By Rajan Khanna

March of the DAMNED

In some ways, comic conventions such as Wizardworld Philadelphia are some of my favorite conventions of all. I've been to gaming conventions, sci-fi and fantasy conventions, and yet none are as all-encompassing as comic conventions are. There are plenty of comic-related events and attractions, of course - and most of the panels deal with comics - but the modern comic convention has really become a multi-media event with anime, games, toys, movies, and television falling within the envelope.

I didn't attend any panels, and I don't have any comic news or gossip to impart. For that I'll refer you to Newsarama or The Pulse or CBR. Instead I generally walked around, trying to absorb as much of the con as I could.

Team Grimjack

One of the major draws of this con for me, aside from the fact that many of my friends were going, was that the Grimjack team was going - John Ostrander, Tim Truman, and Mike Gold all together in one place. I wasn't able to make their panel in the morning (damn you, public transportation) but I was able to catch up with them at their table in Artist's Alley. Grimjack has always been my favorite comic/comic character of all time and his recent return in a mini and trades from IDW has been something I'd been waiting for a long time.

I'd also been waiting to meet Tim Truman for a long time. I'd met John Ostrander before (a great writer and wonderful person), but this was my first time meeting Tim Truman. He was nice and congenial and funny and agreed to do a sketch for me and send it to me (something I've wanted for a long time). All in all, they're all a talented bunch and their comic is, in my opinion, one of the best things out there. I heartily recommend it to anyone.

YOU KIDS GO PLAY OUTSIDE!

The PSP Seduction

Wizardworld Philly was also my first introduction to the PSP. Sure, I'd seen them on the subway, and yes, I was curious, but the con was my first time holding one in my hands. The shiny screen, the glossy surface, the impeccable graphics - they all grabbed hold of my instantly. Like some kind of digital magpie, I'm often drawn to things electronic and shiny, but this one seems to deserve it. I have a Nintendo DS, I like Nintendo a lot, but the Sony PSP is a Dodge Viper to the DS's Honda Element.

Dressing Up

BAH! Doom cares not for your 'dignity!'

Cons typically have people in costume, often dressed as their favorite comic character or other geek archetype. This year I saw quite a few people in costume - a Batman and Catwoman, a Spider-Man, a Black Cat, but by far the most common type of costume were the Star Wars people. It's a good time for it, I suppose, what with the release of Episode III, but what really amazes me is the quality of the costumes these days. There was a time when the only Star Wars costume you could get involved a plastic mask and a shirt that said Star Wars on it. These days there are people walking around in full Stormtrooper gear, or full Boba Fett armor. Even the Darth Vader at the con looked like Darth Vader (only smaller and with less overacting).

Right before the siege of the food court.

Let's face it, though - a Star Wars costume is useful. You can wear it to movie premieres, you can wear it to gaming cons, media cons, sci-fi cons, comic cons. I imagine that Star Wars people can find occasions to do this every month of the year and possibly more besides. Interestingly enough, the most popular costumes seem to be the bad guys - there were no Luke Skywalkers or other Jedi, no Rebel soldiers, no Wookies. Then again, the Dark Side is more seductive, isn't it...

The Batman Begins pass. Give it to me.

Media "Stars"

Every con of this type always has its share of media "stars" - people who have appeared in movies or television, sometimes wrestlers, always people who have time to appear at cons rather than actually, say, working in the biz. This one featured the likes of Lou Ferrigno (television's Incredible Hulk!), Marc Singer (the Beastmaster and Donovan from V!) , and Virgil (the wrestler!). I won't say that their tables were empty - there were generally a couple of people by them at any given time - but they didn't get a lot of traffic. Clearly the most successful media guest was Tricia Helfer of Battlestar Galactica (the new series) fame. No surprise that a hot Cylon attracted the most attention at a con full of horny male geeks. If the lines weren't so long, I might have stopped by myself...

No joke for this one.

Highlights

The highlight of the con for me was meeting the Grimjack team, no doubt. A close second was meeting Andy Lee. Andy Lee is an artist, who applies traditional Chinese brush painting techniques to superheroes and other geek culture topics like Star Wars. Andy did a Grimjack sketch for me, which is amazing, but everything at his table was amazing. I saw him do a Yoda, a Silver Surfer, and a Dr. Fate. All were amazing. There are lots of people who draw superheroes the traditional way; there aren't many who use Chinese Brush painting. It's definitely worth checking out.

That, in a nutshell, was my con experience. Check out the rest of YMB for more con reports.

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