Category Archives: Andrew Hales

by | September 17, 2013 · 4:21 pm

Stories from Comic Cons Past: Part 2

We are yet another week closer to NYCC, and with that, the chance for more comic con stories to happen and memories to be made. For whatever reason, my visits to comic conventions always seem to come with some unexpected adventures. Today, I thought I’d treat you to another story from my adventures at a Big Apple Con past.

As anyone who has been to a convention can attest to, being crammed in like sardines and attempting to squeeze through a press of humanity for hours on end can be hunger inducing work. Thankfully, right down the street from the Hotel Pennsylvania are several establishments which offer what the FDA legally classifies as food. On this particular occasion Dave, Cory and I decide to partake of McDonalds, mostly because it was the first thing we saw and had the quickest moving lines. This McDonalds was laid out like many NYC fast food restaurants with the serving counter and a small seating area downstairs and the main eating area upstairs. Since there was a convention going on across the street, the downstairs seating was all taken up and we were forced to find a place upstairs to devour our Big Macs.

Because this is what I think of when I think food.

Because this is what I think of when I think food.

Toward the end of our meal, we were disturbed by a man wandering around, and placing a small, business card sized slip of paper on our table. We were pretty involved in conversation and didn’t really pay attention to what was going on.The slip of paper showed several basic American Sign Language (ASL) signs and a short explanation that the man handing out the cards was deaf and homeless and that he was asking for a dollar for the card. Anyone who has spent any amount of time in New York City (A layover at Kennedy or La Guardia doesn’t count!) is well aware of the considerable number of people in the city who ask for money. I have little doubt that most of them need the money, but very shortly we were forced to doubt whether this particular man actually did.

As we wrapped up our meal, Dave cleaned up our table and threw out most of our trash, including the ASL card. After Dave returned, we resumed our conversation, not paying any attention to the card that had just been thrown away, when the deaf man returned to our table looking to either retrieve his card or the requested money. He was rather surprised to find neither and began to tap on our table, as we were still talking. He kept tapping, and we kept talking. After about thirty seconds of this, the man started pointing to the card then tapping on the table and we finally figured out what he was looking for.

Since none of us realized that the card had been thrown out, we didn’t know what was going on, so Dave looked at the guy and just shrugged and went back to talking. Becoming rather annoyed, the deaf guy put down another card and walked away for a moment. Upon returning and seeing the card still sitting there, with no money, our deaf friend finally went off. He started pounding on the table and screaming at us in a completely unintelligible manner. At this point Dave and I quickly grabbed our backpacks and headed for the stairs that lead directly to the street. Having been at comic con however, Cory had amassed a considerable amount of stuff during the day and was unable to get moving quite as fast as Dave and I. Because of this, Cory was subjected to continued verbal abuse by an increasingly angry deaf guy.

Dave and I reached the street and turned around and see Cory come running down the stairs, arms around his head in a protective manner (how much does that really do anyways?), being pelted by a large number of coins. Turns out that we had pissed off deaf guy so badly that he actually chucked a handful of change at Cory in anger. A homeless deaf man who was BEGGING for money threw a handful of change (and we’re not just talking pennies here) at a guy he was pissed off at. I hope we’re not the only ones who start scratching our heads about this point. As we were walking away, all Cory had to say was “the nerve of some people”.

In the end we just walked back to the Hotel Pennsylvania and continued on enjoying our afternoon of comics, art, and other geek pursuits. Since this was early in our careers as convention goers, it made much more of an impression. Now that we are veterans though, you’d be suprised at the weird stuff that just doesn’t phase us any more. I’m looking forward to seeing who and what can push the bar forward this year at NYCC.

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by | September 12, 2013 · 12:19 pm

New 52 in Review: Week 3

Welcome to the halfway point of our look back on the DC New 52. This week has not fared as well as the previous two weeks, with seven of thirteen titles cancelled. It did do better in that these titles lasted longer, but in the end, they were still cancelled. This has become a very light week for my comic reading, since only Batwoman, Batman and Robin and Green Lantern made my personal cut, though there are a few others I probably should have checked out.

Batman and RobinBatman-and-Robin

Originally Batman and Robin was a book featuring Dick Grayson as Batman with Damian Wayne as Robin. With the New 52, Dick was replaced with Bruce while Damian stayed on as Robin. This combination allowed the book to explore the father and son relationship between Bruce and Damian. Given Bruce’s back story, it makes for an interesting series of stories. With the recent death of Damian in Batman Incorporated, DC has been putting in a new companion for Batman in each issue, expanding on their relationship with Bruce. These other characters include Carrie Kelly (Robin from The Dark Knight Returns), Jason Todd, Batgirl, and Catwoman.

Batwomanbatwoman1_2

Batwoman has been less about the story, which I have often found difficult to follow, and more about a crazy art tour de force. With artist J.H. Williams III also involved with writing the book, Batwoman has really pushed comic books as a medium, presenting a story that has unified writing and art seamlessly. Unfortunately, the creative team behind Batwoman recently announced they would be leaving the book. It seems that DC editorial was refusing to allow them to go ahead with a lesbian wedding in the book. DC claims that it had nothing to do with the characters being lesbians, but most of us have our doubts and are disappointed to see this particular creative team leave.

Deathstroke CANCELLEDdsk_cv1_ds

Deathstroke is yet another title given to a character that really couldn’t support a standalone series. Surprisingly the series lasted twenty one episodes. I couldn’t have cared less about this series’ existence as I have no love of the character and no any interest in reading another story about a hyper-deadly mercenary with questionable loyalties and morals. This has all been done before, and done better.

Demon Knights CANCELLEDDemon-Knights_Full_1

A recently cancelled title, Demon Knights collected several medieval characters into a team, which turns out to be the precursor of Stormwatch. The series opened to strong critical support, but just never quite caught on with the general comic book reading public.  It combined some of DC’s darker characters including Etrigan (yet another Kirby creation to fall by the wayside), Madame Xanadu (also a member of Justice League Dark) and Vandal Savage, an immortal cave man.  This was a title I kept hearing good things about and just never got around to picking up and now I’ll have to get it in trades.

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E CANCELLEDFrankenstein-Agent-of-SHADE

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. always struck me as an odd title.  Certainly DC is no stranger to comics involving classic horror characters, but I honestly had no idea what this book was about.  This particular version of Frankenstein’s Monster bears a striking resemblance to the old school movie monster and works for a government agency that investigates paranormal and superhuman activity.  After issue nine the writer was changed from Jeff Lemire to Matt Kindt before the series was cancelled after issue sixteen. Frankenstein later joined the cast of Justice League Dark.

Green Lanterngreen-lantern

The Green Lantern books are the one corner of the DCU that went completely untouched during the New 52. We pick up at issue one right where issue sixty-seven left off, with a down and out Hal Jordan with no job and no money. With Geoff Johns still running the show, Green Lantern has done very well. A new Green Lantern, Simon Baz was introduced in the one-year anniversary zero issue and has been playing a major role since.  Johns recently finished up his epic run and has handed the reigns over to Robert Venditti.  It’s still unclear where Venditti will take Green Lantern, given how tightly Johns wrapped up the story, but I’m game to keep reading and see what happens.

Grifter CANCELLEDGRIF_Cv1

Hey, look!  It’s another Rob Liefeld title that got cancelled. Ok, in all fairness Liefeld didn’t take this over until issue nine, but the number of comics he’s written that have been cancelled still makes me laugh. Grifter was originally a character from Jim Lee’s WildC.A.T.S. (This is where the “wild” in Wildstorm came from.). Yet another character who is a black ops soldier turned mercenary, it seems to me that Grifter just lacked something to make it really unique, despite its cult following.

Legion Lost CANCELLEDLegion-Lost-New-52-1-Cover

A companion book to Legion of Super-Heroes, Legion Lost follows seven members of the Legion of Super-Heroes that find themselves trapped in the 21st century, unable to return (at least right away). What then ensues in a fairly convoluted and complicated plot involving a lot of minor characters, time travel and hidden agendas (Are you noticing a pattern forming around cancelled titles?).  Eventually the characters end up back in their own time, but of course that doesn’t last. I mean, if it did, then it wouldn’t be Legion Lost for very long.  The series made it sixteen issues, which is longer than I would have guessed for a series like this.

Mister Terrific CANCELLEDMister_Terrific_Vol_1-1_Cover-2

Yet another secondary character who ended up with their own book, Mister Terrific met an early end when it was cancelled after only eight issues. While I think the character is cool, I can see some of the issues too. The character is yet another genius multi-billionaire who decides to become a superhero. While an interesting character, this stereotype is more than a little played out and nothing special to make him stand out, there was just no way for Mister Terrific to compete. The good news is that when the book ended, Mister Terrific was sucked through dimensions and is now a part of Earth-2.

Red LanternsRed_Lanters-001-001_Crypt_Preist-CPS

There are many titles from the first wave of the New 52 that got cancelled that probably shouldn’t have. Red Lanterns is one of the few titles that should have been cancelled a long time ago, but is still hanging around. The only reason I can think of for this series to have survived is the constant crossovers with the rest of the Green Lantern titles. I dropped this book after issue three, which is the second fastest I’ve ever dropped a book. The attempted tonal shift for the Red Lanterns in this book turned me off at record speed.

Resurrection Man CANCELLEDresurrectionman1

This is one of the crazier and more unique titles from the New 52.  Resurrection Man is all about Mitch Shelley, a man who gains new superpowers every time he dies and is resurrected.  It was written by British writing team Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning—whose work on Marvel’s Nova and Guardians of the Galaxy is among my favorite writing. I understand why weird titles like this don’t really work, especially coming from the Big Two, but I really love books like this. There is just something about bizarre stories that turn things on their heads that really appeals to me.

Suicide SquadSuicide_Squad_Vol_4_1

Suicide Squad is a bizarre mix of characters most people didn’t care about:  Harley Quinn, and a made-over Amanda Waller. To be very honest, most of the things I’ve heard about this book involve people being ticked off over the changes made to Amanda Waller.  Historically, Waller has been a short, heavyset, black woman who is tough enough to make Batman stand down, but in the New 52 Waller was transformed into a much more attractive, taller woman who tries to maintain her edge. This is one the reasons it is a bad idea for publishers to change a character for no reason. There is usually nothing wrong with making some changes, but at they should be done for a point. Suicide Squad has been filled with some pretty quirky and mildly nonsensical stories, but they provide a nice distraction from time to time.

SuperboySuperboy1Cover

Carrying on a Post-Crisis concept, Superboy introduces Kon-El, a clone hybrid of Superman and Lex Luthor.  Originally written by Scott Lobdell, writing duties were taken over by former Marvel Editor-in-Chief Tom DeFalco.  The story centers on Superboy from his beginnings as a young man with the powers of Superman, but lacking Superman’s moral compass, since he’s been raised in a lab.  Superboy is a consistent fan favorite, and as such has continued to support yet another ongoing series.

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by | September 11, 2013 · 5:52 pm

Stories from Comic Cons Past

As New York Comic Con (NYCC) approaches I thought I’d share a few of my favorite stories from comic book conventions past. I have so many great memories attached to all the various conventions I’ve had the good fortune of attending. Some are funny, some touching, and still others were eye opening, but they have all helped shape both my life as a geek and many of my friendships.

nycc09-logo-ff

I got my start with comic books by going to NYCC, which might seems a little backward. Most wait until they’ve been into comics for a little while before they venture into this particular comic fan gathering. I ended up going because my friend Cory was going and I wasn’t doing anything that weekend. Cory was already into comics and had gone the year before (the first ever NY Comic Con) and told me it had been a pretty good time.

For the first few years NYCC did not have the fixed weekend in October that it has now. For my first year it was held Feb 23-25. Also, since this was the only the second year the convention had existed, organizers were still trying to figure out some of the logistics, so everyone had to line up outside, in Manhattan, in February. The line went one long block down east, six short blocks north and then back one long block west (about .6 miles) and it took us a couple hours to get inside. Not only were we waiting for hours to get it, but the temperature was below freezing and it was windy since the Javits Center is on water. I had on heavy pants, a shirt, hat, scarf, and an ankle length leather trench coat, and I was still freezing. I have never been that cold before or since. Even in all my heavy winter clothing I was shivering. There were even some poor people who weren’t expecting it to be that cold and only had a light jacket on. While it was miserable to stand out there for hours on end, shuffling forward a few feet at a time, I look back and realize that it was more of a rite of passage than anything else, and it made for great memories. Of course, at the end of all the waiting there was be a warm and inviting geek wonderland to thaw us.

big-apple-con

As it turns out, going to conventions has a pretty significant learning curve, especially when a group of people go together.  At a Big Apple Con a few months after my first NYCC, my friend Dave and I learned a few valuable lessons at the same time. The Big Apple Con was held in the Hotel Pennsylvania, an old hotel which tried to cram as many artists, vendors and comic fans into as tiny a space as possible. This often meant that “aisles” were barely big enough for one person to go down it, let alone two people walking in opposite directions. We also had yet to learn that a friend of ours would wander off at random moments without any warning. As we were trying to squeeze down a particularly small aisle, our friend took it upon himself to wander off to look at a vendor booth that we passed. Dave turned around suddenly and our friend wasn’t there, so Dave decided to stop and let him catch up. Since it is generally frowned upon to just stand in the aisle without doing something, Dave turned to the booth he was standing in front of.

It was a pretty non-descript booth with a couple of photo album books sitting on the table. Harmlessly, Dave reached down and flipped one open and things began to take a turn. We had unwittingly stopped at the booth for a Playboy Playmate from the early 80’s, and Dave had just opened up the photo album containing all her 20 year old nudes (which is apparently before razors were invented).  Out of surprise, not disgust, he immediately closed the book and looked up to find the Playmate looking at him looking at her pictures. If the story had ended here, it would have been a little funny, but instead the Playmate began to harass Dave and berate him about not wanting to look at her pictures. In order to quiet her, Dave was forced to look through the whole album, trying to compliment the photos, while the Playmate stared at him to make sure he was actually looking them. Imagine trying to look at twenty year old nudes of a woman who was sitting right in front of you.  Not to mention, while she may have been a Playmate twenty years ago, now she looked rather jaded, with way too much makeup and her skin had the texture of an old leather jacket.

Dave finally reached the end of the album, and then turned to me and asked where the hell our friend had disappeared to.  I proceeded to inform him that we had lost him somewhere behind us about ten minutes earlier.  A horrified and mildly sick Dave grabbed my arm, said very loudly that we had to get going, and very forcibly moved us further down the line.  He was dragging me away so hard, I thought he was going to dislocate my shoulder.  The moral of this story for us is first that our friend wanders off on us, but also learned to be much more aware of what booth we are in front of before we start flipping through books on the table.

With NYCC just on the horizon, I can’t wait to tell more of these awesome memories. Keep an eye open from more stories from comic con and stay tuned for Therefore I Geek’s coverage of New York Comic Con, October 10-13.

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by | September 5, 2013 · 11:06 am

New 52 in Review: Week 2

Welcome to Week Two of the DC New 52 in Review.  This week’s titles were initially released on September 7, 2011.  So far five of the original thirteen titles have been cancelled—four of which died early to make room for the second wave of DC titles.  Two of the most critically well received books in the entire reboot, Animal Man and Swamp Thing were released this week, along with one of my personal favorites Batgirl.

Action Comics Action_Comics_Vol_2_1

Action Comics is a new, ongoing Grant Morrison Superman series.  While I am not a huge fan of the Man of Steel, I did really enjoy All-Star Superman, so was willing to give Morrison plenty of room to play.  To start, Morrison introduced Superman as a young man wearing jeans and boots, but he was unable to keep this up for long.  Soon Kal-el was back to a newly updated costume and cape.  Morrison departed after issue eighteen, and the book has been through a couple of different writers.  Now it has become a late victim of DC editorial interference.

Animal ManAnimal_Man_Vol_2-1_Cover-2

A cult hit character, Animal Man marks the return of Buddy Baker to the DCU after he spent some quality time off at the Vertigo imprint.  Smart writing by Jeff Lemire and art by Travel Foreman helped propel Animal Man to unexpected popularity.  After its long crossover with Swamp Thing, Animal Thing has taken a dark turn (from an already dark plot) while Buddy tries to deal with the death of his son during the Rotworld storyline.

Batgirlbatgirl

Barbara Gordon returns as Batgirl.  I still love this book two years later.  It’s got some great action but manages to avoid getting to serious. Although the return of Babs as Batgirl means the loss of Oracle (which has stirred up more than a few people), it was a great choice.  Very little time was spent dealing with how Gordon recovered from her paralyzing shot from the Joker.  This is also one of the most obvious places where DC continuity is not completely rebooted as Gordon was famously shot in The Killing Joke, which is, of course, part of the old continuity.  Batgirl typically does its own thing, making occasional crossovers with other Bat titles, though the issues rarely have an impact on the overall crossover story.

Batwingbatwing

A carry over character from the end of Grant Morrison’s Batman Incorporated, Batwing was supposed to be the Batman of Africa.  Given a backstory which draws upon several of the most common problems facing Africans today (child soldiers and AIDS), Batwing was later recruited by Bruce Wayne as part of the Batman Inc. initiative.  Batwing fought his share of original, but unimaginative villains through his first few story arcs.  After issue nineteen, however, it was decided to reboot this series again; this time using Luke Fox, son of Lucius Fox, as the new Batwing.

Detective Comicsdetective comics

Although not as well received as Batman, DC’s flagship title (yes, DC stands for Detective Comics) has still been a good run so far.  Starting off with a particularly shocking ending to issue one, where it is revealed that someone has cut the Joker’s face off, this book has been running strong ever since.  While it periodically crosses over with the rest of the Batman titles, Detective Comics—like Batgirl—has tended towards its own plot.

Green Arrowgreen arrow

Green Arrow, although always a popular character and now star of his own CW TV show, has had several problems in recent years.  Archer characters such as Green Arrow and Hawkeye are always difficult to write for; it is hard not to make them look silly in a world populated by beings such as Superman. The rebooted Green Arrow was no different. Many fans complained that the character being written in the New 52 was not the same one they had come to know and love. Starting with issue seventeen, writing duties were taken over by Jeff Lemire and the book has made a pretty successful comeback. While the character is still different, fans were pleased by the re-inclusion of many aspects from his past. This, combined with overall better writing and improved art, have made Green Arrow a book worth checking out.

Hawk and Dove CANCELLEDHawk-and-Dove_1

Hawk and Dove was a hot mess. The series was poorly written and simply uninteresting. Art was done by Rob Liefeld and while it wasn’t bad, it was still in Liefeld’s exaggerated and anatomically incorrect style.  Liefeld’s art may have worked in the 90’s, but by today’s standards it is just not up to par.  This helps illustrate one of the biggest issues with the New 52.  Many of the writers and artists that were recruited for the reboot were big names fifteen or twenty years ago.  Instead of packing their lineup with new and exciting new talent, DC decided that their fans needed a trip back in time.  I don’t think many people were sad were to see this series go after eight issues.

Justice League International CANCELLEDjli

A spin-off of Justice League (in case you had any doubts), Justice League International was filled with lesser characters from the DC universe who were at one point members of the Justice League, but not important enough to stay on the main team. I was a little sad to see this one be cancelled, since I am a fan of several of the characters, but I also understand the decision.  An attempted shake-up after the first round of cancellations failed to make the impact that DC had hoped, and it, too, found itself on the chopping block just four issues later, at issue twelve.

Men of War CANCELLEDmen of war

DC’s attempt at the small but consistent market for war comics was Men of War. Previous volumes of Men of War had featured many now-famous writers and artists, but this was not the case for the New 52.  Centered on Sgt. Rock, who is the grandson of the famous DC character of the same name, Men of War failed to live up to its potential and the very high bar set by other war comics and was cancelled at issue eight, to make room for the second wave.

O.M.A.C. CANCELLED omac1

O.M.A.C is based on a classic Jack Kirby character. Much in the same way that Kirby’s original series was cancelled after only eight issues, so was the latest iteration of O.M.A.C..  The title character was moved into Justice League International until that title was cancelled as well at issue twelve.  Although the book was well received, it lacked a popular following.  It’s always a shame to see a Jack Kirby creation fail to gain traction with a modern audience.

Static Shock CANCELLEDstatic shock

Static is one of those lesser characters that somehow managed to get a book in the New 52.  I’m not surprised that Static Shock and several other books like it did not survive.  As much as geeks may love comics, if they don’t have a following, they don’t sell.  Rumor has it that Static will make some appearances in Teen Titans, likely based on his association with S.T.A.R. Labs.

StormwatchStormwatch

One of the original Wildstorm titles (providing the “storm” in Wildstorm) Stormwatch has made its transition to the DCU.  A team consisting of mostly returning characters, plus Martian Manhunter, is tasked with fending off the most significant of alien threats that are coming after Earth.  While the series is still going on, writer Jim Starlin, famous for many of Marvel’s cosmic comics, took over at issue nineteen and completely rebooted the series with a new team.

Swamp Thingswamp thing

Being a legacy book, Swamp Thing has a lot to live up to.  Although the book has wandered around a bit, it has definitely lived up to its potential.  The first eighteen issues dealt with The Rot and a crossover with Animal Man that, although very good, took a bit too long to wrap up.  Scott Snyder’s writing on Swamp Thing is more of the same excellence fans have come to expect, though still not quite as good as his parallel run on Batman.  Swamp Thing is one of the standout titles from the New 52.

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