See me this summer in 'DeadPoo--' ...| mean 'green lantern'!
LAUNCH PAD
Our mission statement... straight from the top!
First one down, and on to #2. What a week it was—we not only cracked Apple's iPad top 100 apps, but made it to #68 in just a few days. We're on our way to the top of the charts! Stay tuned, because over the next few weeks we'll be adding lots more functionality to our app to enhance your experience. This week, we discover for you a very cool thriller from Top Shelf called The Homeland Directive. We also present the Green Lantern movie toys, including some fish-headed weirdos and robots! And wait until you meet our Gamer Girls, Whitney and Chloe. You'll all want to play games with the two of them, for sure. Coming up next weekend is our Toronto Comic Con. We'll make sure to get lots of pics of all the celebs, comic book artists and writers and all the great costumes and cosplayers we see! See ya!
Gareb Shamus, Chief Executive Officer
MASTHEAD Gareb Shamus Chief Executive Officer Stephen Shamus Chief Marketing Officer Editorial Justin Aclin & Mike Cotton Co-Chiefs of Pop Culture Carlos Mejia Senior Associate Producer
MINI-TOY THEATER Ugh! Why does this webbing taste like bacon-flavored cotton candy?
ART James Walker Creative Director Cover Design: EYStudios info@eystudios.com
That’s between me and my abdominal spinnerets!
Contributors Rob Bricken, TJ Dietsch, Caleb Goellner, John Gonzalez, Jon Gutierrez, Luke Porter, Dan Reilly, Casey Seijas; Gorman & Gorman Studios, Planet illogica
$
EXHIBITORS, SPONSORSHIPS, PROMOTIONS & BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Peter Katz VP Business Affairs & Development (646) 801-5572 pkatz@wizardworld.com pkatz@pwizardworld.com
Triceraton Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Playmates Webstor Masters of the Universe Classics, Mattel
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ANAHEIM CONVENTION CENTER 800 west katella avenue anaheim, ca., 92802
april 29-30-May 1, 2011 FRI-SAT-SUN ALSO...
KATE VERNON
MICHAEL McMILLIAN
ADAM WEST & BURT WARD TV's BATMAN AND ROBIN
THE BEST IN COMICS, TOYS, SCI-FI, FANTASY, GAMING, anime, COLLECTIBLES AND MORE!
FOR MORE INFO, GO TO Wizardworld.com
CLAUDIA CHRISTIAN
Bill sienkiewicz
UP FRONT
EAD R O T HOW a page
3 IN OUR BOX We'll print your letters, but we'll never fix your misspellings. You've been warned!
on rs: Click menu— e s u d a iP top up the g n list i r b o t e story ific h t n o c click to a spe p i k s o icon t story.
5 MEANWHILE... Five webcomics you should be following, plus the best comic we read this week and more!
FEATURES 10 HOME OF THE FREE See left. 14 CORPS VALUES Don't know your Abin Sur from your Rot Lop Fan? Get acquainted with Mattel's Green Lantern movie toys!
AT THE BACK 20 PLANET ILLOGICA's GAMES, GIRLS, GADGETS & GEAR Meet the Wizard Girls as they hit the this year's GDC. 23 CUSTOM PARTY How to create custom packaging for your action figures.
ON THE COVER
24 COSPLAYGROUND Welcome to Miami. Please enjoy its cosplayers.
HOME OF THE FREE Get to know The Homeland Directive, the hot new graphic novel thriller from the writer of The Surrogates. Page 10
25 TWISTED TOY THEATER Captain Kirk's secession adventure continues! 26 BACK DOOR Why "Superman XXX" might be the best Man of Steel movie ever.
Wizard World Issue 1.2 • March 9, 2011 page 2 of 26
IN OUR BOX
You write letters and we answer them. It's not rocket surgery.
Issue #1.1 was so last week, but apparently most of you actually read the issue. And some of you even liked it. (Winning!) While others…just wished for our collective heads on a stick. Well, here’s some letters, both angry and not so angry, and some awesome fan art. Keep up the praise (or hate) at LETTERS@wizardworld.com Enjoy the issue, folks!
THE PRICE IS RIGHT To WWD, Please include price guide again.
"M. Jessee" Via email
Man, that was straight to the point. We’ve been getting A LOT of requests for a Price Guide. Now for all you normals out there who don’t know what a Price Guide is—it’s basically an accurate list which determines how much your comic books are worth on the secondary market. However, formulating a Price Guide does take time, especially when you’re working on a weekly digital magazine. But here’s the good news for you PG vultures: The Wizard World Price Guide will finally drop next Friday at wizardworld.com. So please stop asking us. Please.
Wow. Charlie Sheen looks great. Must be that "Adonis DNA."
FIRST ISSUE, CAT APPROVED!
DOWN THE DRAIN
Dear Pop Culture Experts, The first issue was great. Loved it. But what I didn’t enjoy was the photo of the guy sitting on the toilet in the “In Our Box” section. What the hell, guys? A guy on a toilet? Why do you guys think I wanna see any of you on the pooper? Well, keep up the good work and refrain from people on toilets, please.
Meow, In order for me to know if your first issue of Wizard World Digital was any good, I asked the almighty Business Cat whether or not it’s worth anything. This is his response: The cat god has spoken. Now I can start spending time reading your magazine, but "Cat Fancy" will always come first. You understand.
Rhonda S. Via email
Bernice Jenkins Sarasota, FL
Okay, let’s clear the air here and state that was not an real picture of a Wizard World Digital Staffer on the can. It was an image we received from our stock photo account. But Rhonda, we hear your pain. In fact, MTV Geek even politely asked for no more dudes on toilets in their review. While we can’t guarantee no more bathroom photography, we can promise you that we’ll try.
We’re dog people so we don’t really give a damn about what some adorable cat wearing a tiny tie has to say. And we know Business Cat never really said anything about our first issue because you created this photo from MemeGenerator.com. So we created our own.
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IN OUR BOX Wizard World 1350 Avenue of the Americas, Second Floor, New York, NY 10019 letters@wizardworld.com
WIZARD WORLD DIGITAL: A TEACHER Congrats, Today was other story whit [sic] the launch of your digital magazine i never write to thankyou [sic] guys for all i have learn from your publications but now i can say thankyou [sic] and good work the new mag [sic] looks amazing thankyou [sic] for not leaving.
CAN YOU DO BETTER? People send us images of custom art all the time. If you think you can achieve a higher standard of hand-to-paper excellence, then give it a shot!
Fernando Solano Via e-mail Thank you, Fernando, for your e-mail and catchy ABBA song! We’re glad that you find such joy and plentiful nuggets of knowledge from our new fully digital publication. But for goodness sake, please don’t tell us you learned spelling from us. As writers, we’re decent at best. But dude, there’s no way we’re taking responsibility for that grammar-plagued letter. We’re much gooder than that. But thanks for the kind words, please forgive our snark and keep reading! [And for those of your wondering, that letter was not edited for corrections.]
TWEET THE DEETS Why don't you follow us, just like the cops do! It's a fact: big-time Hollywood celebrities get paid to post tweets. Stars like Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga and Andy Rooney* are "connecting" with fans just for the cash. But not us! We tweet for free and we tweet for you! So what are you waiting for? Send us your rants, comments, praise and hate to twitter. com/wizardbullpen
* Andy Rooney is not on Twitter.
This Month: Thor & Captain America By Dana Boughton via email Ah, yes. The God of Thunder &The First Avenger— Thor and Captain America. Dana here spent a good amount of time crafting his original artwork of the Marvel characters. But why you ask? “When I draw, I am in another world,” said Boughton. “My true gift is the gift of detail and color blending. All of my art is strictly drawn by hand no computer graphics.” Whoa. That sounds like big shot talk to us. No, we’re kidding. “Drawing is not what I do, it's who I am and it's life all around me.” Well, that was nice! Great job, Dana! So do you think you can do better than, Dana? Send us your custom art work (of ANYONE!) to I’M BETTER! c/o Wizard World 1350 Avenue of the Americas, Second Floor, New York, NY 10019 or email us at letters@wizardworld.com. Make sure if you scan the art that the drawing is high-res: at least 300 dpi!
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MEANWHILE...
Too busy drinking tiger blood? Well, here are the news stories of the week! YOU BETTER HAVE ROBOT INSURANCE SUCKAS!
D WIZAR EWS DN WORLE L SP CIA T REPOR
America’s Next Top Webcomic
CHECK OUT these FOUR upand-coming digital comics
With monthly comics going up in price (or down in pages), it’s no wonder that digital comics have been seeing a steady increase in popularity among nerds in the know. And while we’ve already seen the medium’s first crop of mustreads—“Dr. McNinja,” “Achewood,” “Penny Arcade,” “XKCD” just to new a very few—new strips seem to be popping up on an almost daily basis. So which webcomics look to be poised as the next big thing? Take a look at four that we’ve got bookmarked on our browser.
STRANGER FICTIONS (above)
by Jared K. Fletcher A longtime comic letterer whose credits are way too long to list, Fletcher recently made the jump to digicomics with the genius, NSFW adventures of Continued next page
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MEANWHILE...
BY THE NUMBERS:
The Bone 20th Anniversary Color One Volume Slipcase. PAGES OF ORIGINAL BONE
1344
MEASUREMENTS
9 1/2" x 7" x 3" Number of 22k gold plated coins included
1
professional troublemaker Lord Dethicus and his drunk robot pal, Captain Fantabulous. [www.strangerfictions.com]
GRATUITOUS NINJA!!!
Pewter Figures of the three Bone cousins
(above, right)
by Ronald Wimberly Fans may recognize Wimberly’s name from his Vertigo work (Sentences, Papa Midnite), but to see what he can do when the gloves are truly off, look no further than this action-packed series with a sublime social conscience. [gratnin.d-pi.com]
3
Limited to
2,000
Available
7/11
Price
$350
ANTS
by Julian Lytle Lytle puts pop culture under a microscope with this frequently updated series that gives an Omar Little-esque critique on everything from Twitter to Beyonce’s thighs… but, ya know, starring ants (duh). [ants.julianlytle.com]
THE CITY by Derf (above, Left)
An icon in the alternative comics scene for decades now, Derf’s long-running series of politically-charged yet hysterical strips have been a source of rage for conservatives for some time now, but has never really found a hardcore nerd audience. Yet. [www.derfcity.com] • Casey Seijas
THE BIG NUMBER
STARTING EBAY BID FOR JACK KIRBY'S RECREATION OF THE COVER TO AMAZING FANTASY #15 A classic recreation of the cover to Amazing Fantasy #15—Spider-Man’s first appearance—landed on eBay last week with a starting bid of at $61,000. The recreation was reportedly created by the King for a 1994 Sotherby’s auction and is drawn to the exact dimensions as the original! • MC
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• Mike Cotton
MEANWHILE...
WE'RE STUMPED
Greg Rucka’s ‘Stumptown’ gets collected! Greg Rucka loves crime. Okay, the 41-year-old novelist and comic book scribe doesn’t break legs or track down bad guys, but he can write one hell of a crime story. His most recent—Stumptown from Oni Press (left) —is no different. If you haven’t checked out Rucka’s take on criminals, miscreant detectives and the thin lines between the two, check out our road map from Rucka’s first crime novel to Stumptown, available in trade paperback March 23, 2011. Keeper (1996) Rucka first caught our eye, when he launched his Atticus Kodiak series based around a professional bodyguard, which has now expanded to seven novels. Whiteout (1998) U.S. Marshall Carrie Stetko is at the bottom—the bottom of the world, in Antartica. When a murderer invades her territory, Stetko is forced to leave her peaceful life and return to the line of fire. Queen & Country (2001) Tare Chase, who shows up under another name in Whiteout, takes the lead in the espionage thriller that spawned two novels as well as the comic series. Felon (2001) This series was supposed to spawn 25 issues of a federal agent going anywhere she needs to find an escaped felon. It only got four issues, but spawned a cult following. Stumptown (2010) Dex can't Portland Private Detective Dex Parios is in debt and needs to catch a break break her losing streak, but a missing persons case that could in 'Stumptown.' turn things around for Dex isn’t what it seemed at first. • MC
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MEANWHILE...
THE LIST:
Three toy lines that should be made into a major motion picture
No. |'m not eric stoltz. Why do people keep asking?
1
M.A.S.K. Mobile Armored Strike Kommand has been out of commission for several years now (other than team-leader Matt Trakker’s recent cameo in the G.I. Joe line, seen left), but the appeal of Kenner’s ’80s toy line is universal: vehicles that transform into other vehicles, piloted by guys wearing superpowered helmets. Just think of it as Transformers minus robots, plus humans you actually give two craps about.
2
DINO-RIDERS Or as we like to call it, “Money in the Bank.” In this ’80s line from Tyco, futuristic humans time-travel to the Prehistoric era to escape evil aliens. But the evil aliens follow them back, then both of them strap some guns on dinosaurs, and proceed to blast the crap out of each other. Oh, and they also ride the dinosaurs. There’s nothing in that description that’s not like candy-coated crack to kids.
THE 7th KINGDOM The Four Horsemen (the designers behind Mattel’s redhot Masters of the Universe Classics and DC Universe Classics lines) are one of the only companies still making toy lines based on original characters. Their series “The 7th Kingdom” features six distinct groups of characters (including humans, aliens, robots and anthropomorphic animals) doing battle over a magical land. Check out those character designs! • JA
3
1
Got a toy you'd like to see as a movie? You could end up in an issue! E-mail us at bullpen@wizardworld.com.
2
3
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MEANWHILE... D WIZARD WORL THE F PICK O K! WEE
Axe Cop and Dinosaur Soldier soar over their enemies: regular cops
Reasons Why AXE COP Is The Best Comic on Earth
CREATOR TO WATCH:
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER Actor. Restaurant entrepreneur. Governor. And now…comic book creator? Arnold Schwarzenegger will not stop until he conquers every mountain in pop culture, as thearnoldfans.com announced earlier this week that the former Governor of California plans to create a comic book! No details of the book have been announced, but Arnold was quoted as saying, “I am also packaging a comic book character right now. I'm going to announce that sometime by the end of March or the beginning of April.” Of course that sentence can be interpreted in so many different ways, but we’re taking it as, “Arnold will create comics.” And why shouldn’t he create a comic? The Terminator has already penned five books on physical fitness and considering all of the sci-fi movies he’s starred in there’s no telling what kind of genius is stored in that Austrian brain! • CM
Breaking down our favorite comic of the week: 'Axe Cop' #1 by Dark Horse
1
It’s Written by a 6-year old! Turns out there's no substitute for a child's animation. Writer Malachai Nicolle (he just turned 7 this week) creates each story by playing with his brother, 30-year-old artist Ethan. It cuts out the convoluted crap we’re tired of reading in comics.
2
It Has Dinosaurs! Batman has cool gadgets. Iron Man has an expensive suit. But is there a superhero out there who rides a T-Rex with machine gun powered arms? Axe Cop does! And his name is Wexter.
3
It’s Free! Sure, Axe Cop officially hit print last week with its first issue from Dark Horse, but it’s been a free web comic on axecop.com since January 2010. And there’s more than 50 issues uploaded on the site. And it's free!
"Now that California is free of Terminators, it's time to write comics!"
4
It Has A CRAZY CAST! Axe Cop’s trusty sidekick is Flute Cop, who has been transformed into Dinosaur Soldier, Avocado Solider, Ghost Cop and then Drag-TriGhostacops Rex. And that's not even getting into Sockarang, Baby Man or Axe Cop's talking dog, Ralph Wrinkles. This cast is over the top.
OOPS!
5
In issue # 1.1 we ran art work of "American Terror," but we meant to show art for "American Terrorist" instead. Our bad.
It’s Fun! "Axe Cop," at its core is just a fun comic for everyone to read—casual readers and hardcore nerds. • Carlos Mejia
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DIRECT ENERGY CENTRE 100 PRINCES' BOULEVARD TORONTO, ON M6K 3C3, CANADA
MARCH 18-19-20 2011 FRI-SAT-SUN ALSO...
MIKE GRELL
BILLY DEE WILLIAMS
RAY PARK
JULIE BENZ Buffy, Angel, Dexter & No Ordinary Family!
THE BEST IN COMICS, TOYS, SCI-FI, FANTASY, GAMING, anime, COLLECTIBLES AND MORE!
FOR MORE INFO, GO TO Wizardworld.com
Phil JimEnez
Robert Venditti, author of 'The Surrogates' talks to Wizard World Digital about his eagerly anticipated new graphic novel: 'The Homeland Directive.'
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It’s hard to talk about 'The Homeland Directive' from Top Shelf. The graphic novel doesn’t hit shelves until this May, and there's a shocking twist at its core. But we’re not going to spoil it for you. Instead we’re going to tell you to read this political/medical thriller revolving around a deadly conspiracy affecting Americans. At the heart of the conspiracy is Dr. Laura Regan, who works for the Center of Disease Control and doesn’t know why she’s involved. Robert Venditti— the man who penned The Surrogates, which was later turned into a film— wrote the book, which was illustrated by Mike Huddleston. In his first Q&A about Homeland, Venditti tells us why he moved away from sci-fi, his plans to return to Surrogates and what it was like to meet Bruce Willis. What made you go from writing a scifi heavy story in The Surrogates to a real-world based story in The Homeland Directive? It was something I was always interested in. I was a Political Science and English double major, but I’m not necessarily a conspiracy theorist—I just think they make for really good entertainment. I’m actually not a huge sci-fi guy. I’ve probably read like 10 scifi novels in my whole life and The Surrogates was just a sci-fi idea that I had. I didn’t want to be a guy who did sci-fi all of the time. I wanted to do different stories and challenge myself with different characters.
What was the initial inspiration behind Homeland? There were [a few] events that happened that made me spin into this idea. On the first anniversary of 9/11, this was Labor Day Weekend 2002, my wife and I were on a plane trip to Philadelphia and there was an incident on the plane with an unruly passenger. We didn’t see what he did, but there were U.S. Marshals on the plane and they ended up drawing their weapons and putting this guy in zip ties and standing guard in front of the pilot’s cabin for about the last hour of the flight, with their guns pointing down the cabin.
story in The Homeland Directive. Hopefully I can make people think about it. The coloring in Homeland is very unique. It's not just a background element—it helps set the mood. Was that always your plan for the book? No man, that’s all artist Mike Huddleston. He was turning in pages to me and I was seeing the colors, the art and background—I mean every scene has its own distinctive background—that was all him. And as I was seeing these pages, I was emailing him [Huddleston lives in France] and said, "These look like nothing I have ever seen before,
"there were U.S. Marshals on the plane and they ended up drawing their weapons and putting this guy in zip ties." The next day it was all over the news. It just made me think of this quandary we put government in, where on one hand we demand they protect us 100% because we don’t have the stomach to lose anyone. But we don’t want to surrender any of our freedom. So how does government handle that? How do they reconcile those two demands of the population? I don’t know the answer, but I use that as the heart of the
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in a completely good way." He floored me. He was looking forward to work on the book and to just cut loose. He did such an amazing job on it. In Homeland, there's a nameless antagonist chasing Laura, who’s nose is always red. Why did you make him a real life Rudolph? That was just something Mike wanted to do to set him off. Mike decided to
PRIME DIRECTIVES Clockwise: "The Mercenary" above unloads a round in 'The Homeland Directive,' a scene from 'The Surrogates' (right), the cover to 'The Lightning Thief,' which is an adaptation of the book and the man himself, Robert Venditti.
"We haven’t announced this yet, but we’re doing another series of stories for 'Surrogates,' which will be out in 2012." give him a red nose to make that character distinctive, because it’s a pretty big cast and it was Mike’s way of [ensuring] that when you see him you would instantly know who he is. He actually gives off three different names. I never gave him a name. I just referred to him as, “The Mercenary.” Will we ever see a sequel to Homeland Directive, with the team taking on another government conspiracy? I do have another story in mind with the same characters—not necessarily a government conspiracy, but a similar kind of cover up. It's something that I
came up with during my research, but it’s just a matter of when I’ll get around to making those stories. You sound pretty busy. What other projects are you currently working on? We haven’t announced this yet, but we’re doing another series of stories for The Surrogates, which will be out in 2012. I’m doing Percy Jackson and the Olympians series [also for Top Shelf ], which is five books. Two are out and I’m doing the third one now. I’m also adapting a classic novel for Imperium called Blue Bloods. And I’m working on a novel right now.
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The Homeland Directive feels like a major motion picture waiting to happen. Once the comic hits, do you think Hollywood will knock on your door? You would think that my reaction is, "I’ve done that before and I can do that," but it’s actually the opposite. I know how long the odds are that I almost assume it’s not going to happen. It’s so hard to get a film made. If they do want to do it, I’m happy to do it. The Surrogates was a wonderful experience, but I just don’t expect it because I know how long the odds can be on something like that. Were you at all upset at the differences between "The Surrogates" the film and your book? No. The way that I looked at it from day one was, in the movie they changed a few things, but to me when you go to a Hollywood set and you see the enormity of it and how much
"when you go to a Hollywood set and you see the enormity of it and how much money they’re putting into it, I can’t look at it in any other way than an extreme compliment." money they’re putting into it, I can’t look at it in any other way than an extreme compliment. Who would want to devote this much time and energy to an idea I had? And whatever happens with a movie, it’s not like this is a screenplay I wrote and nobody can read my original. My original exists and nobody can change that. If someone wants to make a movie and change things, I have no problem with that because my original story has already been told the way I wanted to tell it. If somebody is inspired by that and wants to tell it in a different way, let them do it. I’m totally supportive of the whole process.
all such a huge eye-opening experience for me. I think the thing I learned the most—aside from the huge number of hurdles you have to clear to have the movie end up in the theaters, and any one of them at any time will derail the entire process. What I learned is that the people you want to have making your movie really enjoy the original story and really believe in it. People who read the story, those are the people you want to have. You don’t want anyone in it for the paycheck, and that was the case for "The Surrogates." Everyone involved felt that way about the story, so that was the best scenario you could ask for.
What did you learn from the movie adaptation of The Surrogates? I came to it with literally no knowledge. Just to show you how much of a newb I was, I thought they film movies in the same order that you see it in the [final] movie. That’s how little I knew. It was
We've got to know—did you get to meet Bruce Willis while on set? I did. I met him a few times on set and at the premiere. The first time we went to the set in Boston they were doing shots. As soon as the shot was over, the publicist walked over to us
It’s An Inside Job! With The Homeland Directive revolving around a (top secret) conspiracy, we have Robert Venditti list his five favorite conspiracy theories from pop culture. “I love conspiracy theories,” says Venditti. “They’re all just entertaining stories. I read an article about conspiracy theories and it said they're so popular because they sort of provide order to the chaos.”
1C onspiracy Theory "I always find this one fun to watch, in large part because of Patrick Stewart’s turn as the villainous Dr. Jonas.” 2 The Day of the Jackal “I love the way the tension builds all the way to the end, which has one of the simplest yet most effective twists ever." 3 The X-Files "The show’s ability to juggle a seemingly endless number of conspiracies and subterfuges is a triumph of episodic storytelling." 4 All the President’s Men “Not only an engrossing story, it also appeals to my inner political junkie.” 5 Rome “We all know that Julius Caesar is going to die, so the intrigue isn’t centered on whether or not the dominoes will fall, but how."
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and brought us to meet Bruce, and introduced us to him as, “This is the reason we’re all here.” That was such a great way to be introduced to the set. I thought people would tell me to get a sandwich all day, you know what I mean? They were really happy to have us all there and to talk to us. There was a lot of creativity on a set like that and it was mind-boggling. We know you're relatively new to the world of comic books, but what books are you currently reading? Believe it or not, the nearest comic shop to me is over an hour away. So I don’t read any ongoing series, I just read trades. Astro City is the comic that got me started on comics back in 2000. The Astro City "Confessions" story arc was the first comic book I ever read. Because I’m so late on comics, I’m doing a lot of catch up on older stuff. So I read Starman, and I’m reading the Gotham Central collections.
PHOTOGRAPH BY GORMAN & GORMAN STUDIOS
CORPS VALUES
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Your guide to the pink guys, rock guys, robots and lizard dudes backing up Hal Jordan in Mattel’s ‘Green Lantern’ movie line
By Caleb Goellner
Hal Jordan
|'M SHIRTLESS SIXTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE MOVIE OR YOU GET YOUR MONEY BACK!
The first human to be chosen to safeguard Space Sector 2814, over the years Jordan helped found the JLA, got possessed by Parallax, nearly destroyed the entire GL Corps, sacrificed himself, and returned just in time to battle several new color Lantern Corps and even defeat DC Comics' embodiment of death itself.
Greatest Moment During Blackest
Night, the Life Entity bonded with Jordan, giving him the power to save existence. Spiffy!
Mattel Says Fans can definitely
expect several Hals. "There'll be different decos," says Mattel Marketing Manager Scott Neitlich. "Some are movie-accurate, others are more 'inspired-by.'" The initial release features a 6-inch Movie Masters Hal (right), two Hals in the deluxe Battle Shifters line and at least four Hals in the basic 3 3/4-inch line, including one in his pilot gear, one that’s translucent and green, and one that comes with a giant fist construct. "It's a giant fist just like fans saw in the trailer."
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| DON'T SUPPOSE YOU'VE GOT ONE OF THESE IN YELLOW? ...guys?
SINESTRO
Easily the biggest jerk in space, Thaal Sinestro was once considered the greatest Green Lantern, but was stripped of his Green Lantern ring after using his power to rule his homeworld of Korugar. Since then, he's fought his former Corps with a yellow power ring, eventually pairing with Parallax to form a fullfledged Sinestro Corps powered by fear.
Greatest Moment After being executed
for crimes of mass genocide, Sinestro snuck his essence into Oa's Central Power Battery where he amassed secret lantern knowledge and teamed up with Parallax to eventually drive Hal Jordan insane and destroy the GL Corps.
Mattel Says Since Sinestro is still an
upstanding Green Lantern in the movie, his weapons won't necessarily reflect an evil or maniacal persona. "[Sinestro's energy blades] kind of resemble pirate swords, because they have pretty thick, curved blades," says Neitlich of the character's space-scimitars.
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in just fifteen minutes, | can save fifteen percent of the universe!
ISAMOT KOL
A lizard soldier from Thanagar, Isamot Kol admitted to murdering his superior officer for wanting to surrender his soldiers during a war. He couldn't tell a lie, so he was saved and recruited into the Green Lantern Corps.
Greatest Moment Lately Ismaot Kol has been
working on his diplomatic side, as he's partnered with Vath Sarn of Rann, hated enemies of Thanagar.
Mattel Says This cool beast trap construct could wind
up in the movie! "The constructs, at the time we were designing the toys, hadn't been designed by the film makers. We have high hopes that some of our toy designs may wind up in the film, but it's up to the filmmakers," says Neitlich.
who put my hand in jell-o? | hate jell-o.
KILOWOG
The sole survivor of Bolivax Vik, Kilowog is a gentle giant with geniuslevel intellect. His skills and subtle compassion suited him well as Oa's premier drill sergeant, especially while teaching the ropes to then new recruit, Hal Jordan.
Greatest Moment After Crisis on Infinite Earths, Kilowog lived for a bit in the USSR and helped build the Rocket Red Brigade armor. That, or that time he called that guy “Poozer.�
Mattel Says "A couple of the characters,
like Kilowog, are a little oversized," says Neitlich, "For those, instead of giving them a construct, we gave them a kind of energy burst that can also attach to anyone else's construct to elongate it."
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Don't get too attached to me, kids!
Hannu
Stel
Greatest Moment During the
Greatest Moment Kilowog recently
Mattel Says Given Hannu's
Mattel Says A few of the character
Hailing from Ovacron Six, where brute strength is revered and weapons are sneered at, Hannu is a hulking warrior known for keeping his ring proverbially holstered unless necessary.
Hailing from Grenda, a planet of sentient machines, Stel's a longtime Lantern who survived an apparent death through miraculous willpower and the ability to reconstruct his body.
Sinestro Corps War, Hannu led an army of his fellow GLs to save an outnumbered Hal Jordan and Kyle Rayner in Coast City.
took leave from his position as a drill instructor for newly recruited Green Lanterns, appointing Stel in his place during the interim.
physical nature, scale purists might wonder where he clocks in compared to the similarly buff Kilowog. According to Neitlich, "Hannu is bigger than Kilowog. He's the biggest basic figure and also comes with a burst adaptor," reflecting his distaste for weapons.
PAPER! my one weakness!
designs will reflect early designs that have since been changed. "The toy Stel is based on [early] concept art, not the final version in the film," says Neitlich.
Abin Sur
Hal Jordan's predecessor and brother-in-law of Sinestro, Abin got injured while traversing the cosmos in his space ship, resulting in a fatal crash on Earth. With his dying breath, Abin Sur would pass on his ring to its chosen candidate, Hal Jordan.
Greatest Moment Abin is done
in by Atrocitus, years before he becomes the first Red Lantern.
Mattel Says Mattel knew what
Abin would look like thanks to digital files from Warner Bros. "Every [Lantern] wears a completely digital Green Lantern suit, which were created in CGI. Those were created early on, so we were able to get really good references for characters [like Abin Sur]." says Neitlich.
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I will kick your ass at jeopardy!
Green Man
Stifled on Uxor, a world that forbade individualism, Green Man longed to forge an identity of his own, leading him to a gig with the Green Lantern Corps patrolling Sector 2828.
Greatest Moment Green Man surrendered
you think mr. toad had a wild ride? that guy's a wuss.
a significant portion of his body to cyborg implants to become a machine-like Alpha Lantern.
Mattel Says While Neitlich describes Green Man's construct as a kind of "giant space rifle," fans will have to look to the deluxe Battle Shifters figures for firing projectiles.
Nautkeloi
Nautkeloi's look has mostly been defined by his fishbowl-like breathing apparatus. In the movie, he's got more of an all-over fishy appearance.
Greatest Moment Despite a few cameos in animation in addition to his comic book appearances, Nautkeloi is a fish-man of relatively few words. At least one of those words is "$#?%!" though.
all the best parts of fish and birds together in one disgusting alien body!
Mattel Says Nautkeloi's Movie Masters appearance (right) will be firmly based on his film look. No fishbowl!
ALAN MOORE based me on something he found in his beard.
Rot Lop Fan
Hailing from the Obsidian Deeps, a sector of space devoid of light, the sightless Rot Lop Fan was unable to be recruited as a Green Lantern because he has no idea what “green” or “lanterns” are. Luckily, GL Katma Tui was able to think fast, and inducted him as the mightiest (if only) member of the F-Sharp Bell Corps.
Greatest Moment Existing! Mattel Says Rot Lop Fan is one of the larger
Movie Masters characters (other than the oversized mattycollector.com exclusives). "He does have the bell symbol on his chest, just like he does in the comic books," says Neitlich.
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Whitney Moore, Wizard Girl, PS3 Loyalist
Chloe Dykstra, Wizard Girl, XBOX Loyalist
One cosplayer stands apart from the garden variety fangirl who wants to make a statement in spandex and a cape. Whitney Moore, whose Catwoman homage puts Michelle Pfeiffer to shame, really knows her material. The Northern Californian is a life-long comic book fan and gamer, who put her time in behind the counter at both Game Stop and a comic shop. "Costumers kind of blew me off at first, which was fine cause I'd just have more time to read or mess around with a game," Moore says. "I'd be standing at the counter and they would ask me if there was anyone who could help out, and I'd be like, 'Dude, I work here!'" Whitney lives and plays in Los Angeles now, although she spent most of the end of last year indoors playing "Fallout: New Vegas." "Yeah, I pretty much planted myself on my couch and didn't move for days at a time when that came out". Whitney also played the lead in an indie film that's become a cult sensation—"Birdemic." Whitney describes it as, "unwatchable in any other reality. But in this reality, it's a total blast to experience."
Ask Wizard Girl Chloe about the Tri-Force symbol she had tattooed on her wrist and she'll go well beyond the "Zelda basics," getting into details about the three Golden Goddesses and giving you an earful of just about every minute detail of the storyline, the graphics and the gameplay. This girl appreciates every aspect of the medium, and would take a bullet for her Xbox. Chloe, a model in LA, is the daughter of Oscar winner John Dykstra, the Star Wars Special Effects master who invented the lightsaber. Chloe got her first insider's glimpse into the gaming industry as a child when her dad was asked to direct the video content for classic Sega CD title "Sewer Shark." She was recently tapped for an ultra-secret project, developing content and story for a 4th quarter 2011 game release. These days, she's all about killing zombies in games like "Red Dead Redemption" and "Left 4 Dead"—she prefers the slow moving kind. "At least you have time to get away or reload. But there's always more to deal with."
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Interviews by Torrey Roussin; Photo by Marc Mez
presented by
presented by
DEAD ISLAND
Is it more than just a great trailer? Wizard Girl Chloe looks at the new zombie thrillride! Everyone's seen the trailer; a slowmotion, time-bending, heart-wrenching scene featuring a father losing his little girl to a hoard of savage undead. At GDC this year, I was lucky enough to experience a short presentation and a preview of some of the gameplay. One of the first things I noticed while watching the gameplay was the influences. We all know there's a million zombie games out there, and this one unabashedly borrows from some of the more popular ones. One example of this is the "Suicider" class of zombie, which bears resemblance to the Boomer in "Left 4 Dead;" covered in large pustules, this zombie walks up to you and explodes, dealing a lot of damage. The game also draws from the "Dead Rising" series, giving players the ability to customize and create weapons out of crap you find scattered about the island. And the player has the choice of four different characters, each with their own skill set that you can upgrade‌ Sounds a little familiar. Anyone play "Borderlands"? Still, the argument can be made that "it's all been done before," and why fix something that's not broken? Plus, the graphics in the game are beautiful and brutal. The game does both colorful beaches and dingy safehouses well while conveying a continuous sense of anxiety and urgency. The game is openworld (quick transportation comes in the form of a pick-up truck you can earn in a mission), which is a definite plus in my book. Weapons and ammo are found in the environment naturally; you'll find a gun by a dead cop and there will only be six bullets left. Because supplies of ammo are limited, the player has to conserve what little they have. Thank God for baseball bats and boat paddles. The preview I watched doesn't appear to have the same emotional depth as the trailer, but then again I only got 15 minutes of it. I'm still looking forward to flopping onto my couch, turning down the lights, and settling in for a romantic weekend with my copy of "Left 4 Dead Rising Border Island." • Chloe Dykstra
"Still, the arg can be made thument all been done at it's before"
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presented by
GIRLS GOT GAME
Chloe and Whitney hit the Game Developers Conference in San Franciso
th left o b e r e "We wng after the lusti ndo 3DS." Ninte
Thousands of game developers, artists, programmers and press from all over the country flocked to San Francisco this month for the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. While the conference is mainly for professionals, two eager fangirls, armed with official Wizard World press credentials, got the royal treatment and a glimpse of the hottest up and coming games and technologies for 2011. In addition to the myriad of brand spanking new games we got to play and sneak previews we were able to enjoy, THQ's "Homefront"—one of the most anticipated shooters of the year—was at the top of the list of things we were excited to be among the first to test. Here are a few of the highlights of the show: • A very exciting (not to mention titillating-- hellooo, Nathan Drake!) preview of "Uncharted 3" in 3D. • Getting to know the young up-andcoming programmers—the students who created "Trade Secret" were a favorite. • Testing the Nintendo 3DS! Needless to say, we were smitten and both left lusting after them. And finally, there was "Homefront." Tuesday featured a "Homefront"-
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themed rally with guest speakers, including a former CIA operative who spoke about the game's unique setting (a near-future where North Korea has invaded the U.S.). The rally was concluded by a live performance by metal core band The Dillinger Escape Plan. That night, THQ hosted an awesome party, where guests were aggressively ordered onto a school bus by actors dressed to look like members of the Korean army. Unlike our memories of school buses past, Chloe's loud rendition of "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" didn't go over quite so well. Once we arrived at Fort Mason, we were treated to sweet rice wine in tin mugs, delicious North Korean cuisine, and a few games of "Homefront" against a barbed wire backdrop. THQ promises a unique and controversial story line against some very familiar settings, and boy did they deliver. "Homefront" offers players a chance to join the resistance against an ever increasing police state and roam familiar locations such as Hooters and White Castle. The online play felt much like the popular shooters (read: "Call of Duty"), but the setting and story is what will make "Homefront" a truly special game.
Project1_Layout 1 2/28/11 5:31 PM Page 1
CUSTOM PARTY
Learn the skills to start making your own custom action figures!
create incredible customized packaging in just five steps!
T
he process of creating custom packaging is very different from making custom toys. In some ways, it can be more challenging, as it requires graphic design skills. There is very little room for error, but the results can make your creations look more polished and professional. Here we transform a box into a custom Fifth Element MiniMates package.
1
2
WHAT YOU'LL NEED • Scissors or a hobby •P rinter and scanner knife •E mpty MiniMates • Rubber cement 4-pack package (here, • Glossy cardstock paper Spider-Man Friends • Colored construction and Foes) paper • Custom action figures • Graphic design (here we’re using four software custom MiniMates)
STEPS
| barely look like chris tucker.
3
4
1
Choose a package with plastic trays that will fit the shape of your customs. For larger customs, use scissors or a hobby knife to remove some of the tray backing, while leaving enough tray to keep the figure secured.
2
Unfold the outer packaging and scan it at a resolution of 300dpi or greater. Use design software as Adobe Photoshop or The GIMP to add images and graphics to your scanned packaging. Here, I added art from the film’s poster.
5
3
Print the outer packaging on glossy cardstock paper. Use scissors or a hobby knife to cut out the windows on the front of the packaging, and then cut around the outer shape. Fold the package along the edges, and wrap it around the existing package to make sure it’s sized correctly.
ED FINISH ! PIECE
4
In my design, I enlarged the front package windows in order to better display the customs. This means that you will have to use your scissors to remove some cardboard around the windows on the existing package. Cut out a piece of colored construction paper to act as a backdrop behind your plastic tray.
Words, photos and custom by Luke Porter. You can find more of Luke’s customs (including these awesome Fifth Element MiniMates) at minimatefactory.com.
5
Begin coating the front of the existing packaging with rubber cement. Press your new packaging down on top of this, and smooth out any air bubbles. Give it a few hours to dry, and you’re finished! You can apply this technique to most toy packaging. Once you see the results, it’ll be hard to resist making more customs!
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COSPLAYGROUND You dress up like your favorite character, we send the pictures out into the world. We promise we’ll be gentle. WELCOME TO MIAMI
E
MY ARCH ENEMY? EFFORT.
at your heart out, Will Smith. Wizard World hit the Sunshine State for Wizard World Miami Comic Con recently, and the fans were out in full force...and in costume. Some of the cosplay choices were a bit nontraditional (see right), but we were still impressed. Want to see your costumes shared with the world? Check out the purple circle...
|'VE GOTTA SPEND LESS TIME IN JAPAN.
! N I T I D mes SEN e costu
SHOULD WE COMPLAIN ABOUT BOYS OR MIDTERMS FIRST?
What? no. i'm the penguin. from batman? Why Do people keep calling me 'hurley'?
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emad ld.com to m o h r u r o Send y en@wizardwo round. You g to bullp ed in CosPlay showing ile ur be feat win prizes wh o knows, could ur skills. Wh xt great o f f yo h t b e t h e n e n a yo u m i g m e d e s i g n e r o costu g movie! bi
TWISTED
they’re toys, and they’re twisted...
TOY THEATER Previously, starfleet is going out of business, and kirk's out of a job! kirk declares civil war on starfleet, but not before spock and half the crew quit!
presents
No, no…it’ll be fine.
the
WRATH
See? Bones is getting into the spirit of our Civil Way already!
There’s more than enough confederates left to confederate!
of
Civil what now?
Who wants a mint julep?
CONF EDERACY PART 2
BY: ACLIN AND GUTIERREZ WITH: BRICKEN DIETSCH AND MEJIA
Later, at Starfleet Headquarters in San Francisco… Are you sure about this negotiation?
PHOTOS: REILLY Come on, Admiral. | did this for the good of Starfleet! A Federation divided against itself cannot fire me. Right, logic boy?
This is great! |’ll be the man who ended the Galactic Civil War without a single shot fired.
Let me do the talking… the admiral’s a huge pushOne time | over. talked him into making minidresses the official uniform for all women in Starfleet!
Damn it, Kirk, you’re getting slightly demoted for this stunt!
The Civil War YOU started.
Right!
The logical thing would be to...
…EAT YOUR FACE AND SPIT OUT YOUR JAW BONE! GRAAAAH!
Jeez!
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TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK!
Wizard World
Comic Con Tour
The Largest Pop Culture Festival to Celebrate the Best iN Comics, Collectibles, Movies, Celebrities, Toys, Video Games, TV, Horror, Wrestling, Music, Anime, MMA, Manga, Gaming & More!
TORONTO
ANAHEIM
BIG APPLE
PHILADELPHIA
DIRECT ENERGY CENTRE EXHIBITION PLACE 100 PRINCES' BLVD. TORONTO, ONTARIO M6k 3c3 canada
ANAHEIM CONVENTION CENTER 800 WEST KATELLA AVE. ANAHEIM, CA 92801
Penn Plaza Pavilion 401 Seventh Avenue at 33rd St. New York, NY 10001
PENNSYLVANIA CONVENTION CENTER 1101 Arch St. Philadelphia, PA 19107
APRIL 29-30-MAY 1, 2011 FRI-SAT-SUN
MAY 21-22, 2011 SAT-SUN
June 17-18-19, 2011 FRI-SAT-SUN
CHICAGO
NEW ENGLAND COMIC CON
BIG APPLE
COMIC CON • FALL
mid-ohio
Donald E. Stephens (Rosemont) Convention Center 5555 N. River Road Rosemont, IL 60018
John. B. Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center 900 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02115
Penn Plaza Pavilion 401 Seventh Avenue at 33rd St. New York, NY 10001
GREATER COLUMBUS CONVENTION CENTER 400 NORTH HIGH STREET COLUMBUS, OH 43215
AUGUST 11-12-13-14, 2011 THUR-FRI-SAT-SUN
September 17-18, 2011 SAT-SUN
COMIC CON
COMIC CON
march 18-19-20, 2011 fri-sat-sun
COMIC CON
CENTRAL CANADA COMIC CON
Winnipeg Convention Centre 375 York Avenue Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 3J3 CANADA
September 24-25, 2011 SAT-SUN
COMIC CON
OCTOBER 22-23, 2011 SAT-SUN
AUSTIN
ATLANTA
NEW ORLEANS COMIC CON
COMIC CON
aUSTIN CONVENTION CENTER 500 EAST CESAR CHAVEZ STREET AUSTIN, TX 78701
COBB GALLERIA CENTRE 2 GALLERIA PARKWAY ATLANTA, GA 30339
NEW ORLEANS ERNEST N. MORIAL CONVENTION CENTER 900 CONVENTION CENTER BLVD. NEW ORLEANS, LA 70130
Miami Airport Convention Center (MACC) 711 N.W. 72nd Avenue Miami, Fl 33126
JANUARY 28-29, 2012 SAT-SUN
DECEMBER 1-2, 2012 SAT-SUN
COMIC CON
OCTOBER 28-29-30, 2011 FRI-SAT-SUN
sponsorships • Badges • Banners • Convention Party • Email Blasts • Floor Signage • Giveaways • Lanyards • Meterboards • Online Promotions
COMIC CON
COMIC CON • SPRING
• PR Campaign • Program Guide • Programming • Sampling • Screenings • Staff T-Shirts • Step-and-Repeats • TV Monitors • VIP Packages
COMIC CON
November 11-12-13,2011 FRI-SAT-SUN
exhibitors • ABC • Amazon • CBS • Comedy Central • DC Comics • DELL • Disney • EA Sports • FOX • GEEKCHICDAILY.COM
DECEMBER 3-4, 2011 SAT-SUN
MIAMI
Past Exhibitors and Sponsors include:
• Gillette • Hasbro • HERITage auctions • Intel • Lionsgate • Marvel • Mattel • Microsoft • NBC • Nickelodeon
• Nintendo • Paramount • SONY • Spike TV • SyFY • Universal • Warner Bros
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE Wizard WORLD COMIC CON TOUR VISIT: WIZARDWORLD.COM
BACK DOOR I
t's a golden age for porn parodies, especially for geeks)! In the past year alone we've seen parodies of "Tron," "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "30 Rock." Earlier this year, Vivid Entertainment released "Superman XXX: A Porn Parody" and we think it has already blown (tee-hee) Zach Snyder's 2012 Superman out of the water. Here's why.
We think "Superman XXX: A Porn Parody" might just out-super Zach Snyder's reboot.
SPOILE ALERT!R
...And the American way! Unlike Brit Henry Cavill, Vivid's Superman is played by an America's own Ryan Driller. Zod, however, is so English it's in his name: Ben English. Though we suspect that might be a stage name. Lois LANE Is a Brunette As of press time, Lois Lane hasn't been cast in the Snyder film, but we're still stinging from blonde Kate Bosworth in "Superman Returns." Andy San Dimas is a true brunette (at least upstairs) and if you don't believe us, Google it (NSFW!). Miss Tesmacher Returns In a nod to the ditsy character from the Richard Donner films, Lex's hotsy-totsy assistant Miss Teschmacher (Alexis Texas) plays a key part in the Vivid film. Well, we consider her parts key, at any rate. Jimmy Olsen's A True Nerd We're assuming Jimmy Olsen will be some sort of hipster type in the new Snyder film. James Deen embraces the Olsen nerd by wearing a bowtie. Bowties are cool. (Begin countdown to "Doctor Who" porn...now.) Orphan from another world They've already cast Kevin Costner and Diane Lane to play The Kents. Thankfully we're spared the long origin story in "XXX" and get right to the..."plot." NERD ACCURACY! Dale Debone as Jor-El out-acts Marlon Brando simply by pronouncing the word "Krypton" correctly. 10 points! ACTION VS. "ACTION" Snyder packs his films with slo-mo action (at regular speed "300" lasts about 12 minutes). The brief, regular-speed fights in "XXX" may be clumsy, but these are lovers, not fighters, after all. • James Walker The very NSFW "Superman XXX: A Porn Parody" is available now from Vivid Entertainment!
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COMING NEXT WEEK IN
Simon with s nter u Close enco shocking s ' t s ro F ick Pegg and N y. comed new alien
PLUS
T S I L T X E THE N future? the ee s Want to five indie down n u r e W s creators -comic and web ! reading be ld u you sho
The latest in toys, tech, video games, movies, comics and much more!
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