Sgt. Angle reporting for duty!

Welcome back to another sensory blasting Cinegasm!

Today, I’m pre-empting the actual release of a film by two weeks and handing you a write-up/review NOW! That film is, of course, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World.

Starring Michael Cera as the titular Pilgrim, Edgar Wright’s third feature film is a hilarious romp, a steady marathon of sight gags, slapstick comedy, hard-hitting action and giddy romance. Music and sound effects fly at the audience with breakneck speed while we sail through each sequence of comedy and action, as Pilgrim fends off each of seven evil exes of the girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers.

The film opens on Scott Pilgrim’s routine existence as a twenty-something slacker who doesn’t want to leave his twenties and enter the “real world” of responsibility. He’s dating a high school girl (Knives Chau), much to the disapproval of his band mates, his sister (Anna Kendrick) and his best friend and gay roommate, Wallace (Kieran Culkin — more on him in a minute). Then, Scott dreams of a girl with pink hair, and soon he meets her in reality.

Thus, he pursues the girl of his dreams, the woman he’s been waiting for who will rescue him from an uncertain spiral of “not growing up;” the Wendy to his Peter Pan. But before they can grow old together, before they can even call themselves a couple, Scott must defeat her seven evil exes. And by defeat, I mean pulverize, pound, punch, kick, outwit, or slice with a sword and turn into a pile of coins, a la any Nintendo game you can remember.

What ultimately makes SPvsTW a grade-A perfect fit for Edgar Wright’s sensibilities is the breakneck speed of meshing styles — the over-the-top fights, the sight gags and jokes for the sake of the joke. The quick double-take of the camera back to a character without a phone in his hand only to reveal the phone was there the whole time. The sit-com vibe of the living arrangement of Scott and his roommate, as well as the on-the-nose timing of “I hope she’ll call” combined with the actual ringing of the phone, as well as the word “RIIIINNNGG” streaming up from the phone itself.

The movie takes advantage of all of our visual and aural senses and provides an audience experience that is hard to forget, and easy to recommend. This is a movie that defines why we GO to the movies.

Consider the pacing: Not only does Michael Cera land his dry humor and uncertain personality traits in every single scene, but just when the film can fall into the territory of cliched schmaltz, or typical rom-com fare, an unexpected joke like “You had a sexy faze?” when talking about lesbians, or Jason Schwartzman’s simple act of falling into a limo while waving bring a warm sheet of laughter into the air, helping the balloon of action floating above our eager eyes

I can already see some complaints coming forward about this movie: There’s nothing to care about, the characters are self-centered and I don’t care if they get together or not. To that I say, BULLY. There is a disconnect with even our lead character because there has to be. In order to sink into the world of the story and “let it happen” as is, we need to distance ourselves from our lead — much like a videogame (and the comparisons between Scott Pilgrim and videogames is undeniable), where a character can be seen as no more than a cartoon, Cera’s Pilgrim is no more than a character in a story. How you relate to him or the people who inhabit his world is up to you, but in the end, realize that he’s chasing the literal girl of his dreams. When you see something you want and think you should have, you’ll do anything for it — even if those actions defy the logical world you’ve built around yourself.

The film is too full of sensory overload and fight scenes are unrealistic. Sure, the choreography of the fights could’ve been more spot on in the world of any other action movie, but what do you want from a movie that shows us a “pee bar” when our character goes to the bathroom, or there’s a dude who can recognize a person based on a scraggly drawing with no distinct characteristics? Let it fly and stay with the flow of the movie — the character’s determination and goal. Ultimately, Pilgrim wants to end up with Ramona Flowers.  He needs to prove to himself that he is his own man and can fend for himself.

Throughout the movie, his roommate, Wallace, starts to push Scott away; his sister only talks to him so she can talk about him; his bandmates want a record deal more than the time spent playing together — they want REAL results. Scott is slowly becoming a man in the real world, on his own and fighting just to stay afloat. All of this is personified in his cartoonish/videogame struggles for Ramona Flowers, a nomad, a girls who literally rollerskates in and out of scenes and who changes her hair on a whim, without a second thought. Scott is transitioning from one way of life to the next. Who knows what awaits him on the other side of that transitional door.

The supporting cast is delicious all around, eating up their scenes but no one overstepping their bounds and characters — characters who, against all logic for a cast this large, stand out beyond typical supporting fare and become personalities in their own right.

Kieran Culkin is awesomely hilarious as Wallace, Pilgrim’s gay roommate. Culkin proves, once again, that he is an under-utilized performer in the world of film. Hollywood, please take note of his comic timing and scene-stealing screen presence. Ellen Wong manages to bring a strong sense of growth and humanity to the otherwise cartoonish Knives Chau. Mary Elizabeth Winstead maintains an air of cool calm and sometimes obnoxious devil may care attitude that can, in moments, hurt our respect for her Ramona Flowers. Anna Kendrick is spot on as the gossipy sister to Scott Pilgrim.

And the League of Exes (Chris Evans, Satya Bhabha, Mae Whitman, Brandon Routh, Jason Schwartzman, Ken and  Kyle Katayanagi) are all individual and stand out, even sometimes with only a few minutes before our eyes (Brandon Routh has proven, in this role, that he has unexpected comedic timing, and in my mind he has earned the right to return to Superman any day of the week).

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is the movie we’ve been waiting for from Edgar Wright. With Shaun of the Dead, he gave us a smart and comical look at the zombie and horror genres; with Hot Fuzz, he geniusly turned a comical parody of American action films into a solid cop movie of its’ own right. Scott Pilgrim is the extension of Wright’s brilliant series Spaced, which piled on pop culture references in a world where twentysomethings denied the fact that they had to grow up eventually. In this movie, Wright finally gets to parlay his talents from the small screen world into feature films, and blossoms wonderfully. (for those interested in exploring more of “The Wright Stuff”, you can hit his blog Edgar Wright Here.

Five out of Five Rifle Salutes.

The film began filming in March 2009, and every day of filming Wright uploaded a photo from the set, or a new cast member, mostly hidden, like these below:

At Ease!

You are dismissed!

Sgt. Angle.

This week, I thought I would cover one of my favorite mythical creatures: zombies! Now, I know that zombies have become a pretty pop-culture phenomena, but I think that there are some interesting tidbits that warrant a bit of a discussion or further delving. For the sake of this post, I am just going to cover some of the origins of zombie myths and their usage in popular culture. Next week, I will take a closer look at the zombies of voodoo cultures and some of the surprising facts that this culture keeps hidden. First, we have to ask, “What is a zombie?” The first time that it appears in Western literature according to the OED is in 1819 by a Mr. Southey, “In the West Indies and southern states of America, a soulless corpse said to have been revived by witchcraft; formerly, the name of a snake-deity in voodoo cults of or deriving from West Africa and Haiti.” The original term in the Angolan as written by Mr. Southey is the word Nzambi which he translated as a deity. So, how did we get from an islander deity to a variety of other terms? As usual, language tends to borrow a term and use it as they see fit. As I mentioned, this post is going to focus on an overview of the zombie through mythology and popular culture, but you can see that the origins of the zombie come from voodoo traditions.

Moving beyond the origins of the term, we can start looking at other ways that the term zombie was used. Often, I have heard people say, “I feel like a zombie today.” The connotation that the word has means that they are feeling tired and under the weather. They are not feeling “undead,” nor (hopefully) do they have a hankering for human flesh. The original useage of the word comes closer to what we actually think of when we hear the word, “zombie.” But that’s not all that the word has been used to suggest. Many times in our own culture, zombies refer to apathetic people. Phrases have been uttered like, “Men can be made zombies or killed.” Any factory floor has its laborers that have sometimes been described as “zombies.” A repetitive un-thinking task has the ability to “zombify” a person. The key seems to be that though the person is living, they are unable to control their actions and they end up in a state where only the basic functions of life remain to them. They can move, they can work, but they can’t think and speak. One of the more interesting and intriguing artistic expressions of zombies has to be George A. Romero’s use of them. In his hands, the zombie gained an aura of complication. What better metaphor for a modern consumer than a zombie? In the film, Day of the Dead, there is a scene where a doctor is examining zombies and finds that they run on instinct and a will to consume. Even though they do not have the ability to retain what they have consumed, they continue to consume away. In the remake of Dawn of the Dead (2004), the zombies seem to be driven by their materialistic lifestyles to the mall where they gather for no other reason that they just seem to want to consume. Whether alive or dead, these zombies are the ultimate symbol of affluenzic drive. They consume even when they don’t need to. Another angle that the zombie fits into artistically is for the unthinking masses. Unlike the consumer, the zombie in this case is one who represents the muscular part of the military-industrial complex. This usage of the term with this connotation was made explicit in Canada during the late 1930s to the mid 1940s when conscripted (drafted) soldiers were utilized for home defense. The term was used in a playfully lugubrious manner to indicate that these soldiers were already dead, they just didn’t know it. The zombie is more than a tool for horror writers and movie makers to entertain us; the symbol has general lasting power and can make a profound statement if viewed with the right attitude and mindset. Here’s a video from Day of the Dead (1985) that brings up some of the interesting possibilities of a zombie-filled world. Do the zombies deserve to be understood? Or should they just be shot and forgot? Take a look:

So what about zombies today? I’m not sure how much of the deep metaphor still survives in popular culture. There are several zombie-marches in which people dress up in major cities and simulate a zombie attack, but they seem to be a case for the zombie as a dress-up activity. Some zombie-marches have been organized around food drives, and I find this better fitted to the symbolism and connotations that go with it. Just as vampire-marches support blood drives, I find it fitting that zombie-marches should forward hunger causes or brain research. Some of the zombie marches have been nothing but a performance art piece, but it is (in this man’s humble opinion) preferable to have a cause at the bottom of the artistic endeavor. Here’s a video of a zombie march for those who have not yet seen such an event:

When the Semantink crew went to the Phoenix Comic-Convention, there was a zombie beauty pageant that judged zombies based on their appearance and behavior. Several spoof movies have been created with zombies as their chief antagonist. Far from being social commentaries, these films use the common horror symbol as a jumping off point for entertainment. Films like Zombieland and Shaun of the Dead are perfect examples of zombies being used more for entertainment than as a metaphor for over-consumption or as a critique of war-time efforts. The zombie is clearly a recognizable symbol that will continue to be used in our society. Next week, I’ll look at some of the actual life cases of zombies in voodoo religion and cults. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite zombie quotes of all times; until next week, keep asking questions.

When Ben, Dr. Cellus and I got up at 5:00am Friday morning driving to Phoenix for a comic convention sounded like a terrible idea.  Then again, at 5:00am everything sounds like a bad idea.  But we’ve all been to Phoenix before — it’s hot.  Very, very hot.  And sitting in a car for five hours never sounds fun, much less so when you have to deal with high 90s heat most of the way.  We did not have fun on the drive out so Phoenix Comicon had a lot to do for us to say it was worth it…

Phoenix Comicon is beyond just “worth it.”  It is the perfect comic convention and one I intend to attend for many years to come.

Friday, once we checked in to the hotel, the guys and I made our way over to the Phoenix Convention Center and you know what we found?  Cosplay.  A ton of it.  Here, check out some of the wears (apologies in advance — all we brought was an iPhone for photos/videos):

The diverse selection of cosplay at Phoenix Comicon was amazing — everything from manga, to film, to mainstream comics.  And most impressively, all of the cosplay seemed to be well thought out and impressively executed.  I tip my hat to everyone who dressed up.  You looked great.  Coincidentally, I am also convinced that Phoenix has some of the most beautiful women in the world and these women seem to love them some cosplay.  And we love them for it.

The floor at Phoenix Comicon was as impressive as the attendees.  Phoenix’s Convention Center seems to have been designed for a comicon.  With two large halls (one dedicated to booths and the other to food/tables), a large hall for special screenings and more popular speakers, several smaller rooms for most of the panels, and all of this in a nice compact area, the Convention Center is ideal and allows minimal effort to explore.

One of the most surprising things for me was the quality of the booths at the show.  I’ve been to a few comic conentions and there are always a few booths where I think, “why are you here?”  I know that sounds mean, and maybe it is, but generally speaking there is a split between the talented and not-so-talented folks, which often runs at about 80/20.  At Phoenix Comicon every single booth on the floor had a reason to be there.  Sure, some were more impressive than others, but at no time did I see someone and think they were wasting their money.  Phoenix has some talented folks and I took notice.

Some of the floor highlights for me are the following (click the pictures to go to the sites):

Dug Nation

Alain Viesca

Squid Noodle

Neko Press

Sean Dietrich

While the floor was great and ripe with potential conversation for fans of any genre — it isn’t enough to fill an entire day, much less the three that the convention lasts.  Enter the panels.

Comic Convention panels are typically 50/50 — half of them will be awesome and the other half will be anything but.  Unfortunately for Phoenix Comicon, not even their panels escaped this unnatural truth.  Three of us went to many panels and (I’m not kidding) we each liked half of the ones we went to.  I’m not going to discuss the lackluster panels because some of the people on those panels were very nice, despite their inability to speak publicly.  What I will mention are the highlight panels — those that seemed to know what they were doing, what the panel was about, and should most definitely be invited back next year.

The Importance of Social Networking was a panel led by Ryan Cody, Matt Bennett, Scott Godlweski, Jonnie Allan and Ben “SkullJammer” Glendenning.  Each of these guys knew their shit and seemed to want to help other aspiring creators succeed.  The biggest selling point for me: nobody tried to sell me their comics during the panel.  I thank them for that.  It’s very easy for some panelists to spend the entire hour talking about themselves, no matter what the program promises the topic will be.  These guys were friendly, professional and after the panel I checked out their stuff — they’re all talented cats as well.  Look ‘em up.

Comic Book Contract Law was an incredibly informative session led by attorney at law, Andrew B. Turk.  While the idea of legalese may scare away or seem just plain boring to many, it’s a sadly necessary fundamental in business and Mr. Turk was fantastic.  As a comic book fan he seemed to understand the business, the wants and needs of creators, and how to protect everybody involved.  It was about protecting just the publisher or just the talent — it was about making sure that everybody can work together in the most creatively free, legally open environment possible.  If you are thinking about signing anything, know what you should look for.

Christian Beranek ran a panel titled “Hollywood and the Graphic Novel.”  I wasn’t sure about this panel since I firmly believe that any book written as a graphic novel in an effort to become a film is a steamy pile of shit, but Mr. Beranek earned my trust with a line early in the hour, “Let the comic be the comic and the movie be the movie.  You have to have a good comic first.”  Thank you, sir.  Mr. Beranek has expansive knowledge of both industries and you can find out why if you just search tah internets for him.  While your perusing, look up his fantastic books Super Frat and Japanese School Girls in Love.

The Hyatt sponsored the the event, offering not only rooms at a discount, but programming as well!  Star Trek’s Wil Wheaton stayed up with us geeks until 2:00am playing Rock Band, there was an Anime Rave and a Geek Prom!  The only thing I missed was the Zombie Walk (which I wasn’t particularly bummed about missing since I am a pansy that jumps at the site of a cockroach) and the Zombie Fashion Show!  Have you ever seen nerds rock out to Nirvana, Disturbed and System of a Down?  How about an Anime Rave?  No?  Then please, enjoy:

Everybody knows San Diego’s behemoth Comic Convention that stopped being about comics some years ago — it’s still fun as hell, but worthless for industry professionals.  San Francisco’s WonderCon and Alternative Press Expo are probably the top of the West Coast food chain when it comes to getting into the business for anyone in the Southwest.  Or at least they were.  In my opinion, Phoenix Comicon is here to give each of those a run for their money.  Phoenix Comicon is loud, proud, well-organized, informative, rich and above all: fun.

If you can go next year, do it.  The only thing that holds it back from being prefect is the heat which is to be expected anywhere in Arizona in May.  But then again, more heat typically leads to less clothing and skimpier cosplay outfits — if you’re into that sort of thing.  Which, of course, I’m not.  Because I’m married.  So… yeah.

I’d like to close with a shoutout to the entire Star Wars representatives in the corner of the con — you were some of the best I’ve ever seen.  From bounty hunters to droid-builders, Phoenix Comicon had some serious Star Wars representation — just check out Chris Kockler of the AstroMech.net and his amazing R2.

Keep up the good work, y’all.

James

Howdy Folks!

It seems that this week the theme around Semantink blogs has been Robin Hood, and who am I to buck the trend? Now, I could talk about Robin Hood’s brief foray into the world of comics, but he really hasn’t been a big figure on the funny book scene (though it was cool to see him pop up in FABLES). I could talk about Robins and Hoods, but that would be a stretch. However, since Robin of Loxely is well known for his mad archery skills, I thought I would take a look at some of the comic book archers out there and see how they stack up against the prince of Thieves.

Hawkeye (Marvel Comics): Like Robin Hood, Hawkeye was once an outlaw. Unlike Mr. Hood, Hawkeye used to be a carney and changes costumes on an annual basis.

Better Archer?: Gotta go with Robin Hood Here, Hawkeye hasn’t been Hawkeye in a while (though that should be changing soon) so he is probably a little rusty with the bow and arrow.

Green Arrow (DC): Oliver Queen wears green, fights social injustice, and has a bad ass mustache, just like Robin Hood. Well, ok, it’s just like Errol Flynn’s Robin Hood, but you get the idea.

Better Archer?: I might have to go with GA on this one, he has got a few more years of experience under his belt then Robin Hood.

Roy Harper (Speedy, Arsenal, Red Arrow)(DC): Trained by the Green Arrow, Roy Harper has been slinging arrows since he was a wee lad. However, is not very Robin Hood-esque in any other aspects.

Better Archer?: Again, I have to go with Mr. Hood. Arsenal is a good shot, but he relies too much on trick arrows and other weapons.

Shaft (Image): Shaft leads a team of people just like Robin Hood. Unlike Robin Hood, Shaft works for the man. Boo to you Shaft!

Better Archer?: Robin Hood. All that armor probably doesn’t help Shaft’s accuracy.

Arwyn (Crossgen): Just like Robin, Arwyn uses her mad archer skills to try and bring an evil despot to justice. Arwyn, though is much prettier than Robin Hood.

Better Archer?: Toss up.

Turok (Valiant): Turok the dinosaur hunter doesn’t really care about social inequality, chasing down maids or hanging out with a posse of bandits. Why? Because he is constantly being chased by big mean dinosaurs that want to eat him.

Better Archer?: Turok, hands down. The dude hunts dinosaurs!

Shi: This is kind of a cheat. Yes, Shi does use a bow and arrow, and she is very good with them, but her signature weapon is the nagatina. Really though, any excuse to bring Shi into a post is a good one.

Better Archer?: Robin Hood, though in a nagatina contest, Shi would rock his world.

Rainbow archer (DC): The only bad guy to make the list, I wanted to share this one with you so you could see that having a bow and arrow doesn’t always mean that you are cool.

Better Archer?: It has to be Robin Hood. No one would be able to stand the shame of losing to the Rainbow Archer.

That’s it for today folks. THanks for stopping in, and come on back tomorrow for another heaping helping of Dr. Cellus. Oh, and while you are waiting for tomorrow to come, feel free to pre-order your copy of the MYTHOI Birth TPB now on sale in our store. It’s discounted right now for those who pre-order, so get it while you can!

Good Morning Semantinkists!

I know that you are expecting your usual Friday time with the good Dr. Cellus, but unfortunately the good doctor got delayed in his weekly blogging by an out of control birthday extravaganza unusually high work load this week. I’m Sorry. On the plus side, you did have the new IRON MAN 2 come out today, so you can go see that while you are mourning the lack of cognitive alchemy in your life. I saw it last night and it is a ton of fun. If you liked the first IRON MAN, then you will like the second. If you thought the first was stupid and made up and wrong, well, first of all you are silly, and you probably won’t enjoy it. So go, now, and enjoy humans in metal suits beating the crap out of things. Unless you aren’t into that kinda thing.

Dr. Cellus will be back next week, I promise. Oh, and Semantink will have some big news over the weekend. Stay tuned!

Based on the bizarre and beloved characters created by Charles Addams, this original story finds the famously macabre Addams Family put to the test when outsiders come to dinner, hurling Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday, Pugsley, Fester, Grandmama and Lurch headlong into a night that will change the family forever.

Ok, this does spark my interest and how could it not? Have you seen the cast?

• Gomez — Nathan Lane
• Morticia — Bebe Neuwirth
• Mal Beineke — Terrence Mann
• Alice Beineke — Carolee Carmello
• Grandmama — Jackie Hoffman
• Uncle Fester — Kevin Chamberlin
• Lurch — Zachary James
• Pugsley — Adam Riegler
• Lucas Beineke — Wesley Taylor
• Wednesday — Krysta Rodriguez

I’m not that familiar with the previous carnations of the same title (the cartoon, comic, or movies) but for some reason I can’t help but feel that the stage is a great place for this to be.

Just on a visual note, it looks incredible. The dark edgy-ness that I can remember from the original material seems to be there and the costume and character design is unbelievable! Did you see Lurch?

I don’t know, what are your feelings on the matter?

–Admiral Eo

Going back a bit further, I want to mention the end of day one for a moment.  Benjamin, Sgt. Angle, Ash, Street Fece and I wandered through the streets of SF ’til we found ourselves in the good company of the Dragatomi crew, drinking many beverages of alcoholic constitution.  I bring this up because at some point you may see some pictures of a pant-less Ash and I wanted you to understand that the evening, full of magical moments as it was, happened at the behest of our worser natures let free upon the world by beer and shots.

Now to WonderCon 2010, day two.

The day started off great when Ash, Sgt. Angle, Street Fece and myself surprised our fearless leader, Benjamin, with an iPad, fresh and steamy from the SF Apple Store.  It’s Benji’s birthday soon and we were able to get up a bit early and (without too much difficulty) procure said device for the good man.

At the convention, many shenanigans were afoot: The Losers panel featured a buffed-out Chris Evans who was not able to answer a single Cap America questions, which I understand since it was a Losers panel, but it’s still a bit disappointing.  Cage mumbled his way through another fan fest, promoting Kick Ass — I honestly believe that he’s ALWAYS high.  If you ask me, he’s a bum, but whatever.  There was a Nightmare on Elm Street panel with the great Haley available to all.  But the big surprise, the moment everybody seemed to get the most excited about, was the Nolan walkout where he spoke a bit about Inception and showed some clips.  Wow.  Just… Wow.

Disney was there as well, selling Tron (more virally than anything else), Prince of Persia and Toy Story 3.  I didn’t catch anything on those panels, but I haven’t heard anything exciting either, so let’s just say I probably didn’t miss much.  Equally underwhelming was Milla Jovovich’s two-day attendance to promote yet another romp through the bewildering world of Resident Evil.

The day ended with all of us at the Vinyl Addiction party where we enjoyed some amazing artwork and vinyl toy — free beer and booze didn’t hurt none either.  We got to see a couple episodes of the show and were unsuccessful at winning any of the many raffled off items from various sponsors.  It was great.

Today we will not be attending the Con, so I’m afraid Semantink’s report ends here.  But I’m sure some of the more seasoned bloggers will be writing about their personal moments and experiences throughout the next week, so stay tuned for more in-depth coverage coming over the next few days from Semantinl.com!

James Ninness

Just when you thought you were done reading my blogs, Ben asks me to report on Day One of WonderCon 2010!

On Thursday I drove up here with Benjamin, Sgt. Angle, Street Fece and Ash — the trip itself was fine.  Nothing exciting happened save the ramblings of five delusional and not-quite-matured men killing time with penis jokes and embellished stories of our youthful conquests.

We go to our hotel, the Marcone Marriott in San Francisco around 9:00ish and immediately made our way to the hotel bar where alcohol is expensive but desperately needed.  After a couple gin and tonics we decided to finish our prep for the weekend and continued working through the evening.

At around 6:00am this morning our room alarm clock went off with a fruious rigor that was answered by my fists.  Ben, Sgt. Angle and myself went to Starbucks in an attempt to restore our positive attitudes with coffee.  After the rest of the team was up it was onward to WonderCon!

This was Semantink’s first time at WonderCon and we were’nt too sure what to expect, but I’m pleased to say that it was, for the most part, awesome.

The Good

Panels had just enough star power and insight.  Whether you were going to hear Milla Jovovich and Ali Larter introduce their new Resident Evil trailer in 3D, wanted to hear Chiklas talk about his new comic, or just had the inkling to get some insight from one of your favorite comic producers — WonderCon had it all.

Layout was perfect.  We started at the end of the hall with the Artist’s Alley and Indie Publishers, then made our way across it all through the comic vendors, big-league booths and into vinyl toy-ville.  We got just enough of everything and spent little-to-know-time wondering where we were.  This may sound like a “meh” concern, but if you’ve ever been to San Diego Comic Con, then you know how detrimental poor planning can be during the larger conventions and how easy it is to get, literally, lost in the crowd.

The talent was spot on!  I saw some amazing up and coming artists, some soon-to-be-huge indie publishers, a few bigger names signing/sketching, just enough big-budget booths to satiate my palette and more than a few fantastic custom toy companies.  Sure, there were a few not-so-soon-to-be-famous folks as well, but it didn’t feel to heavily skewed in one direction or another.  There was success and there was hope for success and a good convention needs both ends of the spectrum.

The Bad

The staff was incredibly bad.  Upon our arrival we talked to three security guards who all told us that professional registration was at a different location.  In between talking to those three guards, we talked to four other guards who wouldn’t listen when we tried to ask where to go for professional registration.  When we finally got registered went downstairs where an incredibly rude guard told us that we couldn’t go in and told us that we had to wait in a special room — we said we’d just go back outside and were told that we’d “never get in.”  Snarky!

The organization was complete and utter shit.  Lines were formed haphazardly with tweens guiding us from one point to another (most of them texting while doing so), a writer/artist “speed dating” event that Sgt. Angle went to was very lopsided and he ended up talking to other writers most of the time, and none of the personnel seemed to know what was going on — I can’t remember how many times I received “I don’t know” as an answer to general queries…

Day One of WonderCon was, overall, a great time.  The entire Semantink team walked away exhausted, but satiated.  We got to see some old friends (Lord Mesa, Nathan Hamill and Dragatomy) and make a ton of new ones (Jackie Huang, John Giang, Westside Laserworks, Geek Chic and Lauren Venell).  We’re going to go through the TONS of cards/postcards we picked up today, check out everybody’s online resources and try to make even more new friends tomorrow!

I have to go now — Benjamin, Street Fece and I have a meeting, but stay tuned for some more from Ash and Sgt. Angle when they return from their TRON LEGACY shenanigans!!

James Ninness