A-Kon 25 Cosplay Pictures - Part Two

Jigen from Lupin The 3rd.


Alas, I didn't get all of this group of Disney Princess Sailor Scouts.  But I did catch three of them!
That's Glitzy Geek Girl as Sailor Ariel.


Pedo Bear helps Thor Girl look heroic.  


A golden Dalek


Star Lord, Gamora and Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy.


Princess Celestia from My Little Pony


Steven and Pearl from Steven Universe.


Zapp Brannigan from Futurama.


The Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.


My pal Sam as The Lone Wanderer from Fallout 3.


Harry Dresden.


Lemongrab, Princess Bubblegum and Marceline from Adventure Time. PB and Marcie are my friends Karla and Kara.


A gaggle of Adventure Time characters.


Karla and Kara with two Banana Guards.


The always lovely Princess Marty (aka M. Alice LeGrow) with some random Comic Book Guy.

The Dresden Files: Skin Game - A Spoiler-Free Review!

Harry Dresden has had a bad year.  And he's about to have a series of very bad days.  Through the usual crazed alchemy that involves the trading of favors and obligations in the supernatural world, Harry has found his services traded away to one of his deadliest enemies - Nicodemus Archleone - in order to cover a debt owed by Queen Mab of the Winter Court.

Soon Harry is standing among a veritable Legion of Doom of monsters, fallen angels, shape-shifters and warlocks united for one purpose - stealing from the vault of the Greek God Hades.  Naturally, Dresden is sure there is more to this game than meets the eye.  And while Nicodemus may need his help to pull off this heist, there's little chance that "old Nick" will let Harry or the rest of the crew walk away with their lives once the job is pulled.

It will take all of Harry's cunning and power to get out of this one with mind, body and soul intact.  For Hades is not known for his hospitality or mercy.  And any who die in his realm may find themselves condemned to an ironic punishment for all eternity!


At this point, there is little that can be said about Skin Game that would not be a colossal spoiler.  Suffice it to say those who are new to the world of Harry Dresden should pick up Storm Front and begin working their way through the stories in order.  While it was once possible to read the Dresden Files books out of order without worrying overly much, the series has progressed to a point where its rich history requires some basic knowledge of the world's progression as a whole.  

I can say this much.  Long time fans of the series will find this entry satisfying.  Jim Butcher does a fine job of adapting his characters into a heist story.  And those who were disappointed at the number of cliff-hangers left open at the end of Cold Days will be glad to know that a large number of the series long-running subplots are resolved in Skin Game.  That said, readers should expect to be surprised at least once as the novel progresses.

Night Light - A Dresden Files Fan Film - A Review

WARNING: The following review does contain some spoilers for The Dresden Files book series. Don't read any further if you haven't gotten past the book Proven Guilty.  Don't see this movie until after you've read that far either, as it's pretty much a sequel to that book and a prequel to the next book, White Night.


I first ran into Landon and Suzanne Solomon at A-Kon several years ago.  Coincidentally, it was on the very same weekend that I first cosplayed Harry Dresden.  I ran into them again earlier this year at Dallas Comic Con and learned of a fan film they were working on and hoped to have ready later this year.  We kept in touch and I was privileged enough to get a preview of the rough cut of the movie before its' convention premiere this past weekend and release to the Internet at large today.

Set sometime between the novels Proven Guilty and White Night, Night Light sees wizard/private eye Harry Dresden investigating a series of attempted suicides in the local magic-users community.  All the victims were non-religious (or at the least, non-Christian) and uncharacteristically spoke of being sinners before trying to kill themselves.  Aiding Harry in his investigation are Karrin Murphy - Dresden's long-suffering police contact - and Molly Carpenter, Harry's newly appointed apprentice.

The performances in the film are top-notch all around.  Landon Solomon not only looks the part of Harry Dresden but plays the role with the perfect sarcastic edge.  Suzanne Solomon (who also wrote the screenplay) is convincingly tough as Murphy and Rachel Dawson manages the fine balance of eagerness and rebelliousness essential to Molly's character.  There are several cameos by other Dresden Files regulars, whose presence I shan't spoil except to say their performances are equally enjoyable.



Solomon's screenplay perfectly captures the feel of Jim Butcher's writing, though the whole affair seems more like an episode of a long-running television series than a film.  Taken on those terms it works quite well but there's no chance of a complete newbie to the series being able to understand half of the events of this movie. Even die-hard fans of the series may have trouble spotting all the in-jokes but they'll appreciate what they catch as well as the more dramatic moments like when we see what Harry looks like through another wizard's Sight.

Technically, the film is on-par with most fan works.  The direction is good and the special effects are well-executed.  The sound editing is a bit rough at times, with the scenes set in Harry's basement having a high level of reverb that I swear wasn't present in the rough cut.  The best aspect of the production is the set design.  It's clear that a good deal of effort went into the look of Harry's apartment/lab and making sure that all the little details were perfectly captured.  From the model of Little Chicago to Bob The Skull and his shelf-full of smut, this film perfectly captures the visual aesthetic of the series.


Bottom Line: If you're a fan of The Dresden Files, you'll enjoy Night Light.  The final film is available for viewing on YouTube and on Vimeo and more information can be found at Tower of Turtles Films.

Dallas Fan Days 2013 - Saturday, Part Four

 Ms. Marvel & Black Cat.  

Sailor Uranus, who put up with far too many of my dirty astronomy jokes.  

Black Canary and Green Arrow.  The Green Arrow may look a bit familiar.



My friend Natalie as Mega Man.  

Judge Dredd, caught on camera smiling.  

 Despite the excellent deals Progressive has to offer, Flo cannot cheer Snake Plisken.  

Black Widow at rest.  

Another Green Arrow.  

Captain Kirk, having some trouble with Tribbles.  

Yet another Green Arrow and Black Canary.  I suspect The multiple Doctors are responsible for this...  

My friend Lizzie as The Riddler.



Hawkeye and The Scarlet Witch  

Harry Dresden, seconds before my camera exploded.  Stupid Hexus curse!  

The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle - A No Flying, No Tights Review

For over a dozen novels and a goodly number of short stories and novellas, Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files have delighted millions of readers around the world. It’s fair to say that Harry Dresden may be the most famous supernatural detective in modern fiction. A fully ordained Wizard of The White Council, Dresden is also an accredited private investigator and the Chicago Police Department’s go-to guy for any supernatural weirdness that the cops can’t explain away as business-as-usual.

The series is full of comic book references, such as Harry’s car, an oft-destroyed and oft-rebuilt Volkswagen Beetle, being named after the superhero “The Blue Beetle.” As a character, Dresden himself seems to be a mix of Marvel Comics influences – think “What If Peter Parker Had Become The Sorcerer Supreme Instead Of Doctor Strange?” It’s no surprise, then, that Jim Butcher recalls his love of comics as a kid and their influence on his writing in the introduction to this volume, the first original graphic novel starring Harry Dresden.

The plot centers upon a murder at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Harry is brought in to investigate the death of a night watchman who was beaten to death by something much stronger than he was. The best theory the police have is that one of the gorillas somehow escaped its locked enclosure and turned savage. It’s a flimsy theory, but it’s enough to make the city demand the accused gorilla be put to death, despite the protest of the zoo’s primate experts that gorillas are docile and attack only if threatened. In order to save Moe the Gorilla’s life – to say nothing of the lives of any future victims – Harry must put all his skills as a detective and a wizard to the test.

This story is set in the early days of Dresden’s career, so comic readers unfamiliar with the novels don’t need to worry about references to the books that they won’t understand. Indeed, Butcher does a masterful job of introducing all the established players besides Harry himself. These include Lieutenant Karrin Murphy (Harry’s main contact with the Chicago PD), her skeptical partner Carmichael, and Bob The Skull – a spirit of knowledge bound in a human skull who acts as Harry’s research assistant and comedic foil. On the other side of the fence, fans of the Dresden Files who aren’t regular comic readers will be glad to know this graphic novel reads just like one of Butcher’s regular novels, despite the inclusion of some pretty pictures.

The pretty pictures are provided by the always excellent Ardian Syaf. Syaf’s character designs perfectly capture the look and spirit of each of the established characters. Harry is a tall, lanky man who resembles an unshaven Peter Parker. Karrin Murphy is a short but powerful-looking woman with hard eyes that don’t seem to fit the rest of her pretty face. And Bob – well, he looks like a skull with glowing orange eyes. More importantly, Syaf is an excellent visual storyteller who can match Butcher’s scripts for tone and pacing. The action scenes are laid out well and flow naturally from panel to panel.

If this is your first exposure to the world of the Dresden Files, you are in for a treat. If you’re a long-time Jim Butcher fan who has never read a comic before, I think you’ll see the appeal of the medium by story’s end. And it should be obvious to all why this story was nominated for a Hugo Award and why it made the ALA’s Great Graphic Novels For Teens list in 2010. This novel is wholly appropriate for teenage audiences, containing nothing worse than a few curse words and some mild violence. Despite this, I would still recommend librarians place this series in their adult fiction collections (assuming you don’t have a separate adult graphic novels section), where it may be more easily discovered by Dresden Files fans who don’t usually read comics.

The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle
by Jim Butcher
Art by Ardian Syaf
ISBN: 9780345507464
Del Rey/Dabel Brothers, 2008
Publisher Age Rating: (13+)

Dallas Comic Con 2013 - Saturday, Part Two

And now... more pictures taken during the cosplay contest.



A Red Lantern, A Green Lantern, A Blue Lantern and A Star Sapphire.   

Deathstroke vs. Green Arrow.  Even I don't think Ollie has much chance without a bow.   

The Boy Who Waited and The Girl Who Waited.
Ironically, I found him waiting for her - not outside The Pandorica - but outside the ladies' room.


Leia of IHO Geek as The Mad Hatter.   
Harry Dresden and Karrin Murphy from The Dresden Files.
Apparently they're making a fan film.  Check out the official page here.     

Heart Strings Cosplay as Starfire.  

Maka Albarn from Soul Eater.    

This cross-play Captain America was part of a group of cross-play Avengers.
Sadly, they scattered before I could get a group photo.  A shame.
I would like to have shown everyone The Black Widower.    

Later, I did track down the cross-play Loki and Hawkeye.   

Yet another Black Canary.  You might recognize her as the Wonder Girl from Friday's photos.  

Catwoman from Batman: The Animated Series.

Dresden Files: Ghoul Goblin #3 - A Review

Dresden Files: Ghoul Goblin #3 is light on action but heavy on drama and comedy.  Your enjoyment of this issue may be entirely dependent upon how much tolerance you have for Harry Dresden snarking as the whole world is turning against him.  Of course if you didn't enjoy that sort of thing, the odds are you wouldn't be a fan of this series in the first place.



The plot thickens as wizard/detective Harry Dresden doubles his efforts to aid a family in ridding themselves of a supernatural curse. We see Harry work some serious magic this time, evoking spirits to gain information while risking pneumonia (Unlike most magic, communing with nature spirits DOES require the mage to be naked in the woods).  By issue's end, we see Harry confront another supernatural menace we've never seen before in The Case Files in a scene that promises the next issue will open up with the action that this issue lacked.


The artwork by Joseph Cooper continues to impress.  All the character designs are unique and distinctive, so there's no confusion about who is who - a problem that existed in previous Dresden File graphic novels.  The flow of the story is well-depicted, though this issue seems somewhat slow since most of the action involves Harry investigating and talking to people rather than making things blow up.  Get past that though, and this book's an enjoyable read.

All-Con 2013: Day One

Friday would prove to be my shortest stay at All-Con. I only had one panel to teach (Secret Origins: The History of American Comics) and with a show in Dallas to perform in that evening (Amber Does Dallas' bi-monthly performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the historic Lakewood Theater) my time was limited.  Still, I found plenty of time to wander the halls and snag several pictures of some interesting cosplays and other interesting sights before I had to dash off for the evening.

Despite our troupe doing double duty, with a show at our regular venue on Friday night and a performance at All-Con on Saturday night, some of our number took the time to create and staff an amazing display table to promote our work.  Pictured behind the table is our promotions manager Ali, looking cool as ever.

I'm no Bronie but even I can appreciate the craft and complexity of this costume, which I am informed by someone much more knowledgeable about these things than myself is the character Rarity.

This costume, however, I knew straight away.  That's The Shoveler from the cult-classic Mystery Men.

Here we see my fellow ADD member, Nako Sweet, cosplaying the Winter Lady Maeve from The Dresden Files.  Note the poor fellow frozen in time behind her, due to Nako's very real fairy magic.

Batman and Romana Flowers.  A strange pairing, no?  But nothing's truly strange at All-Con.

I haven't seen Rise of the Guardians yet, but even I recognized this wonderful Jack Frost cosplay. 

Great Hera!  It's Kingdom Come Wonder Woman, with the golden eagle armor.

My buddy Paul Riddel was present, manning the booth for The Texas Triffid Ranch. If you've ever had the hankering to adopt a carnivorous plant, Paul's the man to talk to.

This lady cosplayed a most impressive Princess Zelda and her music was as lovely as her costume.  She played various themes from The Legend of Zelda games on an ocarina and it was enchanting.  But don't take my word for it!  You can hear some samples of her work at crisgale.com. 

 

My friend Rick Gutierrez of The United States of Geekdom cut quite a fine figure as Captain Hammer, MCing their annual Doctor Horrible screening. While Amber Does Dallas wasn't a co-sponsor this year, I was still on hand to offer my riffing expertise to the proceedings.

Sadly, not all of my pictures from this day turned out clearly after the fact. So I'd first like to apologize to Princess Peach and the other Princess Zelda, whose pictures I couldn't share with everyone.  I'd like to apologize to my friend make-up artist Lizzie Lynch, whose class on special effects make-up I learned a great deal from but - again - failed to get any clear pictures of.  I'd also like to apologize to my friend Zander Price - proprietor of Nerdy NotionZ - for failing to get a decent picture of him in his Casey Jones costume.  I hope that encouraging everyone to buy one of your amusing decals or charms will make-up for it. :)

Finally, I'd like to give a shout-out to artist Jessica Grundy, who was kind enough to share a brief conversation with me after I mistook her for someone else and patient enough to wait until I could break a $20 to buy one of her adorable buttons.  Check out her store at the above link.