Comics
Fan Expo Vancouver In Words & Photos
Fan Expo Vancouver took place over the weekend, bringing in loads of pop-culture hounds from all over the West Coast. Only in its sophomore year, the convention drew in a crowd of thousands to the Vancouver Convention Centre, despite the inevitable rain. Whether you’re into Lego or The Walking Dead, the expo was packed with geek culture goodies for everyone. The big celebrity guest for the weekend was Mr. Stan Lee himself, who showed up for an all-day signing and Q&A panel on Saturday. There were loads of other comic book creators and celebrities in attendance including Elvira, James Marsters, Sean Astin, Michael Rooker, and many others.
This is a smaller convention, but it has a big heart. Without having to plan for major news announcements from publishers and film studios, the focus remains on the attendees. Despite the insane lines on Saturday morning, which seemed almost unmanageable for the staff, the con floor was filled with beaming faces.
One of my favorite parts of the expo this year was Rue Morgue’s Festival of Fear. Festival of Fear is an annual horror convention, and this year they brought it in as part of Vancouver Fan Expo. Rue Morgue set up a nice big booth in the center of the con floor that featured horror guests such as the Soska sisters and Tom Savini among others (See the interview with the Soska’s here). Rue Morgue also set up a table full of back-issues and copies of their “200 Alternative Horror Films You Need To See”.
Although the number of comic book industry people was limited, Fan Expo brought in a solid guest list including Alex Maleev, Kurtis J. Wiebe, Ed Brisson, Nat Jones, Neal Adams, David Finch, JT Krul, James Stokoe, and more. The artist alley was pushed to the back of the con floor, and the space was extremely tight between the rows. Had the event been called a “comic con” rather than a “fan expo”, I would have been weary of the limited space allotted for artist alley.
The 4th annual Canadian Videogame Awards also took place during the show. Vancouver is the third largest videogame developer in the world, making it an ideal place to host the awards. Much like the Shuster Awards, the event celebrates the best and brightest in Canadian videogames. Far Cry 3 cleaned up the award show, winning 6 awards.
Below you can check out my photos from the show. My personal favorites are the insane Joker makeup and the moving-painting of Jesus holding a child with a dove soaring above.
All photo credits – Lonnie Nadler
Comics
‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics
Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.
Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.
In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”
The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”
Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”
“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.
Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”
Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.
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Cover A: Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto (Full Color)
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Cover B: Giuseppe Cafaro and Arif Prianto (Full Color)
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Cover C: Blank Sketch Cover
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Cover D (1/10): Dani and Brad Simpson (Full Color)
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Cover E (1/25): Marc Silvestri and Arif Prianto, Virgin Cover (Full Color)
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Cover F (1/50): J.Scott Campbell (Full Color)
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Cover G (1/100): Bill Sienkiewicz. (Full Color)
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Cover H (1/250): Line art by Marc. Virgin Cover, Inks (B/W)
Witchblade #1 will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.
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