My NYCC purchase…

Let it never be said that Jim Gibbons isn’t true to his word! For I have delivered on my promise, I purchased something at New York Comic Con. Get ready to bask in the glory…

Yep, I grabbed up an old school mega-print t-shirt starring Cyclops and Jean Grey (for the record, they are my favorite couple in comic book history). So, just wanted to let ya’ll know I followed through.

I really dig this shirt. It feels like wearing my childhood.

Also, completely free, there’s a little view of my living room and my Criminal #3 poster framed on the wall underneath my armpit there. Is it an original piece of art? Nope…picked it up at Sean Phillips CafePress site…and so can you!

Quick NYCC sidenote…

So, I’m pretty sure Selma Blair has never looked better than she did at NYCC—see HERE for evidence.

Anyway, I have to say, I’m pretty impressed with how comfortable Kiel seemed around such a mind-numbingly gorgeous woman. Had it been me, I would’ve been drooling more than a bit between questions.

“I haven’t really had a successful living arrangement so far…”—Selma Blair

Um…sounds like an invitation to me. Darn you Kiel, darn you and your dapper bow tie!

Phew! NYCC is over!

So, it was one heckuva a busy weekend, but the big Con is finally gone!

We had over 70 stories covering the Con so make sure to check out our comprehensive link-a-thon of news and events (yeah, I linked it in the last post, so what?!).

And don’t forget to check out the Wizard TV page because Kiel, Dan Reilly, Jordan Hammill and Alex Kropinak worked their butts off to get you folks some of the best Wizard TV stuff you’ve yet scene! Get it?! Scene?! Like a movie or TV scene?! But, you…you’ve seen it?! Seen!? Scene?! C’mon, it’s hilarious!!!

…ok, no it’s not, I’m still just exhausted from the Con.

Anyway, check out the coverage and enjoy. I’m gonna grab some Z’s and be back blogging strong later this week! See ya’ll then!

P.S. Did you all check out Ethan Kaye’s blog from the Con? Head over to FeedMeAKitten.WizardUniverse.com, the man knows his funny!

Hey, I met Jason Aaron!

So, if you’ve been reading the blog, you’ve probably noticed that I’m a big fan of many of the Kansas City-based creators in the comics world. The ranks of KC talent who’s books I’m madly in love with include Jason Aaron, B. Clay Moore, Tony Moore and Matt Fraction as well as the up-and-coming Seth Peck—who co-writes the Image book ‘76 with Clay—and who I’m becoming more and more a fan of with each issue.

Why do I dig this KC Collective so much? Ever since my college days in Columbia, MO (a little over a 2-hour jaunt from KC) when I realized half the books I was digging were written by guys a short car trip away not deep in the urban jungle of New York or across the pond, well, it just felt kinda cool to know I was reading stuff by “local” talent.

I did an article on Midwestern Comic Talent back then where I talked with Clay, Jason and Matt and I’ve since talked to Jason about his current runs on Wolverine and Ghost Rider, but I’ve never met him in person. So, knowing he was going to be at NYCC, I made a note to seek him out.

Andy Serwin and I were both talking about how much we love Jason’s Vertigo series Scalped not to mention the Wolvie and Ghost Rider issues he’s done so far, and were kicking around the idea of approaching Jason to do a blog on WU….

…Quick aside…here’s a picture of sexy/deadly, naked Mystique by Ron Garney from Jason’s current Wolverine arc…yeah, it’s a freakin’ awesome book!…

…anyway, I sought out Jason on the show floor yesterday evening and found him camping out at buddy Tony Moore’s booth taking a break after a long day of Con action and finally got to shake the hand of Mr. Aaron. Yes, one of the same hands that typed Scalped! I know that’s extremely nerdy to say, but getting to meet a writer who’s work you really enjoy and admire—especially as a writer myself—well, its pretty darn cool!

I didn’t pester the man too long as it’d been a long day whether you were a writer sitting in on panels or an editor reading/editing/posting stories about panels (Seriously, did you see how many stories we put up yesterday?! Go check it out!) and I’m not guaranteeing anything by any means, but based on the convo I’m optimistic we’ll work out some very cool stuff coming up in the future on the site that will involve Mr. Aaron. So—again no guarantees, but—stay tuned!

And while the above is cool, I guess the main point of this post is just to say that I still totally nerd out about meeting some of these guys and I absolutely hope that never changes no matter how long I’m in this comics journalism game. I mean, if you can’t still get psyched to meet the minds behind your favorite books, what’s the point?! Glad I still do!

For love or money?

So, just a little Con anecdote in between the massive amount of stories to post…

I took a quick break to say some hellos and shake some hands out on the show floor, among them was Frank Supiot over at Iron Man statue premiere.

Anyway, we were chatting about some cool Koto stuff coming up on WU.com (stay tuned), the Con and comic books when a customer came up to ask about a 1/4 sized Final Fantasy Cloud statue.

Now, this wouldn’t have been that out of the ordinary—as almost everyone who came up to the booth asked about the statue—but this fella wasn’t just curious, he wanted it: he was a buyer. The price of his desired item? $400.

I stood and watched as Frank opened the package for the customer’s inspection.

The curious consumer liked what he saw, scrounged up $400 cash and bought the item on the spot.

Now, I’ll be straight with you folks. I find it hard to push myself over the edge to buy a $20 DVD and even harder to make the commitment to drop $50 on a video game. Sure, there’s a ton of great stuff for sale at any Con, but I usually wind up seeing loads of cool stuff and asking, “Do I really need or want that?” which is almost always answered by, “Ya know? If I really do, I’ll seek it out later.” So, to see someone step up, check out the merchandise and in the course of 15 minutes decide that he definitely wanted to drop 400 big ones on an item…well, it was kind of awesome to see!

It was a reminder that Cons can—and should—be a place for all of us with nerdy obsessions to go a bit nuts as consumers and buy stuff that may seem crazy to others but makes complete sense to us. It was almost inspiring to see someone so fully exemplify that mentality…in fact, it was inspiring!

Mark my words, I’ll forsake my I’ll-get-it-later-if-I-want-it-that-bad attitude and splurge a bit on something this weekend. Be it t-shirt, trade paperback or toy…I will make a purchase!

Marvel/Orson Scott Card to do ‘Ender’s Game’ and ‘Ender’s Shadow’ comics

Card will supervising the comics-conversion of two of his novels. Though the author is involved, he won’t be writing the books’ scripts: Chris Yost was one of the writers who’s attached to the project.

Pasqual Ferry will be doing art on one book. Another artists, as yet announced, will do the other.

The upcoming movie of Ender’s will be visually based on Marvel’s comics.

Duane Swierczynski goes Marvel Exclusive!

Umm…read above…

NYCC Day 2…and it starts all over again!

Alright folks, day two of the Comic Con in the Big Apple is about begin…we’ve been told Marvel has two Top Secret announcements coming out today, so stay tuned for that, and we know DC has some more up their sleeves as well…so, just to repeat, stay tuned!

Lots of celebs here today too! Between three cast members from “BSG,” including one of my favorites—Michael “Son of a bitch!” Hogan…yep, the cyclopian Colonel Tigh! Also, Frank Miller and Eva Mendes will be here talking “Spirit.”

Anyway, I’ve got work to do…must go…but news…SO MUCH news is coming…so—again—stay tuned!

Marvel Secret Invasion Panel Announcements

New Deadpool ongoing…first three issues will be Secret Invasion tie-ins. Daniel Way’s writin’ it!

New Warriors Secret Invasion tie-ins coming up as well!

Secret Invasion: Spider-Man…Brian Reed’ll be writing it!

And some Nova Secret Invasion tie-ins, not to mention the Abnett and Lanning helmed Guardians of the Galaxy will have Secret Invasion tie-ins as well!

Oh man, Groot…AND Rocket Raccoon…AND a Cap Shield…this new Guardians of the Galaxy might become my favorite comic…ever!

Mondo Marvel announcements/Kirkman and Walker launch ‘Destroyer’

Marvel’s first panel featured Joe Quesada, Peter David, Marc Guggenheim, Greg Pak, Dan Slott and a flurry of new and exciting art.

Among the announcements:

Mark Waid will be joining the Amazing Spider-Man brain-trust.

Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker will be doing a new Destroyer MAX series. Click here for Wizard’s exclusive interview!

Also, a new NYX series is coming up and Runaways Vol. 3, under Terry Moore, is set to launch in September.