Fans of The Walking Dead could feast at Emerald City Comicon this weekend in Seattle!
Danai Gurira (Michonne) and Michael Rooker (Merle Dixon) were among the celebrity guests at the eleventh annual event. Fans and these two stars got a surprise in Saturday’s Talking Dead panel when artist Charlie Adlard joined the actors on stage during the Q & A.
Thanks for photographer Josh Lewis of KOMONEWS.COM and Seattle Pulp for capturing this moment while I was in the audience cheering with the other deadheads!
Day two of Emerald City Comicon exploded like a super nova with the addition of sci-fi icon Sir Patrick Stewart! A galaxy of stars of science fiction, horror and fantasy await fans on the 6th floor for a chance to have an autograph and celebrity moment. I opted for the Professor Xavier photo from X-Men. My best friend and Navy veteran continued his Star Trek tradition by having the actor who played Captain Picard and Walter Koenig (Chekov from the original series) join the list of Trek stars on his memorabilia from an actual U.S.S. Enterprise her served on in the Navy! Along with the photo ops and autograph sessions fan can pack the panel rooms for a chance to ask questions, cheer and celebrate the fans and shows we love.
DC Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics and Boom Studios were among the publishers with huge booths with freebies, exclusives for sale and a chance to meet the favorite writers and artists. Marvel Comics brings an army of popular writers, artists and editors to meet eager fans. Panels including the Marvel’s annual tradition: Pint of C.B. (Editor C.B. Cebulski and a team of creators) DC Comics: The New 52 featured a huge roster of favorites. This is the chance for to get sneak peeks at upcoming books and ask burning questions that you may get a definitive answer or a coy tease! ECCC Spotlight Lounge Presents Secret Origins of… are a series of panels starring some of the legendary creators and today’s top talents.
Emerald City Comicon is the chance to own original art from your favorite comic book artist! You can either have everything full blown commission to a quick sketch. Check with each artists or their representation for rates. Many artists are signing books and giving free sketches for your donation to the Hero Initiative. Mike Choi is one of my all time favorite artists. I picked up Rogue and Gambit prints plus a Medusa (of the Inhumans) sketch and in addition to Hero Initiative, Choi is donating to Make-A-Wish.
Sunday’s big event is the Sir Patrick Stewart panel – arrive early for this one! Danai Gurira (Michonne of The Walking Dead) Dirk Benedict (Starbuck of Battlestar Galactica) will be spotlighted with panels plus new sessions with your favorite comic book stars and everything from how to build your own R2-D2 to Star Trek Improv pack the final day!
Now enjoy some of my favorite cosplayers from day two!
Emerald City Comicon photo by ComicsBlend.com
Emerald City Comicon photo by ComicsBlend.com
Emerald City Comicon photo by ComicsBlend.com
Emerald City Comicon photo by ComicsBlend.com
Emerald City Comicon photo by ComicsBlend.com
Emerald City Comicon photo by ComicsBlend.com
Emerald City Comicon photo by ComicsBlend.com
Emerald City Comicon photo by ComicsBlend.com
Emerald City Comicon photo by ComicsBlend.com
Emerald City Comicon photo by ComicsBlend.com
Emerald City Comicon photo by ComicsBlend.com
Emerald City Comicon photo by ComicsBlend.com
Click for one of the most surprising cosplayers since this is relatively new character but you can never underestimate the popularity of…. Continue reading Emerald City Comicon Day 2
Danai Guriri as Michone in The Walking Dead courtesy AMC
I had a thought about Black History Month and zombie fiction. Books and movies about the undead are horrific escapism but serve as social commentaries reflecting the times in which they are created. If you want to find groundbreaking actors and characters of all colors look in the fictional fights against the undead.
George Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead filmed in stark black and white arrived in 1968 and reflected the horrors of the Vietnam war and racial unrest in the United States. Romero made an African-American man the hero of his film. Duane Jones played Ben, one of five people trapped in a farmhouse as the undead rise and attack. This was 1968. A black man portrayed as the hero and doing such things Continue reading Black History Month and Zombies?
Like Bruce Banner transforming into the Hulk, Emerald City Comicon is getting bigger! The Seattle celebration of comic books, science fiction and gaming takes over the entire Washington State Convention Center this year giving eager fans more celebrities, more panels and more everything!
Sci-Fi legends Sir Patrick Stewart (Star Trek: The Next Generation, X-Men) Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) Walter Koeing (Star Trek) Billy Dee Williams (Star Wars) and Christopher LLoyd (Back to the Future, Star Trek: The Search for Spock) will shine for adoring fans in panels, photograph and autograph sessions where they could how about a real life space traveler? Astronaut Clayton “Clay” Anderson will be appearing in the ECCC Kids! area.
Adam West as Batman, courtesy Emerald City Comicon
Pop Culture Icons Adam West and Burt Ward (Television’s Batman and Robin) are sure to inspire huge lines. Television’s Dynamic Duo will appear at a screening of the Batman film at Seattle’s Cinerama on Thursday night before the con begins and the Mayor will declare Mayor Adam West Day in Seattle in honor of the Walla Walla, Washington native.
The Walking Dead is killing it on television! Stars of the zombie comic book turned smash series Danai Gurira (Michonne) and Michael Rooker (Merle Dixon) will face the hordes of fanatic fans. The Walking Dead artist Charlie Adlard will be appearing too. True Blood star Kristin Bauer, Dirk Benedict of Battlestar Galactica, Michael Shanks of Stargate and Misha Collins of Supernatural are among many other television actors shining for the fans.
Uncanny X-Men #135 cover courtesy Marvel.com. Art by John Byrne
Along with the stellar roster of celebrities folks can meet comic book legends who have made uncanny impacts on the heroes we see on the big screen. I’m most excited to meet Chris Claremont, writer of the X-Men series and creator of characters like Gambit, Emma Frost, Rogue, Sabretooth and Kitty Pryde. Claremont wrote my first comic book, Uncanny X-Men #116, and his work on the mutants is the comic book equivalent to the soundtrack of my life! The man gave us The Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past, inspiration for the upcoming X-Men sequel!
Denny O’Neil is another living legend famous for his runs on the Green Lantern/Green Arrow and Batman series with fellow guest Neal Adams. O’Neil was the Marvel editor of Frank Miller’s classic Daredevil run and returned to DC as editor of the Batman family of books to oversee modern classics Continue reading Emerald City Comicon 2013 Preview
Michael Rooker as Merle Dixon on The Walking Dead courtesy AMC and Emerald City Comicon
Emerald City Comicon saved one big surprise in the final week before this year’s big event! Michael Rooker (Merle Dixon) of The Walking Dead on AMC. is the final celebrity guest announced for the 11th annual convention! Rooker is a veteran character actor with a resume that includes Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, Cliffhanger, Tombstone and The Sixth Day.
Think you’re old to read superhero comics? You want something else out of literary escapes besides or instead of costumed heroes? Here are 5 of my favorite non-superhero genre series that gripped me in 2012 and wouldn’t let go.
The Walking Dead #100 courtesy Image/Skybound Comics
The Walking Dead This year it was time to stop just surviving and start living. One beloved survivor is on longer living in the larger world. The Walking Dead #100 ended with one of the most gripping, sick and painful moments of the year as “Lucielle” changed the survivors forever. I almost hope the television series doesn’t last long enough for me to have to watch that moment again. 100 issues and this series is just as provacative and powerful as ever.
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 courtesy IDW Publishing
Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation2 The Time Lord (along with Amy and Rory) beamed aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise at a time when Federation worlds are under attack from Cybermen working with the Borg. Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the Doctor must find a way to work together to save the Federation. The creative team captures the spirit of each franchise and demonstrates how each character would react, relate, bond and clash with each other.
The Massive #6 courtesy Dark Horse Comics
The Massive How do you remain a conversationist when you world you hoped to save has gone to hell? How do you remain a pacifist when you must dodge ruthless pirates to get food and supplies you must have to survive. Welcome to a new world where cities have sank, economies have tanked and civilization is crumbling. The crew of the Kapital sail the oceans in search of their friends on their sister ship, the Massive, and for necessary supplies in order to stay alive. Brian Wood has created a thrilling morality tale while building a dangerous new world that serves a a cautionary tale for humanity.
Manhattan Projects Jonathan Hickman’s gripping story of twisted history and weird science shocked and challenged me with every new issue. Building the atomic bomb was nothing compared to the staggering creations of this government think tank.
Fatale #1 cover courtesy Image Comics
Fatale Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’s mixed crime noir with supernatural horror in two tales of a woman who may be immortal and the men who die for her. The second arc just wrapped. An actor crosses Josephine’s path and all hell runs wild in 1970’s Hollywood with killer cults.
Teen romance, horror, crime, western? Visit your local comic book shop in 2013 and ask for a book to fit your genre tastes!
Chandler Riggs as Carl Grimes in AMC’s The Walking Dead
Emerald City Comicon will bring the youngest zombie killer from AMC’s The Walking Dead to next year’s big event. Chandler Riggs (Carl Grimes) will be appearing all three days to meet fans. Emerald City Comicon is March 1-3, 2013 at the Washington State Convention Center. Tickets are on sale now.
The third season (Michonne, The Governor, the Prison!) of The Walking Dead premiered showing a very different kid who has grown up fast. Carl is not just a kid sneaking out of the house anymore. He’s a formidable soldier and zombie killer.
