Tag Archives: @WizardWorld

@WizardWorld Austin 2015 #WizardWorld

John Mayo, of ComicBookPage, talks with Kay Kellam, of PopArtsPlace, about Wizard World Austin 2015.

Unfortunately Austin and surrounding areas were under a flash flood and Tornado warning the first day of this 2 day convention, which prevented many from being able to attend, it did not however dampen the enthusiasm of those who were present Saturday. (CNN and other national news outlets covered the flooding in Austin and the region.)

Not only did the weather mean some attendees found attending an obstacle, but Brent Spiner (Data of Star Trek the Next Generation among other credits) was unable to get to the convention to attend, and Jason David Frank (Tommy of Power Rangers) left early since his flight was cancelled but he had figured out how to drive home if he left immediately after his final panel.

The official rain totals reported Saturday by Jared Plushnick (@JaredP_KVUE) of the local ABC Affiliate for that flash flood period were:

Among other things, while at the convention John and Kay attended several panels including:

12:30 – 1:15PM CREATING WORLDS AND STORYTELLING (BALLROOM E)
Creators, Novelists, and Narrative Designers discuss the ins and outs of creating worlds and storytelling including the realities and opportunities when seeking a creative career. Genese Davis (The Holder’s Dominion), Hall Hood (Studio Lead Writer at BioWare Austin), Jack Conner (The Atomic Sea) and Eric Kieron Davis (Senior Producer) will divulge their experiences and their secrets for developing and selling creative projects in this one-of-a-kind panel.

3:30 – 4:15PM THE ART OF SATURDAY MORNING CARTOON PRODUCTION WITH ANIMATOR/DIRECTOR TOM COOK (BALLROOM E)
Wizard World is proud to present world-renown animator Tom Cook (Tarzan; Flash Gordon; He-Man and the Masters of the Universe; She-Ra Princess of Power). This panel will be a demonstration of the steps taken to bring an idea from script to screen. Cook will begin with a short story of how he became an animator back in the late 1970s and then describe the different departments in an animation studio and what they do to move the development of the cartoon forward. Tom will have a few scenes he has worked on over the years on video and then will open the floor for questions about either the process or any other question you may have. So come out and see first-hand how your favorite cartoons were made!

4:30 – 5:15PM FROM CAP’S SHIELD TO AGENTS OF SHIELD TO ANT-MAN! MARVEL COMICS AT 76 with SPIDER-MAN’S DANNY FINGEROTH & THE HULK’S PAUL BENJAMIN (BALLROOM E)
In 1939, Marvel Comics #1 debuted, unleashing The Sub-Mariner and The Human Torch on the world, and launching what would come to be known as the Marvel Universe. Danny Fingeroth (Deadly Foes of Spider-Man; The Stan Lee Universe) and Paul Benjamin (Amazing Spider-Man; Marvel Heroes MMO) present an illustrated tour through the seven decades of comics, movies and TV series that make up the phenomenon that is Marvel.

5:30 – 6:15PM 1940: WORLD WAR II AND COMICS: THE JOKER, ROBIN, THE FLASH, CAPTAIN AMERICA, CAPTAIN MARVEL, AND THE SPIRIT! With SEDELMAIER, LANGLEY, BENJAMIN, ROYAL & FINGEROTH (BALLROOM E)
75 years ago, in 1940, as the Nazi conquest of Europe continued and the Battle of Britain raged, the United States watched from the sidelines while instituting the first peacetime draft. At the same time, the world of comics was experiencing an incredible sustained period of invention, as The Joker, Robin, Green Lantern, the Flash, Hawkman, the Spirit, Catwoman, and Captains America and Marvel all debuted! (Not to mention the debuts of pop culture icons Bugs Bunny, and Brenda Starr, and classic movies Fantasia and The Great Dictator!) Showing and discussing historical and cultural factors that made that year so important is a panel including moderator Danny Fingeroth (Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews, Comics and the Creation of the Superhero) as well as an array of history and pop culture experts, including J.J. Sedelmaier (Tek Jansen), Travis Langley (Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight), Paul Benjamin (Amazing Spider-Man), and Derek Royal (University of Texas, Dallas).

Links:
Wizard World: Austin: http://www.wizardworld.com/home-tx.html
Discount Comic Book Service: http://www.DCBService.com
Comics Podcast Network: http://www.comicspodcast.com
League of Comic Book Podcasts:http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league/

Email us at TheGuys@ComicBookPage.com

Join the discussion on our forum at: http://forum.comicbookpage.com

This podcast episode originated on the Comic Book Page website:http://www.ComicBookPage.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Comic Con Box/Marvel Collector Corps

Subscription Boxlight: 2015-05 Comic Con Box/Marvel Collector Corps

John Mayo, of ComicBookPage, and Kay Kellam, of PopArtsPlace, open up the first Comic Con Box from Wizard and the first Marvel Collector Corps box from Marvel.

Time Codes:
00:00 Intro
00:36 Comic Con Box
23:42 Marvel Collector Corps
41:33 Wrap up
42:05 End

Links:
Comic Con Box: https://comicconbox.com/
Marvel Collector Corps: https://www.collectorcorps.com/
Discount Comic Book Service: http://www.DCBService.com
Comics Podcast Network: http://www.comicspodcast.com
League of Comic Book Podcasts:http://www.comicbooknoise.com/league/

Email us at TheGuys@ComicBookPage.com

Join the discussion on our forum at: http://forum.comicbookpage.com

This podcast episode originated on the Comic Book Page website:http://www.ComicBookPage.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

#WWAustinCC – Christopher Judge

Christopher Judge, Teal’c of Stargate SG-1

For many fans Christopher Judge will always be the stoic Teal’c of SG-1, the lead team of the Stargate franchise.

Over the weekend at the Wizard World Comic Con in Austin, Texas, Christopher Judge’s sense of humor shined through as he shared with fans stories from the filming of the Stargate movies The Ark of Truth and Continuum as well as The Dark Knight Rises in which he performed alongside Christian Bale and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

After 45 minutes of laughing and fielding questions from the audience Christopher Judge leaned over to tell the moderator he had a little something he wanted to end the panel with… a few seconds later Christopher Judge was explaining he had brought with him a script from an episode of Stargate that he would like to auction off to the fans in the room. It was an unexpected turn of events. He gave a quick explanation that his kids are in school in California, where funds for the arts programs are being cut, that he wanted to do an auction where all of the money would go to the arts program at his kids school, and he was quick to say that he did not know if Texas was a state that had made a similar decision, but this was something he could do to help a school that he knew was suffering as a result of that decision, and he hoped everyone was doing what they could for the schools in their community.

It was particularly nice to see an actor using a keepsake from his work as an artist to raise money for kids and art programs in the schools, and it was a reminder that this was an issue that at one time was a hot button being talked about every time I turned around, and now I hear very little about it. Admittedly I have no children in school, and the issue does not relate to me personally, but Christopher Judge reminded me this is something I care about, and want to know about.

After the auction Christopher Judge came down from the stage, gave the winner a big hug and thank you and signed the script to him. It was, without a doubt, one of the most upbeat and positive endings to a panel I have ever seen at a convention.

Christopher Judge @ Twitter.com – https://twitter.com/iamchrisjudge

John Barrowman – Class Act

John Barrowman (known for Dr. Who and currently a series regular on Arrow) turned to social media today to apologize to his fans for oversleeping, missing his flight to Chicago, and as a result missing most of today at Wizard World Chicago. His apologies were heartfelt, genuine, and accompanied updates on the lengths he was going to to correct the situation, to get onto the next flight, to reschedule events people were looking forward to attending, and through it all he took ownership of what had happened. No excuses, simple honesty – he overslept, but he would make it right, somehow.

It may actually be an understatement to call him a class act.

Over 20+ years of attending conventions of various sizes and fandoms I have seen a variety of celebrities and situations. When cellphones were first coming into use one actor called in to a convention every half hour to ask the organizers to give his line a status update on the traffic jam he was caught in and once again apologize for his thinking three hours for what was normally a two hour drive was plenty of time to get to us for his signing.

In contrast, I have shown up at the appointed time for a signing only to be told it was cancelled, the person in question had another commitment come up… when I asked if I should be excited to see them in some upcoming movie or tv show, I was told, “not unless his golf games are being televised.”

Experiences like that later one are few and far between, in fact I can only think of 2 or 3 in all these years of going to at least one convention a year. But they leave an impression… just as John Barrowman’s posting videos of apology, and live-tweeting from his flight to Chicago leaves an incredibly positive impression.

Barrowman has been re-scheduled so he will be doing photo-ops at the Chicago Wizard World Comic-Con at 8:00 Saturday night, his panel will be at 10:30 am Sunday morning, and he says he will be signing all day Sunday, when not at that panel — and the look of seriousness and determination in his eyes in these videos tells me he means business.

Just as he so often looks serious about having fun, and sharing the joy of life in so many of his social media posts, it is clear the next 36 hours are about putting right what did not happen this morning.

If you aren’t already connected to John Barrowman on social media, you might want to at least bookmark his pages… today was the proof in the pudding that John puts the internet to good use, and cares about his fans, and keeping them informed.

John Barrowman on Facebook
John Barrowman on Twitter