Billy and Dave review the first episode of Supergirl and recommend some most likely overlooked comics that are coming out this Wednesday. Want to find out what comic you missed? Listen to the new episode!
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Written by Sarv Kreindler.
There are SO MANY panels and screenings at NYCC each year, and this year it seems like they’ve grown in number once again. These show guides will help you make the most of your time at NYCC. Here are our team’s picks for the best panels and screenings for Thursday at NYCC 2015!
88 MPH: A Celebration of Back to the Future – 11:00 – 12:00 – 1A06
Back to the Future turns 30 this year! Join the filmmakers behind “Back in Time,” the Steven Spielberg approved documentary about Back to the Future. “But wait, didn’t Robert Zemekis direct Back to the Future? Who cares if Steven Spielberg approved this documentary?” True, but Spielberg is the Executive Producer of Back to the Future. I’m setting the over/under of Marty McFly cosplayers in this room at 4. Are you taking the over or the under?
Hasbro Star Wars – 11:15 – 12:15 – 1A24
We haven’t seen any sort of announcement from Hasbro regarding NYCC exclusives at the time of this writing, but I’m hoping with the upcoming licensing monster that is Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, we’re going to get something. Whether or not we get any NYCC exclusives from Hasbro this NYCC, if you’re a Star Wars fan, this is a must-attend panel. With the new movie coming out this December, Hasbro has a lot of new product hitting the shelves soon. See your first look at it here.
Toddfather Talks Toys, Comics, Spawn and Insight Into Being an Independent Creator – 12:15 – 1:15 – 1A06
In all my years of attending conventions, I don’t think I’ve ever heard Todd McFarlane speak at a panel. I was able to get his autograph at two different New York Comic Cons, but I’ve never heard him speak on stage. He’s going to present the new Walking Dead and Game of Thrones sets that McFarlane Toys is producing. I may go to this just hear an hour of Todd on Todd.
Andre The Giant: The Man Behind the Legend – 12:30 – 1:30 – 1A24
If you attended last year’s Cary Elwes panel, this looks like a nice follow-up. Andre the Giant’s daughter, Robin Christensen Roussimoff, will be telling stories about her dad, aka Fezzik from The Princess Bride.
Star Wars Rebels Season 2 Panel – 1:30 – 2:30 – Empire Stage 1-E
Do you watch Rebels? If so, you’re going to want to come to this panel, which fill feature stars of the show. Be sure to come back at 5:30 PM for an exclusive sneak peak of the new season.
DC Comics: Master Class – Art History – 1:30 – 2:30 – 1A21
Babs Tarr and Ivan Reis talk art. Count me in.
Marvel: House of Ideas – 2:45 – 3:45 – 1A21
Stick around after the DC art panel for what is always a great panel, the Marvel: House of Ideas panel. Hosted by Ryan Penagos, aka Agent M, you’ll see exclusive previews before they hit the major comic book news sites. If you want to be the first to hear about new Marvel Comics news, this will be the panel you come to.
The Walking Dead: An Inside Look with Robert Kirkman – 2:45 – 3:45 Empire Stage 1-E
Robert Kirkman talks all things Walking Dead. What else do you need?
Nerdist Writers Panel – 3:00 – 4:00 – 1A10
The Nerdist Writers Panel is one of our favorite podcasts at the Tuesday Night Comics podcast. When Ben Blacker isn’t interviewing guests like the writers room from the first season of Friends (!), he interviews prominent comic book writers about their craft. Expect A list guests at this panel.
How Harley Quinn Conquered the World – 3:00 – 4:00 – 1A24
If you read the current Harley Quinn comics, this is the panel for you. Both Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti will be here to talk about their hit series from DC Comics.
Game of Thrones: A Panel of Ice and Fire – 4:00 – 5:00 – Empire Stage 1-E
Natalie Dormer aka Princess Low Cut! Keisha Castle-Hughes aka Slutty Princess Leia! Both in one place! And Finn Jones aka Ser Loras too! Before you go to this panel, go to the Dark Horse booth and buy the Joffrey crown and strut into the panel wearing it!
The Biggest Attack on Titan Manga Announcement Ever – 4:00-5:00 1A18
Heidi McDonald’s The Beat was the first to point out that among the panelists here is Jeanine Schaefer, who is known for her Marvel and DC work. Does this mean we’re getting Attack on Titan comics from non-manga creators? The Beat thinks so, and we’re inclined to agree.
Star Wars Rebels Season 2 Sneak Preview – 5:30 – 6:45 – Empire Stage 1-E
I wonder if they’re going to show the entire first episode of the new season. An hour and fifteen minutes certainly seems like enough time to get through a whole episode and then have Q&A after. Or even better, two full episodes and zero Q&A (“My question is…I love you, and think you’re great and awesome and on and on an on…Can I have a hug?”).
Billy and Dave are back with another episode of the Tuesday Night Comics podcast. They preview new comics coming out the week of Wednesday, November 5, 2014, including the official start of Spider-Verse. The guys also review recent comics, including James Robinson and Leonard Kirk’s Fantastic Four #12, Scott Snyder and Greg Cappullo’s Batman #35 and Geoff Johns and company’s Justice League #35. Plus, they talk about Marvel’s latest movie announcements. It’s another fun episode. Listen to it now!
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In the latest episode of the Tuesday Night Comics podcast, Billy and Dave go deep into The Multiversity #1 by Grant Morrison, Ivan Reis and Joe Prado. We breakdown who’s who and what’s what, as well as point out references to other companies’ heroes, and try to figure out how this fits in with Grant Morrison’s previous DC story, Final Crisis. If you read The Multiversity, then LISTEN TO THIS PODCAST!
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The final issue of Forever Evil is here and Dave has caught up to the series just in time. Listen to Dave and Billy compare Forever Evil to the Justice League Forever Evil tie-in issues, as well as other recently released comic books, including Spider-Man #2 by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos and Original Sin #2 by Jason Aaron and Mike Deodato. Billy and Dave also preview this Wednesday’s (5/28/14) new comics. What Image comic is Billy’s absolute top pick of the week? Listen to the podcast and find out!
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I was in the TriBeCa Barnes and Noble last night and spotted Justice League #26 on the shelf. I was surprised that I missed it being released on Wednesday, and figured I’d buy it off Comixology when I returned home. But when I arrived home, I saw that the most recent issue available on Comixology was #25.
Justice League #26 isn’t supposed to go on sale until this Tuesday, December 24 aka Christmas Eve. Comic book stores received their shipment of it, along with other comics, with last week’s books, and are embargoed from selling it until this Tuesday.
Apparently, Barnes and Noble missed that memo, as it is not only the TriBeCa Barnes and Noble at 97 Warren St that is selling it, but also the Barnes and Noble at 106 Court St in Brooklyn.
One of these things does not belong here: Justice League #26, on the rack early at the Court St. Barnes and Noble in Brooklyn
I couldn’t resist the appeal of reading a comic before its official release. Justice League #26 is a great comic, showing the origins of most of the Crime Syndicate. We get origins for Power Ring, Deathstorm, Johnny Quick and Atomica, a look into the mind of The Grid, more in the mystery about the Crime Syndicate’s hooded captive, and a new mystery involving Superwoman. Ivan Reis’s art is gorgeous, as usual, though whoever inked the pages with the Outsider seems to given the Outsider a shave, as his mustache was nowhere to be found.
If you’d like to read Justice League #26 before it’s official release date on Tuesday, you head to your local B&N!
This past summer, Bleeding Cool ran a story with the headline Get a Brazilian Breakfast With Ivan Reis and Joe Prado at NYCC. The article talked about an art book called Ícones dos Quadrinhos (Comic Book Icons) being crowdfunded on Catarse. Catarse is like a Brailian Kickstarter. The book sounded cool. It had illustrations by 100 different artists. Each of the artists drew one of their favorite characters from their childhood. One of the support levels included a “Brazilian breakfast” with Ivan Reis and Joe Prado, a hardcover copy of Ícones dos Quadrinhos and sketches from Ivan and Joe in the book. Needless to say, I was intrigued. Not only are Ivan and Joe two of my favorite artists in the comics industry, but at NYCC 2012 I helped thwart a big art theft at their tables. Also, for years I’ve wanted a Hal Jordan sketch by Ivan, but have never been able to get one. Here was my chance!
I jumped to support the project. The Brazilian Breakfast option was limited to 6 people, and I figured that with Bleeding Cool running this story, it would sell out quickly. The price looked steep initially at R$500, but thanks to the magic of exchange rates, R$500 at the time turned out to be only about US$210. I was the first person go for the breakfast option.
When Bleeding Cool posted about the project, it was in its final day of crowdfunding. I figured the breakfast (and sketches!) at NYCC would be too hard to pass up and the other five spots would sell out quickly. Because of this, I was very surprised when I checked back on Catarse throughout the day and saw that no one else had gotten in on what to me was a tremendous deal. Later that day, the crowdsourcing period ended, and I was the only one who had signed for the Brazilian Breakfast.
WHAT?!?
Seriously, how did not one other single person decide to get in on this? I cannot put into words how excited I was. Getting breakfast with Ivan, Joe and 5 other fans would have been cool. But just me? AWESOME.
When I told a friend my news, he asked “What’s a Brazilian breakfast entail?” I said I wasn’t sure. “It sounds like a weird sex act,” he said. “I think you just signed up for a 4-way with these guys,” he added.
Shortly before NYCC , Ivan Freitas Da Costa, the man behind Ícones dos Quadrinhos, got in touch with me to coordinate when and where we’d meet up for the Brazilian breakfast. As it turned out, the Brazilian in Brazilian breakfast referred to the company I’d be in, not the food (also, thankfully, not the sex act). We we agreed to meet at the Market Diner near the Javits Center at 8 AM on Thursday morning, the first day of NYCC. Because they were all operating on a tight schedule, Ivan Freitas Da Costa told me to get to the restaurant by 8 AM sharp. I arrived at 7:45.
Since I was the first one there, I grabbed a table for four. Shortly thereafter, Joe and the two Ivans walked in, along with two other guys. Looking at my four-man booth, I immediately thought we’re going to need a bigger boat. The two other guys turned out to be Daniel HDR and the Brazilain giant from the art theft story from last year, whose real name it is Breno Tamura. I’m glad Breno came to the breakfast, as he had become such a mythical figure in mind from the way he apprehended the thieves last year.
After we moved to a larger booth, sat down and introduced ourselves, I mentioned that I had met Ivan, Joe and Breno last year when I helped stop the theft at their table. The table erupted. Joe Prado exclaimed “I knew I recognized you when I walked in!” Joe, Ivan, Breno and I related the art theft story from our different points of view to the other guys at the table.
Ivan Freitas Da Costa presented me with my copy of Ícones. If I could only use two words to describe this book, they would be gorgeous and huge. The art is printed on thick, high quality paper and really pops off the page. Opposite the art is a text piece by each artist, presented in both Portuguese and English. The book really is big. It’s about the size of a DC Absolute Edition, which definitely helps show off the artwork inside. You can tell just by looking at it that it was a passion project. This book is very limited. If you can get your hands on one, I definitely recommend doing so.
The cover and slipcase to Ícones dos Quadrinhos. This book is gorgeous!
It was cool getting to hang out with all of these artists in such a casual environment. They’re a tight knit group, some of them having known each other for 20 years. Ivan Reis, Joe and Daniel told me the stories about how they each broke into the industry. I didn’t realize that Ivan Reis’s first pairing with Geoff Johns wasn’t at DC, but was at Marvel, during Geoff’s Vison limited series from 2002. It’s amazing to think this iconic pair has been working together for over 10 years now.
During breakfast, Ivan Reis drew a Green Lantern logo on a bottle of Tabasco and signed it. He then reached for the mustard and began doodling on that. Pretty soon, all the artists at the table were drawing comic book character faces on all of the creamers.
After everyone had drawn on something, Ivan Reis handed me a pen and said, “You do one.” I’m no artist, but I managed to draw a half-decent Spider-Man face on a creamer. Ivan Freitas Da Costa took a picture. He posted to Facebook that Ivan Reis was doodling on condiments at the Market Diner. No joke, less than 5 minutes later, two very fan boy looking dudes walked into the diner all wild eyed, spotted our booth and immediately sat in a booth near ours. I leaned over and said, “I think those guys are here for the condiments.”
The Legion of Super Condiments
Ivan, Joe, Ivan, Daniel and Breno are all super cool dudes. There was a lot of laughter at our table during our breakfast on the first morning of New York Comic Con. If you get a chance to meet these guys at a convention, do it. Each of them are awesome.
Ivan Reis signing his Astro Boy illustration in Ícones dos Quadrinhos.
After we finished a very good breakfast (thumbs up to the Market Diner’s Leo Omelette), and got back to chatting, Ivan and Joe each drew sketch for me in my copy of Ícones dos Quadrinhos. I asked Ivan for a Hal Jordan Green Lantern and Joe for a Hal Jordan Black Lantern.
As he was finishing up his sketch, Ivan pulled out a silver pen and began crosshatching in the background. Ivan then said, “3D cover!” We laughed. The two sketches by Ivan and Joe look amazing. They are on opposite pages and mirror each other. Ivan gave his Hal a word balloon that said “Thanks for saving my covers!” and Joe gave his Hal a word balloon that said “Thanks for the save, brother!”
As we left the diner, one of the guys in our group turned back and yelled “Those guys just grabbed the condiments!” Apparently, they didn’t even wait until we were all completely out the door before pouncing. Ivan Freitas Da Costa joked that we’re going to see “Ivan Reis Tabasco” on eBay. With a wry smile, I said, “They didn’t get the Tabasco.” I opened my sport coat to reveal the Tabasco bottle that has the ability to overcome great fear. There were howls of laughter. I’m glad I grabbed the Tabasco bottle on my way out of the diner, but I did feel weird about it. These were the guys whose artwork I stopped from getting stolen last year. Now I was showing off a purloined bottle of Tabasco in front of them.
If you’re the guy who took the Spider-Man creamer thinking it was drawn by Ivan Reis, sorry.
I walked the guys back to their hotel before heading back to Brooklyn to get ready myself. We were still hours away from NYCC officially opening to the public (though there were people lined up at that Javits that drizzly morning at 9 AM waiting for the doors to open at 3 PM). When we made our goodbyes, Joe asked if they’d see me at their tables. I said, “Of course!” I don’t know if you saw it, but the Brazilian artists basically took over the F aisle in Artist’s Alley this year. During the show, I started calling their row Brazil.
It’s funny how fate has linked me to Joe Prado and Ivan Reis over the past twelve months. From the art theft last year to breakfast this year, it feels like things have come full circle. Thank you Joe, Ivan, Ivan, Daniel and Breno. This breakfast really was the perfect start to my NYCC 2013.
Left to right: Ivan Freitas Da Costa, Daniel HDR, Joe Prado, Billy Henehan, Ivan Reis, Breno Tamura
As summer 2011 was approaching, with its hoard of superhero movies, I was excited for Green Lantern most of all. I am a huge fan of what Geoff Johns has done with Green Lantern since he started writing the character in 2004. When I found out that he was on set during the production of the movie, I had a feeling that we were in store for something amazing.
Unfortunately, my enthusiasm for the Green Lantern movie puttered out before I saw it in the theater. It got so many bad reviews from critics and people on the street that I figured this would be DC’s version of Daredevil. The only people I know who like this movie are the guys who work at my local comic book store, one of whom has worn a Green Lantern ring since before I met him AND has a Green Lantern tatoo. So maybe he’s a little biased.
Basically, I missed it last summer and wasn’t that upset about it.
Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim are two of the writers on the Green Lantern screenplay, and Berlanti produced the movie, so I’m shocked how flat and boring the whole thing felt. Usually at the end of a Greg Berlanti production, the response in my house is “Damn you, Berlanti,” but it’s meant as a compliment for his uncanny ability at tugging on our heartstrings and manipulating our emotions. Here, any exclamations of “Damn you, Berlanti,” would just be about delivering a disappointing movie.
I think they should not have had Parallax be the main villain. Parallax bogged down the movie with cuts that had to be made to what it was doing in space, which was usually making an angry face. We could have done without all the exposition as to what Parallax was. These wasted minutes in long movie. Instead, the story should have been borrowed almost whole form from Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis’s excellent Green Lantern: Secret Origin comic book.
There were positives about the movie. I thought that Peter Sarsgaard was great as Hector Hammond. I think the movie in general would have been better off focusing on Hammond as the main villain, and Sinestro as Hal’s rival/future nemesis. But instead, I’m stuck on my couch wondering why we keep cutting back to a space cloud with a pouty face.
Mark Strong was great as Sinestro. If I were involved in the production of this movie, my note would read, “More Mark Strong as Sinestro, less pouty space cloud Parallax.”
In the past, I’ve liked Blake Lively in the roles I’ve seen here in. But while her last name might be Lively, she delivers a completely wooden, flat and basically DOA portrayal of Hal Jordan’s love interest Carol Ferris in Green Lantern. Carol Ferris is woman with a lot of spirit, but Blake Lively sounded like she was half asleep and reading off cue cards.
I still wish Nathan “Captain Tight Pants” Fillion was cast as Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, but at least we got him as Hal Jordan’s voice in Green Lantern: First Flight.
The best part of the Green Lantern movie is the scene after the credits start rolling. I liked that scene so much that I almost forgave the rest of the movie for being such a disappointment. Almost.