The 10 Creepiest Comic Book Characters Ever

In classic comic blog style, I honor a holiday by making a list. This time, it's Halloween and this year, in real life, people saw me dress up as a British Naval Captain Jack Aubrey (though the amount of "Paul Revere?"s I got nearly made me belligerent) when in truth my real costume is the one I'm wearing right now:

Mild-mannered, 9to5 employee, functioning member of society. You don't know me, daily world. What you see is not what you get. I'm like Batman, with the real mask being Bruce Wayne.

Of course, when I take off my boring, rent-paying mask, I don't so much patrol the streets of the city fighting crime. Mostly I just wear comfier clothes than during work days and read a lot. But hey, let this be a lesson to you: unless you're staring at some gorgeous male model/actor, look closer. True character is not skin-deep. Which brings us to our first entry.

10. Red Skull

Why he's creepy:  He's a Nazi. A Nazi who always finds large masses of people to follow him, who is brilliant at science and not unwilling to use magic to achieve his horrific, genocidal, Nazi goals, and who never seems to die, at least without producing a new direct descendant to continue the crusade of red, skinless Nazis. Nothing's worse than a Nazi, but let's be honest with each other here; racial profiling-wise, I'd much rather face a blond, blue-eyed monster than an actual talking red skull.

Honoroable Mention(s):  Skinless characters always freak me out, so while Red Skull wins this slot (he's a Nazi) I should take this opportunity to mention other epidermis-challenged characters who creep me out, such as Warren in the Buffy comics, and Jane Doe in Paul Dini's Batman run.

Pietro Maximoff Reviews This Week's Comics

Good afternoon. My name is Pietro Maximoff, AKA Quicksilver. I am a mutant with the power to accomplish absolutely anything in the time it takes you to spell my name. Due to an incident in my past and a debt that will not be spoken of, I have been asked by Captain Elias to guest-write a blog post in which I review this week's newly released comic books.

Do not confuse my presence here with a friendship or affection for the aforementioned Captain; the only thing I find more loathsome than associating with a mere human, let alone one without any known superpowers, is being in his debt. The fact that he has me wasting valuable time reading such pedestrian and juvenile "works of art" (I am obligated to refer to them thus) simply adds insult to an already shameful situation, but it just so happens I have no choice in the matter. Hank Pym can pretend to run Avengers Academy without me for a few minutes.

Let's get this over with.

Joss Whedon Does Shakespeare

So yesterday's big news, as broken by a tweet from Nathan Fillion, that Joss Whedon made a small independent movie of Much Ado About Nothing starring several of his beloved actors, is actually true. The press release confirmed it, and a series of interviews with Entertainment Weekly provides the background we were missing.



Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof as Beatrice and Benedick.

 Apparently Joss' wonderful wife, with whom he was supposed to go on vacation to Italy for their 20th anniversary upon the completion of shooting The Avengers, told her husband that instead of a vacation he should do that movie that's been sitting in his head for years. It's long been known that during Buffy, Angel, Firefly and so on, Joss would have a collection of the actors over to his (apparently lovely) house to do Shakespeare readings for fun. One time they did Much Ado with the fantastic Amy Acker (Angel, Dollhouse) and underrated Alexis Denisof (Angel, married to Alyson Hannigan of Buffy) as the leads, and ever since he's wanted to film it.

So he did. He assembled cast and crew, using the small company Bellwether Films that he and his wife created in order to do just such a small, indie project (like Dr. Horrible), and filmed it entirely in 12 days on location at his Santa Monica home.

The rest of the cast includes such favorite Whedon alums as Nathan Fillion, Sean Maher (who recently came out, which I did not know, kudos), Fran Kranz, Clark Gregg, and Tom Lenk.

The film will be ready for release on the movie festival circuit by Spring of 2012.

"Shiny" doesn't even begin to describe my excitement. Hey Nonny Nonny, indeed.

This Week's Comics

A pretty big week, especially for someone like me who, post-DC New 52, is decidedly Marvel-inclined.

Pick of the Week: Daredevil #5 (Sorry Wolverine and the X-Men #1, but it was close.)

Some January Solicits and another FF Teaser

Solicits for January have come out and some of the Marvel issues look pretty wonderful, including the return of the Phalanx in the Uncanny X-Men (last we saw, they were controlled by Ultron and dominating the Kree till Star-Lord, his Guardians and Nova stepped up) and the conclusion of Avengers: Children's Crusade.

AVENGERS: THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE #9 (OF 9)
ALLAN HEINBERG (W) • JIM CHEUNG(A/C)
• The big climax that sets the stage big time for what is to come in 2012!
• Deaths and departures!
• The funeral of an Avenger.
• The final fate of the Scarlet Witch.
• A new lineup and a new direction for the Young Avengers.
32 PGS./Rated T+ ...$3.99

Yeahbuhwha??

As tweeted by Nathan Fillion last night, Joss Whedon's newest project:

Aside from the fact that the cast list is sure to incite a global fanboy frenzy (not unlike the recent Much Ado run in London featuring David Tennant and Catherine Tate) most loyal Whedonites know he enjoys having his casts over to his house for food, drinks, and Shakespeare readings. The image doesn't exactly inspire confidence in the artistic direction of the project, and honestly I can't seem to really believe he's managed to make and/or cast and/or produce a Shakespeare production during all the Avengers stuff.

But...Shakespeare? Joss? Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof reunited?

Fangasm.

Avengers #18 Review & The Desecration of Edwin Jarvis

Marvel's latest Universe-wide story, Fear Itself, finally came to an end this week. The conclusion featured "shocking" events that were all quite frankly entirely expected after the recent slew of previews, interviews, and teasers coming out of New York Comic Con. As such, and considering that I haven't been a fan of much of Matt Fraction's recent work, I don't wish to write about it.

Instead, let's turn our focus to Avengers #18 by Brian Michael Bendis, in which Steve Rogers and the team deal with the fallout of Fear Itself. In reading the comic, many parallels can be drawn to the deep history of the Avengers, such as how they react when their battles are over, and the specific characterization of one Edwin Jarvis, Honorary Avenger. I gleefully use one classic issue from 1980 for comparison.

Review: Uncanny X-Men #544, The Final Issue

The Uncanny X-Men are Dead. Long Live the Uncanny X-Men.

Yesterday the "final" issue of Uncanny X-Men, #544, was released. Written by Kieron Gillen and penciled by Greg Land, this issue marks the fallout of Schism and sees the final division between the two new X-teams, to be followed by Uncanny X-Men starting with a #1 in November.

For all intents and purposes, this renumbering is merely a way to delineate the new era for the X-Men, split in half by ideology and purpose and operating on opposite coasts of the United States. While it was billed as the equivalent of a Series Finale, in truth it was just a one-shot concerned with the characters in the wake of their great divide. And since Gillen already wrote that comic with the X-Men: Regenesis One-Shot, it was more like an epilogue to a story we've pretty much had concluded three times now.

Which isn't to say that there is a limit to the amount of character-centric stories about the X-Men that I want to read. Gillen has written an eloquent coda to his brief term tying up the loose ends of Matt Fraction's recent run, mixing the old and the new, showing us which characters he has a handle on and which feel less fully formed, and setting the stage for his new, extreme, international vision for the title.

Art from Upcoming Generation Hope

As revealed awhile ago, James Asmus will be taking over the writing duties of Generation Hope from Kieron Gillen, and he'll be joined by Ibraim Roberson who will handle the art.

At NYCC we learned about the team spotting Sebastian Shaw's recently Emma-Frost-Mindwiped mutant signature somewhere in the Orient (we're not supposed to say that anymore, are we?) and, believing him to be a "new mutant light" race off to save him. Instead, he somehow ends up part of Hope's team. Asmus has some street cred, so Gen Hope should continue to be a pretty good X-title, but check out this art. It's lovely:

Not only does it confirm that Pixie's joining the team full-time, but looks like the main line-up, Cyclops "X-tinction Team" (worst name ever) will be doing some scrimmage-type training with the newbies.

Honestly, as long as you have Storm on the page, I'm in.

Busy morning, but hopefully will have some time at lunch to review yesterday's comics. Have a good one folks.

Ask Annihilus: How to Cure an Itchy, Sore Throat

So every day seems to bring a new Marvel teaser for the upcoming 50th anniversary of Marvel which will feature not only the culmination of Jonathan Hickman's FF arc, but the return of the classic title (and possibly Johnny Storm, I'm not super clear on that yet.) We've seen the main team flying off to adventure together, and we've seen Galactus hanging out on our moon, checking out Earth with that "eyes bigger than my stomach" look on his giant celestial robotic face.

Now, we have Annihilus:

And I know, I know, despite Annihilation being one of the best event comics ever, he's an FF villain through and through. But the dude practically conquered and genocided half the civilized alien population of the Marvel Universe, although no one on Earth seems to have heard about that series of giant, crushing wars. I mean, he was wearing the Quantam Bands for awhile! That was pretty awesome. And yes, they cleverly had his disciples somehow give birth to him again or clone him or something so that he could come back, but he endured no easy death.

My point is, he may have started an FF villain, but these days? He's one of the most hated man-bug-things in the universe, and only one man, one hero, was able to stop him. It kind of detracts from said hero's (imminently returning) legacy when you go back on a climactic moment like this:

Yowza. Let's see Reed Richards try THAT one.

Points of Consolation:
   1. Nova is returning.
   2. Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning are BOUND to do something cosmic again, post-Earthfall.
   3. 50th Anniversary = extra sized monumental issues, so after about 3 years of waiting, something is actually definitely going to happen in a Jonathan Hickman Fantastic Four comic!
   4. Nova is returning. And, if the God/Architects of Marvel have any compassion, Star-Lord's coming with him.

This Week's Pull List (Plus Uncanny X-Men #544 Preview)

Times are tough. I imagine if you polled a decent cross section of America you would find that most were no longer *GASP* paying for premium movie channels on cable. But as our President is always telling us, this is a time of sacrifice; a time to give up childish pursuits and aid your fellow man, a time to swap your Netflix delivery with your neighbors before sticking it back in the mail.

While I may not be exemplary at sharing (you can find someone else's liver to transplant, Uncle) I DID just get through comic con without spending any of my rent money on the millions of comics and toys and sundry items that surrounded me with their superheroic beauty. Come to think of it, my frugality and will power are now the stuff of legend, and I shall exhibit these newly discovered wells of strength with a leaner Pull List than ever before.

Besides, since I need to go through the protesters at Zucati Park to get to the comic store, I'm gonna need a good chunk of money saved up for Hepatitis treatment.

DC

Batman #2: The Era of Snyder keeps rolling, as we get Bruce Wayne's first meeting with the ancient Gotham villain that Snyder is debuting in the Court of Owls. The arc will last about ten more issues I believe, but every page of Snyder and artist Greg Capullo is pure gold.

Bruce Wayne Occupies the Hell Out of Wall Street

I was just strolling on my lunch break, looking for a cheap place to get some grub and avoiding Zucati Park; the stench of the protesters is enough to destroy one's appetite which may actually be their nefarious scheme to bring down Wall Street. If so, they're more clever than they appear.

Then all of the sudden I found a reason to join the movement. A protester I could get behind. A man I would follow to Hell and back, for whom the redistribution of hardly acquired personal wealth is more than worth the opportunity to just be noticed by him.

I found Batman:

I had this movement all wrong. Looks like New York Comic Con is only over if you let it be over.

NYCC Roundup and Addendum

It's taken me a little time to recover from New York Comic Con, specifically the divine events of Sunday (I'm looking at you, Mr. Claremont,) and even now I don't feel entirely restored to reality. In point of fact the resumption of standard work hours and my daily routine, when compared to three straight days spent in a world of superheroes and the legends responsible for them, has encouraged me to quit the job, sell my earthly possessions (comics not included, natch) and become a comic con groupie, if such an existence...well, exists. Other options include getting hired by Comic Book Resources, activating my X-gene through hazardous methods, and eating several large pizza pies and hibernating in a cave until next year's NYCC.

While I ponder those options, let me take the opportunity to post some final information that came out of this exciting weekend. Now that all the panels have occurred, all the cosplayers shown off, and all the previews put up on a screen for adoring fans to cheer, the actual images have been released to the press. So all those things I "exclusively" reported? I have the images that go with them. Enjoy.

NYCC: Sunday Cosplay

The show floor is closed, the fans have streamed out of the Javits Center, and the janitors have a long night ahead of them. Here's my last batch of cosplay enthusiasts showing their stuff. Thanks to all the industrious folks who were more than willing to pose for me.

Vintage Luke Cage in the house. Gotta love it. Damn, shoulda got his number. Um, er, because I need a Hero for Hire, I mean.

The Wasp, in one of her better costumes, getting some admiration from bee-hind. See what I did there?

NYCC Exclusive: X-Men Regenesis Panel

The X-Men Regenesis panel was the final big panel of the entire convention, with nearly every major Marvel writer who contributes to the X-Universe on stage. Let's go through it the way they did: by title.

NYCC Exclusive: The Chris Claremont Experience

It turns out Comic Con isn't about the costumes, or the breaking news, or the previews, or even the free swag. Turns out if you keep at it, there's a moment, a pure fanboy moment that will leave you grinning for hours. And I just had mine.

Yup. That right there is Chris Claremont.

At 1:15pm on Sunday October 16th, Paul Levitz of Legion of Superheroes fame and Chris Claremont, the legendary writer of Uncanny X-Men, had a small panel in the back of the meeting hall. Nothing fancy, a tiny room with a full attendance, and these two legends chatting and shooting the shit and answering questions. And it was the best thing NYCC has given me all weekend.

NYCC: IFC's Portlandia and Todd Margeret Panel

IFC had a two-part panel, the first of which featured David Cross speaking about his IFC comedy The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. Extra special bonus? The "moderator" was H. Ron Benjmain of Archer and other fame (he has the greatest voice known to man.)

I came a little late and thus missed a lot of the spiel about the show, which quite honestly is not a personal favorite. Being one of those series where horrible, embarrassing things continue to happen and snowball into even more humiliating situations, it's rather hard to watch.

Nonetheless having David Cross and H. Ron on a panel at the same time led to some pretty hilarious spontaneous comedy. A lot of the questions were actually for H. Ron, who responded with his trademark sarcasm delivered in a deep bass. He even got a bit mean with some of them, but the audience seemed to appreciate the humor of it. Cross fielded several questions about Arrested Development, including "When was the last time you blue yourself?" to which he answered without a second of hesitation, "August 14th, 2004."

Saturday Cosplay at NYCC

Well, another day at New York Comic Con is done.  A lot of crowds, a lot of stars, a lots of news, and a helluva lot of cosplay. Enjoy.

If I were the contest judge, female Loki would take the Grand Prize.

NYCC Exclusive: Cup O' Joe

One of the big panels of the weekend is Cup O' Joe, wherein Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada hosts a panel to make some special announcements, invite some of his colleagues on stage, and answer fan questions.

NYCC Exclusive: Marvel on TV Panel

Jeph Loeb presented the upcoming in-development live action television shows coming from Marvel to ABC Networks.

NYCC Exclusive: DC Justice League Panel

Editor's Note: As the crowds here at NYCC have quadrupled in size, the benevolence and wisdom of the security guards and volunteers have decreased proportionally, so I apologize in advance if any acid or frustration creeps into my tone. I shall do my best to overcompensate.

The DC Justice League Panel! Geoff Johns! Jim Lee! Other people! Costumes! Comic Books! Yay!

There weren't many big reveals at the Justice League panel, or any in point of fact, which is interesting since the far less attended Avengers panel broke plenty of news. By all accounts this can be seen as proof that DC's New 52 initiative is bearing its intended fruit. What it lacked in revelation, however, it made up for with some moments of awkward drama.

NYCC Exclusive: Avengers Shattered Heroes Panel

Day 2 at New York Comic Con began with a panel featuring the world of Avengers, with all the major architects and writers in attendance (except most notably for Brian Michael Bendis.)

Having arrived a little late, I can't say with certainty what they opened up with, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say they spent the first 5 to 10 minutes cheering for Matt Fraction.

What i did catch was the following news items, and some of them are pretty big.

Can't Get Enough Cosplay

It's fun to watch 'em, it's fun to stop 'em and ask to take their picture, and it's fun to see how happy they get when you do.

This Bat-Family was the cutest thing in the entire Comic Con.

NYCC Exclusive: DC Batman Panel

So DC's Batman panel, featuring writers and artists and editors from the entire Bat-family of comic books, mostly turned out to be a Scott Snyder panel.

Which is just fine by me.

Snyder hasn't been a name I've known for very long, but having read all of his recent Batman work (both pre- and post- the new DC Universe) I can say with confidence that he's the best writer of the group. His artist for the New 52 flagship title Batman, Greg Capullo, was also in attendance at the panel, and while he wasn't super interesting or dynamic he did make the bold claim that Snyder will be remember in history as one of the legendary writers of Batman. The Snyder Era, if you will. This is not hyperbole.

My apologies for the quality. I'm better at mental pictures.

Still, there were a lot of other writers and artists introduced on the panel, so Snyder didn't have all that much time to talk about his own work (though during the Q&A he certainly emerged as the main architect behind the next year or two of Batman stories) but what he did give us was certainly interesting.

NYCC: Cosplay In The Morning

Well, I am here. The Mecca of the East Coast Nerd Community. It's a bit overwhelming, massively crowded, with mixed media coming at you every which way, but it's a pretty glorious thing. And considering we're in Manhattan, the good will and camaraderie and easy smiles between strangers is a bit surprising. Wear a costume and it seems everyone wants to be your friend (kind of the complete opposite of high school; a ringing endorsement if I ever heard one.)

 And let it be known that while on a cigarette break, I witnessed the under-the-radar of the one and only Stan frakkin' Lee, and naturally proceeded to follow him for 7 1/2 minutes until he entered a VIP section. That one's going in my Pro-Smoking Campaign for sure.

To give you poor 9 to 5 suckers a taste of the celebration, please enjoy a very brief smattering of the cosplay enthusiasts I've recently encountered:

The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier Set from The Avengers movie

New York Comic Con - Day 1 Schedule

Today's the day. New York Comic Con begins in earnest in a couple of hours. Excited yet?

If you are unable to attend because you live on the scraggy cliffs of Scotland, or else are 20 minutes away in Midtown Manhattan but your boss is a J. Jonah Jameson type, have no fear, your humble Captain shall be in attendance.

The schedule for today is a bit lopsided: without a doubt I will attend the DC Batman panel where I look forward to hearing mainly from Scott Snyder, and perhaps even some Tim Drake news if I'm super lucky. Later in the evening there's the Marvel Spidey panel, to see what Dan Slott's got cooked up for post-Spider Island.

The panels I'm undecided on include Jane Espenson's Husbands panel, which is competing with a Felicia Day spotlight interestingly enough, a seminar on comic story structure, and a screening of the upcoming show Once Upon A Time.

Besides that expect a lot of wandering, a lot of wishing I'd brought a particular comic to get signed, a lot of cosplay portraiture photography, and a lot of trying not to spend money.

To whet your appetite, please enjoy the recently released Avengers trailer. True, the Avengers panel is not until tomorrow (someone please tell me how to decide between the news-filled Cup 'O Joe panel and the Avengers panel) but let's be honest, Joss Whedon writing and directing the Avengers movie? Comic Convention's were made for such a momentous event.

X-Men Regenesis Review and the Future of the X-Men

So, Schism is over. Scott and Logan got scary feral, then they got British and went with the cold, civilized silent treatment. Uncanny X-Men is about to restart, and Wolverine and the X-Men will be debuting as well. The team is now divided, and the issue I've been waiting for, the one where we see all the characters I love, all the mutants on Utopia, choose their side? It was just about everything I wanted to be.

Click onwards for a review of the X-Men Regenesis One-shot, some excerpts from a recent interview with the writer Kieron Gillen, and a little taste of what's to come ahead in the world of X.

This Week's Comics

As each month takes us deeper into the "New DC Universe" I find myself picking up fewer DC books. Meanwhile childhood favorites, the X-Men, are doing some pretty fun stuff these days. Check out my pull list while you finish sewing your Doctor Who cosplay outfit together for NYCC.


DC

Batgirl #2:  The first issue was surprisingly weak. Well, not surprising that Simone is having trouble filling the large shoes left by Bryan Q. Miller and Stephanie Brown, but surprising in the sense of "Um..did Barbara Gordon just let a bad guy murder an innocent cop?" I'd suggest some more training with your newly working legs.

Batman and Robin #2:  Honestly, I don't recall the first one, and while I haven't loved Tomasi's Batman issues this year, he's still come through for me before. Plus it's Bruce and Damian. You just gotta see how that goes.

Batwoman #2: Because it's pretty.

Superboy #2:  Scott Lobdell, as an architect of the DCnU, hasn't hit it out of the park, but Superboy has been slightly more relatable than his other cardboard character reboots. Have we even started calling him Connor yet? Where's he gonna live, if Ma and Pa are dead in this new universe? Is Gen-13 returning? And most importantly, where the hell is Krypto?

MARVEL

Alpha Flight #5:  I haven't been super faithful with this series, but when I do pick it up, it's very entertaining. And a bit bloody. And majorly cloying when they start sledgehammering us over the head with their political views. Still, I could use some more Northstar action. I'm only human for God's sake.


Amazing Spider-Man #671:  The end of Spider Island. Mary Jane Watson, the superhero, steps up. 'Nuff said.

FF #10: Hickman's been taking about 4 years to do....I'm not sure what, nothing's happened yet. But, again, it's super pretty, Spidey's on the team, and I'd like to see some more of that kid who used to be in Power Pack and is now all growed up. Also Valerie's always fun.

Generation Hope #12: In which we see how the end of Schism shakes up the Lights, how Idie decides to leave, and hopefully why on earth Sebastian Shaw ends up joining the group.

New Avengers #17:  The return of Osborn and HAMMER, which only briefly left about 6 months ago, continues to gain momentum as Daredevil joins the team and they all operate as if Fear Itself is apparently over. Oh well, it's Bendis on the Avengers, it'll be a good 5 minute entertaining read.

Punisher #4:  The most underrated new series, Greg Rucka proves once again why he is a master of pace, suspense and action in comic books. Not usually a Punisher fan but you should pick this up.

Uncanny X-Force #16: The wonderful Dark Angel Saga continues. Evil Archangel sets his sights on Psylocke to be his new Death Horseman. Let the showdown commence.

X-Men Legacy #257: Possibly Mike Carey's final issue, or at the very least the end of the arc where Rogue and her team rescue Havok and his in deep space. It's been a good one, with Frenzy showing vulnerability and the tension between Polaris, Magneto and Havok to look forward too. Man I'm gonna miss Carey.

X-Men Regenesis 1-Shot:  Finally, after the fizzle that was the end of Schism, we get the actual on-island Utopia shake-up, where our favorite band of mutants make their individual decisions: Cyclops or Wolverine. Should be a good one, considering all it's setting up and paying off simultaneously.

BOOM!

Irredeemable #30: I have no memory of where we are in the story. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Tony's acting crazy and Qubit is being awesome and morally shady.

DARK HORSE

Buffy #2:  Buffy continues her attempt to return to basics, doing patrols and dodging student loans. Mysterious bodies start appearing, which prompt the slayer to investigate. Xander and Dawn continue to pretend their relationship is entirely normal. And Joss keeps making up for last "season" by trying to write the Buffy we remember.

All in all, a promising week. A Comic Con week. Expect some freebies at the store, and save your money for the cheap bins at the Javitz center.

A Musical Interlude

It seems I have only a few minutes of free internet time today, so in lieu of any comic book reporting/speculating/geeking out, I thought I'd take the opportunity to share some Louis Prima.

In honor of my best friend, the Queen of the Moon, who makes me even happier than Louis' artful crooning can manage, please enjoy:



Getting excited for New York Comic Con? I sure am. Y'all have a great day, now, y'hear?

Face it, Tiger, you just hit the jackpot!

I just had to post this. Spider Island's been a lot of fun, but it looks as if the finale will be the best part.

For the full preview, check out CBR.

Getting Ready for New York Comic Con

Greetings Internet! You look fantastic. Have you changed your hair? No? Well, it's good to see you. Between various Jewish holidays and a complete internet access meltdown (Goodbye Verizon, Hello TimeWarner Cable, 'nuff said) I haven't seen you in over two weeks.  O, the things we have missed.

But regrets are for bags of shoes and horse grenades, if I recall the phrase correctly, and I'm pretty sure I do (I want a horse grenade) so while we take a little time today to look at what I have so shamefully missed, we shall also be looking ahead. To what? you ask. You complete reprobate, I answer, don't you know what week it is?

My friends, this week is New York Comic Con.  And your non-elected, marginally-followed Captain Elias, representative of gay Jewish conservative comic book nerds everywhere, will be in attendance. I will bring you exclusive news as well as differently worded news that you've already read on Comics Alliance. I will bring you digital pictures of crazy cosplayers who allow their photos to be taken. I will detail the swag I blow my money on. And I will even get an interview or two with famous writers and artists, providing the Valium alters my neurochemistry in time.


The future is bright. And the recent past ain't too shabby either. Hit the jump for a recap.