BlackGeekdom Science-Fiction from a Different Perspective

Okay, I went to more than one panel.  In addition to the Warehouse 13/Eureka crossover panel, which I have more than several pictures from, I also went to see Stan Lee, Kevin Sorbo and Lexa Doig (Andromeda), Laura K. Hamilton,  and a couple of others, but those pictures didn’t come out so well.  I think the Dragon*Con staff screws with the lighting in the ballrooms to mess up pictures.  Anyway, here are some select shots.

Posted under Conventions, Dragon*Con, Photographs

These are some of the more interesting costumes that I saw this year at Dragon*Con, most of them are costumes that I haven’t taken a picture of before.

Posted under Conventions, Dragon*Con, Photographs

As much as I love my American Sci-Fi TV shows, Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, Smallville, Eureka, and Warehouse 13, the panel that I geeked out the most at was the R2 Units panel in the Robotics Track. On Friday, I saw a guy controlling an R2D2. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen an R2 Unit at Dragon*Con. But what made me stop was the fact that he actually had the Princess Leia "Help me Obi-Wan, you’re my only hope." projection being displayed on the wall from the R2 Unit. That piqued my interest. Then I saw that on Sunday there was going to be a panel about R2 Units. I decided to go because I thought it would be cool.

The panel had 5 guys who were part of the R2 Builders Group. Three of them brought their R2 Units. I was impressed. They talked about the process of building your own unit from scratch. I didn’t realize that there was so much involved. It isn’t like you can call a company up and say, "Hey, I want to order a working remote control R2D2." You actually have to build it yourself. Of course they talked about how the community of R2 Builders help each other buy providing plans, parts, advise, and there own experiences with putting one of these things together. You can make one out of aluminum, wood, resin, plastic or any combination of the above. It can be just a room piece, or one that’s fully operational with actual R2 sounds and blinking lights. I took one look at those things and thought I could do that, but at the end of the panel I was not so sure.

These guys put a lot of time and effort into building their R2 Units. As a matter of fact, one question asked during the Q & A was what was the hardest thing to get or acquire to make the droids. The response went something like this: Getting my wife to support this hobby. Seriously, it sounded like it could cost anywhere from $500 to $40,000 to build one of these things. These guys are the geekiest of geeks.

Who wouldn’t want one of these things. I couldn’t think of anything cooler to have, especially when going to a Sci-Fi/Fantasy convention like Dragon*Con.

If you’re interested you can find more information at www.astromech.net or click here for the Astromech Yahoo! group

Posted under Conventions, Dragon*Con, Technology

Source: Comic Book Resources

At Comic-Con International, LeVar Burton spoke about his Dark Horse release Con-CERNed.

Posted under Comics, Conventions

Source: ComingSoon.Net

This was presented at Comic Con before the Marvel panel featuring the stars of the film.

Posted under Comic Con, Conventions, Movies, Trailers

“The Event” is a new show coming to NBC this fall.  It’s being touted as a show with a Lost vibe.  It has an ensemble cast with multiple storylines centered around an “Event.”  The main plot appears to follow Sean Walker played by Jason Ritter who, while investigating the mysterious disappearance of his fiancée, ends up unraveling the biggest cover-up in U.S. history.

The show premieres September 20.  Check out the following interview with Blair Underwood who plays President Eli Martinez. (A black man as President brings back memories of President Palmer on 24).  Apparently, the crowd response to “The Event” at the San Diego Comic-Con was rousing.  Check out the entire panel for “The Event” below, courtesy NBC.

Posted under Comic Con, Conventions, Interview, Television

Source: Superhero Hype

Posted under Comic Con, Comics, Conventions, Movies

Source: G4TV

True Blood is one of the best new shows on TV.  If you aren’t watching it then you should catch up.  Currently, its in Season 2 on HBO, Sunday nights at 9 PM.

Posted under Comic Con, Conventions, Television

Source:  Newsarama

Captain America/Black Panther: Flags of Our Fathers comes to us from Black Pantherwriter/multi-media talent Reginald Hudlin and writer/artist Denys Cowan.   The mini series focuses on Cap, and some other familiar faces who ran into the Black Panther of the 1940s during World War II

Here’s a few excerpts”

NRAMA:  As creators, what is the appeal of the World War II era?   And what’s it like to handle Captain America in that specific setting?
 
Hudlin:World War Two is when Black Panther and Captain America met.  It’s also a rich era, with characters like Nick Fury and the Howling Commandoes, the Red Skull, Baron Strucker, and other more obscure but interesting characters.
 
Captain America is still the noble man he was before he took the super soldier serum, but he’s green.  He’s still rocking the triangle shield.  That’s a fun period in his life to explore.

NRAMA: With Black Panther, he’s been established as a generational character.  Which Black Panther will we be seeing here, and how would the protector of Wakanda react to Cap and Nick Fury at that point in history?
 
Hudlin:Azzuri the Wise is the Black Panther, who is T’Chaka’s father, T’Challa’s grandfather.  We’ve seen him before in my first run of BLACK PANTHER where he defeats the Sub-Mariner in combat, then schools him to the future implications of WW2. There’s a reason why he’s called “the Wise”.
 
Azzuri sees a lot of promise in Steve Rogers.  It’s tough love, but he wants to help him.  As for Nick, Azzuri sees the war hero he is and the cold war spy he’s going to be…and treats him accordingly.

Posted under Comics, Conventions

Press Release:

BAYOU DOMINATES 2009 GLYPH COMICS AWARDS, SETS NEW STANDARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

History was made at the 2009 Glyph Comics Awards (GCA) ceremony on May 15, 2009 as Jeremy Love’s webcomic Bayou swept all five categories it was nominated in, setting new records for wins by a single comic and wins by a single comic in a single year. The previous record for the former, Nat Turner, had four wins over two years (2006 and 2008), while the previous record for the latter, Stagger Lee, had four wins, all in 2007. Bayou’s five-for-five sweep is also a first in GCA history.

In addition, DC Comics also achieved a sweep, capturing all eight categories it was nominated in, including, for the first time, the Fan Award for Best Comic, the sole award voted on by the fans.

The complete list of winners:

Story of the Year

Bayou; Jeremy Love, writer and artist

Best Writer

Jeremy Love, Bayou

Best Artist

Jeremy Love, Bayou

Best Male Character

Black Lightning, Final Crisis: Submit; Grant Morrison, writer, Matthew Clark, Norm Rapmund, Rob Hunter & Don Ho, artists

Best Female Character

Lee Wagstaff, Bayou; Jeremy Love, writer and artist

Rising Star Award

Damian Duffy & John Jennings, The Hole: Consumer Culture

Best Reprint Publication

Me and the Devil Blues V1; Del Rey, David Ury, translator/adapter

Best Cover

Unknown Soldier #1; Igor Kordey, illustrator

Best Comic Strip

Bayou, Jeremy Love, writer and artist

Fan Award for Best Comic

Vixen: Return of the Lion; G. Willow Wilson, writer, Cafu, artist

Related 

ECBACC

Posted under Comics, Conventions