Tag Archive for fandom/conventions

Event, Views

NYCC 2012: The Cosplay Experiment

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I’ve been going to conventions for over 20 years now. I started with my parents and brother, going to comic book expos and fan conventions with kids days. Then, as a teenager, I started going off to horror conventions and niche TV events in the tristate area. I’m always willing to give a new convention a chance if my schedule is open and the tickets are reasonably priced.

I had done seemingly everything at conventions. I’ve shopped like a maniac with no impulse control. I’ve met celebrity guests and left a strong enough impression with a few kind words to be recognized at later events. I’ve entered contests, tried demos, and and spent entire weekends panel hopping.

The only thing I hadn’t done was cosplay. Going to New York Comic Con on a fan badge, rather than a press badge, to cover the event gave me the means to go for it. I have a certain uniform I wear as a writer that people have come to know me by. I’m the really young looking guy in the bright shirt/tie combo and thick prescription glasses walking around with a notepad and camera all weekend long.

For NYCC, I wanted to explore not just the experience of cosplay but reactions to various styles of cosplay. I decided to stick to contemporary film and television based on mainstream clothing and some movie magic. I also chose a cult figure, a cartoon character, and an original character inspired by a very popular and recognizable franchise. The results were interesting.

Day 1: The Cult Figure

Friday at NYCC is like the training ground for experienced convention attendees. It’s crowded, but you can still walked down all the aisles and get a feel for the convention. I went with the assumption that people willing to take a day off from work would better recognize a cult character.

nycccosplay2012shaun NYCC 2012: The Cosplay ExperimentI chose to go as Shaun from Shaun of the Dead for a number of reasons. One, I’m a big fan. Two, it’s as complicated as you want it to be. I actually grew out a goatee, colored my dirty blonde hair ginger–eyebrows and goatee included–with greasepaint, put together a replica bouquet as a prop, and did the shirt up with fabric paint by way of my home haunting knowledge for shocking realism. Three, I knew he was a character I could get away with even at my size.

The day went basically how I expected it to. The small percentage of people who recognized the character went nuts over the cosplay. As soon as I walked into the absurd basement holding pen for the show floor, I was stopped by a con volunteer raving about the cosplay. People would walk by and say, “You have red on you,” and many of the people who stopped me said I actually looked like Simon Pegg. Sure, a short Simon Pegg with an extra fifty pounds. I got more than one “aww” when I bust out the bouquet, as well.

The experience on Day 1 was great. It took me a little while to adjust to the attention but it didn’t feel nearly as strange or unnerving as I expected. I was just a fan paying tribute like all the other fans there.

Day 2: The Cartoon

Day 2 was going to be the big day of the convention: Saturday. More people show up and stay on the floor because they actually can. Everything seems more crowded as one day or weekend only attendees rush to fit everything in. I chose to go with a character I’ve seen a lot because I wanted to explore how the more hardened con-goers respond to a costume they’ve seen over and over again.

nycccosplay2012fry NYCC 2012: The Cosplay ExperimentI chose Fry from Futurama for the same reasons as the Shaun costume. No one would mind my type if I got the details correct. I sculpted my own wig–actually did more styling after this photo to clean up the back and side–with scissors and mousse, altered a strange hoodie with a rigid color underneath to be the jacket, and threw on my clean black Converse and bright blue jeans. I also added a sign to my water bottle so that I could take off the jacket throughout the day if the floor got too hot without losing the character.

Again, I was not particularly surprised by the reaction. I had a lot of catcalls taken from the show: “Shut up and take my money;” “Not sure if…;” etc. People called out, “Fry,” every few minutes but only three people wanted to take a photo; one of them thought I was TinTin.

nycccosplay2012emperor NYCC 2012: The Cosplay ExperimentI had fun dressed as Fry for the day, but feel like I want to revisit it with an unexpected twist on the costume. I’m well-versed enough in sewing and electronics to do a cool spin on “My Three Suns,” where Fry drinks the emperor.

The bigger takeaway for me on Day 2 was having confidence while cosplaying. I fully intended to enter the costume contest on Saturday night to be able to write about the experience; I didn’t. I backed out at the last minute and watched as thirty people–some in store-bought costumes, others in poorly made costumes–get onstage for hundreds of people and stand up as their character. I could and should have done the same.

Day 3: The Dreaded O.C.

If there’s one thing I know about cosplay, it’s that cosplaying as an original character can be controversial. Other people spend weeks trying to recreate a beloved character while you show up dressed as something wholly new. You’re doing it as a fan, but you’re not exactly playing by the common rules.

My O.C. was a Slytherin student traveling to NYCC to recover stolen artifacts. I had the licensed tie, a hand-painted beanie with the crest on it, and a variety of mismatched black and green clothing. I also put on fake scars ala Umbridge punishing students with lines about supporting Voldemort and painted snake tattoos onto the opposite arm. I also had a wand I made myself years ago.

The reaction was what I expected. I totally over thought the concept and only had a few people realize what was happening. It wasn’t a big let down, either. I had no wig to take off (ripping out hair in the process) and no need to shampoo my hair eight times until it was my color again. I had fun putting that character together, but would stick to existing characters in the future.

Doing this cosplay experiment opened up a new side of fan culture to me. It was fun to go around in character all day. It was a great ice breaker with fans, guests, and exhibitors I wanted to talk to. I felt like a much more active participant in NYCC and like I actually belonged.

Have you ever done cosplay at a convention? Have thoughts on awesome cosplay you’ve seen? Sound off below.

Advertising, Event, Views

The Wild Promo of New York Comic Con 2012

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Audience interaction is always a big part of conventions. Vendors hold contests, exhibitors give away swag, and big sponsors have interactive demos to draw in crowds. The fans get to experience their favorite content in a new way and discover new things. The booth holders gain publicity, sales, and new followers.

New York Comic Con this year saw a few more extreme and elaborate attempts to draw in a crowd.

Nickelodeon did something I’ve genuinely never seen at a convention before: they rented out a hallway on the show floor. The main pathway between The Block and the main hall was turned into a black light sewer system to promote the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series.

002 300x225 The Wild Promo of New York Comic Con 2012

The level of detail in the design was admirable. The walls were covered with graffiti about the turtles and villains lurking in the city. Pipes, ladders to manholes, and toxic waste littered the hallway. Theatrical lighting was brought in on Saturday to really bring out the details on the walls.

Smaller booths were taking a more exaggerated approach to con marketing this year, as well. Take the graphic novel Whore as an example. They paid for a double booth on the main show floor and knew they had to make a big impression to compete with the big companies and larger properties.

DSCF1108 225x300 The Wild Promo of New York Comic Con 2012

So, they set up a pair of jail cells and gave people free copies of the book if they stayed inside for 20 minutes. The catch? The cells were labeled “whore.” The pitch to do it even said you were whoring yourself out for a free book. At least one of those cages was full the entire convention and there was always a crowd watching. I’d call that a successful marketing stunt.

Nothing on the main show floor even came close to competing with the most dangerous con stunt I’ve ever seen. There’s a new Tomb Raider game coming out and Square Enix wanted everyone to remember. They set up a long event tent in the hallway to Artist’s Alley and covered it in signs.

DSCF1103 300x225 The Wild Promo of New York Comic Con 2012

Apparenty, Lara Croft is now an accomplished archer. Fans at NYCC had the opportunity to shoot a live bow and arrow for the chance to win a special edition copy of the game. The booth was so dangerous that every participant had to be 18 or older and sign a hold harmless form before they could line up.

Once inside, participants were given an arm guard and brief instructions on how to shoot. They were then handed the bow and arrow and told to shoot at the target. A bullseye, and a bullseye alone, would result in victory. It was a dangerous, arguably foolish, publicity stunt that succeeded in garnering publicity.

What’s the craziest promo you ever saw at a convention? Sound off below.

Event, Views

The Worst and the Best of NYCC 2012

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In case you missed it over on the Twitter feed, I was at New York Comic Con all weekend long. I saw panels, cosplayed, met celebrities, became an unpaid booth babe for hire, watched advanced screenings, and talked to tons of fans about their Con experience.

The feedback wasn’t all positive, either. I was actually quite disappointed on the first day by the new layout that removed significant aisle space on the main floor without expanding to include new content on the floor. They literally took away an entire hall that they clearly had the content for and didn’t anticipate how much more traffic would be on the floor at any given time.

This is not to say that it was a bad convention. There were certain procedures put in place that really helped the flow of some events. Test features from earlier years finally came into their own for the first time and the diversity of content was greatly expanded.

To kick off my NYCC 2012 coverage, here’s a breakdown of the worst and best aspects of the weekend.

The Worst

1: Pre-Convention Line-Up

nycc2012preshow The Worst and the Best of NYCC 2012

On Friday, everyone who showed up before the show floor opened at 10AM was checked for a badge and led into a large empty hall on the bottom floor. We were corralled into six person-wide stanchions and told to wait. This seemed like a great idea until, at 10:20, people were still lined up in the stanchions. Everyone had to go up a single escalator to the main floor before going up another set of escalators to the show floor.

By the time I got up to the main floor, people who didn’t line up before the show were allowed to walk right in. There was no crowd outside of the convention center but the pre-show line still had hundreds of people behind me waiting for their turn to pass the stanchions and head inside.

I showed up later on Saturday by forty minutes and got on the floor by 10:10. That seems little off.

Sunday was the worst. Everyone had to line up outside. People who had tickets were forced to go to the back of the “no ticket” line because they wanted to keep the “have ticket” line two or three people wide to the door. Meanwhile, anyone who came to the center early and showed up to the designated entrance for ticket holders early wound up four blocks away from the convention center behind people who were being dropped off in taxis and hopping out of subways after the floor opened.

There are two issues at play: a large crowd and poorly planned traffic. The answer could be the same thing The ticket pick-up line-up really needs to move out of the main entryways to the convention. Press, Exhibitors, and Professionals are isolated from everyone else on the opposite side of the convention; move the ticket pick-up lines to another underused area. There is no shortage of entrances to the Jacob Javitz Center and it would not be hard to have even an entire smaller hall dedicated to ticket pick up. Cut the ticket holders (who paid extra to have their tickets shipped and “avoid the line”) out from the people who are picking up tickets and the entrance will run smoother.

2: Event Communication

nycc2012mariowall The Worst and the Best of NYCC 2012Last year, they had stacks of programs at each entrance that were handed out by volunteers when the floor opened. This year, if you didn’t know where they hid the programs, you weren’t getting them. NYCC developed a poorly functioning event app that routinely crashed and had inaccurate information that they wanted people using instead of paper programs. However, behind each vacant information booth–who knows where they moved those volunteers this year?–was a hoard of paper programs. If you don’t know the schedule, you don’t know what events are happening throughout the weekend.

The communication problem reached its apex around the IGN Theater. The IGN Theater is the 3000 seat auditorium where all the big panels happen. This is where they preview big budget blockbusters, bring on popular panels like the Robot Chicken Q&A, and hold really cool one time only events. The idea of having a separate queuing area for such a large space is great. Too bad you had to actually ask someone in front of the theater where you line up. The queue for the theater had no signs and there were no instructions in the program. You could miss out on the chance of even getting in line for an available seat–IGN Theater allowed all day camping this year–because you found out where the queue was after they already shut it down.

3: The Layout

nycc2012walkway The Worst and the Best of NYCC 2012There were two big issues with the convention layout this year that could have easily been avoided. First, the entrance hallways to the main show floor were very narrow this year. One large path that could take you from the far left to the far right was always clear. Too bad it would take you 20 minutes to go 50 feet to reach it. This was not a problem last year when the main floor was three connected halls. This year, with only two, the ability to walk through the floor was so poor that, even with a four day pass, you couldn’t have made it through every booth unless you skipped all the panels and events.

The second big issue was perhaps easier to avoid. NYCC usually has two stages set up for more open events. This is where they’ll bring on previews of new geeky musicals, game shows, and large group demos of nerd knowledge and skills. For some odd reason, both stages were shoved in the loudest hall at any convention: the autograph hall. The concrete walls bounced so much sound around that you couldn’t hear the performance five feet in front of you broadcast through massive speakers. Both stages could have shared the space with game demos and interactive events (like pick-up Quidditch and Shoot a Storm Trooper). One stage may have survived being in the same hall as the autograph booths. But having all those activities together made every event on the stages a total bust.

4: Cosplay Rules

Why even have printed cosplay rules and an alleged weapon check if you aren’t going to follow them? I saw real metal wrenches, hammers, and chisels on the show floor being brandished about again and again for photo ops. People had real functioning projectiles and water pistols loaded with liquid and were firing them at will. These are all against the rules for cosplay at NYCC and no one running the show cared.

At the costume contest on Saturday night, they gave the prize to Captain America and Hawkeye after Hawkeye fired custom built Nerf arrows into the audience; aside from the projectile rule, you were not allowed to leave anything behind when you showed off your costume in the contest. Though the entrance had a weapon and badge check, I only saw people with swords and huge weapons stopped to make sure they weren’t going to hurt anyone. Small dense metal objects and mysterious liquids in water pistols are just as dangerous.

Best

1: The Vibe of Smaller Halls

Last year, NYCC made a big deal about The Block, a collection of handmade art vendors with a really cool alternative vibe. Yet, they were barely an event on their own, separated by a small black curtain and sign. This year, The Block took center stage in the smaller show floor hall and it was incredible. The booths were large, the pathways were open, and even the structures and carpet had a different design to separate out The Block. I spent more time in that section than anywhere else on the show floor because it was so well-planned.

Artist’s Alley had a similar transformation, though I still think the location was poorly chosen. Last year, Artist’s Alley was in the third hall on the main floor; this year, they were in an annex hall that used to hold autographs and one of the stages last year. I thought it was a bad idea until I saw how it was set up. Artist’s Alley was constantly packed with people throughout the weekend. There was enough space to walk through the floor but the paths were narrow enough that the artists could banter with each other in every direction. It felt more like a really packed art walk than a fan convention and really worked. Now NYCC just needs to vibe it up to the same level as The Block to really sell it as a must-see event.

2: Relaxed and Intimate

nycc2012dc The Worst and the Best of NYCC 2012My disappointment on the first day stemmed from how much smaller the show floor was. However, once I got to check out the panel hall, autograph hall, and all the other annexes at the convention, I started to really dig the feel of it. The main floor was too crowded, sure, but the whole convention just felt more relaxed. There was no high stress “gotta have it” panicking. Dealers seemed more comfortable dealing with a steadier flow of people to their booths. Even the fans seemed to lose the “too crowded must run” edge once they got out of the narrow entrance ways.

The smaller, relaxed feel led to more interaction. I just felt a lot more comfortable talking to dealers, guests, volunteers, and con-goers who chose to be in that hall at that time. Dealers and volunteers aside, these people chose to hang out by the panels or near the phone charging station. You’re there, they’re there, why not engage in some friendly conversation? Last year felt like awe at the altar of the fan; this year felt like everything was okay because we were all there for the same reason.

3: Panel Queuing

Despite the issues with opening the floor and the IGN Theater, NYCC was really on top of organizing the events of the day. The panels were spread out all over the bottom floor. Large spaces broken up into five or six rooms last year were only split into two or three to seat more people. With very few exceptions, there was always room at the panel you wanted to see.

Larger rooms also meant (with one exception they handled very well) that every panel had a clear queue line. On one side, you were lined up in stanchions connected right to the door. On the other side, you lined up against the wall and around the corner next to the door. The one exception had security staff manually creating a safe and efficient queue line in the middle of the hall that allowed traffic to pass to the other rooms unobstructed. The panels just flowed so well because of this larger room choice.

4: The Staff

nycc2012kratos The Worst and the Best of NYCC 2012What can I say about the amazing volunteers and employees at NYCC this year? They were great. They knew their positions like the back of their hands. They were kind, courteous, and able to calm down even the most agitated guest. Though their positions throughout the convention didn’t make the most sense (why were the information booths vacant most of the time?), they were easily able to help you once you found them.

A convention lives or dies based on the conduct of their staff. There are conventions I will never go to again because their volunteer staff were so rude or poorly trained. NYCC this year had the best volunteers I’ve encountered since Fangoria last had a convention in the NYC years ago.

I’m going to have a ton of NYCC coverage this week. Did you make it to the con? What were your overall thoughts. Share them below.

Art, Views, Web

Watch: Try This at Home with Crabcat Industries

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Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope, Morgan Spurlock’s documentary on San Diego Comic-Con, came and went without much fanfare. It was a portmanteau documentary, telling a handful of stories about people attending the convention for various reasons. It did a few festivals and conventions before opening in limited release and VOD on the same day.

The subject who stood out the most for me was Holly Conrad. She was running a costume workshop out of her garage, creating an elaborate set of Mass Effect costumes for the Masquerade at Comic-Con. Her team wound up winning the judge’s award for their execution and innovation.

trythisathomedoc Watch: Try This at Home with Crabcat IndustriesHolly stood out from the other subjects in the documentary because she didn’t view the convention in the same way. With a dry wit and a laser focus on one aspect of Comic-Con, she was not the typical comic fan you would expect in this kind of documentary. Obviously she’s a fan. She was just really focused on showcasing her work in that contest.

Holly Conrad now runs Crabcat Industries with Jessica Merizan, the person who never left the sewing machine when Morgan Spurlock filmed the workshop. The duo now have a costume and fabrication how-to show on the Nerdist Channel called Try This at Home with Crabcat Industries.

The first episode showed a clear direction for the program. Holly and Jessica have fun doing this work. They also have really sarcastic personalities and love a good awkward moment.

The first episode focused on setting up a workshop. They ran down their recommended safety equipment and tools before they really start fooling around with their friends/coworkers. Since there’s no right way to set up a studio (other than what works for you while still being safe), the episode doesn’t focus too much on how this team set up their studio. You get enough shots of their shelves, wall units, and hanging system to inspire your own set-up without dictating what you have to do.

Try This at Home is a very relaxed DIY show. Fabrication and costume design are wide fields with no definitive solution to any challenge. Aside from the tools (heat guns, sealants, vacuum forms, sewing machines, rotary tools, etc.), all you need to declare success is a safely completed finish product. Whether you do it in foam, recycled materials, or latex casting, all that matters is that finished product. Does it look good? Is it durable? Does it do everything it’s supposed to? Then you’ve succeeded.

trythisathomegauntlet Watch: Try This at Home with Crabcat IndustriesThe second episode focused on creating an Infinity Gauntlet (a super-powered weapon wielded by Thanos in the Marvel universe) and is a fast look at fabrication. Holly drafts a quick paper pattern, then cuts away at foam until she has something resembling the Infinity Gauntlet. Then it’s all carving, gluing, sealing, and painting from there.

At first, I questioned whether going through the steps so quickly was a wise decision. If someone wanted to make the exact same Infinity Gauntlet featured in this episode, they would have to watch a few times and parse out some of the unnamed extra steps. The edit assumes that someone who wants to do this project has a good sense of intuition.

Then I realized that, with editing for time, this became a sort of introduction to this style of fabrication. Holly runs down all the equipment she used to create a metallic texture on the foam. It’s up to you to follow the product directions and experiment with application techniques.

As I’ve learned from a lifetime of ceramics and crafting, there is no one right way to create a fake finish. This show is telling you what you need to get to experiment with this method. Do you want your gauntlet rough or smooth? How much gold is enough gold for your design? Do you want to do the bulk of your work in carving or painting the piece? Those are the choices you have to make when doing any kind of DIY project.

The important takeaway for me with Try This at Home is the no stress atmosphere. Making things is frustrating. The last thing you want to do is be so serious that you lose out on any fun in the process. You’re making costumes and props. It should be fun. You should be able to fool around with your friend and get the job done.

If you have any interest in design and fabrication, it’s worth checking out Try This at Home. It’s a fun introduction to how his process works.

Views, Web

Watch: Wookie Bellydancing

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If this video doesn’t make your day better, I don’t know what will.

We’re dealing with a video that promotes peace and unity with absurdity. A band of Klingons performs a Wookie song that translates to “Peace.” Then, a Wookie maiden enters the stage to bellydance with a prop.

The performance is the work of il Troubadore. Their goal is to perform all the Klingon music known in the universe. Originally founded as a period and world music group, they claim to know over 700 songs from 60 different countries and add new songs to their set list every week.

They have been collaborating with bellydancers from the start. Including a bellydancer in a routine for a sci-fi bellydancing contest only makes sense. Having the bellydancer dressed as a Wookie rather than as a Star Wars slave girl is an odd stroke of genius. The crowd laughs at first until they realize that the dancer in the costume is as skilled as any other participant in the contest. It’s an interesting moment of self-reflection in sci-fi fandom that can create laughs and discussion.

Thoughts? Share them below.

Games, Views

Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne: The Game

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Try as I might, I could never get the hang for developing online games. The process needed to create all the user controlled animation just never clicked with me. I love playing them and wish I could make them, but alas, it is not to be.

Thank goodness other people don’t give up as easily as me. Users at Reddit are creating a real life version of the game Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne. The racist, sexist, anti-hippie video game was the center of a recent episode of Community.

In “Digital Estate Planning”, Pierce Hawkthorne is told that his millionaire father has developed a high tech (8-bit but with user recognition capabilities) video game. The entire study group is invited to play. They soon discover that it is a trick to punish Pierce for his request to borrow money to develop a video game over 30 years ago. The only way Pierce earns his inheritance is to be the first player to defeat the game.

journeytohawkthorneseacresthulk Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne: The Game

Play as the study group, or go wild with one-offs like Seacrest Hulk

The current version of Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne is a looping series of four rooms. There is the introductory room–the study room–where Jeff teaches everyone to play–up is jump, left and right are left and right. Then there is the hallway filled with rabid cannibalistic hippies. Exit through the doorway and you’re in the pastel colored Super Mario Bros. 2-esque forest platform stage. One more doorway leads you to the remains of the Old West town before you’re looped back into the study room.

Unfortunately, you can’t do a lot of things yet. There is no chance to kill someone with DIY alchemy. You can’t murder the blacksmith and burn down the survivors. And you certainly can’t take over the entire game by building an elaborate golden city with in-game robot slave children. Some day.

I like it when fans put their heads together and develop something fun for other fans to do. They’re on shaky legal ground in using another group’s IPR, but they’re not selling the game. It’s freeware by fans, for fans. There’s a chance they could get away with parody claim. It won’t necessarily avoid trouble if NBC decides to get litigious, but it could be enough to discourage any action against the Reddit group developing Journey to the Center of Hawkthorne.

Have you downloaded the latest version of the game yet? What do you think? It controls well. I just wish there was more to it. You can’t really complain when they’re releasing the game as it’s developed and fixing bugs within hours of user reports. Sound off below with your thoughts.

Books/Print, Views, Web

Explore: Pottermore

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When J.K. Rowling announced Pottermore–an interactive annotated guide to the Harry Potter series–last fall, I was skeptical. What could be the draw for anyone but the most dedicated fan? It’s fan service from the biggest fan of the series herself.

No one is as consumed with the Harry Potter series as the author herself. Rowling spent seventeen years working on the seven mega hit novels. As she reveals in Pottermore, she even created what she calls “ghost trails”–side plots for major characters that didn’t even come close to making the final edits of the books. Her universe is so well-planned and researched that she sometimes forgets these side stories are not common knowledge.

pottermorealley Explore: Pottermore

Diagon Alley is filled with life in Pottermore

Pottermore is where the world of Harry Potter will really come to life. The films added a visual, the games interaction, and the theme park physical presence, but Pottermore is opening up the universe beyond Harry’s experience. Ever wonder how Harry’s Aunt and Uncle grew to hate him so much? What about the real origin of Professor McGonagall’s distaste for Slytherin? Or a history of how Olivader’s Wand Shop knows exactly which wand a wizard needs?

These are not random little tidbits being thrown out to earn money. For one thing, Pottermore is a free website that anyone can join. No, these are fully developed ideas that Rowling very easily could have turned into additional books. She already did that with The Tales of Beedle the Bard and Quidditch Through the Ages. Pottermore is fan service of a unprecedented scope.

Pottermore is an interactive online community with gaming elements. It’s not quite an MMORPG as I predicted when it was first teased, but it’s close. You explore all the various settings of the novels chapter by chapter. You interact with objects to find additional information and stories from J.K. Rowling.

pottermorepotiongame Explore: Pottermore

Brew potions to earn points for your house in Pottermore

However, once you get past Harry’s humble beginnings, you become a part of the story. You are the newest student at Hogwarts and you have to get ready for your first year. You buy your books and supplies, receive your wand, and get sorted into your house. You can earn points for your house through various tasks. Maybe you’ll excel at wizard dueling or potion making. Perhaps your eye will complete collections of items for bonuses. It’s up to you.

The only rule in Pottermore is that you have to follow the story in order. You can’t jump to the final chapter until you’ve explored the entire first novel. The locked features open in a specific order. Once content is unlocked, you can always go back and explore further.

I would not consider myself a big Harry Potter fan by any means. I read the books (to a point) and saw the films (all but the last three on TV or DVD). I am, however, having a good bit of fun exploring Pottermore. It’s a clever supplement and one that will only keep growing as they add on the rest of the series book by book.

So are you joining Pottermore? Sound off below.

Books/Print, Event, News

Comic Book Obscenity Laws; or, the Case of Brandon X

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What do you use to read when you’re traveling? Do you pack up magazines and books or go all digital on your laptop or eReader? Do you ever stop at a shop in the bus station, airport, or train station and pick up a comic to read? An act as benign as carrying a comic book at an international border can be enough to get you in some serious legal trouble.

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) had a table set up in the main hallway of the MangaNEXT convention. They had stacks of raffle tickets, artwork, pins, and pamphlets to raise awareness and raise money for this very issue. I spent a little bit of time talking to the workers at the table throughout the weekend to find out what was happening.

Brandon X, as he’s being called, is facing serious legal trouble in Canada over comics. Specifically, he had a collection of manga on his laptop. Customs officials in Canada asked to see his cellphone, iPad, and laptop. It is within their rights and jurisdiction to search electronic media at customs. When the customs official saw the wide-eyed child-like style of manga, they interpreted it as child pornography. The CBLDF is not releasing the names of the titles in question, but they plainly state that these were not pornographic titles.

Comic Book Obscenity Laws; or, the Case of Brandon X

The logo for the CBLDF's work on the Brandon X case

Now, Brandon X faces a minimum sentence of one year in prison and having to register as a sex offender for having manga on his laptop. Let that sink in for a minute. A twenty-something guy could have a black mark follow him the rest of his life because a customs official wasn’t familiar with manga art. I can only hope that the trial makes it quite clear how absurd the charges are and Brandon X gets out unscathed.

There are a few takeaways from this incident. One, it is not isolated. Comic artists Tom Neely and Dylan Williams had books they were carrying over the US/Canadian border confiscated last May due to allegedly obscene material. One book featured two first year art students kissing–they looked too much like children–and the other book featured dark humor bordering on horror used as satire–naughty things with corpses. The books were seized and shipped to Ottawa to be examined for an official ruling on whether or not books already published in Canada were obscene material.

The second point is the nature of obscene material. It’s not enough at the US/Canadian border to explain how the wide-eyed characters of traditional manga art are not children. You have to prove, in context, the age of the characters. If they do anything even remotely romantic in nature (like kissing, as Neely and Williams learned), you will face problems caused by the allegedly obscene content. It’s not just child-like characters that can raise eyes of customs agents. Anything that can be deemed obscene–violence, sex, depravity of any kind–can result in legal problems.

The third point is a major one. Until last weekend, I had no idea this happened. Comics are comics, book are books, and so long as they’re published legally, there shouldn’t be a problem, right? Obviously, I was wrong.

initiationofsarah4 Comic Book Obscenity Laws; or, the Case of Brandon X

Is this image from The Initial of Sarah obscene because of the lack of context?

I took a look through my own laptop while working on this piece. In my screengrab folder alone (where I keep all images for online media writing), I found a picture of Homer Simpson tarred and feathered in his underwear, a handful of images featuring the young leads of Super 8 in tight quarters, a composite image of Nicki Minaj that looks childish on one side and overtly sexual on the other, and an entire folder of images of the animated opening sequence of The Happiness of the Katakuris in full eyeball ripping glory. How much of the content on my computer would be deemed obscene when I travel with my work?

What about the volumes on extreme horror and B-movie advertising that accompany me on all but weekend excursions? Are those obscene too? What about the webcomics in my bookmark folder or the archives of my own comic work? Some of those characters look like children even when they aren’t. Would I be facing obscenity charges if I crossed over into Canada today?

What we have with the story of Brandon X are two ways to help change this situation. First, you can give everyone you know a heads up about this issue. Share the CBLDF site, this post, or any information you find on issues of content censorship gone haywire. Knowledge is power and this subject is under-represented all over the place.

Second, you can consider joining to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. The money won’t just be going to Brandon X’s trial costs. It’s used for all aspects of their work. The goals of the CBLDF are to fight censorship and raise awareness of censorship issues facing comic creators and fans alike. The funds are split between legal and educational efforts. Memberships start at $25. You can also donate directly to the CBLDF for a minimum of $5 or purchase donated items from artists and writers in their shop.

The case of Brandon X is not an isolated incident. Unless we work to raise awareness of censorship issues and fight against genre bias, he won’t be the last person to get in trouble for owning a comic book.

Thoughts? Love to hear them.

Event, Music, Views

Chipocrite Explains Chip Music

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One of the guests at MangaNEXT was Chipocrite (aka Paul Weinstein), a chip music artist. Chip music is an interesting and often misunderstood way of producing music. I avoid the term style for good reason: it’s not one. It’s more of a catchall term for a way of creating music.

Chip music basically uses old computers or video game systems to make music. The most common choice is the Game Boy, though it is not the only option. Software is used to control and manipulate the abilities of the basic sound board to create loops of melodies, rhythm, waves, and effects that stack up to form music. It’s a restrictive medium that results in a lot of creative manipulation to make the music work. Think of it like using a really small synthesizer.

Chipocrite ran two panels at the convention explaining and demonstrating how to make chip music on the Game Boy. He described the process as “problem solving” songwriting and stressed that the process does not involve hacking. There are other music creation methods based in hacking. This is not one of them. Hacking is a possibility, but not really for the music creation process itself.* Think adding a light behind the Game Boy screen so you can play the music live. There’s really no way to expand on the sound capabilities of the system itself.

The software used is called Little Sound DJ. It’s a tracker interface, meaning it’s designed to piece the music together and follow it as it plays. Chip music is primarily a writing medium. It’s possible to perform with the software, but the bulk of the work is planning. What Little Sound DJ does is give you access to the the sound board on the Game Boy.

littlesounddjwave Chipocrite Explains Chip Music

The wave control screen on Little Sound DJ.

Chipocrite did a great job explaining how the control interface worked. The Game Boy has only four possible channels to create sound. Two of them can only go up and down like the notes on a keyboard. These handle the bulk of the melodic duties. The third is the wave channel, which can manipulate sound in any direction. It lets you very quickly bulk up the track with some quirks built into the Game Boy sound system. The fourth is the noise channel. This is static that can be manipulated to sound like drums. It only builds up with chains, loops, and layering from there.

Think of it like this. Do you remember playing games on a Game Boy? Even if a game had a musical score, it was very limited and probably only took up one track. All of the sound–objects, movement, fighting, blips on the menu screen, music, etc.–was built on these four channels. I’ve embedded an example to the right. Once you listen to even a short bit of the Kirby’s Dream Land 2 music, you’ll realize that chip music isn’t hacking. All people like Chipocrite are doing is using the tools that Nintendo themselves put into place to create Game Boy soundtracks.

The more I learned about the process, the more I started to wonder how live performance would actually work. People see chip music performances at concerts, cons, and festivals. What could these musicians do once the the songs are written and ready to go?

Chipocrite was asked about this and kindly improvised a live demo of how he could manipulate his song “I Quit” for a live performance. Forgive the shakiness of the video at first. I arrived to the panel late and didn’t want to cause a further distraction by whipping out the tripod or running around the room for a better vantage point.

How an artist chooses to write, use, and perform chip music is up to them. Chipocrite manipulates the tracks live and has also started to incorporate electric bass into his performances. He also started performing with a band called Cheap Dinosaur that uses chip music a another instrument like drums or guitar. Since the concept of chip music is a tool used to create music, the possibilities seem endless.

*Actually, you could hack the Game Boy to create sounds. You just wouldn’t be able to manipulate them through software anymore. It’s called circuit bending and it’s a discussion for another time.

Thoughts? Love to hear them.

Books/Print, Event, Views

Everybody’s Welcome: MangaNEXT and Instant Community

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Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of participating in a convention called MangaNEXT. I wasn’t entirely sure what I was getting myself into when I applied for a press badge to this convention. I just knew that the subject interested me.

Manga are Japanese comic books. They cover a wide variety of topics and are targeted to every market imaginable. There are manga for boys, manga for girls, manga for young men, manga for young women, manga for men, manga for women, etc., that all break down into many different subgenres and interests, likes sports, cooking, fantasy, or romance. Traditionally, the new manga start out in magazines. These magazines contain many stories in each weekly or monthly issue. The popular stories are then collected in tankoben, or volumes–small books of an individual title. Think of them like comic book anthologies. You get multiple issues in one book.

While I had an interest in the form and exposure to a few titles, I really did worry about what I was getting myself into. Did I know enough to even get anything out of the convention? Would I recognize any of the guests or cosplay? And most importantly, would I have to say “manga” before figuring out how people were going to pronounce it in this area?*

manganextpressbadgeschedule Everybodys Welcome: MangaNEXT and Instant Community

My credentials and the tankobon-styled convention guide.

Any fears I had dissolved quickly when I showed up to the central office to pick up my press credentials. Before I even had the chance to introduce myself, one of the many MangaNEXT staffers asked me what I was looking for. I was directed to the table where a trio of staffers were finishing up preparations for the press office. They could not have been nicer about greeting me and handling a few last minute details. Within a few minutes, I was presented with my freshly laminated press badge with my name front and center.

The name thing initially struck me as odd. Most conventions I’ve been to just hand out badges categorized by your ticket type. A press badge would just say press, while a one day badge would say one day or the valid day of admission.

Not at MangaNEXT. The purpose of this convention seemed to be fostering a sense of community among manga fans. Why shouldn’t you be able to walk up to someone and introduce yourself? You’re all there for the same reason. The ice breaking is done as soon as you go up the escalator to the heart of the convention.

This concept was confirmed when Ezra, the convention chair for 2012, delivered a lovely tribute to the culture of manga fans during the opening ceremonies. “It’s all about the love of manga and standing together and all the fans [uniting]!” Looking around the room, I could see the variety of people being united by an interest in manga. There were children and adults. There were people in elaborate cosplays and people wearing everyday clothing. No matter what the motivation for attending MangaNEXT was, everyone was welcome.

beatrice Everybodys Welcome: MangaNEXT and Instant Community

This cosplayer doing Beatrice from Umineko no Naku Koro ni gladly posed for photos every few steps she took.

This broad reaching approach resulted in a wide variety of engaging content all weekend long. Of course MangaNEXT had an Artist Alley and a Dealers Room. Most conventions do. And yes, they were packed with fans scoping out good deals on manga, art, autographs, and accessories all weekend long.

What stood apart was the range of panels, workshops, and activities to participate in. You could spend an hour learning about the breadth of apocalypse-themed manga. Maybe you wanted to learn all about paneling your own manga from an art teacher in a workshop that quickly filled to standing room only capacity. Perhaps meeting a variety of international manga artists and having a chance to win one of a kind artwork was more in your wheelhouse. Or maybe you just wanted to show up, dress up, and party all night long. These activities and so much more were readily available throughout the convention.

I unfortunately had to duck out early on Friday for music work, forcing me to miss out on panels about surviving cosplay emergencies, coloring manga, cartoon adaptations of video games, and ballroom dancing. I also knew that I couldn’t do any interviews because I was on call for another production that might have needed a last minute rehearsal during the weekend. I knew that I could not waste any time the rest of the weekend if I was going to get the full experience of the convention. Here’s how my Saturday went down.

I started off with back to back panels run by fans. The first was a loosely moderated discussion about bad anime. The panelists (the creative team behind YouTube series Underbelly) went toe to toe with audience members about how the shows went so wrong in translation and edits. The next panel (members of Disorganization XIII) became an engaging look at the fan fiction community through the lens of literary criticism. Cheekily titled “From Mary Sue to Shakespeare,” the goal was to open a fanfic writer or fan’s eyes to the context of the community as a whole. Both panels really set the tone for the rest of the weekend. As fans, we’re all equal and we all have valid opinions.

From there, I shifted over to the larger panel room for back to back Q&A sessions with Japanese manga artists. Tomo Maeda (Honey Blood; Black Sun, Silver Moon) and Makoto Tateno (Yellow, Romeo/Romeo) were met with a mix of fans, press, and curious con-goers who all had equal opportunities to ask questions and meet the artists. The artists took all of the questions in good humor, from queries about the process of creating manga to personal interests and inspiration.

I knew I wanted to see how the workshops were run, even if I myself had not considered creating manga before. First up was Jen Lee Quick (Off*Beat) doing a Q&A session about selling a manga or comic with a story bible. She generously handed out copies of the original story bible for Off*Beat. She also spent a lot of time engaging with the participants one on one about the creative process and any concerns they had.

creatingmanga Everybodys Welcome: MangaNEXT and Instant Community

Meta manga from a manga convention about creating manga at a manga convention

Lily Hana (Farewell Feeling) ran a workshop called “Creating Manga from Start to Finish.” Instead, it became a workshop for the attendees on whatever they’re interested in. She polled the audience and spent the workshop teaching us all about panel layout in manga. She gave individual feedback on everyone’s storyboards and patiently answered any question thrown at her. She even put up with my nonsense which, in case you can’t tell from my…art(?), was a literal biography of showing up and getting the last seat for that workshop.

As if lessons in creation and easily accessible panels weren’t enough, I also chose to attend a few of the more specialized panels. The guys who run Spiraken Manga Review sped through an hour long panel on post-apocalyptic manga because the schedule fell behind. Their breakdown of different varieties of the apocalypse was still very engaging. Erin Finnegan (Anime News Network) also raced through a panel but for a very different reason. She set out to discuss the wide world of unusual manga genres and schooled the large audience on everything from pachinko manga to educational business school manga.

Saturday night ended with a series of events for the fans. Instead of a traditional Masquerade (think cosplay onstage), MangaNEXT introduced Iron Cosplay. Teams of four were pulled out of the audience to put on manga/convention themed skits. One team had to tell a giant robot story featuring a Final Fantasy hero, Derpy Hooves, a Time Lord, and a ballet dancer. In fifteen minutes, they came up with a crowd pleasing performance about a Time Lord abducting Derpy Hooves and a Final Fantasy hero to fight the evil giant ballet robot destroying the city. The hosts kept the event moving with live dancing and interactivity while the groups prepped their skits.

Now imagine the variety of panels, workshops, and events I didn’t get to at MangaNEXT. I didn’t get a chance to visit the manga library or watch the judging in the Hall of Cosplay. Every time I chose one panel, I was forced to skip two or three other panel events happening at the same time.

communityatmanganext Everybodys Welcome: MangaNEXT and Instant Community

A group of cosplayers start an impromptu meet up at MangaNEXT

Now imagine hundreds upon hundreds of people navigating all these different events. There were people who seemed to unwittingly travel in groups the entire convention and people who never even got to see each other. Strangers joined forces to act out moments from popular manga and anime. People were talking, laughing, and just having a good time with like-minded con-goers.

No matter where I went at MangaNEXT, I was made to feel welcome. It didn’t hurt when a few guests and convention attendees recognized me either from NYCC or, by name alone, from Sketchy Details. But even total strangers who had no idea who I was or what I was doing there were inviting.

All conventions have their own unique feel to them. The events inevitably take on a life and persona of their own. I haven’t felt this comfortable at a convention this large in a long time. MangaNEXT welcomes everybody with open arms.

Thoughts? Love to hear them.

*The answer is “mahn-gah,” as what we translate from Japanese as “a” is typically pronounced as “ah.” And yes, that does mean that “ahneemay” is closer to the pronunciation of “anime” than you might typically hear. More importantly, I wasn’t the only person trying to get the word right this weekend.

Views, Web

Follow: Hashtag the Planet

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Hashtag the Planet is a one pane webcomic from artist Ann Merritt. Meritt works in a very different style from a lot of other webcomic creators. Her comics are not narrative or sight gag driven. She develops an idea inspired by her life into simple representational text and imagery.

hashtagtheplanet 1024x768 Follow: Hashtag the Planet

I had the chance to briefly meet the woman behind Hashtag the Planet at New York Comic Con last weekend. Her display was one of the more eye-catching ones in Artist Alley. The simple booth was framed with twin metal photography trees holding wrapped versions of her one pane comics. Her large black and white banner, candy-colored artwork, and bright demeanor were enough to draw a crowd for a very different style of art.

“I don’t have a set publishing schedule,” she said. “I try to get at least one a month, but sometimes can do one every two or three days. It really depends on if I’m inspired.”

Hashtag the Planet is, of all things, a product inspired by Twitter.

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Art, Event, Views

Arts Technology at NYCC

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lomography 1024x768 Arts Technology at NYCC

One thing I found rather surprising at New York Comic Con last weekend was the high presence of technology at the event. Sure, I expected booths filled with the newest video games and simulations. I expected panels and presentations to try to put on a show. I did not expect to see so many booths promoting advances in how we could make art in the future. There were new computer rigs, software for editing and special effects, and even brand new inventions.

Two booths stood out to me as end user art production techniques. They both offered new takes on older technology that could make some of the more expensive art distribution methods a bit more accessible.

The first is Lomography. Lomography is a magazine, an online community, and a store for custom made analog film cameras. While this may not seem like new technology, what Lomogarphy is doing is making some of the stranger lenses and filters accessible to a point and shoot culture.

Take, for example, the Fisheye line. This is an $50-80 camera that shoots everything with a built in fish-eye lens. It uses regular 35MM film, which is available in most supermarkets and drug stores. It’s the consumer film standard. The difference here is that you instantly get an artistic effect without having to purchase a high end camera with exchangeable lenses.

lomographyfisheye Arts Technology at NYCC

That’s one of the more gimmicky offerings from Lomography. Their standard is the Diana Mini. This compact camera–with old-fashioned flash bulb on top–produces super-saturated low-fi analog photographs for $60-110. It shoots in two formats on standard 35MM film: square (full frame) or half frame (widescreen). That means you get somewhere between 36 or 72 shots per roll depending on your setting choice. The Diana Mini only develops half of the frame on half frame mode, giving you two prints on one full square of film.

lomographydiana Arts Technology at NYCC

Lomography offers everything from pinhole cameras to 360degree rotating cameras for expansive panoramic photos. Most of their products are available for under $150. The most expensive package, The World Bundle Bag – Megalomaniac, is $1742 and that includes every camera they make plus film stock. This is budget art photography for the home user. It opens up a difficult to achieve style for budget artists.

The second big piece of technology is the MakerBot Thing-O-Matic. Makerbot’s Thing-O-Matic is a 3D plastic printer designed for the home consumer. You create your design using 3D imaging software–it even accepts Google Sketch Up–and upload it into the printer. You then feed in a one kilogram bundle of ABS plastic coil into the machine and watch it go.

The Thing-O-Matic takes the design from the computer and begins building the plastic figure on the spot. If you aren’t comfortable with design, they have an ever-expanding library of pre-designed figures for you to try out.

The cost of the Thing-O-Matic is prohibitive when viewed in a vacuum. A fully manufactured printer will cost $2500 and takes about a month to build and deliver. Here’s the thing: $2500 is the equivalent of the budget Diana Mini in the world of 3D printers. This is an expensive technology that will take a very long time to come down below a thousand dollars. It requires more wires and circuits than a traditional 2D printer to work. There are safety concerns to handle when dealing with plastic as a printing medium.

If, for example, you had an idea for a series of toys. Thing-O-Matic could print them as solid plastic in your own home. You would control the manufacturing. You wouldn’t have to keep tacking on shipping and handling costs to the final price. You could customize the final details by hand after the solid colored piece was finished. You could use it to make promotional toys for a web comic, scale models for an art project, or to produce one of a kind plastic sculptures for a gallery display. The booth at NYCC was even demonstrating an RC car they made with the Thing-O-Matic, including gears and axles made by the printer.

What these two booths managed to do at NYCC was rather impressive. There seemed to always be a crowd at the booths. The staff were knowledgeable and friendly, presenting the products and companies in the best light possible. More importantly than that, they presented products that clearly had crossover appeal into the larger geek culture celebration surrounding them.

Event, Theater, Views

How Everyone Except the Actors is Responsible for Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark Ver. 2.0

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Yesterday at New York Comic Con, I saw a very eye opening panel about what really happened behind the scenes at Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. The panel consisted of original Julie Taymor collaborator Glen Berger, Julie Taymor replacement writer Roberto Aguire-Sacasa, and an associate set designer named Rob who is not credited on the Spider-Man or Comic Con sites. Other recognizable members of the production team were in attendance but did not take part in the panel.

The Marvel and Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark PR people in attendance seemed tense before the panel. There were many hushed discussions about what to do in case of this and even a brief with the panelists before the event began. I assume they were being instructed to be candid but not slanderous about anyone who may or may not be involved in the production anymore. Judging by the fact that Julie Taymor’s name was mentioned only once (but her contributions were referenced and joked about repeatedly), I’m guessing my assumptions are pretty accurate.

If you want to know why so many stunts were put in that caused so much chaos during the development of the show, blame Marvel itself. Glen Berger explained that anyone working on the show in charge of a huge creative aspect–book, score, set design, costumes, etc.–was contractually obligated to use the latest “groundbreaking technology.” Hence, a flying apparatus called “The Catapult” that broke legs and arms before finally being show-ready. Hence, Swiss Miss with her at one point deadly spinning blade weapon. Hence, sets made of super-expensive carbon fiber rather than plywood and Masonite that fold up in odd approximations of pop-up books. Hence, gigantic distracting screens with flashing images because the holograms didn’t work.

Wait. Holograms?

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Advertising, Event, Games, Views

Booth Promotion and You

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What you just witnessed was an example of booth promotion at a large fan convention. The three women in the black Just Dance 3 t-shirts will be at NYCC for the next three days, dancing from when the floor opens to when the floor closes. They’ll be taunting and flirting with the audience, daring them to try the game on a large stage in front of hundreds of people for a free sweatband.

What you also see is a group of women from another large booth promoting another media property. I believe (if I remember correctly) they were connected to The Green Lantern somehow, though I might be mistaken. To drum up business for their booth, they stormed the stage as soon as the Just Dance 3 people asked for volunteers and played it up for the crowd.

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