T + L: The Best Comic Book Stores In The U.S.

Above, Mile High Comics at the 2014 Comikaze Expo in Los Angeles. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It is Comic-Con time in San Diego, California. But you don't have to go there to get your fix on comic books and other fan-related goodies.

Travel + Leisure has an article on "The Best Comic Book Stores In The U.S.".

They begin with:

It's that time of year again, when comic fans, costumed characters, and film buffs descend on San Diego, California. 

That's right. It's Comic-Con.And in honor of the biggest comics convention of the year, we're highlighting the best comic book stores all across the U.S. From Florida's Emerald City to Washington's Arcane Comics, these are the best places to find all the DC and Marvel your heart desires.

To read more, go here. 

"Godzilla 2" To Feature Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah

Above, the Mothra mural at Toho Studios. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

It must be true! (Either that or four sources have it all wrong.)

I received four news bulletins with the same news from this year's San Diego Comic Con that Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull announced the line-up of monsters for Godzilla 2.

Here's what one of the sources, Flickering Myth, wrote:

Kicking off today’s Legendary Pictures Hall H panel at the San Diego Comic-Con, Legendary CEO Thomas Tull offered up a first look teaser for the sequel to this year’s Godzilla, which revealed that the sequel will see the King of the Monsters going up against three of his classic foes in Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah!

 Although many G-fans were a bit tired of Toho's overuse of Mothra before Godzilla was put out to pasture ten years ago, it will be interesting to see how an American production company handles the character. Ghidorah and Rodan were always fan favorites and their inclusion should be pleasing news.

Japan Today also carried the news, to read what they had to say, go here.

Tony Isabella At 2013 Comic-Con

Above, Tony Isabella.

Things are beginning to shape up for the 2013 Comic-Con International set for July 18-21 in beautiful San Diego, California.

My good friend Tony Isabella has been tapped to be one of the special guests of the convention.  He will likely participate in a number of panels.  I am (finally) going to try to make it down there.  Seems like every time I think about going, something else manages to pop up.

Tony penned a nice write-up on The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan a few months ago in the Comic Buyer's Guide (below).  Hopefully, we can meet up and I can buy him a round or two at the bar.

For information on Comic-Con, go here.

Comikaze Expo, L.A.'s Answer To Comic-Con?

Above, fans waiting for Adam West to appear on-stage.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Stan Lee's Comikaze Expo is not quite L.A.'s answer to the San Diego Comic-Con, but it is getting there, according to an article posted by L.A. Weekly.

They wrote:

For a year now, the buzz has been that Comikaze will be the L.A. equivalent to San Diego Comic-Con, but it's not there yet. There were none of the oversized, swag-filled studio booths that you would see in San Diego. There was, however, some interesting TV and film programming. The stars of the original Batman series -- Adam West, Burt Ward and Julie Newmar -- were on hand. There were reunions for the popular '90s children's shows Salute Your Shorts and Wild & Crazy Kids. Elvira and Peaches Christ brought their film competition Elvira's Horror Hunt to the convention. Their event at the Vista Theatre last week served as a kick-off to Comikaze. 

What Comikaze has in its favor is that they immediately marketed the event as a pop culture convention. They've given themselves the freedom to experiment with different types of programming without alienating people, something that has been an issue for conventions that began their life in a smaller niche. But they haven't had that long gestation period that so many cons have had before they got big. When I covered the inaugural event last year, I noted that the biggest problem was the amount of space available for the convention. This year, the issue was with the pre-sale line. Both of those instances could be linked to simply being unprepared for the volume of people who want to attend the convention. It's something that Comikaze's team will need to resolve to reach the next level. 

To read the full article, go here.

Reminded Me of A Comic Strip I Drew...

In reading today's edition of Tony Isabella's "Tony's Online Tips" column on his good and bad experiences on attending the annual San Diego International Comic-Con, it reminded me, for some reason, of my experience of drawing a comic strip.

Tony Isabella is a comic book writer who is based in Ohio. He has worked on a number of comic books for various companies (DC, Marvel, et al.) and strips. Like anyone, he's had his ups and downs in the industry.

In his column, he relates on how he was offered a job in Los Angeles and came out to the Comic-Con to meet with the person who made the offer. His experience is recounted in his column, so I won't give it away. But it was not a happy one.

Anyway, back in the early 1990s, I responded to an ad for an artist for a comic strip to be published in a modelers' newspaper. I got the job ($30 per page was the rate). I did several pages and it was an enjoyable experience. I really learned a lot. I didn't think of it as work as I was having fun doing it.

The gig ended when I submitted my last page and received the check. The check bounced and the paper ceased publication. I never got any explanation on what happened. Apparently, the guy fell into hard times and ceased publication. But it would have been nice to get an explanation or a head's up from him.

Would I do it again? Sure. As I said, I learned a lot.

I've never been to the San Diego International Comic-Con. I probably would have about 10 years ago. It has either been a lack of funds to go or lack of time. Or both. Maybe I'll go next year just for the heck of it.