FanExpo2013Banner1
Fan Expo Vancouver totally was a thing!
I was totally unaware this event was happening, sorry. That didn’t stop it from actually happening, though, and happen it did, this past weekend, April 20-21 at the Vancouver Convention Center, 1055 Canada Place, Vancouver. There was a cohort of local comics creators (James Stokoe, Ian Boothby, Pia Guerra, Camilla d’Errico, Ed Brisson, David Boswell, and many more) on hand, but I haven’t seen much yet from that front. Instead, we have these items:
Item!One of the big comics guests was Stan Lee. I ranted a bit in the comments section of a Global tv news report about how Stan is usually written about in the popular media “Correction: Stan Lee is not ‘the man behind Spiderman’ (sic). The character was co-created by artist Steve Ditko and dialogue writer Stan Lee. Ditko created the design of Spider-Man, including the costume and all the supporting cast and villains (Green Goblin, Sandman, Dr. Octopus). He also wrote the plots and drew all the stories for the first years of the comic book. Ditko gets very little credit and no money. Ditko lives in poverty in a New York City apartment. Stan Lee is a millionaire. Stan Lee was the cousin of the owner of Marvel Comics and hogs much of the credit for the creation of Marvel.” Lee was also interviewed by CTV and The Vancouver Sun.
Item! On the other hand, the fight for creator’s rights is mentioned in this Stuart Derdeyn interview with Neal Adams for the Vancouver Province: “he sought the return of original artwork from publishers to the artists so they could use it to earn additional income through sales. In 1987, he won his battle. Subsequent changes to the industry meant that legends such as Jack Kirby and Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster received long-overdue remuneration and more.”
Item! The podcast Dread Media covers the show (episode 295): “Robin Bougie from Cinema Sewer joins us to talk exploitation cinema and hot grandmas. Artist Jason Copland stops by to talk about Kickstarting the printed version of his popular webcomic Kill All Monsters. We talk with artist Nat Jones of Image Comics’ ’68 about the resurgence of Vietnam in film and literature and Frank Frazetta. Finally, the master of modern realism in comic books, Neal Adams, tolerates Desmond’s fanboy drooling for several minutes!”
Item! The only traditional con report I’ve seen comes from the blog Geek Badge, written by Wyatt Fossetts, including some negative critique: “A major downfall was Saturdays clusterfuck of security lines, dopey hosts, and general disarray by all parties involved. For some strange reason, Hobby Star (the people who brought us the event) think that they can oversell and underestimate. Last year’s show was in a building at least 150% of the size of this year, yet there seems to be twice as many people here. It’s outstandingly frustrating Making interviews, proper panel viewing, and general uncomfortable feelings all around an issue.”
Item! 3 minute Youtube video.
Item! Massive photo set.
Item! Cosplay set from Comics Blend.
Item! Costume parade via radio station Newss1130.
Item! Facebook photosets: here and here.