COMIKAZE ’14 [Rectory Round-Up]: The Man Giveth; The Man Taketh Away..

Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. – A mid-20th century industrial mecca, whose influence still resonates deeply within our red American blood today. Motor City, home of the former Big Three (GM, Ford, Chrysler). Hockeytown, U.S.A.: The Detroit Red Wings. Berry Gordy and the MoTown Sound. Iggy Pop and the Stooges. Birthplace of my former mentor: L.A.-based Fine Art Juggernaut, Mike Kelley, R.I.P. Point of inception for The Detroit Triple Fan Fair (1965-1978); created by Shel Dorf: The Grandfather of All Comic-Cons.

DTFF eventually morphed into the nirvana of multimedia cosplay bukkake known today as Comic-Con International San Diego. Stan “The Man” Lee, ComiCulture Svengali and Super Hero Movie Magnate, is attempting to hi-jack the multi-genre convention framework into a many-tentacled Kraken of his own creation.

Comikaze 2014, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. – Inaugurated by the Marvel Madman, in 2011, Comikaze has grown in attendance from a freshman mass of 35,000, to a comic-crazed coterie of cosplayers 65,000 strong; and rising. Covering myriad aspects of the comic and gaming gamut, Stan Lee and Elvira, have networked a nucleus of industry names and luminaries.

-Day 1 swung into play with Hollywood Swordmasters Dan Specker and Ian Bryant; while Wally Wingert (The Tonight Show) held a voiceover actor casting call for all.

-Day 2 saw the manly Stan Lee conducting a panel on all things Marvel; past, present, and future; followed up with a brass-knuckled double punch, in the form of the Batman-of-Days-Past, Adam West, and Deadpool Daddy, Rob Leifeld.

-Day 3 closed out with a Q&A from Gotham‘s EP, Dannon Cannon; Firefly‘s Jewel Staite flew in for a few; and the original cast of The Land of the Lost, nostalgified a blast to my childhood past.

Stan Lee’s Comikaze seems to wield the genes to mutate into another brilliant virus of his own design; with the potential of possibly capturing the imagination of even more minds. With that, I, today as The Good Preacher, present to you our very own onslaught of panel coverage from GodHatesGeeks. Excelsior! – Jason Bud

When you think of Stan Lee, who’s the first superhero that also comes to mind?

Well, that was easy.

For the 20th Anniversary of Spider-Man: The Animated Series panel, I quickly found a spare chair amongst the throngs of deodorant lacking fanboys. The reunion panel was headed by John Semper Jr., producer and head writer of the animated series, and featuring the voices of Christopher Daniel Barnes (Spider-Man), Gregg Berger (Kraven The Hunter and Mysterio), Jennifer Hale (Felicia Hardy), Rodney Saulsberry (Robbie Robertson), Patrick Labyorteaux (Flash Thompson), Saratoga Ballantine (Mary Jane Watson), and Gary Imhoff (Harry Osborne).

Right away we were treated to a sizzle-reel of highlights from the show, that quite frankly got this fanboys nostalgia senses tingling. 20-years later, and this series still packs a hell of an emotional punch.

After, the panel broke into a Q&A, discussing what it was like working with each other, in which Barnes stated “It was like a radio show. We were all in the booth together and we were all interacting with each other”. Before closing the panel, Semper announced a brand new animated crowd-funded project, Rocket Men, featuring the voice talents of everyone at the panel– which this Dynast personally can’t wait for. 4/5 Dat Nostalgia – Dana Keels

If I took away anything from 2014’s Comikaze Expo, it’s that you don’t need Robert Downey Jr., or any of his Avenger friends for that matter, to have an informative and engaging panel. The Rotten Tomatoes: Your Opinion Sucks panel didn’t even feature a single creative type, and it still managed to be extremely entertaining.

That panel thrived by embracing what comic book conventions are all about: Fans coming together to celebrate the medium they love. But since “comic” conventions have expanded into practically every medium, this panel was hosted by the popular film and television critic aggregate Rotten Tomatoes. What Your Opinion Sucks lacked in star-power, it made up for in format invention. Rather than simply having a moderator talk to the guests followed by the obligatory Q&A, the YOS panel opted to have more of a discussion.

It would start with a member from the audience naming a movie they love, hate, or hate to love. Moderator Grae Drake then times gives them one minute to make an opening argument on why they feel that way. A panel of professional critics (Rotten Tomatoes editors Matt Atchity and Sarah Ricard, Alonso Duralde from The Wrap, and Mark Ellis and Kristian Harloff from the popular YouTube movie review show Shmoes Know) gets to rebuttal or agree. The rest of the audience is even given two-sided paddles with a “Fresh” on one side and a “Rotten” on the other to voice get into the mix. Drake really made the whole thing work and either diffused or added to the tension when needed with her lightning quick wit.

Despite being shot down for my own love for Hook, I thought it was one of the more entertaining panels I’ve attended at a Con ever. 4.25/5 Fresh Tomatoes – Myke “Forgot to Invite Moody to Our Podcast” Ladiona

Ever wonder how JJ Abrams or Joss Whendon developed Lost, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (one of my favs) and became masters of the geek universe? This is the tale for you… 

Almost 3-years ago, I was in an editing room with a dashing irish boy. He was showing me around the studio. Excitement filled his voice and he chatted with me about his documentary. I was fascinated. “A Showrunner?” I asked. “What exactly do they do?” I was ignorant to the term, but I knew it meant something great. What I was to learn, to quote one of the Showrunners in the doc, was “like painting, doing your taxes, and writing a novel all at the same time.”

Yup. I think I found my dream job.

Jet in time to Comikaze 2014 LA, and I sit in my chair listening to what is now the #1 documentary on iTunes. Showrunners: The Art of Running A TV Show is directed by Des Doyle, and produced by Christof Bove, Ryan Patrick McGuffey, Jimmy Nguyen, Jason Rose, and John Wallace. This passionate documentary shows behind the curtain of hollywood’s biggest TV shows, featuring studs such as Whedon, Kurt Sutter, Abrams, Janet Tamaro, Terence Winter, and Jane Epsenson.

It explores how many of the personal experiences that inspired these TV shows. How they, as show runners, are essentually the foundation of the roots of these shows. One story, that I really loved, was about Showrunner Ronald D Moore, (Carnivale, Battlestar Galactica and currently, Outlander) got his first start. He was dating a girl who worked for Star Trek: The Next Generation and said she could get him a tour of the set. Ronald was such a fan of the show that he agree wholeheartedly. That decision made him think, “Hey, what the heck, I should write my own spec of this show.” He conned them into reading his spec and turned out that they liked it and bought his spec, later asking him to come be a staff writer full time.

What’s a spec, you ask? It’s basically fan fiction. It’s nerdy, geeky, and basically taking something you are so passionate about and placing your perspective of how your favorite characters “will get out of this jam” so to speak, in as close you can get to the original writers voice. 5/5 Conference Tables. – Eva Ceja

You can find Showrunners: The Art of Running A TV Show on iTunes at their website.

“I’ll share my thoughts on Comikaze on the next GHG Podcast.” – Travis “Miserable Monsignor” Moody

The Nerdist Writers Panel: Comics Edition panel, unlike that of Rotten Tomatoes, had the benefit of having probably the second most influential person — to Stan, of course — at the Los Angeles Convention Center that day: Len Wein, creator of Wolverine for the uninformed.

Ben Blacker (Supernatural, Thrilling Adventure Hour) the main host for the Nerdist Writers Panel, was 10-minutes late but the show fared well in the hands of Heath Corson (DC animated writer; Batman: Assault on Arkham, Justice League: War, Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, co-host for the ‘Comics Edition’ episodes of the NWP podcast), Adam Beechen (writer; TV’s Teen Titans and The Batman) and a very relaxed Wein. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like a legendary comic creator was present– with only half of the room being full, but it made for a more intimate discussion amongst fellow writers.

The panelists gave insight into their opinions about comic books, the point where they think comic book movies will start to see diminishing returns (Len says by the next Fantastic Four – which was.. a joke?), and what titles they’re reading now. Fans of the podcast were thoroughly entertained, but anyone who expected a more in-depth discussion of process and inspiration were kind of confused.

The whole panel was recorded as a podcast, so you’ll be able to judge it for yourself. You can find it when it drops at nerdist.com/podcasts-landing/ or on iTunes under The Nerdist Writers Panel. 3.25/5 Nerds – Myke Ladiona

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