Comic Book Resources

NYCC staffers kicked out of Big Apple Comic Con

Attention, con warriors: shots fired! The battle between Gareb Shamus's Big Apple Comic Con and Reed Exhibitions' New York Comic Con, kicked off today by Big Apple's announcement that its 2010 show would run on the same weekend as NYCC, has claimed its first casualties: NYCC director Lance Fensterman is reporting on the show's official blog that three NYCC staffers have been ejected from Big Apple.

The group was reportedly escorted out by security, though their tickets were refunded by Wizard's Vice President of Business Affairs Peter Katz. (As we reported earlier, Wizard has some experience with kicking rival con staffers out of its shows.) "World War Con" rages on ...

Gareb Shamus & Co. launch GeekChicDaily

GeekChicDaily

Tom Spurgeon points out the newly, and quietly, launched GeekChicDaily, a pop-culture website/e-newsletter co-founded by Wizard Entertainment CEO Gareb Shamus and spearheaded by Wizard Editor-in-Chief Scott Gramling.

GCD covers very Wizard-like territory -- comics, movies/TV, games, nerd clothing -- but aside from a single mention in Shamus' biography, I can't find any references to the lurching magazine/convention empire.

Spurgeon wonders, in part, whether GCD is the "new" Wizard, in the way the five Shamus-owned "Comic Cons" -- Big Apple, Anaheim, Philadelphia, Chicago and Toronto -- are the new Wizard Worlds. (The major difference being, of course, that Wizard continues to be published, and the Wizard Universe website still limps along.)

GCD is slicker looking than Wizard Universe, even if it does resemble a half-dozen other sites that cover the same ground, and so far its content is certainly more mature than Wizard's. I've yet to see a single "boobs" reference.

Is C.B. Cebulski declaring war on Wizard?

That seems to be the case as the Marvel Comics editor let loose a series of angry (but under 140 character) rants on his Twitter page regarding the financially unstable comics magazine. Here's a quick sampling:

Wizard Entertainment

More shoddy, sensationalistic reporting in the new Wizard. Let them retweet that as it seems this is where they're getting all their "news".

I would have no problem with Wizard if they treated this industry and its creators with the respect, dignity and honesty they deserve.

We have enough stupid, petty backstabbing and bullshit in this biz already and don't need them undermining it further.

Ouchie. Cebulski goes on to point out some contradictory sexism that's honestly plagued the magazine for a long time. I guess the moral of the story is: Don't use Cebulski's tweets as a jumping off point for your magazine article (if that's indeed what was the source of the trouble).

Mom! Dad! Buy stuff! A liveblog of FunFare magazine

FunFare magazine

Wizard CEO Gareb Shamus isn't going to let paltry matters like financial insolvency and an ever-dwindling staff keep him from putting out new magazines. Hence, Wizard Entertainment's latest endeavor, FunFare. According to the PR release, this new glossy mag "takes the humor and consumer focus of Wizard's collector-targeted magazine Toy Fair and expands the focus to the family and general consumer." That certainly sounds like fun, right?

By a unique stroke of luck, we happened to get our sweaty hands (and yes, they are a little sweaty. It is summer after all.) on a copy of the very first issue of FunFare. Taking a page from Christopher Butcher's monthly Previews breakdowns, we thought we'd go page by page through the magazine and jot down our initial impressions. Will it measure up to Wizard's past standards of excellence? Read on and find out ...

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Peter Mayhew looks old and I don't feel so good myself: some quick impressions of WWPhilly 2009

See, he really is back from the dead

Wizard World Philly was a big success.

That little nugget of information comes straight from the mouth of Gareb Shamus himself, who introduced himself to me while I was furiously typing up one of the panel reports in the "media room" on the second floor. Apparently the rain, which had been coming down in buckets all morning, had been a contributing factor, keeping people in the city and avoiding outdoor activities. The end result, Shamus said (who by the way reminded me a little bit of Gary Groth, at least physically), was double the patronage they had last year.

I have to take Shamus at his word. I really didn't get to spend much time on the ground floor except for occasionally circumnavigating the area once or twice, looking for anything that might catch my eye. My schedule was pretty much: get there, check out the first panel, write report, see a little con, eat, hit second panel, write report, go home.

Still, I did come up with some with some potentially worthwhile observations that I'd like to share if you have the time. You do? Excellent!

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Morrison shares details on The Multiversity

The DC Multiverse

The latest issue of Wizard Magazine has an interview with Grant Morrison, where the Final Crisis writer discusses his next project for DC, tentatively titled The Multiversity. Kirk Warren at The Weekly Crisis read Wizard (so you don't have to!) and shares some of the details on the project, as well as a great image that references a bad Michael Keaton movie.

Morrison says, "I'm working on books for seven different parallel universes. Each one is a first issue with a complete story and series bible. Each one spotlights the major superhero group of a different alternate reality. And they all link together together as a seven-issue story that reimagines the relationship between the DCU and the Multiverse."

Two of the Earths that will be featured are Earth-5, home of the Captain Marvel Family, which Morrison envisions as "a line of books with the Marvel Family done in a more traditional, all-ages, All-Star Superman style," and Earth-4, home of the "original Watchmen," the Charlton Comics characters who inspired Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' masterpiece. Morrison says he wants to "do the Charlton characters in a story I'd construct as an update on that ludic Watchmen style - if Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons had pitched the Watchmen now, rooted in a contemporary political landscape but with the actual Charlton characters instead of analogues!"

Lots more at the link, and I daresay if there's any issue of Wizard Magazine you don't want to miss, it would be the latest one. And I have to agree with Kirk; attach Frank Quitely to that All-Star Captain Marvel book, stat!

'Where brotherly love got the shove'

WizardWorld

Wizard World Philadelphia isn't until June 19-21, but Josh Bryan is already preparing for the show -- the last show, he believes, Wizard will hold in Philadelphia.

"We are a group of fans that are staging a funeral for what is known as Wizard World Philadelphia," he said over email. "The majority of us have been going for most of the years the con has been open. It has gotten to the point where convention coordinators who once asked us for feedback and what we would enjoy at WWP have been let go and new ones just don’t care. It is like the captain going down with the ship. Now with the new acquisition of Big Apple Con and it being in New York, we are to believe they wouldn’t want to use the time or the resources to stage two cons merely two hours apart."

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More layoffs at Wizard [Update]

I've been hearing rumors today about additional people being let go from Wizard, and at least one of them has been confirmed on Twitter: Brett White, who was the news editor for Wizard's website, says he was "was laid off and can smell the citrusy smell of Price is Right scented freedom!"

White joins a long list of Wizard alumni who have been let go by the company over the past two years. Most recently in February, CBR reported that seven people were laid off.

Update, 10:20 a.m. April 9: According to several sources, Ed DuPré, Wizard's longtime chief financial officer, is also no longer with the company.

Wizard CEO buys Big Apple Con

Big Apple Con

Wizard.com reports that their CEO, Gareb Shamus, has acquired the Big Apple Con, "one of the trailblazing brands in the comic book and pop culture world, and the longest-running annual show in New York City."

Per the press release, Big Apple's fall show, called The National, will move from its traditional November date to Oct. 16-19 at Pier 94 in Manhattan. Also building on a partnership they announced for Wizard's Philadelphia show, Wizard will also partner with the Video Game Expo on both the Big Apple show and the upcoming Chicago Comic-Con.

This is interesting news for a few reasons, not the least of which is that Wizard recently canceled their Dallas show and postponed their Los Angeles show. They also shut down Anime Insider and have had many, many layoffs over the last couple of years, so it's a little surprising to see any news on the acquisition front coming from the Wizard camp.

Also, as Heidi MacDonald notes about the new October date, "Should this date hold for next year it would put the show in direct competition with the New York Comic-Con which is moving to a fall date in 2010."

Send Us Your Shelf Porn!

Welcome to another edition of Send Us Your Shelf Porn, Our special Guest this week is  Rickey Purdin, who works as a Representative — Marketing Publications at DC. You may also know him from his previous stint as Entertainment Editor at Wizard Magazine, or via one of his two blogs.

Remember, we here at Shelf Porn can't do it alone. We need your help. If you love feasting your eyes on the bookshelves of others, then take the time to consider a donation of your own. Perhaps you've been thinking about donating your pictures to Shelf Porn, but have just been too busy. Or tired. Well, there's never been a better time than today! Just email your photos to cmautnerATcomcastDOTnet and we'll send you absolutely nothing except for our thanks. Oh, and we'll post your pictures here for everyone to see.

Speaking of which, let's take a look at Rickey's collection. What have you got to say about this stuff sir?

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