Sunday, August 11, 2013

Chicago Comic Con: Day 3

Ok, gotta get there early, because the line for the picture with Allison Mack and Michael Rosenbaum starts early. So gotta get there early!

That's what I told myself Friday. Saturday morning, I overslept. By an hour. And a half.

So I got ready quick, and stopped by Walgreens to get some cash back. You see, my bank from central Illinois has no ATMs in Chicagoland, and my original $150 in cash was gone. I used to work at Walgreens and new I could get another $150 out easy. As a formality, I asked the cashier how much I could take out, and freaked when he said "$20." The machine confirmed this terrible news, and I realized I'd have to find an ATM at the con, wait in line, and hope it wouldn't be out of cash when it got to be my turn.

Somehow, I still got there half an hour early. But this was Saturday, the crazy day. The line was tremendously long already. I took my place and waited.

My "place" this time was at the very front of one of the rows of lines. Which was much nicer that being stuck in the middle, surrounded on all sides by fidgety con-goers.

Finally, we we let in. By thus time, I had learned how to get from floor to floor and from the convention floor to the seminar room. I was an old pro. So I headed to the photo area to wait for Allison and Michael.

On the way, I passed right by an ATM. Suspicious from the lack of line, I assumed it must already be empty. However, upon closer inspection, it was, in fact, stocked. So I took out another $140 (plus the $3.75 fee) and continued to the photo line.

Not super long, but still half an hour before the photos started, I waited in line. It was at this point, early on day 3, that I realized that, when in a non-moving line, it's perfectly possible to rest my bag on the floor rather than my shoulders. You see, I had my "con bag" with me at all times, with things like pop-tarts, granola bars, water, chargers, and lantern corps rings, as well as my binder for putting my photos in, my book for Stan Lee to sign, and my Smallville case for Allison and Michael. Fairly heavy, and I had carried it non-stop for two days, much to the regret of my shoulders and back. On day 3, i finally learned.

Made it into the booth, said hi to the celebs, shook Michael's hand, took the shot, and said goodbye, which Allison returned with her smile. Not just any smile - Allison Mack's smile. My favorite smile in the world of smiles, (sorry Jennifer Love Hewitt, you're second place), and I saw it in person, eight inches from my face. Took a while to recover from that one.

From then, got immediately into the line for Sara Underwood, known to me as Ninja Warrior contestant and host of Ridiculousness and Attack of the Show, but known to many as Playboy bunny and Playmate of the Year 2007, and known to still others as an actress in films such as Miss March and Epic Movie (both of which I own) and the house bunny (which I don't).

Sara was so nice, I walked up and she introduced herself, and put her arm around me, and we took the picture, and I thanked her and was leaving, and she stopped me and asked to read my shirt (I'm a Teacher what's your superpower?) and she said it was cool!

I stopped by Summer Glau's booth, my "I want a picture with you but I don't really want to pay that much and wait in that line for it" celebrity. And I saw the line.

From there, I went to have Michael sign my Smallville season 1 case. You wouldn't know it from watching him play Lex, but he is hilarious. Right next to his booth was Jon Heder's (Napoleon Dynamite) and next to that was Jason David Frank (the Green Power Ranger).

So Jason has thus huge mass of fans screaming and yelling, so Michael decides to have us start telling too, creating a fan-fight between these two celebrities. It was hilarious.

So they yelled. Then we yelled. Back and forth a few times. Then Michael said to yell "boo" at them instead, which we did, and they continued yelling.

Then Michael held up his photo celebrity pass, but it was actually Jon Heder's. And he looked over to Jon (the poor guy had no line) and showed him, and John looked down and realized he was wearing Michael's. So then, Michael starts impersonating Napoleon Dynamite, and Jon starts throwing paper at him, and they started fake fighting.

All the while, Jason's fans are still shouting, and Michael told us to yell "Shut Up!" Which we did. Finally, it was my turn, and after he signed it, he handed me a flyer for his directorial debut in a feature film. "Will you go see my new movie?" "Yeah, I'll see it." "Do you promise?" (laughs) "Yes, I promise." "Will you follow us on Twitter and Facebook and all that?" "I think I can handle that." "Ok" Then he stuck out his fist, and I fistbumped him, and was on my way.

Stopped back by Summer's booth. Saw the line again.

So it was off to Allison's booth! She was at lunch, so the line was pretty short. About a half hour went by, and the line started filling up, and finally she came in, and I didn't have to wait long. She was very friendly, and joined Michael in signing my case (though he didn't leave her much room). We said some things to each other (of the hi, bye variety), and she smiled again as I left. Oh that smile.

Summer? Nope.

On to Sara's booth.

Sara Underwood is ridiculously friendly. Go ahead, make a joke, a double entendre on the word "friendly" but the fact remains: she is nice. She was posing with people, doing whatever pose or face they wanted, just being great to her fans.

I got up to her, and she remembered my shirt, but I never told her my name, so she asked it and signed the photo to me. Then she asked what grade level I taught, and I told her what grades and what subject, and that I just graduated (to which she said "yeah, cuz you're young") and she congratulated me and gave me a high give. Just a very nice person.

Summer? Nope. Food.

I sat in an uncrowded hallway, plugged in my phone, and ate some pop tarts.

Impatiently getting up again with only 72% power, I went back to the Con floor, looking desperately for Ant-Man, the Maximoff twins, and Thanos.

I settled for getting, among others, Falcon and Mandarin, both of which I also really wanted, and an Ant-Man that, while not the familiar costume, came with Ant-Size and Normal-Size, which expanded to become Giant-Sized. I had a deal to get several more, but was short on cash.

Giving up on Summer for the day, I decided it was time to rest again before the costume contest. I went to my car, ate some poptarts, and charged my phone.

Got to the room way early, and ended up sitting in on a Firefly/Serenity panel, which was entertaining even though I've never seen it. But I learned that Summer Glau is really quiet, and Alan Tudyk doesn't shut up.

The room cleared, and I moved up to get a seat ready for the contest. Front row, near the stage, and near the large screen. I thought of everything except lighting.

From where I was sitting, the background was two drastically different levels of brightness, and my cell phone didn't cope well. Let's just say I wish I had had the forethought to bring an actual camera. I will probably post some of the photos I got, but I apologize for their poor quality. I did get a good live view of all the costumes, and there were lots of great ones.

Three hours later, the contest was over and I left. Only Sunday remained.

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Chicago Comic Con: Day 2

Walked in to the Con. I had my special orange 4-day pass wristband, so I didn't have to wait in line, right? Wrong. Lesson learned.

Spent the first couple of hours buying more toys (I had to make a list of who I bought the day before so that I wouldn't buy them again). Hit up a couple of new booths I had missed before, and revisited some of my favorites.

By 2:00, I was glad I remembered to leave a $20 in my car for parking, because I was down to the last $20 in my wallet. Decided to take my stash to my car, grab my emergency $20 (parking was only $13), and head to the line for Stan Lee.

The photos started at 3. I got to the line at 2:30 and it was already several rows wide. So I took my place and waited.

They said the photos would go fast. I was hoping he'd say hello, ask my name, maybe even shake my hand. Of course, in hindsight, with a man that old, with that many people to see in such a short time, I should have taken the initiative and said hello, but what can I say, I was star struck.

I finally got into the booth around 3:45. They said the photos would go fast, but they didn't say how fast. No "1, 2, 3!" no "ready?" they just took the picture, and hopefully you were looking. It cost $80 (or was it more, I can't remember?) and it lasted three seconds. How much is that per hour?

After that, I went immediately to the line for his autograph. I knew he was taking pictures until 4, so the line wouldn't even move for 15 minutes, but it said he was there til 7, so I figured I'd make it.

After snaking through the bars, getting closer and closer to the table, I finally made it to the penultimate row, the last bar, Stan was four feet from me! And it was 5:00, and Stan had a panel to be at. So I took my number and ran through the labyrinth of lines, hallways, booths, stairs, escalators, and broken escalators (also called stairs). As I was approaching the panel room, Stan (how did he get here before me) was sitting nonchalantly near a door to another room. I walked right by, less than 10 feet from him.

I entered the panel, and Stan came in shortly, and hilarity followed. Typical Stan, rambling on and on. Pure enjoyment for True Believers. As they announced time for one last question, a man approached the mic with a story of gratitude and tragedy, which ended up with him walking on stage, removing his prosthetic leg, which had been painted all Marvel, and having Stan sign his leg. Now go back and read that sentence again.

As the man rambled on, pulling his son and mother on stage with him for more free photos and autographs, I headed back through the maze, and returned to my place in line at 6.

A short while later, Stan returned. Ignoring the sleazebag selling cologne, I finally made it in front of Stan and placed in front of him my copy of his autobiography.

He signed it exactly where I hoped he would, and showed his age (91) as it was clearly difficult for him to see, and to hold his hand steady. (Rumors were passing that he had skipped lunch to keep fans from being turned away). And I stood there, humbled at this man I've looked up to so long, and feeling slightly sorry for him. Many of these people in line were clearly only having him sign something they would later sell. I saw one person put a stack of comics three inches thick in front of him, without speaking. But not me. I thanked him, and he replied to me (of course I can't remember what he said, but he spoke to me!) and went to go get my photo print.

Waiting in line for the print, Lou Ferrigno, the Hulk himself, was walking perpendicular to my line. And he pushed through me to continue on his way. The Hulk butted me in line! For however short a time, however weak a hindrance, I got in the Hulk's way. And I survived. Call me silly, but I felt like Wolverine.

After that, I grabbed a few more Spider-Man villains (using my "emergency $20") and left. Waking through the skybridge, I enjoyed following two people dressed (and in character) as Jay and Silent Bob.

Friday, August 9, 2013

Chicago Comic Con: Day 1

My first day at my first con!

I had a few programs on my schedule, but my main goal for the day was pretty simple: explore. I wanted to check out what booths were where, where the photo rooms were, and where the seminar rooms were.

I managed to pass all of them, but after moving past the seminar rooms early on, I never found them again.

I spent nearly three hours on the main level, buying up toys after toys and piling the bags up my arm. I had packed pop tarts, granola bars, and bottles of water, along with various device chargers and a power strip, but never stopped moving long enough to use anything.

After the main level, I found the way down to the artists alley. Not much as I was interested in buying here, but this is where the photo booths were, and though I didn't pose with him, i saw Lou Ferrigno, the Hulk himself, in person!

After exploring a bit more, and not being able to relocate the seminar rooms, i decided that 20 action figures, an indigo lantern ring, and a deadpool button were enough for my first day, and headed out to attempt to find my car.

I made mental notes of booths to check back at tomorrow, to buy even more toys, and vehicles like the batmobile and mystery machine to pose with when my girlfriend finally joins me on Sunday.

Tomorrow is Stan Lee day, when I'll get an autograph, a photo, and, if I can find the room, attend a seminar of his.

I also have tickets to pose with Allison Mack, Michael Rosenbaum, and Sara Underwood, and I'm hoping to pose with Summer Glau as well, and get as many autographs as possible!

Most interesting costume I saw today: a ghostbuster with a light saber.

#FridayIsUpdateDay: August 09, 2013

Not a ton of updates for you this week, which is good, because I'm mobile and out of town for Chicago Comic Con, so less updates are easier to handle on y tablet, JARVIS, since I have no computer with me.

Mark Strong may be the next Lex Luthor

New trailer for Thor: The Dark World
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=npvJ9FTgZbM

William Stryker will be in Days of Future Past, Scarlet Witch will not

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Thursday is Thor's Day: August 08, 2013

The inscription on Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, is first shown in Thor's first comic appearance: Journey into Mystery no. 83.
"Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor"

This message was repeated verbatim in the 2011 film by Anthony Hopkins as Odin.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Spider-Man: Over the Years

Tobey Maguire brought superheroes to the forefront of Hollywood. And Andrew Garfield had everybody questioning the necessity of reboots. But there's another webslinger that came around long before either of them. In fact, even before Michael Keaton became Batman and Christopher Reeves flew.

Let's take a look back at Spider-Man over the years.

Nicholas Hammond: The Amazing Spider-Man (1977 TV Series) and it's related films
The Amazing Spider-Man  (1977),  Spider-Man Strikes Back (1978)
and Spider-Man: The Dragon's Challenge (1979)
Tobey Maguire: Spider-Man (2002), Spider-Man 2 (2004), and Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Andrew Garfield: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)




Monday, August 5, 2013

#CosplayOfTheWeek: August 05, 2013

OK, not sure if it technically counts as Cosplay if its an original character, but Chicago Comic Con is coming up, and Sara Underwood is going to be there! And I might get to meet her! So, in that spirit, here is Sara's superhero persona/costume, "Bustice"


Friday, August 2, 2013

#FridayIsUpdateDay August 02, 2013

Kick-Ass 2

- Many new clips!

Agent's of SHIELD

- Photos!
- David Conrad joins the cast, in an unspecified role

Arrow

-The Flash will appear in season 2, with an episode late in the season to serve as a "backdoor pilot" for a Flash series.

Thor: The Dark World


New poster

X-Men: Days of Future Past

- Interview with Lucas Till (Havok)
- Will be set 10 years after "First Class" and 10 years after "The Last Stand"
- Trask Industries fake website, complete with details on Trask, the company, and sentinels!

Life-sized Sentinel
Is this Mystique?

Avengers: Age of Ultron

- Aaron Johnson talks Quicksilver
- Joss Whedon says Black Widow will play a pivotal role

Batman/Superman

- Armie Hammer isn't interested in playing Batman

Amazon

- The potential upcoming Wonder Woman series has been delayed, yet again, with no release in sight

Thursday, August 1, 2013

Thursday is Thor's Day: August 1, 2013

Did you know?

Stan Lee wanted Thor to be able to fly. However, it bothered him when characters could fly for no apparent or explainable reason, like Superman. So all of his flying characters had reasons, though not exactly scientifically sound, for why they were able to fly.

For Thor, this involved the magical hammer, Mjolnir. Instead of just flying, Thor would actually throw the mighty hammer, and hold onto the unbreakable thong, and join the hammer in its trajectory.


Wednesday, July 31, 2013

My thoughts on the Fox Shared Cinematic Universe

So a while ago, it was announced that Fox would follow Marvel's example and create a shared universe. However, the only properties they still have film rights to are the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. And while both of those teams could carry franchises on their own, a lot of people question the opportunities to merge these two properties together. The X-Men focus primarily on mutant-human relationships, and the FF don't meddle much in the world of X-Men.


However, something did pop in to my mind.

A unique element to the FF is that their identities are public: the world - and the government - know who they are. In fact, in the 2007 film Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, the FF were approached by the government due to their reputations as both scientists and crime-fighters.


So that got me thinking, what if the FF was used by the government in the creation - directly or indirectly - of the sentinels that will appear in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Now I know that Boliver Trask has been cast as the man who creates these machines, and I'm not ignoring that, but maybe the FF is consulted in some way, or unknowingly used to create some tech or gizmo or something used by the sentinels.


While this idea would have potential to clash the FF and the X-Men against each other, at least initially, which could be a great fight to see on screen, there is, of course, another direction to go, using sentinels as the "go" point.


Maybe, in this version, the FF aren't so well known. And the use of sentinels to attack mutants could bring them out of the shadows as heroes in this world, that aren't subject to being targeted by sentinels because they're not mutants. This could provide a glimpse of a better potential future between mutants and humans, and give the mutants hope that in time, humans will think better of them.


Of course, this is all pure speculation on my part. I just hope that we finally get the FF movie we deserve, and more crossovers means more stories and more characters.

Punisher: Over the Years

With three films that have failed to gain much support, film rights for the Punisher have returned to Marvel. Will see see another outing for Frank Castle? Only time will tell.

Dolph Lundgren: The Punisher (1989)
Thomas Jane: The Punisher (2004)
Ray Stevenson: Punisher: War Zone (2008)



Monday, July 29, 2013

#CosplayOfTheWeek July 29, 2013

So, Wolverine is here, and now audiences are anxiously awaiting Days of Future Past. Magneto is back, both in Michael Fassbender and Ian McKellen form. And his son, Quicksilver, will be around as well, played by Evan Peters. No word yet on whether Quicksilver's sister, the Scarlet Witch, will appear (although they are both confirmed for Avengers: Age of Ultron).

However, there's another mutant child of Magneto's out there: Polaris. Lorna Dane is, like her father, able to control metal and magnetism. Unlike the Maximoff siblings, she started out with the X-Men, not fighting at her father's side. This could be a great story for a film, if either Magneto gets too old and is headed out of the movies, or, even better, if he gets too powerful to where it seems like no one can stop him, in comes Polaris to take him on,with the X-Men behind her.

Even better, Polaris was a major love interest for Havok in the comics, and Lucas Till has recently been confirmed as returning as Havok in DOFP.

Need another reason to want to see Polaris on film? Just look at the costume.


Sunday, July 28, 2013

100 Words or Less: Wolverine (2013)

This is a pretty good film. Good action, good drama, decent logic, and a good romance arc. Does well at both following X3 and setting up DOFP, while definitely not being an “X-Men” movie -- it’s all Logan.

Also, I’m a sucker for the bone claws.

I tried to avoid the hype, because I knew that would only lessen it, but still, so many people were saying things like “The Wolverine Movie I’ve Always Wanted” and it wasn’t that. Not for me.

I wanted a berserker rage scene, and I wanted actual samurai training, and I didn’t get that.


#VideoSunday July 28, 2013

Heroes who've film rights have recently returned to Marvel Studios approach Iron Man about getting new movies.

Check it out here!

Friday, July 26, 2013

100 Words or Less: X-Men: First Class (2011)

To be honest, there’s a lot in this movie I’m not fond of, mainly Mystique. Her relationship with Charles was my biggest issue, but also the transition to the original trilogy version was a forced and unnatural change, I don’t buy that they are the same character. 



Also, a non-Nightcrawler teleporter is always a negative for me, but at least Azazel is his father. And badass.



Thankfully, this film does so much right that I can look past the wrong:



Xavier and Eric’s relationship, new characters, humans’ heightening awareness of mutants.



The Xavier training sequence is amazing.



And Moira MacTaggert.


#FridayIsUpdateDay July 26, 2013

Alright, so now the Comic Con news has hit and settled. It would be pretty hefty to try and repeat all of that information in a single post, so here are some highlights.

-DC/WB has announced that the sequel to Man of Steel will feature Batman. It seems the film will focus more on them fighting for the majority of the movie, and the most likely title is "Batman vs Superman."


-Agents of SHIELD screened their pilot episode to great reception

-The Marvel One-Shot (short film) Agent Carter was also shown to audiences, and was likewise well-received.

-Sony has announced that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will set up the next two movies

-Fox reveals that sentinels will likely play a large role in Days of Future Past


-Marvel Studios reveals the title of the Avengers sequel, Age of Ultron. However, Kevin Feige claims they are not adapting the storyline of the same name from the comics, they are only using the title, so it's hard to tell how large of a role Ultron will actually play, or his supporting cast (Ant-Man and Vision).


-Joss Whedon has stated that Loki will not be in Age of Ultron, but others at Marvel haven't been so clear.

-Joss Whedon has confirmed that Hawkeye will be back for Age of Ultron, and he'll be having more interactions with the other heroes, not get stuck being brainwashed for the majority of the story.

-Guardians of the Galaxy has started filming, and Karen Gillan delighted fans by revealing she had shaved her head for the role of Nebula


-A fair amount of news comes from the lack of announcements: No announcements for films based on "new" characters, like Black Panther, Dr. Strange, Flash, Wonder Woman, etc.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

100 Words or Less: X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

This is actually my least favorite X-Men movie.



Plenty of reasons people disliked this film: Altered characters, powers, and histories for no apparent reason. (Iron Man 3 should have realized that didn’t work).



Also, having a teleporter that isn’t Nightcrawler makes me sad.

However, the reason this is my least favorite X-Men film is, well, because it’s not an X-Men film -- it’s a Wolverine film. This doesn’t have the mutant vs human feeling of the X-Men.



However, the redemption for this film comes via Sabretooth and his history and relationship with Wolverine.



Mid-credits scene, and two different post-credits scenes!


Thursday is Thor's Day: July 25, 2013

Did you know?

Stan Lee's first three big creations in the 60s were the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, and the Incredible Hulk. He wanted to come up with somebody as powerful -- or more powerful -- than the Hulk for his next character, but wasn't sure how to make somebody stronger than the strongest human.

That's when he decided to base his character on a god. Deciding that people were too familiar with Greek and Roman gods, he looked to Norse mythology, and along with his brother Larry Lieber and artist Jack Kirby, Thor was born.


Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Daredevil: Over the Years

Daredevil has long been one of my favorite heroes. In fact, he's probably my favorite hero that's not a major member of a popular team of heroes. For instance, Nightcrawler is my favorite X-Man, Hawkeye is my favorite Avenger, and Triton is my favorite Inhuman.

But outside of teams, Daredevil is probably my favorite hero. Unfortunately, I haven't seen much in the film variety to make me happy, although I forgive the 2003 film more than most just because it's the best I've gotten so far. Hopefully, with the rights back at Marvel Studios, we will get a high-quality Daredevil film soon.

Not a long list, but let's see who's worn the horns over the years

Rex Smith: The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989 TV movie)

A Daredevil cameo in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

Ben Affleck: Daredevil (2003) and a deleted scene in Elektra (2005)

100 Words or Less: X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

This is the X-Men film people love to hate, but honestly I don’t know why. Sure, it has its issues, but any film does, and not every film is going to be great. I like the film, despite its flaws.

Some things to like:

- The only X-Men film to have the original team.



- Great fight between Pryo and Iceman, with Iceman finally going full throttle and converting his whole body into solid ice.



- Kelsey Grammar is perfect as Beast.



- Shadowcat, Iceman, and Colossus get to actually participate in combat.


Can’t wait for Days of Future Past



Monday, July 22, 2013

100 Words or Less: X2: X-Men United (2003)

This is my favorite X-Men movie.



The biggest reason is Nightcrawler. He’s always been my favorite mutant. And this movie makes him badass. The opening White House scene is amazing.



Also, Wolverine defending the mansion. First time we really got to see Logan let loose, and it was awesome. 



Add to that Lady Deathstrike, and the spectacular fight scene.



Additionally, making the mutant-human debate personal with Bobby’s family added depth.



Finally, I loved the villains working together with the heroes for the greater good of mutantkind.



Even Iceman, Pyro, and Colossus, in smaller parts, had their moments to shine.