Tagged: Wizard World Chicago

Wizard World Chicago 2008: Photo Gallery – More Costumes

Wizard World Chicago 2008: Photo Gallery – More Costumes

  • News
  • June 29, 2008

Previously on ComicMix, we featured galleries of photos from Wizard World showcasing the general "flavor" of the show and some cool costumes. And now, because even more fanboys and fangirls made their presence known on Saturday, we’ve got another gallery of costume photos for you.

From Frylock to Blade to C-3PO, these costumes prove that no matter what your favorite character is, if you’re determined to make a costume and show up at a convention as that character, you can. As always, be sure to check back for more photos and other coverage of the event.

And if you’ve missed our previous coverage of the event, here’s a list of our reports thus far:

Wizard World Chicago 2008: Mondo Marvel Panel Report

ComicMix Radio: Direct From Chicago – Marvel Exclusives and Sneak Peeks

Wizard World Chicago 2008: Marvel Ultimates Panel

Wizard World Chicago 2008: Photo Gallery – Part 1

Wizard World Chicago 2008: Day One Report

Wizard World Chicago 2008: Photo Gallery Pt. 2 – Costumes

ComicMix Radio: Wizard World Chicago Day Two – Sadness and Confusion

WWC Interview: Josh Blaylock on ‘Vampire Hunter D’

Wizard World Chicago 2008: Day Two Report

 

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Wizard World Chicago 2008: Day Two Report

Wizard World Chicago 2008: Day Two Report

  • News
  • June 29, 2008

Day Two of the show began on a somber note, as the passing of creator Michael Turner late the previous night was confirmed and marked by memories and moments of silence throughout the day. CBR has posted a touching message from Aspen Comics Editor-in-Chief Vince Hernandez on the death of his good friend and associate.

On a lighter note, I started my day sharing an elevator with Angus Scrimm, the "Tall Man" from the Phantasm horror films. Apparently, Wizard World wasn’t the only game in town this weekend, as the Flashback Weekend horror film convention was also in town for its annual get-together of fans and celebrities of the fright-film scene. This made for a particularly surreal moment later in the day when the beginning of the horror festival overlapped with the end of both a senior-age Christian meet-up and a young couple’s wedding. At one point during the day, the line that had developed for the elevators included the bridal party, a buxom, blood-covered nurse, a massive, costumed Jason Voorhees (complete with machete and severed, bloody head of Freddy Krueger) and a trio of seniors who seemed very concerned that no one else in the hallway was making a big deal about the nurse and her companion.

On the show floor, one of the fastest sellers was an Alex Ross-designed t-shirt modeled after his iconic image of Clark Kent ripping open his shirt to reveal the Superman costume underneath it. The popular graphic replaced Clark Kent with Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, who was ripping open his shirt to reveal the familiar "O" campaign symbol.

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Wizard World Chicago 2008: Photo Gallery Pt. 2 – Costumes

Wizard World Chicago 2008: Photo Gallery Pt. 2 – Costumes

  • News
  • June 28, 2008

Previously on ComicMix, we brought you a photo gallery showcasing some of the "flavor" of the Wizard World Chicago show.

This time around, the gallery features some of the great costumes worn by fanboys and fangirls as well as some of the more "exotic" staff at the various booths. Heck, there’s even one or two celebrities in there just to spice things up a bit more.

As always, be sure to check back right here at ComicMix all weekend for new galleries from the show. 

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Wizard World Chicago 2008: Day One Report

Wizard World Chicago 2008: Day One Report

  • News
  • June 28, 2008

After a full day on the floor at this year’s Wizard World Chicago (which is actually held well away from Chicago in Rosemont, IL), I can’t help but think the "Chicago" aspect of the show’s title isn’t the only element that’s a bit misleading. This weekend, it’s far more accurate to say that it’s "Avatar World" and Wizard is just living in it.

Avatar Press Editor-in-Chief William Christensen and the rest of his team bet big at this year’s show, and their gamble seems to be paying off. In addition to bringing the show’s Guest of Honor, author Warren Ellis, across the pond for one of his rare stateside appearances, the sheer volume of the publisher’s real estate in the show’s program, floor space and overall marketing is impressive, to say the least. Heck, you can play along with this game at home, folks — just download a copy of the convention guidebook and take a look through it. The "exclusives" section alone seems like it would be more aptly named "Avatar Press Exclusives… and some other stuff."

While the Avatar push is great for the publisher (and after speaking with Christensen and Avatar’s head of marketing, David Marks, the return on investment has been positive thus far), one can’t help but wonder about the behind-the-scenes story here. After speaking with a few contacts in and around the planning of the show, the picture painted by these conversations is one of a Wizard World organization that recognized Ellis’ presence as the best weapon against yet another poorly attended convention in the Wizard World circuit. The fan-favorite writer’s attendance was in discussion as of late last year, in fact, and the terms of his presence at the show involved significant coverage of Ellis’ Avatar projects by Wizard Magazine and various other editorial elements of Wizard Entertainment in the months prior to finalizing the deal. This weekend’s show, it seems, is being considered a test of the company’s "new" approach toward conventions — and there’s a lot riding on how well it does.

Even so, the biggest threat to the show might not have been Wizard Entertainment’s widely reported personnel, financial and general creative woes, but rather the widespread problems currently plaguing the airline industry, with many publishers, creators and guests reporting cancelled and/or significantly delayed flights to and from Chicago airports. One of our own ComicMix crew found himself bounced back and forth between cancelled flights for much of the day Thursday, thanks to the ol’ "your flight is cancelled, better luck next time" routine from United Airlines — but United wasn’t the only culprit. A large number of Wizard’s own convention staff were scattered among several different airlines due to overbooked, cancelled and massively delayed flights.

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Wizard World Chicago 2008: Photo Gallery – Part 1

Wizard World Chicago 2008: Photo Gallery – Part 1

  • News
  • June 28, 2008

As ComicMix online managing editor Rick Marshall pointed out earlier today, the team is currently in Chicago at Wizard World, neck deep in panels, festivities and events.

So far, the show has been chock-full of photo opportunities. From comic book artists and writers to the Joker, harem girls, Imperial Stormtroopers and professional wrestlers, the show has got a little something for everyone — as long as you happen to be a fan of the Joker, harem girls, Imperial Stormtroopers and professional wrestlers.

Be sure to check back throughout the weekend for more galleries featuring costumes, celebrities and creators.

 

 

 

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Wizard World Chicago 2008: Marvel Ultimates Panel

Wizard World Chicago 2008: Marvel Ultimates Panel

  • News
  • June 28, 2008

Friday, Day One at Wizard World Chicago and it’s the Marvel Ultimates Panel featuring Brian Bendis, C.B. Cebulski, editor Bill Rosemann and moderator Jim McCann. As Rick Marshall previously reported about the "Mondo Marvel" panel, this particular panel was also relatively light on earth-shattering announcements. It also had some technical problems at the beginning which prevented the slideshow from working. So, to start the panel off, Jim McCann dove right into it with a couple of announcements and then some Q&A while they waited for the slides.

First up, Rosemann announced, "No, we do not know when Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk will come out." Bendis also announced that Ultimate Spider-Man is "not cancelled," that "everything is connected" and that there will be an Ultimate Spider-Man Annual which will focus on Peter and MJ’s "physical relationship."

According to Bendis, "It was the hardest sell I ever had. I just thought that remembering my glory years of 15 and 16 that it’s an important issue. Not having dealt with it felt false to me. It’s gonna be drawn by David La Fuente."  The book is double-sized and will be out in October.

At that point, the kinks were finally worked out and the slides started. Fans of Marvel’s Ultimate Universe were then treated to several slides featuring, among other things, upcoming covers for issues of Ultimate Origins featuring Captain America, Magneto and Hulk as well as a few pages of the actual Cap origins issue itself. There was also an alternative Origins cover featuring "Cap’s butt" as drawn by Gabriel del Otto.

Also, slides from Ultimatum showing the Fantastic Four, Dr. Doom, Namor, and the Ultimates 3 cast of the Ultimates featuring Black Panther and Captain America next to each other on the slide. This slide highlights, according to Bendis, an "organic but massive disaster" which happens to the Ultimate Universe. The disaster will be seen in Ultimate Spider-Man.

Then, once the slides were done (which took about five minutes) it was back to the Q&A which, as you may expect, pretty much became the Brian Bendis show as the vast majority of the questions were directed to him. Some of the highlights of the Q&A follow but it started off with Bendis’s explanation of his thought process when the Ultimates universe was being created.

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Wizard World Chicago 2008: Mondo Marvel Panel Report

Wizard World Chicago 2008: Mondo Marvel Panel Report

  • News
  • June 27, 2008

If Friday morning’s "Mondo Marvel" panel was any indication of what the rest of the weekend had in store for attendees at Wizard World Chicago, it’s going to be a loooong convention.

Marvel PR guru Jim McCann moderated a panel that featured Peter David, C.B. Cebulski, Tom Brevoort, Mike Perkins, Brian Reed, Bill Rosemann and Mike Perkins, and the "official" announcements were done and over in just under 15 minutes. The rest of the panel consisted of a Q&A session which yielded a few items of note. With San Diego Comic-Con International looming, it appeared that Marvel was among the many publishers saving any significant announcements regarding new projects for the big show next month.

Newsarama and Comic Book Resources have the standard, pre-arranged (and in somes cases, pre-written) coverage of the specific announcements (as well as images from the slideshows), so feel free to head in that direction for the round-up of who’s gone "exclusive," which characters are being market-tested in their own miniseries and general rundowns of which dead horses are being kicked.

As far as the Q&A portion of the event, writer Peter David (She-Hulk, X-Factor and Fallen Angel) announced that he’ll be moving the X-Factor team to Detroit, having originally considered Chicago as a destination but settling on Detroit due to the city being home to artist Larry Stroman, who he’ll be reuniting with on the title.

A fan who asked about the potential for any future Master of Kung-Fu projects was told by Marvel editor Tom Brevoort that legal issues surrounding the rights to the character of Fu Manchu, who was originally a pulp novel villain created by author Sax Rohmer, have complicated the return of any Kung-Fu titles.

"If it comes out and his name is changed to ‘Bob Manchu,’ you’ll know why," added David.

When a fan asked David about his thoughts regarding stories set far in the future, citing his work on the "One Million" crossover story arc for DC several years ago, David provided a lengthy explanation of his thought process when scripting the stories for Marvel’s rival publisher — much to the agitation of some of the Marvel editorial staff sitting on the panel.

The cross-company jabs didn’t stop there, however, as a DC fan later asked about the return of the bumbling superteam known as the Great Lakes Initiative. When David responded that there wasn’t much need for them, seeing as how X-Factor would be based in Detroit, the fan added, "But they’re not funny."

McCann quickly jumped into the conversation, telling the DC fan, "If you want funny, pick up [Final] Crisis #1"

One of the last items of note was C.B. Cebulski’s acknowledgement that he had declined to serve as writer for the next Marvel: Ultimate Alliance videogame, which will be based on the events of the Civil War storyline. The first game was wel-received by comics and gaming fans alike, with many citing Cebulski’s work on the game’s script.

The image pictured here is from the upcoming 30-part Marvel series based on Stephen King’s epic novel The Stand, for which Mike Perkins will provide art.

Viral Marketing and ‘Futurama: Beast With a Billion Backs’

Viral Marketing and ‘Futurama: Beast With a Billion Backs’

  • News
  • June 25, 2008

The Earth is being invaded!… sort of. While Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs hit DVD shelves this week, the giant titular beast, Yivo, (pictured here) has been making his way across America all this week with "invasions" in various cities.

From ilovebender.com:

CENTURY CITY, CA – The Yivo invasion has arrived! Crash landing in key markets nationwide, Yivo has a tentacle span of 20 feet, and will be in constant tentacle motion! In Boston, Detroit, San Diego, Minneapolis and Chicago, each Yivo inflatable will be accompanied by “Space Babes” who will be distributing out-of-this-world promotional items, including T-shirts, tattoos and signed DVDs.

A “Mega-Invasion” is approaching Philadelphia when a 30-foot-tall Yivo takes over Love Park. In addition to “Space Babes” and giveaways, visitors will have a chance to meet Bender himself and get “Yivo-ized” via green screen!

According to various reports, Yivo’s next big invasion is planned for Wizard World Chicago this weekend. You can find out more about Yivo, shlis or shler lovers, check out shlis or shler (trust me, I’m typing that correctly) on MySpace and Facebook. You can also check out my ComicMix review of Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs.

 

Sure You Can Go Home Again, by Mike Gold

Sure You Can Go Home Again, by Mike Gold

  • News
  • June 23, 2008

I always thought Thomas Wolfe was full of shit. Of course you can go home again. Heck, with the Internets you can bring home with you wherever you go.

As I commence to pack for Wizard World Chicago this coming Thursday through Sunday, I am planning out my schedule to the tunes from WXRT Radio, one of the last of the commercial progressive radio stations, still a comparatively cool experience even though it’s now owned by CBS, or whatever they’re calling themselves this week. I just had a light lunch consisting of imported Vienna Hot Dogs – the awesome ones in the natural casing that even my most chauvinistic New York buddies gobble up – while eating a bag of Jay’s potato chips , the original potato chip created by Leonard Japp at the very specific “request” of Al Capone. No kidding.

I’m playing with my schedule so that we might be able to attend a performance of Bloody Bess, the play written by John Ostrander and William J. Norris (as told on ComicMix). I only saw it about a million times during Stuart Gordon’s original run. I’m also playing around with post-convention amusements for my fellow ComicMixers as we go about our business in the Midwest. The far-famed Taste of Chicago will be occupying the downtown lakefront, and there’re the usual architectural thrills and gangland haunts. There’s also at least a dozen brilliant comic book shops out there the likes of which I rarely see anyplace else. And, of course, there are a lot of people we work with who either live in the vicinity or will be there for the show – Hilary Barta, Andrew Pepoy, George Hagenauer, Len Strazewski, Chris Burnham, Doug Rice, Peter B. Gillis, Jim Engel, Peter David… to name but a very few. I wonder if Dan DiDio will be there?

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