Indy Pop Con Reviewed!

  

I came, I saw and got Conquered at Indy Pop Con this passed Saturday in Indianapolis, Indiana.  My feet are still hurting from the crazy amount of walking we did Saturday.  But, I am still buzzing from the experience.  I was only able to attend one day because of my work schedule.  But, we made the most and the best of that one day we had.  Sooo, my niece and I jump in the car on Saturday morning and roll to Indy.  We made awesome time and enjoyed some funny conversation.  

  

My cousin Nicole hosted and drove us to the event and was fully immersed in nerd culture. If you don't know Nicole she is Darling Nikki from our Real Talk w/ David and Nikki show. But, she was an awesome host and I think she was happy she tagged along. So we made it to the Indianapolis Convention Center highly anticipating all the nerds on display.  We actually went in a different entrance where there was a very conservative looking political something or other going on.  #Glares We finally made our way to the right area.  All I will say is that it smelled fanboy-ish.and everyone agreed.   We registered and purchased our chances to win prizes from Gleaners Food Drive staffed by Lambda Chi Alpha (we didn't win). But, it was for a good cause.

Pokemon Pikachu VW Bug

 Where to go what to do? We walk into the main convention hall and all of my senses are completely overloaded.  Cosplayers, Comic Books and Vendors are everywhere!! I compare it to having Thanksgiving dinner.  When you see all that food it fills you up faster when you actually start eating. And that is exactly how I felt.  I was on the hunt for several comic books so I started at one of the many comic book vendors to choose from in the hall.  Some were happy to be there.. some seemed less interested in what you wanted to buy.  I didn't understand that.  But, as we walked along it got better.  Being a podcaster I was allowed a media press pass to cover the event.  Next year I think I am going to have a booth in their podcast alley.  I met so many podcasters. I did 2 segments for The Nerds You Are Looking For and The Obsessive Viewer Podcasts. 

As we make our way to the back we have to take our obligatory Dr. Who Tardis pictures.

This was more of a display rather than an actual box. But, it was fun nonetheless. I mean the amount of vendors with their wares to sell was immense.  I just couldn't get my mind straight on what I was doing and where I was going.  I was just kind of walking. But, that's when we saw him.  One of the main reasons my niece and I came to Indy Pop Con.. Xander Harris!!  Nicholas Brendon is about 50 feet from us.  My niece gets so nervous she has to use the restroom.  I am not one to be star struck but I have to admit that I was a little bit star struck.  He seemed smaller than on the Buffy The Vampire Slayer television show.  Dressed in a green henly shirt and high lights in his hair, Nicholas Brendon was in full on celebrity mode.  He was hugging everyone that came to his table.  When it was finally our turn I lose my words and begin to stutter.  I finally get out "Can You Sign My Copy Of Buffy...?"  He was shocked to see somone bringing the comic book that he co-wrote and shared that knowledge with his gang of handlers. He gave me a big hug and we posed for a picture that they could tweet out.

After getting our geek on with Nicholas Brendon we decided to get some of the shopping done.  I was able to get a hot caricature of myself as Animal Man on the new Justice League United Blank Variant Cover.

Art by Art Of Beast

Larry Hama of Wolverine fame (now G.I. Joe) was on hand too.  I brought my Wolverine #50 for him to sign and he also did a sketch on my Avengers World #1 Comic.  We chatted a bit about how the comic book was over 20 years old. He also told me he was hard of hearing.  So, it did make our conversation rather difficult. But, he was still cool.




My cousin, Darling Nikki, was completely taken by Rupert Boneham. from Survivor. I will have to say that he was probably them most genuine of the lot.  He was nice and all of his merchandise was being sold only for only a donation.  I purchased a tie dye shirt for my mother that he signed and he also signed photos for both my mother and I.  The proceeds were given to his organization called Rupert's Kids.  Rupert's Kids is a nonprofit organization committed to changing lives by empowering youth to discover their inner strengths, realize their own self worth and their value to society.



Nikki  had her caricature done by Craig Boldman of Archie Comics.  She had him make her into a Black Snow White.



If you have ever listened to a Fanboy Weekly or Comic Booked show, you know when it comes to new comic books I am not easily moved to get on board.  But, as we were closing our day at Indy Pop Con and author/illustrator by the name of  Geoffrey D. Wessel stopped us at his booth to share his Keeper comic book with us.  I purchased issue #0 and wish I had now bought the all the current issues.  It was good as it was terrifying.  Reading through his website, I see where he has also been nominated for an Eisner Award for his 8 pages of work in Outlaw Territory Vol. 3 which includes his "Problem Solver" work.



All in all I had a wonderful experience and it will be on my things to do list every year now.  Thanks to all the organizers of Indy Pop Con for having an amazing event.

Although, I didn't win their prize, the fellas at geekcityguides.com hooked me up with a t-shirt (in my size).  They are creating a database of geek across the country.  I joined the website and look forward to checking back often for all the information they will have in their database. 

Lastly, here are some additional pictures from our time at Indy Pop Con! See Ya next year!

Chris & Elaine as T1000 Terminator and Sarah Connor

Here are a few podcasts and vendors that I had the opportunity to meet during Indy Pop Con:
Chris & Elaine (pictured above terminator) www.thoughtbubbles.podbean.com
The Nerd's Domain www.nerdsdom.com 
Art Of Beast www.artofbeast.com
Comic Hunterz www.comichunterz.com
The Crit Crew www.soundcloud.com/crit-confirm
Billy & Brandon Watch Movies www.billyandbrandon.com
Bob Williams www.thefoolery.org
The ProNerd Shop www.project-nerd.com 

Final Words

Check out our podcast coming soon on Spreaker and iHeartRadio.
Add your thoughts on your experience on Wednesday on www.blogtalkradio.com/comicbooked.
Call in at 929-477-1883 to be apart of the show.

A Wonder Woman Has Been Found

Well there is a new Amazon Princess in town and she looks nothing like anyone expected.  Israeli actress and model Gal Gadot.  I had the same response.  I had not heard of her until the announcement earlier this week.  But, the powers have made their decision.  And fanboys everywhere are wondering if it's set in stone.  Check out the show and tell me what you think of the casting of Ms. Gadot as our new
 Wonder Woman

Fanboy Weekly: I Wonder, Woman

Welcome back! We haven't had a Fanboy Friday (now weekly) post in awhile. But, this show is a good and informative one.  Listen in as we chat about the new Marvel Infinity comic book that just came out.  If you remember during Free Comic Book Day the Infinity prequel book was one of the giveaways.  But, now it's here in all it's glory.  The cover is awesome and the artwork is great.  You will also find an offer for a digital copy and a bonus copy. I'll tell you how during  the show!

Also, I give a small review about the animated movie Superman Unbound. It's a pretty good story and I felt like it was sequel to Batman/Superman Apocalypse.  I thought so it featured Supergirl and the elements from the first movie kind of led into this one. But, that is just my opinion.  I also loved the fact the Matt Bomer was voice lead for Superman/Clark.  I recently found out that he was married to his boyfriend.  If you remember Matt, he stars in the show White Collar and was one of the strippers in Magic Mike.

Finally, the main focus of this blog and he show. The Amazon Princess, daughter of Paradise Island:

WONDER WOMAN!!

We chat about why we cannot get a good live action feature for our favorite heroine. I think they should use the very well written animated movie for material. We have WW in so many animated movies and television cartoons, it's hard for me to believe that she can't get her own show.  I also asked the question: Who was the first actress to play Wonder Woman on TV? The answer Cathy Lee Crosby. Yes, she did! It was horrible and probably the worst version of our gal in red, white and blue. She had no powers, blonde hair and no lasso. It was the predecessor to the late 70's television series starring Linda Carter.

We all remember the failed NBC pilot for Wondy, where Adriana Palicki was suited up in the satin tights. Fanboys and girls were not having the new look.  After the pilot, NBC shut it down and once again WW was a dream.  Recently, TheCW played with the idea of a prequel called Amazon.  It was also shelved.  So what is it going to take? I think if we can wait long enough.  She should be introduced in the Superman/ Batman movie. And if the reception is good branch out on her own.  

This week's Throwback goes to Mr. Speed himself: Flash.

The Flash Television series was before it's time.  Check out John Wesley Ship's Flash and listen to the show for some information about our speedster. 

Fanboy Friday Makeover

Hey Guys!! Sorry Fanboy Friday has been gone. But, I have been a busy fan boy lately.  

I am so behind on my favorite shows and I am switching to a new format.  We now have a home on Spreaker.  I will still update the show on Blog Talk Radio, but no longer will be broadcasting live from there. You will also still be able to catch it on iTunes and Stitcher Radio and eventually iHeart Radio.  

This episode we are still working out some kinks.  But here the latest on True Blood.  Netflix has introduced a new "Mer-Man" original series and Xmen Days of Future Past has given us a whole lot of mutants to geek about with some newly released pictures. 

Men of Steel

The many lives of Superman!

We are also running a giveaway contest on our blog talk radio show page
click here for details.

I finally get to let my inner geek out for a bit on this week's entertainment blog.  Summer is fast approaching and so are the summer movies.  It seems like each summer movie season we get more and more comic books morphing into live action movies.  The  highly desired and much anticipated reboot of Superman is one that I am definitely looking forward to seeing. 

Henry Cavill

Man of Steel will be DC's entry into the comic book movie showdown this summer, with Henry Cavill (Immortals) donning those very well fitted blue tights (what happened to the red undies). I was very surprised not to see Tom Welling who played Clark/Superman on The CW's Smallville not given the chance to take his very popular and long running role to the big screen. I wonder if he's mad about the snub.  Although, this new movie is more of a re-telling of the Superman story. I guess Welling's version would have been more of a continuation.  Oh well..   

George Reeves

With all that being said, how can one talk about a Superman movie without reminiscing about all the actors who have portrayed Mr. Faster Than A Speeding Bullet.  I was more of a Superman animation and live action fan than I was his portrayal in the comic books. But, I will say I own the complete series of The Death of Superman comic books.   My earliest memory of any kind of Superman television show was on Sunday mornings after church.  My dad and I would watch the George Reeves version in Adventures of Superman.  Little did I know I was watching black and white reruns from the 1950's.  I actually think at some point they were in technicolor.  But, regardless, I enjoyed watching him each week fight the bad guys and duck out on Lois Lane to do so. For some reason I remember the "Clark Kent" scenes with him typing very fast.  I also remember the first man, Kirk Alyn, to portray Superman in a movie from 1948.  My mom took my sister and I to a Super Hero movie revival at The Victory Theater in Evansville, IN.  I remember it being very odd and corny and not like what I had seen on television. I bored quickly and fell asleep on my mom's lap much to her disappointment.  She should have warned me that it was going to be so horrible.  LOL!  

Saturday morning cartoons is where I solidified my love for comics and the super powered.  The Super Friends were my Saturday morning soaps. Batman & Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman and, of course,  Superman were the super powered cast! I couldn't wait to see who The Super Friends were battling each Saturday.  My favorite Superman themed episode was the one called Revenge of Bizarro. The cartoon actually went through several incarnations in the 70's before it was canceled. Whew, finally in the 70's this is where it gets good.

1978 brought us the Superman Movie and probably one of the most memorable, hunkiest and beloved Supermen in all Superman movie-dom.  Christopher Reeve was the quintessential hero.  He embodied the role and fans adored him.  And who can forget the most perfectly curled piece of hair on his forehead.. ..swoon..  I remember being forced to play "Can You Read My Mind?" in band class.  

One of the most memorable scenes from the Superman: The Movie. And who didn't love Margot Kidder's cigarette smoking, raspy voiced Lois Lane.  This Superman franchise produced 4 movies in all.  In Superman: The Movie we see his battle with Lex Luthor and Mortality.  Superman II, General Zod and friends tear up the city.  By the way, to this day, Terrance Stamp's General Zod has been my favorite. In Superman III Richard Pryor is the anti-villain whose computer smarts produces a version of Kryptonite that makes one bad and one good Superman.  It also brought us the first appearance of  Lana Lang, Annette O'Toole.  For those of you who didn't know Annette O'Toole, played Clark's mother (Martha Kent) on Smallville.  When I first saw her on Smallville I giggled like an Asian school girl at a Sailor Moon convention. Superman IV: The Quest For Peace was the fourth and last movie in this series.  I really didn't like it and the franchise was getting old and stale. The solar powered villain and green message alienated audiences and the series was done.  

After a nearly fatal  1995 riding accident, Christopher Reeve, took on another hero role as an advocate for paralysis research.  The Horseback riding accident left him paralyzed from the neck down.  Christopher Reeve passed away in October 2004. You can make donations by visiting The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation page.  

Switching from the big screen back to the small screen Superboy debuted in 1988 and ran for four seasons.  It was an introduction of Superboy's adventures (renamed The Adventures of Superboy in the 3rd season) in college.   After John Newton donned the cape in it's premiere season, he was replaced in season 2 by Gerard Christopher. The reason being was John's diva behavior and publicised DUI arrest. Since, both actors have lent their voices to some Superman animations and documentaries. 

John Newton

Gerard Christopher

Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman debuted in 1993.  It was a primetime hit that introduced the world to Dean Cain and Teri Hatcher (Clark Kent and Lois Lane).  It was more of an action soap opera, where I felt they concentrated on dialog and drama just as much as the action hero stuff. Did you know that Gerard was originally cast as Clark for this series? But, after the director found out he had already played the part he was replaced by Dean Cain.

Superman fans would have to wait until 2001 before we would see another actor take on the mantel of Kal'el, the son of Krypton, role.   Another Superboy-ish retelling of Clark's adventures, before he became Superman, is where Smallville came to life. Tom Welling, in my opinion, has definitely left his mark on the Superman mythology.  He, like Christopher Reeve, embodied the hero and made it his own.  The show included updated and upbeat versions of  Lana, Lois, Jimmy, Perry, Lex, TJ and Laura Vandervoort as Supergirl (remember when Helen Slater played Supergirl?).  I loved it when they would make references to The Super Friends or The Justice League. We also got an hour long show featuring The Justice Society of America.

Helen Slater as Supergirl

Smallville was the longest running live action Super Hero themed television show in history. The only problem I had with the show was the last episode.  I wanted to see him transcend into Superman.  But, something to do with copyrights never allowed us to see him in full cape.

Well that brings us back to the movie theater.  Superman Returns!! Thought of as the 5th installment of the original Superman films, in 2006 the cape belonged to Brandon Routh. Not much to say about this one.  I remember going to the theater to see it and almost walked out.  It was the basic formula that didn't quite translate. Lex + Superman + Kryptonite + Lois = Bad Movie. All I can say is Brandon made a good-looking Superman.  And obviously Superman had a son.  Booo! I guess it was bound to happen.



So there you have it.  I hope I didn't leave any of the actors or incarnations out.  Fanboys can still see Superman in the numerous and completely enjoyable animated movies.  See you at the show on June 14.