TheLadySpeaks

The Lady Speaks. . .C2E2 Observations Om and I somewhat disagree about C2E2. I'll let him tell you why he thought it was a great con and now I'll tell you why I thought it was okay. Admittedly, a big part of my problem is Chicago. C2E2 is at the McCormick Place. There is no good way to get to this location. You have to go through downtown Chicago. This is not a fun experience. Ever. If it were a fun experience, I'd spend a lot more time in Chicago. One could take the Hiawatha Amtrak from Milwaukee to Chicago. It would take about 90 minutes (if everything is on time) but the cost is $54/person round trip which means you're spending over a $100. While parking is expensive, it's nowhere near that expensive. So driving is economical, but it takes a little more time depending on when you leave Milwaukee and what the traffic situation is. On our outing we left Milwaukee at 6:08am and were eating breakfast at the Bongo Room on Wabash by 9 am. We were able to get to McCormick and park a little before 10am. That left me just enough time to queue up for Starbucks and we were on the floor by 10:10am. Unlike Wizard World where you have to queue up to get your wristbands and get ushered onto the floor, at C2E2 you have a badge on a lanyard and pretty much just cruise on in. The floor didn't start to get crowded until nearly 2pm which was really nice. The aisles are wide and there are plenty of zones where you can stop and recombobulate (or, in my case, fight down some anxiety). But there weren't areas set up where you could sit down and gather yourself like there are at Wizard World. This show is designed to keep you on your feet and moving. They had a video gaming area set up similar to what Wizard World had last year. I don't know if they had any competitions planned. There was a table top gaming area that was pretty popular. The big publishers were right at the front of the show so you saw them as you entered. Indie publishers were spread throughout the floor but you could tell they were trying to keep them close to the front. Artists' Alley was nicely designated and it truly was an artists' alley. I didn't see any of the craftsy booths that you see at Wizard World in this Artist's Alley. The autograph area was behind Artist's Alley and didn't bleed at all onto the floor or Artists' Alley. A stage was setup for some entertainment, but I never saw it in use. The panels were up a level which kept that traffic off the floor but it wouldn't really have mattered because unlike Wizard World's setup, C2E2 has massive dead zones surrounding the floor. The floor is clearly marked by black temporary walls and behind those it was acres of bare concrete. No chairs, no tables, nothing but dead space. Since it wasn't inviting, not many people were in those areas. One thing that drove me crazy about the floor was that there were bathroom signs but no bathrooms. Often the bathrooms were either up a level or down a half level and it wasn't always clear where the access points were. Additionally, there wasn't much in the way of food/beverage vending. There was a restaurant/food courtish area above the main floor. I heard a lot of people grumble about the lack of alcoholic beverages. Where Wizard has alcohol vendors placed throughout the floor plan, C2E2 doesn't. Revolution Brewing was set up and selling beers and I saw some people with Coors Light bottles so I'm guessing they were getting those from the restaurant area. There were 3 energy drink booths on the floor--Mutant (Monster), Amp Organic, and 5 Hour Energy. Wild Bill's Soda was there, much to chagrin. Had I taken any peeks in advance I could have brought one of my Wizard World mugs and paid $5 for all day soda. Instead, I bought a C2E2 mug and made sure to capitalize on as much soda as I could. Other oddball booths included one reptile sanctuary and there was something else with animals but it was off to the side and I never checked it out. Equilibrium's Urban Survival Bags was set up and my favorite, Harebrained (aka Period Panties) was also at C2E2. Sadly, I learned about Harebrained after buying my two Murder Hoods so I couldn't splurge like I'd normally. There was also one booth dedicated to books--as in hard copy, dead tree, old school books. Not graphic novels, but actual books. Overall, there were far less miscellaneous (i.e. not pop culture) related booths. No one was trying sell Lasik surgery or tens units or neck pillows. No one tried to get my DNA for science (although there was a Blood Drive). There was also less repetition of booths. Some companies set up at Wizard World and have 4 or 5 booths (this is especially true of some of the booths that sell Pusheen, Neko Atsume, Pokemon plushies). Even InStylin' and Super Hero Stuff only had one booth each and at Wizard World they'll have a minimum of 3 booths anchoring the floor. While it's nice to not have the repetition, one thing you lose out on is the ability to bargain hunt. At Wizard World a $10 Pop Funko near the door will be $8 near the back of the floor. C2E2 prices are consistent and set because there's not as much competition. So Pop Funko and action figure hunting loses a bit of its luster. Many of the vendors were familiar, however, after attending 5+ years of Wizard World. That made shopping easier. I could skip the ones I recognized because I know I'll see them in August and the prices will probably be better. Examples of familiar booths include the glassware booth where I bought my Assassin's Creed stein last year, the pocket watch vendor who sets up with the purple LED tree, Poetic Earth Journals, some of the Steampunk stores, Chicago Costume, etc. I concentrated on the ones I hadn't seen before which is how I ended up with my Murder Hoods. Normally I'm a big buyer of t-shirts but I felt like there wasn't a whole lot new in t-shirt design. And prices were higher than I like with the cheapest t-shirts coming in at $20 and going up from there. There was one booth with some kick Godzilla t-shirts but they were $52.50! Besides, the last t-shirt I bought is pretty much the coolest ever: In general, it was a younger crowd. Younger than Wizard World, anyhow. I'd put the average age at maybe mid to late 20's. And there was a ton more cosplaying going on, some of it super elaborate and a good chunk of it obscure. I found myself often not knowing what character someone was. Spider-Man was popular as were Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. Firefly had a strong showing (Kaylee and Mal, mostly) and of course, Star Wars cosplay was prominent. Gender bending characters remain popular, especially Nintendo characters. There were quite a few Assassin's Creed assassins running around, which made me happy. The best costume that I saw was a full-on battle mode Hella from Thor: Ragnarok. If I can think of anything else, I'll be sure to post. But my overall opinion of C2E2 is positive, but I didn't fall in love with it. Maybe if we go again and I know what to expect I'll enjoy it more.

The Lady Speaks. . .C2E2 The Haul I'm working on a second post that comprises my general thoughts about C2E2 but for now I'll just post my haul. The first things I purchased were from Artists' Alley. I knew I was going to track down Terry Moore and get something because it was in 1999 when I first met him. There was a line of about four so I decided to queue up earlier rather than risk large lines later. Most of what he had was Motor Girl based. There was scant Strangers in Paradise stuff to buy except for the big dog Omnibus. I ended up settling on a the 25th Anniversary Sketchbook. Moore wasn't very chatty but his wife was. We reminisced about Wizard World Chicago back when it was about the comics. She likened it to a flea market and I can't exactly disagree. It's definitely moved away from publishers. After visiting Moore, I decided to pop in on Jim Mahfood. He only ever had one or two people around him so it was no big deal to stop. I purchased a Tank Girl print and had him draw on it. He drew in pencil which was a little weird, but I rolled with it. The image below isn't my copy, that one is currently protected so it can go on display in my office. My two big splurges were Assassin's Creed inspired hoodies from Volante Design. I've long coveted their stuff on their website but I worry about purchasing without trying on, especially with pieces this expensive. I call them Murder Hood 1 and Murder Hood 2. Murder Hood 1 is a red and black pullover while Murder Hood 2 is a blue and black zip up. Again, the pictures are not of me. They're from the website. They also have super cool more detailed pieces but they can get upwards of $500 and that's just quite a lot. Two smaller purchases I made were a Poetic Earth journal. I have six of these things and can't help myself. When I see them, I buy them. My newest is called Nordic Raven and Skull. Additionally, I bought a plushie Porg. It was inevitable, really. All in all, I had a budget of about $500 and limped home with not much. The hoodies were the bulk of my expenditures and I regret nothing.

You know, I don't have those books. Are they under the Comico imprint? This is part of what makes Grendel frustrating to collect. Just when I think I've hit the end, I find out there's more!

The Lady Speaks. . .A Unicorn, Grendel, and C2E2 It's been a great while since my last update. I apologize for that. In part, I'm still struggling with my current collecting goals but mostly it's just been busy, busy, busy. So here's a quick update. 1. I found X-Men Essentials volume 1 at Burnham Bowl at the end of March. I'd been told by several dealers that I'd never find it because it was out of print. So it was really exciting to find it in the wild for $10. I think I only need volume 3 to complete my collection. So while it's not a true unicorn, I feel like I accomplished something when I popped on this. 2. OM told me about the debate surrounding Gambit's actual first appearance. Conventional wisdom says it's Uncanny X-Men 266 which right now is not an economic book to buy. But then OM told me that there is a growing number of people who think it's actually Uncanny X-Men Annual 14. The Marvel Wikia agrees that Uncanny X-Men Annual 14 is Gambit's first appearance. While at the Turning Page on Saturday I found a copy for $15 so I picked it up. Ultimately I'll get an Uncanny X-Men 266, but for now owning Annual 14 and Uncanny X-Men 267 is satisfying. That means that the X-Men issues I want are #96 (1st Moira McTaggert), #129 (1st Kitty Pryde), and the long shot Giant-Sized X-Men #1. I'd also like to score a Captain Britain #8 (1st appearance of Psylocke). Additionally I hope to pick up Detective Comics #267 (1st appearance of Bat Mite) and Detective Comics #230 (1st appearance of Mad Hatter). 3. On Friday we cruised over to Madison just to burn some go-juice and see some country. While there we visited Graham Cracker Comics. That was my first Graham Cracker experience ever. In the back issues I was able to find original Comico Grendel's and I scored almost the entirety of the run. I 'm down to just needing issue #27. That means I have 39 of 40 issues. Someday when Grendel takes off, I'll be sitting pretty. I do not own Grendel's first appearance which is in Comico's Primer #2 but Grendel #1 is his second appearance. Grendel is an irritating title to collect because of the many, many, many mini runs that happened after the initial 40 issue run. I have complete mini-runs of War Child; Behold the Devil; Grendel Tales Devil's Apprentice; Grendel Tales Four Devils, One Hell; Grendel Tales Devil's Hammer; Grendel Tales Devil in Our Midst; Grendel Tales Homecoming; Grendel Tales Devil's Choices; Grendel Devil Quest; Grendel Devil by the Deed; Black, White, And Red; and Grendel Cycle. I am short a few issues of Grendel God and Devil. While I own the three volume Omnibus, I'm still not entirely sure how much more is out there for me to collect as the Omnibus is organized not chronologically but by characters/cycles. And I'm not even counting the various cross-overs with Batman, although I do own a few of those as well. 4. Friday will mark our first foray into C2E2. It seems like for every super positive review I hear about C2E2 being superior to Wizard World, I hear one that says that it's not that great for comics, that' it's too crowded, that parking sucks, etc. But I keep hearing it's good for video games so that has me super intrigued. I'm not exactly cosplaying, but I am going to rock my Rogue and Gambit leggings. Not only are they my favorite X-Men of all time, but I'm also collecting the Rogue and Gambit comic title and it's taking me back to the early 90's when the X-Men were my reality tv fix in terms of drama, relationships, romance, back stabbing, and other good things. Who can forget this moment in X history? X-Men 24 (1993) They even kissed in the animated series! The new title. 5. Assassin's Creed Origin continues to entertain, but I think I accidentally finished the main quest without paying attention because I skip the cinematics. Now I'm cruising through the newest DLC Curse of the Pharoahs but I'm in a bit of a pickle when fighting Nefertiti in the afterlife. However, it's spring break so I am confident I will defeat her either today or tomorrow (unless I have to report for Jury Duty). That's the report from The Lady Speaks!

The Lady Speaks. . .Update (of sorts) A few days ago I had written a beautiful post about all sorts of things only to fat-thumb my way into deleting the entire thing. It's taken me a few days to recover. So I'm trying again. As OM has mentioned our transition from the Collector's Edge East to the Turning Page has not been exactly smooth. The Turning Page really only carries the big three--DC, Marvel, Image. Most of my titles come from other publishers, Titan and Oni being the two I'm most likely to order from. Of the titles I've been collecting, only two are from the Big Three--Batman Beyond (DC) and No. 1 With a Bullet (Image). No. 1 With a Bullet is a grim comic about the evils of social media done in very bright colors. As a result, my collecting energies have been put into video games. Well, one game mainly. Assassin's Creed: Origins has become my jam. I bought it the day it dropped in November but it took a few weeks before I was able to actually play the game. Since then, it's become my only game. I don't know how many hours into I am, but I bet I'm only 25% into the main quest. While I've always been an AC fan, I have to admit this one is just about perfect. The setting and the fact that it is a huge open world with RPG elements make it pretty much my dream game. When I say huge open world, I mean just that. The map is massive and there are so many fantastic things to explore. One really cool aspect to this game is that everything gives you XP. Whether it's finding a new location, slaying enemies, fighting hippos, or finding synchronization spots (just to give a few examples), everything is worth some XP. The setting is Ancient Egypt. As all AC games are this one is gorgeous. For anyone who has ever wanted to scale the pyramids at Giza or mess around The Great Sphinx, this game is for you. I wish I could tell you more about the story line but to be honest, I don't even care about the story line. All my interest is in leveling up at the moment and exploring through side quests. Why do I want to level up? It's really quite simple. They've been running this limited time campaign called Trials of the Gods where you get to take on Anubis, Sekhmet, and Sobek. But in order to do it, you have to be a level 40, the maximum the game currently allows (two new DLCs coming out next week and in March will allow you to reach levels 45 and 55, respectively). When UbiSoft first ran the Trials of the Gods, it was about two weeks after the game dropped. People were really upset because very, very, very few were able to reach level 40 in that amount of time. UbiSoft heard the complaints and ran it again this month. I'm currently a level 36 (about to hit level 37) so I missed out on the trials the second time. According to online sources, UbiSoft will be running them again so my focus is on reaching level 40. Anubis, Sekhment, and Sobek in the Trials of the Gods. It looks so cool! While I haven't been able to do the Trials of the Gods, I did accidentally finish a limited time quest that was a crossover with the Final Fantasy world. For my effort I was awarded a special sword, shield, and a crazy new mount that is a feathered bird camel thing. Some people have complained about the Ability Tree and the loss of Eagle Vision. I have no issue with either of those. The Ability Tree is similar to what was in Syndicate in the sense that eventually you will earn all the ability points and get all the abilities. You just work on different branches--Warrior, Seer, Hunter. As for Eagle Vision, this time you actually have an eagle! Its name is Senu and you can call upon it at any time to reconnoiter the lay of the land. Every time you find a synchronization point Senu's abilities improve. My main quibble is that it took a bit of time to get the hidden blade; however, there isn't the super annoying tutorial level that one has to endure in the earlier iterations. The crafting is what it is. Ever since they added the bombs to craft in Revelation that has been one of the weakest parts of the game. I guess Black Flag made the best use of the crafting, but it's not that exciting for me. Basically you kill animals and can dismantle weapons to get materials to upgrade your breastplate, hidden blade, quiver, tool bag, and bracer. My experience so far has been that the game plays is smooth and there were far fewer bugs than I expect in an AC game. I guess UbiSoft did learn from the Unity fiasco. It's still in the third person and you still can play full-on stealth if you want, but there is a sweet array of weapons if you're more of a melee assassin. I like the bows quite a bit. Fan favorite the sleeping dart still exists and now you have a fire bomb as well. I love the different costumes one can either buy or earn through quests. Currently I'm wearing the mummy armor. I love that this armor gives you red eyes. Also, when you move, sand falls from the wrappings. Such great detail. While the mummy armor is cool, my favorite is the scarab soldier armor. I also love that in AC:O I can buy all the horses and camels I can afford. Unlike previous versions of AC, this one gives you a mount from the get-go. Then you can purchase additional or win them through quests. Each animal comes with a description and its own personality. Some like fighting, some run away from conflict, some wait for you, others leave immediately. The horses tend to be faster in non-desert settings while the camels cruise over sand. (Disclaimer: They may not really act all that different and it's just me anthropomorphizing them) That's been fun. And unlike the horror show that is Skyrim, your animals can't die. That's been fun. Because it's Ancient Egypt, the towns are teeming with cats. Thankfully you can't hurt the cats, but I do wish you could pet them like you could in AC:III. While I hated AC:III in so many ways, I did enjoy petting the animals. Basically, I don't see my love with this game ending anytime soon. There's so much to see and do, plus Ancient Egypt is so cool. The only two games coming out this year on my radar are the remastered version of AC: Rogue and Darksiders III. Rogue I own for the PS3 but I never played it because I purchased the game after I put away the PS3 for the PS4. Darskiders III has a comic book connection. I played Darksiders I on the PS3 and loved it. The art is gorgeous, probably because it's the brain child of Joe Madureira. Joe Mad! as he was known in the 90's is probably most famous for the comic book Battlechasers and his work on the Uncanny X-Men. Obviously not the X-Men, but you can get a sense of the art. Darksiders is a series of third person games where you play as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In the first one you play as War: In the second one you play as Death: And in the third one you will be able to play as Fury, the first woman main character: After I play a time intensive RPG, I usually cleanse my palate with a good ol' button masher. The Darksider games are excellent in this regard. They're visually appealing and fairly straightforward, always a nice change of pace from an RPG. So, for the time being that's it from the world of The Lady. Oh, I want to give a shoutout to OM for finding the last issue of Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children that I needed! This was a title put out by Piranha Press, a DC indie imprint, from 1989 to 1992. They are morbid, macabre, sick twisted little tales. Not for the faint of heart. The run consists of 30 issues. I bought a bunch of issues back in 1992-93 from a dollar bin at the comic book store in Kalispell, Montana. My hometown, Whitefish, didn't have an LCS so Kalispell was the closest. It's taken 25 years, but now the collection is complete! Thanks OM!

The Lady Speaks. . .A General Update So, Venomverse ended as I thought it would and it was a letdown considering how much fun the story was up to the final issue. There have been a few rough spots migrating to our new LCS. The new place, the revived Turning Page, really only carries DC, Marvel, and Image comics. My pull list includes exactly two titles from those three publishers. I collect Batman Beyond (DC) and No 1 With a Bullet (Image). All of my other pulls are from smaller publishers. So there's been a bit of a lag as the new place catches up with my pulls. In the meantime, I'm missing two issues of The Damned (Oni) and two issues of Heavenly Blues (Scout Comics). I'm sure I can find them at Lost World of Wonders or, if need be, online. In other news, Titan is releasing a new 4 issue Assassin's Creed title based on the new game AC: Origins. I actually preordered the game, but I haven't even unwrapped it yet. I'm waiting for Thanksgiving Break to try it out. I actually haven't touched my PS4 in three weeks! I still haven't played the newest Dishonored game, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider. Before I stopped playing my PS4, I was playing Dragon Age: Inquisition for the third time. Something about the fall makes me yearn for RPG's and high fantasy. So I replay DA or Skyrim, I read books based on DA's world, and/or I re-read The Dragonlance Chronicles. In even bigger news--Strangers in Paradise is coming back! For the 25th anniversary of the title, Abstract and Terry Moore are bringing SIP back! I'm super excited for this title to return. SIP was one of the first runs I completed and remains a favorite story of mine. I met Terry Moore back in 1999 at Wizard World Chicago and was so dumbstruck all I could do was giggle when he talked to me. In general, I've slowed a bit with collecting which is natural for me post-Wizard World and at the beginning of the school year. Although, I did pre-order this fellow. . . He'll be released in February. I think this will be the last of the Pop! Funko's I purchase. It seems that between this guy and Sharknado, I've reached peak Pop!

The Lady Speaks. . .Venomverse As I've said before, I'm not much into superheroes these days. I do still collect Batman Beyond and I'm sporadically gathering back issues of the X titles, but other than that, I don't care much about them. One of my complaints about our new LCS, the Turning Page, is that their new comics literally consist of only Image, DC, and Marvel. If you want anything else, you have to special order it because it won't be on the shelf. That means I'm heading to Lost World of Wonders while my subscriptions are in between our old LCS and the Turning Page. Anyway, I digress. I'm not a superhero fan, but OM's been gathering the Venomverse comics. I picked up issue #1 rather randomly and I found myself, dare I say, hooked? It's a great science fiction plot. The series only runs for 5 issues and we're on issue #3 but I find myself looking forward to the next issue. Basic plot: Venom gets sucked into an alternate world where a bevy of superheroes have been Venomized. There's been quite a bit written about how Venomverse #1 pays homage to The Amazing Spider-Man #361. The Venomverse cover depicts a Poison (white) and a Venom (black). I imagine some of the fun for readers is identifying Rocket Raccoon, Dr. Strange, Spider-Man, X-23, Wolverine, and others. But they're not the bad guys! The bad guys are the Poisoned superheroes and villains who have been taken over by a different type of symbiote that hunts Venoms. The baddies have such heavy hitters as Dr. Doom, Bullseye, and Hulk. I'm not listing all the characters because that might be considered spoilery. But I will include a picture! There's an urgency to this story that makes it fun to read and as I said before, the core story is very much science fiction. I think I know what the big twist is going to be but I'll have to wait until #4 to see if I'm right. If you get a chance, pick this one up. It's worth it.

The Lady Speaks. . .Wizard World Chicago 2017 This recap won't be nearly as extensive as prior years. I will cover vendors and cosplay and general aspects while OM will cover the comics side of things. We arrived at the convention center at 11:30am on Friday to queue for entry. Right away we noticed the crowd was smaller, much smaller. Even the VIP section was maybe half the size that it usually is on a Friday. Listening to crowd chatter around us we learned two things: 1) the late August date affected many people because school is in session so families weren't able to attend on Friday (remember, the con runs 12-7p on Friday so by the time the kids are out of school and everyone is ready to go to the con, you probably will only have a few hours on the floor. At $50+ a ticket, that's not a good investment.) and 2) David Tennant pulled out of the con late Thursday night due to family problems. Tennant marked the 8th celebrity to pull out of the con. (WWE® Superstar Kevin Owens™, Elizabeth Olsen, Gaten Matarazzo, Jon Heder, Lennie James, Dule Hill and James Roday also cancelled on Wizard World Chicago). This is not to say that there wasn't still some serious star power on site, although the vast majority seemed to be affiliated with the WWE (this will be a discussion point later). In order to placate outraged Tennant/Doctor Who fans, Wizard World was giving away the farm. If you had purchased VIP tickets you got your money back (fair), still were able to attend the con as a VIP (also fair), were granted admission to all remaining WW cons this season (Nashville, TN; Madison, WI; Biloxi, MS; Montgomery, AL; OK City, OK; Austin, TX; Springfield, MO; Winston-Salem, NC; and possibly even NOLA), AND were even given weekend passes for NEXT YEAR's Wizard World Chicago. A guy in line near us was joking that he might start gambling on VIP tickets for the future if they're going to give away that much. So those are possible reasons the crowds were lighter this year. I'm not exactly complaining. For the first time in years I was able to move freely on the floor and there were hardly any lines anywhere (the autograph section being the exception to the rule). Also, the serious cosplayers once again were in the atrium area which meant there was less photo opportunities gumming up the aisles. And even though the crowds were smaller, almost everyone I saw had a plastic Weekend band on their arm as opposed to my paper Friday only band. People were committed. This was a strange crowd, especially at the beginning. For the first time in years of con attending, I heard people openly mocking "nerds" and "geeks." There was a strong contingent of people who didn't seem to understand what a con is and how to behave. Luckily people rallied to protect one another. I don't want to say this was directly related to the WWE celebrity presence, but there were more WWE stars than I remember seeing in the past. Of course, it could also have something to do with Gene Simmons' presence. I don't know. All I know is that this the first con where I've witnessed men dressing as Harley getting harassed or an African American cosplaying as Star Lord being told "He had no right to dress like that." But within a few hours the antagonists were no longer being vocal or had left, I don't know which. (Pictures come from Popculture HQ, Midlifecrisiscrossover, and Gamestop). At the beginning of the day there were far fewer cosplayers than I've seen in the past; however, by about 2pm the number of costumed individuals had increased substantially. This year marked the second year where gender bending cosplay was really popular. I saw a lot of men cosplaying as Harley Quinn, Sailor Moon, and Wonder Woman. I saw a lot of women cosplaying as Assassin's Creed characters, Gambit, Star Lord, Link (Legend of Zelda), and the Joker. Bob's Burgers was incredibly popular as was Adventure Time but no cartoon was as popular as Rick and Morty this year. Some of my favorites: A Dr. Kreiger and his holographic wife, Captain Marvel, the Maitland's from Beetlejuice, the little Dr. Pepper guy, someone in a Spider-Man Homecoming homemade costume, two people cosplaying as SIMS characters (regular clothes with green diamonds over their heads--so simple and so funny), and Glinda the Good Witch. As far as video game cosplay, this was a good year of Assassin's Creed. Many assassin's of all sizes were running about the con. Fallout remains popular (at least the Vault costume). Five Nights at Freddy's is incredibly popular. The Mario Brothers and gang remain cosplay favorites as does their Nintendo colleagues, Link and Zelda. Bioshock was not very visible this year. Halo and Call of Duty both were rare sightings as opposed to prior years. Overwatch has a decent showing. Star Wars cosplay was probably the most common with easily 2 dozen various Jedi spotted. Jawas, Yoda, Vader, Kylo Ren, Rey, and quite a few Han Solos (of both genders) were also common place. Superheroes were not as prevalent in years past but it was nice to see the X-Men represented. Of course DC's trio of Joker, Harley, and Bats were present. Most of the cosplayers had weekend bands. The vast majority of them stayed in the atrium area. While Wizard World is making money off the tickets, they're not making much else off the cosplayer community. Not that I blame the cosplayers. The experience they're after is vastly different than the comic hunter or the casual shopper. As for vendors. . . well, there were far fewer non-comic/pop culture vendors this year. Dr. McGillicuddy's whisky was on site offering shots which, when I think about it, is nice considering that beers on site ranged from $8-13 and your choices were Bud Light, Stella Artrois, or Goose Island IPA. Needless to say, I did not imbibe this year. Wild Bill's Soda had two stations and using last year's cup, I had free soda refills for $5 all day long. I didn't even need the free 5 Hour Energy I picked up from that booth. The Lasik surgery people were there, the tens unit people were there, the contact lenses people were there, but overall there was less random stuff (like last year with the nail decals). I do think I spotted a Lipsense (MLM) setup in Artists' Alley but I didn't get close enough to confirm. A psychic was on scene but she wasn't doing much business. The animal sanctuary from last year was set up again with animals for photos, but they'd been pushed to the way back on the smaller floor. For once there were no Sugar Glider pimps. Weapon vendors were practically a no-show. One booth had replica swords and there were two "light saber" booths but the plethora of knives, brass knuckles, and Air Soft rifles were nowhere to be seen. There were quite a few empty booths. I did spy a wild game booth and I bought a cookie from a specialty cookie vendor (it was a Watchman cookie, so totally appropriate). There was also a booth called Moonshine Chocolate but I didn't check it out. They were doing pretty brisk business most of the day.\ My favorite vendor was Darwin and Wallace: A Nature & Fossil Store. I purchased a Black Widow in a vial and a giant Isopod (his name is now Alan). The picture is from their website because he's all wrapped up for travel. He will live in my office. I won't include a pic of the Black Widow spider since some people really don't like spiders. The merchandise that seemed to dominate (other than Star Wars and Doctor Who) was probably Bob's Burgers. Game of Thrones had a strong higher end presence in terms of jewelry, banners, and leather working. Harry Potter remains heavily merchandised, as well. While the standard superheroes are still popular there was a definite decline in Archer, Firefly, Supernatural, Sherlock Holmes, and Simpsons gear. Rick and Morty seems to be replacing Adventure Time when it comes to shirts, hats, belts, etc. Teenage Mutant Turtles are all but forgotten, Pacific Rim is so two years ago, and even Transformers appeared to be struggling for representation. Merchandise prices are out-of-control. It used to be an expensive t-shirt was $20. Now, that's a bargain. InStylin' is charging basically $25.50 before tax for everything from hats to shirts to belts. Artists' Alley was pretty cool. There were far more handmade items this year and fewer "I copy other artists' work and add my own twist." People were also far less aggressive with trying to get you to come to their booth. There were also a lot of empty booths. I know one of my favorite artists, Nigel Sade, was not set up on Friday. Obviously he's not responsible for the Wonder Woman covers, but the rest is Nigel Sade's work. Wizard World a while ago started to venture into competitive gaming. I went and checked that out. It was not awesome. There was some sort of tournament going on, Mortal Combat or some Capcom vs whomever deal. About six people were in the audience watching it go down. There was a second possibly PC-based competitive thing going on that had 4 people at it (it looked to be set up for 8-10 maybe). I couldn't catch the game's name, however. Then there was a large area with maybe 12 screens that looked like it could have been cool, but the only game they offered was Smash Bros. I want to point out that there was really no advertising for this feature of Wizard World. I'm guessing about 90% of the attendees didn't even know that this existed. In addition to the video games they had a large area set up for table top gaming. About half of the tables were in use. I estimate they had maybe 14 tables with a decent library of games to choose from. I did still feel bad for the one table top gaming vendor who was positioned near the gaming area. It was a bit out of the way in a no-man's land, although it did allow for a pass through from one part of the floor to the other that didn't involve waving your wrist in the air while security made whooping noises. This is significant. One thing that seemed to be expanded this Wizard World was the entertainment areas. There was a stage in the atrium that had rock bands and pancake artists. On the smaller portion of the floor there was a children's area with another stage that had acts going all day. The main floor had a stage toward the back where artists, writers, cosplayers, and I think I saw a magician were talking about what they do for a living and how to make it as a writer, artist, cosplay, or magician? I didn't go up to the second floor, but there was a blood draw going on there. Rumor has it there was an arcade area set up (which leads me to wonder why you need a separate gaming area, an arcade, and a vendor who offers people the chance to play video games for free). That may have been where the magazine launch was, but I don't know for sure. Much like the gaming area I heard absolutely nothing about the magazine launch outside of a Bleeding Cool article published on August 24. I wish I had some grand assessment or proclamation to make about Wizard World, but I don't. We bat around the idea of hitting up E2C2 every year. It's a tough time for my schedule, but more importantly, C2E2 for me seems like it's for people with very specific agendas. That's not me. I make a list each year, but half the time I forget my list or I just decide it's not worth it. This year my list had Pop! Funko BoJack Horseman and Dead Laura Palmer. I found them both, so I was happy. Happily, I learned my Sharknado Pop! goes for $40 all day long. I also needed two of the Hatter M graphic novels. That was a big strike out. The few graphic novel sellers that were there focused almost solely on superheroes. That meant anything independent was pretty much not going to happen. Graham Cracker Comics had a lot of indie stuff, not what I wanted, but they also don't discount that much. I also learned that X-Men Essentials 1, 3, & 9 are like unicorns and I may never actually find them. I didn't even bother with my comics list because I've learned that most cons are only focused on superheroes. It's getting a bit tiring. I did buy a ton of Star Wars t-shirts, though. Life goals.

The Lady Speaks. . .Observations Things I learned and/or noticed going through Previews: 1. Godshaper is ending with issue #6. I had no idea it was only a six issue run. I can find no information on the internet about whether it was always planned to be six issues or whether it's getting axed. 2. Assassin's Creed: Uprising is not being solicited in October's Previews. There is a TPB labeled vol 2. Again, I was under the impression this was going to be an on-going title because all the press told me it was going to be an ongoing title. Going back to last month's Previews, I see it also not being solicited. I was probably too distracted by the Dishonored 2-shot to notice. This is very frustrating because I'd like a heads up that they're ending a title that I thought was going to be ongoing. Neither Boom! nor Titan have any press as to why the titles are ending, if they're truly done, or if it was intentional all along. Harrumph! Perhaps this description of issue 6 should have been a clue, however; "Giving fans fresh insights into characters from the vast Assassin's Creed universe, including Juhani Otso Berg, Galina Voronina, Kiyoshi Takakura and Arend Schut!" Not much information there. 3. There is a new Dishonored video game coming out in September! Dishonored: Death of the Outsider. Now, I won't go into a huge description of The Outsider. Suffice to say, if you've played the game you know he's the weird alternate reality guy who gives Corvo powers in both Dishonored 1 & 2 and Emily powers in Dishonored 2. He's slightly creepy but very helpful. Granted, I haven't finished 2 yet because my brain is working in overdrive and I keep doing stupid school preparation, fiction writing, and scholarship instead of loafing. 4. There is a new Looking-Glass War Graphic Novel, UnderFire, coming out. It's a sequel to CrossFire (2016). UnderFire, like most of Beddor's works was funded via Kickstarter. CrossFire was funded through Indiegogo. The original novel trilogy The Looking Glass Wars (2006), Seeing Redd (2007), and ArchEnemy (2009) were published by Dial. Out of that series was the comic spin-off Hatter M: The Looking Glass Wars (2006), published by Image. Those turned into 6 graphic novels on Beddor's own imprint, Automatic Pictures Publishing and financed through Kickstarter. Those titles are Hatter M: Far From Wonder (2008), Mad With Wonder (2009), Nature of Wonder (2010), Zen of Wonder (2013), Seeking Wonder (2015) (actually a collection of webisodes), and Love of Wonder (2015). It appears Hatter M is now appearing in a young adult series as a teenager. The art was terrible in CrossFire so I have no idea how UnderFire will go. But I will buy it because someday I will write the definitive book on this world, if I can get caught up on Hatter M, that is. Anyway, those were the things I learned by flipping through previews.

The Lady Speaks. . .Superheroes, Fictional Damages, and SDCC Okay, so today I saw this article "Politicians to address budgeting for superhero-damaged cities at Comic Con" on the political website, The Hill. At first I thought it was just a clever attempt by local and state government to connect with the general populous through the comic con medium. But the more I read the short article, the more I'm convinced that this is a panel designed to convince people that there are large-scale destruction action plans in place and that they're using contemporary super hero movies as examples. And that the gubernatorial candidate is using this as part of his campaign. Brilliant? Shady? Not sure. The panel is titled "Who Cleans Up the Mess?" and it is scheduled at 11am on July 22. It will be facing competition from panels such as "Nerd Up or Shut Up," "Marvel Studios Theatrical Prop Development," "Comics Greats on Will Eisner's The Spirit," and a panel from CBLDF: "Equipping Teachers to Defend Comics." It's not like this is a new concept. In 2012, the company Kinetic Assessment Corp was hired by The Hollywood Reporter to assess the amount of damage New York experienced in the first Avengers movie. The total was $160 billion but there was little loss of life. One year later, the same company determined that Superman's battle with Zod had damages of nearly $2 trillion, a loss of life around 130,000 with another 1 million injured, and had an impact equal to that of an atomic bomb. I have on an external hard drive the original memo they released on Superman and they actually stated they didn't feel comfortable doing a full assessment because the loss of life and injuries were so great. You'll just have to trust me on that. I used the memos (Avengers and Superman) in my Technical Communication class as examples of not just proper format but how to quickly convey important information. That's besides the point, however. Since then, it seems the amount of property damage in superhero movies has continued to escalate. I know that Ultron's Sokovia is a fictional location and I know they did that precisely because they were getting criticism for continually trashing New York. New York has born the brunt of several superhero movies, including Watchmen, Dr. Strange, Amazing Spider-Man 2, not mention its portrayal as Gotham/Metropolis in the DCU. Even Sony/Marvel's Spiderman: Homecoming had an incredible amount of destruction at the levels of civilian, corporate, and national monuments. Again, though, I am reminded of watching Batman Beyond cartoons in the early 2000's and wondering how Gotham could afford all the infrastructure damage that Terry and crew managed to dish out episode after episode. That being a cartoon, however, it was easy to logically rectify. The Avengers takes pains to show rebuilding efforts, as did DCU's Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice. The more I think about it, the more I think this is a clever thing for politicians to do. After all, what if something bigger than Hurricane Katrina hits the Eastern Seaboard? What if the anticipated quake of the Pacific Northwest happens? While these events are not superhero related, they are major catastrophic events and it is nice to know that there are people thinking and planning accordingly and that they are willing to share that information rather than hide behind closed doors. Using superheroes as analogies may actually inspire people to not be so complacent. Just another convergence of popular culture and the real world.

The Lady Speaks. . .Annual Comic Con Angst Om and I skipped Mighty Con last month. It coincided with our favorite neighborhood music festival, Summer Soulstice. We did hit up June's Burnham Bowl because it's really not that much of a commitment. It's $2 to get in and few hours of time. We're gearing up for Wizard World Chicago, our annual big con. SDCC is financially, temporally, and ticket-wise out of reach until it splits into two cons or suddenly everyone loses interest in Hollywood. Or superhero fatigue causes the transmedia properties to lose their luster. So not any time soon. I know many people have issues with Wizard World and I don't blame them. People around here say C2E2 is the way to go, but the timing doesn't work for my teaching schedule. Wizard World has taken a few knocks this year. Their earnings are down, they had to cancel their cruise, they cut six cons from their schedule, reduced their stake in ConTV, and they're trying to drum up new fans by adding Gene Simmons to their larger cons. Now in an odd twist, former Wizard CEO John Macaluso is starting a new series of cons called the Fandemic Tour. This is the logo in the Bleeding Cool article, so I guess this is it? Apparently Macaluso is pleased that it's the first convention named after an "unstoppable infectious disease." Right now details are fairly vague other than it's going to be pop culture centric and have a lot of your favorite celebrities present such as Norman Reedus (does he do anything else anymore?), Bruce Campebell, Jeffery Dean Morgan, and Michael Rooker. Macaluso mentions some token creators as well. It sounds a lot like Wizard World and will kick off mid September in Houston opposite Heroes and Villains Fan Fest in NY and the week before both Baltimore Comicon and Wizard World Madison. The website announces itself as a "New Comic Convention Experience" but doesn't offer much else. There are some vague platitudes from Reedus and Morgan. Prices range from $35 for Friday to $75 for a weekend pass, making it much cheaper than WW Chicago (for an example). There's no schedule at the moment nor are any vendors listed. They have a lot of ground to cover in two months. As I've posted in the past, I still find myself surprised that Madison is holding a Wizard World, especially since it's now in September as opposed to its original April date. By holding it in September they're pretty much guaranteeing a majority of con goers in the Illinois and Wisconsin area won't go to Madison because Chicago will have been not even a month prior. As much as I enjoyed WW Madison, let me go on record to say--it doesn't hold a candle to Chicago in terms of the variety of vendors and entertainment. If I have to choose between the two, I'm choosing Chicago. No, really. I already bought my Chicago tickets. So the already crowded con landscape appears to be getting another contender, one who is trying to promise something different but whose setup looks awfully familiar. Will Fandemic last?

The Lady Speaks. . .Superhero Movies, a State of the Union (Really Just an Excuse to Write about Wonder Woman) I've been in a weird space with superhero movies. I just don't find myself being all that excited about many of the upcoming superhero entries. On the other hand, I'm kind of ridiculously thrilled by Thor: Ragnarok and I haven't seen either of the preceding Thor movies. Ragnarok just looks like fun. And using Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" doesn't hurt. OM and I recently rewatched Suicide Squad. I needed to know if it was as bad as I remembered or if maybe I was just being harsh. No. It's bad. It's like there was a movie and then another movie squatted in it. They would have done better to leave the Joker out entirely. And I still don't like Margot Robbie's Harley. To her credit, she wants to do a Bombshells movie because she doesn't think Suicide Squad Harley was a good representation of the character. Enchantress is terrible, too. Like too bad to even be a good B-movie villain. I really want to see Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, but Cara Delevingne is one of the stars. That makes me nervous. Not to mention both stars look like they're 15, but I knew there was a day coming when that would happen. Just the price of getting older. However, if I have to sit through two hours of her alternating between wooden pretty face and scenery chewer, it might ruin what is sure to be a gorgeous film. Since Valerian is based on a graphic novel, I think it belongs in this discussion. One of my goals before it drops on July 22 is to read the source material. (Not in the original French because that would take me forever). . Of course this post is going to go all fangirl on Wonder Woman. While it was not a perfect movie, it was heads and shoulders above the vast majority that have come out in the past two years. I saw Logan when it came out and I was not impressed. While it was a fitting end to Wolverine's story, the movie itself was so deeply flawed. And kind of boring. I've already written about Guardians Vol 2, another over hyped and overly praised movie that was chaotic and boring at the same time. The humor was derivative and recycled, the soundtrack forced, and there was so much exposition between characters. Plus, the women do nothing in the Guardian movies but beat each other up and pose for Starlord's male gaze. Barf. Wonder Woman was refreshing because Wonder Woman did what she did free of paternalism and without emasculating the men with whom she traveled. It was funny at moments without being slapstick or pop culture heavy (a la Family Guy, the worst show ever). It was feminist without being hateful. The movie showed respect between a man and a woman and yes, they had sex, but it didn't drain her of powers or give him some freaky empowerment. My hats off to Chris Pine for doing a wonderful job. Very few actors would have been able to be in this movie and not make it all about them. They managed the "fish out of water" trope without making it silly or twee. She was a freaking superhero! She has Captain America's moral compass, the strength of Thor, the wit of Tony Stark, and she still manages to not be a caricature. Quite frankly, Wonder Woman was so complete that I now have a hard time imagining Batfleck being able to stay a step ahead of her unless he gets horribly manipulative (which is Bats' MO, to be honest). From the opening scene where a young Diana mimics the moves of the training Amazon's, I knew it was going to be good. I think every woman who grew up in the 70's and 80's played in Wonder Woman underoos with tinfoil bracelets, a cardboard crown, and some sort of rope. And I imagine many of us upon seeing that opening had a teary-eyed moment. It was like seeing the scrolling credits of The Force Awakens. It was happy nostalgia. This image is not from the movie. It is from a HuffingtonPost article about a father who, in the tired language of the internet, "transforms his 3 year old daughter into Wonder Woman." I think this image is great because this is how I felt watching that movie. Yes, there have been many strong women on film and in television, but there is something visceral about this portrayal of one of the few women idols I had as a little girl. (I don't count Barbie). For the first time in a long time, I left a movie feeling optimistic and energized.

The Lady Speaks. . .Godshaper #2 I know this is late in coming but I've been thinking about it quite a bit, trying to figure out what I want to say. A lot happens in this issue. We meet Ennay's sometime lover/fellow Godshaper/super dodgy friend named Clench. I liked the way the sexuality is handled in this issue. It's not in-your-face nor is it so subtle as to be easily missed. Bud doesn't like Clench, for good reason it turns out. Clench is traveling with a young girl who is also a Godshaper. Her name is Sal. The parallel between Godshapers and transients is nice and draws attention to the deeper current of the book about the conflicts between religion, society, race, gender, sexuality, and consumerism. (OM's new favorite book Rock Candy Mountain deals with some of the same issues but with literal hobos and The Devil). However, it's odd that there would be this many Godshapers in one area since the rule is one Godshaper per town. We get a lot of Ennay's views on Godshapers and we learn a bit about Ennay's old crew, The Cumpa Crew. The Cumpa Crew are a bunch of Chicago gangsters with their own gods. At one point in the past, Ennay refused a job with the crew which is why he's been on the run ever since. While Ennay is sleeping, Clench steals Ennay's bike and gear leaving the girl behind. The writing is strong and the humor is good BUT I'm not thrilled at the "add a kid" trope being played so early in the run. Remember Scrappy Doo? Cousin Oliver (The Brady Bunch)? Olivia (The Cosby Show)? Bones' baby (Bones)? Seven (Married, With Children)? And even though he wasn't a child, but he was child-sized The Great Gazoo? My point is this: Godshaper is a funny, witty adult comic book and now that they've added a kid that tenor is going to change. Either it's going to become more kiddified or it's going to get horrific. Now, I've only seen a few pages of the kid who has been kicked out of her house and abandoned because she isn't a believer (as in she doesn't have her own god). We barely know anything about our main characters and now we're going to be adding a third element to the story, one that doesn't need to happen this early. Also, I have a bad feeling that it's going to be inevitable that Bud is either going to go missing or Ennay is going to abandon him. As always the art is amazing. This is a beautiful comic and when the story fires on its cylinders and the two match up, it's a joy to read.

The Lady Speaks. . .Comic Roundup First up: World Reader (Aftershock) This is a book that I guess was hot from issue one. I'm not entirely sold on it yet. We follow Sarah, who is a psychic-type on a space mission with a sympathetic-ish doctor (Dr. Youssef), a devoted astronaut (Harris), and a big ol' pile of cliched mean captain (Captain). Oh, and there's a robot running their ship. It's name is Kirby. They're exploring why planets that once had life are now all dead. Sarah's abilities allow her to contact dead souls on the planets, but Captain thinks she's a seizure-prone liability and doesn't believe nor respect her abilities. After her exploits in issue #1, issue #2 finds her confined to the spaceship. It's not hard for her to convince the AI to let her go, however. Great cover. The first two issues so far have mostly been about Sarah's interactions, Captain's disbelief, and some shoehorned in biblical stories (mainly the Tower of Babel). There's also an attempt to make their mission sound super sneaky and possibly vital to humanity's survival. But since Captain is written so stereotypical and rigid, it's hard to sense much urgency. After to speaking to one soul, Sarah learns that there is something called The Faded Man who is an eater of souls, destroyer of worlds. This inspires Sarah to recruit Harris, steal the ship, and set off for another dead planet which will be the basis of issue 3. As it stands right now, I don't really care about any of the characters and I'm hoping something happens soon. The art isn't really to my liking. The color choices are nice, but the art is simplistic which might work with a complicated story line but at this point, the story isn't that complex. Second Comic: Damned (Oni Press) From the get-go I enjoyed this one. I'm in a bit of a reading rut where I'm drawn to comics involving music, demons, ghosts, and other beings. The protagonist of Damned is a man named Eddie who runs a Jazz club and is, well. . .damned. The issue opens with Eddie running wildly, blood flowing from his slashed throat. Then we go back 24 hours to see what events set up the near-death. Whenever Eddie is about to die (which happens fairly often) if someone touches him or if he touches someone, their soul goes to Hell and he is saved. Being damned, Eddie can see demons' true forms where normal mortals cannot. As a result, he's set up his club to be demon free. Which lasts all of three pages into issue #1 when a crew of demons come looking for a specific soul. Eddie sends them packing and then tries to figure out which soul they wanted. It doesn't take him long to learn that it's his own "friend," Pauly Bones. This sets Eddie on a quest to figure out why the demons want Pauly which also gives a good look at the noirish 1920's-30's world of Damned. Just as Eddie is about to take the soul of a homeless man, a group of non-demonic gangster-type men show up with a volunteer. Eddie does the swap only to learn that everyone in town is highly interested in Pauly Bones. The issue learns with the reveal that Pauly Bones "won" some sort of demon artifact and that's why the demons want him. The art is what I think of when I think Oni Press. It's very dynamic and angular which works with the 1930's gangster noir storyline. The lack of soft rounded lines creates a sense of motion. The muted colors are also very nice, especially since the reds of the demons and blood really pop. Plus it lends an air of grittiness to the overall world. Even inside the jazz club the colors muted and cooler which allows certain characters, such as the singer to stand apart from the rest of the rabble. Much like Godshaper, I'm excited to see where this one goes. It's not an entirely new concept, but if done well, it could be a great transmedia property. If Wicked + Divine and Sex Criminals are being developed for television shows (thanks to the success of Constantine, American Gods, and even the popularity of Lucifer), why not Damned? Next post. . .Godshaper #2

The Lady Speaks. . .Guardians of the Galaxy 2 Having not seen Thor 1, Thor 2, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, I cannot speak to how bad or good those movies may be. What I can say is that Guardians of the Galaxy 2 is the worst movie I've seen in the MCU. I had low expectations for it, mainly because I am so over Chris Pratt, but I was at least expecting a good popcorn dumb movie. It delivered on the dumb. Not so much on the rest. From the opening sequence with dancing Baby Groot, I knew it was going to be slightly annoying but I wasn't prepared for how boring it was. Also, the first 30 minutes felt like there was a Guardians 1.5 I missed. They kept referencing stuff that didn't happen in the first movie but seemed important somehow. Baby Groot is like the Minions. I find him terribly adorable for about five minutes and then just grating after that. Who takes a toddler into battle? Because that's essentially with the Guardians do. Groot is a toddler and they have to babysit him accordingly. The movie does cram in a couple of Baby Groot heavy scenes so if someone is into that, they'll be happy. I won't spoil it, but there's an awful lot of discussions about feelings and parent/family issues. Unlike Avengers who works the personal struggles into the battle scenes, this movie does not. They stand. And talk. And stand some more. And talk. Plus, most of the jokes are recycled from the first movie. They aren't as funny the second time around. Mantis was pretty cool, but she's in the mold of the "hot kick butt chick with the mind of a child" trope that is somewhat insulting. Gamora and Nebula never get to do anything but beat up on each other. Starlord should stick to comedy because Pratt is dreadful at anything but. Rocket was funny until they burdened him with emotions and feels. Drax is probably the highlight of this movie. Kurt Russell was a good choice for Ego but do we really need both Stallone and Hasselhoff wedged into the movie? The movie is gorgeously filmed and at points beautiful when it comes to scenery. There are several laugh out loud moments but they are few and far between. I really enjoyed the Sovereigns, but in the end they were relatively minor. I do like that the Guardians have no qualms about killing. For all the morality in the rest of the movie, when it comes time to get stuff done, there's no ethics debate or philosophical stands, they just shoot. Overall, however, I don't care about these characters. I know this movie is doing insane at the box office and everyone loves it. Some articles have gone so far as to declare that it breaks the formulaic Marvel movie. It doesn't. It's the exact same trajectory of: recap last movie in quips, internal character struggles lead to challenging group dynamic, outside threat forces everyone to unite, someone dies/is terribly injured/arrested, baddies get beat down, the end.