Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo: 2012

Last year was hard to beat for the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo. Mignola. Lemire. The Immonens. The convention hall was big and beautiful and there were vendors as far as the eye could see. It was quite obvious that the CCEE was getting bigger. DC had their own booth and people were everywhere. This year the convention experienced what can be lightly described as "growing pains."

Before the boom.

Friday proved to be remarkably busy but as Saturday morning rose over the horizon the twittersphere cracked in half. Attendees could expect a four-hour wait to get into the show and many who had spent hundreds of dollars on photoshoots with the Star Trek: The Next Generation cast were trapped outside because of a Fire Marshall cap on the population. Expo organizers said that they were unable to accomodate so many attendees at entrances at the same time but by mid-morning accusations were flying on twitter with rumours of overselling tickets and confused volunteers became faced with a serious dilemma: did the town with the "Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth" just outgrow its capacity?

Out of sight, out of mind?

Word on the street is that in recent years the turn-out was for Leonard Nimoy's appearance at the 'Con was attendees ranging in the mid 30k's. With this weekend's Star Trek: TNG cast in attendance, estimates have doubled to 60k. It'll be interesting to see how many people are beamed-up this weekend, especially since the BMO Center is the largest convention hall in the city (at 265,000sq. ft). There are few other places to go: the second largest venue is the Big Four building at 118,000sq. ft. and depending on attendees this Sunday it might be high time for the convention to sprawl out. While logistics would become a problem (and some people have expressed a desire to move to con off-site) there are few other options. Expanding to another building on the Stampede grounds would've been the best bet and might be required in the future.

Despite the packed-as-tight-as-sardines hallways and online ravings the crowds inside the 'Con seemed genuinely uplifted. Talks in lines and crowds were personable and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

Next trend in superheroes: Men's open shirts.

To my surprise the vendors for trades were down to three and the wide assortment of comic collectors selling their issues from all-ages were replaced by Silver-Age goodies. In terms of quality-of-books the competition from the Red & White Comic and Toy Expo at the end of 2011 won out and I fear that this lack of modern-collections represents the growing trend for people buying online. Then again, this years convention pushed the "Entertainment" in the title so it might be that the vendors decided to dial-back on comics.

On creators, everyone was a gem. Yanick Paquette was the star for me, being a true gentlemen and I am always pleased to see Tyler Jenkins and Kurtis Wiebe and their enthusiasm. Bernie Wrightson's table was threatened by the CRITICAL MASS of Tony Moore's enveloping crowd (which is a shame, considering Bernie's contribution to horror) and Canadian-sweethearts Fiona Staples and Kate Beaton saw crowds that they so rightly deserve. The gems of artist-alley for me remain Crystal Yates of Earthsong Saga and Cloudscape Comics who were good for a talking-to. I am always pleased to be in the company of these creators.

Costumes, well, there can only be one champion of the 'con. Last year was Galactus at the Kirby Booth. This year I give it to: Doctor Fate and the glowing helmet. 'Till next year.

By Nabu's bulge!

How Old IS the Court?

The relaunched Batman series by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo has had many readers wondering how far back the history of the villainous Court of Owls might reach.

By hints left in the Gates of Gotham miniseries (co-written by Kyle Higgins with art by Trevor McCarthy), the Court has been kicking around since the turn of the 1900's. This is to be corroborated by the upcoming "Night of the Owls" crossover event by DC where an agent of the Court can be expected to show up in All-Star Western by Palmiotti, Gray, and Moritat. This is no surprise as there's been some owls not-so-subtly hiding in the backgrounds of the book thus far.

The reason why Carmen Sandiego never took up a motif.

Elsewhere in the DC New 52, designs that have been recently circling the internet indicate that the Talon assassin showing up in Judd Winick and Guillem March's Catwoman may have been creeping around since the mid 1600's (an armor we might have seen between the 13th floors in Batman #3).  Before the relaunch, keen-eyed readers might've noticed the hints leading up to the upcoming "Night of the Owls" in Scott Snyder's "The Black Mirror" with art by Jock and Francesco Francavilla.

Hiding in plain sight.

So how far back do the roots of the Court of Owls go? Here's where things get heady. In Batman #7 Capullo and Snyder rewrite the famous origins of Bruce Wayne deciding on his bat-symbol. No problem there, rejiggering canon is standard fare in comics. In this case we see the story languish a few more seconds from the bat's perspective during Miller & Mazzucchelli's Batman: Year One series.

The hoots are coming... FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE!

The moment is radical and terrifying. On a beastial level it sets up the Court as Batman's nemesis even before he had donned the cowl. Spooky stuff for Bruce, but we're not done. This is Snyder and Capullo playing with established Bat-lore, a new take on something old. What happens when we look at something that was done 25 years ago?

The joke's on us, gang.

In terms of print you could argue the Court's build-up goes as far back as Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's The Killing Joke.

I'm not going to start screaming that Scott Snyder is the second coming of comicdom but when you compare these long-reaching visual clues to the revival of Swamp Thing (which he is also orchestrating) what we can see happening is a mind-altering implosion of comics-history folding in upon itself. Textually, you could argue the Court of Owls could have existed in comics since 1988. But lets be honest. No puzzle, no matter how complex, can weave in on itself this well. It has to be a fluke. Literature repeating itself. There is no possible way the Court could have existed for this long..

Wait, what was th--

Get Inspired

The following statements are based on experience. There's no greater teacher than that.

- Ideas might start stories but the best stories start ideas.
- Judgement and critique by yourself and others is all part of the process.
- While you might wish the walls could talk, they cant, so get feedback on your work.
- Know your audience but always be the artist you want to read.
- Take every opportunity you can and commit to finishing every project you start.
- Make connections and be polite. Even if they fall through it's important to be remembered.
- Your tastes might not represent your talents, but work at it. It might be bad and that's okay.
- Only by making utter garbage will you see what works.
- The only way anyone is going to know how good you are, how good you can be, is to work at it.
- Work at it.
- Work at it.
- Stories are arguments. Take a stance and run with it.

- Get published.

- The best stories are the ones that people see, read, and feel.

And remember to never take yourself TOO seriously.

Pick of the Week 4/4/2012

Pulls big enough to club a seal. Excuse the trades, I was afraid it was going to be a light week.

The pile... it's made of stars!

Hundreds and hundreds of pages of fine writing and finer art, this week was a doozy. Each book was a little different: I had the child's folktale, the spy thriller, the supernatural horror and -- okay, a few of that last category. Boiling it down the issue of the week that charmed me the most was Animal Man #8 while the award for best trade of the week had to go to... Oh God, don't make me choose.

Animal Man #8: Pick of the  Week: After several issues of road-trip shenanigans and fleeing the rot, the line is drawn. It was great to see Buddy Baker in action and the issue had a tremendously effective two-page spread, effective because it's not only the first I can recall in the series so far but that it was deservedly earned. After eight issues of gripping incremental gains it was fantastic to see Buddy return to being a hero and leap to his daughter's aid with primal fury. The series has continued on since the first issue as the little-engine-that-could while delivering reliable plot twists but this issue was a step-up by Lemire and Pugh.
Team: Jeff Lemire, Steve Pugh, Travel Foreman.

Swamp Thing #8: The riotous rot faces retribution. I would have been content seeing Swamp Thing strike from the shadows, hidden in some sort of similar dramatic tension as the previous issue, but Snyder, Rudy, and Paquette blow past it to deliver Alec Holland's new form as armored and mean. It was great to see the new form of Swamp Thing but the last page left me feeling a little underwhelmed. Part of writing (good writing) is the ability for a writer to dump mayhem on their protagonist. Wanting Swampy to succeed so badly I felt my sidelines cheering for the Green Giant unfounded. After all the fighting up to Sethe, Holland is dispatched in a single blow. I would've liked to have seen the battle go further for another issue.
Team: Scott Snyder, Marco Rudy, Yanick Paquette.

Fatale #4: This book is proving to be an exercise in memory for me. Each issue I'm witness to the things that go bump in the night without any sense of why. Returning to the start of the series and reading it through in one chunk  did much to clarify the current situation but I'm still waiting for the book to grab me. Until then I'm looking forward to the essays/back-matter each issue.
Team: Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips.

-----Books of the Week----

BPRD: Plague of Frogs Hardcover #3: (Trade of the Week) The world is ending very slowly. Enough is happening to keep it interesting. Having originally joined onto BPRD during this hardcover's arc, the emotional impact wasn't as great. The stories are still fantastic by all accounts and a must read for anyone getting into the current BPRD: Hell on Earth arc. Fan favorite Daryl the Wendigo appears this arc and steals the show for me. God, I missed that poor, cursed, guffer. The best part of the series is its happiness to "break" things, and while the Abe Sapien arc was so-so it introduced a new mysterious character and led into the knock-down-drag-out-finale of Benjamin Daimyo (whom I totally forgot about his relationship to the Nazi villians and the Black Flame who has just popped up in the new Lobster Johnson mini). Contiually high-quality BPRD is a series that can't be missed.
Team: John Arcudi, Mike Mignola, Dave Stewart, Guy Davis

Queen and Country #1: It all started here. I started reading Q&C in its definitive editions (2-4) before learning that #1 was out of print. After hearing back from Greg Rucka in a prompt tweet I was happy to discover that it was going back for its new printing (further investigation revealed the reason for the delay being Oni Press's new logo). Reading Q&C#1 thankfully evaded the typical "prequel" feel, instead layering on more and more of the character building and political intrigue I'd enjoyed before. The early volume's art is a far cry different than later instalments bu it's impressive to see that Rucka had, from the get-go, such a strong handle on the world and formula. Impressive by all accounts it makes me want to seek out the novel(s) now.
Team: Greg Rucka, Assorted.

Anya's Ghost: The book goes down as quick as punch and tastes just as great. An indie gem that follows the life of Anya, a Russian immigrant in America who unexpectedly finds the displaced spirit of murder victim. With some provoking the two become friends and the ghost helps Anya fit in at school -- until strange circumstances begin to build. The book is the labour of love by Vera Brosgol and shows in its quippy writing and animated style. The lines are crisp, the story never languishes, and the saddest part is that it's over so soon (even at over 200 pages). A must-read for anyone that likes childrens literature or dark folk tales, Anya's Ghost fits into the similar vein as Coraline and other dark fantasies. Highly recommended.
Team: Vera Brosgol.

Easter Ritual Traditions

Easter has some of the best games. There's egg-dancing, egg-tapping, egg-tossing, egg-racing, or my favorite, egg-hunting. There's innumerable traditions wrung out of our interest in colourful little eggs and the harrowing nail-biting games of will-I-wont-I break them. These games can walk the razor's edge of sanity -- nobody wants to break their egg.

The scary truth behind Scott Snyder's Easter. (Circa 1980 DC Comics)

One of the more interesting Easter traditions takes place south of the border. This coming Easter Monday my Yankee-neighbors will be celebrating their 134th "White House Easter Egg Roll". Estimates are that up to 35,000 people will arrive on the South Lawn to play games, listen to stories and take part in the longstanding tradition of rolling eggs along the green fields.

Did I mention the AVENGERS and SPIDER-MAN are going? Hulk loves puny eggs.

The tradition was started in 1878 by US President Rutherford B. Hayes and only suspended once to deal with a shortage of eggs (World War II, you gotta cut back).

Fighting the war but still time for playing.

The history of Easter games goes back to early Western cultures. The egg was then-viewed as a symbol of rebirth by the Pagans and was picked up and carried to modernity by Christians who had so far lucked out by having really shitty games of their own. Stealing from the Pagans seemed much easier.

The egg-dance (alternatively called "hop-egg", the Saxon word hoppe meaning "to dance") had two specific traditions associated with it. The first was to dance around in a circle without crushing eggs on the floor while the second was the devil's version of hackey-sack. The player had to dance in a circle, roll an egg out of a bowl, and flip the bowl to cover the egg -- all with their feet (and preferably landing within a chalk circle on the ground)

Her posture speaks volumes to the fun she's having.

It wasn't long before more Easter games developed with an interest in a more competitive edge. For example, in the game of egg-tapping kids would bet their egg's structural integrity and smack them against an opponents' in hopes of shattering the weak, supple, shell of their enemy. Egg-tossing, a more-team oriented game, grew out of the desire to have kids work together and invent ways of tossing an egg from one spoon to the next without dropping it. This game blossomed and variations on it would soon pop up that crossed "hot-potato" with "catapult". It was equally as fun to look for a way to save the egg as destroy it.

My own childhood tradition, the egg-hunt, came from the same lineage of Pagan fun-time. Again lifted by the Christians to symbolize the rebirth of Christ, the egg-hunt is a scavengers hunt for little coloured eggs where the prize is the sweet chocolate therein and the sweet knowledge that you outwitted a mythical anthropomorphic hare that laid them willy-nilly all over the place. The game is exceptionally great fun for parents who like to leave clues to the next egg's location but some cultures have taken the game too far and added painful obstacles to overcome.

"I think he left some on THAT SIDE. Go on"

Regardless of the way you celebrate Easter this year, remember to keep it entertaining. Come up with a new tradition or dig one up you might not have done in forever. Either way, remember where it all started: With people tempting fate and smashing eggs.

Happy Easter.

Franklin's Lost: John Shaw Torrington

Today's musical credit goes to John Shaw Torrington, the lead stoker during the Franklin expedition. Torrington was one of the first men to die during the search for the Northwest Passage, cut down by pneumonia only seven months into the three-year journey.

In 1850 Torrington's body was found in a grave on Beechey Island, Nunavut. While performing an autopsy on his body he was found to be in a state of near-perfect preservation, the ice having slowed his decomposition. Petrified in a comparable state to an Egyptian mummy, Torrington's story inspired songwriter James Taylor to write the song "Frozen Man".