Apr 17 2013

The Walking Dead’s Andrea Coming to Boston Comic Con

According to a press release, Boston Comic Con is happy to announce that the convention will go on this weekend as scheduled. They hope to stand as an example of the resilience of Bostonians in the wake of this horrific tragedy that happened at the Boston marathon this past Monday. The many statements of solidarity they have received from fans and guests alike have been very encouraging. They will be donating a portion of the art auction proceeds to the Red Cross for the Boston Marathon victims relief effort.

In light of the heightened security in the city we ask cosplayers to not bring prop weapons this weekend.

It was announced today that Laurie Holden who portrayed Andrea on hit show, The Walking Dead, will be attending Boston Comic Con this weekend.

She will be signing autographs on a first come first serve basis. There are no advanced on line tickets for her signings.

Other guests include Mark Bagley, Nick Bradshaw, Lauren Cohan, Amanda Conner, Tony Daniel, Colleen Doran, Ming Doyle, Jason David Frank, Ed McGuinness, Mike Mignola, Steve Niles, Carlos Pacheco, Jimmy Palmiotti, Shelli Paroline, George Perez, Amy Reeder, Don Rosa, Craig Rousseau, Tim Sale, William Stout, Bill Willingham, and many, many more!

Admission tickets to The Boston Comic Con are on sale on-line at Boston Comic Con and at the door.

Apr 16 2013

Boston Comic Con Happening as Planned

by Jason Harris

After the Boston Marathon bombings yesterday that left three people died and more than 170 people injured, the organizers of Boston Comic Con have said the convention is still going on this coming weekend, which is being held at the Hynes Convention Center, located at 900 Boylston St. The convention center isn’t that far from where the bombs went off.

Since a previous entry on April 3 about the convention, there have been some updates about guests. Jon Bernthal (“Shane Walsh”) from the hit television series The Walking Dead, has cancelled due to his filming schedule.

This morning it was announced that rock n’ roll icon Marky Ramone of The Ramones will be attending the convention.

Apr 3 2013

Stars of ‘The Walking Dead’ to Invade Boston Comic Con

Boston Comic Con celebrates its sixth year with its biggest show ever. The convention runs from April 20 through 21 at the Hynes Convention Center.

Lauren Cohan (“Maggie Greene”) and Jon Bernthal (“Shane Walsh”) from the hit television series The Walking Dead will be in attendance both days.

The guest list features some of the most illustrious comic creators in the world including George Perez (Superman), Carlos Pacheco (X-Men), Mike Mignola (Hellboy), Amanda Conner (Silk Spectre), Mark Bagley (Fantastic Four), Bill Willingham (Fables) plus many, many more!

Convention events will include Q&A panels, stand up comedians, a zombie movie marathon, gaming, and much more. You definitely will not want to miss the annual cosplay contest which features hundreds of fans dressing as their favorite characters from comics, video games, and cartoons! This year we are happy to announce famous cosplayer Yaya Han as our guest judge.

For this year’s show specials the convention will have a limited edition t-shirt featuring Captain America artwork by world-renowned comic artist Tim Sale and an exclusive My Little Pony variant cover drawn by Agnes Garbowska! Both of these are sure to sell out and become collector’s items! Get them while you can!

Tickets are $25 per day or $40 for the weekend and available at the door or through the Boston Comic Con website: www.bostoncomiccon.com.

The Boston Comic Con is a 100% independently run comic book show committed to bringing the biggest and best comic creators to New England. Run by fans for fans, Boston Comic Con is not affiliated with any other convention tour or corporate interests. Hosting over 40,000 square feet of vendors selling comic books, toys, posters, trading cards, and other pop culture memorabilia, this is a destination event for geeks of any stripe. Next year’s convention will be held Saturday April 20th and Sunday April 21st opening at 10:00 am each day at the Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston Street, Boston, MA.

For more information please go to our website at www.bostoncomiccon.com and follow us on Twitter (@BostonComicCon) and Facebook!

Feb 19 2013

Pictures from Queen City Kamikaze 2013

By Jason Harris and Susan Saunders

A section of the NEHW table at Queen City Kamikaze. Photo by Jason Harris.

Author Stacey Longo and a convention attendee. Photo by Jason Harris.

Author T.T. Zuma talks with a visitor to the table. Photo by Jason Harris.

Cosplay in action. Photo by Jason.

NEHW members hanging out behind the table. Photo by Jason Harris.

NEHW members and friends hanging out behind the table. Photo by Jason Harris.

Author Bill Rockwell with a zombie. Photo by Jason Harris.

The Horror in the Movies panel at Queen City Kamikaze. Photo by Susan Saunders.

The crowds at Queen City Kamikaze. Photo by Jason Harris.

Author T.T. Zuma signing a copy of his book for a fan. Photo by Jason Harris.

The Vampires in Literature and the Movies from Nosferatu to Edward Cullen panel at Queen City Kamikaze. Photo by Jason Harris.

NEHW member Rick Silva, of Dandelion Studios. Photo by Jason Harris.

The new NEHW t-shirt. Photo by Jason Harris.

Loki and author Stacey Longo. Photo by Jason Harris.

NEHW members having a good time at Queen City Kamikaze. Photo by Jason Harris.

The fourth NEHW table at Queen City Kamikaze. Photo by Jason Harris.

Books and a Cthulhu on the NEHW table. Photo by Jason Harris.

Cube-thul and pillows shaped like blood stains. Photo by Jason Harris.

Cube-thulhus and pillows shaped like blood stains. Photo by Jason Harris.

Feb 15 2013

NEHW Panels at Queen City Kamikaze

The New England Horror Writers will be conducting two panels Horror in the Movies at 3:45 p.m. and Vampires in Literature and Film from Nosferatu to Edward Cullen at 4:30 p.m.

The Queen City Kamikaze convention happens in Manchester, New Hampshire at Manchester Memorial High School located at 1 Crusader Way. The convention runs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. The cost of admission is $10.

Dec 3 2012

My Time at the Rhode Island Comic Con

by Rob Watts

Myself, Jason Harris, Stacey Longo, Scott Goudsward and Kristi Petersen Schoonover began the task of painstakingly arranging our table in a manner of which patrons would … oh, who am I kidding? We threw it all together and if something fell on the floor, then it probably didn’t belong there in the first place. Our booth did look pretty diversely kick-ass! In addition to our own books, we had action figures, DVD’s, movie adaptation novels and of course, comic books. We were prepared for anyone and anything that came our way that weekend. Or were we?

Well, nothing could have prepared me for the 9am stroll through “Celebrity” alley just prior to the show’s opening. Stacey and I took it upon ourselves to stalk a couple of former stars while attempting to flee from a couple of others. “Oh boy, time has not been generous to that one” was uttered more than a few times. But there were a couple of highlights during that brisk wander. For instance, did you know that Mitzi Kapture (of TV’s Silk Stalkings) is married to Seinfeld’s The Soup Nazi? Well, she is and they are both wonderfully kind people. Also wonderfully kind, yet extremely happy, was Gil Gerard of the classic 1970s sci-fi series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. He was very gentlemanly as he reached out to shake both our hands but was quick to point out that he was selling Buck Rogers coffee mugs, baseball caps, lunch boxes, toilet paper and anything else you could put the name Buck Rogers on. As big of a turn off as this might have been, I still couldn’t believe “Buck Rogers” was in front of me, talking to me and trying to sell me a bunch of worthless crap. I couldn’t wait to see what other surprises were in store.

The doors opened to everyone at 10am and within 15 minutes, the aisles were flooded with convention goers. The booth blocking rule had a moratorium placed on it for the weekend due to the fact that people were streaming past us left and right all day long. We were perfectly happy behind the table all day, in our “safe haven.” People watching was a perfect ten as every super hero, comic book, anime, movie or TV character you could ever imagine was represented. To my delight, a different Captain America walked by me on an average of every 22 minutes. Star Wars characters were high in attendance and Jason Harris and I spent much of the two days debating on which guys at the con wore the best Bane character get-up. Of course, I can’t forget to mention the best dressed guys at the convention. Kristi’s all-time favorite tribute band, KISS Forever!

Venders were plentiful, and although their tables became repetitive after a while, they did have some amazing items for sale which could make even the least sentimental person nostalgic. I for one was tempted to plunk down fifty dollars for a near-mint Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle, but don’t judge me. The toy venders, however, had some competition at the NEHW booth. Scott unloaded a fair amount of his action figure collection throughout the event’s two-day run.

Some cool cars were on display in the lobby such as the Ghostbusters Mobile, the Adam West era Batmobile and two Delorians from the Back to the Future films. Speaking of Back to the Future, I got to meet and chat with actress Claudia Wells who played Michael J Fox’s girlfriend in the first film. She’s still very lovely and very cool. Speaking of cool, we got to chat it up with former pro wrestler Hacksaw Jim Duggan. He had some interesting stories about his glory days in the ring, including the “Montreal Screw job” and his relationship with Vince McMahon. Bottom line, he was very likeable.

Word at the convention was they had sold around 5000 tickets in advance. 12,000 people attended the convention just Saturday alone. This was RICC’s first year and it went off with a bang. Although it was a long two days for us in Providence, I think it’s safe to say we all had a great time. Kristi finally got to meet Dirk Benedict, I met my now-current co-writer on an upcoming project, Scott finally sold his giant King Kong action figure, Stacey got to hang out with Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Jason learned never to order a 30 dollar Filet Mignon from McCormick & Schmick’s when he’s starving. That’s a different story for a different day.

Nov 18 2012

Pictures from Anthocon II

by Jason Harris

Half of author Jan Kozlowski and author Scott Goudsward.

Writers Stacey Longo, Andrew Wolter, and Barry Dejasu.

Artist Danny Evarts and editor Mark Wholley.

Shock Totem staff Sarah Gomes and K. Allen Wood at the Shock Totem table.

Author Rob Watts.

Author Gregory L. Norris.

Authors Stacey Longo, David Price, Craig D.B. Patton and Dave Goudsward.

The Goudsward brothers.

Author Tracy L. Carbone.

Authors Peter Dudar, L.L. Soares, and Scott Goudsward.

Author G. Elmer Munson (right) waits on a fan whose looking at the books on the NEHW table.

NEHW members Matt Bechtel and T.J. May talking.

Author Jack Haringa.

Writer Barry Dejasu.

Authors K. Ken Wood and Robert J Duperre behind the Shock Totem table.

NEHW members Stacey Longo, Tracy Carbone, Barry Dejasu, and Scott Goudsward.

Author T.T. Zuma (a.k.a. Tony Tremblay).

Author Stacey Longo.

Authors Bracken MacLeod and Andrew Wolter.

Author K. Allen Wood.

Author Kevin Lucia.

Authors Errick A. Nunnally and Stacey Longo.

Nov 8 2012

Laying the Smack Down on ComicCon

by Stacey Longo

I am a well-educated, fairly dignified woman. I read Faulkner and Hemingway and have studied the morphological and chemical variations of the common dandelion. And, as anyone who has ever been to a convention with me can tell you, I totally geek out when it comes to meeting former wrestlers.

For me, wrestling is a fond childhood memory, dating back to the time when my father would take my sister and me to the Glastonbury High School gym to watch Bob Backlund wrestle Ray “The Crippler” Stevens. There’s a special love there, one that nobody likes to talk about, but is recognizable in other wrestling fans when they let slip that yes, they have always wondered how George “The Animal” Steele got his tongue so green. (The answer: spearmint Chiclets, which I learned after meeting him at the Southcoast Toy and Comic Show.)

At Rhode Island ComicCon, I had the pleasure of meeting Jake “The Snake” Roberts and “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. For those of you who don’t know who these men are, you’ve probably already given up on this article anyway, so I don’t feel I need to explain.

Wrestling superstar Jake “The Snake” Roberts stated in casual conversation that he’s feeling great, is drug free, and recently lost 40 lbs. He’s an advocate of DDP Yoga (www.ddpyoga.com) and highly recommends the workout and meal portions that the program teaches. He was animated and enthusiastic when talking, and it was wonderful to see Roberts looking and feeling well.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan handles the wrestling panel himself. Photo by Jason Harris.

The wrestling panel that was scheduled for Sunday afternoon turned in to a Q & A session with WWE Hall of Famer “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan. (Originally, the panel was to include Roberts and wrestler Big Van Vader, but Roberts had to leave early to catch a flight, and Vader was a no-show.) Duggan has been wrestling for 33 years, and his love of the business was evident in his enthusiasm and the beaming smile he wore while talking about his career. He was friendly and articulate, occasionally breaking out into his Hacksaw persona to emphasize a point. Duggan patiently answered questions about his former employers (both the WWE, which Duggan states “is run like a corporation, which it should be, because it is one” and the WCW, which he recalled as “the inmates running the asylum.”) He spoke about former coworkers Andre the Giant (“he was a lonely man”) and Hulk Hogan (“he’s a real good guy”) with fondness. As with any employee at a company, he didn’t always get along with the people he worked with, but was a gentleman when former opponents he didn’t care for came up. “We aren’t close,” he would explain if someone asked him about a specific wrestler he didn’t get along with, and would deftly move on to the next question.

Duggan’s achievements in the ring include winning the first (then-WWF) Royal Rumble in 1988 and WCW Television Champion and United States Heavyweight Champion. He named his 2011 WWE Hall of Fame induction as one of his proudest achievements. When asked about the 1997 “Montreal Screw Job” (in which WWE Champion Bret Hart was asked to drop the belt to Shawn Michaels prior to Hart’s exit to WCW, which Hart refused to do; WWE owner Vince McMahon called for the bell early even though Hart hadn’t submitted, ending the match) Duggan surprised the audience. “I actually think Bret was wrong,” he admitted. “If the boss tells you to drop the belt, you drop the belt.” Hart hadn’t wanted to lose in Canada, his home country. “I don’t want to lose in America,” Duggan laughed. “But you do it because the boss tells you to.” Duggan and Hart have spoken about the incident and remain friends. Duggan is also close to “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Hogan.

Author Stacey Longo geeking out with Hacksaw at the Rhode Island Comic Con. Photo by Jason Harris.

Duggan ended the hour-long session by allowing fans to get their picture taken with him, a big-hearted gesture considering other celebrities were getting $10 to $20 on the convention floor for photos. Meeting both Roberts and Duggan was a thrill for this particular wrestling nerd, and the highlight of my weekend.

Side note: I was able to meet Big Van Vader briefly at this event as well. We aren’t close.

Nov 8 2012

NEHW Members at Anthocon

The New England Horror Writers will be at Anthocon this weekend. The convention runs from Nov. 9 through 11. Here are the NEHW members who will be there this weekend: Michael Arruda, Tracy Carbone, Karen Dent, Roxanne Dent, Peter Dudar, Michael Evans, Timothy Flynn, Dave Goudsward, Scott Goudsward, Jason Harris, Chris Irvin, Jan Kozlowski, Stacey Longo, Bracken McLeod, David Price, L.L. Soares, Douglas Swatski, Erin Underwood, Vlad Vaslyn and Rob Watts.

The first Anthcon anthology, Anthology: Year One, will debut this weekend. It’s published by the Four Horsemen. Everyone in this collection participated in the first Anthocon last year. Quite a few NEHW members are in this collection. If you can’t make the convention, you can order a copy on Amazon by clicking here.