry’s going to set it up is, he’s going to keep Maggie all summer. During the school year, she’s going to go to a boarding school in town, St. Marks Academy for the Gifted and Talented; it’s sort of where the supernatural folks all send their kids. And my intention is, in the next few years I’m going to write kind of a young adult series about Maggie Dresden at the Academy. She’ll be there with Mouse; because she seriously does have all kinds of problems and issues that are challenges for her. She’s got bad social anxiety; she’s got several phobias – which are understandable given her past.

ESW: I can imagine! And does she have, also, some special talents – I would assume?

JB: Well, she’s got Mouse, who’s kind of like the super-assistance dog. But really her main talent is that when everything’s on fire and people are screaming, she’s completely normal. You know – being Harry Dresden’s daughter, it’s like, “Oh, chaos. I feel a little more comfortable and secure for some reason.” And then the kids all have this pantheon of monsters that they have to deal with, that you don’t remember after you become a grown-up. So as the kids age out of school, they forget – they can’t interact with the monsters anymore. They don’t remember that they were there. It’s just like, “Oh, that was a game that we used to play when we were kids.”

ESW: That is really cool; I love it!

JB: Well, it’s fun because there’s this culture among children that stays alive, that no grown-up attempts to keep alive, but it’s still there. Every kid knows the lyrics to “Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg…” And there’s not an adult in the world who would teach their kids those lyrics. The kids teach each other, and they keep it alive, kind of in this school setting. It’s this little separate world that kids are in. As grown-ups, we kind of forget what that world is like. Because you know, we’re busy with taxes and bills and stuff.

ESW: I love the way that you, as a writer, see those things and put them into your work. There was a part where you were talking about the power of night in magic – through Harry – and Harry was saying, “Go out in the middle of a field somewhere away from the city, and sit down…” and I thought, “I bet you Jim’s done that. He has to have done that to have described it that way.” I love the way you use that stuff – our everyday observations, because at some point we’ve probably all been out in the middle of nowhere in the dark, and we’re going, “Oh, I remember what that feels like. Oh, but I never thought about it like that – in terms of magic, and how it works in The Dresden Files.”

JB: Doing stuff like that is…doing things that make you feel emotions. It is something that is absolutely critical to being a writer. Because the hardest thing to do is to get people to feel those emotions when they’re reading your work. And if you can make people feel that then you win. That’s the goal.

ESW: I think in The Dresden Files you tap into these shared remembrances that all of us have at different points. We might be all different people, but in our lives, we’ve all been children, or sat in the field, or been really scared, or whatever, and you’ve tapped into that with Harry’s character. I love the way you do that.

JB: That poor guy. That poor guy!

ESW: Talking about that poor guy – the thing about Harry is that I love when you write him from other people’s perspectives. I’ve heard there are a few short stories coming out from other perspectives, and I’d love to talk about that. But one of the things I love is – he’s so much more powerful when you see him from someone else’s view. Like when Karrin Murphy is describing him and you’re like, “Yeah, I already knew Harry was kind of a badass, but now I think, ‘holy crap, he walks into the room and you’re like – whaaat?’”

JB: Yeah, from the exterior he looks way different than he does from the interior. From his own viewpoint, he’s Charlie Brown.

ESW: Yeah, he’s this tall, gangling guy who kind of has bad fashion sense sometimes. Unsure of what’s going on sometimes. And then you see him from the outside and you’re like, “Whoooaaa.”

JB: Yeah, from the outside, he’s huge, and weird, and can do all these different things that nobody else can do. He doesn’t make eye contact with anybody…

ESW: Right, and he’ll scare you. I love the way you’ve done that because it would be so easy to just write the hero that everyone wants to be, or to marry, or to be best friends with, or whatever. But Harry is a weird amalgam of a lot of issues. It would be easy to Mary Sue him – give him more and more powers. But instead you’ve developed him. Are we going to see further interesting magical developments, and how do you keep that balance?

JB: Yes, you’re going to see more. The way I like to keep it balanced is…the big advantage that I have for The Dresden Files is that I’ve always planned for there to be an end to the story. So I know what the end is going to be like, and what I’m going to need him to be able to do, to do the big stuff at the end. So I’ve been able to sort of scale him up appropriately as I go along. Plus, he’s been scaling up into new and better villains. A higher quality of asshole for him to go up against. So that’s what we’ve been doing all along. So that sort of makes it easy, when you know what your end target is, that makes it a lot simpler, to get it done that way. I’m planning on twenty, maybe twenty-one of the casebooks like we’ve had so far; and then there’s going to be a big ol’ apocalyptic trilogy at the end. And we’ve still got all kinds of fun stuff to do, that I’ve been looking forward to for fifteen years. It’s occasionally maddening. But yeah – we’ve still got professional wrestling, and dragons, and kaiju and all kinds of cool stuff ahead of us.

ESW: Of course – as you would have! Now, are the Maggie books going to start coming out before all of that goes through, or are you working in tandem on those?

JB: Hopefully I’ll be working in tandem. I’m going to be writing them along with my sister, who has had six children of her own and knows the child interaction thing better than I do. I only have the one, so there was no cross-conflict going on there. Hopefully that will be something we can write. She’ll be able to come up and visit for three weeks, and we’ll work on the thing together and just get it done. Because the advantage of writing a young adult book is you can write it a lot shorter. It’s only about a quarter of a full length novel. Which makes it a project I can do on a fairly rapid basis. So that will be fun, doing it like that.

ESW: Excellent. Speaking of other projects, we’ve got at least three short stories I’ve heard about. There’s a book, Shadowed Souls, that’s coming out, and there will be a Dresden story in that. Is it the Butters one, or the Molly one?

JB: Shadowed Souls is an anthology of short stories. I actually edited the anthology alongside Kerrie L. Hughes. We put that together, and it’s a bunch of different authors throwing in characters from their series’ and so on. So it will be a really good sampler for, “If you like this author, you might enjoy something by this author.” So you can read it and see. That’s got the Molly story – Molly’s first mission as The Winter Lady. And you get to find out what her job actually is; and it’s not nice, what she’s gotta do.

ESW: Right, because she can’t tell Harry about everything, so we don’t get as much of that, and I would love to see it.

JB: Exactly. She’s got operational security she has to worry about now. So she doesn’t tell Harry, and there are all these things she’s hiding from him, and different things that are now available to her; and different pressures that she has to deal with as The Winter Lady. There’s a reason that her predecessor Maeve was completely bugnuts. Once she’s getting into it she’s like, “Oh. Ohhhhh.” So that’s what she’s facing, so we get to see her doing that.

ESW: I love Molly, so I’m looking forward to that.

JB: She’s such a fun character to write; because in many ways as The Winter Lady, she’s in a place where she’s very comfortable – because as the eldest daughter in a large family, it was essentially her job to be deputy mom, and wrangle all the little brothers and sisters; and that’s what she’s doing now. But at the same time, she’s got Mab as the mother figure now, instead of Charity – and Molly has issues with authority figures. So you get to see some of that conflict. It’s fun to write. I love writing the stories from the perspectives of the different characters, because they all see the world so differently. The Dresden Files world changes completely based on whose eyes you’re looking through to see.

ESW: I loved the one where it was Karrin telling the story. So is there a Butters one coming out as well?

JB: Yes; Butters’ first mission as a Knight of the Cross. He’s out doing cardio with Michael; he’s doing the Rocky thing, he’s doing his training montage. And he sees something and trips over a trash can, and Michael says, “What’s wrong?” And Butters looks at him and says, “You don’t see that?” And Michael’s like, “See what?” And Butters says, “That bum on the bench over there, there’s a big yellow exclamation point floating over him.” And Michael’s like, “No, I don’t see that.” And Butters gets to be like, “I’m not crazy. My mother had me tested.” Michael’s like, “Well what does that mean to you?” And Butters says, “Well that’s what you see over an NPC in an MMORPG any time there’s a quest that you need to go do.”

ESW: I love it! Because we’ve got the sword already being Star Wars – it’s a light saber; and so he’s seeing everything in geek.

JB: Yeah, it’s coming up as an MMORPG quest for him. And Michael’s like, “You used a lot of letters there, and I did not understand anything you said – but it sounds like that’s what the quest is.” And Butters is like, “God speaks video game?” And Michael’s like, “God speaks whatever it is you understand. So maybe you should go talk to that guy.” And that’s where it gets started; and then he winds up in all kinds of trouble after that.

ESW: That is so great! So in our very last minute I’m going to go through a few characters. Please tell me if we’re going to see any significant development of them in Peace Talks: Thomas and Justine?

JB: Yes.

ESW: Because there was the whole, “Justine is pregnant” tweet… Were you kidding? Were you trolling? Was it real?

JB: No no, that’s the first sentence of the book. “Thomas said Justine is pregnant.”

ESW: Speaking of Harry and his family – do we hear more about his mother and her background?

JB: Probably not in this book.

ESW: What about Demonreach? Is Harry still living there when Maggie lives with him, or has he moved back into Chicago?

JB: He’s living with the svartalves in Molly’s apartment. He’s Molly’s vassal, so Molly said he gets to go there, and the svartalves are like, “Yeah, fine.” And they like Maggie and Mouse.

ESW: Well who wouldn’t?

JB: Yeah, Mouse has got better people skills than Dresden does.

ESW: Of course! What about Uriel and the other angels and characters from the last book. Do they come into this one, or are they taking a backseat to the Accords?

JB: They won’t be as involved in this one. The angels can only get so involved in things that are going on, because there’s this whole issue of human free will.

ESW: Right – so about Harry’s family again, sort of – what about the spirit of intellect, whose name is…?

JB: He is calling her Bonea, because the word Bone is in the name, and Harry’s not got a sophisticated sense of humor. Bonea or Bonnie. And Bonnie is learning. She’s got enormous amounts of information at her disposal, and no perspective on how it works in the actual world. It’s the most ridiculous character. I’m having a lot of fun writing her.

ESW: I’m excited about that. We’ve talked about a bunch – and I wish I had more time. But: is there one final thing you’d like people to know about the book?

JB: I’m working on it!!

ESW: Hah, said with just the right expression. Is there a release date yet?

JB: No, there isn’t. They want me to finish writing it first!

ESW: Okay; it will be out when Jim is done writing it!

Thank you, as always, Jim Butcher, for your time and sharing all of this great information with us. I’m really looking forward to Peace Talks!

And until next time, ComicMix readers, Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten: Convention Catch-Up — Yay, Dragon Con!

Columns
September 20, 2016

Time flies, doesn’t it? It seems like just yesterday I was watching Animaniacs Live, interviewing folks about Turtles and cartoons, seeing the latest in geek fashions, hanging out with American Gods, and chatting with the Kings of Con at SDCC, not to mention chillin’ at Nerd HQ. And now suddenly it’s September, and I’ve since attended both the UK Discworld Convention and Dragon Con! Convention season: it really never stops, does it?

Despite my busy schedule, I don’t want to miss sharing any of the fantastic adventures I’ve been having with you; so first, let’s rewind to San Diego and reminisce about the summer party-party-parties, because they are a staple of SDCC and deserve to be featured. Every year, I try to line up at least a couple of parties each night, because, let’s be frank, I just love a good party. (I also often wish I could be in two places at once so I could go to even more parties. Alas that it’s impossible.) Although occasionally I don’t make it to one I really didn’t want to miss, it’s mostly because I’m having too much fun at another one – a good problem to have!

This year, I missed a few that were totally on my list; but I did manage to hit several super-fun ones…

Wednesday:

When you go to a con every year, you sometimes end up with con traditions, which can make the experience even better. On SDCC Wednesdays, my awesome friend Amy and I have turned going to BASIC for pizza and the Gabe Eltaeb Comic Kickoff Fundraiser into our own little tradition. The fundraiser is cool, with artists on hand sketching and neat auction items; the pizza is good and relatively quick to appear (very important after preview night!), and this year, BASIC was a Pokestop, so while we waited for our order we amused ourselves by catching Pokemon (I caught one of the pretty horse ones and named him Ricotta after our pizza). Definitely a good chill hangout start to the con.

Thursday:

Sometimes it’s good to get in the right frame of mind before a night of going out. On Thursdays, the WIRED Café, which runs from 11am to 7pm, is a good place for that. The downside is that it’s usually a bit of a wait to get in – to the point where last year I took a look at the wait and opted for other choices. But this year I stuck out the line, which was moving at a decent clip, and went on in. The WIRED Café was a fun combo of food and drinks, a DJ and little dance floor, and nifty interactive tech toys (plus a handy phone charging station). The gadgets you could play with included a VR Mars walk experience, and a Sphero BB-8 that could be controlled by head movements. They also had some really good specialty sno-cone drinks. (And if you got a marked coaster you won a shirt. I won on the first drink!) All-in-all it was fun, although I’d definitely weigh the wait against other stuff you might want to see on Thursday.

Once the day was properly in evening party mode, I hit up the Scholastic Party, which was celebrating a number of its newest Graphix publications on the Hotel Palomar pool deck. The pool deck had a nice setup and the party had neat features (along with welcome food and drinks) like a hefty swag bag and free Day of the Dead-style face painting. Well, I can’t resist free face painting, so of course off I went to get a super-cool design on my face (and then had to figure out how to eat and drink without messing it all up!). There were also several great guests there, like the super-nice Greg Grunberg (who told me I should never wash my face again, because the face paint was so cool), Dustin Nguyen, and Kate Beaton. I also ran into other fun folks there, like Sanford Greene, Simon Fraser, Edie Nugent, Patrick Reed, Amy Chu, and Batton Lash. Altogether it was a great party.

After it wound down ComicMix editor Adriane Nash and I hit up the NVE & Nylon Magazine After-Con Party. Celebrating the Women of Wonder, at Omnia. This was a full-fledged club party, with lots of celebs wandering around, and a fun time was had by all. The face paint was a big hit, and we chatted with everyone from Mehcad Brooks (Supergirl’s James Olsen, who was really happy to hear that Adriane liked what he’s doing with the character) to Teen Wolf’s Cody Christian (what a sweet guy). We also spotted others from the Teen Wolf cast, DJ Qualls, and Casper Van Dien – and I’m sure there were a ton of folks we literally rubbed elbows with, even if we didn’t realize it. It was packed! The party also featured Kristian Nairn from Game of Thrones as a DJ, with a surprise visit from DMX later in the evening; and a video booth where you and friends could take slow-mo “superhero” videos together with props. Closing that party down was a solid end to the night.

Friday

Friday night I somehow managed to fit three parties in (harder than it sounds!). I started out with the excellent Starz American Gods and Ash vs. Evil Dead cocktail party on the rooftop at Rustic Root, which I wrote about in detail in my American Godscolumn. This party had a themed drink, cool swag bags, and lots of American Gods and Ash folks, as can be seen here. Definitely a good time.

When that party wrapped, I hightailed it over to the SherlockeDCC party at the San Diego Central Library, organized by the Baker Street Babes, Sherlock DC, and NerdOut. This party featured themed drinks, vendors, a raffle of Sherlockian items, and an appearance by Steven and Louis Moffat. Every year I enjoy this party, where I always run into friends like fellow DC-area fan Lacy, and the esteemed Sherlockian Les Klinger. This year I was also extremely delighted to catch up, at least for a little while, with my North American Discworld Convention co-founder Anna, who I hadn’t seen in years, and who was, as always, decked out in the best costume; and our fellow NADWCon friend Shari. Love those ladies!

Although I hated to leave SherlockeDCC, I didn’t want to miss Nickelodeon’s Marc Summers & Double Dare Party at Fluxx. And that was a good choice, because it was epic amounts of fun. I wrote all about it in my Nickelodeon column, but to recap: they had Actual Marc Summers (who did not miss a beat the whole time) running an Actual Game of Double Dare on the dance floor at a hip nightclub, and the Red Team and Blue Team were comprised of Actual Nickelodeon People, including TMNT’s Mikey, voice actor Greg Cipes. Not to mention they provided us hungry con-goers with the best tiny diner food (burgers, fries, shakes, etc.). And that cool cats like TMNT’s Ciro Nieli and Eric Bauza were on hand to chill with. And that at the end of the night, they cleared the dance floor of all the cool Double Dare stuff (like the giant hamster wheel) and we all danced our hearts out to ‘90s music. Like I said, epic.

Saturday

Oh man. There were lots of cool-sounding parties on Saturday – including the HBO party, which fellow ComicMixers attended. But being totally honest here, by that point I was wiped. So instead of partying hard, I went out and had a niiiiice, relaaaaxing dinner with friends, followed by very chill drinks with other friends. And that? Totally rocked too. Woo!

Well that pretty much wraps up my SDCC experiences, although there are even more photos from the parties and the con floor in my SDCC photo collection. So check that out!

And now, on to the…

UK Discworld Convention

Going to the UK Discworld Con was something I looked forward to, but it was also tough – being the first Discworld event I’ve attended since Terry Pratchett passed away last year. I admit I still expected to see him around every corner, chatting with a fan or having a drink at the pub. And I admit that I needed a little more downtime than I usually do at cons, to deal with Terry not being there. But I’m so, so glad I went – both because the con featured many events that honored and memorialized Terry, and because it was really nice to reconnect with my many Discworld friends, and even make some new ones. One of the best parts of Discworld Cons is hanging out at the pub with your friends, and I was happy to be able to spend time with the likes of guests Rob Wilkins, Colin Smythe, Bernard Pearson, Reb Voyce, Ian Mitchell, Ian Stewart, Stephen Briggs, and Daniel Knight, and panelists Diane Duane, Peter Morwood, and David Bradshaw; as well as with my many fantastic convention friends. Discworld Cons are such a wonderful thing, and after going to the UK Con, I’m even happier that I’m involved in running the next North American Discworld Convention, which is happening next Labor Day weekend in New Orleans.

The con started with an opening ceremony in which The Hat was brought to the main stage, where it remained for the rest of the con. Among the most important panels were the programs that honored Terry. In one, selected clips from the memorial that was held for Terry last April were shown; including one of Good Omens co-writer Neil Gaiman reading from his intro to A Slip of the Keyboard; which is still one of the best summations of Terry that I’ve read. In another, Terry’s good friend Bernard Pearson of the Discworld Emporium told wonderful stories (as is his wont) of times he and Terry spent together (including that time they went in search of a specific type of pub urinal. No really). And then there was a good conversation between Terry’s longtime PA and business manager Rob Wilkins, and Discworld audiobook voice, playwright, and reference book collaborator Stephen Briggs, about their many recollections of Terry. And, of course, the tradition of the Bedtime Stories was continued; and although there will sadly be no more books, Rob read us all a bit of what could have been another story, had there been more time.

It wasn’t all about looking back, though. Although in documentarian Charlie Russell’s panel it was absolutely fascinating to hear him discuss with Rob Wilkins the previous three documentaries he made about and with Terry, he also talked about the new documentary he is doing with the BBC – about Terry’s legacy and the fandom, some of whom he interviewed while at the con. And although Terry’s independent production company Narrativia no longer has Terry to guide it, in the Narrativia Klatch we heard from two of its members, Rod Brown and Rob Wilkins (Rhianna Pratchett being the third), about exciting upcoming projects like The Wee Free Men, which is being adapted for the big screen by Rhianna Pratchett and developed with The Jim Henson Company; Good Omens, which is being adapted for TV by Neil Gaiman; and The Watch TV series, which is also currently in development. And in the field of amateur adaptations, convention attendees put on a very cool musical version of Witches Abroad that was enjoyed by all. All-in-all, it was a wonderful con; and you can check out my photos of it here, before we move on to…

Dragon Con!

Everyone who’s gone to a fandom con knows that they are wonderful but tiring. So of course, what better idea could I have possibly come up with than to go to two in a row? Sounds a little crazy, right? But given the UK Discworld Con and Dragon Con were just one weekend apart, I was left with no choice but to do it. (It’s a hard-knock life, for me.) And despite my jet lag, Dragon Con was as always, a total blast. I love this con for the wide variety of fandom tracks, the Walk of Fame, and the excellent level of organization involved in what can be an overwhelming con. And, of course, because it is the one and only Nerdi Gras – a great place to party with your nerd and geek friends.

This year, not only did I get in some great interviews (with Jim Butcher, Christy Carlson Romano, and Brian Henson, coming soon!) but I also managed to make it to some fantastic panels, and to discover my new obsession – puppeteering. Why puppeteering? It started with attending Brian Henson’s Evolution of Puppetry. This panel was absolutely fascinating, as Jim Henson’s son went through the history of the Jim Henson Company, showing clips of how Kermit and the Muppets developed over the years; and also demonstrated the Henson method of puppetry live using an on-stage camera and the video screens so that we could see both what he was doing, and how it would look on-screen. Seeing the magic behind the puppets firsthand was amazing. Then, thanks to roomie Cleolinda, I learned that there was a panel featuring the puppetry of adorable Star Wars droid BB-8. Well, of course we had to go to that! As it turned out, it was the very first Dragon Con of BB-8 puppeteers Dave Chapman and Brian Herring – and they were clearly having a blast as they showed us behind-the-scenes footage of their work, and discussed the six different versions of BB-8 and what it was like shooting on location. By the end of these panels, I had determined that I must learn more about puppetry – hopefully at future cons!

Another great set of panels were the Gotham panels. I made it to two, along with meeting several of the cast, and found them all delightful. The panels were both enlightening and entertaining (the best mix) and it seemed the Gotham cast was thoroughly enjoying the con. For such a dark show, the cast is very warm and funny; and one favorite moment from the panels was when Chris Chalk (Lucius Fox) joked that the reason Wayne Manor has such terrible security, with outsiders seemingly just appearing in various rooms all the time (I had noticed that!), is that Bruce gave Fox a key, Fox made copies, and now everyone in Gotham has one. Well – it’s as good an explanation as any! I also sympathized with Sean Pertwee and David Mazouz when they joked about how happy they were that in the new season we’d see more of Wayne Manor, because it meant they could finally get out of the library! (“We eat there…we sleep there…we never leave!”) And Drew Powell – well, pretty much everything he said was funny. That dude’s a riot!

The last panel I made it to was the Gillian Anderson panel, which was a great Q&A that ranged from X-Files to Hannibal and more. I hadn’t seen Gillian Anderson on a panel before, but it was clear that she’s got a broad intellect and a sly sense of humor – very fun to listen to. Alas, I did not get to meet her, but I did get to meet a lot of great guests on the Walk of Fame this year. Some favorites were the aforementioned Gotham cast members, who were great to chat with, along with Robin Lord Taylor, who was alas only at the Con for a limited time. Other great guests I chatted with included the BB-8 puppeteers (such cool guys!), Charlie Cox (I had to get a signed pic of Matt Murdock in lawyer mode, don’tchya know), Bob Bergen (voice actors are always so interesting), Richard Horvitz, Rikki Simons (a fellow Pratchett fan!), Nolan North (Deadpool!), Will Friedle (also Deadpool! As well as Ron Stoppable from Kim Possible, of course), Bill Corbett, Dana Snyder, and oh, so many more. And that’s not even counting the other guests, authors and Artist Alley folks I got to hang out with, including fab friends Esther Friesner, Alethea Kontis, Ken Plume, Aaron Fever, Joseph Scrimshaw, Molly Lewis, Dexter Vines, Sanford Greene, Georges Jeanty, Daniel Govar, Tony Moy, Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, and Josh Greathouse. And I also met Baymax! (Scott Adsit.) And Gareth David Lloyd! (Ianto Jones on Torchwood.) And And, and, and…oh, I’m sure I’m forgetting a ton of fun people I saw and things I did, but, well – that’s Dragon Con! It’s big, and crazy, and a bit overwhelming; and in the end, you look back and it might just be a bit of a blur – but it’s a fun blur, nonetheless!

I took tons of pictures at Dragon Con, which you can see here. And then, stay tuned for the aforementioned Dragon Con interviews, and Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten in Nerd HQ!

Columns
August 20, 2016

I’m all about organizations with heart. Places that make you feel at home. And while the San Diego Comic Con is phenomenal and offers many amazing experiences, it can also be overwhelming and make you feel a bit like you’re just one of many ants in the ant farm, toiling slowly along towards your next goal.

That’s why I’ve said before and I’ll say again that Nerd HQ is a great alternative place to go and get your geek on when you’re feeling a little burnt out on the crowds of SDCC. Not only that, but the fact that its creators, Zachary Levi and Dave Coleman, built it from scratch and maintain a hands-on approach to running it as it grows (among other things, Zac hosts almost every Conversation and Dave keeps things running behind the scenes); and that all proceeds go to the charity of Operation Smile, give Nerd HQ a great cozy, almost familial vibe. And, of course, it’s a plain fact (that I can confirm, having had the pleasure of interviewing him on a couple of occasions) that Zac Levi is just a really solidly nice dude with a lot of heart. And I think that intangible quality can be felt in everything he’s built.

Last year, I was a big fan of the change in venue of Nerd HQ to The New Children’s Museum. The layout and fun backdrop complemented Nerd HQ’s offerings and all of the various interactive activities they provided, as well as the Conversations for a Cause. This year, with the addition, as Dave Coleman had noted in our Nerd HQ preview interview, of e.g. risers and extra air conditioning in the panel rooms, the venue was even better; and although there were many things to see, Nerd HQ still managed not to feel overcrowded.

Some of the cool things on offer this year were:

Gaming – Nerd HQ always offers the opportunity to hang out and play upcoming cool video games, which this year included Battlefield 1, Gears of War 4, and Titanfall 2. And although I didn’t have much time to spare for a session, every time I was over at the HQ, the consoles were all taken and the gaming crowd looked like they were having a blast.

On top of being able to play games, Nerd HQ provides cool gaming-related stuff to do. One of my favorites was the Xbox green-screen pictures you could take, which put you into scenes from games like Dead Rising, ReCore, and Titanfall 2. Another was the Xbox wall of custom controllers, with computers set up to allow you to design your own controllers right there. Sure, you can also do this from home; but it was weirdly addictively fun to design them while hanging out at HQ. (I personally designed a Deadpool and Bob set and a Little Prince and his rose set before I stopped.)

The photo booths! One fun part of these, of course, is that during the Smiles for Smiles sessions you could get your photo with celebrities by donating to Operation Smile (and I was very happy to get a picture with Joss Whedon. Yay!) But you could also just take pictures with your friends (or yourself and props) – and that was really fun as well. Plus, the tech-savvy setup automatically emailed you a photo if you scanned your RFID bracelet, as well as printing one on the spot. And this year, if you downloaded the Johnson & Johnson Donate a Photo app and used it to post a photo, not only does J&J give a dollar to Operation Smile (or whatever charity you choose from among those listed) for each day you post a photo; but at Nerd HQ you were also given a box of Avengers-themed Band-aids for posting. And boy, was I glad about that – because they saved my feet from some terrible, terrible blisters.

Free foooooood! This year, Kellogg’s was one of the sponsors for Nerd HQ, which was cool for two reasons. 1) They brought in comics artist Francis Manapul to do themed paintings with Kellogg’s Krave. They were all pretty rad and it was fun to watch them being created; and I got a picture of my favorite, this excellent warrior woman. 2) They also had a cereal bar set up with regular, double chocolate, and mixed Krave cereal and several different choices of milk. Let me tell you, that cereal is gooooood; and being able to easily sit down nearby and have a bowl saved me from fainting from hunger due to being generally too busy at cons to stop for food. (Nerd HQ saved me from a lot of things this year. Nerd HQ, you’re my heeeero!) And on top of all of that, they were giving away entire free boxes of cereal. Kellogg’s, I approve! (Note: at various times Nerd HQ was also passing out free lemonade and coconut water from different sponsors. Also awesome!)

Shopping! Nerd HQ had some great stuff for sale – from these excellent Presidential posters to nifty collectibles (and sneak preview items) from Hallmark. The Itty Bitty Yoda was one of the cutest.

Chill space. Sometimes, it’s nice just to have a place to sit and breathe. Along with the little outdoor area where I had a nice bowl of Krave cereal (and made a new table friend who let me share her table), Nerd HQ also has an indoor chill area and an outdoor patio; and nobody bothering you or telling you to move along. Sometimes when taking a break from all the madness, that’s just what we need.

The fan parties! Okay, so I actually missed the Nerd HQ parties this year, alas – but I heard from several friends that they rocked as hard as last year’s, which I did make it to. And as with last year, all you needed to get in was your HQ wristband. Rock on with your inclusive parties, Nerd HQ!

Of course, along with all of these excellent things, one of the best parts of Nerd HQ is the Conversations – smaller panels of about 200-250 which generally feature a chat between Zac Levi and the featured guest(s). They had a slew of fantastic guests this year, and I personally got to see some really neat panels.

The Con Man cast, who I saw first, were great, and shared funny stories about filming (particularly hilarious were the stories about working with Alan Tudyk, who wasn’t at the panel, and faces he makes while directing) and about what we can expect from the new season. On top of that, Nathan Fillion, as usual, had brought some weird, random, but ultimately still cool stuff to auction off for charity. My favorite was a small Swiss Army knife that his parents had given him for high school graduation (!). And how he kept emphasizing that it had a little loop so you could put it on your keychain, “or if you’re a girl, wear it around your neck!” Way to know your female fanbase, Nathan.

The Scott Bakula panel was pretty much My Favorite Thing Ever, because Scott Bakula and Quantum Leap have been, since childhood, among my Favorite Things Ever. I had not previously gotten to see him on a panel (although I did see him in Shenandoah at Ford’s Theatre ten years ago, which was amazing). So this was really cool; and even better was the fact that Zac Levi, hosting, is also good friends with Scott via their work together on Chuck, where Scott played Zac’s dad. The panel was hilarious, with Scott making running jokes at his own expense, but also heartfelt, with Zac talking about how Scott helped him through the stresses of playing a lead role in a TV show. In conclusion: Scott Bakula.

The Orphan Black panel was rad, and I especially enjoyed hearing about how Tatiana Maslany has dealt with playing so many different clones (and it was cool that her stunt double was featured on the panel, as well. An important job that most people probably don’t think about while watching the show). I also loved that an audience member gave Kristian Bruun a “Free Donnie” t-shirt, which he put on right there.

The Tom Hiddleston panel started with a hilarious little dance by Tom and Zac as Tom came onstage. This was a cool panel where Tom talked a good bit about his acting process. Meanwhile, I was trying to reconcile his friendly red-haired self with the sly and frequently evil Loki. It’s a credit to his acting ability that I was having a hard time of it!

The Joss Whedon panel was, as usual with a Joss Q&A, a thoughtful, insightful panel. He was up there by himself because Zac was having a much-needed rest (by Saturday Zac’s voice was fading, and I heard he was pretty exhausted by Sunday, although you couldn’t tell from his enthusiastic hosting). But Joss Whedon doesn’t really need a host to keep the conversation going, and pretty much the whole panel was quotable.

I’d quote some of it for you, but I don’t have to! Because along with livestreaming all of the Conversations for the people at home so they could feel like they were right there with us (very cool!) you can now watch all of them on YouTube as well; an experience I highly recommend.

And while you’re doing that, feel free to poke through my SDCC photo collection for more Nerd HQ goodness; and also check out my previous con coverage of the SDCC Her Universe Fashion Show, the Animaniacs Live! panel, the Kings of Con, American Gods, and Nick Animation.

And until next time, Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten: SDCC’s Her Universe Fashion Show

Columns
August 10, 2016

Tomorrow is the last day for the public to vote for a winner in the Her Universe fashion show that I was fortunate to see live at the San Diego Comic Con (and that you can watch as the finale of its own docu-series on the new on-demand streaming network Comic Con HQ). So what better time for my fashion show recap?

But first, a little background. The fashion show, now in its third year, was started by Ashley Eckstein of the women’s geek fashion company Her Universe to bring true haute couture to geek fashion. The show is very professionally done, with video clips of the designers talking about their inspiration and works-in-progress; models (who may also be the outfit’s designer, and who are of all different body types, which is cool) strutting their stuff on the catwalk; and a DJ to keep the party going. It also produces something that probably isn’t as tangible at regular fashion shows – a feeling of delight at seeing not just elegant, clever, or beautifully designed clothes, but also incredible homages to the geek properties we love. I’m sure I would be awed by the beauty of many designs at a regular fashion show. However, I know that the excited, happy feeling and constant smile I have while stunning fashions that demonstrate a passion for geek properties are paraded before my eyes at this show are unique.

After the show, the audience and judges each vote on their favorite design, and thus two winners are chosen. The year’s winners are then given the opportunity to collaborate on fashion lines that we, the public, can buy (yay!). The first fashion show’s winners brought us the super-successful Marvel Avengers fashion line done with Her Universe and Hot Topic (I own it, I love it, I’m overjoyed that this is a yearly thing now). After last year’s show, we got the awesome Star Wars line (when are they bringing the sweater and the Finn jacket back so I can buy them, whennnnnn??). And although we don’t know what we will see after this year’s winners get to work, I am sure the next line will also make it into my wardrobe.

As you may be aware from past columns and my coverage of last year’s show, I have long felt the need for better geek fashion for gals, and am super excited to be seeing more and more options. And the yearly fashion show and partnership of Her Universe and Hot Topic has definitely upped the couture aesthetic of the geek clothes available to us women. Not only do we no longer have to, e.g., wear man-shirts to let our geek flags fly, but now we even have these upscale options that wouldn’t look out of place in our daily wardrobes or even at a cocktail party. On top of that, what’s so cool about the Her Universe fashion show is that it means that we the consumers have at least a little say in the style and vision of the resulting mass-marketed pieces. That’s fairly unique in fashion.

This year’s fashion show gave us a group of twenty-seven amazing new designs to vote on, and featured a celebrity panel of judges including Cindy Levitt (Senior Vice President, Merchandise & Marketing, Hot Topic), Nathan Sawaya (World Renowned LEGO artist, and co-creator of Ashley’s dress this year), Brinton Parker (Assistant Editor of Trending and Viral Features at POPSUGAR) and last year’s fashion show winners and designers Leetal Platt and Kelly Cercone.

The judges’ winner was “Oh What A Gown…What a Lovely Gown” by Hannah Kent, inspired by Mad Max: Fury Road’s Imperator Furiosa; and the audience winner was the “I Solemnly Swear I’m Up to Couture” gown by Camille Falciola, inspired by the Maurauder’s Map in Harry Potter. These were excellent choices. I absolutely adored the way the cut of the Furiosa dress evoked both strength and severity and a feminine aspect in the tightly fitted upper body and sweeping skirt, and the use of a gradient to make the neutral palette, which completely fit with the movie’s setting, more interesting. I also loved the makeup and arm jewelry that echoed Furiosa’s look in the movie. The Map dress had a classic and flattering cut, and at first looked fairly plain, but then, through the use of ink heat technology, the Marauder’s Map appeared, producing a much more interesting design, with map accents in the right places to enhance the appeal of the cut (plus, that is a really, really cool idea and use of technology).

Although those are the winners so far, all of the designs at the show were cool and unique in their own ways. It was incredibly hard for me to choose who to vote for (while trying to consider all of the important factors like overall design aesthetic, cleverness, uniqueness, geek factor, wearability, and style); and I’m happy that at least one other designer will also be chosen through this year’s new feature of the internet audience vote. I highly encourage anyone who’s into this sort of thing to take a look at the remaining choices and cast your vote for the final winner; and to that end, I’ll share a few notes about the other creations that really landed for me (along with my photo album from the show, which has additional views of at least some of the choices).

“Diana on the Town” (Wonder Woman) by Adria Sanchez-Chaidez

A classic take on a classic character, with a modern twist. Wonder Woman is iconic and this dress went for a pretty straight homage to her costume; but I liked the retro-classic elegance of the gown offset by the shorter red skirt underneath. And of course the colors are vibrant and striking.

Yang Xiao Long: From Ballroom to Battle (RWBY – Yang Xiao Long) by Carina LaViolette

I don’t actually know this fandom; but from a purely fashion standpoint, I liked the mix of fabrics (airy and light plus leather), the visually interesting layers and accessories, the neutral to green and purple palette, and the steampunk feel.

Report to My Division (Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Captain Phasma) by Lindsay Hamilton

Well I always love silver and shiny things (and I kind of love Captain Phasma, too). But I also loved the contrast of shine with the more understated skirt; that very flattering long corset fit with the red ribbon back lacing, and the great side cape to add more to the silhouette.

Ode to the Goblin King (Labyrinth – Jareth) by Sarah Rader

I liked the airy material and tattered layering of the light-colored dress, which had great delicate color contrasting; but I absolutely adored the contrasting blue jacket with the silver wings on the back. I’d like one, please!

First Order of Fashion (Star Wars: The Force Awakens – General Hux) by Rose Ivy

Red and black are always a great combo; but my favorite part of this outfit is that it’s sassy, fun, and fashion-forward but also something I could see myself wearing not only out somewhere cool, but also maybe even to work – a well-tailored and skewed take on a “power suit;” which is perfect considering the source material.

The Force is Strong in Her (Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Kylo Ren) by Judith Armas Orellana

Well I definitely couldn’t wear this one to my work – but I liked the silhouette, the contrasting kinds of black, and the layering that made it look full of attitude but slightly off-balance, just like Kylo Ren. And it’s also very flattering.

Rage On (28 Days Later – The Rage Virus) by Elissa Alcala

This dress is almost disturbing, which, you know, makes sense in context. The contrast between the elegant and sparkling plunging front and the tattered skirt that is reminiscent of bloody bandages is unsettling, and I’m sure that’s what the designer intended. Although I might not know offhand of anywhere I’d wear it, I liked the way the source material didn’t take a backseat to the high fashion concept.

My Kind of Crazy (DC Comics – The Red Hood) by Lauren Andrews

I liked the contrast of the slim silhouette with the gauzy pants and elegantly draped hood on this outfit, as well as the complicated bodice. There’s a lot going on here but it doesn’t overwhelm, and it’s striking.

The Always Dress (Harry Potter – Patronus) by Selina Zawacki

I super-love everything about this outfit, and would like one now, please. The plunging neckline combined with the elegant high-low cut and simple belt accent are beautiful, and the button back is a great understated reminder of the Professor’s robes – not to mention the old-fashioned boots. The subtle green underskirt and boot laces (for Slytherin!) add good color accents. And on top of all of that, the elegantly and sparsely-lit doe patronus on the skirt is a perfect match for the design, that brings the theme home. Plus, I always like clothes that light up in cool ways!

The Car Gotham Deserves (Batman/Batman Returns – Batmobile) by Cynthia Kirkland

Okay, this dress is definitely unusual. And I have no idea where you would wear it. But the fact that someone designed a dress based on the Batmobile, and it does actually really evoke the car (plus the steering wheel accessory!) is just fantastic. Also the red under the shoulder-pieces (I think it lit up, too) was a great way to hint at brake lights on a dress that is also a car.

TARDIS Through the Wormhole (Doctor Who – TARDIS) by Lynne Marie Martens

This dress is over the top in the best way. All of those ruffles! That train! The great feathery back! The subtle lights interwoven through it all! And, of course, the actual TARDIS on the underbust corset. I love it. The colors, lights, and details of the dress really do bring to mind a wormhole; and the whole thing wouldn’t be out of place at the coolest cabaret ever.

Define Couture (Wall-E – Wall-E) by Laura Cristina Ortiz

This. Outfit. Is. So. Adorable. I love it. It’s spunky and fun and full of attitude, the color palette works well together, the skirt is too cute, the glasses are totally Wall-E and fashionable at the same time, and the overall look is very unique. Plus there’s a part in the back that lights up! It’s a perfect mix of fabrics and accessories, and looks totally modern and wearable while still referencing the source material. It’s visually interesting, and with a whole that is greater than its parts. I want!

Expecto Patronum (Harry Potter – Patronus) by Erica Williams

What an elegant, beautiful gown. The shape and fit are very classic, but with details and sparkles to make it interesting. I feel like Guinevere would totally covet this dress. And although the color palette is monochrome, the mix of fabrics makes the dress in motion more interesting than it looks in a photo. Also, the tiara of horns is the perfect finish for this Patronus dress.

The Story that Lived (Harry Potter – Book) by Tanya Apuya

A dress based on the actual book. I love it! I also love everything about this cute and clever outfit, from the “book cover” bodice to the amazingly folded and layered and swingy skirt of text-covered pages. A great concept and execution, with cute little accents of a witch hat and wand, too.

Now that you’ve reviewed the choices, make sure you vote for a winner before midnight Pacific Time Thursday, August 11 so that you, too, can have a say in next year’s geek fashions.

And until next time, don’t forget to check out my previous SDCC coverage and photos of Nick Animation (including TMNT); American Gods; Kings of Con; and Animaniacs Live!, stay tuned for even more coverage, and Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten: Animaniacs Live!

Columns
August 7, 2016

So I used to think the best way to wrap up a con was to find a nice, quiet, atmospheric bar with some awesome friends and partake of a tasty dessert and a refreshing alcoholic beverage. But I have now changed my mind! That is the second best way to finish out the convention experience. The first is to have your last panel of the con be the Animaniacs Live! panel; as I learned firsthand at SDCC 2016.

Anyone who knows me at all (or reads all of my columns, and obviously you should all be doing that!) knows I’m a huge fan of Animaniacs, and will probably never get tired of writing about the different facets of its awesomeness. I’ve also had the pleasure of interviewing several of its key talents – including Rob Paulsen (Yakko, Pinky), Maurice LaMarche (The Brain, Squit, Jess Harnell (Wakko), and most recently, Randy Rogel.

I was delighted to meet Randy, a multi-talented guy who wrote a majority of the songs we all know and love from Animaniacs, at Dragon Con last year, where he and Rob Paulsen did a “Music of Animaniacs” panel in which they sang Animaniacs songs live, with Randy accompanying on piano. And it was fan-tas-tic. The room was packed, the excitement of the fans in the audience was palpable, and the experience of being there in person while those two performed was a joy. Later, Rob announced via Twitter that there were definite plans to take this show on the road with the addition of Jess Harnell, Tress MacNeille, and an entire orchestra to back them. Needless to say, I immediately started hoping someone at, e.g., the Kennedy Center would see the wisdom of bringing them to DC.

I don’t know yet if that wish will come true; but in the interim, seeing Rob, Jess, Tress, and Randy perform the music of Animaniacs live at SDCC recently was incredible. And at the panel, they announced that Warner Bros. has gotten behind the idea of the live tour and turned it into an officially licensed WB thing – with tour dates to be announced soon here. (Kennedy Center, WB. Kennedy Center. I’m just saying.)

Wherever they end up, I know that I must see that if at all possible. And for anyone who hasn’t seen them live yet – if the tour comes anywhere near you, trust me, you want that experience. But if you’re like me and you just can’t wait that long for your next Animaniacs-related fix…well, I did in fact record the whole SDCC panel just for you!

So click and enjoy; and also don’t forget to check out my ever-growing SDCC 2016 photo collection, or my previous coverage of Nick Animation (including TMNT); American Gods; and Kings of Con.

And after that, Servo Lectio for even more SDCC recaps!

Emily S. Whitten: Kings of Con!

Columns
August 6, 2016

I love when things get meta in a clever way. Like, remember that episode of Supernatural where the brothers found their life story being sold in the bargain bin of a comic book store, via novels with hilariously old-school dramatic covers? And the store owner thought they were LARPing as themselves? And then they tracked down the author, and he turned out to be a prophet of the Lord named Chuck? But he didn’t believe he was, and thought he was hallucinating Sam and Dean, or had somehow written them into existence and into meeting him? And then later we found out he actually was God, who they’d been seeking unsuccessfully since meeting Chuck, and he totally knew more than he was letting on at first? Good times!

Or remember how the brothers tried to figure out why all these weird events based on urban legends that they knew weren’t “real” in their world were happening in a small town? And it turned out it was Loki basically being a dick? And then later he trapped them in a TV world that they had to act their way out of? And then it turned out he was really the angel Gabriel? Man, I love that kind of stuff – even if it does make your head spin after a while!

So what could be better than the actors who played Chuck/God (Rob Benedict) and Loki/Gabriel (Richard Speight, Jr.) starring in a new show that is totally meta – namely, Kings of Con.

Kings of Con is, as explained by the two geniuses/crazy dudes who dreamed it up, a comedic TV show based on the real experiences they’ve had while being “super famous… thirteen weekends a year” at real-life Supernatural fan conventions. Unlike that time on Supernatural where Chuck went to a Supernatural fan convention and there was a fake ghost hunt but then a real ghost showed up and Sam and Dean had to hunt it down with two guys cosplaying Sam and Dean. Although that was pretty awesome. But of course, it doesn’t stop there – because the versions of themselves they play on Kings of Con are exaggerated fictional versions: “Rich, a thrice divorced former actor who’s love of the game is fueled by the faux fame he experiences at the hands of a gaggle fans who still think he matters, and Rob, a recent divorcee back on the circuit to cover the costs of his failed marriage and stalled career.” And on top of that, the show they’re making about going to Supernatural cons was funded by Supernatural fans, some of whom undoubtedly go to the cons, as well. Whew!

So what we have here is a couple of actors on a TV show who go to fan conventions for that show (at which they’ve carved out a unique niche for themselves and become progressively more known by e.g. creating and hosting a karaoke party, MCing events, and performing at rock concerts), who then raised money via the fans of that show to do a new TV show based on going to cons for the original show. But on this new show, they will be acting as well, so it’s fiction too – which means that someday down the line, maybe there could be a third show, and

… ow, my head hurts.

Anyway, these two dudes are incredibly nice, funny, warm people, and Kings of Con sounds like it’s going to be hilarious, ridiculous, fantastic meta fun. From the stories they were telling me in the interview I did with them at SDCC 2016, and the first trailer, I can tell that I’m going to have to watch Kings of Con, and that probably everybody else who likes good things should too.

And although Kings of Con isn’t out yet, right this minute you can watch the interview I did with Rob Benedict and Richard Speight, Jr., the Kings of Con themselves, right here.

Like what you saw? Be sure to check out Kings of Con, which is being produced by Lionsgate and SDCC, at Comic-Con HQ, when it airs in the fall.

And until next time, check out my continually growing collection of Comic-Con pics, stay tuned for even more SDCC recaps, and Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten: American Gods In Your Home?

Columns
August 2, 2016

When I heard that Neil Gaiman’s bestselling novel American Gods was being made into a TV series, I was super-interested. I’ve been a fan of American Gods (and Neil’s body of work oh, generally speaking, for many years and even had the privilege of bringing Neil and the book to The National Press Club in D.C. during its limited Tenth Anniversary Tour. And although the novel is such an epic that I had a bit of trouble picturing how the adaptation would work, I’ve always wanted to see what it would be like on screen.

As the news started filtering in about who would be running the show, writing the show, and playing all the parts, I got more and more excited. And now that I’ve been to the SDCC booth experience (which was appropriately otherworldly and included some cool swag!), attended the panel where I got to see the first trailer and hear those involved discuss their roles, and had a chance to chat with a few of the key cast and crew at the SDCC Starz American Gods/Ash vs. Evil Dead cocktail party, I am, if you can believe it, even more eager for the show to begin.

If you haven’t encountered American Gods before, it’s theoretically not a hard novel to sum up, and yet a blurb doesn’t do it justice because the book is much more than the sum of its parts. At base, the story is a complex mix of the mundane and the mythic, and in tone it ranges from dark, brutal “real life” experiences to eerie, almost hallucinogenic scenes involving gods and mythical creatures. It encompasses everything from the personal difficulties of protagonist Shadow Moon as he is released from prison to find that the life he left has disintegrated while he was away; to a lofty examination of religion, where gods come from, what purposes they serve, and how the changing priorities and beliefs of people shape the world they live in.

The novel contemplates the meaning of death; the rise of the information and social media age and shift in celebrity and media that accompanied it; the loss of old beliefs in the wake of new; the American spirit; and even the vagaries and peculiarities of small-town life. And although American Gods was published fifteen years ago, the conflicts it examines have not diminished in importance and relevance today.

Given the shifting tones of the story, and the deep research and detailed embodiments of the old gods and beliefs that are in American Gods, it needed a seriously talented team to successfully bring it to the screen. Fortunately, along with Neil being directly involved, Starz was up to the challenge; pulling in showrunners/writers like Bryan Fuller and Michael Green and directors like David Slade. Those choices reassured me from the start that Starz had the right idea, particularly after having seen Fuller and Slade’s work on Hannibal, a show that mixes dark, gruesome, gritty scenes with absolutely beautiful and haunting cinematography and sound for an almost disturbingly tactile viewing experience. Given their past work, I have no doubt we are in for a treat with the upcoming show. And that belief was reinforced when, at the SDCC panel, we got to see the first trailer, which literally sent chills down my spine.

We also got to see some of the great cast of the show at the panel. American Gods has some serious all-stars in its ranks, including the likes of Ian McShane as Mr. Wednesday. Based on previous work I’ve loved them in, I’m also super excited to know we’ll be seeing Gillian Anderson (Media), Pablo Schreiber (Mad Sweeney), Peter Stormare (Czernobog), Jonathan Tucker (Low Key Lyesmith), Crispin Glover (Mr. World), Orlando Jones (Mr. Nancy), and, as announced at the SDCC panel, Kristin Chenoweth (Easter). At the panel, along with Bryan Fuller, Michael Green, David Slade, and Neil Gaiman, we also got to hear from Ian McShane, Pablo Schreiber, Kristin Chenoweth, Bruce Langley (Technical Boy), Yetide Badaki (Bilquis), and Shadow Moon himself, Ricky Whittle. Every time a cast announcement has come out so far, I’ve thought, “What an incredibly perfect fit that actor will be for that role,” and it was clear from the panel that everyone (including moderator Yvette Nicole Brown) was very into and excited about the show. Fortunately, you can observe the same, if you want to watch the whole panel here.

I got a chance to talk further with some of the American Gods panelists at the super-cool Starz American Gods/Ash vs. Evil Dead cocktail party – and, bonus, got to meet Bruce Campbell, who we all know and love from Evil Dead, but who I also adore as Sam from Burn Notice. I really enjoyed getting to briefly chat with him about the important role Sam played in bringing humor and heart to Burn Notice, and loved his totally Bruce Campbell-confident attitude as he discussed bringing his own instincts and understanding of how Sam needed to fit into the show to the role.

On the American Gods side of the party, I was delighted to have a visit with one of my favorite people and friends, Neil himself (as he is actually known on Twitter). I’ve known Neil for years, and it was great to see him amidst the excitement of his epic novel being adapted into the TV medium, particularly since he’s been very involved with the process. I was also happy for a chance to talk with Bryan Fuller again (with whom I have previously discussed Hannibal). As with Hannibal, Bryan shared that adapting American Gods is akin to creating grand-scale fanfiction. “It’s a love letter to the source material,” he noted; and he was clearly overjoyed at the chance to create such fanfic (seriously, excitement and exuberance for the opportunity just leaks out of that man’s every pore, and it’s great to see). I also talked with Michael Green, who mused that faith is whatever you put your passion into, and the way those things become real is something that is examined “with reverence” in the show.

And I had a fascinating, in-depth conversation with David Slade (who makes the best selfie faces, seriously), who first read American Gods on a plane traveling from England to America and has wanted to make it into a TV show since 2005. He shared that he loves being able to make the story continually “cinematic but weird,” and from our chat, is clearly deep in the weeds of the source material. (Side note: Neil has said he has, e.g., 400 years of history on how Mad Sweeney became Mad Sweeney, and many other bits of backstory that didn’t make it into the final novel; and the show’s writers and directors have speculated that perhaps we will see bits of that (or whole episodes of it!) in the show. Not gonna lie, I would totally watch Pablo Schreiber acting 400 years of Mad Sweeney’s backstory.)

Everything I saw and heard of American Gods at SDCC makes me now slightly-hyperventilating-excited for its premiere in early 2017; and if you want to share my experience and excitement even further, you can check out my con photos here. Also, to keep up on the latest, don’t forget to follow Starz American Gods accounts on Twitter and Instagram].

And until next time, stay tuned for more recaps from SDCC, and Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten: Nickelodeon and Nostalgia @ SDCC 2016

Columns
July 30, 2016

As you undoubtedly know, San Diego’s Comic-Con International happened this past weekend, and I was fortunate to be amongst the tens of thousands of attendees. There was, as always, a mega-ton to see and do, and it was hard to keep the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) from getting completely out of control over the 4.5 days of the con. To stay sane, though, at some point you just have to accept that you’re going to miss a bunch, and focus on what you do have the opportunity to see.

This year, one of my main interests was what Nickelodeon was showcasing. Of course, Nickelodeon is always on my radar, and particularly the current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series, which I adore. But even beyond the coolness that is the TMNT, this year, Nickelodeon was focusing on its past – in the best way possible. Through its late-night programming block of “The Splat,” which has been airing from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Teen Nick since it took over for “The ‘90s are All That” late night programming in October of 2015, Nickelodeon has been tapping into the deep, deeeeeeeep nostalgia that a lot of us have for shows like Clarissa Explains It All, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Double Dare, All That, Doug, Hey Arnold!, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Ren and Stimpy, Rugrats, You Can’t Do That on Television, and more. And given that all of those shows were amongst my favorites growing up, I just love that, and was looking forward to experiencing some nostalgia up close and in person.

Of course, for SDCC people are always going to want to see what’s new. But since this is the 25^th Anniversary of Nickelodeon Animation; Nickelodeon’s upcoming movie lineup includes updates and sequels from popular ‘90s properties – including Hey Arnold! and Legends of the Hidden Temple; and “The Splat” has proven to be a hit, it made sense that to celebrate that. Therefore, Nickelodeon’s Comic-Con 2016 celebrated the ‘90s with “an immersive retro experience” at its booth, panels, and party.

The booth was a well-set-up and eye-catching blast from the past. It featured a virtual reality experience and King Olmec head from Legends of the Hidden Temple (on which the King was voiced by the ever-talented Dee Bradley Baker), and the King’s head was festooned with 3-D characters from classic shows like Rugrats, Ren & Stimpy, CatDog, Rocko’s Modern Life, and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. There was also a backdrop area where you could get photos with characters from shows like The Fairly Oddparents. The signing area and schedule included everyone from the TMNT to the cast of All That to legendary creators of the animation world. To purchase merchandise, you went up to windows set in the lenses of the purple glasses that bespectacled a giant Chuckie head from Rugrats (the only thing that would have made it better would have been if you could actually go inside Chuckie’s head. Next year’s virtual reality experience, Nickelodeon?). And, to top it off, the setup featured photo ops with the Hey Arnold! stoop and the original giant nose and red glasses from Double Dare. The merchandise on offer was also cool – including The Nick Box (similar in idea to LootCrate and other monthly “mystery boxes” of merchandise), which featured items from classic Nicktoons for its first release.

Nickelodeon’s panels this year included “Happy Happy! Joy Joy!: 25 Years of Nickelodeon Original Animation,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — Return to New York,” “She Made That?: Nickelodeon hosts Women in Animation,” “ and “Back to the ‘90s: Nickelodeon’s All That Reunion and Legends of the Hidden Temple!” They all sounded amazing, but even my FOMO couldn’t bend time and space so that I could experience them all. However, I did get to attend the first two panels, and had the privilege of sitting down with the panelists for interviews.

“Happy Happy! Joy Joy!” featured Craig Bartlett (Hey Arnold!), Jhonen Vasquez (Invader Zim), Butch Hartman (The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom) and Arlene Klasky, who along with Gabor Csupo and Paul Germain, created Rugrats. It was great to hear these innovative and clever creators talk about bringing new ideas to fruition and developing their shows over the years, as well as looking forward to future projects (such as Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie, which Craig Bartlett discussed, and for which we saw some cool production art. We also learned that the movie will finally answer the question of where Arnold’s parents are). Butch Hartman showed animation from his latest show, Bunsen is a Beast! And we got to see a TMNT short, Don vs. Raph by Jhonen Vasquez, that was awesome in its absurdity.

I was fortunate to sit down with Craig Bartlett, Butch Hartman, and Arlene Klasky before the panel as well, for a great chat about their careers and work. You can watch the interview here!

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — Return to New York” was, as always with the TMNT panels, a total joy. I love this show and everyone involved with it; and this year, we got to meet a new guest, Gwendoline Yeo, who voices new character Shinigami in the upcoming season (airing Sunday, August 14, at 11 a.m.). I also was glad to hear from Mae Whitman, who has been voicing April O’Neil since the get-go, but whom I’d not gotten to see on a panel before (every time she’s been on one I’ve missed it somehow) and from TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman (likewise). And what TMNT panel would be complete without executive producer Ciro Nieli, and more amazing voice talent like Rob Paulsen (Donatello), Sean Astin (Raphael), Greg Cipes (Michelangelo), and Eric Bauza (Tiger Claw). We missed executive producer and head writer Brandon Auman, but apparently he was hanging out at the Sistine Chapel, so I guess that’s an okay reason to miss a Turtles panel. Maybe.

At the panel they showed the entire first episode of Season 4, which introduces Shinigami and features some really cool development of April’s story, as well. I hate to use a cliché and say that Episode 1 was all about girl power, but: well, it was, and that was fun! I like how far April has come in the show; and I’m very curious to see more of Shinigami’s backstory with Karai, who we also caught up with. We also got to see a couple of fun TMNT shorts, which you can watch too! The first was Pizza Friday by Kevin Eastman and Paul Jenkins, and the second was Turtles Take Time (and Space) by Brandon Auman. I loved them. Booyakabunga!

I was happy to be able to sit down for interviews with the Turtles folks before their panel as well. You can check out my interview with Greg Cipes, Rob Paulsen, and Eric Bauza here; and my interview with Gwendoline Yeo, Sean Astin, Kevin Eastman, and Ciro Nieli here.

And as cool as everything I’ve just talked about was, there was one more totally rad thing I experienced with Nickelodeon this year; and that was the Nickelodeon Double Dare Party with Marc Summers! It took place at Fluxx Nightclub, and was just So. Much. Fun. For one thing, they literally hosted a mini Double Dare show right on the dance floor – where the obstacle course from the show and physical challenges were set up. To make it even better, the Red Team and Blue Team were composed of great players like Nickelodeon staff, and voice actor Greg Cipes (Michelangelo on TMNT) who had been on the show as a kid. And of course, to make things really authentic, the show was hosted by Marc Summers, who didn’t miss a beat as he ran the teams through their paces (watch it here!). It was super-cool to be “on set” for the show and watch the Blue Team win it all live.

For another thing, it was fun to have some chill time with some of Nickelodeon’s great talent– including folks from the panels like Craig Bartlett, Butch Hartman, Greg Cipes, Eric Bauza, and Ciro Nieli – and to get to know more of Nick’s cool staff. And finally, after the Double Dare show ended, they cleared the dance floor for some totally ‘90s DJing, and we all had a rockin’ time dancing and being completely unembarrassed at knowing, for instance, all the words to the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe.” (Wow, it had been so long since I’d sung that song.) My one complaint about this party is that the dancing ended too soon! And on top of all of that fun, I give high praise to the snacks at this party (especially since I’m always dying of hunger at the end of a busy day at Comic-Con) which included mini burgers, fries, shakes, and eclairs. Small but substantial food, easy to eat, and totally in theme.

All in all, Nickelodeon killed it this year at Comic-Con, and it wouldn’t have been the same without ‘em. I’m already feeling the nostalgia for Comic-Con 2016 and all the Nick fun I had there (which you can see in my photo album here). But that doesn’t mean I can’t wait to see what they do next year, too!

Stay tuned for tons more SDCC reporting from me, and until next time, Servo Lectio!

Author: Emily S. Whitten

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