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Emily S. Whitten: SDCC 2015 Part III – The Party Round-Up

Columns
July 16, 2015

I’m back, ladies and gents, with more SDCC coverage! If you missed Part I (the con floor) or Part II (the Her Universe Fashion Show), don’t forget to check ‘em out. And now, on to Part III – party tiiiiiime!

So it’s no secret that I love a good party. And SDCC isn’t a bad place to find one. If you look (and there are some handy party guides put out ahead of each con by more enterprising souls than me to get you started, like this one from Variety and this one from The Hollywood Reporter), you can find events ranging from casual to fancy to star studded galas, and from free events to paid ticketed events.

Your party mileage may vary depending on what you’re looking for; but if you’re like me and like to have a couple of events per night on your radar (nothing worse than ending up at a lame party and not knowing where else to go for a good time when you’re all ready for a fun night), then it’s a good idea to have at least two to three places in mind per night (although it could actually be a good thing if you don’t get to them all – it might mean you were having so much fun at the first one that you didn’t want to leave; and that’s way better than making it to All The Parties).

As a side note before I move on: of course, a lot of the parties listed that feature A-list celebrities or whatever are going to be invite or RSVP-only; but honestly, in my experience of having been to everything from those parties to the come-on-in, it’s-free-for-everyone parties, it’s not celebs that make the fun. Those parties can be awesome; or they can end up being badly organized, long-wait-outside kind of things; and who wants that when you’re looking to get your dance or drink on? So if you end up invited or on the list for those parties, by all means give it a whirl; but if you don’t land an invite to something like that, don’t stress or feel like you’re missing out on life. There’s plenty to do at night for any con-goer.

And as a tip to organizers doing the celebrity-style parties – the most fun I’ve had at those are the ones where you don’t have to wait forever to get in, and where you can actually chat with the other guests, no matter who they are, or where it’s more about everyone dancing and having a good time than whether you’re standing next to so-and-so. The least fun are the ones where if you aren’t an A-list celebrity, you feel like you’re kind of just there, even if you were invited and on the list and everything. Totally lame; so try to strike a balance where everyone feels like they’re welcome and it’s their party. I’ve seen it done right many times, so I know it’s possible! Oh, and for heaven’s sake, don’t tell a press person (or any person) they’re on the list for a party you invited them to and then forget to add them. Trust me – it happened to me; and after wasting precious party time standing in line for a party we won’t see when we could be elsewhere, reporting and/or having a blast, reporters do not forget that shit. Ever.

Anyway; this year, I started poking around the party lists and invites fairly well ahead of time and by the time the Con rolled around, I had my party schedule together. I aimed for a balance of drinks-and-chats vs. club-like, casual vs. fancy, and free vs. ticketed or RSVP events; because hey – I like variety! Some of the potentials dropped off the schedule because I never made it to them, mostly because there’s only so much time in a night (and I heard that the aforementioned list-SNAFU party I also missed turned out to be pretty lame, so no loss there!), but here’s the round-up of the ones I hit, which were hella fun.

Wednesday

The Event: J!NX PRESENTS: Gabe Eltaeb’s Second Annual Comic Kickoff Fundraiser

Where I Found It: I knew about this one in advance because my friend and I stumbled on it last year in the course of meeting up to get dinner. It had a fun casual vibe, so I checked with the J!NX folks to see if they were hosting it again this year, and lo-and-behold they were! But if you don’t know the folks at J!NX, no worries, because this event was also listed on Facebook.

Open To: Anyone! I RSVP’d on Facebook.

The Experience: Like last year, this was held at BASIC Urban Kitchen & Bar. The pizza there is good, and there’s a bar area as well as a more restaurant-like area with tables. The get-together is actually a benefit for The Hero Initiative, which helps comics creators in need, so it’s for a good cause. This year it was sponsored by Razer, Dark Horse Comics, and Loot Crate, and had raffle prizes that included hand-drawn sketches donated by guest artists, Razer Gaming Accessories donated by Razer, and Loot Crates and free subscriptions donated by Loot Crate. The guest artists on hand were Gabe Eltaeb (Star Wars, Green Lantern Corps), Jim Calafiore (Exiles, Aquaman), Carlos D’Anda (Star Wars, Deathblow), Todd Nauck (Young Justice, Nightcrawler), Eddie Nunez (Fanboys vs. Zombies, Ben 10), and Doug Wheatley (Star Wars, Blade: The Vampire Hunter).

As with last year, the vibe was again casual and cool. It was, again, a good place to have dinner with a friend, and more. Although I didn’t opt to participate in the raffle, there were some great pieces available, as well as the merchandise prizes. It was awesome to be able to be in amongst the party while still able to sit down and grab a bite to eat after the hecticness of Preview Night. All-in-all, it was a perfect, relaxed way to do something fun while still easing into the Comic-Con mood on the first night.

But of course, it wasn’t all I did that night. I soon headed over to my next event of the evening…

The Event: Wooden Wisdom (Elijah Wood & Zach Cowie DJ Set) at Bang Bang

Where I Found It: Twitter. I came across this purely by accident on my Twitter feed. Not knowing (as I do now) that Elijah Wood has been into DJing for a long time, my main thought was, “this is the weirdest evening event I’ve encountered at Comic-Con. I must go.” Given that tickets were only $15 when I looked it up, and after learning the venue had a bathroom devoted to Ryan Gosling, I was totally sold. I had to see this.

Open To: Anyone who wants to pay between $5-25 to go to a club and dance the night away with a hobbit co-helming the turntables!

The Experience: The website said the club closed at midnight on Wednesdays, and listed Wooden Wisdom as going on at 10, so I headed over around 10:30 to see what it was all about. As it turned out, for Comic-Con week the club was open until 2, and Wooden Wisdom was starting at midnight (that’s more like it!). That was perfect since I’d wanted to see a few friends for drinks first – so I got my stamp and headed to the Marriott for a drink, heading back to the club a little after midnight for the main event. I was prepared for anything – crowds, no crowds, terrible music, awesome music – and was pleasantly surprised to discover that (other than a sticky floor) this was a rockin’ experience.

Wooden Wisdom is good, you guys! Like, I-wish-they-hadn’t-had-to-go-in-two-hours, I-could-have-danced-a-lot-more good. Both Elijah Wood and Zach Cowrie were awesome up there. Plus, the weird bathroom didn’t disappoint (if you don’t mind a life-sized Ryan Gosling staring at you while you use the facilities); the bartender was extra-nice; I met a couple of new friends on the dance floor; and the giant disco ball and lighting was also pretty darned cool. And, I mean, there was the whole Elijah Wood is DJing (and havin’ a drink) a few feet away thing going on. That was fun. And a kick-ass way to start off the con weekend! I didn’t leave until they pushed us out the door.

Thursday

The Event: VR Lounge, hosted by Dent the Future and The Tweet House, and sponsored by Qualcomm

Where I Found It: Long story short, I know a guy. Sometimes it does help to have those connections, and this year, I checked in with a friend who had, last year, hosted several Comic-Con panels and an associated rockin’ Robot Rendezvous Party, complete with technological demonstrations and special guest Brent Spiner, to see what he was up to this year. As it turned out, this year he was all about virtual reality, and was planning three panels, including a “Building the Holodeck” panel and an associated “VR Lounge” party. After last year? I was so there!

Open To: Everyone, with a ticket purchase via EventBrite. Even though I know a guy, you don’t have to in order to attend his parties.

The Experience: Like last year, it was geeky-cool, and a place to play as well as eat or drink. Held at the Stone Brewing Tap Room, the party featured complimentary appetizers and three different VR demonstrations. I got to try out two of the three before having to run off (I wanted to stay the whole time, but I couldn’t miss the Her Universe Fashion Show!) and they were super cool. For one, from the Emblematic Group, you put on some tech gear (a bag, headphones, and a viewing thing) and could walk around a room in the pub, while experiencing the room as a replica of the Star Trek: Next Generation bridge. It was pretty cool; and you could even sit down in chairs that now looked like holodeck chairs. (Or you could walk around looking like a badass Red Son Super(wo)man in a cape, like my friend Amy.)

The next, from Qualcomm, was Vuforia, which is essentially a modern-day, VR View-Master (man, I loved my View-Master), and is super-cool. The way it works is that by looking at a reel while using the viewer, you can enter the “experience” on that reel, and look around a VR version of different scenes. I looked at a space one, and it was super cool (and if you look down, it will say on the “floor” what experience you are in). You can also look around and see different reels within the reel you are in; and if you click on one of those, can jump into another experience. Let me tell you…it is neeeeeaat. I definitely want one; at the very least for my little nephew and nieces, if not also for myself! The third experience, which I didn’t have time to try but also looked rad, was NASA’s Phobos Hopper project. If only I’d had a little more time to play! But even though I had to dash, it was a super-cool party.

After the Fashion Show on Thursday, I had a friends-and-family type invite-only dinner thing that I go to every year, so I knew where most of my evening was going to be spent (with awesome ComicMixers and the likes of Len Wein and Don McGregor!). But it’s always good to have something on the list for after, just in case…

The Event: The Nerd HQ Nerd Army Party

Where I Found It: On the website, word-of-mouth, and in the party round-ups. Even though this was my third year attending Nerd HQ (which, if you haven’t encountered it, is an amazing all-weekend event started by actor Zac Levi to benefit the important charity Operation Smile, and which I will cover in much more detail in another column), and I’d heard of the parties before, I hadn’t managed to make it to one in the other years. This year, I bookmarked the Nerd HQ party as the next place I’d hit on Thursday if there was time. As it turned out, dinner didn’t wrap until midnight, and I was already super tired after a busy day at the con; but I did swing by Nerd HQ with someone else from the dinner to see what the party was all about in this year’s new setting, The New Children’s Museum.

Open To: Anyone who has registered for Nerd HQ (which is free)

The Experience: This party is funnnnn, y’all. Remember how I was talking about celebrity parties that strike a balance and make everyone feel like it’s their party? Nerd HQ does it right! Even though it’s a draw to know that Zac Levi (and possibly famous friends) are going to be there, hosting the party, interacting with the crowd, etc., the party is still, first and foremost, a party with a bunch of nerrrrds. Albeit a party with Zac Levi and a Wookie on stage. On Thursday around midnight, there was no wait to get in – they just scanned our RFID bracelets, and in we went. The setting this year was pretty good, with a dance floor area set in front of a raised platform where the DJ and Zac and friends could hang out, and they had a really fun mix of music, and great lighting, to set the mood. Zac was totally into the party, singing, dancing, and saying hello to people in the crowd. There was a good crowd, clearly having a great time dancing and chilling, and there were also two bars (indoor and out on the patio) for drinks, although I didn’t get a drink Thursday, since I was just swinging by to scope the scene before dropping like a dead thing into my bed, to prepare for…

Friday

The Event: The Fashionably Nerdy Cocktail Hour

Where I Found It: Facebook, and friends mentioning it.

Open To: Everyone! I RSVP’d on Facebook.

The Experience: This was Fashionably Nerdy’s first year hosting this event; but from the minute I saw it, I was excited to attend. As you can probably tell from my coverage of the Her Universe Fashion Show and more, I am all about nerd and geek fashion for women; and the ladies hosting this party are, too! So it was a total match. The event was hosted at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Grand Lobby Bar, and advertised as a way to meet the Fashionably Nerdy team and some great geek chic designers. Swag bags were promised for the first attendees, along with a raffle, and prizes for the best-dressed. Press commitments elsewhere kept me from arriving when it started, so I didn’t land a swag bag, but their list of designers and prizes was very impressive!

Given that this was a fashion party, I dressed in my geek best with the Loki dress from the Her Universe Hot Topic line, designed by the winners of last year’s SDCC Her Universe Fashion Show. I swung by after the party had been going for an hour, and the place was pretty packed! I somehow immediately honed in on and met the Fashionably Nerdy gals (it’s like a geek fashionista sixth sense!) and chatted with them, as well as with some of their friends, one of whom is a designer who had made one of the great geek dresses being worn, and had actually been one of the Fashion Show models as well. We all bonded over our shared love of geek fashion, and kept running into each other for the rest of the weekend after that, which was fun. Yay, new friends!

Speaking of the Fashion Show, the Loki dress a good choice of attire, because I got many compliments! Despite the fact that the line was on my radar from the get-go, several people at the party had never seen the dress and wanted to know where I got it. I was happy to be able to tell them Ashley Eckstein had just announced that the sold-out line is coming back; and this was clearly the right crowd to be interested in news like that. After I met a few folks, I settled in for some food and drink, because whoo, I was starving! Over shrimp tacos I made friends with other like-minded geeks, chatting about, e.g., some of the difficulties and discrimination we’d encountered as women who are into video gaming; and the fun we have in sneaking geek couture into our daily work wardrobes. As the event wound down, I was happy to unexpectedly get one of the cute prizes they were handing out to some attendees – a great glittery Flash hairclip from Accessories by Nerd Girl Britt that I’ll surely wear somewhere. All-in-all, it was a really fun event! I hope to go again next year, and have been assured that planning is already in the works! As this year’s event wrapped up, I headed over to…

The Event: SherlockeDCC

Where I Found It: Ah, I have been a Sherlockian for yea, these many years, and had many friends (particularly from the yearly NYC BSI Weekend, and from my personal scion group, The Red Circle of DC) who were going to this party! So I heard about it from several folks.

Open To: Everyone who buys a ticket! Although this one always seems to sell out pretty fast.

The Experience: This was an all-around great party in a great setting, put together by The Baker Street Babes, Being Geek Chic, The Nerdy Girlie, SherlockDC, and more. Held on the 9^th floor of the San Diego Public Library, the room had a glassed-in view of PETCO Park and downtown San Diego (which was especially cool when we unexpectedly partook second-hand in the Star Wars Celebration fireworks!), as well as a patio outside. There was a great spread of food (both hot food and a fruit and cheese table), and a cash bar. Everyone who went got a cool swag bag with Sherlockian-themed items like exclusive prints and Sherlock-themed tea. There was also an impressive raffle with lots of themed prizes, as well as a selection of merchandise to browse.

One of my favorite bits was a photo booth where you could get a set of four pictures done in quick succession, with silly props supplied for you. My friend Lacy and I had a total blast with that. It was also cool to run into great friends from the BSI, like Les Klinger of The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes and Curtis Armstrong of Supernatural and King of the Nerds. And, of course, any party where you walk in and Steven Moffat is hanging out doing a Q&A is pretty darned cool. Really, this party wasn’t missing any ingredients of success; and a good time was had by all. Which brings me to the final party night…

Saturday

The Event: The Nerd HQ Nerd Army Party

Where I Found It: See above. I was determined to actually have time to hang out at this party Saturday night, after being too tired to stay long on Thursday.

Open To: All registered Nerd HQ attendees

The Experience: The vibe and setting was similar to Thursday, although there was a line to get in. Still, it moved fairly quickly (unlike most party lines) and soon I was nerding out inside with the rest of the Nerd Army. At first, I’ll admit I was a little cranky, because I really, really wanted a water and could not figure out how to efficiently obtain one. After waiting in a long bar line, realizing near the front that I had to buy tickets in a separate line for drinks, and then buying those and getting back in the bar line, I was a bit frustrated – and I definitely think that process needs to be streamlined (why did there need to be drink tickets at all?) and clarified for next year (at the very least a complimentary water station, or a separate line for just water, would probably work wonders).

But once I got some water in me, I was more than happy to party like the rest of the crowd. And also, to take a couple of pictures with their free photo set-ups, which were still available during the night-time fun. (Fun side note: I pinned one copy of my party picture to the photo clotheslines just for fun; and the next day, a friend who I didn’t actually get to see in person the whole con tweeted it at me, all, “found you!” Haha! Friends seeing friends via Nerd HQ.) The dance floor was a good time; I got into the crowd for a time, and actually ran into and said hi to Zac as he was making his way back to the raised area after he’d been dancing in the middle of the crowd for a long while; and when I took a break from dancing, I ended up meeting and hardcore nerding out with a new friend in conversation on the sidelines of the dance floor. And although I personally didn’t run into any of the other celebs who might have been there, I know that, e.g., Yvonne Strahovski was there at least one of the nights; so you never know who you might see at Nerd HQ! And either way, it’s a hoppin’ party!

But eventually, I needed to slow it down a little; so I headed over to my last party of the weekend…

The Event: SlamCon

Where I Found It: Twitter. You have to follow @Slam_Con on Twitter to find out the location of this party each year. On the day of, they tweet the location a few hours before (they tweeted it at 5, and the party started at 8, this year).

Open To: Everyone! And you never know who you might see there, from friends to celebs to who-all-knows. Last year half the cast of Supernatural apparently showed up.

The Experience: SlamCon is another example of a good way to mix some celebrities or con guests with con-goers without it feeling weird. Although the venue and feel might change a little from year to year, this party, organized by Todd Stashwick, Dennis Calero, Brea Grant, and Deric Hughes, is a great way to hang out, have some drinks, and wrap up a con weekend. This year, the event was at the Hilton Bayfront Pool Club; but then moved to the Odysea because the crowd got so big.

Although, alas, I headed over pretty late and missed a fair bit of it, as well as Deric, who I would have loved to catch up with, even just walking in I ran into the awesome Brandon Auman, writer for the current fantastic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show on Nickelodeon (and funnily enough, earlier had run into the just-as-awesome Greg Cipes, voice of Michelangelo, out on the street – Turtle Power and Turtle friends!) and was introduced to another writer for the show. And I also got to say hi and thanks for organizing to Todd Stashwick, who is a delightful human being (and a great actor!). And I ran into one of the great Fashionably Nerdy gals again, too! So even though I didn’t get to stay too long, it was nice to go and see some old friends or meet new ones! And next year…well, I’m definitely going to try to get there sooner!

But until then, I think I’m partied out for a few days; so check out my complete party photo album or my whole con photo collection, stay tuned for the rest of my con coverage, and Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten: SDCC 2015 Part II – The Her Universe Fashion Show

Columns
July 15, 2015

Guess what, faithful readers? It’s time for more San Diego Comic Con coverage! In Part I, I talked about the convention floor, exclusives and swag, cosplay, Artist Alley, and some of the activities that go on around the convention center. Today, the topic is the coolest fashion happening at Comic-Con: The Her Universe Fashion Show, now in its second year.

Anyone who’s read my columns before will know that I’ve been an advocate and supporter for good quality geek-themed women’s fashions and accessories and cosmetics (like Espionage Cosmetics geek nail wraps, Literary Lacquers literary-themed nail polishes, and superheroine-themed perfumes) for years (and if you want some of my recent faves, check out my Pinterest page, dedicated to just those things). So I was super excited to get a front-row seat to the Her Universe Fashion Show this year; and let me tell you, it was a total blast! It was set up like a real runway show – but way more fun because of how into the geek factor everyone was.

If you’re wondering how such a thing as a geek fashion show came about; it is the brainchild of Ashley Eckstein, actress and voice of Ahsoka Tano in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, who founded the women’s geek fashion company Her Universe in 2009 with The Araca Group, a leading theatrical and brand management company. By 2014, with the geeky fashion-forward merchandise company continually increasing in popularity, and seeing women constantly walking around conventions in great geek-inspired fashions, Ashley felt the next step needed to be a true haute couture geek fashion experience at the biggest comic con in the country – San Diego Comic Con.

The resulting show last year featured some truly amazing geek-inspired fashion and culminated in the audience’s and judge’s winners collaborating on a limited fashion line with Her Universe and Hot Topic, the Marvel Avengers Collection. That collection was the most successful licensed fashion collection in the history of Hot Topic, and while it sold out in a hot second (I happily managed to snag the pieces I wanted before they disappeared, and got tons of compliments while wearing the Loki and Captain America halter dresses to parties at SDCC), the high demand means it will soon be available again!

As with 2014, the winners of the 2015 show will also have the opportunity to collaborate on a line; so I was keenly interested in what we’d be seeing come down the runway (and doubly so since the audience gets to choose one of the winners!). As I settled into my seat (complete with a little “Her Universe”-emblazoned cookie surrounded by curls of delicious chocolate), I was able to peruse the provided look book, which gave the names and short biographies of the twenty-five finalists, along with the name and sketch for the look we’d be seeing. Since I knew we’d be voting, I preliminarily marked some that looked especially appealing to me; and as with any design versus reality, it was interesting to see as the show went on how some potential favorites didn’t pan out as I expected, and some I hadn’t been too impressed with wowed on the runway.

Happily, being in the front, I was able to get some good photos of each finalist’s dress (and the Her Universe clothing that was also modeled), and you can see the whole collection here. Overall, every one of the finalists was top quality, which made for a very tough choice; but particular favorites of mine live-and-in-person included Lauren Andrews’ Monster High-inspired “Party Like a Monster” which even featured doll-head heels; Harmony Leiker’s Tron Legacy-inspired “Cocktails at the End of the Line” dress with illuminated fabric; Tara Reich’s Death Star-inspired “That’s No Moon,” also featuring lit aspects, plus a fantastically appropriate purse; Daisy Evans’ Assassin’s Creed-inspired “Assassin’s Elegance,” which featured wrist blades and a cool removable skirt; Erica Williams’ Khaleesi-inspired and elegant “Rise From Fire;” Amy Scott’s convertible Rose Tyler-inspired “I am the Bad Wolf;” Leetal Platt’s Sailor Moon-inspired convertible “Usagi’s Transformation” dress; and Kelly Cercone’s Batman-inspired “Joker’s New Look” Ashley’s dresses, designed by one of last year’s winners, Andrew MacLaine, were also great.

In the end, my absolute favorite (I could so see myself wearing it to a fancy party) was the Rise From Fire dress, which didn’t end up winning; but both of the wins were definitely well-deserved. This year’s winners were Kelly Cercone, of the aforementioned Joker dress; and Leetal Platt, of the Usagi’s Transformation dress. Kelly and Leetal will now go on to design the next line for Her Universe and Hot Topic. I can’t wait to see what it is!

After the show, I was fortunate to sit down with Ashley Eckstein for a great interview about Her Universe and the show. Ashley talks about what inspired her, and what she’s seen happening in the geek fashion industry. You can watch the video here.

And if you want to see the full collection of my Comic-Con photos, you can check it out in timeline format or by section here.

So enjoy! And stay tuned, because there’s more coverage to come. In the meantime, Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten: SDCC 2015 Part I – On the Con Floor

Columns
July 14, 2015

I just returned from the San Diego Comic-Con, and wow, am I beat. But that’s because there was just so much to see and do at the con – and of course, as always, I tried to see and do it all!

Sadly, there’s no way to actually experience everything (and I gave up on the FOMO some time ago), but I did manage to experience a ton of the stuff that was on offer. So much, in fact, that I think it’s going to take me about five posts to cover it all! So today, I’m sticking with the basics – the con floor and exhibits, some exclusives I scored (and coveted but missed out on!), free swag, cool cosplay, Artist Alley, and some of the stuff that goes on outside.

If you’ve been to SDCC before, you know just trying to see what you want to on the con floor and surrounding “activations” outside can be mega-challenging and exhausting. The hall is large, the activations spread out, and the crowd…well, let’s just say you aren’t going to be sprinting from booth to booth or buying any exclusives without a pretty big wait. Of course, that’s because there’s so much cool stuff to see and buy. So much, in fact, that it would take me forever to describe it, and so instead I put together this handy album of the stuff I stopped to take pictures of.

Favorite merchandise bits on the floor include this amazing Men In Black replica; upcoming collectible Marvel keychains from Monogram that will include Deadpool and X-Force Deadpool; and the Entertainment Earth booth’s many cool items, including this Boba Fett stool (there’s a whole set). Speaking of Entertainment Earth, while visiting their booth, I also got a chance to speak with Jason Lenzi, co-founder and co-owner of Bif Bang Pow!, which has partnered with Entertainment Earth to provide some cool products through their store. You can check out the interview here.

One thing any fan of miniatures, building sets, display sets, or the like really must check out is McFarlane Toys’ amazing building sets of The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones characters and scenes. They caught my eye for their small scale and detail, and after talking with the Prototype Development Director I learned that Todd McFarlane’s idea was to have the individual pieces and sets (for kids approximately 8+ to adult collectors) be able to all be put together (including the characters, which come in pieces to be put together or mixed-and-matched) into larger scenes according to preference, and to have the larger building blocks (e.g. buildings) work with other brands. The Walking Dead ones are available or becoming available now (including e.g. Daryl on the highway and the Winnebago, and the hospital doors, due out in October), and the Game of Thrones collection, Series 1, will be out in December 2015 to early 2016 (series 2, including e.g. The Wall with Jon Snow, is due out in January 2016). The amount of detail in this product is great – including things like barbed-wire-topped fences in The Walking Dead line that can be angled if, for instance, you want your walkers to be “pushing the fence down.” Everything looks to be of good quality, and doors open, wheels move, grass is flexible, and more. They have everything from blind bag minifigs to sets of 5 figures in case you want to, for instance, quickly build up your Walker army (and the blind bags are labeled W for Walkers or H for Humans so you can at least have some idea of what you’re going to get). I love it; and I also learned they have their eye on additional licenses for the future (and maybe even some Spawn stuff, like a build your own alleyway). Can’t wait to see what else they come up with.

Along with all the cool stuff to look at, I picked up some fun exclusives and swag. My absolute favorite (since I missed out on the Hasbro matchbox-sized Ant-Man, which sold out in a hot second) is the Avocados at Law tee from the Digital PIMP booth, although the Fogwell’s Gym and Agent Carter shirts from Marvel are hella sweet, too. I was also pleased with the Supernatural “Swan Song” car with army man from CineQuest.com, pretty much everything from Quantum Mechanix (lots of Firefly stuff, including a mini Serenity and Firefly playing cards complete with IOUs!), and my ridiculously large Espionage Cosmetics nail wraps purchase. In the free swag category, getting the Google Cardboard viewer was awesome, and I was also well-pleased with my exclusive Firefly poster from QMx, my Little Twin Stars fan from Sanrio, the Comic-Con Mad Libs from Penguin, and of course the Entertainment Weekly mag with Deadpool on the cover. Because Deadpool. I also swung by Dark Horse and picked up plenty to read, including Mind MGMT and Lady Killers, which I’m looking forward to.

Fun displays on the floor included LEGO Minions and a life-sized Hulkbuster Iron Man suit that I just had to pose with.

Outside in the surrounding areas, this Hand of God promotion was pretty freaky – and also pretty amusing when some of the ardent religious protesters who always appear near the convention center during Comic Con got mixed in. They were clearly confused, at first thinking they’d walked into a crowd of like-minded individuals – until they heard some of the slogans being chanted by the Ron Perlman look-alikes.

The activations included the Assassin’s Creed obstacle course, which a lot of people stopped to watch (increasing the crowd difficulty issue, but I get why they stopped – it was pretty damn cool!). Other outside stuff I was delighted to find included the Hello Kitty Cafe truck. I totally bought Hello Kitty macaroons and petit fours (tasty!).

But seeing exhibits and buying things isn’t all there is to do. There’s also a metric ton of great cosplay around, including favorites of mine like this epic Poison Ivy, this giant Groot, this somewhat Victorian female Captain America, this hilariously awesome Pikachu Deadpool, and the woman cosplaying my favorite Effie Trinket outfit. I love all the thought and work that people put into their cosplay, and how much joy they get out of it.

And of course, there’s also the entirety of Artist Alley to visit. I swung by to catch up with some favorite creators like Janet Lee, Reilly Brown, Sanford Greene, and Dustin Nguyen; and also visited Mark Wheatley‘s booth in the exhibits area. It’s always nice to take a few minutes to check out one of the main reasons SDCC even exists – i.e., the comics. And Artist Alley is a great place to do that.

Whew! I think that might just about cover the highlights of my con floor experience. Hope you enjoyed it! And fear not – there’s lots more to come. Stay tuned for coverage of convention panels, the Her Universe Fashion Show, Nerd HQ, and some of the fun party and nightlife stuff I checked out.

And until then, Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten: It’s Comic-Con Time!

Columns
July 7, 2015

The San Diego Comic Con starts tomorrow, and OMG I am all in a tizzy getting prepped for it. Which kiiiiind of means I didn’t have time to write a long, thoughtful, in-depth column about anything this week. Not only because I’m busy, but also because when I get excited, it’s like Fireworks! Going! Off! In! My! Brain! And then long, thoughtful columns are overtaken by things like Rorschach answering dating questions, or incoherent babbling about imaginary stuff. So you can imagine what my brain looks like right now.

However, for those of us heading off to SDCC and looking for some tips, I can refer everyone back to my Comic-Con Prep 101 guide from last year. Check it out for a list or a reminder of all the basics you should think about when packing for and prepping for a con.

I can also share a few tips specifically for San Diego. Of course, a good place to start when planning for SDCC (which you totally should be completely ready for by now, right? Right??) is the official app, where you can put your own personal wish-list schedule of panels together (while recognizing you’ll only actually make it to maybe 1 in 10 panels you want to attend, if you’re anything like me and over-commit). You can also see what guests might be out there that you want to track down for autographs, commissions, and more. You can also head over to the official site for the list of San Diego Comic-Con exclusives exclusives to see what you absolutely must snag on the con floor.

Then you should consider your after-hours plans. While a lot of the parties are “invite only,” there are still a ton of good things going on at night. For a couple of good round-ups of the parties and get-togethers, check out the Hollywood Reporter’s list or Variety’s list. I’m planning on SherlockeDCC and the Geek Nation/Epic Pictures parties. Another good place to poke around is Facebook. A lot of the free parties have event listings on Facebook, which will also link you up to “related content” so you can find even more parties. The two I’m eyeing that have Facebook pages are the J!NX PRESENTS: Gabe Eltaeb’s Second Annual Comic Kickoff Fundraiser and the Fashionably Nerdy Cocktail Hour and Mixer.

And of course, there are other peripheral events to be aware of; one of the biggest of which is Zac Levi’s awesome Nerd HQ. Even though the Conversations (200-seat panels featuring awesome celebrities, sold for $22 each and with proceeds going to Operation Smile) sell out in a hot second, there are also other things going on, like free gaming, and usually Thursday and Saturday night parties. And then there’s also SlamCon, the mysterious moving party that you need to hunt down via Twitter to attend. And then there’s the occasional thing that makes you go, “Bwuh?” but in a good way; like Elijah Wood DJ’ing at Bang Bang tomorrow night (come on, I’m so there; I hear he has a kickin’ vinyl collection). All in all, there’s more than enough to see and do while in San Diego for the con.

So there you go! Some on-the-fly tips off the top of my head (which is about to fly off in excitement) about how to experience the San Diego Comic-Con, at least the way I like to do it.

So get out there, have a blast, and until next time, Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten: Turtle Power! The Original TMNT

Columns
June 30, 2015

I’ve said before that some of the voice actors I’ve interviewed are the voices of my childhood, but I couldn’t possibly have been closer to interviewing a whole collection of voices from my early childhood at the same time than when I was at Awesome Con this year talking to all four of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Rob Paulsen, Cam Clarke, Barry Gordon, and Townsend Coleman. (I also interviewed the amazing Jess Harnell and Jim Cummings, so if you missed those interviews, check ‘em out now!)

I watched a fair amount of cartoons as a child, and among the ones with the earliest, largest impact on my young life were those coming out in the ‘80s, including Thundercats, Duck Tales, Inspector Gadget, Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers, He-Man, Danger Mouse, and more. But of all the ‘80s cartoons, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles consisently stands out as a favorite, with both a premise and characters (brought to life by the voice actors!) that I just loved. Like Greg Cipes (the current Michelangelo), I used to glue myself to the TV when TMNT came on, knew the theme song by heart (still do!), and totally had a favorite Turtle (Raphael! I do love snark). To this day I remember weird little bits of plot or character that apparently ingrained themselves in my brain from the age of six. So getting to talk (albeit a bit briefly, since the con was so busy) to all four of the Turtles in the span of the same hour was just really, really cool. As is being able to share those talks with you!

So if you’re a Turtles fan or you just like cool videos, click here for shout-outs from Raphael (Rob Paulsen) and Michelangelo (Townsend Coleman), and interviews with Leonardo (Cam Clarke) and Donatello (Barry Gordon).

And if you want to see what the guys were like in action, doing their fun voices at Awesome Con, check out the Awesome Con Twisted Toonz panel, as filmed by my great friend Kristy Sproul of Voice Chasers.

Enjoy! And until next time, cowabunga! And Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten: Heroes Con From Afar

Columns
June 23, 2015

Even though I get to go to a lot of fun conventions, I can’t make them all. One that I particularly hate to miss, because I’ve been before and know how great it is, is Heroes Con. Like the Baltimore Comic Con, Heroes Con retains a strong focus on the comics creation part of a comic con; including by holding a great art auction every year.

The auction features amazing, quality work from the pros who attend, and I had a blast when I went a previous year, both for the atmosphere (they keep the auction moving with a fun, energetic pace) and because seeing so many quality originals by artists I love hanging in one place was super-cool. A lot of the artists create, or at least finish work on, their pieces during the con; and of course they’re also generally doing commissions throughout the con while hanging out at their tables in Artists Alley. I love walking through a con like Heroes Con and seeing the amazing things these talented artists can produce in a loud, chaotic exhibition hall amongst crowds of people with just the art supplies they brought with them.

Although of course I wish I could have experienced Heroes Con first hand this year, at least thanks to Twitter I was able to see some of the fun art auction pieces and commissions that have come out of the weekend. Today, I’d like to share some of my favorites. So here we go!

Two favorite con pieces I saw in the Twittersphere were the work of Skottie Young. Skottie’s style appeals to me for possibly the same reason it logically shouldn’t; where so many artists’ work has a finished, polished look to it, Skottie’s art has deliberately rough edges and lines. Done badly, this might make the work ugly; but done well, this style makes his art stand out; and despite the roughness, it’s somehow still playful. This really adds to the feeling of creepy pieces like this one of Death, who looks both pretty scary and like maybe he’s appreciating a private joke in between reaping souls. I love it.

But I won’t lie, my favorite works of Skottie’s are his adorable baby comics characters. Which I know is really shocking – me, liking cute things? Cute things that retain a slightly snarky edge? Nevahhh! I like the baby superheroes so much that I even made a clay version of the Deadpool one. So that’s probably why Skottie’s baby Spider-Gwen, done for the Heroes Con art auction, makes me so happy. Lookit iiiiiit!! It’s darling.

Of course, Skottie’s not nearly the only artist who was posting fun art on Twitter. One of my consistent favorite artists, Reilly Brown, posted a great Disapproving Colossus. I always love the expressions and attitudes of Reilly’s characters, and this one’s no different: in Colossus’ Russia, art disapproves of you! (I feel like this needs to be a meme.) Disapproving Colossus makes me happy.

Speaking of disapproving, Chrissie Zullo’s Scarecrow clearly disapproves of all of us. He is disappointed in our niceness, and is probably thinking up ways to kill us in our sleep. Beware!

Ryan Lee had a couple of cool pieces I encountered. This one for the art auction, of Hellboy “charging into a demon with reckless abandon” is great; and I am absolutely in love with this Rocket Raccoon and Groot. The energetic plunging-into-the-fray that is Groot! That joyful face of destructive glee on Rocket! I want this.

Comics artists are used to team-ups (both in the stories and in creating them!) and sometimes they’re super-awesome. This Super pair done by Babs Tarr and Joe Quinones is one of those times. There’s a lot of life in this piece, despite it not being an “action” pose. Nice!

In a completely different vein, Francesco Francavilla, king of pulp and retro style, posted this great Ghost Rider; and his Swamp Thing is a thing (pun intended?) of intricate, twisty beauty (beauty being relative when we’re talking about Swamp Thing, but still).

And again in a different turn of style, we’ve got Jamie Cosley’s small and menacing but also cute Darth Vader. He’s got big cute eyes and little guy swagger – you can almost hear him thinking, “Look at me and my light saber. Oh yeah! I’m so cool.” Bless.

I already know well that Sanford Greene is a talented guy, so I’m always happy to see what he’s working on. I liked his Batgirl from this weekend, for her expressive face and the great shading. And also that moon. It’s just cool.

Speaking of cool, Deadpool is always cool (always!), and this Deadpool piece by Shawn Crystal and Brian Reber is totally rad (that’s like, old-school cool). Deadpool is definitely about to take all of us out. I love the attitude and action.

One great thing about cons is that I encounter the work of artists I’m not already overly familiar with, and then I often become a fan. On Saturday, Christian Ward’s Silver Surfer caught my eye, and his other work is pretty great as well. This piece is eye-catching for the attitude of the Surfer (I get a kind of proud/defiant/determined vibe off of it) and the colors and space-y feel.

I also like seeing more from folks whose work I’ve seen in passing before. This Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix piece by Dan Govar and Tony Moy is an excellent reminder of why I need to seek out more of their work. I love the concept and the execution. Stellar!

And finally, both because the work is marvelous and the plan for it was way more than 12% awesome, I adore this Guardians of the Galaxy joint effort from Ryan Stegman, Mike Rooth, Ryan Browne, Skottie Young, and Dave Marquez. It looks like whoever commissioned it had everyone add a character to the mix, and the result is amazing! I’m very jealous.

I’m also sure there were many other amazing pieces which I didn’t happen to see; but at least I (and now you!) got to share in some of the fun thanks to the posts. That’s the good part of social media like Twitter.

So until next time, feel free to say hi (or send me links to more cool art) on The Twitters, and Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten Interviews Jim Cummings

Columns
June 16, 2015

Is there aaaaanyone here who hasn’t seen at least a video clip of Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger Too at some point? I know I’ve seen plenty – Winnie-the-Pooh was a part of my childhood, and is now a part of the childhood of this Auntie Em’s little nephew and nieces. And would it blow your mind to learn that since the 1990s, Winnie-the-Pooh and Tigger too have been…dun dun duuuuun…the same person? Because they have! Well, at least when it comes to the guy who does their voices.

This is one of the things I adore about voice actors – how versatile they are, and how they can do so many voices that just sound nothing like each other; even when the characters are in conversation together. It’s really amazing.

If you know anything about voice actors, you’ll know that when I talk about the voice of Pooh and Tigger, I’m talking about the epically talented voice actor and voice of all of our childhoods, Jim Cummings. Along with Pooh and Tigger, Jim’s voices include The Terror That Flaps in the Night (Darkwing Duck]! I watched that show religiously); Disney’s Pete (Goof Troop, yay!); Mr. Bumpy of Bump in the Night (My tiny hamster Squishington approves); Looney Tunes’ Tazmanian Devil; Ray from The Princess and the Frog; Fat Cat and Monterey Jack from Rescue Rangers; and sooooo many others.

I had a chance to chat with Jim about his work while at Awesome Con 2015 in Washington DC (and if you missed my previous coverage, check out my con round-up and my interview with voice actor Jess Harnell at the links), and it was a real pleasure. We discussed all sorts of things, including his approach to voicing legacy characters versus original characters, the recording process, singing as a character, and advice for aspiring voice actors. And, of course, he bounced (as Tigger would say) into character and did a few voices for me, as well!

You can check out the video of my interview with the amazing Jim Cummings here. And if you prefer the audio instead, you can head over to SoundCloud here and give it a listen.

So enjoy! And until next time, go have yourself a snack (maybe a smackerel of honey?) and Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten Interviews Jess Harnell

Columns
June 9, 2015

As I mentioned last week, I got to interview some fantastically talented folks while at Awesome Con DC 2015; and now I get to share the first of those interviews with you. I started off my weekend by talking with the wonderful, warm, and funny voice actor and singer Jess Harnell, who graciously took time out of his busy convention schedule to chat with me behind the scenes; and let me tell you, it was a treat!

If you’re not familiar with Jess…well, you probably only think you’re not familiar with Jess. Because if I mention, oh, say, Wakko Warner of Animaniacs, Captain Hero of Drawn Together, Ironhide of the Transformers movies, Chilly of Doc McStuffins, Grim of The 7D, the Sewer Urchin of The Tick, or one of the other 274 credits on Jess’s IMDB page, I’m pretty sure you’ll realize you’ve heard this man in all kinds of TV shows, movies, and video games. And if you somehow haven’t…you really should. He’s immensely talented, and a super nice guy to boot.

But why spend time here with me when you could be watching and listening to the man himself? If you want to see Jess do a few of his famous voices (and all four of The Beatles!), and learn more about his early days in show biz, how he got into voice acting, his cool convention and fan experiences, what it’s like being a voice actor in Hollywood, how he came up with the idea for his band Rock Sugar, and more, check out our video interview right here!

(And if you can’t watch video for some reason but would like the audio version, it’s here.)

And if you watch the video or listen to the interview and don’t come away knowing that Jess is super talented, and a really cool dude (seriously, I love this guy. Can you tell?) then I’ll eat…um…I’ll eat…um…Jess’s hair!

Well, okay, maybe not. That would truly be a feat of epic proportions. But I will be very surprised.

So go forth, be amazed by this awesome dude, and until next time, Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten: Awesome Con DC 2015

Columns
June 2, 2015

So I just got back from Awesome Con DC 2015, and happily, it lived up to its name once again, because it was pretty darned awesome!

It was also kind of interesting to realize that every year I’ve gone has been a different experience, thanks to what I was doing each year. The first year, which was of course also smaller than the current con, I was reporting for ComicMix but did not have any other responsibilities. That meant I had time to see pretty much all of the floor and meet any guests I’d like, plus doing great, longer-form interviews with the talented Phil LaMarr and Billy West. Last year, I was running programming, so I saw a whole lot of back hallways, the exhibit hall whooshing by at a fast clip several times as I hurried around, many great volunteers, and a few guests for just long enough to introduce myself before they walked out on stage. (I did allow myself one break to see the voice actor Ghostbusters script reading panel, though. And may have possibly told my staff I’d kill them if they bothered me during it. Because hey. That panel was awesome.)

This year, although I was planning to report on the con, I also offered to moderate some panels if needed. I ended up moderating four really cool panels; and that gave me yet another fun perspective to add to my myriad con experiences. Interestingly, despite all being billed as Q & As, each of my panels had a very different feel. The Gerry Duggan and Mike Hawthorne panel, while naturally discussing storylines and characters both had worked on, also contained some really in-depth insights into the working process of both comics writer and artist. I found Gerry’s process for script-writing, which includes editing what was a final Deadpool script to “punch it up” more after seeing the storyboards created by Mike Hawthorne from his draft, to be particularly interesting. And Mike told a great story about working with Harvey Pekar and receiving a “script” to work from that was just two pages with many panels of stick figures – and yet somehow managing to make it work!

Mark Pellegrino’s panel was very energetic, with Mark interacting with each fan who asked a question on a personal level by having them come up and stand next to him in front of the stage while they chatted. This made for a dynamic panel; although it almost became a bit too dynamic when a Castiel cosplayer yelled, “Hey, assbutt!” And tossed a”holy fire Molotov cocktail” at Mark as she came up to ask her question. Fortunately the bottle was plastic and Mark caught it with aplomb – but really, guys – let’s not throw things at our con guests, okay? Even if you think it’s going to be totally awesome, just – don’t. For one thing, you’ll give your friendly neighborhood moderator a heart attack as she pictures a nice, unsuspecting actor getting beaned in the head and/or cut by a glass bottle; and for another, unlike with merchandise, if you break a con guest, you don’t get to buy him or her. Instead, you get big, big trouble, and possibly fandom-wide hatred.

The next panel I moderated was for George Newbern, voice of Superman from Justice League, as well as many other voice and on-screen roles, including Father of the Bride, Friends, and tons more. He’s currently playing a fascinating role as Charlie on Scandal. George was delightfully interesting to listen to given his storied career, which also includes having read over a hundred audio books. It was pretty cool to hear him demonstrating coming up with something like 140 voices for the most recent book series he did. And of course it was awesome to have Superman sitting next to me for a few moments when he did that voice. (George also worked on Switching Channels with Christopher Reeve. How cool is that?)

The last panel I moderated was Adult Swim with C. Martin Croker and Dana Snyder, which was a total trip because with Dana, “moderating” essentially means, “pointing him towards a stage and letting him go.” I did say we shouldn’t throw things at guests. However, those rules don’t go both ways – and if you go to an Adult Swim panel and you’re not paying attention, there is every chance you will get beaned in the head by a water bottle thrown by Master Shake. Fortunately, everyone was paying attention, and thus no attendees were harmed in the making of the panel. There was some fun information shared by both Clay and Dana, including that Clay recalls an episode of Space Ghost, Coast to Coast that was actually too crazy to air, and that Dana landed the role of Master Shake essentially by talking on the phone. Or at least, I think those are things we learned – I don’t know for sure, as my head was spinning from all the comedy going on next to me on stage!

Along with moderating panels, I actually got to go to some panels as well, including a few minutes of the Lord of the Rings panel with Sean Astin and John Rhys-Davies (I wanted to stay for the whole thing but had a schedule conflict), which was really great to listen to, as those two have such presence; the entirety of voice actor Jess Harnell’s panel, which was the most warm, friendly, funny, energetic one-man storytelling hour I’ve been to in some time; and the Twisted Toonz live movie script read, which this year featured all four original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Rob Paulsen, Cam Clarke, Townsend Coleman, and Barry Gordon), as well as Jess Harnell, Jim Cummings, and Phil LaMarr. The Twisted Toonz reading was a blast, as always; and if you haven’t ever seen one of these live reads, you need to check out the link above. I recommend starting with the ECCC Star Wars Trilogy.

The panels were fantastic – but they weren’t the only thing to do at Awesome Con. I also walked as much of the con floor as I had time for, seeing great costumes and buying ridiculously fun merchandise (like my new tiny and giant My Little Ponypools). It was surprising and cool how many friends I ran into just wandering the con floor, which really made it feel like a warm and welcoming con. Not to mention I got to catch up with fun guests I hadn’t seen since last year’s cons, like Alex Simmons, Andrew Aydin, J.K. Woodward, Joe Kelly, Marc Hempel, Noel MacNeal, Phil LaMarr, Rob Paulsen, and Sean Astin; and meet a few neat guests I hadn’t before, like Mark McKenna, Sorah Shibao, and Diana Leto. And don’t worry, for anyone who’s sad they didn’t get to be there and have these fun experiences too – I took pictures for you!

Not only that, but I also got the chance to interview some really fantastic folks. So stay tuned in the next few weeks for some words from Jess Harnell, Jim Cummings, and all four of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!!

And until then, stay Awesome, and Servo Lectio!

Emily S. Whitten: Literary Lacquers

Columns
May 26, 2015

I have a thing for rainbows. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always liked rainbows. Not the upside-down-smiley-face, fluffy-clouds-on-the-ends drawings of rainbows (I kind of don’t like those), but real, elusive, illuminated water droplets in the sky and spectrums created by prisms rainbows. I have even been known to run out into the rain to get pictures of a really good (really big) rainbow.

I also have a thing for nail polishes – my collection of colors and varieties is embarrassingly large – and have been known to play around with sort of complicated designs for kicks, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle nails, Iron Man arc reactor nails, magnetic polish nails, and Union Jack nails. (And so many more, but I can’t find all the pictures, alas! You should have seen the Burberry nails.) I’m also always on the lookout for cool nail polish products, like for instance the Espionage Cosmetics geek nail wraps.

And of course (of course!) I love literature; and especially genre literature. So when I was browsing Etsy for some lilac jewelry to wear on April 28 in memory of Sir Terry Pratchett and stumbled upon a brand of a) holographic (rainbowy!) nail polishes b) inspired by literature, including a fair amount of genre literature, I was very excited. The pictures looked awesome, the descriptions were great (read them!), and the literary inspirations showed that the creator of these polishes is clearly a kindred spirit. I immediately wanted to try them all; so I contacted Literary Lacquers to see if I could get some samples to review, and the great gal behind the brand kindly obliged.

I was stoked to receive my samples a couple of days ago; a sentiment echoed by Catbug and Baby Groot. After much browsing of the many, many choices in the store, which included options from favorite literature like Discworld, The Dresden Files, Stardust, Lord of the Rings, Anne of Green Gables, The Chronicles of Narnia, A Wrinkle in Time, Harry Potter, Dandelion Wine, and so many more, I made my selections.

Based in part on what colors would actually look good with my skin (I craved Dandelion Wine but doubted it would work for me) I went with Phenomenal Woman, Strong Steady Hand, Avada Kedavra, The Mad Ones, Ether Binge, Swallowed Up In Blue, The Ultimate Outlaw, Marilla’s Amethyst Brooch, Laters, Baby, Sidewalk’s End, I’m Drinking Stars, and Goodnight Moon. I picked mostly holographics, given how much I love them, but threw in some other types for variety to see what the full line is like.

Right off the bat, I will say that they seem to be of a consistently good quality. They go on evenly, and with three coats (I do thin coats) they give me solid color coverage. (They could also be put over e.g. a light colored or silver or gold base coat for a light sheen on top.) They also seem to be fairly durable when it comes to chipping. I have only been wearing them for a couple of days; but in that time I’ve had no major chips and only a little bit of wearing off on the edges of a couple of nails (which happens with pretty much every polish I’ve ever tried).

Most importantly, the colors are great. Even though I have some difficulty in photographing holographic effects (they always look better in person!) here are photos of ten of the colors so you can see what they look like on and in comparison to each other. Also here are a couple of close-ups attempting to capture the holographic effect. And best of all for seeing the full effect, here’s a quick Vine video of Strong Steady Hand in action.

The pure holographics (Phenomenal Woman, The Mad Ones, Ether Binge, The Ultimate Outlaw, Sidewalk’s End, I’m Drinking Stars) all have a consistently high-quality holographic effect in bright light, and even in low light you can see a bit of a rainbow. The glitter holographics (Strong Stead Hand and Laters, Baby) have the same sheen, only outshone by the bigger glitter flecks. I really like these for the fact that the larger flecks of glitter add to the gradient rainbow effect of the holographic, and are of a brighter, more dimensional and holographic quality than glitter I’ve seen in other polishes. Swallowed Up In Blue, the holographic blue that also has a pink shimmer to it, is also particularly cool, because the holographic effect is as strong as the pure holos, but on top of it, even in low light, you can see the pink sheen over the blue.

Marilla’s Amethyst Brooch is one of the rare non-holos I chose; and although I always prefer rainbows, it has a good depth and rich purple glitter to it that is actually slightly more striking in low light than a pure holo. Goodnight Moon, another non-holo, is nice for its light purple sheen and tiny rainbow glitter, along with the bigger flecks, including moons. As with any of the larger glitter fleck polishes I’ve ever used, it needs to be applied with care to get the bigger flecks off of the brush and onto the nail, but it’s no harder to use than any similar polish I’ve used. Avada Kedavra, the only matte I chose (I like the look of mattes but have bad luck with them chipping) is very cool; without a top coat, three coats gives a nice slightly sheer black, with a much more evenly distributed coating of large glitter flecks than similar polishes I’ve tried; and chipping so far is no worse than for a regular polish. With a top coat, the mixed-in tiny rainbow glitter flecks are made brighter, which gives it a bit more pop.

Altogether, I am very impressed with this nail polish line (as well as with the cool themes and descriptions. You should read them! If you like any of the books that inspired them, the descriptions will make you feel happy and nostalgic for your favorites). I would not single out any color as a non-favorite; but I would say that my favorites of the pure holos by a small margin might be Phenomenal Woman, Ether Binge, and I’m Drinking Stars (the holos are particularly visible in them); and of the others, Strong Steady Hand (excellent bright rainbow effect!) Avada Kedavra (cool even glitter application, and can be worn two ways!), and Swallowed Up In Blue (good effects in both high and low lights!). In summary: I recommend!

So if you’re into literature, nail polish, rainbows, and the like, hop on over to Literary Lacquers and give some of these great colors a try. (And speaking of geek shopping, remember my recent column about it? Well I’ve just created a Pinterest board to show some of my favorite recent purchases. Check it out!)

And until next time, Servo Lectio!