It’s that time of year again, the leaves are changing color from brown to brown..er… Uh.. Well it’s fall in California, that means we are only a few days away from the last major CA con of the year. COMIKAZE! After a year full of Cons that require travel having the final one of the year be in my backyard is nice. Just a hop, skip, and a jump into downtown LA and we are ready to nerd out for an entire weekend. But hearing about my commute isn’t what you came here for. Let’s dive right in to what has me excited this weekend.
Special Guests!
You can check out the whole list of special guests for this years show right HERE. But the top of my list is Julie Newmar, Alfie Allen, Gwendoline Christie, and Jim Lee. Seriously guys, Julie FREAKING Newmar and Gwendoline Christie!!! It’s too much for my poor little nerd heart to handle.
The thirst is real.
Panels I am stoked for on Friday!
Room 404AB at 5pm
THE KAIJU KINGDOM LIVE PODCAST! – GODZILLA’S 60TH
ANNIVERSARY/GAMERA’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY – The King of Monsters and Friend to Children celebrate some major milestones this year. If you are a fan of Godzilla, Gamera, or Kaiju in general you should make some time to check out this panel.
303AB – 6pm
THE WRITER’S JOURNEY: BREAKING INTO COMIC BOOK AND HOLLYWOOD
SCRIPTWRITING – For the writer in every nerd, hopefully they’ll answer all the burning questions I have. Even if they don’t it looks like it will be an amazing panel with guests like Erika Alexander (Concrete Park) and Tony Puryear (Concrete Park, Eraser).
If neither of these panels get you excited Friday is surprisingly jam-packed for such a short day, you might want to check out the Geek Fashion show on the main stage at 6:30 or learn more about Steampunk in room 308AB at 6pm!
Even though Friday is a short day, but that only prepares us for the inSTANity (see what I did there) of Saturday and Sunday! Here are the panels I am way too excited about on Saturday.
We start the day off early at 9:00 AM with:
408AB – 9AM
NOSFERATU – A RESURRECTION OF THE LEGENDARY FILM STARRING DOUG
JONES! PLUS A SNEAK PEAK OF BEAMSCREEN.COM.
The official launch of Nosferatu starring Doug Jones as the monstrous Count
Orlok in a feature-length revisit of the classic masterpiece of horror. Plus
the debut of BeamScreen.com – a revolutionary, cloud-based studio that
incorporates artist’s talents worldwide into its feature quality productions.
Participants: Daamen Krall, David Fisher (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari),
Chris Duddy (True Lies, Terminator 2, Titanic, Robocop), Eban Schletter
(SpongeBob, Thrilling Adventure Hour, Drunk History), Doug Jones (Pan’s
Labyrinth, Hellboy I & II, Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Buffy the
Vampire Slayer)
After a quick break for some souvenir hunting on the floor the Main STAGE of COMIKAZE is going to experience some justice.
HOT TOPIC MAIN STAGE – 10:30AM
SPOTLIGHT: ADAM WEST
TV’s most prolific Batman joins us to talk all things Batman, and help
celebrate Batman’s 75th Anniversary
NaNaNaNaNaNaNaNaNa….BATAMAN
and while there are tons of things to fill Saturday with I would be remiss if I didn’t make sure I made it to my favorite podcast’s panel.
404AB – 12:30pm
THE THRILLING ADVENTURE HOUR
The Thrilling Adventure Hour is a staged show in the style of old-time radio
performed live, monthly at Largo at the Coronet in Hollywood as well as on
the road. The show sells out monthly and features all of your favorite actors
from the worlds of TV, comedy, animation, film, theater, and improv.
Participants: Ben Acker, Ben Blacker, Aaron Ginsburg, Paul F. Tompkins, Craig
Cackowski, Hal Lublin, Janet Varney, Autumn Reeser and more!
Paget Brewster and Paul F. Tompkins are perfect.
After a Saturday that is full of so many things to do, you may be asking yourself. “But what about Sunday Sam? What if we can’t go the first two days?” Well never fear dear reader of things written on websites! Sunday helps Comikaze go out with a bang, and here are the things you should check out!
303AB – 12pm
THE BOYS WHO BUILT BATMAN
Who really created Batman? Was it the Caped Crusader’s officially credited
creator, Bob Kane, or was it his secret collaborator, Bill Finger? What
influences first shaped the Batman mythos back in 1939, from his Detective
Comics #27 debut to the revelation of his tragic origin? Experts conduct
a forensic investigation into this question of historical, cultural, and ethical
importance.
Participants: Dr. Travis Langley, Alan Kistler, Jens Robinson
404AB – 1pm
NERDIST WRITERS PANEL: COMICS EDITION SPOTLIGHT ON ROB PRIOR
Be there as part of this LIVE taping of the show when we deep dive into
Rob’s artistic evolution from a young painter for Dungeons & Dragons to his
two-handed painting approach developed while working on Spawn, Evil Ernie
and Heavy Metal.
Participants: Heath Corson, Rob Prior, Adam Beechen
Stay in that same room for the next panel!!!!
404AB
SECRETS OF THE FLASH! – A GEEK HISTORY LESSON AND GAME SHOW ON
THE SCARLET SPEEDSTER
How much do you really know about the Flash, the star of the CW’s newest
superhero show? Watch a live recording of the Geek History Lesson Podcast
as they challenge comic book writer Sterling Gates (Kid Flash) and Geek &
Sundry’s 2 Broke Geeks to a Flash trivia contest where only the audience can win prizes!
Participants: Jason Inman, Ashley Victoria Robinson (The Red Shirt Diaries,
Co-Host of Geek History Lesson), Sterling Gates (Kid Flash, Supergirl and
Vibe), Omar Najam, Mia Resella (2 Broke Geeks on YouTube)
And that’s it. Those are the things I think you should take some time to check out this weekend at Comikaze. Have you had a chance to check out the schedule? What does your list look like?
Let us know in the comments!
Sam Smith
Staff Writer
sam@sub-cultured.com
Twitter: @samwasbornanerd
Colorado Anime Fest Wrap Up
Viz Media Announces Free Streaming Anime!
Sub Cultured is Headed to Colorado Anime Fest!
Aniplex of America to Stream New Slice of Life Comedy, Slow Start, on Crunchyroll in January 2018
Nan Desu Kan 2016 – Recapping Rocky Mountain’s Biggest Anime Convention!
BOO-It-Yourself Halloween Costumes – Misa Amane
I was excited to tune in to this week’s Fangasm, but would the impending drama stop me and others from continuing with the show? I thoroughly enjoyed the premiere, but in case you missed it, the show revolves around seven super fans who move to LA and intern for Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo. One of the best things about the show is that it’s non-elimination, so these seven are here to stay:
Molly McIsaac: Red-headed cosplayer with a husky voice
Paul Perkins: Adorable dude that lives in parent’s basement
Sal Fringo: Curly haired comic book enthusiast
Andrew Duvall: Tall, lanky guy who just wants to captain the Enterprise
Kristen Hackett: Blonde fashion designer from New York
Mike Reed: Relatively normal looking guy who digs everything
Dani Bullis: Petite red-head and special effects make-up artist
The goofy interns return this week and their challenge is one that would make me freak out: create a series of 30-60 second promotional videos for Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo. Andrew is also sent on a coffee run and I can’t help but feel for the guy, as his nervousness definitely strikes a chord within me. As the group reconvenes, and comes up with some solid ideas, Sal and Andrew quickly decide to break off and film several videos, ditching the others to complete the more ambitious ones in favor of a trip to the comic store. As expected, Regina was not entertained by their videos and instead dug the hilarious ones from Paul. 
- watch some of the promos here: http://www.syfy.com/videos/Fangasm/vid:2682328
Back at the house, everyone feels like unwinding so Molly suggest going clubbing. The first notes of romantic interest are shown here between several of the housemates and after a bit of back and forth, a very reluctant Andrew and Sal agree to go out. Mike seems to be in his element and wastes no time in hitting the dance floor. Hilarity ensues when a glowstick/lightsaber battle breaks out and Kristen watches Paul flounder at hitting on the ladies. There is a very noticeable tension between Molly and Mike and even after he is upfront with his like for her, she seems to disregard it completely, sending him a bit of mixed signal. Morning comes and with it…a healthy dose of awkwardness. The girls are preparing for their mini podcast interview with Adrianne Curry and Molly suggests discussing how cosplay does not equal consent. Mike begins to speak up about his experiences with the topic in general as well as a male cosplayer, but Molly shuts him down quickly, even though the issue is one that effects all genders. An argument quickly breaks out, but Mike maturely apologizes.
Adrianne’s arrival has the interns nervous, except for Molly who has met the celebrity several times, yet the boys don’t believe that she knows her for some asinine reason. This idea is quickly shattered when Adrianne warmly greets Molly and the podcast gets under way. Among the cosplay questions, the girls ask Adrianne to give tips to the boys about dating and she invites Sal and Paul out on the town so she can see them in action. Her coaching encourages Sal to ‘fess up to Dani and he successfully asks her on a date.
I found the episode equally interesting as the first, and again, appreciate the attention the show gives to topics that are hot in the geek community. The fact that differing viewpoints are explored is a breath of fresh air, especially since Fangasm is technically reality television. I do wish there was less focus on the awkward and more focus on the convention and interning, but we can’t have everything can we?
Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo is November 1-3 and tickets are available here. (Psst, get 10% off by using promo code: FANGASM)
Fangasm airs Tuesdays 9c/10e and you can catch the first episode right on Syfy!
What did you think about the second episode? Tweet me your thoughts @ladyvader99 and you know what, you can tweet them to Regina herself @dialrforreggie AND at Comikaze too @stanleecomikaze.
REVIEW | The Batman Who Laughs – #1
REVIEW | Doomsday Clock #4
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Emerald City Conversation with Jen Wang
REVIEW | Doomsday Clock #2
Top 10 Comics of 2017
Hot on the heels of Syfy’s Heroes of Cosplay comes a new show titled Fangasm, which follows seven super fans who move to LA and intern for Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo. One of the best things about the show is that it’s non-elimination, so these seven are here to stay (gods willing of course!).
I was hesitant to watch it, even though I adore Regina Carpinelli, one of the brains behind the convention, simply because I was worried it would be drama filled and exploitative of geek culture. Hell, it’s even marketed as “From the minds behind Jersey Shore,” and if that doesn’t scream trainwreck, well, I’m unsure what does. Anyway, the first episode brought in a staggering amount of opinions, but fan response seems to be fairly positive, with #Fangasm becoming the top trending topic on Twitter and fan response caused the Comikaze Expo website to completely crash for a few minutes!
The first episode, “Beam Me Up, Stan,” introduced us to the seven ridiculously geeky interns:
Molly McIsaac: Red-headed cosplayer with a husky voice
Paul Perkins: Adorable dude that lives in parent’s basement
Sal Fringo: Curly haired comic book enthusiast
Andrew Duvall: Tall, lanky guy who just wants to captain the Enterprise
Kristen Hackett: Blonde fashion designer from New York
Mike Reed: Relatively normal looking guy who digs everything
Dani Bullis: Petite red-head and special effects make-up artist
So who is the favorite intern? Regina says:
“They are all great kids, but Andrew has made me cry like 10 times already. However, I never play favorites; I abuse them all equally.”
Immediately, a conversation revolving around who publishes better comics, Marvel or DC, smashes geek myth that we’re quiet, timid creatures of old before Regina Skypes in a call from our Lord and Savior, Stan Lee. Each intern immediately squees and immediately sobers up with the first test from Regina for the following day: gather as many signatures as possible to establish an official holiday, Geek Pride Day. The interns retire to their swanky new digs, experience a challenge in lighting a grill, and start getting to know each other with relative ease. The next day, Dani locates a Geek Pride Party at a local bar and the group invites all their friends to the event in the hopes of snagging an ass ton of signatures. I felt my heart warm at the sight of my fellow geeks in full costume. Once the work was done and the group settled down at the bar for the cosplay show and dinner, the faces of the girls went from excited to complete disgust/disinterest as the cosplay show featured scantily clad woman dancing. Molly was particularly vocal about the performance not focusing on a celebration of geekiness, but instead exploitative of it. Andrew pointed out Molly was in a tight outfit, in essence doing the same thing, but missed the point of her frustration. Black Widow is drawn to have a skin-tight suit, so if she is to be cosplayed accurately, we’d have to don that same skin-tight suit. Iron Man doesn’t have his perfect ass cheeks hanging out, but I definitely felt that the girls got their point across effectively without sparking a huge debate or slut shaming as this is a big issue in the geek world at the moment.
I asked Regina what she thought about it and she had this to say:
“As a woman who is an executive in a male dominated world, I know a lot about being a tough chick. With that being said, there was NOTHING wrong with those dancers. Unless you can read minds, you can’t judge someones geekiness by looks and high kicks alone. That’s wrong. Anyone can be a fan, and even if those girls are not real fans, who cares. They were not saying they were some geek dance troupe, they were just girls dancing trying to make a living.”
Back at the apartment, Kristen suggest the group record a no holds barred podcast which devolved into a state of giggling and fun times, before they decide to try out the hot tub. The interns have another run in with technology as they struggle to get it working before calling it an early night. Regina is not thrilled with how the signatures are turned in but congratulated them on their effort before delegating several menial tasks for the group to complete, one of which brings them upon a flyer for a contest to meet George Takei (you guys, it’s pronounced Ta-kay). I found myself cheering for Andrew, possibly the geekiest of them all, as he fails the endurance test in order to meet one of his idols. In a surprise twist, George Takei asks to meet his roommates and I can honestly say this is the first time I’ve cried openly because of reality television. Andrew’s story was so honest and heart touching, and his reaction was so GENUINE…I wasn’t even jealous he got to meet him. I’m definitely glad this show is representing us pretty honestly so far and I don’t doubt there’ll be drama here and there, but I’m hopeful in its potential.
Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo is November 1-3 and tickets are available here. (Psst, get 10% off by using promo code: FANGASM)
Fangasm airs Tuesdays 9c/10e and you can catch the first episode right on Syfy!
What did you think about the first episode? Tweet me your thoughts @ladyvader99 and you know what, you can tweet them to Regina herself @dialrforreggie AND at Comikaze too @stanleecomikaze.
Daku Con 2018 Photo Gallery
Daku Con 2018 Convention Recap!
Colorado Anime Fest Wrap Up
Sneaky Zebra at Blizzcon 2015!
Creepiest Cosplay at NYCC 2015
Stan Lee. Patrick Stewart. Summer Glau. George Perez. Kevin Conroy.
DALLAS COMIC CON!
This star studded event demolished Ben Steven’s previously anticipated “hopeful” goal of 15,000 with around 20,000 – 25,000 comic fans lining the walls and prompting the convention itself to apologize for nearly doubling the capacity of the Irving Convention Center! Though we here at IHOGeek, especially our Dallas natives ladyvader99 and killerrqueen, are no stranger to the chaotic nature of cons in general, pulling up to the convention center an hour after their scheduled opening time of 11am was extremely surprising. Luckily, being shoulder to shoulder with our cosplaying bretheren was distracting enough that time flew by and, before we knew it, our autographs were collected and we squished our way to various stands.
There was the usual convention fare: dealers specializing in rare figures, gorgeous prints to be signed by Captain Picard or art legend Perez, comics by the long box, artists pimping their particular brand of crack (i.e. prints we must buy), and on the fourth floor, a company called Big Freeze had set up a platform that took fucking amazing 3D action photos of cosplayers and con-goers. Click here to see an example of their craftmanship featuring local cosplayer, Lhars Ebersold. Hint: She was the amazing Catwoman!
Not to be put out by the damper that was Friday, one shining moment of DCC Round Two was meeting Stan Lee on Saturday, something every geek dreams about! In a wonderful moment of connections forged and favors being asked, we were able to spend ten glorious minutes in the presence of Stan Lee. Energetic and with a flair leaning toward theatrical, Stan charmed the figurative pants off of us. With one leg swung over the arm of the chair, he regaled us with the tale of how he ended up co-running Comikaze Expo (yep, the same one we interviewed Regina Carpinelli about!). As our mini-interview came to a close, we turned our attentions to capturing photos of our fellow geeks in colorful costumes, but due to the utter mass of people crowding each and every hallway, finding an empty spot was nearly impossible. We decided to reconvene the next day in hopes of getting better coverage.
On Sunday, the lines were thankfully lessened and we felt less sardine-like as @ladyvader99 made her way to the Kevin Conroy (or as some may know, Bruce Wayne from Batman: The Animated Series) side of the convention in the hopes of acquiring an autograph and hearing a raspy rendition of “I am the night!” Unfortunately, this quest sadly failed as Conroy’s line was capped 20 people ahead of her after two hours of waiting. The absence of thousands allowed us to easily explore the rest of the convention and take many as many photos of wandering cosplayers as we could capture. Our discovery of the fourth floor photo exhibit, The Big Freeze, left us captivated. The Big Freeze exhibit consisted of a raised platform with well over a hundred mounted cameras that when triggered create a bullet time special effect, sometimes called the Matrix camera or 360 camera. The effect left us stopped in our tracks for a good half hour as many, many extraordinary photos were taken (our favorite being a fight scene between Deadpool and Dark Phoenix) Luckily, this is when we were also privy to an adorable chase scene between a tiny Robin cosplayer and an adult Joker cosplayer, another highlight of the day.
As the afternoon began to wane, we decided to try our luck with Firefly and Serenity actress, Summer Glau. While we were denied the time for an interview due to the multitude of people and Glau’s quickly approaching flight to catch, we were allowed to shadow the last half of her private autograph session. Summer Glau is as absolutely stunning in person as she is on film, a petite beauty with locks that fell in perfect waves. Someone make a tutorial on Summer Glau’s hair, STAT! As her session ended, we expected to be ushered out with the other media but surprisingly were allowed to linger and witnessed Laura Vandervoot coming in to meet and fangirl over Summer almost as much as we were doing ourselves! All too soon though, we decided to head out and ran into several of the gamer models for Charisma+2, including owner and founder, Yvonna Lynn (who was representing the warrior princesses dressed as Xena!) before heading out for the day.
Unfortunately, the moment that the convention was over, fans took to the Interweb/Facebook/Youtube to vent their personal frustrations on waiting 3+ hours for autographs and swag in a packed Dealer’s Room. Listening to fellow fans around us definitely shed some light on their experiences and expectations, though Con-goes need to expect the unexpected at times and remember that not every issue can be blamed on someone else. Stan Lee and Patrick Stewart, both previously scheduled for the entire weekend, ended up having to cut their visits short as their schedules changed which prompted a lot of attendees to shift the days they planned to attend to make sure they saw who they paid for. The conclusion of the convention saw numerous fans lodging complaints with the convention organizers, most notably a one hour long diatribe from YouTube user escottish140 personally directed to Ben Stevens, to the point where NBC sought out Dallas personality, cosplayer and long time Convention fiend, Taffeta Darling, to get her thoughts on the whole thing based on her initial response video to escottish140. You can also read the full article via Aggressive Comix HERE.
Despite the small slice of negativity, most fans realize that the mishaps, mistakes and mayhem of conventions is part of the excitement that leads us geeks to go there in the first place! If you attended DCC, what were the highlights of your experience? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to check out our photos on FB!
Daku Con 2018 Photo Gallery
Daku Con 2018 Convention Recap!
PAX South 2019: Splitgate Arena Warfare, World of Horror, JackQuest, and Disjunction
PAX South 2019: Jump Force, Skellboy, A Fold Apart
PAX South 2019: Devil May Cry 5, Young Souls, Magequit
Nan Desu Kan 2018 Photo Gallery
Name: Regina Carpinelli
who made Comikaze possible. Family, Friends, Fans. I also love Batman a whole lot.
Emerald City Conversation with Jen Wang
Interview | Dante Basco
CONversations: Faith Erin Hicks
CONversations: Camilla d’Errico
Meet the Staff: Colby Sites
Q And A with the Amazing Women of “No Hero Now”
Name: Lisa Foiles
Site: www.lisafoiles.com
Online Handle: @LisaFoiles
Age: 25
Favorite video games: Bioshock, Odin Sphere, Portal 2!
L: As a monthly columnist for Kotaku, you must see and hear it all. Do you have one particular story you’d like to share?
LF: At E3 2010, I got to attend a Bulletstorm party. I was just hanging out and checking out the game, when who shows up to host the party? Kenan Thompson! My former All That co-star! It was the best evening of video games plus reminiscing ever. All That cast members make every party better, I’m certain of it.
L: I just recently sat and watched all of The Street Fighter in which you play Camille. I know this wasn’t your first time acting, but was it different from doing shows like All That in your youth?
LF: Definitely. The filming process was really laid back. The entire crew over there at The Game Station couldn’t be nicer or more professional, especially our director, Layne Pavoggi. Plus, I got to play video games on-screen!
L: Since you seem constantly doing something amazingly cool, what kind of projects do you have in the works?
LF: I wish I could tell you which awesome video game company I’m working with on their next big game. It’s going to be AWESOME. Flying to another state to do voiceovers for them in a few weeks, actually! Plus, I’m doing a lot more writing these days, plus auditioning a bit for new acting gigs.
L: Everyone has a science fiction property that means the world to them, be it Star Wars, Back to the Future, or even E.T. What’s yours?
LF: Wow, it’s gotta be Back to the Future. I’m such a huge fan of ALL THREE FILMS. EVEN THE THIRD ONE. In fact, I would number them 1,3,2 in terms of awesome. Everyone will want to fight me for saying that, but that’s why I bought Ninja Stars at the army surplus store.
L: How excited are you to be working alongside Regina Carpinelli at this year’s Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo? Is there anyone you’re excited to see as a fan?
LF: Can I just say I’m excited to see Regina? As a fan? I love her so much. She is the coolest woman alive. She drives a DeLorean and lives on a yacht, because she can. Hilarious. Anyway, I’m pretty excited to hang out with Cassandra Peterson, aka Elvira! She’s an icon.
L: I ask this question of everyone, so be honest: If aliens landed in front of you and, in exchange for anything you desire, offered you any position on their planet, what position would you want? I know I’d crap my pants.
LF: Director of Alien Theme Parks. I’ve got a lot of ideas for great Sigorney Weaver-themed roller coasters.
Many thanks to the hilarious Lisa Foiles (definitely someone you wanna keep an eye on!) for allowing me to interview her. Be sure to check out what she’s doing on Twitter and take a peek at her site!
Emerald City Conversation with Jen Wang
Interview | Dante Basco
CONversations: Faith Erin Hicks
CONversations: Camilla d’Errico
Meet the Staff: Colby Sites
