Emerald City Comic-Con Progress Report, Trivia Contest Edition!

So, as of tonight, I've actually written up all the trivia questions for the Fan/Pro Trivia Challenge at this year's Emerald City Comic-Con!

That doesn't mean I've finished all the work on them, though... some of the categories are visual categories, which means I'll need to come up with pictures for them... but I know what I need, for the most part anyway.

Each round will have five categories, with questions worth from one to five points each (relating to how hard the question is). The fan team will get to choose the category and point value, and get the first shot at answering. If they can't answer, the pro team gets to answer, and if they're right, they get the points (and get to choose the next category and point value). But the fans always get first shot at answering!

There may be two rounds per game, depending on how many people sign up for the contest. Fan teams will be comprised of four members, against the Terrible Trio of Comic Book Trivia: Mark Waid, Kurt Busiek and Tom Peyer!

Kurt and Tom were on the first contest, two years ago... Waid was supposed to be in it, but he had to cancel on the convention, and Peyer filled in admirably. The third person the first time was Roy Thomas, who isn't at ECCC this year (too bad, too, I really wanted to talk to him more than I got a chance to).

Right now, it looks like the trivia challenge will be early the first day of the convention... check out the official website at EmeraldCityComicCon.com for updated information as we get closer to the show!

Jon

TV Comic of the Day!

Sometimes I think that Trans-Lux Productions' Mighty Hercules was a big influence on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. If you've never seen the Hercules cartoons, you have no idea what I mean, so I'll try to explain.

When Hercules went from Mount Olympus to Earth, he wasn't able to use all his godly strength... or at least, he couldn't keep it all the time. However, when he needed it, all he had to do is pull the ring out of his belt, put it on, and hold it in the air, whereupon Zeus' magic lightning struck it, giving Hercules his godly strength.

And then he'd beat up Daedelus or whoever he was up against in the episode.

The ring sequence used the exact same animation in every single cartoon, accompanied with the same sound effects and music. Just like when Prince Adam raised his sword and cried, "By the Power of Greyskull!" to change into He-Man!

Don't believe me? Check out this video:



Jon

Portlland Comic Book Show This Weekend!

It'll be this Sunday, February 18, 2007, from 10am to 5pm, at the Memorial Coliseum at Rose Quarter in the Exhibit Hall. And that's Portland, Oregon, by the way, in case you were wondering. Admission is $6.00 for ages 8 and older.

Guests this year will include Outsiders Artist Matt Clark, Valentine creator Dan Cooney, the Dark Side Troopers (who dress up as Star Wars characters), Banana Sunday creators Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover, Tenth Muse creator Darren G. Davis, Spider-Man artist Randy Emberlin, Back Issue editor Michael Eury, Bite Club artist David Hahn, Highlander & Battlestar Galactica writer Brandon Jerwa, 12 Reasons Why I Love Her artist Joelle Jones, Fantastic Four writer/artist Karl Kesel (when the heck did he start on this title?), Incredible Hulk artist Aaron Lopresti, and Star Trek & Roswell novel writers Andy Mangels & Michael Martin.

Naturally, I'm looking forward to meeting Andy in person for the first time. I'm also looking forward to saying hi to Michael Eury, whom I haven't seen in a while. I'm also looking forward to meeting Karl Kesel!

The rest of the guests? Well, I don't really have any opinion of them one way or the other.

This is a great show for finding bargains at... they'll have 180+ tables, and I've always come away spending all my budgeted cash on cheap comics and discounted trades!

Unfortunately, this con doesn't have a website at all, nor apparently does the hosting organization, Second Genesis, Ltd.

I hope that any of you who are planning to attend will get my attention and say hi! As I've said before, I'll be the 6' 6" man with dark brown hair, glasses, wearing jeans and a black fleece zip-up jacket!

Jon

Work Stuff...

Well, as I said last night, I didn't get Employee of the Year for my department... but today, I did at least get to read my nomination. Hopefully, tomorrow I'll remember to forward it to my home email account, so I can share some of it with you guys!

Another good thing today was when the sales rep for a local appliance dealer told me that they were very, very happy with the ads I've been building for them these days. In fact, he recently ran into the publisher, and told him personally how much he's appreciated his ads, and how he's gotten so much great feedback on them!

Other than that, it was a pretty busy day (especially compared to Monday through Wednesday). I actually stayed a little late tonight, although I needed to make up some time anyway. I'm sure Friday will be pretty busy, which will make it go quickly!

Jon

TV Comic of the Day!!

We've got a gorilla for sale, Magilla Gorilla for sale...

Magilla Gorilla's never really gotten the respect he deserves, does he? I mean, he did head up his own cartoon show, but when have we seen him other than that? Was he even part of the Laff-A-Lympics group?

I think the most recent merchandising of Magilla was back when the Warner Bros. Studio Stores will still in operation, and they produced a Magilla beanie baby-type toy. I used to have almost all those toys, by the way, but I only have Frankenstein Jr. these days.

Jon

TV Comic of the Day: Land of the Giants #1

I never got to watch this show when it was originally on (my parents thought it was too scary), but I did get to see it later in syndication. As a kid and as an adult, I get a kick out of it (of course, as an adult, there's the appreciation for Deanna Lund I didn't have in my younger days).

Jon

Mentioned on the Bat-Blog!

If you click on this link: BAT - BLOG : BATMAN TOYS and COLLECTIBLES: The BAT-BLOG is Getting Some More Great Press!! you'll see that the Bat-Blog used a screen shot from this very blog as part of their going on about all the press they're getting!

No link back to this blog, but that's okay... maybe people will look and wonder "What's waffyjon's random thoughts?" and look for it...

Jon

Some Days...

Sheesh, what a day this turned out to be...

This morning, I was finally able to close out a dispute with a deadbeat bidder... but I screwed up and left the negative feedback for someone else entirely!

I've never done this before, and I hope I never do it again. It was an error, plain and simple... unfortunately, I didn't learn about it until this evening, when I saw a (rightfully so) angry message from the person I'd accidentally left the negative on. I have since requested that feedback be withdrawn, and gave that buyer a partial refund to try to make up for it.

I'll also try to make up for it by providing a link to this guy's current auctions -- check out what he's selling, and if you see something you're interested in, place a bid!

In other news...

I didn't get Employee of the Year for my department. Yeah, it sucks.

And when I got home from work tonight, I found that Jessi's been feeling sick this evening... but she seems to be better now, and has finally gone to sleep.

Next up for me? Have a (late) dinner, read my nightly blogs, and then see if I can't manage to post something a bit more upbeat here.

Jon

Labeling is Done!

Yes, I finished up the labeling on the old posts tonight... not that I was neccessarily all that complete (the older TV comics posts, for example, just have "tv comics" as the label, not the specific tv show name, for example).

I see some of you are already checking out older posts via the labels, and leaving comments... thanks!

More tomorrow night!

Jon

TV Comic of the Day: Jonny Quest

Jonny Quest has been one of my favorite cartoon series for a loooong time... ever since I was a kid and first saw it! It's definitely on my "must buy" list of DVDs, too!

Portland Comic-Con this Sunday!

Jessi and I will be making the trek down south to Portland on Sunday for the comic con there. The main reason I want to go is to finally meet Andy Mangels in person. I've been working with Andy doing those transcriptions for BCI's DVD releases of Filmation stuff. There's a few other guests I'm also looking forward to meeting or just saying hi to again!

If you're planning on attending, keep an eye out for me... I'm pretty easy to spot: six foot six, dark brown hair, glasses, and I'll be wearing a black zippered fleece jacket. You'll probably either find me chatting with Andy or Michael Eury (editor of Back Issue for Twomorrows), or sitting on the floor at a booth going through boxes of bargain comics. Jessi's about a foot or so shorter than I, with blonde hair and greene eyes, and I've got no idea what she'll be wearing (but probably a green jacket). Feel free to introduce yourself and say hi!

Jon

TV Comic Cover of the Day

Well, Maybe It Won't Take a Week...

I'd imagine most of my readers haven't read the latest posts from tonight... but in my estimate of how long it would take to add labels to my posts, it apparently won't take a week... I'm already about halfway done!

Jon

Not that I've been buying DC Direct stuff for a while...

...but I want these sweet Marvel Family figures.

Jon

About This Blog...

Some of you may have noticed that I've updated this to the new Blogger... this means adding labels to my new posts, and I've also started adding labels to all the previosu posts (all 900+ of them!). That's going to be a lengthy job, and I figure it'll take at least a week to complete them all!

So, if you're the kind of person who likes to check out labels to see what related posts have been made... be patient!

Of course, with this conversion, I still can't figure out how to get my own custom image at the top of this blog...

Jon

TV Comic Cover of the Day

These Hi-Adventure Heroes were originally presented as part of the Banana Splits show, showing between the live-action segments.

I'm not sure why Gold Key put them in their own book, as opposed to making their Banana Splits comic like the show!

Jon

The Bat-Blog!

I've been meaning to post a link to the Bat-Blog for some time now... it's a great blog full of photos of Batman-related merchandise old and new, backgrounds, and even interviews with a guy who makes replica 1966 Batmobiles!



And speaking of Batman merchandise, check out this eBay auction for a very cool set of Batman figural crayons! I think I posted about these a while back, and thought you'd like to check it out!

Jon

Star Trek

Yes, it's another Trek post!

A while back, I followed a link to a web site in which a writer (I forget who, and I forget the URL) had posted his thoughts on reimagining the voyages of the USS Enterprise... the original NCC-1701.

For the most part, I liked the ideas that this writer had. But, as I'm sure nearly every Star Trek fan feels, I have some of my own ideas for how this could be accomplished.

So, for what it's worth, here's some random thoughts about reviving the original Trek series.

The main focus of my idea is not to replace the original series... but rather to add to it. Establish that the original series episodes are still valid and in continuity, but let's begin the new series from where the original left off.

While the opening titles reminded us, week after week, that the Enterprise was on a five-year mission, and yes the original series was on for three years, there's no reason why we should decide we saw the first three years of Enterprise missions, is there?

But let's not even dwell on how long they've been on the mission. If we want to, we can assume the original series only presented the first year of the mission. Heck, unless someone wants to get technical and figure out how many days we saw in the original series, we could even say we only saw six months of the mission!

So, like I said, we'll continue where we left off.

Of course, there would be differences. Obviously, the cast would be all-new. It would be good if the new cast resembled the originals strongly, but that may not be possible. But at the very least, let's have the new cast base their characterizations on the originals (with perhaps less dramatic pauses from Kirk, maybe).

Let's avoid the temptation to add new cast members... if we want to focus on less-established characters, there were some semi-regulars who could have more told about them, like Rand, Riley, Chapel, and so on. We don't have to deal with why Rand disappeared after the first season of the original series, or why we didn't see much of any of them.

Riley in particular is mostly a blank slate, and a lot could be done with him. He's probably one of the youngest officers on the ship.

There was also a transporter chief, whose name I forget, who could be utilized when we want a change of pace. I think he was British.

If there's not a licensing issue, I would have no problem with having M'Ress and Arex from the animated Trek added to the crew, assuming they could be portrayed well with the appropriate makeup (and I'm sure they could).

And yes, I'd like to see this revisited Trek as a weekly TV series, just to make that clear.

The sets of the Enterprise should look like the original, although we can take advantage of modern technology. Perhaps the first episode of the new series could establish that the Enterprise went through a minor refitting to update the control panels a bit (it was shown in "Where No Man Has Gone Before" that the instrument panels are modular, so they could be updated easily, I'd imagine). On the bridge, all the viewscreens around the bridge could be much more active than on the original series.

The exterior of the Enterprise itself should look just like the original. With the original series being updated, we've already got the computer models in place, so that shouldn't be a problem.

The phasers, communicators, and tricorders should pretty much look like the originals; I don't see much of a reason to change them. They're classic designs. I'd also like to see the uniforms match the originals, with perhaps a pants version of the uniforms for the female cast members who'd just as well not want to run around in miniskirts.

The temptation would likely be there to bring in some of the alien races introduced in The Next Generation, like the Ferengi, but I'd just as soon stay away from them, and either introduce new races or keep it to the Vulcans, Klingons, Andorians, Tellarites, Romulans, Gorn, and so on we already met.

Speaking of the Klingons, this would be a good opportunity to explain why the Klingons in the original series look so different from the Klingons we've seen in the movies and the other Trek series. I recall hearing somewhere the theory that the original Klingons were "human fusion" Klingons, but I'd be happier with the concept that there are two races of Klingons... and for a brief time, the more human-looking Klingons might've been in charge. Or perhaps it just happened that the Klingons the Enterprise encountered were the human-looking ones, and maybe we'd see a few ships with both races on board (and establish the ridge-heads were becoming more dominant). I can see how the ridge-headed Klingons would've gotten tired of the more human-looking Klingons' failure to deal with the Federation properly (the Organian peace treaty would've probably really torqued them off). Maybe there could even be a war between the two factions, with the human-looking Klingons either completely obliterated, or the survivors exiled somewhere (they didn't seem to be all that concerned with honor and so on, and they didn't act at all like the Klingons seen from the Motion Picture onward).

I don't know that we need to come up with any long-term plots to drive the series forward. If one of the writing staff comes up with something we could go back to every now and then, and it's a real kick-ass idea, then there's no reason why we shouldn't do it, but let's not make it an all-driving ambition.

Let's keep the time travel episodes to a minimum. If the Enterprise crew is going to come back to the 21st Century, let's make it a story that is just too incredible not to make. Otherwise, time travel could explore some of the other history of Star Fleet and the Federation; we could deal with the Eugenics Wars that got Khan and his crew leaving Earth for deep space... but again, only if we get a great story.

Perhaps we could consider a story in which the Enterprise or a few of its crew travel to the future, or some of a future Enterprise's crew could come to the past, but let's be careful about this.

Bearing in mind that the Enterprise's mission is to explore strange new worlds, and seek out new life and new civilizations, let's not take her back to Earth, shall we?

Now, on the other hand... I'd have no problem with doing a "Flashback" episode or nine as the show progresses. If something's going on that relates to something that happened to one of the crew members before the original series started, then we may as well show it. Heck, if someone comes up with a great story that shows when Kirk first took command of the Enterprise, we could do that episode.

The Prime Directive of this show should well be Do Not Contradict the Original Series.

I invite your own comments on this whole concept... agree or disagree with my ideas? Have some of your own? Know of some websites on which other people have posted their own thoughts for reviving Trek? Let me know!

Jon