WizardWorld: Philly this weekend

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Holy crap! I just looked at the calendar and realized the Philadelphia comic-con is THIS WEEKEND already. I haven't made any plans for it yet.

I want to go. I think I'll go. We'll see how I feel about it on Friday night. It's iffy.

Anyone here attending?

-Augie

[pmpknface]

I'd like to but I think after the NYC Con (and a few other comic related purchases) I'm good for a little while.

I just picked up the 1st Dr. Strange appearrance in Strange Tales #110 and a few random Bowen Designs items. That's con $ right there gone.

When is Heroes Con? I'd like to go to that one... hhmmmm.....

[torippu]

Speaking of WW: Philly, how much do you think this book will be going for on eBay after the weekend?

http://www.comicon.com/pulse/images_05a/06aspph1.jpg

The article over at The Pulse (http://comicon.com/pulse/) says it will be limited to 5000 copies.

Trip

[pmpknface]

Oh, that's a $50 - $100 book!

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Hmmm, that would pay for the trip, wouldn't it?

Did you see this week's shipping list includes a CYBERFORCE #1 CGC 9.8 graded edition? I'm still laughing at the thought of anyone paying $70 for a CYBERFORCE #1 nobody would pay cover price for right now. . .

-Augie

[pmpknface]

HAHAHAHA!

I've never read that book. And I think the creative team sounded decent, but man.... $70 for an unreadable copy? I think NOT!

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Dude, it may be unreadable, but it's 98% PURE!

-Augie

[pmpknface]

Any major guests at this con?

[Deathstroke]

Any major guests at this con?

Ahem:

The WWPHilly site! (http://wizarduniverse.com/conventions/philadelphia.cfm)

[Deathstroke]

Holy crap! I just looked at the calendar and realized the Philadelphia comic-con is THIS WEEKEND already. I haven't made any plans for it yet.

I want to go. I think I'll go. We'll see how I feel about it on Friday night. It's iffy.

Anyone here attending?

-Augie

I can't believe it! I go last year and you bail. I can't go this year and you are going to be in attendance.

[matchstick johnny]

Speaking of WW: Philly, how much do you think this book will be going for on eBay after the weekend?

http://www.comicon.com/pulse/images_05a/06aspph1.jpg

The article over at The Pulse (http://comicon.com/pulse/) says it will be limited to 5000 copies.

Trip

The Aspenstore has them for $14.99.

http://aspenstore.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=487

[Jonah Weiland]

Holy crap! I just looked at the calendar and realized the Philadelphia comic-con is THIS WEEKEND already. I haven't made any plans for it yet.

I want to go. I think I'll go. We'll see how I feel about it on Friday night. It's iffy.

Anyone here attending?

-AugieI think you should go. I would go, but it's way across on the other side of the country. Plus there's a freaky Fangoria con 10 minutes away from my house this weekend and I hear they're, well, freaky!

[pmpknface]

I think you should go. I would go, but it's way across on the other side of the country. Plus there's a freaky Fangoria con 10 minutes away from my house this weekend and I hear they're, well, freaky!
My spider-sense is picking up a photo opportunity... ;)

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Jamie -- Please don't give him any ideas. You've seen him with that camera. You know what he's like. Those poor freaks wouldn't see it coming, and that's hardly fair. ;-)

Deathstroke -- I'm leaning towards not going at the moment, actually, but I have another 24 hours or so before I need to make the firm decision.

Jonah -- I know it would be great grist for the Pipeline mill, but I have plenty of grist for the next couple of weeks already. ::sigh:: I don't know. I want to go, but I don't want to blow my entire Saturday on it. I'm such a loser. . .

-Augie

[pmpknface]

Can't help it! I love horror stuff and freaky pics! Photo parade here we come! :D

What else to you have on tap for Sat? The weather is supposed to be kinda iffy up here, so I may take a trip to Ikea for a new display case. Must.... display... Bowen items....

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

That's the thing -- I don't have anything planned for Saturday this weekend. And given the weather forecast, nothing could be in the offing until Sunday. I'm just not excited right now for a four to five hour round trip drive in one day.

I'm psychotic, I know. But also just a little bit lazy.

An IKEA trip sounds lovely, though. Ah, the damage I could do in there if I had room for any of it anywhere. . .

BTW, we need busier day jobs, don't we?

-Augie

[MankindRam]

I'll be there in artist Alley table # 1222

[pmpknface]

That's the thing -- I don't have anything planned for Saturday this weekend. And given the weather forecast, nothing could be in the offing until Sunday. I'm just not excited right now for a four to five hour round trip drive in one day.

I'm psychotic, I know. But also just a little bit lazy.

An IKEA trip sounds lovely, though. Ah, the damage I could do in there if I had room for any of it anywhere. . .

BTW, we need busier day jobs, don't we?

-Augie

Well, a 5 hour trip is a pretty good reason to stay in NJ.

I'd like to get the Ikea trip done with. Bowen has a lot of stuff coming out and I'm running low on space!

Yeah - tell me about it! My boss is out this week, so my calendar is kinda open. Of course, you can't tell but I am working on an Access DB, writing some code, doing to Admin stuff for a Siebel system, and working on my Previews orders. :D

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Ooh, Siebel. You poor man. I almost got replaced by one of their systems once, before the bosses here finally wised up and realized it wasn't as customizable as they needed it to be. They're now working on their third different replacement system for the one I work on. (We do old school Oracle database stuff, with tech from about 1994. None of this fancy 9i stuff. Oh, no.)

But I know how you feel otherwise -- I'm writing up a report with Perl right now, trying to run a test thing on another machine, and keep an eye on the production processes all at the same time.

It's a juggling act, but you make your choices. ;-)

-Augie

P.S. And I just found recently the Perl module that lets me add stuff to Access databases with Perl. Pretty cool. Now, I'm trying to revive my SQL skills again.

P.P.S. I'm doing my PREVIEWS stuff tonight. heh

[pmpknface]

Ooh, Siebel. You poor man. I almost got replaced by one of their systems once, before the bosses here finally wised up and realized it wasn't as customizable as they needed it to be. They're now working on their third different replacement system for the one I work on. (We do old school Oracle database stuff, with tech from about 1994. None of this fancy 9i stuff. Oh, no.)

But I know how you feel otherwise -- I'm writing up a report with Perl right now, trying to run a test thing on another machine, and keep an eye on the production processes all at the same time.

It's a juggling act, but you make your choices. ;-)

-Augie

P.S. And I just found recently the Perl module that lets me add stuff to Access databases with Perl. Pretty cool. Now, I'm trying to revive my SQL skills again.

P.P.S. I'm doing my PREVIEWS stuff tonight. heh

I took some Oracle classes and kinda liked 'em. I never did get to use that info, and it's leaked outta my brain by now. I think Oracle is up to 10 or 11i by now.

The Siebel stuff is ok. Could be easier and more customizable, but you didn't see the Lotus Notes system the sales team was using before! BLEEEAACH!!!

I work a lot in this app that runs "SQL-like" code. It's very close, so between that and Access I'm nearly up to par w/ the SQL.

Do you think we've out-geeked other posters yet? On a comic board, that's some acheivement! :p

[Deathstroke]

Deathstroke -- I'm leaning towards not going at the moment, actually, but I have another 24 hours or so before I need to make the firm decision.

-Augie

Wow, with the flip flopping you do, are you sure you don't hold public office?

:evilsmile

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I am nothing if not flexible! ;-)

-Augie

[torippu]

BTW, we need busier day jobs, don't we?

-Augie
If I had a busier job, how the heck would I ever find the time to post! :D

[pmpknface]

I'm startign to wish I was in Philly now! You guys see all the news comin' out?

New Blade, Son of Satan, & Zombie (?) books from Marvel. And a new Pak written Phoenix tale. And it's only Friday!

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I can cope with not going. I'm actually relieved that I don't have to pack stuff up and prepare for it tonight. I'll get all my news from the usual internet news sources through the weekend. And then I'll see most of the same people in San Diego next month. =)

But, yes, there's some interesting news in that mix, to say the least. It's nothing that excites me personally just yet, but I also haven't read MARVEL ZOMBIES at this point, either. . .

-Augie

[pmpknface]

Oh, Marvel Zombies is a HC purchase for me. And they better throw in all the covers from all the printings in there too!

I just read the CBR article on the new MAX Zombies mini (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=7469)and it's a completely different beast.

Totally unrelated, but on the zombie topic: I read Ult FF 30 yesterday. Creepies cover in a while and very friggin' cool!

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

And a certain unnamed rag of a magazine has an "exclusive" (until everyone else reports it) that Batman Classified will have Andy Diggle and Whilce Portacio (issue #3 will be late) and Superman Classified comes from Darwyn Cooke and Tim Sale. (Wait for the hardcover.)

-Augie

[pmpknface]

Oooooooo......... more Tim Sale! You're right. That's a HC.

[torippu]

And a certain unnamed rag of a magazine has an "exclusive" (until everyone else reports it) that Batman Classified will have Andy Diggle and Whilce Portacio (issue #3 will be late) and Superman Classified comes from Darwyn Cooke and Tim Sale. (Wait for the hardcover.)

-Augie
Hmm, that's interesting. Isn't Whilce also working on a new Wetworks book? Unless he's got a ton of issues in the can, I'm also going to say that one (or both) of the series will eventually end up shipping late.

And what is it with DC have big name creators on books having the 3rd or 4th book ship late these days?

[torippu]

Oh, Marvel Zombies is a HC purchase for me. And they better throw in all the covers from all the printings in there too!

I just read the CBR article on the new MAX Zombies mini (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=7469)and it's a completely different beast.

Totally unrelated, but on the zombie topic: I read Ult FF 30 yesterday. Creepies cover in a while and very friggin' cool!
Is it me or does it seem like zombies books are about a dime a dozen now and are getting run into the ground? I think that that is part of the reason why I skipped the Marvel Zombies book...although I am looking for the TPB to be eventually released.

[Danger Dude]

Holy crap! I just looked at the calendar and realized the Philadelphia comic-con is THIS WEEKEND already. I haven't made any plans for it yet.

I want to go. I think I'll go. We'll see how I feel about it on Friday night. It's iffy.

Anyone here attending?

-Augie

I'm going on Saturday.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

The late third issue bit was my personal commentary on Portacio's history, not an actual publishing schedule. Yet. Give it time. DC will have to amend it, I'm sure.

-Augie

[Deathstroke]

I'm startign to wish I was in Philly now! You guys see all the news comin' out?

New Blade, Son of Satan, & Zombie (?) books from Marvel. And a new Pak written Phoenix tale. And it's only Friday!


The news hasn't really interested me so far. I wish I was in Philly because I'd be hanging out with a crapload of friends, fans and some creators.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I see on Newsarama now where DiDio originally wanted Nightwing dead post-Crisis.

Surely, that would have been a better fate for the character than the series' current incarnation. . .

Snark out!
-Augie

[torippu]

The late third issue bit was my personal commentary on Portacio's history, not an actual publishing schedule. Yet. Give it time. DC will have to amend it, I'm sure.

-Augie
And here I thought you were referring to the recent launches of Green Lantern, Supergirl, AS Batman & Robin & AS Superman. The random shipping schedule forced me to drop both of the AS books.

[torippu]

I see on Newsarama now where DiDio originally wanted Nightwing dead post-Crisis.

Surely, that would have been a better fate for the character than the series' current incarnation. . .

Snark out!
-Augie
That's an interesting statement. I think that I recall him saying something about "we have big plans for Nightwing" around the time Infinite Crisis was announced. At the time, I thought that he was referring to the death of the character. While I am happy that Dick Grayson did survive IC, it's a shame that we've been given three crappy OYL issues instead.

While I'm ranting about Nightwing, I decided last night that for my unofficial "read some back issues program" for the summer is to re-read the Chuck Dixon runs on Nightwing and Birds of Prey. At last count, I think that is about 70+ issues per title so it may be a little too ambitious on my part...

[torippu]

And a certain unnamed rag of a magazine has an "exclusive" (until everyone else reports it) that Batman Classified will have Andy Diggle and Whilce Portacio (issue #3 will be late) and Superman Classified comes from Darwyn Cooke and Tim Sale. (Wait for the hardcover.)

-Augie
I just read the "Exclusive" herehttp://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/000348122.cfm. The format seems a little more Whilce-friendly than imagined. I thought that he was going to be the ongoing artist, but it seems like both of these are going to have rotating arcs with different writer/artist combos.

[torippu]

Hmm, not a whole lot of exciting announcements coming out of Philly yesterday. Guess Marvel & DC are holding off making big announcements until SDCC & Chicago.

[Deathstroke]

The one thing that has bummed me out about CBR's coverage of WWPhilly is the lack of a daily photo parade with funny Jonah captions.

[torippu]

The one thing that has bummed me out about CBR's coverage of WWPhilly is the lack of a daily photo parade with funny Jonah captions.
Yeah - Jonah's not there, but I've got my finger crossed that maybe he's got someone taking pictures for him. If not, maybe we can get Fangoria con picture parade! :)

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/2006/06/wizworld_philly_draws_half_exp.html

"Despite setting a new record for attendance, with "30,000" fans, WW Philly fell far short of the 60,000 fans predicted earlier in the week."

BWAH HA HA

Dagnabit. Not all that long ago, I can remember writing somewhere about how Wizard always claims record attendance after every convention, no matter what the reality is. I wish I could find that now. . . It might have been in a column, a blog comment, or a message board. Crap.

-Augie

[pmpknface]

Damn... I guess you could have gotten some good deals there, huh?

I remember that claim. I think it was after the Boston Con, which was pretty sparse.

Think we're reaching our con MAX? With heroes con not far off and NYC wasn't that long ago, this one may have gotten squished out. Oh - and wasn't the Pitt con recently? The one in Toronto was on 5/5 I think.

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

Yeah, there are TOO many cons. I know that's hardly the most revolutionary sentence I've ever uttered, but it's true. And Hero's Con is coming up in a few weeks. Pitt was just less than a month ago. And, courtesy of The Beat, I read that Chicago was initially scheduled to occur the week AFTER San Diego next year. Wizard is smartly looking into rescheduling for a later date now. Though, knowing them, they'll reschedule for the week BEFORE San Diego to try to pre-empty them.

-Augie

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I found this:

"I don't think the convention had greater attendance in 2005 over 2004. It didn't seem as crowded, and there were thankfully no near riots near the panel rooms. Nevertheless, I have no doubt that Wizard will announce record-breaking attendance at some point this week. Their misguided way of counting attendees is partly to blame for this."

I wrote this in my infamous Wizard-bashing column last August: http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?article=2210

-Augie

[pmpknface]

Imagine being a dealer. What cons do you go to? What do you bring? That's a huge deal. Let alone the fan decisions.

HA! You quoted yourself! :D

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

I'm SO meta.

As for dealers: I'd only go to the ones I could drive my van to. Pitt, Baltimore, Philly, maybe NYC. That would be it for me, of the major local ones at least.

-Augie

[Deathstroke]

http://www.comicon.com/thebeat/2006/06/wizworld_philly_draws_half_exp.html

"Despite setting a new record for attendance, with "30,000" fans, WW Philly fell far short of the 60,000 fans predicted earlier in the week."

BWAH HA HA

Dagnabit. Not all that long ago, I can remember writing somewhere about how Wizard always claims record attendance after every convention, no matter what the reality is. I wish I could find that now. . . It might have been in a column, a blog comment, or a message board. Crap.

-Augie

They thought they were going to get 60,000 fans. 23,000 more than they got last year? Quick, Philly law enforcement, arrest those Wizard employees, they are using major drugs.

[Deathstroke]

Damn... I guess you could have gotten some good deals there, huh?

I remember that claim. I think it was after the Boston Con, which was pretty sparse.

Think we're reaching our con MAX? With heroes con not far off and NYC wasn't that long ago, this one may have gotten squished out. Oh - and wasn't the Pitt con recently? The one in Toronto was on 5/5 I think.

WizardWorld Boston had 8,800 in it's first show. Kind of hard to claim record attendance for a first show isn't it? And the fuckers cancelled the show anyway.

[pmpknface]

WizardWorld Boston had 8,800 in it's first show. Kind of hard to claim record attendance for a first show isn't it? And the fuckers cancelled the show anyway.

Yeah, shcedule a con the same weekend as the LAST Sox/Yanks series, also last games of the season, and put it in South Boston. That'll draw 'em in.

I spoke to some people that worked for Wizard and thay had the place already booked for next year. Guess they changed their mind.