Poll: Bring on the Bat Guys

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cliffhanger of the week #13

#5 - Lying Bitch

i know this isn't really a last-page cliffhanger, but aren't you all curious what Loki - now a she - is up to? devious bitch. i know where this is going - think about Angelina Jolie and her brother swapping spit at the 2000 Oscar Awards. eeeeeewwwww.

Thor #8 (Marvel)
J. Michael Straczynski/Marko Djurdjevic/Danny Miki/Laura Martin/Chris Eliopoulos

#4 - Bring On the Bad Guys

this issue seems to have shipped late, but anyway, it looks like the story was being stretched waaaay too thin (i'm talking to you, Countdown). the only investment we'll be making on this cliffhanger is how many villains will these Parademons off before all is said and done (i imagine the dead will not involve the names "Luthor" or "Joker").

Salvation Run #7 (DC)
Matthew Sturges/Sean Chen/Walden Wong/Steve Wands/John Kalisz

#3 - Hell Hath No Fury

... like Nicholas Fury. finally we learn what the hell was this cyclops up to the last 5 years. enough to get me to buy Secret War (but too late to have it signed by Gabriel Dell'Otto. anyway, as cliffhangers go, it still works because you want to know more, especially how he could just mostly sit by during Civil War, World War Hulk, etc. and what about those faces he circled in his war room eh?

Mighty Avengers #12 (Marvel)
Brian Michael Bendis/Alex Maleev/Matt Hollingsworth/Dave Lanphear/cover: Marko Djurdjevic

#2 - Gangsta Trippin'

Scotty and Emma are still wandering around hippie Frisco, but have run afoul of the mind-controlled cops. speaking of running afoul, the Red hoods have captured Logan, Kurt and Pete (tell me they did that on purpose!) and are planning on torturing them why M-Day happened. don't these thugs read the trade paperbacks?

Uncanny X-Men #497 (Marvel)
Ed Brubaker/Mike Choi/Sonia Oback/Cory Petit

#1 - Skrullfiesta

after Secret Invasion, i hope there will be zero Skrull stories for at least a couple of years; four every month seems to be overkill. not to mention confusing. i get confused. even if i'm a Skrull. (on a side note, the adventures of the bordering-toward-creepy Machine Man is side-splitting).

Ms. Marvel #26 (Marvel)
Brian Reed/Adriana Melo/Mariah Benes/Chris Sotomayor/Dave Sharpe/cover: Greg Horn

no man's land

as of today, 3 days before a new trailer?


flash mob alert:
for New Yorkers,

40°45'13.72" N
73°59' 0.44" W

on April 28th.


okay, its in Bryant Park, lazyass.

geekfiesta, day three

day 3 was coincidentally the same day that Il Papa was taking control of the WTC area for a couple of hours, so we needed to get out early as well or else we won't catch a train to the WTC. the need to be early wasn't as urgent as yesterday, but still, a walk from 33rd St (where we would end up if we didn't beat the temporary station closures) lugging a bunch of stuff would be no picnic.

we came in relatively "late" and still managed to set up camp closer to the entrance gates. the people in front of us were of course from the same crowd that probably never slept last night - they were either loud, boisterous, smelly and totally emo.

its Kids' Day at NYCC! this means there'll be lots of li'l brats running around today and potentially getting trampled by Cosplay aficionados. while we were still waiting in line, i feared for this little one because they started throwing freebies into the crowd, and freebies means any semblance of civilized nature goes out the window. its a miracle he wasn't crushed to death by those leaping idiots. but he was completely oblivious to it, since his dad was able to grab a freebie.

here's another one being held hostage by an Imperial soldier. damn the Empire!

note again: all shitty pics are mine; the nice ones that you see here are courtesy of this guy about to be executed by a Stormtrooper for being dyslexic and lactose-intolerant (he's smiling because he already tweaked the laser rifle to shoot soy milk, with his Jedi powers).

same m.o.: run for the limited tickets for autographing sessions, and check the signing schedules. turns out there weren't any notables that we were interested in for the former. Lou Ferrigno was still there though, manning his booth by his lonesome. current 2-day tally: $945.00 minus expenses.

see how clean the area is without all the crazy people around?

hey, he finished the thing (although Cap looks more like a fat toad at my angle).

for the first haul of the day, i managed to get 5 books signed by master calligrapher Chris Eliopoulos, who told me "sleep ... what sleep?" when i asked how he gets to letter a gazillion books every month.

here's two thirds of the team that killed Captain America. and strangely, i don't hate them for it.


they deliberately left some space for the last third, the brainchild of this operation: Ed Brubaker. sweet!



shooting the breeze: Ron Garney, Steve McNiven, Dexter Vines and Mark Morales.


so it all comes down to you now, Mark Millar. show up next year, dammit!!



one of my recent faves, Marko Djurdjevic. did i mention he's the awesomeness?

the day he starts drawing full length interiors, i will sing and dance from the top of the Empire State Building. you too, Mr. Greg Horn. why can't you guys be more like Greg Land? somebody give these guys a huge project worthy of the time, critical praise and fan adulation!

i will admit guilt on this: i went out and bought a couple of Daredevil issues on-floor (okay, five) to get them signed. they were half-price off as well. though i couldn't find a copy of Daredevil #100 (done by The Awesomeness), it was all worth it (keep reading below).


1 PM found me in line for the long line for Alex Maleev, Esad Ribic and the Avengers Fairies ... i mean the Euros who draw Avengers: Fairy Tales. and by long line, i mean i was like, the fifth. hah.

me: oh. my. god. i. met. Alex. Maleev.

God: yeah, so can you be a good boy now?

me: oh. my. god. i. met. Alex. Maleev. wait till my Spanish friend Gloria reads this.


there are Gods and there are gods. Stan Lee, bless him, qualifies as a modern-day one in the comic industry. they gave him the first ever NY Comic Legend Award this weekend. deservedly so.

still, i wonder why there are whispers that in his ticketed autograph signing event, people complained that face time with the legend was nonexistent. someone took your article to be autographed, handed it to Stan, and then handed it back to you. the guy seems to be protected by the Secret Service. on the other hand, i read a blog where he managed to shake hands and kiss Stan's ass as he was walking by (security broke down apparently). so what gives? what's the truth?

on that note, i heard people were also complaining of similar behavior yesterday in Eva Mendes' own event (promoting deceased legend Will Eisner's The Spirit, as brought to life by Frank Miller). take it from the Hellboy contingent, Eva - you get more fans by being a little considerate.


Zombie Wolverine ... i'd give him a perfect rating if he showed his worm-infested rotting cranium.


waiting for Jimmy P ... is still better than waiting for Godot.


you know Palmiotti loves Frank Castle because he even drew a skull on his signature. sweet!



Q: quick, what was the name of Harry's mother?


A: Mother Potter.

another day, another dog ... (sigh)



if Nightwing/Dick Grayson were gay ("he isn't?!?"), he'd look like this:


this is just so wrong on many levels.



this. is. madness. this. is. stupid.



nice try, buddy, but the John Cassaday version still rules.


the Justice League rushing to see the winning lottery numbers.



two superhero movies in one year, and we also have Wanted. how great is it to be a geek right now? oopppss ... excuse me, i think i wet my pants.


since they're moving next year's version back to a February, this could be my last Con. but at least i can say it was ...


-----
hancock haul:
Chris Eliopoulos, Mike Perkins, Steve Epting, Mark Morales, Dexter Vines, Marko Djurdjevic, Steve McNiven, Joe Rubinstein, Dale Eaglesham, Alex Maleev, C.B. Cebulski, Mark Texeira, Esad Ribic, and Jimmy Palmiotti.

geekfiesta, day two

day two of the NYCC is always the best - and worst - day. the former because most of the action happens this day. the latter manifests itself early - you get there two hours before the gates open and you're still stuck behind a couple of hundred foul-smelling geeks. ok, maybe half of them. seriously. dude, look at and smell yourself before flaming me.

note: most of the pics here (the better ones) belong to my friend time bandit (a.k.a. tintin). he has been most generous in letting me bunk in his jersey apartment so we can mount a simultaneous two-pronged assault on the Javits Center. sorry, playing Rainbow 6: Las Vegas and Gears of War on his Xbox makes me a little gung-ho with the terminology. anyway, check out his NYCC pics at his Flckr page.

our plan was to storm the joint - him going to grab tickets for any celeb autograph signings and me going to check the major booths for signing schedules. Marvel was pretty good with theirs - they had their schedule worked out since day one - but DC was notorious for keeping it close to the vest, releasing it only on a daily basis. tsk, way to irritate fans like me, Dan DiDio (Mr. DiDio actually had to defend DC yesterday from an agitated geek who expressed his disgust with 52 and Countdown in the DC Nation panel).

most of my time was to be spent getting/standing/sitting/waiting in line for signatures while the bandit roamed the floor and get his paparazzi jollies. either way, our feet would definitely be sore at the end of the day.

my first target of the day was writer/inker Andy Lanning (without his tag team partner Dan Abnett), who was signing that time with Gabriele Dell'Otto, Tom Raney, Scott Hanna, and the legendary Chris Claremont. i already had my Claremont books signed last year so no need to bug the old man, who i must say looked fantastic 'cause he seems to have lost weight. of course, hearing the man blow his nose kind of makes him less legendary than i would like to view him, but i digress.

i was standing behind a Batman character, but my god - Bruce Wayne has gone to seed! check out these shots:

ok, let me spare you my crappy sneaky photos and let me just give my pal's shot of him (he's banging Robin, to boot! isn't that weird?? or maybe not), so you can see him in his full glory (pun intended).

just in case Buttman comes back and sues me for character defamation, need i remind him of this sign:

there's that little technicality that i am not in any way connected with Marvel Entertainment, per se, but hey, you wear the costume, you become a target. tough noogies.

i immediately had some pangs of regret considering i didn't bring a couple of books which would have netted me a Dell'Otto and a Hanna. oh well. Mr. Lanning was affable enough to chat with me for a few minutes. nice Brit (and i don't mean Spears).

while i was standing behind Buttman, my friend brought his 3 Justice books and managed to get a ticket, autographs and a pic with Alex Ross. THE ALEX ROSS!!


my second regret of the day. no Kingdom Come, no Marvels in my bag. i wonder why. what the heck is wrong with me?

well, ok, what the hell is wrong with him? that's Piotr Rasputini, the ravioli maker/eater from Russia.

there was a Louis Letterier/Tim Roth (to promote The Incredible Hulk) signing at 2 PM, but that was another ticketed event. you had to be here at around 5 AM to get in line. Ed Norton wasn't there; i guess he didn't get a ticket either.

which Hulk do you prefer? your answer will tell us how gay you are.

for a so-called disposable assassin, Scud doesn't seem like one.


a passable Emma Frost and a chola Jean Grey (no wonder Cyclops left the hag).


hey, Princess Leia and ... is that you, Porkins? (hehe ... Porkins)


but you know what the Bible says about anatomy yeah? if that part dishonors you ...


here's one for our pal Jego, who practically drooled on his keyboard once he saw the new Hellboy II trailer. i heard they had to buy him a new keyboard.






even better, time bandit got reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally close (i heard they called security).


eat your heart out, Jego.

look, the Perlster was also there!



one more time ... eat your heart out, Jego!

since i was the one holding the camera, i loudly announced (as i was taking this pic): "ok, here's Master Chief and Master Bates!" i was told people around us laughed.

Heath Ledger LIVES!!!!!!!


speaking of the Joker, here's his alleged creator, although said statement is subject to dispute.

here's Messrs. Olivier Coipel, Serge LaPointe, and Yanick Paquette (they seem to be lumping birds of the same feather together). i finally had a copy of the House of M trade for Coipel to sign (last year was a pathetic freebie sketches version). Marc Guggenheim and the eternally-beloved (and instantly recognizable) Dan Slott were also on this session.

why are they shoving this down our throats?


Surfer USA

i sent off my pal time bandit to get in line for the Garth Ennis signing at the Midtown Comics booth because i need to see the Green Lantern team of Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis and Ethan Van Sciver at the DC booth. did i ever mention that i have a man-crush on Geoff Johns? yes, i think i did.

when my turn came to get his signature, i was tongue-tied and didn't have anything witty to say. aaaaaaargh.


dazed and confused, i went to see my friend who was holding my place for the Ennis signing. the line hasn't moved and it was snaking around the area around 60 people long. good thing i was in time and would be meeting another one of the greats in a few minutes (give or take a couple of hours).




that pic above was the closest i would ever get to meeting Garth Ennis.

because.

i.

forgot.

to.

ask.

for.

a.

damn.

ticket.



it was already my turn, and i asked the DIC (dude in charge) if i could still go, even without a ticket, and he politely said no.

he.

said.

no.



aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh.


my Preacher. my Punisher. will be left unsigned.


aaaaaaaaaaaaaargh.


my disappointments revolve around tickets. yesterday, i was horrified to discover i lost my monthly subway pass. then i didn't stick around to get an Alex Ross ticket (well, i didn't bring my stuff anyway for him to sign). now i forgot to ask for a free ticket for the Irish rogue.


but little did i know, my redemption would come in the form of a Scottish badass.

look at this. doesn't he look like a badass?

Morrison has been a hero to fanboys and counterculturists everywhere with his works. he swings both ways, writing edgy fare like The Invisibles and Big Dave, and weaving epic superhero tales in All Star Superman and JLA.

so it is a little disappointing that for a specific price tag, you can have something like this:


that's for a private audience with the man. i am not shelling out $200, not if you can catch him in the DC booth.

cost of NY Comicon Weekend ticket: $45
remaining value of lost subway ticket: $65
overpriced hotdog for lunch: $5
surviving the line cut for the Grant Morrison autographing session: priceless.

at least for yesterday, today and tomorrow:


-----
hancock haul: Batt, Andy Lanning, Olivier Coipel, Geoff Johns, Ivan Reis, Ethan Van Sciver, Gail Simone, Grant Morrison, and Long Island boy and NYU alum Joe Kelly.