Emerald City Comic Con – An Overly Excited Preview

Next weekend, from March 1st to 3rd, the Seattle Convention Center will be overflowing with nerdiness – and it’s not even time for PAX! No, this weekend marks the Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC), the area’s largest comic book show slash nerd pop culture extravaganza. This is my first year going to ECCC for all 3 days; last year was my first year and I only went on a Sunday. And man, I had a killer time. I took this as a good sign since Sunday is almost always the slow, wind-down day of any 3-day con. This year I am extremely excited to be going – here’s a little glimpse into my overly excited madness as I run down some of the awesome panels and events you’ll be seeing me at next weekend.

And of course between all of these panels I’ll be canvassing the Dealer’s Room for old Justice League International issues and anything with Captain Marvel’s (he will never be ‘Shazam,’ not in my heart) glorious face. ECCC has a fantastic and very large dealer’s room, as well as a huge artist alley with a very strong webcomic creator presence.

Friday

Final Fantasy: The Improvised Adventures

Gaming Room, 3:00PM – 3:55PM

I’ve heard of this improv fantasy spoof troupe in the past and everything I’ve heard is good. Now personally, I think the Final Fantasy franchise is so overly the top hilarious at this point that spoofing it is nearly difficult, since it’s currently so silly. However, this is described as a ‘lovingly riffed parody tribute,’ so I’m all in.

Writing for Comics

Workshop Room, 3:00PM – 3:55PM

If I feel like being productive (read: if the line for the FF Improv is too long), I’ll alternatively check out this panel. Lead by Harvey and Shuster Award nominees, there’s a pretty good pedigree for some guidance in something I’ve always wanted to learn how to do better –  be a comic book writer! Really the most important thing I could learn here is how to work with the artist, since I’m so artistically disinclined that pencils run screaming at the sight of my perspective-blind face.

DC Entertainment – All Access

Hall B, 4:10 PM – 5:05PM

I’ll be dashing over to the first of two major DC panels. The description of this event is very obscure, but it promises ‘top talents’ in attendance and ‘behind-the-scenes’ information. Mostly I want to quietly and desperately bask in Gail Simone and find out who had the idea to take Barbara Gordon out of a wheelchair and from behind the Oracle mask. Well, no, seriously I’m interested in seeing what DC’s got up its sleeve, especially on the movie front.

Why You Should Care About Jack Kirby

Hall C, 6:20PM – 7:15PM

I’m not going to kid myself. There is another panel going on while this one is that I will be going to. But if I wasn’t, this is ABSOLUTELY the panel I’d be sitting attentively in. Jack Kirby is one of, if not the MOST, influential comic book creator of any generation. He worked with nearly ever comic publisher there was or is, wrote in nearly every genre of comic and shaped huge swaths of the Marvel and DC mythos, among many other legendary achievements (one of my favorites of which is the Fourth World, where Darkseid, Apokolips, Big Barda and Mr. Miracle hail from). This sounds like an in-depth and fascinating look at a long and interesting career and if it was at any other time I know I’d be there.

Star Wars – The Voice Actor Show

Main Hall, 7:00PM – 8:45PM

Unfortunately I’d rather listen to Princess Azula make R2-D2 noises. Sure to have a big line, I’ll definitely show up early for one of the amazing voice actor panels featured at ECCC. ECCC always boasts a great cast of voice acting alumni in attendance and this year is no exception. This year we get to listen to Hermes Conrad, Winnie the Pooh, Invader Zim, Princess Azula, Raiden and Kilowog reprise their Star Wars roles and do…oh, hell, I don’t care what. Probably something in a galaxy far, far away. It doesn’t matter, I would throw money just to listen to these people read my daily metrics reports.

Saturday

Marvel: Pint O’ CB

Hall B, 11:10AM – 12:05PM

Marvel’s big panel for ECC, the description of this is far less ambiguous than DC’s All Access and way more exciting sounding. Anything goes! No-holds-barred! Jaw-dropping announcements! Superstar guests! They’ve definitely got their publicity down. Now if they could just figure out how to keep Jean Grey dead…

Movie Mash-Up

Main Hall, 12:00PM – 1:00PM

Another very difficult choice involving voice actors. It’s Marvel’s super exciting announcements panel or…The Martian Manhunter, Samurai Jack, Axel (swoon), Billy and Mandy, Thanos, Commander Shepard, and GIR doing scenes from classic movies. I guess it’s not really a difficult choice after all.

ECCC Spotlight Lounge Presents: Secret Origins with Garth Ennis

Emerald City Spotlight Lounge, 2:40PM – 3:35PM

Ennis is one of my favorite comic book authors, as is probably evident in my glowing review of The Boys a few weeks back. I’m really excited to see him talk about wrapping up The Boys and what he’s going to be doing moving forward. I will also probably hide in the corner and wear a big hat because I’m terrified of attracting the attention of people who create things I admire.

DC Comics: The New 52

Hall B, 3:10PM – 4:05PM

I guess this is the panel (number two of two DC panels) where I should be asking about Stephanie Brown and if Grant Morrison can share his stash. In seriousness, I’m pretty excited for this panel. The New 52 is fascinating to me (sometimes AMAZING, sometimes TERRIBLE) and I’m very interested about where DC comics are heading.

A History of Censorship in Comics

Hall C, 4:20PM – 5:15PM

Censorship in comic books is both a great topic (very interesting, a sordid history) and very depressing. Lead by some one from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, this should be a pretty cool run down starting with the infamous The Seduction of the Innocent. Sidenote: did you know that DC didn’t drop the Comics Code Authority label and guidelines until 2011? Marvel beat them to it by 10 years.

Building a Better World? Ethics in the Superhero Genre

Room 2AB, 6:00PM – 6:55PM

Considering I’ve recently had some very spirited arguments in favor of Captain Marvel (the Big Red Cheese) and Superman (the Big Blue Boyscout) being very awesome characters BECAUSE of their morality, this panel sounds pretty inline with my interests. It’s described as talking about various artists’ and writers’ story-based ethics and the impact it can have on stories being told and characters being viewed. Sidenote: I wish Superman movies would move past his origins, etc – people who don’t read comics rarely get to see Supes’s cool/tragic side (…For The Man Who Has Everything) or awesome alternative character interpretations (Kingdom Come/Red Son).

Sunday

Marvel: The Next Big Thing

Hall B, 2:10PM – 3:05PM

Oh hey! I guess Marvel has two panels, too. Good for you guys! I won’t feel nearly so bad about skipping the first one in favor of all of the voice actors ever in one room. This panel has a ton of talent and execs on board to talk about the future of Marvel. I sorta wanna sit in the front row with a huge, red ‘CYCLOPS WAS RIGHT’ sign.

Make It So: A Conversation with Sir Patrick Stewart

Main Hall, 4:00PM – 5:00 PM

Bwuh. Of course I’m going to be here. It’s SIR PATRICK STEWART. Sidenote: my earliest geeky memories are 1) Reading The Death of Superman with my mom, who is definitely a nerd and 2) Watching Star Trek: TNG with my dad who is definitely not.

So make sure to say hi if you spot the Dorkadia Box-nerd on a chick with KRYPTONITE green hair. The worst that can happen is that I’ll talk your ear off about why Captain Marvel is the most glorious of superheroes.