Megacon '09 Con Report

Hey, cats and kittens! I'm over the con plague and prepared to report on Megacon 09!

Megacon was held in sunny Orlando Florida from Feb. 27th-March 1st. This was my first trip down to Orlando for Megacon, so I went in really excited! Special thanks to the folks over at Comic Geek Speak for letting me crash on their floor!

Panels:

First off, panels! The only panels I attended were the daily DC Nation meetings. The first day featured Dan Didio and Jimmy Palmiotti discussing their career in comics and chatting with the fans. I had a ton of fun. Both Jimmy and Dan are very engaging, funny guys who really care about the fans, and it shows.

The second meeting, on Saturday, featured an expanded panel of Dan Jurgens, Billy Tucci, Jimmy Palmiotti, Dan Didio, George Perez, and Ethan Van Sciver. The meeting started off with a very special event: George Perez birthday! In fact, Dan Didio read out a document from the mayor of Orange County Florida, proclaiming that day George Perez Day!


George gave a great speech thanking the fans, Dan, and especially his wife for supporting him throughout his career. The crowd went crazy! Then, as an added bonus, Dan noticed that someone in the back of the room might be able to help George celebrate his special day:

George told the audience that when he and Marv Wolfman were creating Starfire, it was their fervent hope that some lovely young lady would dress up as Starfire and show up to a con. Well, this certainly fits the bill!

The rest of the panel consisted mostly of audience questions, although there was a discussion about Jimmy Palmiotti's last birthday party that leads me to believe that comic book people live much more interesting lives than the rest of us. No Green Arrow news, although Dan Didio did mention that characters like Conner Hawke, Wally West, and Kyle Raynor (replacements whose predecessors are back from the dead) do have a story to tell, and that it will be told in the future.

The third meeting was basically just a conversation between the fans and Mr. Didio. Dan would ask questions of the audience and then encourage discussion between its members. Yours truly's answer to the question of "What was the first comic you ever read" with "Who's Who in the DCU" provoked a bit of shock from Mr. Didio. I explained that since I started out with Who's Who, by the time I got around to reading actual comics, I already knew who everyone was! This panel was a ton of fun, and you could feel the comics love in the room.

Acquisitions:

Holy crap folks, Megacon is a great place to drop some serious dough. Here's a picture of just about everything I picked up at the con, all artfully laid out in my living room:

As you can see, its quite a haul. One thing you may notice is the massive pile of Essential, Showcase, and Archive volumes in the middle there. I went a little crazy over the three day con, picking up 15 of these volumes in total. Luckily, the sales were great, and I didn't pay full price for a single one of them. Here's a list for the curious:

Essential X-Men vols. 1, 2, 4, and 5
Essential Nova vol. 1
Essential Thor vol. 1
Essential Power man and Iron Fist vol 1.
Essential Luke Cage vol. 2
Essential Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Deluxe Edition vol. 2
Essential OHOTMU Update '89 vol. 1
Essential Spiderman vol. 4
Showcase: Aquaman vol. 1
Showcase: Batman and the Outsiders vol. 1
Archive Savage Dragon vols. 1 and 2

Someone (me) certainly has a ton of reading to do! Plus, I also picked up Marvel Visionaries: Walt Simonson Thor (which I'm reading now. Its awesome) and the Best of Spiderman vol 3 for 5 and 3 dollars respectively. The Spiderman volume was an especially awesome find, since its a nice big hardcover that normally retails for $30.

Next, we have my action figure purchases: all of DC Direct JLA wave 2 (Adam Strange, The Atom, Elongated Man, and Firestorm) for $2 each. Now that's an unbeatable deal! From that same booth, I picked up a bust of Nighthawk for $20 bucks. I'll add him to his fellow Defenders Moon Knight and Doctor Strange on my desk!

Next, we have my few single issue purchases. As you can see from the picture, Crazy Ed finally came through with Green Lantern #87. That means that my run of Denny O'Neil/Neal Adams Green Lantern/Green Arrow is finally complete! This issue was especially hard to find because it also happens to be the first appearance of Green Lantern John Stewart. Expect a review of this issue when I finally get around to finishing my review series of that run.

My only other single issue purchases were issues 11 and 19 of Who's Who, issues 8, 9, and 11 of Defenders, and the first six issues of The Uniques. The Uniques is a self published title whose creators are fellow members of the CGS message boards. Check out their website here for some seriously awesome superhero fun!

Next, we have the two sketches I commissioned. First, we have the Doctor Strange sketch I got from the incomparable Avery Butterworth:


Holy crap, how awesome is this? I couldn't be happier with this sketch. I love the effect of the magic around Doc's Hand, and the serious expression on his face.

Then we have this fun little Booster Gold sketch from fellow CGS forum member Andrew Charipar:

I love this one too. Booster's Smirk, the thumb's up, Skeets? Perfect! (You can also see the side of my cat's head in this picture. Hi Dinah!)

Lastly, we have what is possibly the greatest purchase in the history of commerce. Observe:



Yes, you're seeing it correctly. These are, in fact, balloon sculptures of Green Arrow and BLue Beetle. How awesome are they? Seriously? They were created by balloonissimo extraordinaire Pasquale Palazzolo. During the weekend, he also created Doctor Manhattan, Yellow Lantern Kryb, Nite Owl, Rorschach, Jarvis, Martian Manhunter, and more. Pasquale is incredibly talented, and his balloons were a really big hit at the con. In fact, DC writer Tony Bedard absolutely loved balloon Ted, enough to snap a few pictures!

Ahhhh, Megacon. Good times were had by all. Hopefully, I'll get to go back next year!

Con-Plague: Defeated!

Greetings, loyal readers! The Con-Plague has officially been defeated. Megacon report to follow this evening!

Crisis on Earth Blog Crossover!

(Hey everyone, as indicated below, your humble correspondent has been struck down with the Con Plague. Hopefully, yours truely will be feeling well enough to do a full con report later this week. In the meantime, the Irredeemable Shag has organized a massive blog crossover. Since the Dispatcher is unable to continue, Frank Delano of the Idol-Head of Diabolu has graciously provided us with a guest spot!)

"Finally, Adama (Dispatches from the Arrow Cave) has been struck down with Con-Plague. He's not feeling well and is resting up. He unfortunately won't be able to participate in the crossover. He'll be with us in spirit!"

It may be far worse than that, as your favorite Green Arrow blog has also been struck by... CRISIS ON BLOG-ONE! Masterminded by The Irredeemable Shag of Once Upon a Geek, you're witness to a DC Universe Blog Event so overwhelming, even Adama's absence can't keep the Emerald Archer from being enlisted! In his stead, this is Frank Lee Delano reporting!

Our post today revolves around the extraordinary cover to the 1998 Crisis On Infinite Earths Hardcover. Laid out by superstar George Pérez, the enormous piece was painted over by the universally acclaimed Alex Ross! Below are three key Arrow-related appearances on the masterwork.



This is a very sullen-looking Golden Age Oliver Queen, probably because he was retroactively wiped from existence after the Crisis. For over a quarter century, the "Earth-2" adventures of GA and Speedy never happened. They were never in the Seven Soldiers of Victory, and the closest they had to a counterpart during the Golden Age was Alias... the Spider. Even with the recent return of the Multiverse, you'd be hard pressed to find any noteworthy recent appearances of the GAGA (O.G.A.?)

Alternately, Ollie could just be depressed about the lousy company he's been given in this shot, including Chop-Chop of the Blackhawks and Space Ranger's sidekick Cryll. You couldn't find a worse freak show if you included the Doom Patrol, for whom Doug has recently started a blog, which is taking part in this crossover! You might also try Rick's Mail it to Team-up, another participant!



Here's the classic Silver Age Green Arrow we all know and love! That "platform" he's stepping on is actually the Elongated Man, member of Justice League Detroit, whose blog features an extension of this image (along with teammates Zatanna, Vixen, Steel and Vibe.) Actually, Ollie's former Justice League of America allies are well represented in Crisis On Earth-Blog. Founding member Flash races through Kelson's Speed Force to his seeming end in this Crisis entry (though we now know otherwise!) Rob Kelly's The Aquaman Shrine and my own Martian Manhunter blog The Idol-Head of Diabolu spotlight others who preceded Green Arrow on the team. Who can forget the ideological rivalry between bleeding heart liberal Ollie and the right wing Hawkman, showcased at Luke's Being Carter Hall? Among the Johnny-Come-Latelies who barely served with Ollie are Firestorm Fan Shag's favorite Nuclear Man and Rick's beloved Plastic Man. Wait-- there's no Black Canary blog? What a gyp!



Finally, here's Speedy, and boy was he a Tiny Titan in the original piece. Sorry for the resolution folks! I already covered the Doom Patrol elsewhere, which nixes the only real connection left for Roy Harper here. Hopefully he won't mind if I plug the final Crisis on Earth-Blog all-star, Rob Kelly's I am the Phantom Stranger, especially seeing as he designed our great logo (with the Neal Adams GA!)

Balloon Ollie Says:

Megacon update coming soon!

Articulation Arrow: Infinite Heroes Arrow Family Set

Hey folks! This post is a long time coming, but thanks to ARROWHEAD member Russel Burbage, I own the Infinite Heroes Series Green Arrow, Black Canary, Green Lantern 3 pack.

Observe:The Green Arrow fig seems to take its inspiration from the Mike Grell era costume, complete with the hood. He also comes with a bow, the only accessory in the set. Black Canary is decked out in her classic black costume, but lacks fishnets. Hal is, well, Hal, and has a fittingly stern look on his face.

There's not a ton of articulation in these figs, but the paint job is spot on (except the aforementioned lack of fishnets). I really like this set. My only real complaint is that the profile on the back gives Hal a higher intelligence than both Dinah and Ollie. Hal's not exactly an idiot, but... yeah.

There are 3 other sets in the series, 1 of which actually makes sense. There's a Hawkman+ 2 Thanagarian soldiers set, which is awesome, but also a Superman, Supergirl, and Wonder Girl. Huh? Two members of the Super family, and one member of the Wonder family???

The last one makes even less sense: Raven, Starfire, and CAPTAIN BOOMERANG. Two Teen Titans and a Flash Villain? Wha??

Anyway, thanks Russel!

Con Report: Greenville Comic Con

About every 4 months or so, Greenville hosts a really tiny comic-con in a seedy hotel on the outskirts of town. This year, it happened to fall on the same day as the Borderlands sale!

Unfortunately, I was pretty much tapped out by the sale. My only acquisitions were an issue (174) of the first Doc Strange series. I also got an interesting item: the February 1948 issue of Amazing Stories! Its in really great shape for being 60 years old. I can't wait to dig into the Golden Age Sci-Fi action inside!

Acquisition Report: Borderlands Sale

Hey folks! Back again, and with tons of new content for you! We'll start off today with a report on the happenings this weekend. As I reported last year, my favorite gaming/comics shop, Borderlands Games and Comics, has a big blowout sale about this time every year.

As El Jacone, non-blogger Joe and I drove up to the store on Saturday morning, we saw the usual sea of nerdery waiting anxiously to get in. I swear, if a comet were to strike that parking lot at that moment, the nerd IQ in Greenville County would drop to almost nothing.

Before the doors opened, Stan, the owner, sent out his daughter in an attempt to use beauty to calm the nerdy beast. After imploring the crowd not to stomp her to death, she explained the rules, and quickly scuttled out of the way. IT WAS ON!!

I ran to the back, hoping to repeat last year's amazing RPG haul, but found nothing. Then, I ran to the frnt, hoping for cheap figures again. This time, I hit pay dirt, snagging a Legion of Superheoes Heroclix starter set for a measly $2.

Behold:
Not only does this set include Superboy, Lightning Lad, Cosmic Boy, Saturn Girl, Phantom Girl, Ultra Boy, and Timber Wolf, it includes a play mat, rules set, dice, and scenery!

My only other gaming purchases of the day were a single blister of Warhammer Lizardmen, and a copy of Axis and Allies D-Day, which I picked up for 20 bucks.

And now, for the comics. Again, we'll divide this up by fanboy category:

Firestorm: I snagged 22 and 34 of vol. 2 from the 3/$1 bins. There was probably more to be had, but I had reached the limits of my budget by that point. I also grabbed Justice League of America #179, where Firestorm joins the JLA!

Blue Devil: Issues 12, 15, and 18 of Blue's colo run. Almost done with this one!

Namor: Issue 2 of Namor's 80's miniseries

ROM: The Spaceknight made a good showing this year! I got issues 13, 44, 46, 47, 48, 51 and Annuals 1 and 2. Plus, I got Marvel Two-In-One #99, starring The Thing and ROM!

Moon Knight: A decent showing for good old Marc, with issues 25, 27, 28, and 32 of of his second series, plus issues 1 and 2 of the Fist of Khonshu mini.

Amethyst: Only 1 issue this time: #5 of the ongoing. I have nearly every Amethyst issue out there, so finishing off the list is getting tougher.

Justice League Europe: Annual 1 and issue 33. Another series that should be easy to find, but isn't.

What If?: Issue 43, 31, and 33 of vol 1, plus #32 of vol. 2. All interesting stories!

Aquaman: El Jacone gave me quite a few Aquaman comics back on Halloween, and I've continued the tradition by picking up few more. I got issue 62 of Aquaman's first series, plus Adventure comics #466, starring Aquaman.

Defenders: Giant Size Defenders #5. Yup, that's it!

AND INTRODUCING NEW FANBOY CATEGORY: Legion of Superheroes!

I've picked up a few random Legion issues here and there over the years, but this year the discount bins seemed stuffed with them, and I couldn't pass it up!

I got: issues 198, 299, and 264 of the orignal series. In fact, 198 was early enough that it was still branded "Superboy, starring The Legion of Superheroes." In addition, I got issues 33, 92-99, 101-104, and 106-117 of the reboot era Legion. I've read about 10 of those issues, and it sure does make for some great comic fun! All those issues, plus the Heroclix Legion.

And now, for the subject of this blog...Green Arrow!

Not too much this time,, unfortunately. I did find a few issues of Green Lantern, still badged as Green Lantern/Green Arrow, # 117 118, and 121. I also grabbed The Brave and the Bold #166, guest starring Green Arrow.

Random: Not much random stuff this year. I managed to focus pretty narrowly on my fanboy obsessions. I did pick up the first issue of The Soviet Super-Soldiers from El Jacone the night before. I also grabbed the 1st issue of Animal Man, by Grant Morrison. I also found 3 issues (6, 7, and 8) of Crisis on Infinite Earths, all in pretty good shape! That was my main surprise find of th morning.

Trades: Every year Borderlands puts out a nice selection of $5 trades. This year I grabbed DNAgents vol. 1, plus vol. 1 and 2 of Alan Moore's Tomorrow Stories. I'm really excited about that last one!

No toys or anything this time, unfortunately. However, our friend the Monitor from the Crisis of Infinite Earths line was STILL there, for the 3rd or 4th year running! I swear, if that thing is still there next year, I'm going to buy the poor guy out of pity.