WWTX PROGRAM GUIDE FINISHED!!! WELL, SORTA…

Hey everybody! Wizard World Conventions Programming Director Adam Tracey here. It’s my first time bloggin’ on the Convention Report, so I thought I’d make it an important entry. Brett White, Joe Yanarella, Jodie Westhoff and I have FINISHED THE WIZARD WORLD TEXAS PROGRAM GUIDE! Well, we’ve finished one portion of it, anyway. We’re changing things up a bit this time with the Program Guide and we’re doing it in two portions.

A full-color Program Guide portion (which is the one we just finished) will contain all of the guests, events and exclusives that we have at the show, as well as additional info about FearFest, a Frequently Asked Questions section and a couple other things. A black & white Program Guide supplement (which will be finished next) will contain a complete programming schedule (with a handy grid!), panel listings, signing times, a color map and an index with the Exhibitors, Retailers, Small Press and Artist Alley listings in it. We’re doing that black & white supplement later so that it can have the most up-to-date info in it.

So if you see Brett, Joe or Jodie at the show in Texas, be sure to tell them “Great job!” on the Program Guide. And if you have any suggestions or gripes about the guide or its new format, post ‘em on the Message Boards after the show.

OH, superheroically big props go to Travis Escarfullery and Eric Goodman, the designers and overall Pretty Colors Masterminds behind the Program Guide. Travis will be at the show, too, so hug him!!!
Travis

Jodie

Brett

Hug these people!!!

Now I’m off to get a little shuteye before we get back to work on the black & white supplement. Later!

One tired monkey.

-Adam

Fan Proof

I know it’s said a lot, “we’re fans too,” and that we want a good convention because we still get excited about this stuff. It can be hard to attach a real, back-issue-reading, cheap-X-Men-number-ninety-four-hunting, Storm-with-a-mohawk-doodling, Mr. Sinister-action-figure-posing comic geek to a random name on a message board. Well, if nerd-cred is what you want from me…

…then there it is. And this was for an improv comedy show this past Saturday that my team assembled. So yeah, this wasn’t at a comic convention or a movie opening, the socially acceptable places to wear spandex, makeup and duct tape. So when I say I’m excited about our new Wizard World Texas guests Rags Morales, Craig Rousseau and Matt Wagner, just remember that this is the guy saying it:

A real comic geek.

-Brett

McMutants

Wizard World Programming Director Adam Tracey alerted me to the awesome piece of art below. It was originally posted on Comic Book Resources’ Comics Should Be Good blog, which I subscribe to in my Google Reader (hint hint, faithful readers, or reader).

This image is awesome in a number of ways.

1. It depicts the X-Men as weird tiny-baby-creatures, a phenomenon I absolutely adore and miss. “Muppet Babies” is indeed my favorite show of all time, but let’s not forget the underrated “A Pup Named Scooby Doo” and the, okay, forgettable “Flinstone Kids.” The world needs more adult characters as weird tiny-baby-creatures cartoons!

2. It depicts the X-Men at, in my opinion, their most megastar cool. This is the 1991 relaunch lineup minus Colossus and Archangel. You can’t tell me, oh children of the ’90s, that you don’t think of these costumes when you think of the X-Men. Jim Lee’s redesigns are classic, absolutely!

3. I like fast food, especially the new angus burgers at McDonald’s. Man, now I have much hunger and not even the weird force-feeding thing Jean Grey is doing to Cyclops can deter it!

4. This is the PERFECT EXAMPLE of the type of crazy commissions you can get done at conventions! Honestly, superhero/corporation mash-ups is a great idea for a book, and the more specific superhero/fast food corporation mash-ups is even better. Batman making a run for the border, Ms. Marvel eating fresh, Superman having it his way…come on, the possibilities are endless!

So there you have it. Get your sketchbooks ready because Wizard World Texas is this November 7-9. You can purchase your tickets now online and save up to 20%.

-Brett

WWTX GETS ‘MOORE’ GUESTS!

And that was my lame attempt at a New York Post-style headline. I think I got the bad pun down, but not the grossly inappropriate part. I guess only the New York Post is the New York Post. In all seriousness (you plugging this date into your Google Calendar, because this don’t happen often), we have some truly stupendous things happening with Wizard World Texas (this November 7-9, if you haven’t heard). On Friday we booked Terry Moore, the amazing and (is it too soon to call him?) legendary creator of Strangers in Paradise and Echo.

Superhero fans will undoubtedly recognize his name from his current work on Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane and Runaways.

Now, I love my Runaways. Crying at callbacks, thinking about them when they aren’t around, drawing them bunches and recommending them to everyone. And truth be told, I wasn’t sure anyone could fill Joss Whedon and Brian K. Vaughan’s Fistigons…but Terry Moore has kept the quality up and exceeded all my expectations. Truly great stuff guys, truly great. Check it out, now.

We also have Sean McKeever and Billy Tucci coming to the show now, which is like topping off double-chocolate chip chunk ice cream with a mound of peanut butter and M&Ms. Which, um, means it’s super awesome. I enjoy dessert. Billy Tucci is relaunching the iconic character Sgt. Rock and, from hearing him talk about it and seeing his art, this is the book to read. Don’t believe me? Check this out.

That’s some awesome peanut butter, am I right?

And Sean McKeever is both a super nice guy (who humors my ridiculous game show talk) and the writer who’s carving a name for himself with his slam-bang run on Teen Titans. Seriously, the man’s making waves over there. You gotta see it. He also created this…

I. Love. Gravity. I have that issue signed, actually, by both Sean and the artist (and Wizard World chum) Mike Norton.

Yep, I’m proud of that.

That’s about it for today. There’ll be lots more soon, just you wait!

-Brett