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):

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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

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!

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!

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.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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

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

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!!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

James Ninness

James Ninness here.  WonderCon starts today and Semantink is gonna be here, in San Francisco, covering all the gloriousness of the scene!  At the convention, we’ll be giving away some very pretty cards for all WonderCon attendees that give them not only the link to the MYTHOI Birth Series (which has, and always will be, free), but as a special treat, a secret link to a site where they can see issue #1 of MYTHOI proper — absolutely free!  To get the ball rolling, Semantink will be giving you a sneak peak at the character cards they’ve put together each day with a look into the characters themselves, written by your’s truly.  Our final card and charracter is the most deceptively abstract member of the MYTHOI crew: Touch.

Given that the FREE issue of MYTHOI Birth on Touch hasn’t dropped yet (coming out in a week or so…), I’m going to have to watch myself on this one and I promise to keep the following as spoiler-free as possible.

Mythos means “the underlying system of beliefs, esp. those dealing with supernatural forces, characteristic of a particular cultural group.”  Mythoi is the plural of Mythos.  So, it follows that this book deals with a variety of underlying beliefs with regard to supernatural forces of many cultural groups, right?  Of late, some of the greatest and most popular “supernatural forces” I’ve noticed are of the cybernetic variety.  Asimov wrote science fiction long ago and at the time it was just that: fiction.  Lately however, amongst the various robotic breakthroughs, science fiction like Asimov’s seems to have a very real effect on the direction of our non-fictional world.  Hundreds of stories foretelling the end of man at the hands of technology have been strewn about for our enjoyment and as a warning — The Matrix, I, Robot, Terminator and Minority Report to name a few.  In all of these foreboding tales, technology becomes more than natural or above explanation and rational thought, in other words, technology becomes supernatural.

Touch’s Mythos stems from an attempt to understand the system of beliefs that deal with these specific “supernatural forces.”  Touch is one of a group of five assassins known as The Senses, developed some time in the future to quell the rising force of New America’s global enemies.  Well, for one reason or another, Touch is never properly programmed and sent back in time.  Once there, he is picked up by Vito, Wiglaf, Taros and Yuki and joins them in an attempt to stop his past from ever happening.  As a genetic clone, grown from nanotechnology infused with organic cells, Touch is hardly human and as such learns to struggle with the idea that he has no “soul.”  This is the crux of Touch’s tale.  As he grows into a more “complete” person, the idea of the soul or the concept of spirit is examined, poked, prodded and ripped apart in an attempt to explain how something as mechanical as Touch could be so completely human.  To learn how his story begins, stay tuned to Semantink.com where MYTHOI Birth: Touch will be released very soon…

That’s it for the WonderCon build up y’all.  I hoped you enjoyed our time together!  If you’re at WonderCon, look for the team in Semantink garb to get your limited edition MYTHOI cards, only at WonderCon 2010!

James Ninness

James Ninness here.  WonderCon is tomorrow and Semantink is headed  for San Francisco!  Once there, we’ll be giving away some very pretty cards for all WonderCon attendees that give them not only the link to the MYTHOI Birth Series (which has, and always will be, free), but as a special treat, a secret link to a site where they can see issue #1 of MYTHOI proper — absolutely free!  To get the ball rolling, Semantink will be giving you a sneak peak at the character cards they’ve put together each day with a look into the characters themselves, written by your’s truly.  Today we gander at the most recently released character of the MYTHOI Birth series: Taros!

Greek mythology has been done and done and done and done again.  This weekend Louis Leterrier is unleashing Clash of the Titans, a movie remaking a movie retelling a myth (which I can’t f*cking wait to see).  Before that some brat names Percy Jackson fought a Lightning Thief in attempt to cash in on the kid-with-powers-caught-in-a-deadly-game franchise, rebooted a few years back by Harry Potter.  One of the most fascinating things about Greek mythology, and the reason we see it again and again, is that more often than not these tales were created to explain things through allegory or drawn-out metaphor.  Icarus taught us all the dangers of loftiness.  Achilles showed us that everyone is fallible.  In the process of explanation, the Ancient Greeks created a world more fully realized than any to come for generations.

Taros is my own personal nod to, what I consider, the greatest series in the history of man: Ancient Greek Mythology.  Taros has daddy issues, huge ones (which you, my good friend, can read about for FREE right here).  Taros has to live forever and it is important that you realize he doesn’t want to.  More than anything else Taros would like to join his wife and mother in the afterlife, but that can happen because his father is kind of an asshole.  Over time Taros has made quite a life out of living forever: He runs the largest, most successful technologies company in the world and wants for nothing — except an end.  Taros’s tale is not morose and depressing, but enlightening.  His is a story of the value of human life and making a difference despite one’s self.  It is an attempt at the explanation, as the myths of his people were long ago, of something beyond understanding and greater than human potential can fathom without becoming more than human — but isn’t that what all the greatest mythologies try to explain?  The unexplainable?

Thanks for dropping in.  Now go be awesome.

James Ninness