All-Con 2014 - Day One

This was the 10th year of All-Con's existence and the first year that the convention lasted for four days.  Once again, I was hosting a number of panels on comic book history - both American and Japanese.  I also hosted a new panel aimed at explaining Doctor Who to curious parties who weren't sure where to start with the longest-running science-fiction show of all time!

I had three panels on Thursday, which were spread fairly evenly across the day.  This left me with a little bit of time to attend panels being held by my friends.  Zander of Nerdy Notions hosted several panels on the History of Sentai Soldiers over the long weekend and I caught the first one.  I've never been much for Power Rangers or similar shows but it was an informative event.  And I finally got to catch Paul Riddell's panel on the care and feeding of meat-eating plants. 

One of the best things about All-Con is the sheer variety of events and programs.  I make it a point to try and attend something that I've never done before every year.  I also make it a point, in general, to do things that would have blown my teenage self's mind.  It is for these reasons that I attended the Naked Geek Girls Reading show. Well, that and it's naked geek girls reading! 

In all seriousness, the show was quite enjoyable sans any erotic aspect.  The Dirty Blonde, Angi B. Lovely, Courtney Crave and Black Mariah (dressed and undressed as Daenerys Targaryen, Neil Gaiman's Death, Pris from Blade Runner and Wonder Woman respectively) are as skilled at performing selections from classic fantasy, science-fiction and horror novels as they are at costuming and modeling.  I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite scene, but I'd probably go with Angi B. Lovely's reading of the duel between Inigo Montoya and Count Rugen from The Princess Bride as it is one of my favorite books.  In any case, I'll certainly be catching their show next year and will try and catch any future Naked Girls Reading events in Dallas when I have the time

Speaking of time, I luckily had time enough to snag a few cosplay pictures...



This young Asgardian showed great patience in dealing with the people asking for pictures. 


Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony

 
The Riddler


Jedi Joker.  Be VERY Afraid.



Kayle from League of Legends.  My brain hurts thinking about how those wings work and long it must have taken to construct them.  She appears to be feeling the strain in this picture.




Every con should have a Doctor on their staff, in case of emergencies.


Ash and Misty from Pokemon




My pal Taffeta Darling was one of the All Con's special cosplay guests this weekend.  She was also hosting a lot of events, including the cosplay contest, the Miss Star Wars competition, Naked Girls Reading and a lot of panels.  Whew!  And I thought my schedule this week was busy!  Here's Taff as Slumber Party Harley Quinn from the new Infinite Crisis game.



The Stump Fairy.  Apparently one of many fairies found at The Sherwood Forest Faire.



Wonder Woman!



Steampunk Poison Ivy is talking to the carnivorous plants at The Texas Triffid Ranch.
No good can come of this.



Wait!  That's not the real Poison Ivy in Steampunk clothing!  That's Sarah Esperkin!



Domino from X-Force.



All-Con hosted a number of Disney-themed panels this year and there was a larger than usual number of princesses, princes and comedic sidekicks in attendance as a result.  This was the first time I've seen anyone cosplay Prince Phillip and Princess Adora from Sleeping Beauty in person and the first Olaf I've seen.  I've seen quite a few Elsa's from Frozen this year, but this was the first one I saw who had a magical ice-effect to pose with. 

All-Con 2014 - My Schedule!

I'll be out all this weekend at ALL-CON at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Addison, Texas.  It's a four-day convention and admission is free all-day on Thursday! Here is my panel schedule as well as some events my friends are organizing that I'll be helping out with.


THURSDAY

1 PM - Secret Origins: The History Of American Comics - Addison Theater

4 PM - Lost In Time: An Introduction To Doctor Who - Addison Theater

10 PM - Exit Light, Enter Night: The Dark Age Of Comics - Pecan Room


FRIDAY

3 PM - The History of Anime and Manga (Abridged) - Pecan Room

9 PM - Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog - Oak Ballroom


SATURDAY

10 AM - Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog - Addison Theater

11 AM - Marvel Cinematic: The Story So Far... - Maple Room

1 PM - Lost In Time: An Introduction To Doctor Who - Pecan Room

7 PM - All About Arrow - Pecan Room

11 PM - USG and Cult Film Fanatics Symposium of Shlock - Addison Theater


SUNDAY

11 AM - Secret Origins: The History Of American Comics - Maple Room

12 PM - All About Arrow - Maple Room

First Thoughts on Thief

The original Thief Trilogy (The Dark Project, The Metal Age and Deadly Shadows) is one of my favorite gaming franchises of all time.  It's also one of the most influential franchises of all time, with The Dark Project having pioneered the first-person stealth game and Deadly Shadows possessing one (if not THE greatest) horror levels of all time - The Cradle.

When I heard that Eidos and Square Enix were partnering to revive the franchise, I was excited but wary.  The first two games were designed for the PC.  The final one was marred, somewhat, by having to be designed with console gamers in mind.  I feared that something similar might happen with this new Thief game, which was designed for the PS3, PS4, XBox 360 and XBox One.

It did.  But it's not quite so bad as I thought it would be.


The interface and controls are much like the original Thief games, but with some additions taken from other, more recent Eidos games.  Chief among these is the ability to edge around corners, that every stealth game has had since Batman: Arkham Asylum and Deus Ex: Invisible War.


Another new feature, at least once you start the first mission, is the Focus ability.  With the tap of the F key, you can highlight all the objects you can interact with, be they loot you can grab, enemies to avoid, objects to open in search of loot or items you can climb or use your grappling claw on.  There's also a new Swoop ability that allows you to dash quickly between one patch of shadows to the next without having to switch between creep and spring modes.  You can also move up behind a person and disable them with the Q-key for a Quick Takedown, rather than pulling out your blackjack.  


Thankfully, these new tools are optional - so far- and old-school Thief fans who want a classic experience can turn off options like loot glinting in the dark to increase the difficulty.  This is in addition the three difficulty modes, which raise or lower the enemy AI as well as your ability to stay unnoticed in the shadows.  


One problem with the PC version of Thief is long load times.  This is a cross we have to bear with games that were designed for consoles and then ported to the PC.  Many was the time I thought the game had frozen up only to suddenly spring into life.  Amazingly, the game never crashed, though it did take me the better part of an hour and a half to complete the game's prologue with only one "death" in that time.  Thankfully, the game looks gorgeous, even on an older system like mine and there's no difference in quality between the game-play and the cut-scenes. 



The plot so far is reminiscent of the original games while still being its own beast.  The prologue sees Garrett (the titular thief) paired with another thief named Erin to steal a supposedly magical artifact from some nobleman's house.  Hijinks ensue and the first chapter opens with Garrett trapped in a locked-down marketplace with the guards closing in and his escape options limited. 

So far, I'm not disappointed in Thief.  It's not as groundbreaking as Skyrim but I don't think it's meant to be.  For those who stalked the streets of the city with Garrett 15 years ago, this game will be a welcome bit of nostalgia.  Fans of  more recent stealth games will also find a lot they'll enjoy. 

Green Arrow #29 - A Review

The Outsiders War continues as Green Arrow seeks Kodomo and Oliver Queen's long-lost half-sister.  Little does he know that Kodomo has claimed leadership of the warrior clans known as The Outsiders and that they are now hunting him.  At the same time, John Diggle and the rest of Ollie's support staff seek to stop the gangwar that is tearing Seattle apart by making an unlikely alliance with the crime-boss William Tockman.


Jeff Lemire's script is full of action and there are many impressive sequences with Oliver making good use of the trick arrows that have played a surprisingly small role in the series so far.  The only real weakness with the script is that the sequences with Diggle and company seem like an afterthought, added in to give the supporting cast something to do.  We also keep hearing about the devastation Richard Dragon has caused in Seattle while seeing little evidence of it.


Andrea Sorrentino's artwork is truly cinematic.  Many of the panels look like stills from a movie rather than part of a comic-book page.  Colorist Marcelo Maiolo should be highly praised for his own contributions to this book, which take Sorrentino's already stellar pencils to another level with the addition of amazing lighting effects and palette-switched between panels that serve to highlight certain scenes, such as when the trick arrows go off.

Heart of Texas ComicCon 2014 - A Con Report

Heart of Texas ComicCon is a new convention, held in Waco Texas.  Work prevented me from being able to attend on Saturday, but I was able to drive down for the Sunday festivities.  It's the kind of convention I like best - small, intimate and clearly a labor of love. 

The convention staff was great and I should note that they had the most well organized parking lot of any convention held in a community space I've ever attended.  Little details like that can make or break a show and this one was definitely made. I can't wait to see what they do next year!


I premiered a new cosplay for this convention - Slade Wilson from Arrow.  Admittedly, a nice suit and an eye-patch isn't the most complex costume... even if you can dress it up a decent impression of Manu Bennet's voice and accent.  But I'm quite pleased with the result if for no other reason than I think I totally rock a nice suit and eye-patch.


Manu Bennett agreed, for what that's worth.  I got an autographed picture with a nice dedication.


After that, I wander around a bit and said hello to some friends who were also there while taking pictures of the cosplayers and posing for a few myself. I helped Terry Parr of ShoNuff Studios take down his booth, as he decided to leave early due to not feeling well. And I checked in with Michael Champion, as he was in the midst of a new work that I won't spoil but will say looked amazing.

And speaking of looking amazing, time for some cosplay photography!



X-23 and Storm from X-Men


A fencing demonstration by The Shire Of The Emerald Keep.


Black Widow and Jessica Rabbit


A foursome of Sailor Scouts - Mercury, Mars, Moon and Mini-Moon. 


Black Canary 

Lady Annaka Vader as The Sorceress from Masters of the Universe.


Inu Yasha
 
The littlest Sith. Somehow, I think she joined The Dark Side for more than cookies.


Lyndsey Elaine as The White Rabbit.  The Batman villain. Not the Spider-Man villain.


 Glitzy Geek Girl as Black Cat.  This was her first time as a featured guest and her first time running her own table.  She deserves the success, being one of the best cosplayers I know.  Congrats, Anna!