There were several firsts at this particular Dallas Comic Con.

 

It was the first gathering in the spanking new Irving Convention Center. The new building is an impressive sight from the outside and even more so on the inside. The fans were out in force, even with the threat of the impending Rapture hanging over their heads. Fortunately, the Rapture was pushed back to October 21st so we can all stop worrying about that for now.

The other first was the Reckon Crew finally getting to meet Carrie Fisher. Call us fan boys if you must but we’ve been looking forward to this day for a very long time. I was there for Crutchboy when he nearly fainted when Carrie told him he was too short to be a Stormtrooper. I would have even forgiven him if he would have squealed and done that thing with his hands like an excited school girl. But he maintained his cool.

I met another one of my heroes, Leonard Nimoy, at the convention. I’d been unfortunate enough to miss him at some previous events so I made it my mission to meet him this time and get his autograph. My plans to tell him his face was “illogical” fell through, however, so there will be another meeting… Next time, Nimoy, next time.

We stopped by the booth of our two favorite Dallas artists, Terry Parr and Halo Seraphim. Terry and Halo have stepped up their game with their new project ShoNuff Studios. Their art gets better every time I see them and the “cleavage buttons” they’re offering are sure to be a hit with the gents.

Taffeta Darling was in fine form, braving the crowd to hang out with the Reckon Crew. She was a hit with the fans and dressed as Zantanna, I was able to forgive the crowds as they tried to get their picture taken with her. I was even able to forgive them for not knowing who I was.

Stan Lee was in attendance and in high demand. It was good to see him at another convention and I applaud the Dallas Comic Con team for landing him for this gig.

All in all, I continue to be amazed with how quickly this event has grown. The prior events were by no means deficient but my hat is definitely off to the gents at C2 Ventures. If they continue in their current direction, the next event should be spectacular.

As for the stun gun incident, well, here’s a little sneak peek…

Gritskrieg – End of Line

This past weekend, the Reckon Crew packed up and headed for Dallas to visit the Dallas Comic Con and get some fan boy energy out of our system. We were excited to see the guest line up this year and managed to do some schmoozing with some friends of the site and meet some new ones.

The first person we had to visit, of course, was the talented artist Terry Parr. While we’ll be seeing Terry next month when he comes to Austin for Staple!, we’re always excited to see what he’s been up to and his new work is extraordinary. Once we’d taken up too much of his time and probably scared away more than a couple of his fans, we took in the rest of the sights the Comic Con had to offer.

In attendance this year were several big names. Among them were some names you’d know if you’re a Sci-Fi fan; Peter Mayhew, Herb Jefferson Jr., and Anne Lockhart. The list for the artists was no less impressive with names like Adam Hughes, Cat Skaggs, and Tim Sale. We were more than happy to peruse more than a few of their sketches. We even ended up with a couple of them in tow as we visited some of the other artists there.

We paid our homage to Adam West, the OB (Original Batman) and the Mayor of a little town called Quahog. That’s a “Family Guy” reference if you missed it. Pictures were taken, autographs were procured, and more than a little of that fan boy energy I mentioned was in effect at his table.

We were fortunate enough to attend the Q&A for Sean Patrick Flanery while we were there. I’ve been to more than a few Q&A’s and I have to say that Mr. Flanery’s was one of the best that I have ever had the pleasure to attend. Funny and self deprecating, Sean talked about his experiences on the set of Boondock Saints and the sequel, meeting George Lucas during his audition for the TV series Young Indiana Jones, and his favorite moments from the filming of Powder. The guy does a mean Christopher Walken impression as well.

We also met up with Jim Brown, a very talented photographer who has agreed to do some of the shoots for our lovely Gamettes this year. We were happy to finally have the time to get to know Jim and talk to him about matters ranging from photography to drinking misadventures. We’re happy to welcome Jim aboard and look forward to seeing more of his work.

All in all, it was a great weekend. We managed to defy death, meet some famous people, make some impressions both good and bad, and have a few drinks along the way… That’s just what we do.

Gritskrieg – End of Line

On January 24th and 25th, 2009, the Busy Gamer Reckon Crew made a visit to the Richardson Civic Center to pay homage to the Dallas Comic Con. In typical Reckon Crew fashion, we arrived late, left early, and drank in between. But not before meeting and interviewing Thomas Jane of Punisher and The Mist fame and the very talented Terry Parr, artist and creator of Gemini Force. And somewhere during the chaos, we managed to admire the artwork of some of the very fine artists who attended the event.

No stranger to famous folk, the Dallas Comic Con has been gathering some of the most geek and fanboi worthy names in the business for the last eight years and 2009 was no exception to the rule. On hand for the event were James O’Barr, Tim Bradstreet, Cat Staggs, and Scott Harben, just to name a few. We wandered amongst the various artist tables, saying hello to some old favorites and learning the names of a few new ones.

Several vendors were on hand with merchandise to tempt our pocket books and none of the Reckon Crew escaped without at least a couple of purchases. And then there was the sweet, sweet swag to be had for those numbers who had made their way to the event. T-shirts and movie posters from The Punisher movies, My Sweet Valentine 3D, and the upcoming Coraline. There were even free comics if one was so inclined to grab a couple when making their way past the Lone Star Comics table.

It should, of course, be noted that the very lovely Amber Alert, one of our first Gamettes, was there to offset the Reckon Crew ugly with her good looks and gracious nature. She even suggested a locale for Saturday night’s festivities and managed to get Timothy Danger to dance, no small feat. Or perhaps, no small two left feat.

After everything was said and done, the beers were drank,  and some monstrous burritos had been consumed, the Reckon Crew left Dallas knowing that there was a new stop on our list of worthy events to visit when the next opportunity (August 29-30, in case you were curious) rolls around, the Dallas Comic Con.

 

Gritskrieg – End of Line

You may know actor Thomas Jane from his recent hits THE MIST and THE PUNISHER, but you may not know he is a huge Sci Fi and horror fan, and now, a comic book publisher. While meeting up with Thomas Jane at Dallas Comic Con, he took the time out to answer some questions by Timothy Danger…

BUSYGAMER: So What brings you out to this Con?

Thomas Jane: Good looking women, pre code horror comic books, and my friends… Tim Bradstreet, James Daly, Todd Farmer, Bernie Wrightson, Bill Stout, Joe Jusko, Howard Chaykin, these are my pals, and they are all here, we have some good times together.

BUSYGAMER: Yeah I see that, looks like you are all working on a big project together, is that right?

Thomas Jane: Yeah, I mean we all work on stuff, we like to group up as much as we can.

BUSYGAMER: That’s right, you know a lot of people in mainstream America, they see you in the movies and stuff, they don’t know you actually are a big comic book guy.

Thomas Jane: That’s right I am, and now I’ve become a publisher and we’ve put out two titles, BAD PLANET and ALIEN PIG FARM, and we’re putting out a third this year called THE LYCAN. A band of werewolf hunters in the 17th century and we are having a blast. We put out a book called SHOCK FESTIVAL with IDW. It’s got great reviews, we’re putting out a couple of graphic novels. We are having a lot of fun, I get to work with some pretty terrific guys.

BUSYGAMER: Yeah… so you are the publisher then?

Thomas Jane: Yeah, I’m the publisher, and I wrote BAD PLANET, also helped conceive ALIEN PIG FARM, Todd Farmer wrote the script.

BUSYGAMER: How long have you been into comics?

Thomas Jane: When I was like 8 years old, I think I bought a copy of MAD MAGAZINE, and my dad said “you know that used to be a comic book, when I was a kid it was MAD COMICS??? I was like, no way. That led to comic book shops. I never got into superheroes, I think they are soap operas, I’m not really into guys in tights, I’ve never been into it. I never got into soap operas.

But I love stories, I love westerns, I love science fiction, crime comics, horror comics, war comics, so many more you know? I love the comics that comprise the other 3 percent of comic books OK? Charles Burns, Will Eisner, Art Speigelman, these guys are artists, and the art of comics and the art of graphic storytelling is absolutely fantastic. I’m happy for the superheroes, I guess it keeps the industry afloat. I think in a strange way it also hobbles the industry by keeping in a world of daytime Fucking soap opera. So FUCK YOU Superman alright? You’re time has come and gone.
(more…)

We love conventions. They give us a reason to check out what’s going on, meet new people, talk to artists and industry people, meet actors… and of course, drink copious amounts of alcohol.

That’s just what we intend to do this weekend at the Dallas Comic Con. Besides special guests like Tom Jane (The Punisher) horror movie writer Todd Farmer and our own friend Terry Parr, also attending will be artist Tim Bradstreet.

Tim Bradstreet is an incredible artist and illustrator who is best known for his work with comic book covers. He has also done visual work for movies and movie posters.

Bradstreet uses a pretty interesting style that is sort of photo realistic. He uses photos mixed with pencils and inks to create a unique style that brings out the grit of his characters he is famous for portraying (most notably his work on HELLBLAZER and THE PUNISHER)

You can catch him this weekend at the Dallas Comic Con / Sci-Fi Expo January 24 and 25 at the Richardson Convention Center.

His website is www.timbradstreet.com

-Timothy Danger

So with the economy in it’s current state, “The Powers That Be” have decided to pull one of the biggest comic conventions in Texas (and L.A., too). Wizard World Texas (and L.A.) will be postponed this year.

This sucks. Wizard World Texas always seemed to get the shaft with publicity and numbers. It wasn’t because there are a small amount of fans here… not at all. It just seemed like the season for comic conventions was already wound down by the time WizWorld Texas came around. As a result, the bigger companies like Marvel and DC had not been coming and this past year hardly ANY comic companies opened an exhibitor booth. They primarily relied on Artist Alley and private sellers with a few indie exhibitors. Coupled with Diamond’s new distribution policies to small indie shops, this may not bode well for the indie comic creator and indie comic lover.

So what is a Texas comic geek like myself to do? Why, find alternate routes of fun, of course. Wizard may have really messed up. Instead of giving me one big con to look forward to, I think I may frequent a few. A quick search online pulls up the following:

Dallas Comic Con (Richardson Texas, Jan 24-25)
JMV Comic Show (Austin Texas, Jan 25th)
JMV Comc Show (Killeen Texas, Feb 22nd)
Fear Fest (Dallas TX, March 13-15)
All-Con (Addison TX, March 13-15)
Screw Attack Gaming Con (Dallas Tx, July 3-5)

And don’t forget STAPLE! (Austin Tx, March 7th), where we will actually be among the exhibitors!

Happy conventions, everyone.

-T. Danger