Please forgive me for fusing two entirely different Howard
Ashman lyrics together. But I wanna be where the people are somewhere that's
green.
Yeah, if I had my druthers, I'd leave the frozen wasteland
of Southern New Hampshire (where — God help us — it's
supposed to snow again tomorrow night) ASAP and then catch a direct flight for Seattle.
Where — once I landed — I'd immediately beat feet for the Washington
State Convention Center,
so that I could then surrender myself to the pop culture pleasures that can
only be found at Emerald City Comicon 2014.
I know, I know. There are JHM readers who have braved the
crowds at San Diego Comic-Con and just found that experience exhausting. And
believe you me, I completely understand where those folks are coming from.
Fighting the crowds in & around the San Diego
Convention Center for 4 1/2 days in
the heat of July can really wear you down after a while.
Copyright Emerald City Comicon
Corp. All rights reserved
But ECCC isn't SDCC. According to a friend who has done this
Seattle-centric show for the past 11 years, Emerald City Comicon has an
entirely different vibe than Comic-Con International. Though this three
day-long event has some of the exact same elements that you'll find in San
Diego (EX: 14 different panel rooms, each with over 19
hours of programming), it's a far more mellower affair than the show in San
Diego. During your time in the Washington
State Convention Center
… Well, you won't spend quite so much time fighting the crowds. At Emerald
City Comicon, it's more about going with the flow.
What's that you say? You'll need more than
easier-to-handle-crowd levels and a more-positive-vibe-than-the-one-you'll-find-in-San-Diego
to convince you to buy a last-minute plane ticket to Seattle?
Well, take a look at some of the great artists & performers who'll be on
hand to interact with Emerald City Comicon attendees:
-
Annie Award-winning voice actor John Dimaggio. Who'll be holding court at Table
2702 and — I'm hoping — selling copies of that
terrific-documentary-that-John-put-together-with-many-of-his-voice-acting-brethren,
"I Know That Voice."
-
Former Disney animator & two time Eisner Award-winner Mike Kunkel. Who'll
be sure to have plenty of cool Herobear material available for purchase at Table
1002.
-
JHM favorites Amy (Pocket Princesses) Mebberson & James (convention
commission king) Silvani are certain to draw a crowd at Table Z-04. If you're a
Disney fan, you HAVE TO come by & see Amy & James while you're in Seattle.
-
Acclaimed Scrooge McDuck chronicler — the one! the only! — Don Rosa will be
at Table JJ-08
- Super-talented character design Stephen Silver (i.e., the artist
who gave Disney's "Kim Possible"
& "Clerks: The Animated
Series"
their distinctive looks) will be selling his terrific how-to books
at Table R-02
Copyright 2014 Dark Planet.
All rights reserved
And then there's Stephan Franck. Who — some of you may
recall — directed last year's Annie-nominated Halloween special, "The
Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow."
While still others will recognize Stephan
from his great work on "The Iron Giant"
and "Despicable
Me."
Well, these days, Mr. Franck is branching out a bit. In addition to working in animation,
Stephan's now trying his hand at comics. And given that the first two chapters
of his comic debut, "SILVER" sold out almost instantly (not to mention
getting rave reviews) … Well, I'd say that Mr. Franck may be onto something
here.
Anyway, the reason that Stephan is at Emerarld City Comicon 2014 is that he's
releasing ing the trade paperback of "SILVER." And if you'd to pick
up a copy of that (which compiles the first three chapters of this series), you
should probably swing by Booth 508.
Oh, and did I mention some of the killer panels that will be
presented over the next day or so at the Washington
State Convention Center.
Sure-to-be presentations like:
I find your lack of hyuk
disturbing.
- "The Empire Strikes Back
… Some More!" This panel features
legendary voice actors like Nancy Cartwright & Bill Farmer reading excerpts
from Lawrence Kasdan & Leigh Brackett's screenplay for this "Star
Wars" sequel. The hilarity will ensue in the Main Hall (6ABC) on Saturday
from 10:30 to 11:50 a.m.
- "ECCC presents Alan Tudyk" — Disney fans know him as the voice King
Candy from "Wreck-It Ralph"
and the Duke of Weselton in
"Frozen."
"Firefly"
fans remember him as Wash
from that short-lived TV series and its film adaptation, "Serenity."
No matter where you know this gifted performer from, you're going to enjoy the
stories that he shares when Alan holds court in the Main Hall (6ABC) on
Saturday from 3 to 3:50 p.m.
- "Character Design For Animation and Games" — Ever
think about trying to break into this extremely competitive artistic field? Listen
in as Stephen Silver and Brett "2D Bean" (who are two of the
animation industry's most in-demand concept artists) talk about how you can
strengthen your portfolio. (EDITOR'S NOTE: This gaming-related panel will be
actually presented outside of the Washington
State Convention Center
in the nearby Sheraton. To be specific, in that hotel's Issaquah Room on Sunday
from 11 – 11:50 a.m.)
Copyright Marvel. All rights
reserved
- "Marvel: Next Big Thing" — What to know what the
Marvel Universe has in store for you for the rest of 2014. Then be sure and
drop by Room TCC 301 on Sunday from Noon
to 12:50 p.m. Which is when an
all-star panel of editors & writers will be discussing the exciting new
Marvel NOW! series.
- "ECCC presents Bill Farmer" — If you want to get
Goofy, then you really have to find a seat in Hall A (611 – 614) between 12:30 – 1:20 p.m. on Sunday. Which is when
Disney Legend Bill Farmer will be conducting an hour-long Q & A with ECCC
attendees.
- "Touring the Galaxy: Visiting the Star Wars Filming
Locations" — To be honest, it wasn't all that long ago that George Lucas
shot the "Star Wars" films
in places that weren't really all that far
away. And if you'd like to see some shots of those locations, then you need to
be in Room TCC 302 on Sunday from 2 – 2:50 p.m.
Karen Gillan with the "Mr.
Clean" look that she unveiled at last
year's Comic-Con International in San
Diego.
- "ECCC presents Karen Gillan" — From Doctor Who
companion Amy Pond to Nebula in Marvel Studios' soon-to-be-released
"Guardians of the Galaxy," Karen has already had quite the career.
And if you'd like to hear Gillan spill the beans about the various films &
TV shows that she's shot in UK, then you need to be in the Main Hall (6ABC) on
Sunday between 4 – 4:50 p.m.
Honestly, if I had my druthers, that's where I'd be this
weekend. I'd be easing my way into the 2014 convention season by camping out in
the Main Hall at Emerald City Comicon. Where I'd then sit back and listen as
Bill Farmer & Alan Tudyk & Nancy Cartwright & Karen Gillan spun out
all of these great pop culture-related stories.
But I can't go to Seattle
this weekend. "And why not?," you ask. Because there's still snow on
the ground here in Southern New Hampshire. Which makes
it that much easier for the woolly mammoths to sneak up on our front porch and
then start eating the birdseed.
Which is why I'll spend most of the next two days shouting "Shoo, mammoth, shoo! That birdseed is not for you! That food is
for the chickadees!"
*sigh* Here's hoping that you're having a far better weekend that I am.
Your thoughts?