Tag: Womanthology

Geekly Speaking About… “What to Expect When You’re Attending New York City Comic Con”

Jill Pantozzi (center) aka The Nerdy Bird and her FemmeDoctor group from NYCC 2011. From l to r: 1st Doctor, 3rd Doctor, 9th Doctor, 4th Doctor, 7th Doctor, 2nd Doctor, 6th Doctor, and Idris aka The Doctors Wife (c) GeekingOutAbout

With the dog days of summer disappearing and the sound of little footsteps running away from school buses, fall is upon us—which means it’s time for another New York City Comic Con.

This year, the event will be held at the Javitz Center from October 11 to October 14 and there are less than 48 hours remaining for you to pre-register and be able to get your pass in the mail. But what if you’re unsure about whether or not you want to go? Luckily, I was able to rescue this podcast from the unknown to bring you a roundtable discussion about what myself, co-editor Jill Pullara, and writers Jonathan Cherlin and Lowell Greenblatt liked and disliked about last year’s event. Show notes, as usual, are after the jump.

  • As a tiny little note, you’re going to hear some loud knocking every now and then when people are speaking. That’s just us banging on the table for emphasis… right next to where I just happened to place my recorder.
  • Definitely not a new thing, resources for people who’d like to add more games and video games to their public and/or school libraries can check out the archives of the Games in Libraries podcast or read up on International Games Day @ Your Library, sponsored by the American Library Association, which will be on Saturday, November 3.
  • For your amusement (and with the formatting broken), here’s the last con report I ever did of San Diego Comic Con, from 10 years ago, back when I was writing for Sequential Tart.com. Also, belated apologies for attending the con with strep throat. I know better than to do that now. My favorite memory from the con was immortalized by Lea Hernandez in a “Near Life Experience” strip, of which I bought the original when she rediscovered it after her terrible house fire in 2006.
  • When I asked her to clarify her remarks about cosplayers, Jill wrote, “My annoyance at NYCC was that cosplayers take up so much space and, honestly, a lot were half assed and done by attention seekers (well the ones I saw. The ones who looked a bit sad until someone wanted to take a picture with them). They would take pictures in the middle of a crowded walkway, walk side by side slowly like tourists down 14th Street! I didn’t experience that at PAX East. I’m sure there was more cosplay than I’m remembering, and I often speak in hyperbole, but I didn’t experience anywhere near the amount of annoyance and frustration from simply trying to walk down an aisle as I did at NYCC.”
  • No, you’re not going crazy. At one point, we did have a podcast where Jonathan talked about the changes in the voice cast for the Silent Hill 2 high-definition remake which was released in March 2012; however, that podcast is still lounging around on my hard drive. One more thing to add to the list…
  • Incidentally, if you did purchase the HD Remake for your Xbox 360, experienced glitches, and still have your receipt, Konami is offering exchanges for what they’re calling “other Konami titles or versions of titles.” And this despite the fact that the glitched PS3 version was patched and they can’t do the same for the Xbox 360 version.
  • Eventually, Lowell was successful, and you can read his interview with both of the guys from Kirby Krackle here. No rock stars were harmed in the obtaining of this interview.
  • Also, Lowell’s interview with “Angel & Faith” creators Christos Gage and Rebekah Isaacs is here.
  • Karl Custer, aka Uncle Yo, has been doing the rounds of the anime con circut as a “comedian for geeks” since 2008. I personally love his stuff, but geeks who are casual about their anime love might not get some of his material. You know what I would love to see? Uncle Yo opening for the Nerdist himself, Chris Hardwick someday.
  • While the first part of my “Voices from New York Comic Con” series was posted not long after the show, I’ll be posting the first half hopefully not too long after this podcast goes up to whet your appetite for the 2012 show in October.
  • Originally debuting at the 2011 PAX Prime convention, here’s a look at the development and design of Siege of Gardmore Abbey with its author, Steve Townshend.
  • If you don’t know what Jill means by the adjective phrase “Chris Perkins-awesome,” you have to watch this collection of videos I’ve saved onto my YouTube account; thus, will you know the fullest extent of its meaning and become an adherent for life.
  • An old system, elements of The Burning Wheel are present in creator Luke Crane’s new RPG system, Mouse Guard, based on the comics by David Petersen from Archaia Entertainment.
  • You, too, can show your love for partying with a cleric on your chest, designed by Jen Brazas (Mystic Revolution). (And now, I think I have a new comic to do an archive binge on.)
  • I was glad not to miss the Womanthology panel, as I was able to record nearly all of it for you. As for the anthology itself, it’s currently available from Amazon (some reviews here) or you might want to brave your local comics shop and see if they’ll order it for you. (If they don’t, then they’re a terrible shop, and you should find one that will!)
  • And as for the Womanthology brand itself, IDW Publishing announced at WonderCon in March that it will be releasing a five-issue miniseries called “Womanthology: Space,” featuring creators such as Fiona Staples, Blair Butler, Jessica Hickman, Bonnie Burton, Ming Doyle, and Stacie Ponder.

Geekly Speaking About Presents… The Womanthology Panel at NYCC 2011

Womanthology editors taking charge at NYCC 2011

Due to having gotten hired full-time by the place I’d been temping for all summer, I was only able to go to the New York Comic Con for two days instead of four this year. As a result, I had to carefully pick and choose which panels I attended, making sure that nothing overlapped too much and that I had ample time to get from one panel room to the next before the official start time.

The very first panel I attended on Saturday was for Womanthology, a highly successful Kickstarter-funded project whose aim is to bring more attention to writers and artists who want to create comics by pairing up new and unproven talent with other creators who have already been working in the industry. The unique part about this project is that all of the creators involved are female.

I’m pleased that I was able to get in to see this panel, and when you listen to the audio, you may understand why as well. Show notes after the jump:

Personally speaking, as the submissions editor and contributor to a different kind of female-empowering comics anthology which will also be doing a Kickstarter campaign this December to help with publishing costs, I love the idea that people can come together so quickly to produce a quality product. I also have my reservations about some of the ideas and suggestions put forth in the panel, which I may discuss in a future Geekly Speaking About podcast.

Interestingly, a final note I have to add about why the idea behind Womanthology is so important comes from the result of a random search I did when I couldn’t remember what time the panel started and I found myself at Mindy Steffen’s website. Steffen is the creator of AER HEAD, an indie comic she created last year. She was also in the audience for the panel and was an attendee at last year’s NYCC as well; the difference between the two years for her was vast:

I noticed a significant difference in people’s general responses to me this year when I mentioned that I colored Marvel comics as Kyle Baker’s assistant. (I was careful not to look like I was blatantly name-dropping, and didn’t bring it up with everyone. It naturally came up in conversations). I had a published Deadpool Max comic to show as an example too. Last year, I toted my portfolio around to publishers and asked advice, and was told at worst that my style wasn’t what they were looking for, and at best to just submit samples online to the company’s general email, not to anyone specific. (I don’t like online art submissions, because like job submissions, I think they go into a black void and my time was wasted). But this year, people paid attention to me more! I got lots of positive feedback from the AER HEAD mini comics, and I may have gotten some possible leads to future projects – fingers crossed!

Now, I may just be a cynical so-and-so sometimes, but were the publishers and editors this year responding to her art and talent more on its own merits or the fact that she has worked with a known quantity and is therefore an approved member of the comics-making club? Will the same kind of recognition extend to all of the unknown talent in Womanthology? I most certainly hope so.

Comments? Feedback? Rebuttals? I look forward to hearing from you below.