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.

The Lady Speaks. . .FCBD Part Two: The Assessining As promised this installment will be my somewhat biased assessment of the various books I picked up at FCBD 2017. These are not ranked. This list is simply the order in which I read them. First up: Rebirth Wonder Woman (DC) This is just a reissue of issue #1 of the new run. It was. . .okay. It very much reads like the trailers look, so I'm guessing it's tied closer to the movie than to any other universe. I wanted it to be more exciting. It didn't feel new or exciting, a trend I'm noticing in more and more "origin" stories for superheroes. As I said, I have a friend who is a big Wonder Woman fan so I may send it her way. She'll love it no matter what. The art was pretty standard superhero fare. Next up: The Legend of Zelda (Viz Media) As a gamer nerd since the way back, I was happy to see a Zelda offering. True to the original game, Zelda is but a referent and isn't actually seen in this comic. It contains two stories: the first is a retelling of the old sword in the stone myth and the second is more of a history of the Tri-Force. There's no doubt that this is manga. Unlike standard American comic books where the spine is to the left, this one comes manga style with the spine to the right which means you read it backward: last page first, from right to left, top to bottom. It's also black and white. Purists will be thrilled. Overall this was a fun offering. The stories were good, they moved quick, and the art was efficient. Third: Lady Mechanika (Benitez Productions) I suspect they just reissue #1 every year. Last year's FCBD had the same cover with a tan background instead of a blue background. 2015 had a red cover. I guess it's good to reoffer the starting point to your character and series, although it does seem like it may alienate fans. This story is titled "The Demon of Satan's Alley" and serves as an introduction to our mechanical heroine as well as setting up a lovely 19th century Steampunk universe. I don't collect this book (although I have picked up mini-runs here and there), but I kind of wish I did. I'm always attracted to Lady Mechanika because the art is gorgeous. Detailed, lush, vibrant, the colors, the way the artist uses space--all of it makes for a treat for the eyes. Fourth: Spill Night by Scott Westerfeld (First Squad) I was interested in this one mainly because I've read some of Westerfeld's novels. His YA series Uglies (Uglies, Pretties, Specials, and Extras) was really well done and felt new at the time. His other well-known series, Leviathan (Leviathan, Behemoth, and Goliath) was less interesting to me, despite the Steampunk aspect of the series. I struggled to finish the series. Spill Night is somewhat of a departure. It's still very much YA as the main character is a teenager and this world seems to be almost exclusively inhabited by teenagers and their toys after an incident wipes out the adult world. Our main character's doll, a Raggedy Ann looking thing named Vespetine has a decidedly Nightmares and Fairytales Annabelle feel to her, but she must be an agent of good because she saves not only our main character, but all the children whose toys are part of her "kingdom" (they refer to her as Queen Vespetine). I imagine this comic will draw comparisons to Stranger Things, but it's a dramatically different story. I liked the simple art of this story, mainly because the story is complex and the juxtaposition works well. The muted color palette also worked well. Fifth: Hostage (Drawn and Quarterly) I had no idea what this book was. I simply grabbed it because I was in need of a fourth book at Collector's Edge South. Hostage was an incredibly depressing story about a hostage. The muted colors and New Yorker-style art made the story all the more desolate. The second story, Poppies of Iraq, was also incredibly depressing which was enhanced by the cutesy art style and brighter colors. Poppies in this case are the blood stains left on walls after people have been shot. This comic is more "literary" and adult than any of the other books I saw. Even Image's curse words are no match for the heavy hitting subject matter of this comic. Sixth: Boom! 2017 Summer Blast (Boom!) I always enjoy Boom!'s FCBD offerings and this year was no different. As per their norm, the stories in this anthology focus on some of their favorite or newer properties. In this case the first story is from Mouse Guard. "The Tale of the Wild Wolf" is a gorgeous little morality tale that was done specifically for FCBD 2017. It's a tale within a tale so you get some favorite characters and a few new ones. The second story is a reissue of an issue of The Brave Chef Brianna and her exploits in Monster City. This is a cute little comic and not one I would have picked up on my own, but I really enjoyed reading it. The final in the anthology is Lumber Janes: Coady and The Creepies, a partial issue that introduces the reader to a band that consists of three triplets who survived a horrible accident. Coady survived with no scars or lasting injuries (or did she), Criss is in a wheelchair, and Corey has a large scar on her head. There's a lot of potential for a wonderfully macabre story based in the punk music scene. The art in this story is in the spirit of Lumberjanes' artwork. Seventh: Boom! Fresh off the Boat (Boom!) I grabbed this because it's Boom! I didn't make the connection to the television show of the same name until I started reading it. For the record, I've never watched Fresh off the Boat and have no opinions of it. This comic was a fun take on the superhero genre. It's also a bit meta because it's a comic within a comic within a larger context of a television show. I imagine for people who like the show this would be a welcome comic. As far as I can tell, it was created solely for FCBD and as a tie-in to the show. Last, but not least: Bad Machinery (Oni Press) This is a reprint of the first installment of the 7th volume of this title. I'd never heard of it before, but obviously it's quite successful. The premise is that there are 3 boy sleuths and 3 girl detectives at a preparatory school who solve various crimes. Some have supernatural bends to them. While this was a fun read, I was often reminded of Neil Gaiman's Dead Boy Detectives. I'm not sure why this book, with its six very much alive protagonists, would remind me of that title but it did. This issue didn't have much of the boys in it and so I at first thought it was just the girls, which I found to be an interesting concept. If I saw the trades for $5 I would totally pick them up. I'm not going to chase them down, however. So that concludes my wrap up, as hectic as it may be. Life has been busy and it's going to just get busier for the next few weeks for me.

The Lady Speaks. . .Free Comic Book Day Part One It's that time of year again where the school year is winding down so I'm at maximum stress and minimum time; however, OM and I did make time to check out Free Comic Book Day 2017. As usual, we went cosplay medium/light? I was Spider-Gwen with tights, shirt, and hoodie and OM was in a Deadpool mask and shirt. He has those pictures so I'll let him post them. Last week when we received the new Previews we sat down and made our hit lists. My hit list read: Boom! (I was unaware that there were two Boom! anthologies but I like to support Boom!), Rebirth Wonder Woman (the movie is coming out and if nothing else, I have a friend who really likes Wonder Woman but who doesn't collect comics), Crossfire (part of the Looking-Glass War saga by Frank Beddor), Lady Mechanika (a series I've never collected but just love the artwork), Spill Night by Scott Westerfeld (Westerfeld wrote the excellent Uglies YA series and the less interesting but more popular Leviathan YA series), and The Legend of Zelda (that game allowed me to waste so many summers). Just to be safe I had two backups as well: Riverdale (*shrug* the show is super popular on the CW and this book is a one-off especially for FCBD) and Keyser Soze/The Rift (I'm collecting The Rift at the moment and really enjoying it). Then we came up with the stores we wanted to hit up. The plan was to visit Collector's Edge East (our LCS and literally around the corner), The Turning Page (also in the neighborhood and recently refurbed), Lost World of Wonders (the comic book Mecca in Milwaukee), and Collector's Edge South. After our first two stops, my hit list was complete which left me the luxury to explore other titles. Well, as much time as you can have when people are forcing through the assembly line. Stop One: Collector's Edge East (4 comics each because we were in cosplay) We hit this location at about 11:15. The store was busy, but it's such a tiny location that it really doesn't take many people to make it feel crowded. We cruised in, grabbed our comics, and cruised out. Books I scored here: Boom! Fresh Off the Boat; Crossfire; Spill Night; and Lady Mechanika. Collector's Edge almost always runs a 20% off sale but there was no way you could look around at this location. Stop Two: The Turning Page (2 comics each, no bonus for cosplay) This store was also hopping. It didn't have the full array of titles, but since you can only snag two that wasn't a huge deal. I finished my hit list by picking up the last Zelda comic on their table and Rebirth Wonder Woman. OM also purchased X-Men Gold 2. Stop Three: Lost World of Wonders (4 comics each, no bonus for cosplay) We pulled in to a very full parking lot about approximately 11:50. The line was super long. This is the first location where we saw other cosplayers, so that was nice. From the front of the building (Lost World is the yellow sign in the distance). Last year's line was about this long but this year was different. . . as the line continued, curving around the building going all the way to the dumpsters. Can you spot OM? I estimate we were in line for 45 minutes. Luckily one of the guys in line with us was super friendly and he and OM chatted about collecting for most of the wait. Lost World keeps the line moving and you really don't have time to hem and haw over the books you want. On the other hand, Lost World had every FCBD offering plus several of last year's. I picked up a Bongo (for a friend's kid); Boom! Summer Sizzler; Rick and Morty; and a second copy of Zelda. I almost grabbed another Assassin's Creed until OM reminded me that the year we are living in is 2017, not 2016 and that I had three copies of that book from last year. Lost World was running a 20% off everything sale so I managed to pick up three Neko Atsume plushies That's Frosty, Bandit, and Chairman Meow. Stop Four: Collector's Edge South (number of comic books determined by the owner. I earned 4 for my cosplay, Om got 6 for his mask). Collector's Edge South is the mother ship of the Collector's Edge franchise. It's on Kinnickinnic in Bay View and parking is often a challenge. On a lovely Saturday that is also Kentucky Derby Day, we found ourselves parking quite a bit away. But we were undeterred. By the time we landed here, it was close to 1:30pm. There was no line. Out front there was a Captain America, a Wolverine, and a Sand Person (Star Wars). On our way out they had been joined by a Phoenix. OM has those pictures, as well. The store was busy but not an impediment to comic hunting. I picked up a Riverdale; a second copy of Spill Night; Drawn and Quarterly's Hostage; and Keyser Soze/The Rift. Because Collector's Edge was running a 20% off sale, I also bought the fourth volume of the Wicked + Divine. Here's a photo of part of the haul. Somewhere along the line one of us picked up the Oni Press Bad Machinery, too. It might have been me, but I cannot remember which store I snagged it at. Possibly I grabbed it at Lost World and not the second Zelda. Who knows? All in all, it was a lovely way to spend a Saturday when one is shirking grading responsibilities. I've started to read the books I scored but I'll put that in another post. Next Up The Lady Speaks. . . FCBD Part Two: The Assessining (Yes, I know it's not a real word)

The Lady Speaks. . .Godshaper The comic landscape has been fairly unfulfilling as of late. If one isn't all that into superheroes or transmedia properties, there's not a lot going on that is good. Full disclosure: I was weaned on the X-Men in the late 80's and 90's. At one point I was collecting not just the X-Men titles, but Excalibur, X-Factor, and X-Force. I also collected any crossovers the mutants did with other characters (Death's Head, Spider-Man, etc). I had a substantial lag in my mutant collecting in the 00's due to Baton Rouge not having a comic book store the last three years I lived there. When I tried to pick back up with my favorite mutants, I didn't really like them. Too many death/rebirth, reboots, changes of heart, changes of values, changes in powers, etc. There wasn't an easy on-ramp to the X-Men. Despite my love of the Batman mythos, the reality is that most superhero comics are simultaneously boring and too complicated to really enjoy. Marvel seems bent on proving this with its continual rebooting and canceling of titles. Bleeding Cool addressed this yesterday. So for me, the mainstream MCU/DCU stuff isn't of much interest. I read Faith from Valiant for a while but even it became a lot of the same tropes over and over, just with a fat girl overlay (which I really appreciate even still). I've found some joy in reading Titan's transmedia properties such as Assassin's Creed and the mini run of Dishonored. Titan also has one of my old school favorites, Tank Girl. But none of those are exactly new (especially Tank Girl who quite literally does the same things over and over, but I still love it). Even IDW's Jem title is a retread of the classic 80's cartoon and toy line. I just dropped Jem after her big reveal to Rio in issue #24. It goes to new places, but the core of it is pretty much what I watched as an 8 year old. In all honesty, Munchkin was the last title I looked forward to every month and read right away. Sadly, it's run ended with issue #25 in January. So I've been adrift. Until now. Leave it to Boom! to produce an exciting new comic book just when I was despairing that I'd have to wander over the to T&A comics to find something not recycled. I present to you: Godshaper. In some ways Godshaper seems similar to Neil Gaiman's works, especially American Gods; however, the humor sets it apart and the unflinching unwillingness to tell the readers too much, too soon. Godshaper takes place in a potentially dystopic world in which religion is the new currency. Everyone has his/her own god to worship and your wealth is directly tied to how big your god is. A god can't exist without a human, a human can't have wealth without a god. Godshapers are the exception. They have no religion, therefore they have no wealth. But they aren't destitute for they have the ability to "shape" gods. You need your god to look more menacing? A godshaper can do just that for you. This is the cover I chose because it's pretty flipping cool, even before cracking the cover. We follow Ennay, a godshaper as he makes his way through the world. Remember how I said gods needed humans? Well, that's not entirely true. Ennay is traveling with a humanless god named Bud. Why is Bud without a human? Who knows. Hopefully that will be but one of the many stories the comic will weave. There are so many great thematic avenues this story can go from exploring the relationship between capitalism and religion to asking profound questions about spirituality in general. As of the first issue, Ennay and Bud are a team. This allows Ennay to move through the world with his godshaper talents hidden (and lets him play music in a cool underground scene). Not only is the story strong, but the character dialogue is fluid and well, reads true to life. And the art is amazing. For example, the color palette is visually striking. You can see the gods in their various ghostly shapes (no two gods look alike, although some are similar). You can see how Ennay is highlighted on stage through multiple colors whereas everyone else is fairly monochromatic. Ennay's movement on stage is clear, but you can also get a sense of how the other characters in the scene are moving, too. It's like this all the way through. Incredibly well done. For me, I foresee a future where Bud is made in plushie form and has his own spin-off cartoon on Adult Swim. He's just that perfect blend of mischievous and adorable like a less annoying Minion or even less vocal Baby Groot. I am so excited for this comic and I hope more people read it so it becomes as popular as Lumberjanes and gets a shot at a decent run. I really don't want this to be the next Munchkin. This does bring up an interesting question. Will the smaller publishers be the ones to "save" comics by taking risks on titles such as Godshaper while the big three (DC, Marvel, and Image) take too few risks? And will publishers like IDW and Titan pigeonhole themselves with other IPs? I realize Boom! also runs this risk considering it's the home for Adventure Time, The Dark Crystal, Mighty Morphing Power Rangers, and Bill & Ted. But when you look over what Boom's doing right now, there are more new titles such as Godshaper, Unsound, and Misfit City. I just always have to question where this medium is going and how it's going to continue to survive in an increasingly hostile world. People don't like to read and if they do, they want it on their phones or tablets. Movies generate an artificial interest in some characters but not all characters. Just some food for though. Most importantly--go pick up Godshaper and give it a shot. It's good.

The Lady Speaks. . .Setting Up at Burnham Bowl On a lark (at least as far as I was concerned) OM and I decided to set up at Burnham on Sunday, April 2. OM was able to secure two tables which meant we had ample room not only to display our wares but to sit. I didn't contribute much to the goods, just a set of Alan Moore's Lost Girls, a few leather bound journals, and a few bundles of comics. Comic bundles of modern comics happened to be the bulk of what we brought. We had everything from Tokyo Ghost to Jem to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen vol 2 to some random bundles of Star Wars titles. OM also brought along two short boxes of oddities. One thing OM likes to do is make magnets so we had a ton of those. Normally the magnets are good for half the table, but on Sunday they weren't selling well although they garnered more than their fair share of looks. The rest of the merchandise consisted of the top half of a spinner rack with a really nice litho, a Voodoo game from the makers of Cooties, some iron-on t-shirt transfers, a Superhog lunch box with thermos and sandwich container, a case full of Nintendo NES games, and probably some things I'm missing. As with any good show, we pretty much made our table by the time the show opened to the public. The other sellers were in buying moods and we were able to capitalize. Oddly for us, neither of us really made the rounds in earnest. I actually never went farther than the table across from us and that was only to buy a $1 Venom PopFunko key chain. I don't even like Venom, but the key chain was (allow me to get girly here) super cute. Our only other expenditures were on a pitcher of soda, two cheeseburgers (no fries), and a celebratory adult bevie at the end of the show. In the end, we made a decent profit for a bi-mon bowling alley con. The crowd was interesting. Toys are the big attraction for the first hour or two. It's a lot of families with kids and the focus is toys, toys, toys. Around 1 or so the comic guys show up, but they're really only interested in either $.50 boxes or Silver Age titles. There wasn't as much interest in the modern books as I would have expected. After having attended this show for the past 6 or so years, you get to know the regulars but seeing them from the other side of the table is quite the experience. Some of those guys easily drop $300-400 dollars on toys and comics. You can tell they save up for it. Unfortunately, the vast majority of attendees were people I see there at every Burnham show. There wasn't much in the way of "new blood." This brings up some interesting questions. As I've posted about before there is a concern that Milwaukee has reached comic con saturation. I heard people rumbling about it a little bit on Sunday. At the one end of the spectrum we have Mighty Con, or Wizard World light. And I mean super light, although it seems like it's expanding more into entertainment. A Mighty Con show offers a huge variety of vendors that aren't limited to comics and toys. Mighty Con also has a vibrant cosplay community and has been incorporating more gaming aspects, too. ETA: For the June show, they've added Chris Claremont as a guest. At the other end of the spectrum we have the "Alan Shows," stripped down motel shows with a limited number of vendors and a focus that is primarily on comics. We don't attend many Alan shows. I bet it's been close to two years since the last one. In the past we've had some success with those shows. I'm pretty sure I completed my Sandman run at an Alan show. Between Mighty Con and Alan, we have Comicverse and Burnham. Burnham is the elder statesmen of the con scene. I'm not even sure how long it's been running, but decades isn't an exaggeration. Because it's an institution there are many people committed to keeping Burnham alive. It's reliable. You know exactly when it's going to be held and where it's going to be held. The dealers do vary given any number of factors (time of the year, weather, what other cons are happening, etc) but fall into early winter tends to offer the greatest diversity of goods. Burnham is cheap for dealers to set up and there is the added amenity of a bowling alley with a full bar and kitchen. Unfortunately, if you are a regular a Burnham you learn quickly who restocks their goods and who doesn't which means if you have a specific want list you can be aced out for long stretches. Lastly, Burnham doesn't advertise. They have flyers at each show for the next show but that's it. There is no online presence, no television advertising, nothing. It would be easy to dismiss the lack of advertising as a shortcoming, but I wonder if it's not intentional to keep the crowds small. Comicverse is relatively new. I've only been to one. Like Burnham the focus is on comics and toys. It appeared from the one show I attended that they are very much devoted to keeping that narrow focus. Comicverse had a ton of back issues and ample space for rifling through the boxes. Since I hadn't attended one at the American Legion Hall, I don't know if that's always been the case. The drawback for Comicverse that I saw was that Serb Hall's bowling alley was closed and there were no vending machines so if you didn't bring a bevie with you, you were out of luck. Most of the core vendors at Comicverse are from Burnham. The question is: Is Mighty Con affecting the other cons in the area? It's hard to say. Mighty Con is only getting bigger with every iteration and the expansion into other areas of pop culture definitely seems to bode well for it. Would the people who go to Mighty Con attend Burnham if they knew about Burnham? Comicverse will be the key to that answer I suspect. They are aggressive with their advertising so it will be interesting to see if their June 18th show brings in more crowds. But it will be a real test of con fortitude. Burnham is June 4, Comicverse is June 18, and Mighty Con is June 24. That's three cons in one month. Who will come out on top?

The Lady Speaks. . .Comicverse Comic Convention and Toy Show It wasn’t quite dueling comic cons, but it was close. Mighty Con was set up in Madison on Sunday, March 19th and here in Milwaukee Comicverse hosted one of its events. Comicverse recently re-opened the Turning Page on Milwaukee’s East Side after the original owner passed a few months ago. The re-opening of the Turning Page could be a great thing for those of us on the East Side since right now we’re serviced solely by The Collector’s Edge and that hasn’t always been the most consistent experience. Apparently Comicverse has been putting on comic shows in Milwaukee for at least a few years (my research showed a few dates in 2016) but I’ve never crossed paths with it before. According to information for a January 2017 show the normal Comicverse Comic Convention site was at an American Legion Post in Milwaukee but with Mighty Con moving to the Fairgrounds this allowed Comicverse to set up at the Serb Hall. Entry was only $2 and with no artists, cosplayers, quasi-celebs advertised, it seemed like it would be worth checking out. We arrived around 2pm (Liverpool vs Man City detained us) with a picking budget of $40 each. The show opened at 10:30 and went until 4 so we figured we’d be hitting it at a light crowd time. We were right. In essence, this is a Burnham Bowl show with a strict focus on comics and toys although some posters snuck in, I noticed. Many of the dealers are the same as Burnham but the space is larger so it’s easier to go through back issue boxes. There were a few unfamiliar dealers. One I spoke to who specialized in bundled comics (which I think is genius) and horror comics came from two hours away. He said “Milwaukee loves their horror comics.” Normally I skip back issue boxes because people are gumming up the works. Also, I hate digging through boxes that aren’t alphabetized. I mean, I did this time because there was space, but I find that super annoying. This is a great show for $.50 and $1.00 books but not so great for graphic novels (basically everyone wanted at least $10 for a graphic novel and some omnibuses were as high as $45). I managed to find some Grendel’s off my wish list. I was sad to note that Assassin’s Creed is already making its way into the bargain boxes and I was surprised to see so many of DC’s Rebirth #1’s in the bargain boxes. OM explained it was due to over ordering to get the variant cover and I understand that, but it’s still a little sad to see so many brand new books selling for $.50. We were done in about an hour which might be a record for us. I spent a grand total of $4. Not only was the show smallish but the bowling alley was closed so we couldn’t sit and regroup like we like to. On top of that, Serb Hall has removed their vending machines so even buying a soda to sip on was out of the question. With no lounging area to repack and go through lists before round 2, there wasn’t much incentive to hang around. So we bugged and hit up McBob’s for the best Rueben in town. I recently read an article about Cleveland’s con scene. The gist of the article is that Wizard World’s pomp and circumstance combined with celebrity worship is driving a new comic scene in which the focus is on comics and only comics. The article also highlighted that artists and writers are excluded from Wizard World in favor of celebrities so the writers and artists are also looking for new shows. Basically smaller shows are popping up to give comic collectors, artists, and writers a venue in which they can concentrate on their collecting without having to navigate cosplayers, celebrity autograph hounds, and crowds. And also not have to pay outrageous ticket prices to get into the con. I normally think of Milwaukee being oversaturated with comic cons but maybe I’ve been looking at it from the wrong perspective. Maybe having Burnham, Mighty Con, and Comicverse all in the same city is a good thing for collectors and people who want to go to a con without having to pay $35 a day to do it. Mighty Con definitely brings in artists and writers while also hosting a variety of vendors ranging from jewelry to comics to glassware and so forth. Mighty Con’s crowds get larger with every show. Burnham is every other month and has mostly comics and toys but because of its frequency and low table cost, you see a fair amount of variety. Unfortunately, Burnham’s small venue size makes competition for back issues pretty fierce. However, Burnham beats all the competition for having one of the best cheap burgers in town. Comicverse is an even more stripped down version of Burnham and could easily be advertised as a pop-up comic book store. Wizard World isn’t coming back to Madison until September which means Wizard World Chicago will be the next major show I attend. We’d batted around the idea of E2C2 but the timing is just too difficult with my teaching schedule. Until then I’ll amuse myself with Milwaukee’s smaller cons. There’s 3 Burnham Bowls before Wizard World. Comicverse has another show scheduled for June 18th at Serb Hall while Mighty Con has one the following week at State Fair Park. That's five warmup shows before the big dance in Chicago.

The Lady Speaks. . .Assassins’ Creed Universe Reboot Ubisoft isn't planning on releasing a new Assassin's Creed game (code name: Empire) until 2018. I know people are holding out hope for it late in 2017, probably in the well-established AAA game drop time of late November, but there are signs that the new campaign which will be set in Egypt will not see shelves this year. Den of Geek At the end of the year, Titan was running four AC titles: AC, AC: Templars, AC: Awakening, and AC: Locus. I wasn’t interested in Awakening since it’s manga but our LCS decided I needed them so I do have the first 5 issues. At some point, I may read them. In January Titan ended Templars and the flagship title to roll them into AC: Uprising which dropped in Februrary. Currently the titles in the AC universe are AC: Uprising, AC: Reflections, and AC: Awakening. Locus was always going to be a 4 issue arc and Reflections is also only a 4 issue arc. I think they combined Templars and AC in attempt to save the flagging AC title. Of the three I read, AC was by far the weakest. AC: Uprising is 2 issues in and so far it’s chaotic. Issue one opens with the main character from the old AC, Charlotte de la Cruz attempting to steal intel from an abandoned Templar location in Hong Kong. The intel is related to the Phoenix Project. When she gets to the office she finds that Assassins are killing Assassins. She barely survives the encounter. Some tricked out Assassin’s in body armor chase her and her tech guy, Guernica. Then the story jumps to the rest of de la Cruz’s gang in London led by Dutchman Arend Schut-Cunningham. Admittedly, I didn’t read the last half of the original AC series, so I don’t know how many of these guys are new to the series. But wait! We’re not done. The last bit of the issue is the Black Cross getting new high tech gear and going to the Hong Kong site to investigate. He talks about rumors of skirmishes amongst the Assassins and that it might be possible the Assassins have turned on one another (although he’s not buying it). He notices there’s not enough blood as the wounds were cauterized by superheated Assassin’s blade. . .Abstergo Tech. This might mean the Assassin’s and the Templars are working together. Black Cross vows to find the underlying cause of the mystery. Additionally, some lost tech is picked up by two other groups? And that’s just the first issue. Pacing has always been a problem with this series as has the need to jump around from story to story. In the original series the storylines were de la Cruz’s in the animus. In this series, it looks like we’re going to have multiple groups we will follow. Issue 2 starts at Abstergo and things are not well. Then it jumps to the Black Cross in Quebec visiting the Abstergo retreat. Things do not go well when he accuses the Templars of possibly being spies. They try to remind him he works for them, he reminds them he works for the Grand Masters and then he leaves in a whirling fog that also somehow carves his mark into the stone floors. Neat. Then we’re with de la Cruz getting drunk with her new tech support, My’shell. They have a philosophical discussion about what it means to be an Assassin, de la Cruz retells the Circular Ruins by Borges and then we’re back to the Templars for a few pages discussing using some found goggles to figure out what’s going on. And then we’re back to the other Assassins who are now in Germany questioning a guy about why and how Abstergo are able to train Assassins when they couldn’t do much in the past. He blabs about the Black Cross who shows up, the guy tangles with Black Cross and admits he’s neither Assassin nor Templar. And then he tries to blow up Black Cross with an Abstergo Tec Classified Endgame Grenade 0.25 Kilotonne. The issue ends with Black Cross falling into water. He’s not that easy to kill. So I know it’s only two issues in, but like the predecessors, the Black Cross is far more interesting than anyone else in the comic. De la Cruz and pals are still lacking in any real personality and have fallen into the emo hero motif. There’s not much fun in what they do. AC: Reflections is a 4 issue mini series commemorating the 10th anniversary of the franchise. Let that sink in. Assassin’s Creed is only 10 years old and has spawned 9 games in the main series, 2 additional games, 8 mobile/handheld games, 7 comic book titles, 1 movie (which I’ll discuss later) and numerous serialized books. That’s somewhat impressive. Anyway, Reflections tells four stories focused on Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Ratonhnhaké:ton (Connor) and Edward Kenway but the lens is through the eyes of modern day Templar, agent Juhani Otso Berg. This one has only dropped one issue so far. Issue One covers my favorite Assassin, Ezio. The issue opens with a dying Leonardo da Vinci who is visited by his old friend, Ezio. Best exchange in the comic: da Vinci "Death? Is that you?" "It's Ezio." "Same thing." Ezio regales him with various tales, including how he was saved from death by the woman who would eventually end up the model for the Mona Lisa. The issue is full of Ezio’s wit and dashing exploits up to and including flirting with married women. What the Templar takes from it is that Assassins, like Templars value loyalty, love, and compassion. Somehow they didn't know that for all the millennia they've been fighting? And this knowledge is valuable to use against the Assassins because love makes you weak, even though the Templar just said love was also important to them. Okay, I guess. I think there’s a lot more to take away from Ezio than just that. The art isn't the strongest in this issue. It's very cartoony, almost Disney-like. I’ll be curious what the other 3 issues reveal since both Connor and Edward also had love as a major motivation. The former was the loss of his mother and the latter the loss of a woman. Assassin’s Creed: The Movie I realize this movie didn’t do well at all at either the box office or with the critics. According to Box Office Mojo, AC had a budget of $125 million and only made $54.7 million domestically with an additional $182.3 million internationally. This qualifies it as a financial flop. Rotten Tomatoes has it rated at a dismal 17%. Definitely a flop. AC made a classic mistake that video game movies make, it was planning on being a trilogy. Such a move has to be handled just so. You can’t alienate your core base, but you also want to bring in new viewers. Unfortunately, AC didn’t do a great job of balancing the two audiences. It’s not a terrible move, by any stretch, but it wasn’t as compelling as it could have been. As such, the first entry was heavy on back story, world building, and character development and light on action. AC fans don’t want to slog through a ton of back story set in the real world. I think the first 15 minutes followed Cal as a child. Now, I realize this is a huge debate in the AC community as some players love the modern world components while others, such as myself, can’t stand being out of the Animus/Helix and want to be in the historical story. There was too much real world for me. For those not familiar with the game, I don’t think the movie did a good job introducing the key concepts of the Helix and the ideas of genetic memories. It was sort of muddled in the prison breakout story line. I did like that they introduced a new Assassin as opposed to trying to bring to life one of the existing Assassins. That was a smart move. I want to see a second movie, to see where it goes. I don’t think that’s going to happen, though. Like World of Warcraft (another movie designed to be a trilogy and tried to do too much) this one is probably dead on the vine. The casting was fine. Was Michael Fassbender the best choice? I don’t know. He wasn’t particularly charismatic as either Cal Lynch or Aguilar. I realize not every Assassin is going to be Edward, Jacob, or Ezio but he really didn’t win you over. I would have liked to see him enjoying himself in the role and that never happened. Marion Cotillard was okay. Her motivations were chaotic and inconsistent. Jeremy Irons is Jeremy Irons. You know what you’re going to get. Here’s the thing, though. The CGI sequences were fun. For me the movie was worth it to see the Leaps of Faith and the battle scenes. There were moments where it felt like the video game and I appreciated those moments. In summation, Assassin’s Creed was a decent origin flick with a lot of potential going forward. ETA: Apparently UbiSoft isn't abandoning the multimedia aspect of its franchise. Rumor has it that not only is there a sequel to the movie in the works but UbiSoft is also developing a television series. Many fans are hoping the television series is handled by Netflix. The movie will star Michael Williams (Omar from The Wire) instead of Fassbender.

I promise you we haven't forgotten about this blog, but things are just busy. New articles are percolating, never fear!

The Lady Speaks. . .Best of 2016 This is a best of list that only serves to highlight what I read, watched, played in 2016 and not actually ranking things that came out in 2016. Some of the things I simply discovered in 2016. Things are ranked from my favorite to my least favorite (which doesn’t mean something is bad, just that it wasn’t as good as other things on the list). Movies (seen in theater): Doctor Strange—This one was a pleasant surprise. I really enjoyed it and thought it was incredibly well done. Gorgeous visuals, solid acting. Easily one of my all-time favorite Marvel movies. Rogue One (This is worth its own post, really)—This was a good, solid movie. But it left me traumatized. I knew what was coming because I’m a Star Wars fan, but I still wasn’t prepared. The third act is magnificent. Captain America: Civil War—My feelings about this movie are the same as they were earlier in the year. Bloated, CGI heavy, waste of a good villain but still a ton of fun with characters you care about. Assassin’s Creed—I think this movie was unfairly panned by the critics. It’s not great, to be sure, but it’s not a bad movie by any stretch. And while I don’t love the way they did the Animus, it makes sense in the context of the movie. I enjoyed it and would love to see a sequel. It had enough of those “Yes!” moments that you get from playing the game to make up for boring exposition. They did squander the gorgeous 15th century scenery by being too true with the smoke, smog, and general haziness. Suicide Squad—I have nothing new to say about this movie. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice—I hope Wonder Woman doesn’t suck, but I’m not very optimistic at this point. Purchases of the Year: X-Men 244 (1st Appearance of Jubilee) Wimmen’s Comix box set Big Daddy metal statue Graphic Novels: Grendel Omnibus 1-3 iZombie 1-4 Massive 1-5 Wicked + Divine 1 & 2 Dragon Age: World of Thedas 1 & 2 Mass Effect Omnibus vol 1 American Born Chinese Mass Effect Omnibus vol 1 Dresden Files Omnibus vol 1 Comic Books: Munchkin Assassin’s Creed: Locus Assassin’s Creed: Templars Dishonored Assassin’s Creed Tank Girl (various titles) Faith Jem and the Holograms Art Ops The Hunt Video Games (purchased and played in 2016, not necessarily coming out in 2016): Dragon Age Origin Dishonored 2 Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate Shadow of Mordor Assassin’s Creed: Unity Fallout 4 Cons of the Year: WW Madison WW Chicago Mighty Con Milwaukee Burnham Bowl--Don't get me wrong, BB is great but I rarely find anything there anymore. I'm in it for the burgers, mostly.

Ultimately I think WW's attempt to be bigger than SDCC is somewhat backfiring.(And I do believe that is the driving force. In the 90's Wizard was THE name in comic cons and now they've been blown out of the water by SDCC, NYC Comic Con, Dragon Con, and others). I foresee a contraction of some of the smaller markets (I think Madison is probably axed for 2017) and concentrating on larger markets. There's too much competition from local cons. Even in Chicago they are facing serious competition from C2E2 (which we are going to check out this year) which isn't quite a local con. The reliance on big name stars is a double-edged sword for WW and I don't know how they can gracefully strike a balance. WW Chicago fluctuates from year-to-year. 2016 was a great mix but 2015 was heavy on celebs and light on other aspects. 2014 was another celeb-heavy year but 2013 was a nice balance. They need consistency. As for the cruise, that was a ridiculous idea. I have no idea how they thought that was going to work. It was a total demographic misread, despite their protestations that it had to do with the filming schedules of (I'm assuming) Reedus and Hemsworth since no one else was that big of a draw. ETA: WW Madison is currently scheduled for September 22, 23, and 24, 2017 and it seems to be pushing the gaming side of things more heavily. The only celebrity listed thus far is Lou Ferrigno. Other highlights listed so far include a replica of Tow Mater from Cars, a replica of Herbie the Love Bug, Thor the Tribute Impala from Supernatural, and Mach 5 the Speedracer Car.

The Lady Speaks. . .Wizard World Cruise Update OM pointed me to the Wizard World Cruise Homepage where the following message was posted: I suspected months ago that the cruise wouldn't make it. Of course there's no real concrete evidence that it failed for reasons other than the ones they listed above, but recent financial woes certainly had to play into the canceling of the cruise. In early October Wizard fired their Chief Marketing Officer and then slapped him with a $1 million lawsuit. http://www.comicsbeat.com/wizard-world-sues-stephen-shamus-for-1-million-but-who-are-the-10-john-does/ Even earilier in 2016, April as a matter of fact, Wizard's CEO resigned after Wizard posted a $4.3 million loss, cut back to 19 cons (versus 25 from 2015), and sold off its share of ConTV. http://www.nerdandtie.com/2016/04/25/wizard-world-ceo-john-macaluso-resigns/ As I wrote months ago, the cruise was going to be wildly expensive with the celebrities they were securing and there weren't many hardcore con fans who would be able to afford it. http://boards.collectors-society.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=9319833#Post9319833