MEGACON FLOOR REPORT, DAY ONE

[MattBrady]

by Todd H. Latoski

On Friday, MegaCon Convention Director Beth Widera said that ticket sales had already far exceeded expectations. Normally the slowest of the three-day weekend, this Friday saw lines out the door – what normally takes only four ticket sale booths required six booths – and with only one hour left before closing, there was still a line for ticket purchases. Widera reported that the venue moved into a larger room, now with 180,000 square feet to accommodate the bigger crowds that showed up last year, and it’s a good thing they did. If Friday is any indicator, Saturday is going to have record numbers.

As usual, a number of comic / sci-fi related guests are on-hand to sign autographs and pose for pictures with thousands of fans. Kristy Swanson (the original Buffy from the movie), Noel Neill (the original Lois Lane), Jack O’Halloran (Non from Superman II), and Marc Singer (from the V television series and the Beastmaster film) were all on hand, with Adrian Pasdar from Heroes and Erica Durance from Smallville set to appear on both Saturday and Sunday.

The floor was alive as thousands of guests sought out the creator tables. Fan-favorite Arthur Suydam was on hand to wow guests with his zombie creations. Making his first appearance at MegaCon, Suydam indicated that he is still working on Moon Knight and will be working on a new Wolverine project, having just completed a cover assignment for the ongoing series. He is also still doing covers for Red Sonja and Savage Tales at Dynamite Entertainment. Suydam also said that he has been doing the interiors for a graphic novel story he says he has been working on for a long time – something he is both writing and painting, which weighs in at 150 pages. He also has a similar project for Dynamic Forces, which is his own project working that has been in progress for ten (10) years (which means it pre-dates all the zombie stuff) and he should have it delivered to DF by May. He apologized to those fans that are still waiting on commissioned art. He said he is far behind because of the number of requests, and that he has had to start turning down requests so that he is able to keep his commitments to Marvel. He did hint, though, that he has a “dream project” that he would love to have done at Marvel or DC – a project he calls “When Giants Walk the Earth” – any takers?

Brian Pulido, a MegaCon regular, premiered his newly launched “Coffin Comics” imprint, which he says is not for story-based comics, but for collectors, especially those who have enjoyed his “wild” editions. With Coffin, Brian premiered his Lady Death Icon, which is limited to only 100 issues at Megacon; however, in June, Diamond will have its own edition for fans to purchase signed by interior artist Ivan Reis. Brian also said he has a Darkness one shot coming up. He also indicated he has a four-issue Lady Death mini-series, as well as a one-shot and other projects ready at Avatar as soon as they get the artist and put it on the schedule. His most interesting news, thought, was the film he is directing. Currently in pre-production stages, this film, called The Graves, is set to begin principal photography on May 12th. Brian explained the film as two sisters whose visit to an abandoned remote roadside attraction turns into a mind-bending fight for survival against menaces, both human and supernatural.

Mark Waid, who always had a line for autographs, shared that Brave and Bold was his sole project at DC right now because of his new role as Editor of Boom! Studios. He is excited about the upcoming Godfather Chronicles, which will expand upon the classic movies (all with Paramount’s approval, of course), and gave fans the good news that Hero Squared will be returning this summer, and J.M. DeMatteis has already turned in three scripts.

Another MegaCon regular, Phil Noto, was doing countless sketches. He took time out to hint that he is currently working on a Superman/Supergirl project for DC that should come out later this year and is doing some covers for Wildstorm projects. He also continues his personal work for video game designs and general illustration paintings. When asked if he will be returning to work on Jonah Hex any time soon, his reply was no, but he would love to do some more issues of that series.

Surprise guest, George Perez, delighted a lot of fans who were missing his absence this year. Having sworn off conventions, George (a Florida local) decided to return for an hour each day (4:30 to 5:30) as his wife is teaching at that time. He was mum about the “secret project” that DC has for him right now, indicating that he could not talk about it, but fans should be very pleased when it is announced.

Also present at this year’s MegaCon were three of the contestants from SciFi television’s “Who Wants to be a Superhero?” reality television show. Parthenon (Dan Williams), Fat Mamma (Nell Wilson), and last season’s winner, the Defuser (Jarrett Crippen), were all present, thrilled to interact and talk with fans. Parthenon said he is working on something, but he couldn’t be specific about it (seems to be a common theme this year!). He said it is somewhat comic-related and somewhat television related, but should be able to announce something more soon. Fat Mamma, who is appearing tomorrow night at the “Cage Madness” battle of the giants wrestling tournament in Orlando, said that she loves doing the convention appearances. She currently has two comics that she has had produced, with a third one on its way. Under the personally created imprint of Esteem Comics, she says each issue has a positive message that she hopes will reach the readers and encourage them in their lives.

The Defuser, a police officer and fellow comic-fan in real life, says that while he used to do safety presentations to the boy scouts, brownies, and elementary school children as an officer, he has found he is able to capture the children’s attention more as the Defuser. He feels he is doing much more positive work, having spoken to more than 1,600 children as Defuser about the importance of knowing how to call 911 and “stranger danger.” He said MegaCon is his 6th or 7th convention appearance, and as long as it involves children, cops or charity (his “three c’s”), then he’ll be there! When asked about his action figure, he said he has not heard any news, but he does know that Dark Horse’s comic of the Defuser is supposed to be around in May or sometime thereafter.

With hundreds of dealers, an artist alley full of indy creators, and big television, movie, and comic stars on-hand to greet and meet fans, this weekend is without a doubt going to be one huge success! Tomorrow, more to come from Jimmy Palmiotti, Amanda Conner, Steve McNiven, Paul Pelletier, Adam Kubert, and more (and with a little luck, Joe Quesada at the Hero Initiative dunk tank), so stay tuned.

[The Holy Cow]

More Hero Squared, yes !!!


First post ??? Yes !!!

[Kevin T. Brown]

Originally Posted by Todd H. Latoski

Surprise guest, George Perez, delighted a lot of fans who were missing his absence this year. Having sworn off conventions, George (a Florida local) decided to return for an hour each day (4:30 to 5:30) as his wife is teaching at that time. He was mum about the “secret project” that DC has for him right now, indicating that he could not talk about it, but fans should be very pleased when it is announced.

Now THAT'S a class act. Just showing up and being available to the fans, no matter how brief the time. My admiration of George Perez just increased ten-fold.

And we all "know" the new project Perez is working on is "Legion of Three Worlds", so you can talk at length about it.

[RolandGunner]

Generally don't get franchise books but if Godfather has a good creative team that would be hard to pass up. The first two movies are filled with characters that cry out for more stories. Also pumped for Phil Noto's new Super-people project. Phil's BoP covers are some of my absolute faves.

[CapsAvenger]

One of the highlights of my life happened yesterday when I got a picture of myself shaking hands with Joe Quesada, while holding up a copy of Civil War # 1 that had just been signed by him and Steve McNiven. That book is now priceless to me. MegaCon '08 rocked. I will be going every year! I also got to shake hands with Kristy Swanson who still looks incredibly hot, Jack O'Halloran (Non from Superman 2), and the original George Reeves era Lois Lane. I picked up some amazing custom art, played throwing star dodgeball, and got amazing deals on comics and graphic novels. I also purchased a convention exclusive limited edition Captain America cup. All in all, a pretty damn good day. Joe Quesada is a really cool guy, very nice and down to earth, and has no problem autographing a stack of comics, and does it with a smile on his face. I am hooked.

[grimston]

Knowing George Perez, he has a jar out collecting for ACTOR/HERO. Beth has done a great job since buying Mega-Con.

[pak256]

Originally Posted by grimston

Knowing George Perez, he has a jar out collecting for ACTOR/HERO. Beth has done a great job since buying Mega-Con.

You're 100% right, he signed my copy of "The 3 minute Sketchbook" and then pulled over the HERO jar and asked if i would like to donate.

As for the rest of the con:

Mike Perkins was great and a really nice guy, Ethan Van Sciver as always was awesome and took the time to do really great sketches for anyone with a hardcover. Mark Waid was really cool and chastised me a little for not bringing him by TPB of Kingdom Come. I told him it was all beat up and he said that those are his favorite ones to sign because it means they've been well read. Greg Horn has to be the biggest geek working in comics, he spent 10 minutes talking to me about who he though might be a skrull and begged me to come continue the discussion on his forum. I was extremely lucky to meet John Romita jr., he got there at 2 and had to leave at 3 for the Hero's Initiative charity lunch that someone won with him. I was at the end of the line and his wife comes up and tells me all this and then tells me that I will be the last person he can sign for Friday and that I needed to let anyone that got behind me that I was last (that part was kinda fun but kinda sucked too). He was very friendly and seemed like a great guy, and he told me if i could come back today or Sunday he would sketch something for me, unfortunately I was only there for Friday, but I gave the book to get sketched on to my little brother who is there today. Darwyn Cooke was very friendly and his wife was extremely enthusiastic about his work. Joe Q's line was way too long for me but I did manage to get in a handshake. The only person who wasn't that friendly was Jose Marzan jr., the inker for Y: The Last Man. I went over to his booth in artist's alley and almost immediately he seemed to be in a less than friendly mood. He didnt seem to grateful when I was praising the book and just seemed to be a pissed off jerk. The only time he was actually a little nice was when I asked him what he might be working on next.
Beyond that the whole con was great, and a lot of fun. I managed to get three sketches for free and will hopefully have my Romita Jr. sketch by tonight. Can't wait to go next year.

[rochvail]

Originally Posted by pak256

that I will be the last person he can sign for Friday and that I needed to let anyone that got behind me that I was last (that part was kinda fun but kinda sucked too).

Dude! I'm one of the people you and your girlfriend had to "inform" about the "last in line" thing. I was a little disappointed, but I met JRJR back in 95 (in Montreal), so it's OK. The only thing I really wanted him to sign was my copy of KISS Klassics that is also signed by KISS.

I had a great time too. I picked up an awesome Captain America painting by Art Baltazar and had Mike Perkins sketch an Arnim Zola mug shot for me. Herb Trimpe was really nice and fun to talk to. One person that I have new respect for is Darwyn Cooke. Here's why:

There's these guys at the local shows here in Orlando that go up to artists and buy up everything they can, haggle and argue about prices and are, well, pushy pricks. I don't know who they are or if they go to other shows, but I can't stand them. Darwyn saw the guys and just started telling that what he REALLY felt about them. He basically told them to take a hike and it was people like them that ruin the con experience for a lot of creators. Darwyn said he used to do free sketches at cons but stopped because of THESE VERY GUYS! I'm not a huge fan of Darwyn's, but I now respect him a lot more for speaking up.

Oh, and I also picked up the Popfun exclusive Toon Tumbler. I think I was the very first person to buy it, as they were still setting up their booth!

[pak256]

yeah I really did not enjoy having to do that all too much, I bought one of the tumblers also.
I just got a call from my brother though and JRjR had to leave early again today so I missed out on my other sketch.

[Kent Horton]

The Defuser, a police officer and fellow comic-fan in real life, says that while he used to do safety presentations to the boy scouts, brownies, and elementary school children as an officer, he has found he is able to capture the children’s attention more as the Defuser. He feels he is doing much more positive work, having spoken to more than 1,600 children as Defuser about the importance of knowing how to call 911 and “stranger danger.” He said MegaCon is his 6th or 7th convention appearance, and as long as it involves children, cops or charity (his “three c’s”), then he’ll be there! When asked about his action figure, he said he has not heard any news, but he does know that Dark Horse’s comic of the Defuser is supposed to be around in May or sometime thereafter.

That's pretty cool of him.

[goofball814]

Originally Posted by CapsAvenger

One of the highlights of my life happened yesterday when I got a picture of myself shaking hands with Joe Quesada, while holding up a copy of Civil War # 1 that had just been signed by him and Steve McNiven. That book is now priceless to me. MegaCon '08 rocked. I will be going every year! I also got to shake hands with Kristy Swanson who still looks incredibly hot, Jack O'Halloran (Non from Superman 2), and the original George Reeves era Lois Lane. I picked up some amazing custom art, played throwing star dodgeball, and got amazing deals on comics and graphic novels. I also purchased a convention exclusive limited edition Captain America cup. All in all, a pretty damn good day. Joe Quesada is a really cool guy, very nice and down to earth, and has no problem autographing a stack of comics, and does it with a smile on his face. I am hooked.

What blashpemy!!!! I thought everyone that posted on the internet was suppost to HATE Joey Q! Isn't that in the terms of use? ".... and I agree to HATE Joe Quesada, and everything that he says or doesn't say, does or doesn't do, thinks or doesn't think....."

I met him at Wizard World in 99 or 2000, round the time he was doing DAREDEVIL with Kevin Smith, and he was great to talk with. Even then, you could tell that he was having a blast with what he was doing! He mentioned that he was like a kid in a candy store when it came to working at Marvel. He was telling stories of what he'd do with all the various Marvel characters. When I asked him to sign my Daredevils (1-8 I think), even though there was a huge line, and I didn't even ask for it, it drew a daredevil head sketch on the cover of issue #1/2. (Not to be outdone, Kevin Smith drew a daredevil head on a stickman on the cover of issue #1 ).

[thejames]

Originally Posted by goofball814

What blashpemy!!!! I thought everyone that posted on the internet was suppost to HATE Joey Q! Isn't that in the terms of use? ".... and I agree to HATE Joe Quesada, and everything that he says or doesn't say, does or doesn't do, thinks or doesn't think....."

I met him at Wizard World in 99 or 2000, round the time he was doing DAREDEVIL with Kevin Smith, and he was great to talk with. Even then, you could tell that he was having a blast with what he was doing! He mentioned that he was like a kid in a candy store when it came to working at Marvel. He was telling stories of what he'd do with all the various Marvel characters. When I asked him to sign my Daredevils (1-8 I think), even though there was a huge line, and I didn't even ask for it, it drew a daredevil head sketch on the cover of issue #1/2. (Not to be outdone, Kevin Smith drew a daredevil head on a stickman on the cover of issue #1 ).

You are right it's in article 3 section b part 45 "Do you promise to now and forever hate all that Joe Quesada has done, might do, knows about, has read and enjoyed, saw oneday when he was driving by (this one really sucks as now I think I have to hate the Empire State Building), or has been created by anyone known by him"

On a serious not, Joe Q has always been a real gentleman when I met him whether it was at Openers Bar in NYC when he used to create Ash (I think like 53 years ago) or last year when I met him at NY Comic Con - he is a true lover of the medium (And I'm not talking about Patricia Arquette - although I have heard rumors).

[dalegon]

Originally Posted by CapsAvenger

One of the highlights of my life happened yesterday when I got a picture of myself shaking hands with Joe Quesada, while holding up a copy of Civil War # 1 that had just been signed by him and Steve McNiven. That book is now priceless to me. MegaCon '08 rocked. I will be going every year! I also got to shake hands with Kristy Swanson who still looks incredibly hot, Jack O'Halloran (Non from Superman 2), and the original George Reeves era Lois Lane. I picked up some amazing custom art, played throwing star dodgeball, and got amazing deals on comics and graphic novels. I also purchased a convention exclusive limited edition Captain America cup. All in all, a pretty damn good day. Joe Quesada is a really cool guy, very nice and down to earth, and has no problem autographing a stack of comics, and does it with a smile on his face. I am hooked.

I so wanted to be at Megacon but I have exams and couldnt make it.

Know what you mean about getting a picture with someone you really admire. I have pictures of myself and Jim Lee, Dale Eaglesham, and myself and Olivier Coipel and Terry Dodson

[AnthonyL]

Originally Posted by pak256

You're 100% right, he signed my copy of "The 3 minute Sketchbook" and then pulled over the HERO jar and asked if i would like to donate.

As for the rest of the con:

Mike Perkins was great and a really nice guy, Ethan Van Sciver as always was awesome and took the time to do really great sketches for anyone with a hardcover. Mark Waid was really cool and chastised me a little for not bringing him by TPB of Kingdom Come. I told him it was all beat up and he said that those are his favorite ones to sign because it means they've been well read. Greg Horn has to be the biggest geek working in comics, he spent 10 minutes talking to me about who he though might be a skrull and begged me to come continue the discussion on his forum. I was extremely lucky to meet John Romita jr., he got there at 2 and had to leave at 3 for the Hero's Initiative charity lunch that someone won with him. I was at the end of the line and his wife comes up and tells me all this and then tells me that I will be the last person he can sign for Friday and that I needed to let anyone that got behind me that I was last (that part was kinda fun but kinda sucked too). He was very friendly and seemed like a great guy, and he told me if i could come back today or Sunday he would sketch something for me, unfortunately I was only there for Friday, but I gave the book to get sketched on to my little brother who is there today. Darwyn Cooke was very friendly and his wife was extremely enthusiastic about his work. Joe Q's line was way too long for me but I did manage to get in a handshake. The only person who wasn't that friendly was Jose Marzan jr., the inker for Y: The Last Man. I went over to his booth in artist's alley and almost immediately he seemed to be in a less than friendly mood. He didnt seem to grateful when I was praising the book and just seemed to be a pissed off jerk. The only time he was actually a little nice was when I asked him what he might be working on next.
Beyond that the whole con was great, and a lot of fun. I managed to get three sketches for free and will hopefully have my Romita Jr. sketch by tonight. Can't wait to go next year.

Really? Jose is always nice to me. I do know he's suffering from allergies this year really bad, as he was feeling it on the floor yesterday (I thought he was sick with the same damn cold I have right now, but he just really was miserable with allergies). We joked around, he signed my books, etc.

Maybe you just caught him at a bad time.

I cruised through Joe's line at the Hero booth. It was long, but he signed really fast. People had their books out, their donations for the money jar, and he was just a signing machine, getting us in and out without being rude about it. Very proficiant. He'd talk to you while signing, then he'd shake your hand and move onto the next fan.

First time meeting Joe Q, and he was very nice.

On the other hand, today's long ass line for JR jr was chaotic. After waiting a half an hour, they moved the entire line to the Hero booth and then split it into two lines, one for signatures, one for sketches. Unfortunatley, that meant that some people who wanted sketches, but hadn't waited as long as the rest of us ended up getting their sketches done and their 10 books signed. It was kind of unfair, and I ended up waiting almost 2 hours, easily the longest line of the my time there this year.

But hey, even with that, the convention was a blast. Each year just keeps on getting better. Beth and company do a wonderful job, and just look at the talent they keep on getting!

I wrote a review up for ComiX-Fan, I don't think they've put it up yet though since it's late on Saturday night. Hated to leave the convention early, but i'm sick.

Speaking of which, Nyquil, here I come!

Anthony L

[alrioart]

Great reports guys. I truly wish I was there. :/

T

[grimston]

This was the first time I was unable to attend Mega-Con in 7 years. Funny you should mentioned these "Fans" and Darwyn. Last year, I was talking to Darwyn on Saturday about New Frontier coming out on DVD in about 11 months. I had him sign both copies of my trade. He was a super nice guy. He kept telling about the DVD and I felt bad that I was taking up so much time but he was doing the talking. I asked him about a sketch and he told me that he list was filled for the day but to come back at the end of the day and he would work out something with me for tomorrow and it should not be a problem. He then pointed to two guys standing beside him and said that was what he had done for these guys.

With about an hour left in the show, I approached David Finch about doing a Batman sketch for me. Then everything broke loose at the table next to me. It seem one of the art agent had pegged an Ebayer and his gang. The ebayer would pay his buddies to stand in line and get sketches for him to put up on ebay. It got pretty intense and David Finch was really uncomfortable and kept apologizing to me for the ruckus. I told him it was OK. After he finished the sketch , David did not want to take any money because of the argument going on. He did a really good job on the sketch. He finally took my money.

I went back to Darwyn's table. A guy in front of me asked about a sketch and Darwyn told him that he was not doing anymore at the show. I quickly explained to Darwyn who I was and what he had told me about coming by earlier. Darwyn was very short with me and asked me if I had heard what he told the fellow in front of me. I then asked him why he told me to come back and he would work something out if he was not doing anymore sketches. He then raised his voice and asked me if I heard what he just said. I could not figure out the shift in moods. Here was a guy that was super friendly and now he was biting my head off after I did what he told me. I later found Darwyn had done most of the days sketches for this ebayer's buddies and then just shut down sketches period.


Glad to see someone is pegging these guys.

[AnthonyL]

Yeah, last year I got that from a lot of creators. Not attitude, but a united front, so to speak, against ebay profiteers. They were limiting signatures, not doing sketches, or finding other ways to weed out the money grubbers from the fans.

I applaud it, actually. Most of the time, a creator can tell. Sometimes they can't. When you have a retailer come up with 20 copies of whatever hot comic, you know, it doesn't take much.

I saw JG Jones tell a retailer to leave his line last year at MegaCon. I wanted to throw a party in his honor

[Evil Rick Shea]

It's a shame when people sell sketches on eBay and take away the chance for a real fan to get a sketch instead, it's not fair to the creators or the fans. I've certainly never sold any of my sketches and never will. I've been pretty lucky to get sketches from most of my favorite creators and could never part with any of them. I have noticed that a lot of creators now ask your name to personalize your sketch to you so it's not something you can sell on eBay. That's one way to stop someone from reselling the sketch and hopefully more creators do that in the future to stop the fake fans (eBayers) from wasting their time and missing the chance for a real fan of their work to get a sketch from them. I usually ask for my sketches to be personalized anyway.

[pop monkey]

Why no mention of the limited edition t-shirts Phil Noto had available through GORILLA RIOT APPAREL? They were a fine couple of shirts, and were only available at the show. I gots me one!
www.gorillariot.com