Features

I’ve come to know Mark Waid more and more as he seems to make it Baltimore Comic-Con every year. So it was a no brainer for me to attend the Guest of Honor panel in which he was featured. The panel turned out to be a combination roast/toast in which one of the participants gave a great speech about Mark. Near the end he tells the story of how a Superman story meant a lot to him growing up. His reaction is a perfect example of how comics can move us just as much as any other creative work. ...

With none of the other Comic POW! staffers available, I had to be both cameraman and interviewer at this year’s Baltimore Comic-Con. Overall, things went rather well. Then there are interviews like this one where I started off mostly OK (and on camera) and then got so engrossed in the interview that I forgot to keep my eye on the monitor and keep myself in the frame. Oh well! The content of the interview is still great and Jennifer Hayden’s book, The Story of My Tits is still a very compelling offering. ...

Mark Waid and Ramona Fradon joined a science teacher (and science consultant to comics) at a panel to discuss science in comics. While the panelists made a point of reminding the audience that superhero stories are best enjoyed with a suspension of disbelief, the value of science within comics was discussed. For example, Mark Waid mentioned that it can sometimes become the basis of a story or it can become the basis of a character trait - such as Aquaman being quiet on land because underwater his voice would carry further. It was a good panel overall, but I think a series of episodes of a podcast or TV show could really do the subject justice. ...

Readers of my personal blog will be familiar with my feelings on copyright maximalism. Basically, I think it does our country and our society a huge disservice to have copyrights last so long. When works go into the public domain, they are available for society to remix and reuse the same way that Disney has made so much money reinterpreting stories collected by the Brothers Grimm. Will and Kurt are taking a character, Crom the Barbarian, who has fallen out of copyright, and resurrecting him with new stories. This is a work of passion for Kurt, who grew up with these stories. Instead of being lost to the dustbin of the past, these stories will be reborn! ...

This year, more than any other, I was aware of the continuity on which exist independently published comics. On one end stand the creator-owned publishers like Image, Dynamite, IDW, and Boom (although the latter three certainly also publish books from licensed properties). Somewhere in the middle are creatives like Kata Kane of Altar Girl (see here and here). At the other end of the spectrum are the creatives working in the Square City Comics collective. These are the indie comics that remind me of Brandon Graham’s early work (and I don’t necessarily mean the erotica). The samples I leafed through covered every topic and style - in a way that those without any marketing department can. There is a special aesthetic that comes through in these comics. As you can see in the interview, those in the collective span the gamut of personalities and story ideas. ...

There were lots of great reveals during the IDW panel including: Walter Simonson will be continuing his Thor story, Ragnarok. I’d never heard of it, but the artwork looked stunning and his description of the plot made me want to pick up the trade for the first arc. James Tynion IV will be writing the book in which Batman meets up with the Ninja Turtles. He explained how he had to make sure to service the story rather than write pure fan service, but he seemed to have so much enthusiasm about the project that I can’t help but expect good things. Just in time for the theatrical re-release, IDW will be releasing a B ack to the Future comic. I asked the marketing guy afterwards when it takes place, but that’s currently a secret. Finally, they will be doing some reprints of the Marvel Star Wars materials in a special edition that lets readers see the rough drafts of the comic. Unfortunately, my video equipment malfunctioned, so all I have is audio, but enjoy - there are some good, juicy stories in here. ...

Comic POW! readers will know that ever since last year, I’ve been fascinated by Dynamite and their stable of pulp licensed properties. It’s interesting that there’s a combination of timelessness to the stories while at the same time many of them certainly have a time and place in which they belong. For example, Mark Waid’s Green Hornet takes place in the 1940s and Hornet definitely works well in that time period, but the story is imminently enjoyable in the present. ...

Cosplay is such a fascinating form of self expression. While I know only a few people who put more than a couple hours thought into their Halloween costumes, cosplayers spend months to years working on costumes. There will be a massive cosplay gallery here on Comic POW! near the end of the coverage in which you’ll see some of the great costumes that people have made. With Ireland Reid, as with many other cosplayers, this is an expression of something she’s wanted to do since she was a little kid. It is a way for her to showcase her love of comics and her love of creation all at once. Watch our interview to learn more about what drives her to do this professionally. (She does mention she has a M-F job, but there is no doubt in my mind that Ms Reid is also a professional when it comes to cosplay) ...

At the convention I had the pleasure of speaking with Liz DeJesus, a prolific author, who has written comics, books, and short stories. Her stories often contain Fairy Tale or Supernatural elements. Her book series, of which the first is First Frost, stood out to me as a great example of a book using Fairy Tale stories to explore a mother/daughter relationship. https://youtu.be/9bfm9Cf47Cg

I spoke with Drew Crowder about this great publisher that is putting women in the forefront of its publications, #Hashtag Comics. https://youtu.be/vxLQw9frcYU Not only are women the lead characters in both Tailwands and Carpe Noctum, but the concepts sound particularly interesting - especially Carpe Noctum’s assertion that Las Vegas is run by Vampires, Werewolves, etc. Makes perfect sense for a city in which everyone’s asleep during the day. Baltimore-Comic-Con-Day-1-2015-09-25-025 Baltimore-Comic-Con-Day-1-2015-09-25-029 Baltimore-Comic-Con-Day-1-2015-09-25-027 Baltimore-Comic-Con-Day-1-2015-09-25-026