Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Sept 15, 2014 18:37:35 GMT -6
www.richmond.com/events/article_f9cbf628-3c53-11e4-a64c-001a4bcf6878.html
Review: Wizard World Richmond Comic Con is For the Kid in Everyone
Posted: Sunday, September 14, 2014 5:13 pm
Wizard World Richmond Comic Con is like every other professional conference you’ve ever been to - the only difference is that everyone at Comic Con is giddy to be there.
It's clear from the moment attendees walk through the door.
You’re looking around trying to get your bearings; your companion elbows you, points at something unbelievable—like an eight-foot-tall armor-plated Space Marine—you look, smile and nod.
The overdose of nostalgia, visual stimulation and resulting euphoria is as strong as any drug.
Most people think Comic Con, which took place over the weekend at the Richmond Convention Center, is about collecting comic books, but 60 illustrators give the exhibit hall a feeling more like an art show.
Up-and-coming artists, like Justin Orr, talk about being inspired by the minimalist style he learned working for Nickelodeon, while veteran artists whose names you never knew reveal the significant effect they had on your childhood as creators or illustrators of your favorite characters.
In the hall, Kevin Eastman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Heavy Metal magazine) was the big-man-on-campus due to the recent release of another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. At T-Miller’s Sports Bar & Grill, he ate unnoticed by fellow diners.
Those of us who grew-up with Saturday morning cartoons may not have know that Tom Cook drew for nearly every major cartoon franchise of the 1980s including He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra: Princess of Power, Thundaar the Barbarian, Ghostbusters, Plastic Man and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.
The people in the booths aren’t the only artists in the room.
Many attendees demonstrate their creativity and adoration of their favorite games, movies, television shows, or comic book characters by crafting costumes—known as Cosplay.
Some of the costumes are simple, some are clever and others are executed with exacting detail. As you might expect, there were Batmen, Supermen, and Wonder Women.
The HBO series Game of Thrones seemed popular as a few Daenerys Targaryens walked the floor. The most creative was a young woman’s portrayal of Ripley in her Caterpillar P-5000 Power Loader from the movie Aliens. The vehicle was constructed from cardboard, PVC pipe, and plywood.
There were some disappointments along the way as a number of the featured guests cancelled due to scheduling conflicts before the convention began.
The greatest blow was Saturday’s last-minute cancellation due to illness by James Marsters, who portrayed the punk-rock vampire in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Announced as the audience was taking its seats in the Convention Center’s Grand Ballroom, there was an audible sigh, but not a single boo or hiss.
As fans, the crowd seemed to mentally send their wishes for a speedy recovery (which must have worked since Marsters attended the show on Sunday) and left with the same boundless enthusiasm they arrived with.
The special guests that did attend, including Batman’s surprisingly raunchy Adam West and Burt Ward, B-movie fan favorite Bruce Campbell, Sons of Anarchy and Hellboy star Ron Pearlman and Guardians of the Galaxy’s Michael Rooker and Dave Bautista were all sincere, entertaining and humbled by Richmond’s response to their work. And that’s exactly what it is: work.
Although it is clear that they love their fans, the artists and celebrities who attend these shows do it to earn a living (indicated by the $20-$65 price tag for autographs and upwards of $65 for photos).
Outward appearances don’t suggest that being asked about your favorite project or next venture time-and-time again could be exhausting, but it must be.
One artist mentioned that they sometimes can’t tell which part of the country they’re in until a local accent tips them off (Richmonders don’t have one).
The hilarious and acerbic Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, Burn Notice) clearly drove directly from the airport to the Convention Center and remarked, “I like old cities with crumbling brick infrastructure. The pavement so worn off that you’re just going back to the cobblestones.”
As soon as they whisked him off-stage, he was on his way back to the airport.
The overwhelming message at Comic Con is that you can proudly be whoever or whatever you want to be, and that level of acceptance makes us all feel like superheroes. Behind the mask, however, there’s a multi-million dollar business.
Animator Tom Cook thanked the audience for “loving the things that he loved working on,” and now makes his living providing convention audiences with a connection to their childhoods.
It comes at a cost.
The notoriously sarcastic Bruce Campbell summed it up. When asked what his favorite projects were, he responded, “the ones where the checks cleared.”
Ultimately, Comic Con is like every other convention, it's about making a living.
By Andrew Talkov
Review: Wizard World Richmond Comic Con is For the Kid in Everyone
Posted: Sunday, September 14, 2014 5:13 pm
Wizard World Richmond Comic Con is like every other professional conference you’ve ever been to - the only difference is that everyone at Comic Con is giddy to be there.
It's clear from the moment attendees walk through the door.
You’re looking around trying to get your bearings; your companion elbows you, points at something unbelievable—like an eight-foot-tall armor-plated Space Marine—you look, smile and nod.
The overdose of nostalgia, visual stimulation and resulting euphoria is as strong as any drug.
Most people think Comic Con, which took place over the weekend at the Richmond Convention Center, is about collecting comic books, but 60 illustrators give the exhibit hall a feeling more like an art show.
Up-and-coming artists, like Justin Orr, talk about being inspired by the minimalist style he learned working for Nickelodeon, while veteran artists whose names you never knew reveal the significant effect they had on your childhood as creators or illustrators of your favorite characters.
In the hall, Kevin Eastman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Heavy Metal magazine) was the big-man-on-campus due to the recent release of another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. At T-Miller’s Sports Bar & Grill, he ate unnoticed by fellow diners.
Those of us who grew-up with Saturday morning cartoons may not have know that Tom Cook drew for nearly every major cartoon franchise of the 1980s including He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, She-Ra: Princess of Power, Thundaar the Barbarian, Ghostbusters, Plastic Man and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.
The people in the booths aren’t the only artists in the room.
Many attendees demonstrate their creativity and adoration of their favorite games, movies, television shows, or comic book characters by crafting costumes—known as Cosplay.
Some of the costumes are simple, some are clever and others are executed with exacting detail. As you might expect, there were Batmen, Supermen, and Wonder Women.
The HBO series Game of Thrones seemed popular as a few Daenerys Targaryens walked the floor. The most creative was a young woman’s portrayal of Ripley in her Caterpillar P-5000 Power Loader from the movie Aliens. The vehicle was constructed from cardboard, PVC pipe, and plywood.
There were some disappointments along the way as a number of the featured guests cancelled due to scheduling conflicts before the convention began.
The greatest blow was Saturday’s last-minute cancellation due to illness by James Marsters, who portrayed the punk-rock vampire in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Announced as the audience was taking its seats in the Convention Center’s Grand Ballroom, there was an audible sigh, but not a single boo or hiss.
As fans, the crowd seemed to mentally send their wishes for a speedy recovery (which must have worked since Marsters attended the show on Sunday) and left with the same boundless enthusiasm they arrived with.
The special guests that did attend, including Batman’s surprisingly raunchy Adam West and Burt Ward, B-movie fan favorite Bruce Campbell, Sons of Anarchy and Hellboy star Ron Pearlman and Guardians of the Galaxy’s Michael Rooker and Dave Bautista were all sincere, entertaining and humbled by Richmond’s response to their work. And that’s exactly what it is: work.
Although it is clear that they love their fans, the artists and celebrities who attend these shows do it to earn a living (indicated by the $20-$65 price tag for autographs and upwards of $65 for photos).
Outward appearances don’t suggest that being asked about your favorite project or next venture time-and-time again could be exhausting, but it must be.
One artist mentioned that they sometimes can’t tell which part of the country they’re in until a local accent tips them off (Richmonders don’t have one).
The hilarious and acerbic Bruce Campbell (Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, Burn Notice) clearly drove directly from the airport to the Convention Center and remarked, “I like old cities with crumbling brick infrastructure. The pavement so worn off that you’re just going back to the cobblestones.”
As soon as they whisked him off-stage, he was on his way back to the airport.
The overwhelming message at Comic Con is that you can proudly be whoever or whatever you want to be, and that level of acceptance makes us all feel like superheroes. Behind the mask, however, there’s a multi-million dollar business.
Animator Tom Cook thanked the audience for “loving the things that he loved working on,” and now makes his living providing convention audiences with a connection to their childhoods.
It comes at a cost.
The notoriously sarcastic Bruce Campbell summed it up. When asked what his favorite projects were, he responded, “the ones where the checks cleared.”
Ultimately, Comic Con is like every other convention, it's about making a living.
By Andrew Talkov