All-Con 2013: Day Two - Part Two

I can't say for certain that All-Con 2013 was the biggest one ever.  I haven't heard any specific numbers from the convention organizers nor have I heard any statements to that effect.  But I suspect it probably was the biggest All-Con ever for one reason and one reason alone - it took me the better part of an hour to find a place to park after I came back from lunch.

However, once I'd eaten, parked, power-napped for an hour and showered, I was ready to hit the floor for some more socializing and picture taking.

    I ran into this lovely Poison Ivy on the way from my hotel room to the convention floor.

    I've mentioned before how increasingly common cosplay mash-ups are becoming. Well, this is one of the best ones I've ever seen. This dapper fellow is a Steampunk Blue Lantern.

    He was paired-up with this lady, who was dressed as a non-Steampunk Indigo Tribe member. She looks more like a lounge-singer than a tribal to me, but it's a good costume regardless.

    Ms. Marvel - not yet a Captain - in a slightly more modest version of her Warbird costume.

    I think Emperor Palpatine is planning to steal that TARDIS.

    Speaking of the TARDIS, here's the cutest little Doctor you ever will see. Well, the cutest Tenth Doctor, anyway. I heard that someone had a baby dressed up as The First Doctor but I didn't see them.


Remember: The Geeks of Tomorrow Are All Our Responsibility. Support Youngling Geeks!


Speaking of younglings, here's Asajj Ventress from Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

    There's always at least one Catwoman at any con and this is a damn good take on the Adam Hughes version.


One of the high-points of All-Con is the yearly Roller Derby demonstration by the ladies of  Assassination City.  This is partly due to the fun of their presentation and partly due to the colorful geek-friendly costumes you'll see the ladies wearing throughout the day, on-wheels or off.  I snagged a picture of this stunning Elektra while she was off-wheeling it in the hotel hallways.


Later, I ran into this AC Derby member in the dealer's room.  I'm informed that she's a more-than-passable Pinkie Pie from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.


I'm not sure if this young lady was meant to be a specific character or not, but her mask reminded me of Repo: The Genetic Opera so I snagged her picture anyway.  If anyone does know who she is, please speak up in the comments.  I'd love to know.

Tales of the Corps #1

This book contains three stories, along with profiles taken from the Blackest Night #0 special. The first story details the first Blue Lantern, Saint Walker, and his life before he was chosen to become the first of the hope-empowered Blue Lanterns.

This is easily the most powerful of the three pieces, with Johns doing what he does best with this kind of story - introduce a character in a way that recalls their history and lays their motivations bare at the same time. Walker's story is an epic one and you truly get a sense of how heroic he was even before he was chosen to be a Blue Lantern.

The next story by Peter Tomasi isn't strictly necessary but is rather amusing. It details the life of a young Mongul and how he came to realize that he would not ever share his father's power; he would have to take it.





We don't get a lot of deep insight here, what with Mongul being a power-hungry bully who wants to rule as much of the universe as he can. But it is the first tale I know of that shows us Mongul The Elder and how he acted as a father to his son, Mongul The Younger.

The final story is also the most confusing, offering us a brief glimpse of the Indigo Tribe and their power.





This is personal theory, but I think their power is a counter to the Orange Power of Avarice as Hope counters Fear. While the Orange Lantern has the power to drain energy way from other Lanterns (mineminemineminemine!), the Indigo Power seems to redirect it. We see the Indigo leader do something that causes a mortally wounded Green Lantern to smother himself with a ring projection, giving him a relatively more painless death and turn yellow energy back onto a Sinestro Corps member, causing him to flee as his own worst fears are made manifest.

It's rather hard to say since we can't understand a bloody thing any of the Indigo Lanterns say, their language being untranslatable even by the Universal Translator of a Green Lantern ring. Most of this story is told through the art and Rags Morales' darker style isn't quite capable of making the action clear without several read-throughs.



The Bad News: None of the stories here seem to have any direct bearing on the plot of Blackest Night so far. And our first glance at the Indigo Lanterns doesn't give us much more information than their profile which contains about as much information about the Indigo Lanterns as the Hitch-hiker's Guide did about the Earth.

The Good News: Except for the last story, they are all very good character pieces that add insight into various characters, particularly the Saint Walker piece.

The Verdict: Good read. Worth picking up.