May 30 2014

Hartford Comic Con Happens this Weekend

The XL Center will be the destination for cosplay, comic books, and geeks galore when Hartford Comic Con kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday.

If you are a fan of the television show, Spartacus, then you shouldn’t miss this show since Katrina Law (Arrow), Liam McIntyre, Anna Hutchison (The Cabin in the Woods), Ellen Hollman, and Stephen Dunlevy will be on-hand signing autographs.

Other celebrities include Kyla Kenedy (The Walking Dead), Michael Massee (The Amazing Spider-man), Brando Eaton (CSI, Dexter) and Larry Thomas, the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld, will also be in attendance. You can find out about the celebrities here.

There will also be artists and vendors at the convention as well. Find out about the artists here and the vendors here.

The event schedule is here.

There are also a number of panels throughout the weekend. You can find the schedule here.

Harford Comic Con is organized by Epic Conventions, which is a privately owned company in Boca Raton, Florida. According to the convention’s website, Epic Conventions is dedicated to following the mold of the traditional comic con – while providing the perfect mix and experience of current pop culture events

The hours of the convention are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Prices are $25 for a day-pass or $45 for a weekend one.

May 12 2014

Pictures from the Rock Comic Expo

By Jason Harris

The first Rock Comic Expo happened yesterday at the Rockingham Park in Salem, New Hampshire. The Expo was created by J. Moulton. It ran from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. It was a day of people in cosplay and talking with authors and artists.

Author Rob Watts with the Iron Patriot.

Emily and Jeremy Drouin of Eplis Comic.

Author Stacey Longo

Author Dale T. Phillips holding his book, Crooked Paths.

Author Rob Watts holding his latest book, Left-Hand Path.

Crystalia Amaquelin of Marvel’s The Inhumans.

Authors Rob Watts and Dale T. Phillips

Author Stacey Longo talking with a expo attendee.

Author Stacey Longo talking with an expo attendee.

Authors Vlad Vaslyn and Dale T. Phillips behind the New England Horror Writers table.

Moulton plans to make the comic expo a two-day event next year. He is also involved with Vermont Comic Con, which debuts in October.

May 8 2014

Meet Artists and Authors at the Rock Comic Expo this Saturday

The Rock Comic Expo is a one-day show happening in Salem, New Hampshire on Saturday. The expo will consist of vendors, comic book artists and authors from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The artists at the Expo will include Emily Drouin, John Coen, Jerry Fleming, and Amanda Dufresne. You can see the entire list of artists on the Rock Comic Expo website here.

There will also be authors at the Expo promoting and selling their books. These authors include Gordon Bean, Elizabeth Black, Stacey Longo, Dale T. Phillips, Vlad Vaslyn, and Rob Watts.

Tickets to the Expo are $5. The Expo takes place at Rockingham Park in Salem, NH.

Apr 30 2014

TerrorCon, a New Convention for Horror Fans

By Jason Harris

New England is getting its second horror convention, TerrorCon, with the first one being Rock & Shock, which will be holding its eleventh convention this October. TerrorCon, which takes place in Rhode Island in June, isn’t the only new horror convention debuting in New England this year. Connecticut Horrorfest debuts in August.

TerrorCon is the brainchild of Steven Perry, director of operations for Altered Reality, who has brought conventions to fans of comics, movies, and pop culture. These conventions are Southcoast Toy and Comic Show and Rhode Island Comic Con. Perry had been thinking of his newest one, TerrorCon, for about a year, he said.

Rhode Island didn’t have a big horror type show, Perry said. “We wanted to bring that to the people of Rhode Island.”

Perry thinks the organizers of Rock & Shock do a great job so he decided to have his new convention take place in June so as not to interfere with Rock & Shock. He didn’t want to step on anyones toes, he said.

“Everyone’s happy and friends remain friends. It keeps everyone friendly with everyone. We believe that everyone should work together. There’s no need for shows to stumble.”

Perry isn’t sticking to only New England to organize shows. His company is in the process of organizing shows for New Jersey and Colorado, which should be starting up in 2015, he said. He can’t say what those shows will be since they are not fully developed, which is the reason he hasn’t announced them yet.

“Right now, they will both me similar to Rhode Island Comic Con.”

If you couldn’t guess from the different line-ups for Perry’s shows, they always try to do a theme, he said. They plan their guests around whatever theme they decide to do. Whatever guests they choose and book for the event, they are sure to tell the fans about who is coming. They have lists of guests for the next two years, he said.

“We like to keep the fans enticed and let them know what’s going on all the time. Something new pops up with us, we put it up for everybody to know,” Perry said about constantly updating the convention websites.

Perry was asked last November why they were announcing guests for this year’s convention when the 2013 one just ended. He responded with, “Why keep it a secret? We want them to know and get excited about it. We want the fans to make plans to come out to the show.”

Here is just some of the guests coming to TerrorCon: David Giuntoli (Grimm), Linda Blair (The Exorcist), Michael Biehn (The Terminator, Planet Terror), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister, The Celebrity Apprentice), Lita Ford, Cherie Currie, Michael Jai-Whie (Spawn, Arrow, Fast and the Furious 7, The Dark Knight), Nicholas Brendon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Criminal Minds), Josh Stewart (Grimm, Criminal Minds, The Dark Knight Rises), Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th: Part 7, 8 and 10, Hatchet), Lew Temple (The Walking Dead) and Dee Wallace (ET, The Howling).

Perry started organizing conventions with the Southcoast Toy and Comic Show, which was held in a VFW hall, seven years ago. That first show had about 300 people in attendance, he said. It’s a far cry from the 22,000 people who attended the first Rhode Island Comic Con when they thought the attendance would be around 10,000 and the 30,000 people they had for the second Rhode Island Comic Con. He’s expecting between 10,000 and 15,000 people to attend TerrorCon, which is a safe number in the mind of Perry.

“The horror market is a little more of a niche market so we don’t expect a large audience,” Perry said.

His vision for Southcoast was t bring a reasonable size show that would be community based, Perry said. He wanted something for the fans in that area to be able to look forward to every season or twice a year. Another thing he wanted to do was bring in celebrities that people don’t always have a chance to meet, he said.

Perry said that TerrorCon will be the same size of the original Rhode Island Comic Con plus an extra ballroom.

“TerrorCon will not just be horror. It will be horror themed, paranormal, all mixed together.”

TerrorCon takes place June 7 and 8 at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, RI.

Feb 17 2014

Pictures from Queen City Kamikaze 2014

by Jason Harris

The Books and Boos banner at Queen City Kamikaze.

From left to right: Dale T. Phillips, Stacey Longo, T.T. Zuma, and Mark Wholley behind the Books and Boos tables.

Authors Gordon Bean and Stacey Longo on the Horror in the Movies panel.

Authors Dale T. Phillips, Stacey Longo, and Vlad Vaslyn on the Where Authors Get Their Ideas panel.

Authors Gordon Bean and Dale T. Phillips talk to a visitor of the Books and Boos table.

Authors Gordon Bean and Dale T. Phillips talking with a visitor to the Books and Boos table.

Author Stacey Longo with the Joker.

The Anthocon table at Queen City Kamikaze.

Feb 13 2014

Queen City Kamikaze Happens this Sunday in New Hampshire (updated)

By Jason Harris

It’s February and the third annual Queen City Kamikaze is upon us once again. It’s one bright spot during this cold and snowy month. The one difference this year is that this anime, video game, comic book, cosplay, sci-fi, and fantasy convention takes place on a Sunday. For the past two years, it happened on Saturday.

There will be over 25 vendors at this convention including Dandelion Studios, Books & Boos, and Harrison’s Comics.

Mark Wholley, one of the Four Horsemen who founded Anthocon, Northern New England’s only multi-genre literature and arts convention, will be at QCK for his second time to promote Anthocon. He will also be selling copies of Anthology, an anthology that debuted at Anthocon. He wants to make some vendor contacts and meet some artists, Wholley said.

“I like the show because of it diverse audience it draws in, It’s local to me and I like to support other shows when I can. I enjoyed last year so I decided to attend again this year,” Wholley said.

At the Books & Boos‘ tables, there will be six authors: Stacey Longo, Dale T. Phillips, Vlad Vaslyn, Tony Tremblay, David Price, and Gordon Bean. They are all members of the New England Horror Writers organization. These authors will be selling and signing their books. This will be Longo’s third time and Tremblay’s and Price’s second time attending the convention.

“I love this convention and meeting a younger generation of readers,” Longo said.

Along with selling new and used books, Books & Boos will be presenting two panels: Horror in the Movies (1 p.m. to 2 p.m.) and Where Authors Get Their Ideas (4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.).

Horror In The Movies: authors Gordon Bean (Dawn of Broken Glass), David Price (Dead in the USA), Stacey Longo (Secret Things), and moderator Jason Harris will discuss the best and worst, darkest and most disturbing, scariest and silliest examples of horror on the big screen on the Horror in the Movies panel. From the golden age of Nosferatu to the modern-day Conjuring, this panel will cover it all. Questions from the audience are encouraged throughout the discussion.

Where Do Writers Get Their Ideas? Authors Dale Phillips (Shadow of the Wendigo), Vlad Vaslyn (Brachman’s Underworld), David Price (Dead in the USA), and moderator Stacey Longo (Secret Things) will answer the number one question writers hear from their readers: How do you come up with this stuff? From disturbing first dates to summer camp adventures gone awry, audiences will learn how the most innocent of memories and experiences can be turned into scary stories and best sellers. Questions from the audience will be encouraged throughout the discussion.

There is a third panel: How to Create, Publish, and Promote Your Own Comic, which will happen during the convention, but isn’t sponsored by Books and Boos.

The Queen City Kamikaze takes place at 1 Crusader Way in Manchester, New Hampshire from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 16. There is a $10 admission price.

Editor’s Note:
Author David Price won’t be able to attend the convention. A family issue came up.

Nov 29 2013

Looking for a Convention?

It’s Black Friday. You’re either still in a turkey coma, out in the crowds looking for deals, relaxing at home, or looking for your next convention fix. If you’re looking for a convention then I have the perfect gift for you. Here’s a website, Upcoming Cons, that I recently found. It can be a good resource to find the next convention to attend. Conventions can be found by location or genre such as literature, furry, comics, horror, or steampunk.

Nov 26 2013

Pictures from Super Megafest 2013

By Jason Harris

The DeLorean.

Aaron Ashmore of Smallvile.

Characters from DC Comics.

From right to left: Draco and Lucius Malfoy of Harry Potter.

A Victoria Secret Angel.

Orko from He-man and the Masters of the Universe.

The crowds at Super Megafest.

Bronson Pinchot of Perfect Stangers.

Spider-man.

Rogue of The X-men.

Shredder and the Foot Clan.

Ron Jeremy of One-Eyed Monster.

The Emperor, Joker, and Batman.

Tom Felton of Harry Potter.

Dorothy Gale of The Wizard of Oz.

Superman and Supergirl.

Eliza Dusku of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (center).

Spider-man.

Robert Remus a.k.a. Sgt. Slaughter.

The Tin Man and Dorothy.

Vonn Ray, professional cosplayer.

The Evil Witch.

Steampunk Batman.

Barbie Jean Blank a.k.a. Kelly Kelly with a fan.

A Jason Voorhees’ candy dish.

Batgirl and Green Arrow.

I Dream of Jeannie actors Bill Daily and Barbara Eden.

Christopher Lloyd.

Darth Maul.

Jack Sparrow and companion.

Ernie Hudson.

Vic Mignogna of Fullmetal Alchemist.

Nov 22 2013

Super Megafest Happens this Weekend

New England’s Largest Multimedia Fanfest, Super Megafest, takes place at the Sheraton Framington Hotel in Framington. This two-day convention will have celebrities from television, the movies, comics, wrestling, rock and roll and more. Here are some of the celebrities who will be at Super Megafest: Christopher Lloyd, Eliza Dusku, Ray park, Ron Jeremy, Sgt. Slaughter, Billy West, Jon Heder, and Tom Felton.

There will also be a music fest, which starts at 7: 30 p.m. Saturday.

Along with the celebrities, there will also be a comic and collectibles room.

The convention operates from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Click on the links in this post for more information and ticket prices.

Nov 12 2013

Pictures from Anthocon 2013

by Jason Harris

The third Anthocon has come to an end. All we have left are good memories and pictures until next year’s convention. Anthocon is organized by the Four Horsemen ( Timothy Deal, Mark Wholley, ZjOhnny Morse, and Danny Evarts). It’s an excellent convention where there are panels, author readings and vendors selling everything from books, t-shirts, wooden bookmarks and even lemon curd.