More NonSense: Comic-Con 2017 Edition

Go to: Comic-Con International

Comic-Con International in San Diego (at least until 2021) is the big comics-adjacent event this July. How did this year's super-massive convention go down? Here are a few links to get you started:

Words:
Moviepilot reports on DC's future publishing initiatives. Todd Allen reacts to the news that the comics industry is close to collapse.
John Lewis leads a march through the San Diego Convention Center.
Comics Announcement: The Terrifics by Jeff Lemire and Ivan Reis.
The 2017 Eisner Awards.
LA Times
Vox on the the film juggernaut that is Marvel Studios.
The Verge
The Beat, more, more, more,
io9, more, more, more, more,
Time
Tor
Women Write Write About Comics

Videos:
Comics Announcement: Superman: Year One by Frank Miller.
The Beat,
io9, more, more, more, more, more, more, more,
Lupita Nyong'o, more,
Estelle
Tested
Yellow Productions, more,
Hyper RPG

Trailers & Clips:
io9, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more,
Vox, more, more, more, more, more,

Photos:
Bleeding Cool
The Guardian
io9
Reuters
Space.com

Glen Weldon lists ten comics that changed the medium. It's a fairly conventional list since most pundits would agree with his choices.

Glen Weldon also lists his top 100 graphic novels.

Glen Weldon lists the most influential newspaper strips.

Matthew Thurber lists 10 cartoonists for art lovers.

Abraham Riesman on the rapidly expanding kids comics market.

Shannon Wattres, Tom King, And Veronica Fish list 17 comics to read at the beach.

Kelly Haircloth looks back at the 1950s boom in romance comics.

Amanda Shendruk analyses gender representation in comics.

Abraham Riesman on the fallout over Marvel making Captain America evil.

Christopher Butcher employs the somewhat unsatisfying "Marvel will be Marvel" observation when commenting on the publisher's recent woes.

Tom Holland trying to pass off as an American teenager in order to experience what life is like for students attending American high schools is cute. Then again, critics are going gaga over his portrayal of Peter Parker in "Spider-Man: Homecoming."

The "Marvel Cinematic Universe" version takes more liberties with the character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko than the two previous Sony Studio incarnations. But the changes have actually resonated with the MCU audience because they still manage to tap into the character 's core appeal. Take his relationship with Tony Stark/Iron Man. Peter's classic Spider-Man suit being gifted to him by Tony would seem like a violation of the superhero's reputation for self-reliance and creativity. But the relationship also hones in on Peter's often troubled history with terrible father figures. And Tony, who essentially substitutes for Norman Osborne/Green Goblin as wealthy industrialist with dubious motives, is as terrible a father figure as any. Peter's rejection of his generous offer at the film's end is in line with the character's emerging maturity. In the meantime, his hacking of the suit's parental controls is what any overprotective adult should expect from a very bright, if not too experienced teenager.

Holland's dorktastic Peter isn't the lonely outcast of Lee and Ditko. But the bumbling hero who learns to rely on a supportive network is one of the more welcome changes of the Miles Morales/Kamala Khan generation. More importantly, Holland is the most convincing adolescent of any actor ever tasked to play Peter. And it is refreshing to see him interact with a similarly young (not to mention multiethnic) cast of actors after so many MCU films populated by serious-looking adults.

Alex Abad-Santos on the film's homage to the iconic scene in Amazing Spider-Man No. 33.

Pepe the Frog now has a lawyer in Kimberly Motley.

Sean T. Collins lists the top 40 "Game of Thrones" characters  and the top 25 episodes in anticipation of the series July return on HBO.

RIP Joan Lee, spouse of Stan Lee.

RIP Sam Glanzman (December 5, 1924 - 2017), veteran artist known for  his many war comics made for Charlton and DC in the 1960s and 1970s.

RIP Flo Sternberg (March 17, 1939 - July 23, 2017), Marvel's 'Fabulous Flo'. Tribute by Michael J. Vassallo.

RIP George Romero (February 4, 1940 - July 16, 2017), director of "Night of the Living Dead". the film that spawned the modern zombie genre. Reactions from his colleagues.

RIP Martin Landau (June 20, 1928 - July 15, 2017), veteran Hollywood actor, whose credits included "Space: 1999", "North by Northwest", "Mission Impossible", and "Ed Wood".

RIP June Foray (September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017), celebrated voice actress. Tribute from Matt Zoller Seitz.

Comic-Con Album Pt 42

Mark Hamill, Comic-Con exhibit hall

I believe he was shooting Comic Book: The Movie at the time. Never watched it. I hear it's a weird little commentary on the state of superhero movies at the time.

This marks the end point for this particular segment of the series. The output for this Comic-Con album was not as prolific as last year's event. It would be several years before I would get comfortable with color, and only after I had transitioned to digital photography. The analog equivalent is a tough medium to master.

Pt  29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41,

Comic-Con Album Pt 41

Julie Strain, Comic-Con exhibit hall

Promoting Heavy Metal: F.A.K.K.².

Pt  29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40,

Comic-Con Album Pt 40

Lara Croft cosplayers, Comic-Con exhibit hall

Another Lara Croft poses underwater at the Fathom Booth.

Pt  29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39,

Comic-Con Album Pt 39

Lara Croft cosplayers, Comic-Con exhibit hall

Lara Croft poses underwater at the Fathom Booth.

Pt  29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38,

Comic-Con Album Pt 38

Lara Croft cosplayers, Comic-Con exhibit hall

I was vaguely aware at the time that Mark Hamill was filming Comic Book: The Movie at the exhibit hall.

Pt  29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37,

Comic-Con Album Pt 37

Bridget Silvestri, Comic-Con exhibit hall

Bridget Silvestri, Comic-Con exhibit hall

Heavy foot traffic at the Top Cow booth.

Pt  29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36,

Comic-Con Album Pt 36

Cassandra Peterson, Comic-Con exhibit hall

Another not very good use of the camera flash. Notice the deep shadow on her left.

Pt  29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35,

Comic-Con Album Pt 35

The Baroness and Darth Vader cosplayers, Comic-Con exhibit hall

Cobra forges an alliance with the Galactic Empire. That's going to end well.

Pt  29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34,

Comic-Con Album Pt 34

Boba Fett cosplayer, Comic-Con exhibit hall

Prowling the San Diego Convention Center for Han Solo.

Pt  29, 30, 31, 32, 33,

Comic-Con Album Pt 33

Yoda, Comic-Con exhibit hall

Remember the time when fans debated on whether Yoda was any good with a lightsaber? And then everyone found out in Attack of the Clones that his fighting style mostly consists of him hopping around like a mad bunny.

Pt  29, 30, 31, 32,

Comic-Con Album Pt 32

Cosplayers, Comic-Con exhibit hall

My early attempts at using fill lighting during an event.

Pt  29, 30, 31,

Comic-Con Album Pt 31

Cosplayer, Comic-Con exhibit hall

I'm not sure when Comic-Con instituted their costume weapons policy.  It has a oft-criticized anti-harassment policy.

Pt  29, 30,

Comic-Con Album Pt 30

Cosplayer, Comic-Con exhibit hall

For some reason, I shot this particular event exclusively in color. This may not have been a smart decision. Transitioning to digital was still a few years away in the future, so I was handling several rolls of color negatives. Not a preferred medium of mine, but I figured was still easier than having to expose for slide film.

Pt  29,

Comic-Con Album Pt 29

Anime PVC figures, Comic-Con exhibit hall

It's time for another round of images for the growing  Comic-Con Album. Another year, another annual pilgrimage to Comic-Con International at the San Diego Convention Center. By this time, I was taking the train from Los Angeles instead of flying cross-country.

Previous photos of the series:
Pt  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28,

Comic-Con Album Pt 28

Raye Hollitt, Comic-Con autograph area.

One last detour to the autograph area before I boarded the train leaving San Diego.

This marks the end point for this segment of the series. I hope you enjoyed my nostalgic excursion to Comic-Cons past. And if you were at this year's convention, I hope you had a great time. I'm sorry I wasn't there. Peace out!

Pt 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27

Comic-Con Album Pt 27

Portfolio review session, Comic-Con exhibit hall

Comic-Con portfolio reviews: where countless dreams about making it in the industry go to get crushed under the boot of weary editors. This cattle-call style process is nerve-wracking enough without having  to deal with all the surrounding commotion. Unlike other publishers, DC held their sessions at their massive booth. All the better to intimidate hapless victims, I mean inspire the fans.

Pt 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26

Comic-Con Album Pt 26

Mighty Mouse cosplay, Comic-Con Masquerade

Mighty Mouse cosplay, Comic-Con Masquerade

The Mouse is back! Last year's hit contestant was invited to appear on stage one more time. For an encore, he danced to the song "My Sharona."

This was the first time I attended the Masquerade from beginning to end. I recommend that Comic-Con attendees do this at least once. It's an amazing and inclusive celebration of fandom. But it does tend to sap one's energy, which will be sorely needed for Sunday bargain shopping.

Pt 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25

Comic-Con Album Pt 25

Cindy Freeling, Comic-Con autograph area.

Located across from the Portfolio Review Area, Comic-Con's Autograph Area is the pop culture equivalent of Artist's Alley - A motley gathering of celebrities, starlets, has-beens, and ne'er-do-wells detached from the madness of the main exhibit hall. Some of them can be very charming, such as the lovely lady pictured above. Most of the time, the atmosphere of the hall is relatively sedate.

Speaking of has-beens - I don't remember at which Comic-Con this took place at, but I once spotted Wil Wheaton when I was rushing between review sessions. These were still the lean years before Wil's tireless blogging and courting of the Web 1.0 crowd would catapult him to nerdlebrity status. This was before Nemesis. Before w00tstock. Before The Guild. Before geeks conquered the media landscape. Those days were filled with high anxiety, self-doubt, narcissistic brooding, fannish nostalgia, and a pathological disconnect as narrated with a heavy dose of self-depreciating humour in his autobiography several years later. Of course, I didn't know that at the time. To me he was just the actor formerly known as Wesley Crusher.

Wil's table was located so that he was split off from the majority of the autograph group, his table facing so that his back was turned towards them. Wil didn't have any immediate neighbours to either side of him. Well, at least I didn't see anyone when I was there. He was alone. And he looked utterly miserable just sitting there. A part of me wanted to walk up to him, say "hi", and tell him that not everyone hated him when he was on ST:TNG. But a bigger part of me felt awkward about approaching someone in such a state, felt unsure about how to reach out. I was too wrapped up in my own personal shit at the time. And I've gradually realised that I'm not the most empathic individual. Or maybe I was just paralysed by a sense of impotence to help. So I moved on to whatever it was I was currently occupied with.

An that's why I don't have a picture of Uncle Willy.

Pt 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Comic-Con Album Pt 24

Saya PVC, Comic-Con exhibit hall.

So many anime-based toys in one place. And not nearly enough cash to buy them. I'm not a very avid toy collector, but Comic-Con sorely tests my resistance to unbridled consumerism with it's sheer variety of merch being sold. I suppose a lot of attendees can relate to that scene in Paul were Clive Gollings lovingly eyes a katana, only to put it back down when the vendor informs him about its retail price. But it's the little things you can afford that begins to add up once you try to get them all.

Pt 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23