Heroes Are Easy To Find In Charlotte

I cannot and should not undersell how important comic books have been to my development as a person and as a writer, whatever good and bad that may entail.  As a kid, I liked comics more than cartoons and picture books, and as I grew up and realized that the super-heroes I liked shared a world with each other, and that stories built on themselves over time, I was hooked.  I certainly enjoyed novels and movies and whatnot, but the impetus to hear and tell stories really blossomed for me through comic books.

I could go on about how complex the comic book marketplace is right now, from Warner Bros. and Disney using DC and Marvel, respectively, as R&D labs for film and television (where the real money is), to creators publishing their work independently more and more often, some for the creative control it allows them, and others hoping to score a development deal. It would be easy to be somewhat cynical about some of these trends, but the fact is there is greater diversity of story types, character types, and gender and ethnicity among creators than at any time in history; Even a good portion of the super-hero output is infinitely more sophisticated than the stuff I read as a kid.

I have been to Comic-Con International in San Diego a few times, but that circus has become grating to attend as a fan and seems less interested than previously in comics and their creators unless perhaps those comics have recently been turned into a film or television show. And with so many smaller "comic con" shows cropping up around the country, filling out their guest rosters with a dude who was once a zombie on The Walking Dead rather than an actual comic book creator, finding a show primarily dedicated to comic books and the people who make them is getting harder to do. I have heard fantastic things about the Baltimore Comic-Con, as well as Emerald City Comicon in Seattle, but for my money, the best show in the country, the one most enjoyable to attend as someone who enjoys comic books, is Heroes Con in Charlotte, North Carolina, brought to life every summer by comic retailer Heroes Aren't Hard to Find.

One month ago, Heroes Con concluded what I believe was its 32nd annual show during the weekend of June 20-22, and although I was not able to stay for the entire thing, I'm going to estimate that it was my tenth time in attendance.  I went determined to spend my alloted funds carefully (which is easier to do when you're not seeking out sketches and original art), see what fun stuff might be on display, and chat with some friends I may only see once a year or so.

I began by scouting out the former Gaijin Studios crew, staring with Laura Martin, to see what books she's coloring these days and marvel at the depth and nuance of her work. Then, proceeding around the table, I caught up with inker extraordinaire Karl Story and ninja penciler Georges Jeanty, happily checking out their art from the final issue of Serenity: Leaves on the Wind.  I glanced at Brian Stelfreeze making some watercolors dance, and got zero intel from Cully Hamner about his super-secret upcoming projects.  I also chatted with Tony Shasteen, a former Gaijin member who I didn't know every well because his stint in the studio coincided with some time I was largely stepping away from comic books.  My first purchase of the con was Tony's book "Stealing the Scene Vol. 1," a collection of his illustrations of iconic or memorable frames from a wide variety of movies.  I had not intended to spend any cash on Friday, but after circulating around, the book stayed in my head. Not fooling myself, I picked up a copy just before the show floor closed down. (You can see plenty of these illustrations & order a copy yourself at Tony's website.)

With the show ending, I went to the Drink & Draw event, essentially a sketch party for charity, and met up with a guy I only knew from Twitter, the irascible Bobby Simpson. He's a helluva guy, an artist with a lot of potential, and damn funny, to boot. Afterward, I cut out to drive to my hotel and to see if a hoped-for trip to the Banshee set might be in the offing.  Unfortunately, Banshee was in the midst of a grueling series of all-night shoots, and I didn't want to bother an unfortunate production assistant who was likely tired and irritable with one more person to look after, so I'll hope the visit works out for a date in the future.

I slept in and checked out of my hotel, then made my way back to the show in time to catch a conversation with one of the best writers in comics for the past 20+ years, Mark Waid.  Even if you don't like his stories (and I do), he speaks so well about comics and storytelling that I take any opportunity I can to hear him. Now, I am not a fan of reading comics on my computer, so digital comics are not my thing (this is only one confession I'm going to admit that will make me seem a premature fuddy-duddy), but Mark's website Thrillbent clearly has some great material from a variety of writers and artists.  I actually pitched some Lovecraft-esque anthology stories to Mark a few years ago when he was an editor at Boom! Studios, and though it didn't work out I still have a couple of stories I like in my hip pocket I believe will express themselves in one form or another some day. The moral: pitch your ideas; a no can one day be a yes.

Heroes Con has expanded its space since last I attended, and moving through the convention center was easier than I remembered it being in years past. Among the many things that Heroes Con does right (and this is where I shall again seem prematurely fuddy-duddyish) is giving a big section of the room to the growing contingent of cosplayers. Cosplay is such an influence on conventions that some shows (I'm looking at you, DragonCon) largely seem to exist for cosplayers to show out.  Cosplay has its place, and I would never attempt to stop people from enjoying the things they enjoy in the way they want to enjoy them, but, again, the thing that interests me are the actual books wherein many of these cosplay characters originated in the first place; I just wouldn't want that to get overshadowed. Anyway, hats off to Heroes Con for providing a cosplay space. No show can ever completely do away with people in costume walking the aisles at peak hours, stopping to pose for pictures and impeding the flow of traffic, but the fact that an attempt is being made to manage a potential problem is fantastic.

I usually spend most of my time at shows circulating through Artist Alley, so actually being able to move about is important to me. It's great to scope out art, chat with friends both old and new, and catch teases for work that hasn't been released yet. I often don't spend time actually going through the dealer's space, but this year I made a concerted effort to stop by every booth to see what books were in demand and whether or not it might be time to sell a portion of my own collection (I will probably not sell it for a good long while, but it's fun to consider).  Here's the stuff I picked up:

Southern Bastards #1 (Heroes Con variant cover): No new book of the last couple of months has me more excited than Southern Bastards. Writer Jason Aaron and artist Jason Latour simmer a bunch of chicken fried Deep South influences (most notably Walking Tall, the original, NOT the one starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) into a Brunswick Stew of whoop-ass and dark inevitability. I freakin' love this book.

Fearless Dawn: I love it when one person takes an inventory of all the stuff they like, then writes and draws the sum total of their influences into a comic book. It may be good, it may be bad, but at least it's distinctive and unique and idiosyncratic. Steve Mannion clearly loves attractive women, crazy monsters, rockabilly culture, Nazis as bad guys, and all sorts of other psychotronic goodness.  I was terribly excited to meet Steve, and was sad I had not budgeted money for commissions. These books are a hell of a lot of fun, though, so I have that.

Big Trouble in Little China #1 (Frank Cho variant): If you didn't know, Boom! Studios is publishing a sequel to Big Trouble in Little China in comic book form.  A FREAKIN' SEQUEL TO BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. Co-written by John freakin' Carpenter. Of course I'm going to buy it. And even though I already own a copy, I found a great deal on this beautiful variant cover. Sold.

Harley Quinn #2 (Second Print cover): As someone who doesn't tend to care about variant covers, I sure bought a lot of variants at Heroes Con. I really just bought this because I love cover artist Amanda Conner so damn much. Amanda is warm, funny, and kind, and her mastery of facial expression and body language is second to none. The Harley Quinn book, co-written by Amanda and her husband Jimmy Palmiotti, is one of the most purely enjoyable things coming from a major comic publisher right now.

Rocket Raccoon #1: I could have bought multiple copies of this book for a buck or so over the years, but now that the insane little rodent is going to be a movie star, I don't want to get caught flat-footed. This is strictly an investment, but the early artwork by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola is notable.

Seduction of the Innocent 3-D: Like most anyone who enjoys comic art, I love the work of the late, great Dave Stevens. You just don't see many copies of this particular title, so I happily scooped it up.

Phil Noto Mad Men print: I remember attending Heroes Con several years ago, and almost every artist I stopped to chat with was whispering about this new guy, Phil Noto. Phil got a lot of work after that, and is now killing it every month on Marvel's new Black Widow comic. This print is clearly a great interpretation of the show's characters, but what sold me on it was the SCDP logo in the bottom left corner.  Just a cool, thoughtful touch that put this over the edge for me.

I had to catch up with a few more people before I left. Craig Rousseau is one of the nicest guys around, a fellow Red Sox fan, and a man who shares more than a few of my TV viewing habits.  It hurt to discuss this season for the Sawx, so we mainly chatted about television and his recent work in Batman '66 #9, which is, as always, beautiful. Then I checked in on Tom Fowler and saw some of the amazing commissions he was turning out. When I was actively trying to break into comics as a writer a few years ago, I always made a point of finding Tom and chatting him up. I love when an artist brings a personality and a unique sense of storytelling to their work, and few do that better than Tom.

I was also ecstatic to meet Meghan Hetrick, an artist on the rise whose work I am just beginning to enjoy. She was readying a gorgeous Elektra painting for the Heroes Con art auction on the centrally-located stage where people could sit and rest and watch amazing artists doing their thing for hours, if they wished. I officially met her a little later as she walked the aisles with one of her collaborators, Marguerite Bennett (They worked together on DC's Joker's Daughter one-shot), a promising writer whose workload is about to increase exponentially, with announced projects from DC, Marvel, and some of the big independent publishers, too. They were both funny and thoughtful and I hope to see more collaborations from them in the future.

With that, not quite two full days of Heroes Con were over and done with, so I pointed my car towards home. I before mentioned the plethora of smaller shows popping up around the country, some of which are fantastic, and some of them less so. With the huge San Diego show not going anywhere, and other huge cons growing in New York and elsewhere, we are approaching Peak Comic Convention. As such, it is worthwhile recognizing a show that not only does it right, but has been doing it right for a long time.

Thanks Heroes Con. I will be back.

-Follow me on Twitter @TheOneWhoKnox

Harold Ramis R.I.P.

I am always looking for things to write about, but this time I wish I weren't inspired.

I was rocked today to learn that Harold Ramis has passed away, at age 69,  of complications from autoimmune imflammatory vasculitis.

Harold Ramis as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters

I would be upset anyway, but a few years ago I actually met the man, and was so thoroughly impressed in my brief time around him that today is suddenly shadowed with an extra patina of grief.

I am sometimes employed in the film industry, and I was spending some time in Shreveport, Louisiana, trying to break in. My attempts at getting hired as a crew member were coming to naught at the time, so I had to fall back on a job I had hoped to not have to do again, work as an extra or, as some like to call it, "background artist." Fortunately, the film Year One was nearing the end of its principal photography, and a few scenes near the beginning of the film, before Jack Black and Michael Cera's characters are banished from their village, remained to be shot.  Production was looking for people who had not yet worked on the movie to play these primitive tribespeople for several days of work, and fortunately I got the booking.

Me, in full costume and make-up, on the set of Year One

Now, Year One, in hindsight, is far from a masterpiece, but I was excited to be working with Black and Cera, a pre-Stefon Bill Hader was on set for his small role in the film, and HAROLD RAMIS was the director.

As a writer, director, producer, and actor, Ramis touched so many great projects that there is a good chance at least one of them ranks among your favorite films or television shows: Ghostbusters, Stripes, Caddyshack, Animal House, Groundhog Day, Knocked Up, SCTV, The Office and so many more. As a performer, he mixed a casual yet sharp intellect with a regular-guy affability that also characterized the films in which you never saw his face. You just liked Harold Ramis and the movies he made. Though he was never the guy who got the most laughs as a performer, he certainly took his share, and Bill Murray wouldn't be half as funny in Stripes or Ghostbusters without Ramis' steady presence to boomerang around.

Harold Ramis directs Michael Cera & Jack Black in Year One

When I met him, he was strolling around set, enjoying the extensive work the set builders and decorators had achieved, clearly loving his job and the accomplishments of his crew. He was so approachable that people did approach him, and he didn't care if you were the star of the film, the first assistant director or a lowly extra like me. He had a smile on his face, actually engaged with anyone who talked to him, and left a lot of people in Shreveport, Louisiana discussing how freaking great Harold Ramis was.

It is no secret that talented people are not necessarily pleasant, or even decent human beings, but Harold Ramis was easily among the most warm and thoughtful of the famous people I've ever met or worked with. At age 69, he should still be creating, but tragically that is not the case.

Thank you, Mr. Ramis, for taking a couple of minutes to talk to an enthusiastic extra who enjoyed your work and your sense of humor. Once I've processed the sadness of your loss, I will undoubtedly laugh again, probably at something you made.

Rest in peace.

Banshee: The Truth About The Midpoint

I have written about the Cinemax show Banshee before, and since I've already summarized season one, I'm going to get right into writing about the show's second season at its halfway point. I will try to avoid many overt spoilers, but be forewarned, anyway.

Key art for Banshee season 2

I started watching Banshee as a lark.  I expected it to be full of sex and violence in entertaining amounts, and it certainly fulfilled those criteria. But by the eighth episode, I began to understand that this wasn't just a show about T&A and gunplay. There was actually nuance to a show that had little business being nuanced. Banshee had all the pulpy goodness my adolescent id desired, and all the shades of gray and thoughtful performances my super-ego required. It's not a show constructed for everyone, but the creative team is clearly busting its hump to be different, to be entertaining, and to make every hour count. If it occasionally flirts with camp, well, why not? When you also cast a lot of relatively unknown up and coming actors who are all committed to the insanity and who have genuine chemistry, you get something special.

I, for one, am hooked.

Zeljko Ivanek as Jim Racine

Season one ended with the primary outside antagonist, the gangster Rabbit (the squirrelly Ben Cross) seemingly killed by the hands of his own daughter, Ana aka Carrie Hopewell (the conflicted Ivana Milicevic). Season two picks up the aftermath mainly by stacking a lot of new dominoes which will surely come crashing down again. The Banshee PD is largely given a slap on the wrist for their "every weapon in town" response to Rabbit's invasion by Rabbit-hating FBI Agent Jim Racine (the always fantastic Zeljko Ivanek). Needing some sort of scapegoat, Carrie is incarcerated, which only detonates her already-broken relationship with her husband Gordon Hopewell (the soulful Rus Blackwell) and daughter Deva (the coltish Ryann Shane). The tensions between new Kinaho tribe leader Alex Longshadow (the assured Anthony Ruivivar) and shunned Amish crime boss Kai Proctor (the icily confident Ulrich Thomsen) are paralleled by outrage in both communities when a young Kinaho girl is murdered and the Amish boy who was her secret paramour goes missing.  Also brought into the story's fold with this arc is Chayton Littlestone (dramatic find of the year Geno Segers), a Kinaho gang leader with equal measures of guile, brute strength, intellect, charisma, and a strangely dulcet voice. To say nothing of leading man, faux-Sheriff Lucas Hood (the chisled yet compellingly human Antony Starr), who finally pulls off a long-planned armored car heist, has to head up the aforementoned murder investigation despite not being a real cop, must bed two of the most attractive women on television, sister of Alex and Kinaho enforcer Nola Longshadow (the otherworldly Odette Annable) and deputy Siobhan Kelly (the grounded yet luminous Trieste Kelly Dunn) with whom he has exhibited obvious chemistry, and, oh yeah, deal with the arrival of the REAL Lucas Hood's son, Jason (the fresh-faced Harrison Thomas) who needs a favor from Lucas.

Geno Segers as Chayton Littlestone

Damn that's a good bit of story. And it's not even all of it! As I've said, Banshee packs in a lot.

Some further observations:

Lili Simmons as Rebecca Bowman and Ulrich Thomsen as Kai Proctor

-The murder storyline underscores the complex pull/push Kai Proctor has with his Amish heritage while also illustrating the widening familial gulf Proctor's niece, Rebecca Bowman (the dangerously attractive Lili Simmons) is forced to navigate. This is clearly another conflicted central duo in the show going forward, and the Kai/Rebecca relationship is rich and troubling in all the amazing premium cable ways. Though Proctor is one hell of a villain, and this season's action has greatly added to his shading, I can see Rebecca unseating him by the time Banshee finishes its run. When you add the unreadable menace that is Proctor aide/bodyguard Clay Burton (the mysterious and bow-tie bedecked Matthew Rauch), the ex-Amish organized crime contingent becomes all the more volatile.

Trieste Kelly Dunn as Siobhan Kelly

-Once again, I love Trieste Kelly Dunn as Siobhan Kelly. In season two's second episode, "The Thunder Man," she finally gets the signature moment the character has needed.  Siobhan's shitbag ex-husband Breece (the joyfully scuzzy Peter Scanavino) returns to town. After a promising overture, he reveals his true colors and, rather than rolling over or sending a concerned Hood to solve her problem, Siobhan goes to Breece's hotel room, destroys the place in the ensuing fight, and utilizes a finishing move I hope makes it into the eventual Banshee video game when she uses the bedside Gideon Bible to absolutely beat the hell out of her abusive dickface ex. Siobhan's bristly exterior over the entirety of season one was made flesh, and she overcame her demons with a bare-knuckled exorcism.

Demetrius Grosse as Emmett Yawners

-No starring cast member has been given less to do in fifteen episodes than Demetrius Grosse as Deputy Emmett Yawners. I fully expect that to soon not be the case. Chayton Littlestone, while incarcerated, showed a particular disdain for Emmett, essentially calling him a slave and throwing discarded chains at him. First, Demetrius Grosse is great. I took notice of him as Errol in the third season of Justified, and if I took Banshee to task for not giving Brock Lotus (wiseacre Matt Servitto) more to do the last time I wrote about the show, this time I'm going to call for more Demetrius Grosse. Second, I'm going to be happy when, during one of the most epic fight scenes yet filmed in a show known for its fight scenes, Emmett Yawners kicks Chayton Littlestone's ass. Calling it here first, folks.

Greg Yaitanes directing Antony Starr

-Speaking of exclusions, the last time I wrote about the show, I edited out a brief mention of executive producer/director/showrunner Greg Yaitanes from an early draft. I was a fool. Not to slight any of the other producers of the show, but Yaitanes' many hats should not be ignored. His use of Twitter to whip up enthusiasm for Banshee and to drop salient production facts during his livetweets is nothing short of amazing. This guy is a HUGE reason I find Banshee so enjoyable, from the show itself to the way cast and crew openly interact with viewers to the supplemental material the show generates, like the coded, ever-morphing opening credits and the Banshee Origins short films which add layers to the primary action if you choose to view them. Many shows generate additional material which tends to be incidental at best, but Banshee's is utterly compelling.

Hoon Lee as Job. Just Job.

-It admittedly took me a while to wrap my head around fan-favorite character Job, the cross-dressing hacker assayed flamboyantly by Hoon Lee.  Job is probably the most eccentric character on an eccentric show, and Lee's dramatic line readings sometimes seemed out of place to my ears. Either the show has done a better job (no pun intended) of modulating the scenes in which he appears or I finally drank the Kool-Aid, but I am loving Job much more now. Significantly more. Job is frequently near the center of the action as he is one of the few people Hood implicitly trusts, but I would love to see more of him aside from being the computer-savvy guy who can conveniently help out the plot. Although any character paired with Job immediately becomes part of a comedy duo, I firmly believe Job can be far more than the wittiest, bitchiest guy in the room.

Odetta Annable as Nola Longshadow

-The character with the highest batting average this year is Nola Longshadow: Breaking up the armored car heist on a motorcycle, effortlessly seducing Hood (though it doesn't take much), saving Rebecca from a drunken assault before kidnapping her herself, tomahawking the murderer of the Kinaho girl in his prison cell, then disagreeing with Alex's handling of the conflict with Proctor and possibly becoming the wildest card in the show. I imagine anything significant that happens from here on out will somehow involve Nola.

Antony Starr as Lucas Hood and Ivana Milicevic as Carrie Hopewell

-I have to make special mention of the episode that marked the halfway point of season two, the fifth episode titled "The Truth About Unicorns." This episode deeply divided fans online, because, by Banshee standards, it's slow. Yes, an episode that features Carrie screaming in the shower, Carrie getting out of jail, Zeljko Ivanek killing it as usual, two deaths, a visually stunning stalking/shootout in tall grass, and a burning house is "slow". Not to cast aspersions, but fans of the show who didn't like this episode are idiots. I rank it as my second favorite episode behind season one's "We Shall Live Forever," not coincidentally another Carrie-heavy episode (no actor has been better served by Banshee's twists, turns, and tourniquets than Milicevic, and she hugs those story corners like a high performance race car).  Banshee has to serve so many characters and, with Carrie sequestered for a couple of episodes, the show's central Lucas/Carrie relationship was in danger of getting short shrift. Dedicating an hour to letting Starr and Milicevic open their interior lives to each other was a bold, yet wise, choice.  This relationship full of fire and lust and danger and promises for the future is now a trusting, thoughtful, respecting...friendship. That these two love each other enough to acknowledge their distance is what I hope I can find in a partner if I ever pull 15 years in prison to shield her from the consequences of a jewel heist, then return to her unexpectedly and help wreck both the cover keeping her safe as well as her marriage. It is almost heartbreaking to think of this episode as an elegy to the hopes and dreams of Lucas and Carrie, but that's exactly what it is. It's beautiful, though the show characteristically undercuts the melodrama with Lucas' "Fuck that" after Sugar Bates' (the world-weary Frankie Faison) heartfelt speech at the end of the episode.

-If Ivana Milicevic, Trieste Kelly Dunn, Lili Simmons, and Odette Annable aren't toplining significant feature films within the next five years, I just don't know what.

-Antony Starr, too.

-I imagine that Banshee is brutal to shoot.They film in a fairly humid part of country during the summer. They do a lot of fight scenes and other stunts, as well as complex shots requiring discrete special effects A fair amount of the action happens in the dark, necessitating tiring night shoots. Add it all up, and it's a grind. From what I can tell, the cast and crew seem to genuinely get along despite, or perhaps because of, the difficulties of production. This has very little to do with anything, really, except that it makes me happy to see.

Yeah, happy. A TV show makes me happy. I'm cool with that. Here's to the final five of Banshee season two.

Follow me on Twitter @TheOneWhoKnox