Comic Books

[Psychonaut]

Alright, let's get a thread going for all of the comic collectors on the Apricity. First off, who else out there is a comic fan? What are your favorites? What are you working on getting a collection of now?

Here's my spiel. So far I've got full runs in TPB format of:

http://prettythings.pullbot.com/artworks/58766/Sandman1_medium.jpg
Sandman

http://www.battleangel.info/novels/novel-images/battle-angel-alita.jpg
Battle Angel Alita

...and loads of one-shot TPBs (like Watchmen, the Crow, etc.).

I've got full runs in regular comic format of:

http://comicbooks.wdfiles.com/local--files/hawkmoon-jewel-issue-2/ha2.jpg
Hawkmoon (all four mini-series)

http://www.swordandsorcery.org/images/comic%20history%20-%20Corum%20-%20First%20Comics.jpg
Corum

I'm working on getting full runs of these:

http://www.zianet.com/comic-booksuperstore/independents/cerebus-01.jpg
Cerebus (I've got the first ten trades)

http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/thumb/f/f5/Xfactor_24.JPG/300px-Xfactor_24.JPG
X-Factor (I've got 50 or so issues)

http://homepage.mac.com/antallan/images/russell/elric.jpg
Elric (I've got the first two volumes)

So, how about you?

[lei.talk]

my maternal grand-father read to me
many stories from pulp-fiction digests.

many of those tales
were written by the creator of tarzan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Rice_Burroughs)
and a writer that closely matched him (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Adelbert_Kline)
in several genre.

consequently,
this tarzan-clone comic-book
was irresistable:

http://i40.tinypic.com/2s0cx9y.jpg (http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GZAZ_enUS281US281&q=%22frank+frazetta%22+thunda)


and, after having read this issue:

http://i43.tinypic.com/11vi9l0.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armageddon_2419_A.D.)

these comic-books were equally attractive:


http://i42.tinypic.com/kd07ra.jpg (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GZAZ_enUS281US281&q=%22frank+frazetta%22+%22buck+rogers%22)http://i42.tinypic.com/2d1qpf8.jpg (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GZAZ_enUS281US281&q=%22frank+frazetta%22)

confusingly,
the cover-illustration on the amazing stories (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazing_Stories)
is not buck rogers, but,

the first appearance of "the skylark of space (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._E._Smith)"
by one of the most influential science-fiction authors.

[lei.talk]

http://i44.tinypic.com/2dabwbt.jpg (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GZAZ_enUS281US281&q=%22the+ten+cent+plague%22+%22david+hajdu%22)
watch now! (http://www.booktv.org/watch.aspx?ProgramId=HI-9260)

[Groenewolf]

One of my favorite comic books series is Thorgal.

http://histmag.org/archiwalia/mag51/images/grafika2.jpg

Wich is set in the viking-era. Thorgal himself is a child whose parents came from the stars. Read decendants of the people of Atlantis who moved there. Who as a young child was raised by a viking Chieftan and is favoured by the Goddess Frig.

The series now focus more on his son Johan.

[Sarmata]

One of my favorite comic books series is Thorgal.

http://histmag.org/archiwalia/mag51/images/grafika2.jpg

Wich is set in the viking-era. Thorgal himself is a child whose parents came from the stars. Read decendants of the people of Atlantis who moved there. Who as a young child was raised by a viking Chieftan and is favoured by the Goddess Frig.

The series now focus more on his son Johan.

Yes, it was my favorite comic series. :). Thorgal was created by Van Hamme and Polish graphic artist- Grzegorz Rosiński.

[Sarmata]

One of my favorite series was also Slaine.-Almost- epic Saga about adventures of Celtic hero-Slaine, story full of black humour, pagan or even anti-christian motives :D:thumb001:

http://i41.tinypic.com/2z8w0t0.jpg

[lei.talk]

...i enjoyed this cartoon strip
from the sunday news-paper
in the late forties:

http://i41.tinypic.com/2m3388n.jpg (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GZAZ_enUS281US281&q=%22burne+hogarth%22+tarzan&aq=f&oq=&aqi=)
http://i40.tinypic.com/214sgaf.jpg[/IMG] (] (][IMG)
when she recognised the artist's name,
she gifted me this book
in the late fifties:

http://i40.tinypic.com/mwdxfb.jpg (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GZAZ_enUS281US281&q=%22burne+hogarth%22+%22dynamic+anatomy%22&aq=f&oq=&aqi=)

and altered the expectations/goals
of my exercise-program.
[IMG]http://i44.tinypic.com/t4uwqb.jpg

forty-five years later,
i bought the revised edition -
http://i41.tinypic.com/2v2ejq9.jpg

[Cato]

I've started to read Star Wars: Invasion from Dark Horse, which is set about 20 years after The Return of the Jedi.

"Star Wars: Invasion is an ongoing monthly comic book series, written by Tom Taylor and illustrated by Colin Wilson. Published by Dark Horse Comics, this new ongoing series is set in the New Jedi Order era and depicts the events of the Yuuzhan Vong War. Just like another ongoing series by Dark Horse - Star Wars: Legacy - it is confirmed to include various ties to the novels by Del Rey, while still remaining accessible to new readers. It launched with two online-only preview issues on StarWars.com in May and June 2009. The first printed issue was published on July 1, 2009."

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars:_Invasion

The series, which is brand new, will feature new characters and established characters, such as an older Luke Skywalker (now a Jedi Master), Han, Leia and their three teenage children (Han and Leia were married according to the canon set by the Star Wars spinoff novels).

I'm a Star Wars geek, frankly admitted, but this is basically something that's been a given since I was a wee lad.

[Kempenzoon]

My dad's an avid collector and runs a comic webstore on eBay as a little side earning. But he only really bothers with French and Belgian comics. Both the popular children's series like Suske & Wiske, Jommeke, De Rode Ridder, ... ; and the more alternative art house comics.

I myself like reading some of those more alternative comics, but overall I wouldn't call myself a collector. I do buy a few series on my own though: the Star Wars comics from Dark Horse (all on-going series except Clone Wars); Northlanders from Vertigo; and other than that I love 'dark' comics like Watchmen, V for Vendetta, Transmetropolitan, etc.


I've started to read Star Wars: Invasion from Dark Horse, which is set about 20 years after The Return of the Jedi.

Invasion is turning out pretty interesting, I don't like the Star Wars novels, so atm all I know of the Invasion is what is implied in the SW: Legacy series. Really looking forward to the rest of the Invasion episodes.

My favourites remain Legacy (about 130 years after the movies) and Knights of the Old Republic (about 4000 years before the movies) series though.

[Smaland]

I haven't seen an issue in years, but I used to like Green Lantern when I was a kid:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/37/Greenlanternrebirth6.jpg/250px-Greenlanternrebirth6.jpg

:)

[Cato]

Invasion is turning out pretty interesting, I don't like the Star Wars novels, so atm all I know of the Invasion is what is implied in the SW: Legacy series. Really looking forward to the rest of the Invasion episodes.

My favourites remain Legacy (about 130 years after the movies) and Knights of the Old Republic (about 4000 years before the movies) series though.

The novels suffer from the fap fap fap mindset that attracts people to Harry Potter and Twilight. I used to post on the forums over on the official Star Wars website (with a sarcastic anti-alien persona), and there'd be obsessed fans who gushed over female X winding up in the sack with male Y and, generally, acting like retarded fanboys/girls. "Jaina Solo finally wound up with Boba Fett? But I thought she was going to wind up with Jabba the Hutt's son! I am so pissed off right now! *FAPFAPFAPFAPFAP*" That's how I view most fans of the Star Wars novels, quite accurately, I think.

I prefer the comics, the KOtOR and Legacy being my favorite. Different time periods, none of the characters I'm sick and tired of. My all-time favorite Star Wars character is Darth Revan, who has nothing to do with the movies.

[Kempenzoon]

I prefer the comics, the KOtOR and Legacy being my favorite. Different time periods, none of the characters I'm sick and tired of. My all-time favorite Star Wars character is Darth Revan, who has nothing to do with the movies.

I love Revan, though I still prefer the Exile as a character.

[Cato]

I love Revan, though I still prefer the Exile as a character.

Revan has the mystique of being more enigmatic. The Exile was a follower whereas Revan was the leader of the anti-Mandalorian Jedi. Revan has made a few brief appearances in the KOtOR comic series and I hope his background is elaborated upon- but not too much.

[Amarantine]

http://www.ubcfumetti.com/enciclopedia/alanford/alanford_1_big.jpg

[Octothorpe]

I've been a fanboy for decades! What do I read? Gosh, impossible to list. Too many titles. However, this might help: the breakdown for publishers is DC over Marvel 3-1, with major purchases from IDW, Dynamite, and Dark Horse. My tastes run from trad spandex stories to westerns, pirates, space opera, spies, even funny animals! Unlike many of the illiterati in the fanboy base, I read "Final Crisis," understood it, and enjoyed it!

[Amarantine]

http://vukajlija.com/attached_images/0003/8854/MARTIN-MYSTERE.gif

[lei.talk]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/be/Wanted.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanted_(comics))
It' a choice, Wesley, that each of us must face: to remain ordinary,
pathetic, beat-down - coasting through a miserable existence
like sheep herded by fate - or you can take control of your own destiny
and join us, releasing the caged wolf you have inside.

Our purpose is to maintain stability in an unstable world —
kill one, save a thousand.

Within the fabric of this world, every life hangs by a thread.
We are that thread — a fraternity of assassins, weapons of fate.

This is the decision that lies before you now:
the sheep, or the wolf. The choice is yours.


Welcome to the Fraternity (http://www.fraternityofweavers.com/)

[Frigga]

I'm too lazy to look up images on the web, but I have enjoyed:

The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers (hippy comics I know, but they're funny)

Archie (when I was little mind you! :D)

And more recently:

Conan

[Psychonaut]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/be/Wanted.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanted_(comics))

My comic-book-loving work mate has been trying to get me to read this for a while now. I need to take him up on his offer to loan it to me. :thumb001:

[Kempenzoon]

I love that one. So much better than the crap movie they made from it later on.

[Óttar]

Robert Crumb, the god of comics.
http://fryemuseum.org/images/exhibition_images/r_crumb_underground_04.jpg

[lei.talk]

http://media.signonsandiego.com/img/photos/2010/06/24/comic2_t600.JPG?42b0fb247f69dabe2ae440581a34634cbc 5420f3
June 24, 2010 | U-T file photo


The huge numbers associated with Comic-Con
underscore the importance San Diego leaders have placed
on retaining the convention
after the city’s contract expires in 2012.


Gauging the power of Comic-Con's punch
By Lori Weisberg (http://www.signonsandiego.com/staff/lori-weisberg/), UNION-TRIBUNE (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_San_Diego_Union-Tribune) STAFF WRITER

Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 5:45 p.m.


When tens of thousands of Comic-Con (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Comic-Con_International) attendees flood San Diego (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego) next month for their annual confab, they’ll be bringing more than superhero costumes, comic books and Star Wars paraphernalia. They’ll be delivering an economic bonanza of nearly $163 million, the first official estimate of the convention’s financial impact.

The previously undisclosed figure, obtained Thursday from the San Diego Convention Center Corp., is quadruple earlier estimates that sought to quantify both the direct and indirect spending generated by the Comic-Con gathering.

The corporation says its latest calculation is the most accurate because it reflects a survey it commissioned of 2008 delegates who were queried on where they came from, whether they stayed in hotels and how much they paid for those room nights. The overall spending analysis also takes into consideration the results of an annual visitor study city agencies conduct looking at overall spending generated by a cross section of larger San Diego conventions.

The huge numbers associated with Comic-Con underscore the importance San Diego leaders have placed on retaining the convention after the city’s contract expires in 2012. The city is still anxiously awaiting word on whether Comic-Con International will stay put or relocate to Los Angeles or Anaheim (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaheim,_California), which have been heavily courting convention organizers.

“We did the research to get a better handle on the convention, and when the numbers came back we were all stunned,” said Convention Center spokesman Steven Johnson. “The survey was an important tool for us in reaching out to the hospitality community to educate them why it’s important to address Comic-Con’s concerns so that we can secure them for 2013-15.”

While economic impact analyses are sometimes regarded as overly inflated guesses of spending, corporation officials point out that their latest estimates likely understate Comic-Con’s impact because they do not take into account money spent by the roughly 50 percent of attendees the survey found do not stay in hotels.

In all, Comic-Con in 2008 attracted more than 134,000 people, of whom nearly 68,000 spent the night in a hotel room, according to the survey, conducted by San Diego-based CIC Research. Spending alone on lodging, meals, transportation and other related items totaled $67.8 million, which includes $25 million in revenue rung up by conventioneers occupying nearly 31,000 hotel rooms.

While Comic-Con has long attracted a large contingent of locals, over the last decade it has morphed into a global event, with Hollywood heavyweights using the event to preview new television and movie projects to their devoted fans. Among those staying in hotels, roughly 68 percent hail from outside Southern California. The average room rate of all attendees is an estimated $199 a night, according to the survey.

“The reason Comic-Con is a valuable asset to the city is that it does produce those kind of numbers and during a time of year when the rooms are needed in some areas of the city,” said Jim Durbin, general manager of the San Diego Marriott in the Gaslamp Quarter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaslamp_Quarter,_San_Diego). “If we lost this convention to another city, it will put a significant hole in our summer, and to fill that up, you’d have to chase a whole lot of groups in different markets.”

There are a few other smaller San Diego conventions with more well-heeled attendees that have a larger economic impact on the city, Convention Center officials acknowledge. The November meeting of neuroscientists, who number 36,000 and spend more per night on hotel rooms than Comic-Con delegates, contribute an estimated $170 million to the local economy, said Johnson. However, unlike Comic-Con, most conventions do not attract huge numbers of locals, whose spending is not tallied.

San Diego tourism expert Carl Winston concedes that some economic impact studies fall short by not taking into account money that would already be spent at a particular destination, but still believes they are a legitimate way of assessing the worth of an event.

“These (economic impact) multipliers are pretty common,” said Winston, who heads the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at San Diego State University (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_State_University). “You’re trying to say that if a delegate spends money at the Hilton, and that hotel employs a maid, that maid earns money she wouldn’t have otherwise earned, and then she’ll spend money on something in San Diego. “But one of the big fallacies in economic impact studies is they don’t address the incremental impact that would have occurred had not the event been there.”

[lei.talk]

http://i49.tinypic.com/21mhwkk.jpg (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GZAZ_enUS281US281&q=%22conan+the+rogue%22+%22john+buscema%22)


Originally Posted by Pallantides http://www.theapricity.com/forum/images/kiddo/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?p=225420#post225420)
http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/6858/lappface.jpg (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15149)http://img709.imageshack.us/img709/8283/conanys.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_picking)

Originally Posted by lei.talk http://www.theapricity.com/forum/images/kiddo/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?p=225505#post225505)
only when inked or pencilled by ernie chan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernie_Chan).


was this point not - previously - clarified (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?p=195089#post195089)?


over a dozen other illustrators have depicted the character (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_(comics))
in a manner consistent with the creator (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Howard#Conan)'s description.

Originally Posted by Pallantides http://www.theapricity.com/forum/images/kiddo/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?p=226071#post226071) John Buscema also did draw Conan like that,
I can scan the signed drawing he made for me at the Raptus Festival in Bergen many years ago.
does the rendition (below) show a borealised (http://www.theapricity.com/snpa/gloss1.htm#BOREALIZATION) lapp (http://www.theapricity.com/snpa/gloss1.htm#LAPPID)
or the cro-magnoid (http://www.theapricity.com/snpa/gloss1.htm#CRO-MAGNID) described by the author of conan?

Originally Posted by the Elf in a speedo (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?p=191941#post191941) http://www.theapricity.com/forum/images/kiddo/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?p=194726#post194726)

Conan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_the_Barbarian) and the Cimmerians (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyborian_Age#Etymology) are supposed to resemble robust (http://www.theapricity.com/snpa/gloss2.htm#ROBUST) Paleo-Atlantids (http://www.theapricity.com/snpa/gloss2.htm#PALEO-ATLANTID) imo.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd49/mad_mouth/ConansFace.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Buscema)

yes (http://pages.ca.inter.net/~owenandsusan/corog.htm)! please! post your original buscema (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Buscema) art-work!

http://smileys.on-my-web.com/repository/Respect/respect-059.GIF

[lei.talk]

http://i45.tinypic.com/29lgzkz.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strangers_in_Paradise)
Katchoo










http://i47.tinypic.com/v8kis4.gif (http://www.strangersinparadise.com/issues.html)

[Psychonaut]

My favorite currently running title (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unwritten):

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/the-unwritten7-Yuko-Shimizu.jpg

[lei.talk]

http://i56.tinypic.com/x5qbdj.png (http://judenhass.com/preview_pg1.html)
http://i56.tinypic.com/1s0hdz.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Sim)

[Psychonaut]

http://i56.tinypic.com/x5qbdj.png (http://judenhass.com/preview_pg1.html)
http://i56.tinypic.com/1s0hdz.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Sim)

What did you think of it? I've not yet read it simply because I generally avoid holocaust related books/films/etc. (it's good for the blood pressure). I've long wondered if Sim's art would survive his conversion to Christianity. It ruined the last two Cerebus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebus_the_Aardvark) phonebooks for sure. I've been buying Glamourpuss (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glamourpuss), but am holding off on reading it until I find all the back issues I'm missing.

[lei.talk]

as one may discern from these examples (http://www.jazzbastards.org/artofdavesim/artofdavesim_title_menu.htm),
dave sim (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Sim) is at his best drawing his creation: CEREBUS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebus_the_Aardvark).

as one reviewer warned:

If you are hoping for SIMian artwork, you will be even more disappointed than with Frank Miller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Miller_(comics))'s "Ronin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronin_(DC_Comics))".

If you are hoping for SIMian storytelling, you will be even more disappointed than with the final volume of the Barsoom series (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carter_of_Mars_(collection)).

Don't we all hate it when an artist "grows"?

this graphic novel sat (bagged) on the rack
in my book-store
for nearly two years, because

my employees could not - in good conscience -
respond affirmatively to "Is this any good?".

i would not pay cover-price for this item.

i re-paid my store's whole-sale cost
from my comics-supplier (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Comic_Distributors): fifty percent.

Psychonaut http://www.theapricity.com/forum/images/kiddo/buttons/viewpost.gif I've long wondered if Sim's art would survive his conversion to Christianity.

dave's abuse of lsd (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lysergic_acid_diethylamide) and marijuana (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_(drug))
created a mind unable to arrange data hierarchically,
his narcissistic regression (http://web.archive.org/web/20050329030722/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism#Narcissistic_regression_and_the_formati on_of_secondary_narcissism)
following deni's departure and an early manopause (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andropause)
precipitated by alcohol (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholism) and concomitant mal-nutrition

led to his amalgamation of the semitic fremdkörper (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrahamic_religions).

he has degenerated
to posting videos of him reading aloud
from those three texts. :tsk:


say yes to life
http://i51.tinypic.com/ojjkht.png (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?p=270905#post270905)
say no to drugs


...and, now, for a tangent (http://www.theabsolute.net/misogyny/tangents.html).

[lei.talk]

http://i54.tinypic.com/2wdslf6.png (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GZAZ_enUS281US281&q=Vaughn+Bod%C3%A9)

[Psychonaut]

I'm finally getting around to reading Blackest Night (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackest_night). I completely understand what all the hype was about! :thumb001:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d3/Blackestnightvariant.png

[Beorn]

People posting on this thread may also appreciate this (http://www.youtube.com/user/xBrandonHexx) dedicated comic book fan's interpretation of Marvel storylines into videos accompanied by some very good music.

[lei.talk]

Pow! Comic-Con to stay through 2015

Decision ends bids from L.A. and Anaheim


Giving nerds and hoteliers cause for celebration, Comic-Con International (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Comic-Con_International) announced Thursday that the giant science fiction and fantasy convention will remain in San Diego (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego) through 2015.

The annual convention became so popular in recent years that its 125,000 attendees no longer fit in San Diego Convention Center (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Convention_Center) ---- this year, organizers hosted overflow events in nearby hotels. With their contract with the city expiring in 2012, organizers considered leaving the city where Comic-Con was born 40 years ago. In recent months, the list of possible sites was winnowed to San Diego, Los Angeles, and Anaheim.

"We are grateful for the tireless efforts all three cities put into to their proposals," David Glanzer, a spokesman for Comic-Con, said in a written statement. "In the end, we feel this decision is the best for all those who attend Comic-Con and for the organization itself. We are happy that the community has worked with us to ensure that we remain here."

Comic-Con injected $163 million to the San Diego regional economy in 2009, according to a study from the San Diego Convention Center Corp.

In an effort to keep the event, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Sanders_(politician)) lobbied to expand the Convention Center, and his administration worked with Comic-Con International to accommodate the ever-more popular event.

Every ticket to 2010 Comic-Con, held in July, sold out in advance, and before this year's Con ended, preview tickets for opening night 2011 were already gone.


ERIC WOLFF (http://www.nctimes.com/search/?l=50&sd=desc&s=start_time&f=html&byline=By%20ERIC%20WOLFF%20-%20ewolff@nctimes.com) | Thursday, September 30, 2010 8:47 pm |

[lei.talk]

http://i52.tinypic.com/16786ma.png

After much ado,
Comic-Con staying in San Diego
Lori Weisberg (http://www.signonsandiego.com/staff/lori-weisberg/) | Thursday, September 30, 2010 at 3:52 p.m.

Comic-Con (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Comic-Con_International), that whimsical show that for decades has been delivering costumed superheroes and Hollywood celebs to town, will be here five more years, ending months of speculation that San Diego (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego)’s largest convention might head north to Anaheim (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaheim,_California) or Los Angeles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles) where hotel rates are cheaper and exhibit space more plentiful.

Ultimately, Comic-Con International’s decision to stay, which will be announced Friday, hinged on detailed contracts negotiated with the 64 convention block hotels committing them to prescribed, discounted rates through 2015. Concerns had arisen in recent years that some local hotels took undue advantage of the enormously popular event by charging excessively high rates, especially in downtown where rooms sell out quickly during the four-day July confab.

Comic-Con’s current contract with San Diego’s convention center (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Convention_Center) expires in 2012, which led organizers to begin looking elsewhere for the years 2013 to 2015.

In the end, San Diego proved to be a sentimental favorite for organizers of the convention, which debuted in 1970 as a relatively small gathering of devoted comic book fans.

“We’ve always had a desire to stay in San Diego, and we had three amazing proposals,” said Comic-Con spokesman David Glanzer. “It was obviously a very difficult decision, one born out by the amount of time it’s taken to make that decision. But in the end San Diego was able to address a lot of our concerns.

“It’s never been a secret we’d hoped to stay here, but the real challenge was that those who want to attend the event can afford to attend, in terms of size and space and cost.”

Estimated to deliver an annual economic bonanza of $163 million to the San Diego region, the pop culture phenomenon was wooed aggressively by rival convention cities who offered lucrative deals capitalizing on convention organizers’ long-held concerns that they had outgrown San Diego’s smaller center.

While the bids were confidential, it was rumored that Los Angeles offered convention space at no cost.

At one point, competition for the convention grew so fierce that Los Angeles and Anaheim tourism officials launched dueling Facebook fan pages designed to demonstrate the depth of their commitment to nabbing Comic-Con. San Diego fans, however, had already debuted a month earlier their own “Keep Comic-Con in San Diego (http://www.facebook.com/keepcomicconinsandiego)” Facebook page, which has roughly seven times the number of fans.

Despite being disappointed by the decision, Anaheim tourism officials remain optimistic that Comic-Con could eventually come their way in the future. “We certainly recognize how difficult a decision this was by virtue of how long it took,” said Charles Ahlers, president of the Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau. “We understand it was not a unanimous decision by Comic-Con so clearly there is interest in alternative locations so that gives us hope for the future.”

Convention Center Corp. officials, though, believe the real turning point in the city’s campaign to keep the convention here was when San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders intervened and met with local hoteliers in March to make sure they were willing to do everything they could to best their Southern California competitors.

“I truly think the catalyst was the mayor getting involved personally, having meetings in his office to let the hotel community know we were all committed,” said Carol Wallace, Convention Center Corp. president. “People really stood up and took notice. I also had a staff person assigned full time working with Comic-Con for the last year.”

“I’m extremely excited and honored by their decision because it really shows the partnership we’ve developed with Comic-Con over 40 years in San Diego. “I know they need an expanded convention center, and we’re doing everything we can to accomplish that, not just to benefit Comic-Con but all the conventions that have overgrown San Diego.”

Although the city has plans to significantly expand the center and is in the midst of selecting an architect, funding must still be identified for the $750 million project.

“I think we sent them a pretty clear signal that we’re going to go all out to expand the convention center,” Sanders said. “Of course, I can’t guarantee that but we’re working real hard on this issue.

Recognizing Comic-Con’s more immediate need for added space for exhibitors and the more than 130,000 attendees that flood the city, San Diego’s three waterfront hotels — the Manchester Grand Hyatt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Grand_Hyatt_Hotel), San Diego Marriott (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Marriott_Hotel_and_Marina) and Hilton San Diego Bayfront (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilton_San_Diego_Bayfront) — committed to providing roughly 300,000 square feet of their meeting space free of charge in 2013 through 2015. In addition, the Convention Center Corp., working with local hotels, was able to double the number of dedicated convention hotel rooms to roughly 14,000.

According to Wallace, the city’s hotel occupancy rate is the highest in the country when Comic-Con comes to town.

As much as holding onto the convention had become a matter of civic pride, more important are the huge revenues that come San Diego’s way each year the event is held. A 2008 survey of conventioneers found that direct spending alone on hotels, meals, transportation and related costs totals nearly $68 million a year.

Add to that the worldwide publicity the convention commands because of its Hollywood star power, and it’s no surprise that city leaders and hoteliers often liken Comic-Con to having a Super Bowl in town ever year.

“I think everyone met face to face on this and decided this was really important for the San Diego region.” said Mayor Sanders. “This is a great employment generator in terms of people working on the convention and all the things it spins off. It’s also good for the psyche of the city. And we literally couldn’t buy the kind of P.R. we get. We get more journalists and magazines and TV here during Comic-Con than we get for anything else in San Diego.”

[lei.talk]

http://mimg.ugo.com/201007/52377/sdcc-cosplay-15.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misato_Katsuragi)


http://mimg.ugo.com/201007/52368/sdcc-cosplay-30.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroness_(G.I._Joe))


http://mimg.ugo.com/201007/51788/blackcat.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Cat_(comics))
http://i52.tinypic.com/2yooiaa.jpg
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Comic-Con_International)...would you vote for this costume (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?p=188130#post188130)?

[lei.talk]

http://www.dccomics.com/media/product/1/5/15325_400x600.jpg (http://www.dccomics.com/media/excerpts/15325_x.pdf)

http://i55.tinypic.com/k4jnro.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight_(series))http://i56.tinypic.com/2qidb9k.png (http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GZAZ_enUS281US281&q=superman+%22earth+one%22)http://i56.tinypic.com/2qidb9k.png (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1T4GZAZ_enUS281US281&q=brooding+superman)http://i51.tinypic.com/116idtu.png (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman#Other_versions)

[lei.talk]

in the underground comics (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_comix) of the late sixties,
richard corben (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_comix) caught my attention
and i wish he was as interested in drawing new comics
as i am in viewing any new ones from him. :nod:


http://i56.tinypic.com/ofmusk.jpg (http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4GZAZ_enUS281US281&q=%22richard%20corben%22&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi)


j4H0HhSlMm8
the link between den and edgar rice burroughs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Den_(comics)#Fictional_character_biography)
exacerbated my behavior at the society for creative anachronism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_Creative_Anachronism#History),
which - back then - was far more "creative" than historical.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5243/5268447885_2112d857d0_b.jpg (http://www.google.com/images?rlz=1T4GZAZ_enUS281US281&q=roy%20krenkel&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=og&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi)

my krenkel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Krenkel)-esque costumes
were popular, if, impractical.

[Cato]

http://mimg.ugo.com/201007/52368/sdcc-cosplay-30.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baroness_(G.I._Joe))


:eek::eek::eek:

Let me be your Destro baby! :D

[Magister Eckhart]

Mostly I read Manga, but there are a few Western comics I do like, including:

http://www.petermadsen.info/images/vh/vh1/valhalla1-forside.jpg
I have the entire collection

and
http://wire.ggl.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/watchmen.jpg
which I also own

and

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UEY_Bhs-Bp4/TQRcFwRm-aI/AAAAAAAADAA/8JVVdsIx9tY/s1600/Thor+comic+pic.jpg

Which I read in the bookstore but do not own.

But mostly I prefer Japanese works because, frankly, I think they have more depth. Their warrior-oriented comics are also a little more absorbing than Western comics. We need to figure out what it is that the Japanese have and try to find the same thing in ourselves.

http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/berserk/1-1.jpg

Admittedly, I do like some less violent stuff, but I'll refrain from posting too much manga.

[Heretik]

http://vukajlija.com/attached_images/0003/8854/MARTIN-MYSTERE.gif

:thumb001:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d1/Dylan_Dog.jpg

:hail: :hail:

[lei.talk]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/51/Vinland_Saga_volume_01_cover.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinland_Saga_(manga))



http://i47.tinypic.com/15ezqu0.png (http://www.theapricity.com/forum/showthread.php?p=240483#post240483)

[Ulex]

My hero when I was a kid:

http://comicwiki.dk/images/thumb/Tintin_og_Terry.jpg/330px-Tintin_og_Terry.jpg

Later I spent much of my time in public libraries, and this is where I met this guy:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Pratt-corto1.jpg/230px-Pratt-corto1.jpg

I grew up and so did Tintin. :thumb001:

[carefree]

I don't know if there is a separate thread, but I prefer reading manga to western comics.