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A few days ago ReedPOP announced a new "Fan Verification" system for buying tickets for NYCC. ReedPOP head Lance Fensterman told us the system was in order to combat scalping, but also to get more of a snapshot of who wants to attend New York Comic-Con. Getting "verified" is key because online sales is the only way to buy NYCC badges this year. In the past there were some on site and retail sales but no more.

This past weekend, we noticed an unusual number of superheroes, cosplayers, and characters from our favorite TV shows flooding thesubways, buses, and streets of New York City. Did we unknowingly fall into an alternate universe?

Turns out that it was just New York Comic Con, the annual pop culture phenomenon dedicated to comics, graphic novels, anime, video games, movies, and television. The first convention was held in 2006 and it has continued to grow steadily over the past several years, bringing an ever-growing number of comics and pop-culture fans to New York City. And not only has Comic Con continued to grow, but so has programming dedicated to issues of diversity and diverse creators. We were lucky enough to get a pass for LEE & LOW staff. Below, three staff members share their highlights from the show:

Keilin, Marketing and Publicity Associate

Oh Comic Con. What a crazy event to go to, but definitely worth every minute!

I went to a Geeks of Color Meetup, hosted by Diana Pho (editor, Tor Books), and featuring Shelley Diaz (editor, School Library Journal), and author Melissa Grey (The Girl At Midnight). It was great to mingle with other “geeks” and to get to know Diana and Shelley.

The greatest thing about the Meetup was seeing the diversity in the room. There was one group of people that I joined that was talking about the new Star Wars movie coming out, and it didn’t matter that we were all from different backgrounds because we all could geek out about something we were all collectively excited for. Diana often hosts these types of meetups for people of color, and if anyone is interested, you can contact her on her website, Beyond Victoriana.

After the Geeks of Color Meetup, I booked it over to the Asian American Comics and Creators panel, which unfortunately was full. On the positive side, that just meant that there was a full house to participate in a discussion on Asian Americans in the comic book industry. While the depictions of Asian Americans in comic books has improved, there is more that can still be done.

The thing I like most about conventions like these is that it shows you the wide spectrum of people within fandoms, whether it’s seeing a black Wonder Woman or an Asian Peggy Carter. Nerding out is for everyone!

Rebecca, Marketing and Publicity Assistant

Thanks to things like the We Need Diverse Books campaign, diversity has been on people’s minds more than ever before. Last year, we saw one of the most diverse television seasons we’ve gotten in a while. It’s no surprise that diversity in comics and geek culture was on a lot of people’s minds at New York Comic Con! I attended 4 panels focused on various aspects of diversity at the show this year.

At the Pushing Boundaries panel, there was a discussion about representation. Author Marjorie Liu spoke about the burden that authors of color often face when they are the only ones representing entire cultures. They have to make sure that their characters are “perfect” and not stereotypical; however, trying to tell a “perfect” story gets in the way of an authentic narrative. This is the danger of a single story: one person from a marginalized or underrepresented group can’t represent everyone from that group.

Some of the other panelists, like Jeremy Whitley, the creator of Princeless, spoke about using their work to fill a need. Jeremy Whitley’s daughter is a person of color, so he wanted to write a comic where a young black girl would see herself as a princess that went on adventures. Geek Out was started as a space for LGBT+ fans of comics. At one point in the discussion, the panelists spoke about bad representation. Is bad representation better than no representation? There was no clear answer, as one panelist said he preferred bad representation to none at all. But author Marjorie Liu said, “As a woman of color, I’m allergic to bad representation.”

The pervading feeling at the “Geeks of Color: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” panel was that while people are paying more attention to diversity and things with diverse content, we still have a long way to go. Industries need to diversify from within as well as to seek out diverse creators. Diversity naturally happens when there are a variety of people creating things.

Authors Melissa Gray, Daniel Jose Older, Sara Raasch, and Kim Harrison discussed what made the protagonists of their novels “kick ass.” Melissa Grey (The Girl at Midnight) discussed how female characters are never allowed to be unlikable, like male characters often are. They’re usually expected to be “nice.” Daniel José Older wants his books to show the diversity in Brooklyn, because a book should be like a friend and tell you the truth.

At the Women in Geek Media panel, the panelists encouraged the room full of people to create their own works. Everyone, they told us, has a unique story to tell. Many of the women talked about having to create their own spaces and writing with a unique voice, which is what made them stand out. They also encouraged everyone there who was fed up with the lack of representation of women, people of color, and other marginalized groups in media to channel their anger thoughtfully and to hold content creators accountable.

All the panels I attended were full almost to capacity. It was great to see how much people are clamoring for more diverse representation. But the real highlight of Comic Con was meeting Amandla Stenberg!

Stacy, Publisher of TU BOOKS

On Thursday night of Comic Con, I went to the #BlackComicsMonth panel moderated by Dean MizCaramelVixen. It was an all-star lineup, including Chad L. Coleman (who played Tyreese on The Walking Dead), who is producing a new comic that stars his likeness, and comics artists and writers Scott Snyder, David Walker, Mikki Kendall, Shawn Pryor, Steve Orlando, Christine Dinh, Mildred Louis, Jeremy Whitley, and Afua Richardson. If you want to see the whole panel, you can view it on YouTube.

The panel started out by talking to a standing-room-only crowd of at least 300 people about what “diversity” meant to them. Christine Dinh spoke about how there are more young women reading comics—that kids are more diverse than ever. Another panelist talked about how what it means to be black could mean so many different things, and that all those representations were important—that there is no one way to be black.

Everyone on the panel emphasized how important the voices of people of color are in comic books. Kendall said, “If you don’t see yourself out there, put your stuff out there.”

Later that night was a fangirl panel (“She Made Me Do It: FanGirls Lead the Way”) discussing how important women are not only in the creation of art but also in the appreciation of it. On the panel were Jamie Broadnax, who created Black Girl Nerds; Rose Del Vecchio and Jenny Cheng from myfanmail.com, a site that sends fandom products to subscribers; and Sam Maggs, author of The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy and writer for The Mary Sue.

One of the main topics of the panel was discussing how women and girls get challenged to show their “credentials” as geeks. “I’m so over the cred thing. You don’t have to prove anything to show your passion for fandom,” Broadnax said. Maggs agreed and went on to discuss how those fans should also be reflected in the stories they consume, saying, “A range, diversity of stories can only mean better content for everyone. Why can’t white dudes look up to a black girl protagonist and have her be their role model?”

On Sunday, the We Need Diverse Books panel focused on the hashtag #IAmNotYourSidekick, discussing the importance of narratives that center the experiences of characters of color. On a personal note, the panelists discussed the first time they’d ever seen a “mirror” of themselves in a book. Some never did, at least until adulthood. Dhonielle Clayton, a Harlem Academy librarian and WNDB VP of librarian services, mentioned that she had mirrors, but only about slavery and civil rights, not fun books. Variety in representations of marginalized people is so important, she said.

The panel also discussed the importance of opening doors for writers of color, talking about the quotas of some houses (“we already have our ‘black book,’” even if the topics are completely different), and how writing cross-culturally is possible to do well, but how it must be done responsibly. Daniel José Older pointed out that too often white writers want to jump on the bandwagon of “diversity” as if it were a trend, but, he asked, “We talk about writing the other, but can you write about yourself? Can we write about whiteness?” (Older wrote an excellent article on this topic last year at BuzzFeed.)

Everyone on the panel agreed that the way to fix the problem was to talk up diverse books. “Buy diverse books!” YA author Robin Talley said. “The more you do, the more there will be.” Older also noted not to assume that a traditionally published book that stars a diverse character will have a million-dollar marketing campaign. “It likely won’t!” he said. Panelists agreed that word of mouth is one of the most important marketing tools for diverse books—sharing them with friends, talking about them on social media, and requesting them from libraries and bookstores were all mentioned as important methods of helping diverse books grow in the market.

To see pictures from Comic Con, check out the TU BOOKS Facebook page and the LEE & LOW Facebook page.

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Diversity is a recurring theme in panels at this year’s New York Comic-Con, mirroring a trend in fandom nationwide. Race, gender, physical ability, mental health, even geeks as an emerging protected class – amidst the how-to’s and PR announcements, programming about diversity is filling rooms and getting headlines. The power of this theme is something […]

   According to folks texting me from the belly of the beast, NYCC security temporarily blocked entry to and attempted to evacuate Artists Alley as a result of overcrowding. There have been numberous reports of a bottleneck at the entry and restricted-to-no movement in the hallway. This sort of thing typically gives rise to confusion […]

For those who missed it on twitter, our intrepid leader Heidi MacDonald was on the ground at the anniversary panel for The Dark Knight, where The Dark Knight III: The Master Race was on everyone’s mind. The panel had a few surprises in store, including an appearance by Frank Miller himself. Here’s the rundown:   […]

There were quite a few announcements the NYCC Special Edition Marvel panel. We learned of the fall launch of a new line of $1 comics featuring women of Marvel, saw new pages from the upcoming Lando Calrissian limited series, and were told of a new post-Secret Wars Iron Man series from Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez.

But perhaps the most interesting moment of the panel was when Bendis, speaking on the dais with Marguerite Bennett (A-Force) and Charles Soule (Inhumans: Attilan Rising), said that Secret Wars was “never planned to be a reboot” to the Marvel Universe, and that “no continuity would be damaged or reversed.” Bendis explained that Secret Wars was always meant to be part of on-going continuity.

Bennett received loud applause when speaking to a fan during the Q & A portion of the panel who asked her what advice she had for women and girls interested in the comics industry. “Don’t be scared,” Bennett replied, “I’ve had one of the worst weeks of my life with hate mail and it doesn’t matter.” Bennet said she would “prove through her work, I’m not going anywhere.”

Sound issues plagued the presentation, which alternately found Bendis yelling into his mic and audience members having to approach the panel and speak into their mics to be heard over a panel in the adjacent space (separated only by a curtain).

Keep reading for panel exclusive images of forthcoming series, including those never before seen pages from upcoming Charles Soule penned series Lando!

The new “True Believers” line of $1 comics debuts in September 2015, and will feature a women of Marvel theme for it’s first 10 issues.

Marvel also showed art from their forthcoming variant covers, including several images from an upcoming line of Manga variants. A House of M variant cover was shown, drawn by Katsuya Terada (Blood: The Last Vampire).

Marvel’s variant announcements continued with images of a line of variant covers honoring the fast-growing cosplay scene.

Artist Alex Maleev joins Soule for the upcoming Lando limited series. Soule said the series would have “a lot of twists and turns” but that it would be the charming, “smarmy” Lando we all know and love, as Con-exclusive images were shown on the big screen.

“New Armor, new villains,” promised Bendis of his upcoming Invincible Iron Man series, scheduled for release following Secret Wars. He promised the series’ first issue would have a “whopper of a last page,” and reveal the identity of Tony Stark’s biological parents. He also confirmed that, despite internet rumor, it was indeed Stark inside the Iron Man suit. Though he wouldn’t confirm how many limbs Stark still had following the events of Secret Wars.

When a fan approached the panel to ask “how important are the X-Men” after Secret Wars, Bendis joked, “it’s almost like Marvel is screwing around with people who have X-Men paranoia.”

GAH!  We’re heading deep into “comic con summer” (TCAF, BookCon, BookExpo…) and ReedPOP has announced that tickets for New York Comic Con, scheduled for October 8 – 11, 2015, will go on sale next Wednesday!  (Last year, it was Thursday, June 26.)

As stated on their website, it’s not as crazy as San Diego, as you will have THREE opportunities to purchase tickets:

1. Tickets for NYCC 2015 will go on sale on May 13 at 12:00 PM EDT.
2. A limited supply of New York Comic Con Tickets will be available for purchase at Special Edition: NYC 2015 on June 6-7. All details can be found here.
3. An event at Midtown Comics later this summer. All of the info for this event will be announced at a later date. Note that Midtown Comics is the ONLY Retail partner selling NYCC 2015 Tickets. Don’t miss NYCC 2015, October 8-11, 2015 in the Javits Center in New York City.

Note their italics in #3.  Midtown Comics is the EXCLUSIVE retailer for NYCC tickets.

What’s the cost, you might wonder?

Not pictured: VIP ticket packages, which run from $215 to $525.  These usually sell out instantly.

Last year’s advance sales were on a scale with San Diego, including web SNAFUs and fast sales for 3- and 4-day tickets.  (The show did not sell out until October 2.) It’s hoped that the SENYC supply will mitigate some anger, and also boost attendance to that smaller show, scheduled June 6&7 at Pier 94.

Last year, attendance was 151,000.  Much of that growth was due to an expansion of Thursday’s hours to a full day. Is there any more room for expansion?  Unlikely.  In 1997, the New York Auto Show set an Easter Sunday record of 158,908.  Granted, the dynamics are different…  there is a lot of open space on the exhibits floor, as cars are the main attraction, and it’s easier for attendees to meander.  Also, 1A-C is an exhibits hall, along with 3A-E and the North Hall.  Most importantly, the average time spent at the Auto Show?  3 hours, 27 minutes. (Some comic con attendees spend that much time in line.)

If not next year, then before 2020, I expect the show to expand to Columbus Day Monday. That might require extra costs due to union contracts, but I’m sure money can be found.

Do you plan to attend? Is the show getting too big? Too expensive? Sound off below!

Yesterday The Mary Sue published an article noting that for-profit comic-cons might be violating federal labor law by not paying minimum wage to workers improperly classified as volunteers. However, a recent case involving Major League Baseball shows how commercial comic-cons could beat the tag.

The use of free labor by for-profit companies has become a hot issue in recent years. Internships have become a particularly touchy topic – class action lawsuits by former interns have prompted some companies to end their unpaid internship programs, although there are at least a couple high-profile cases on appeal in which companies are challenging the Department of Labor’s standards for determining whether an intern is actually an employee.

Given how costly it can be for a company to fall afoul of federal law on this issue, it is indeed prudent for the companies that run comic conventions to assess whether it is legal for them to use unpaid volunteers. This is especially conventions run by for-profit companies, since charitable nonprofits enjoy a special exemption from minimum wage and overtime requirements in regard to volunteers. The Mary Sue has once again performed a service to the community in calling attention to this important issue.

With that in mind, in making this analysis it’s important to be aware of both the law’s requirements, the specific practices of each company, and the exemptions that are available outside the one given to charities.

First, since conventions produced by ReedPop — NYCC, ECCC, C2E2 — were mentioned in the post, it’s worth noting, as several “volunteers” have stated in the original comments thread and a related Reddit thread, that ReedPop pays volunteers minimum wage as official crew. Calling people volunteers in this context is a great way to foster a sense of community and community — one of things for which Lance Fensterman and company are to be commended is the way that they have fostered this communal sensibility while maximizing return on investment.

But not every for-profit comic-con that brings on volunteers gives these workers compensation – in fact, depending on the convention, you might actually be required to pay a fee for the privilege of helping the company out! Although this may seem on its face like a violation of federal law, there’s a legal loophole that has enabled countless commercial businesses to use volunteers in the standard sense of term.

Over the years the federal Fair Labor Standards Act has accumulated dozens of exemptions for a wide range of ventures, from homemakers making wreaths to C-level executives. For a company that operates a program taking place within a limited period of time during the year, there is one exemption in particular that catches the corporate attorney’s eye: minimum wage and overtime requirements do not apply to “any employee employed by an establishment which is an amusement or recreational establishment…” that operates no more than seven months a year or meets a financial test as to revenue generated at different times of the year. (29 USC 213(a)(3))

There are several cases that show how a commercial comic-con can take advantage of this provision, but the ruling perhaps most on-point was issued just a year ago in the Southern District of New York – coincidentally, the same federal district in which the New York Comic-Con takes place. Chen v. Major League Baseball Properties was brought by a former volunteer for the 2013 All-Star Week FanFest at the Javits Center (!), and the volunteer made arguments similar to those made in the intern lawsuits: volunteers at the event met the criteria for employee status, and thus Major League Baseball should have paid them at least minimum wage.

Major League Baseball — and the court — disagreed. As the court observed, although Major League Baseball operates all year long, Department of Labor regulations distinguish an entire enterprise from an “establishment,” which specifically refers to “a distinct place of business.” The exemption was put in place to accommodate seasonal ventures employing people for discrete periods of time in activities that might offer “non-monetary rewards.” The court concluded Major League Baseball’s FanFest was analogous to the amusement and recreational activities in view when legislators originally enacted the exemption, and the plaintiff’s federal as well as state law claims were summarily dismissed.

The plaintiff has appealed the district court’s ruling – in fact, it was argued in the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals today, March 30 – but as noted above, there are a number of cases in other circuits that have reached similar conclusions. What’s more, even if the appeal succeeds, the main case being cited in opposition focuses on aspects of one baseball team’s operations that are distinguishable from a comic-con. For instance, while the team in question utilized its stadium for events throughout much of the year, comic-cons typically take place in rented facilities for discrete periods of time.

The analysis gets somewhat trickier for an entity operating multiple conventions. For instance, let’s assume that Wizard World doesn’t pay its volunteers — there’s nothing about compensation in the volunteer information packet, at least; Wizard World volunteers don’t even get munchies or parking reimbursements. The fact that Wizard World operates year-round could be grounds for arguing that the seasonal establishment exemption doesn’t apply, but there are also clever counter-arguments and organizational strategies that could persuade a court to disagree. Others have tried and succeeded with even more daunting facts – which, on a related front, is why the NCAA doesn’t have to pay taxes on ads sold for March Madness.

The seasonal exemption has long been a lifeline for companies offering an opportunity to volunteer for ventures that operate on a limited-term basis, such as amusement parks, outdoor swimming pools, Oprah’s Life You Want Tour, and New York Fashion Week. If you are an unpaid commercial comic-con volunteer who believes a lawsuit for back wages would be a clear home run, expect Major League Baseball Properties and cases like it to be deployed to strike you out.

by Edie Nugent

From L to R: Diana Pho, LeSean Thomas, Alice Meichi Li, Daniel Jose Older, I.W. Gregorio and Tracey J. John

The main stage spectacles of NYCC saw panels filled with celebrity actors and moderators alike, whipping thousands of screaming audience members into a frenzy. No less intense or enthusiastic, however, were the panels scheduled towards the end of the night in the smaller conference rooms at the Javits Center. Once such panel —Geeks of Color Go Pro —filled its room to capacity with a diverse audience of fans and comic book industry hopefuls cheering just as passionately as fans in the rooms twice its size.

“Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo,” declared Tracy J. John, writer for such marquee video game franchises as Oregon Trail and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.  This comment, which came later in the proceedings, proved to be a kind of mission statement for the panel as a whole. Moderated by Tor Books editor Diana Pho, the panel participants represented a diversity of gender, race, and sexual orientation.

Pho opened by asking the panel to tell their “origin stories,” referring to how they arrived at their current careers within an industry that has long suffered from a dearth of diversity.  Tracey J. John kicked things off, saying: “a long long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…I went to NYU and got a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies.” She went on to say that she garnered an internship at MTV News, which led to a job working for MTV.com. “We wrote about these things called ‘music videos,’” she joked. This job placed her in the perfect spot to capitalize on her World of Warcraft addiction when MTV looked to launch a video game focused section of its website. She recalled thinking, “whoa, I can get paid to write about video games?” She later turned to freelance work for Wired, NY Post, and Playstation Magazine. Desirous of a more stable paycheck, she turned to a job at Gameloft and worked in game development. Recently she decided to shake things up again, and has returned to freelance work.

I.W. Gregorio, who claims she’s still getting used to being addressed by the pen name her day job requires, opened by speaking the question on the minds of many an audience member:  “How did a urologist end up being a YA author?” She went on to explain she felt the better question to be “why would an aspiring author become a doctor?” She spoke of her racially isolated childhood where she knew immediately she wanted to be a writer, but felt family pressure “like a lot of kids of color” to enter either law or medicine to be deemed a ‘success’ culturally. Her talents in math and science led her to choose the path of medicine, “enough people had told me that I wanted to be a doctor that I ended up being one.” She did attempt, in her words, to “try to have my cake and eat it too” also studying English while in college. She went on to pursue medicine and take a 10 year break from writing before her passion was reignited during her residency. She is, however, grateful to be a doctor because it “enables my writing career…and gives me a lot of stories.” She described how her new book None of the Above was inspired by an intersex teenager she treated during her residency.

Daniel Jose Older, author of the upcoming Half-Resurrection Blues, the first book in what is to be an ongoing urban fantasy series for Penguin Book’s Roc imprint, began by saying that Gregorio’s story “actually really connects to mine. In 2009 I was a paramedic and community organizer doing work on gender violence and intersections of racism. I was trying how to figure out how to have a voice and what that meant as a writer.” He  explained that he loved Star Wars and Harry Potter, but that he and the kids of color he was working work didn’t see themselves in those stories, “and there was a disconnect.” This inspired him to “sit down and write Shadowshaper which got picked up by the folks at Scholastic that put out Harry Potter, so it was this really big dream come true.” He went on to explain that the process of publishing that first work took over 6 years and that “publishing will make you learn patience” which drew a big laugh from the crowd. He continued to work on stories during that time, and work on adult fiction, which led him to Half-Resurrection Blues, due out in 2015. He explained that his background as a paramedic directed inspired the new book, saying: “a lot of this comes from being on the front lines…dealing with life and death.”

Author Alice Meichi Li knew she wanted to be an artist since the age of five. “I grew up in a Chinese restaurant in a really rough part of Detroit,” she said. She explained how this kept her indoors for her own safety, drawing on the back of the placemats of her parents’ restaurant. She also felt pushed towards a career in more economically dependable fields like law, medicine, or IT technologies. “When faced with the prospect of applying for college, all I could think about was arts school. I was in Army Junior ROTC and my Staff Sargent saw some of my art and he said: what are you doing here? You should be taking art class, you should be pursuing this.” She eagerly took his advice, worrying her family regarding her future. As she graduated High School at the top of her class, they told her she should be making “six-figures somewhere”—not becoming a starving artist. She conceded that’s “pretty much what happened” to the amusement of the audience, “I did have to end up balancing a day job,” with her art career, working at the well-known comic book store Forbidden Planet. “But I was doing Artist’s Alleys and that’s how I made a lot of my connections. If you’re trying to be an artist in comics that’s pretty much your best bet.”

“Everybody’s got all these cool stories,” remarked Black Dynamite producer and director LeSean Thomas. “I was born and raised in the South Bronx, John Adams projects at 152^nd Street,” some in the crowd applauded at this mention—then laughed as Thomas joked that he was in the part of the Bronx that exists “past Yankee Stadium” where most New Yorkers’ familiarity with the Bronx begins and ends. “I grew up watching Saturday morning cartoons, reading comics books, “ he recalled, saying that he felt comic books was a more realistic career path for him, as the tools used to produce comics were more affordable than that of cartoon animation: “they don’t sell light-boxes at the bodegas,” he quipped.

Thomas ended up in a High School arts program called Talent Unlimited. Following High School he took a job at a sporting goods store to make ends meet. While working there, he was spotted sketching by his store manager whose wife worked at a children’s accessories company. The company quickly employed him to work on designs for accessories featuring licensed characters. Through his work there, he met Joe Rodgers who mentored the young artist and eventually Thomas “became a flash artist/storyboard artist on this web-cartoon called WorldGirl, and it got picked up by Showtime, I think it was the first cartoon to get picked up by a major network.” His success there led to his meeting Carl Jones, who moved to Los Angeles and teamed with The Boondocks creator Aaron MacGruder on the now famous Cartoon Network series based on MacGruder’s comic strip of the same name. “He needed people who could understand Hip-Hop culture, Anime, and social political racial satire, and it was very hard to find that kind of talent in Hollywood,” he paused as the crowd laughed before putting it bluntly: “let alone somebody who could draw a black person.” This led him to move to Los Angeles to work on the show, which he feared would soon be canceled due to its controversial and sometimes “wildly inappropriate” content.

The series proved a critical and ratings success for Cartoon Network, and Thomas felt liberated by the mostly black racial makeup of The Boondocks’ creative team. “I grew up in a society where the White male was the dominant character…to be able to work on a show where my boss was Black, the characters we were creating were Black and we were saying the things we wanted to say without caring what other people thought, Black or White, was really liberating and was one of the best experiences for me.” He went on to comment that his experience working on The Boondocks “catapulted his career,” gave him the chance to move overseas, and opened many career opportunities for him-not the least of which was his teaming up producer Carl Jones to produce the Adult Swim series Black Dynamite. He noted how rare it was to have three shows in a row to his credit that found him working under Black people, on shows starting Black characters: The Boondocks, Legend of Korra, and Black Dynamite.

“I guess I should pitch in about myself, and I thought: oh, I’m the moderator—just sit here and look pretty,” joked Diana Pho, before continuing:  “I grew up in New England, in a very White town. I was always the only Asian girl in my class and my family is from Vietnam: no one knew where Vietnam was, because actually in my High School they never talked about the Vietnam War.” This statement elicited shocked sounds from the assembled crowd, but also some knowing murmurs that appeared to understand all too well the sort of erasure her statement described. Pho explained that she found escape from her outsider status through books, especially science fiction and fantasy novels. While studying English at college, she knew felt her options for employment were limited to work as a teacher, continuing her studies of Russian-her minor field-in order to obtain her Master’s Degree in it, or something else. “I chose something else,” she said, “and that was publishing.”

She explained she felt publishing to be a small field, insular in nature-and a field where it “has to do with the connections you make, that’s what I learned” and mentioned that her first job involved editing test books for college admissions for a summer. “What it did provide me was internship experience in marketing,” Pho remarked, explaining that this led to her getting a job with Hachette Press. She worked there in sales and marketing for several years before a colleague recommended her for a position at the Science Fiction Book Club making catalogues. She ended up following this with a Master’s in Performance Studies-doing her thesis in Steampunk performance-and graduated to assume her current role at Tor Books.

The panel then opened up for questions from the audience where Pho asked that the questions be “tweet-sized” to try and get to everyone’s question , but the line for the microphone grew long enough that the panel was forced to wrap up with audience members still on line. When asked: “what was one thing that you wish you knew when you started out that you know now?” Gregorio explained that as a representative of the We Need Diverse Books campaign (weneeddiversebooks.tumblr.com) “I’d be remiss if I didn’t say that there are obviously challenges for diverse authors, the first book I wrote had and Asian-American multicultural protagonist-and three different editors said: oh, it’s too similar to another book with an Asian-American character.” She explained that she knew other authors of color who had run into enough of the same problem that they feared they might have to only write about White characters going forward. “The We Need Diverse Books campaign is most effective because it’s been showing the gatekeepers that they are wrong. Fifty percent of children in schools today are children of color, but only ten percent of books have minority protagonists.” She also called upon the audience to open up their wallets and support works by authors of color and/or featuring main characters of color.

John added on to Gregorio’s comments by telling the audience to not be afraid of the status quo, and gave an example of her work in gaming journalism. “Things that I did…aside from asking the questions I needed to do my job, I’d throw in some poignant questions, I’ve asked Shigeru Miyamoto: why does Princess Peach need saving again? Didn’t she get some self-defense classes by then? Or the developer of a family game why there wasn’t an option to be a Black person, they just had different tans? Ask those kinds of questions. It can be intimidating: Oh I have this opportunity to interview a game developer, I don’t want to screw it up. I’d say ask the normal questions and then save those for the end.”

“When you’re starting out as a writer there’s a lot of advice given out to you, like: you have to build your platform, you have to network! And there’s this very common, very White Western narrative of breaking out as an author. Where you’re that singular rocket ship that flies away to become famous overnight…what it requires us to do, especially as writers and creators of color, is to really reimagine what success means to us anytime we’re entering into any kind of project or career.” He went on to emphasize the need to build community, outside of a “putting points on your resume” style of thinking. “What will sustain you is unity. That’s what will have your back when things are hard, and things will be hard.” He noted that more than fans, writers need people who will tell them the truth-people who will give them the “hard critique.” He also said he wanted to shout-out to: fanbros.com, nerdgasmnoire.net as well as blackgirlnerds.com, saying of the organizations: “these groups are collectives of people of color, proudly nerds, proudly of color, talking about racism, talking about Sleepy Hollow. We need to talk about these things because that’s community” to many loud cheers.

Li wished to add “a piece of advice I hear a lot: you are the average of the five people you interact with most in life. So if you have a bunch of people who are ambitious, who are trying to do what you’re trying to do you’re going to kind of automatically get lifted up with them. So you want at least three of them to be in a place where you aspire to be. I add that you should look for someone who is: 1) an older mentor, to get advice from, 2) an equal, that you can be a comrade-at-arms with and share you career path with and 3) someone you can mentor, because you can learn a lot from teaching.”

“The thing that I wish I’d known before getting into animation, that I do now is that all the animation jobs are in California,” said Thomas, to the laughter of the crowd. Thomas clearly meant the comment seriously, adding: “I wouldn’t have stayed in New York as long if I’d have known there were no real animation jobs in New York the way there are in California…I probably would’ve made my pilgrimage a lot sooner.”

Another attendee asked how the artists dealt with accusations of racism. “I just got called racist the other day, so that was fun,” recounted Older, saying that because the bad guys in a recent story were White he had the accusation leveled at him. “There’s no easy answer, but you have to go with your gut and trust your instincts because when the shit flies, you have to be able to stand up for your work. I know what I did in that story—and I have much worse stories about White people than that,” he said, laughing.

Gregorio added: “publishing is a team sport, you’re going to have editors and marketing people-they’ll catch anything really bad. And also you have to realize we’re all going to get criticism. Haters are gonna’ hate, it’s alright!”

A reporter asked if the panel felt any responsibility towards social justice storylines. Thomas replied, “You know on Black Dynamite me and Carl Jones, the executive producer, always used to joke that we were like social workers in animation, not to belittle social work, but we liked to joke that because we were one of the few [shows] that touched on those issues. The most important thing for us is that it has to be funny, that’s the golden rule. The second rule is that it has to be genuine. If it’s honest, if it comes from a good place there’s always humor in it….and the third is to make people uncomfortable, not in a negative way but to make them think outside what they normally expect.”

The final question came from a Bleeding Cool reporter who asked, “Why are we still having this conversation? I feel like we’re constantly having the same conversation: do you see an end to it, do you think? Where we’re not going to need to have ‘Geeks of Color’ in the corner at 8:00pm?”

“So you’re saying Geeks of Color needs to be at noon, is what you’re saying? I agree I think it should be much earlier.” Thomas joked.

Pho added: “we’re going to keep having this conversation until we hit critical mass,” she explained that critical mass was not when people stopped asking questions, but rather that “we need a critical mass of answers from all over the place, not just from us but from you guys—not just from you guys but from everyone at this convention, and not just this convention—about how pop culture functions, how media functions…we all have to hit that critical mass point and that’s when the conversation stops.”

“I feel your point a lot,” Older added, indicating the reporter, “we do need this and part of the reason is the industry is still very racist, still very White, and so we need to have these conversations…the job and the struggle and the challenge for us is to push the conversation forward so it’s not so circular. So that’s why we need diverse books, which is such an important way to get everyone together. We need to talk about power analysis.” Older also stressed that he felt there were necessary conversations that weren’t had before this generation of creators and it was important to recognize: “we’re here because the folks before us fought their fight, so we’re fighting our fight for the next generation of artist of color, writers of color…and that involves getting together and having ‘geeks of color’ panels which makes people uncomfortable, which is good, as it should.”

Stacy Whitman, Publisher of the Tu Books imprint of LEE & LOW BOOKS, gives us a recap of the 2014 New York Comic Con (NYCC) event and two big panels on diversity.

The #WeNeedDiverseBooks and #geeksofcolor hashtags were well represented at Comic Con this year, with three panels discussing diversity and several more panels where the subject came up. Publishers were showcasing their diverse titles among their frontlist promotions. And panels about diversity topics, even those held in large rooms at inconvenient times, were standing room only all weekend—a clear sign to me that this subject is on the minds of more and more people lately.

I missed the #WeNeedDiverse(Comic)Books panel, but you can see a recap of it here. Read on for recaps of the panels I attended:

Geeks of Color Go Pro panel

I arrived early, wanting to be able to get a good seat, and only two people were waiting in line—which made me nervous. Last year, the Geeks of Color panel was packed full. Would they repeat that this year the 8pm Thursday time slot, which admittedlywas less than ideal?

I needn’t have worried. Soon the room filled to capacity, perhaps 400-500 people, mostly people of color who were fans, interested in writing or illustrating themselves, or who had family members interested. Diana Pho, an editor at Tor, moderated the panel. Panelists were LeSean Thomas (BLACK DYNAMITE: THE ANIMATED SERIES; THE LEGEND OF KORRA; THE BOONDOCKS), Tracey J. John (MTV.com; Gameloft), Alice Meichi Li (Dark Horse), Daniel José Older (Author, HALF-RESSURECTION BLUES); and I. W. Gregorio (Author, #WeNeedDiverseBooks).

from L to R: Diana Pho, LeSean Thomas, Alice Meichi Li, Daniel José Older, I.W. Gregorio, and Tracey J. John

Most of the time was taken with each panelist sharing their story of how they went pro. Their answers for how they became an animator, a writer and editor, an illustrator, a video game writer, and a surgeon and writer were as diverse as the panelists themselves, showing how many paths there are to a professional creative career. For example, Boondocks and Legend of Korra animator LeSean Thomas grew up in the projects and never attended college, but instead got into comics because the materials to draw were pretty cheap, he said. He found opportunities when he showed his work to his boss at a sports store where he worked after high school, and learned as he worked his way up.

Daniel José Older, on the other hand, was a paramedic and antiracist organizer. Getting published took him six years. “The publishing industry will make you learn patience,” he said.

I.W. Gregorio wanted to become a writer but followed the path to becoming a doctor because that was what one did in her family. But one day, someone told her, “you’ll never become a writer,” and that, she said, ticked her off enough to want to prove them wrong. She also mentioned that her job as a surgeon makes her writing career possible and gives her stories to tell.

Others spoke of internships, art classes, balancing day jobs, getting master’s degrees, and community building.

Tracey John, when asked what she wished she knew when she began, said that she wished she had known to challege the status quo. Now, she’s more willing to ask tough questions, she said—such as “why does Princess Peach need saving?”

Older suggested that writers of color need to “reimagine what success means for each of us” and to build community “rather than think of it as networking.” For people who are getting started, he suggested to find people who are willing to ground you and challenge you.

Alice Meichi Li said that “you are an average of the five people you interact with most in your life,” so look for people who fit three categories: an older mentor, an equal, and someone you can mentor, because you learn a lot from teaching.

The big question of the night came from one of the last audience members to ask a question: Why are we still having this conversation? When will we not need a geeks of color panel at 8:00pm in the corner? Diana Pho replied that she thinks we’ll need such panels until we hit critical mass—not just at Comic Cons, but in all of pop culture, of people who believe diversity matters. We here at LEE & LOW agree with Older’s concluding remark: the more people speak up, the less circular the conversation will be, and we can push the conversation forward.

Women of Color in Comics panel

Friday was the Women of Color in Comics panel, which I was thrilled to see was an equally packed room. Moderated by Regine Sawyer of the Women in Comics Consortium, this panel also featured Alice Meichi Li (Dark Horse), Alitha Martinez (penciler and inker for Marvel), Jamila Rowser (Girl Gone Geek blog), Juliana ‘Jewels’ Smith (comics artist, (H)AFROCENTRIC), Barbara Brandon-Croft (cartoonist), Geisha Vi (cosplay model), and Vanessa Verduga (actor, writer, producer).

A packed audience for the Women of Color in Comics panel

From L to R: Geisha Vi, Barbara Brandon-Croft, Jamila Rowser, Vanessa Verduga, Alice Meichi Li, Juliana ‘Jewels” Smith, Alitha Martinez, Regine Sawyer

The moderator, Regine, started out by asking what drew the panelists to comics and how they got started. Again, a diverse range of answers—from family influence to students introducing their teacher to comics, to a natural desire to draw as a child—led to a diverse range of paths into their professional work.

The panel also discussed the ongoing harassment issue in comics as well as genre and gaming. Young women are the fastest growing demographic, changing the base of the comics industry. The panelists were asked how they address feminine issues in their work. Alice Meichi Li (who was on the Geeks of Color panel), said that she loved how panels such as these were getting bigger. She addresses feminine mythology, the heroine’s journey, in her work, and argued that visibility made all the difference for readers. She told a story of reading Wizard magazine growing up, where the list of top ten writers in the back of the magazine were all white guys every time, except occasionally Jim Lee. To be able to see all kinds of people creating comics helps create demand from more diverse readers.

Jamila Rowser from the Girl Gone Geek blog said that from a fan perspective, the changing face of the industry shows the demand and the need for representation of women, particularly accurate representation of women of color. “When you don’t see people like you doing things you love, it’s discouraging,” she said.

The panelists also spoke of how sometimes they might feel invisible in the industry—Alitha Martinez, who has worked at major comic book houses as an artist, including work on a Batman comic, said that she’d been mistaken for cleaning staff before when arriving for a panel or other major professional event. Vanessa Verduga mentioned that sometimes she feels an expectation to whitewash herself, to fit within an expected personality structure rather than to be herself.

When asked why diversity was important in the first place, Jamila Rowser answered that a lack of diversity can stop readers’ enjoyment, but it can also discourage future creators, and stories set in the future with no diversity “erase our presence in the future.”

Alitha Martinez noted that women of color can’t remain on the fringes, shouting from the outside. She said that women tend not to approach editors at Marvel and DC, and that those are the places where change needs to happen most because they’re the biggest. In addition, Alice Meichi Li said that if we want to see change, as readers, we need to support that change with our wallets. “Ignoring creations by women and people of color is ignoring community,” she said. “Find your audience, know your community, know how to speak to them, and create your own niche.”

Throughout the weekend, I saw a widely diverse audience excited about comic books, animation, science fiction, fantasy, and games. Cosplayers were in abundance, including people of color. Here are a couple of my favorites:

NYCC is a great example of why #WeNeedDiverseBooks, like those we publish!

By Edie Nugent

The cast of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Photo Credit: ABC.Marvel Studios

If the response from the fans at NYCC is anything to go by, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. should delight viewers with “Face My Enemy,” the fourth episode of season two. Nearly 3,000 people lined up in advance of the Friday night screening to obtain bracelets allowing them to get an early look at the episode which airs tonight at 9pm on ABC. Once the doors closed to the exhibition hall, it wasn’t long before Jeff Loeb-Marvel’s Head of Television-stepped onto the stage. The fan response to the Eisner-award winning writer was warm, with extended applause from the crowd.

Loeb seemed genuinely excited to introduce the NYCC exclusive premiere of the episode, explaining that around the Marvel offices the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. franchise is referred to as “The Mothership.” When he expressed how proud he was that the show made it to a second season-something the show’s lackluster first season ratings in no way guaranteed-the cheering reached its’ zenith.

Loeb took full advantage of the atmosphere, saying “one of the things I hope that you learn about season one is, let’s put it this way: anyone can be Hydra.” Loeb opened his button-down shirt to reveal a Hydra logo-tee underneath. The audience booed and moaned, but their disapproval was short-lived. Actor Clark Gregg quickly jumped on stage and began yanking at Loeb’s shirt in disgust. The booing quickly turned to cheering as fans jumped to their feet to give the man who portrays fan-favorite Agent Coulson a standing ovation. Some even stood on their chairs and began a sweeping chant of “Coulson! Coulson!”

Gregg appeared to be humbled by the adulation. Loeb agreed with the response, saying: “the reason why we are here, the reason why there is an Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. is because of the extraordinary talent of our friend Clark Gregg.” The actor shouted: “It’s good to be alive!” Whether he was speaking of his resurrection in Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D., his adoring fan base, or both was unclear. Gregg went on to thank his fans for sending emails and messages in support of his character following Agent Coulson’s death in Marvel’s The Avengers (2012).

Gregg revealed that when Loeb announced he’d be attending NYCC, Gregg begged to tag along. He explained that the announcement from “Jeff and Joss” that Coulson “wasn’t quite dead” was made at NYCC two years earlier, giving him a special feeling about the con. Gregg continued: “I love New York, I love this con…and my feelings have only gotten warmer because this is where I was resurrected.”

Gregg playfully teased Loeb for his Hydra t-shirt, prompting Loeb to offer to “make it up” to Gregg by showing “Face My Enemy” in its entirety to the crowd. As the episode played, the eager audience seemed to embrace the story at every turn, applauding when Agents May (Ming-Na Wen) and Coulson appeared on-screen. The episode continues SHEILD’s efforts to understand the strange carvings that both deceased Agent Garrett (Bill Paxton) and Agent Coulson created following their exposure to GH-325-the mysterious drug that brought Coulson back to life.

The audience reaction was one of deep emotional investment, by turns exuberant, amused, and-near the end of the episode-shocked. When Gregg and Loeb returned to the stage following the end credits, Loeb noted the crowd’s reaction and said: “I have to thank you, Clark and I were sitting back stage and your response to that was just extraordinary.” He also gave a shout-out to veteran television writer Drew Greenberg, of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Smallville fame, who penned the episode.

Gregg pestered Loeb further, asking “can we show them something from Agent Carter?” The resounding cheers spurred Loeb to comment that the series, had only begun shooting earlier that week. Agent Carter follows the life of Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), founder of S.H.E.I.L.D, last seen in Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014). Gregg then produced a CD allegedly containing some of the shows early footage. Moments later a short clip appeared on screen, which found Carter partnering with Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), inventor, father of Iron Man Tony Stark & founder of Stark Industries. The teaser also saw Carter’s introduction to Edwin Jarvis (James D’Arcy), butler to the Stark family and inspiration for Tony’s Starks’ invention of J.A.R.V.I.S. Artificial Intelligence.

“Face My Enemy” premieres tonight, but fans will have to wait until January 2015 to see the premiere of Agent Carter. While the audience reaction to the early footage was overwhelmingly positive, whether Marvel Television can keep fans engaged and tuning into both of their S.H.E.I.L.D-based shows remains to be seen.

By David Nieves

Marvel saved some big reveals for their NYCC curtain call. Among the top of those announcements is the creative team on Spider-Gwen #1. The ongoing series will be written by Jason Latour with Robbi Rodriguez and Rico Renz. Introduced in Edge of the Spider-Verse #2, Gwen Stacy Spidey has become an overnight fan favorite and the series was a no brainer for Marvel. Spider-Gwen ongoing will debut in February 2015.

Nick Lowe announced Spider-Woman #1 with the creative team of Dennis Hopeless and art by Greg Land in November. 

Also announced on the panel was the Slik ongoing series launching February after Spider-Verse. Starring Cindy Moon, the character recently introduced inAmazing Spider-Man who was bitten by the same radioactive spider that gave Peter Parker his powers. Supernatural writer Robbie Thompson pens the book, while artist Stacey Lee draws them and Eisner Award winner Dave Johnson provides the covers.

We’ll update more as it comes in but in the meantime enjoy these gorgeous cover reveals. 

UPDATE: Marvel announces Scarlet Spiders, a three-issue miniseries written by Mike Costa and drawn by Paco Diaz. Spider-Verse Team-Up will be coming in November. Each issue has two stories in it, pairing classic Spidey writers and artist with newcomers.

by Edie Nugent

From L to R: Dalton Ross, Robert Kirkman and Sean Mackiewicz at Skybound’s The Walking Dead panel at NYCC 

“The Walking Dead is a very unreal way to explore some very real topics: there’s loss, triumph and accomplishment against all odds,” creator Robert Kirkman explained Thursday to a packed audience of fans at the 2014 NYCC panel for his Eisner award-winning comic series. “Also there’s the zombie killing, that part’s pretty cool,” he added.  Kirkman was joined by Walking Dead Editorial Director Sean Mackiewicz, and the panel was moderated by Entertainment Weekly’s Dalton Ross. Ross had his hands full with quick-witted Kirkman who at one point jokingly informed Ross that he would be canceling his EW subscription based on Ross’ weak selection of twitter-submitted fan questions.

Kirkman proved an engaging and thoughtful speaker, and gave many hints to the future of The Walking Dead comic series as well as the hit AMC television show. Ross began his series of questions by asking about the recent time jump in issue #127 which both Kirkman and Mackiewicz affirmed is roughly two years after the events of the “All Out War” story arc. Kirkman confirmed he intentionally left the length of the time jump vague so he could craft the narrative without specific time restrictions. He cited that aging Carl helped move that character forward, and noted that Carl’s recent adoption of his one-sided sunglasses was an indicator of the character’s insecurity: “He wants to kinda hide that aspect of himself, and we’ll be exploring that a lot moving forward. You can expect Carl’s look to possibly evolve over time.” He also told the crowd to “be on the lookout for issue 134″ [due to be released November 12] to see big changes in Carl’s character. In terms of Carl’s eye loss eventually becoming a part of the AMC television series, Kirkman said: “I’m not saying it’s definitely happening-but it’s definitely an option. We don’t adapt the comic book directly, as everyone can see from watching the show, but we certainly wouldn’t shy away from a thing like that.” Kirkman then jokingly added: “so you know-season 7!”

Ross inquired when comic fans would finally get a good look at the ‘Kingdom’ and the ‘Sanctuary.’ “There’s a lot yet left to reveal,” Kirkman said, “there’s a lot of characters out there that haven’t been seen in a while.” This led Ross to reply: “Yes, Michonne!” Kirkman agreed, and said fans should anticipate the return of Michonne around issue #150.

When asked about the future of Rick’s character, Kirkman explained: “This current plan for Rick and the outcome of ‘All Out War’ is something that I’ve been working towards for a few years now…everything up to this point [in the comics series] was planned before the show existed-you know I never really go: ‘oh, I could make them go live on an island’ or ‘grow a vegetable garden.’ It always seems to just come to me and I go: ‘yeah, we’re doing that!'” Kirkman further explained that although he’d always had a road map for that particular story arc, he did adjust it along the way because he loves having the ability to “turn on a dime.” He went on to say that there were “certain deaths that I’ve just decided to do that issue because in life I feel like tragic events can happen without any kind of preparation, and I like to try and infuse that in the book.” He also said his decision to kill Shiva, Ezekiel’s pet tiger was one of these of-the-moment decisions. Kirkman then added: “Neegan was at no point going to die.”

In terms of character design, Kirkman indicated that artist Charlie Adlard often has the final say. He elaborated on how collaborative the process was between himself and Adlard in terms of creating Rick’s evolving appearance. Often, Kirkman said, Adlard will shoot down looks he imagines for the character. He also noted that he gave Adlard “no guidance” on how the Governor should look: the design was entirely Adlard’s creation.

Kirkman did not hesitate in his answer to the twitter-submitted question: “Will we ever see Lucielle again?” “Yeah, definitely,” Kirkman replied.  After a few cheers went up from the audience he continued: “these are questions you should be asking: ‘Where’s that bat? Who has it?’ Everything will be revealed eventually. There’s a lot of stuff people may not be thinking about that has been pulled out of the book that will be put back in when the time is right.”

Another twitter question asked-regarding the television series’ recently released season 5 teaser trailer: “Is the cop from the trailer female-Negan?” Kirkman answered: “What? No, that is definitely not female-Negan in the trailer,” then teased the audience by adding: “Close, though!”

During the fan Q&A portion of the panel Kirkman and Mackiewicz didn’t shy away from hinting at spoilers.  When Kirkman was asked “Will you ever bring the character of Morgan Jones back in the television series?” he replied: “It’s just a matter of when it’s right for the story and when Lennie James,  the fantastic actor that plays Morgan, will be available.” He went on to confirm: “that’s something we’re working toward, he will appear in the Walking Dead show again.”

Another fan asked how Kirkman came up with the character of Rick. The series creator went into great detail, explaining:”really the reason that Rick is this small town police officer-I mean, he’s a crappy police officer-he never really fired his gun, he’s not super-cop-often times in apocalyptic stories or action stories like ‘The Walking Dead’ you kind of deal with the best of the best: this guy who is uniquely capable of dealing with the situation, he’s Bruce Willis and he’s bulletproof.” By contrast, Kirkman continued, “I wanted to do a story about the normal people, the people that aren’t necessarily capable of handling this or accomplishing anything or really surviving-and see how long they survive and how they rise to the challenge,” at which point he added, “though I guess he [Rick] is a little bulletproof if I’m honest.”

When a nervous, star-struck fan timidly asked: “Which character in the comic book so you think is most like how you think you’d react in the zombie apocalypse?” Kirkman’s reply of: “Eugene maybe? The guy who lies so people will protect him” drew a wave of laughter from the audience, prompting him to quip: “just being honest!” More brutal honesty was displayed when both Mackiewicz and Kirkman answered which of the many deaths in ‘The Walking Dead’ comic was their favorite. “Probably Glenn’s,” Mackiewicz began-and continued over the sounds of anguish from the crowd-“it just affects me-in that I wonder what a miserable human being Robert is sometimes-every beat is just that much worse and is’ twist the knife,’ he can’t even get [Maggie's] name out and his eyeball is just on his cheek: like he can see himself dying!”

At that moment an audience member shouted “Masochist!” at Kirkman who conceded, “a little bit.” Kirkman went on to say that while Glenn’s death was important, his favorite death scene was probably Abraham’s “because it was so sudden” and that he thought Abraham’s ability to finish talking to Eugene as he was dying was weird, but cool. Mackiewicz added that Abraham’s death was a “last minute decision” and Kirkman agreed, saying that he originally planned to have both Eugene and Abraham survive issue #98, but ultimately decided it would be unrealistic. He jokingly noted that Eugene must have survived “so he could build a windmill.”

When asked why his Atlanta didn’t have more black people, Kirkman answered: “I feel like our cast diversified a bit as we moved on, but there’s always more we can do towards that.” He then joked: “we try to keep the cast as not-white as possible because white people are terrible.” The same fan asked if we would get to see the response to the zombie threat from places other than the Atlanta/greater Washington D.C. area we’ve seen so far. Kirkman explained that the companion/spin-off series to AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ announced last fall would find it’s characters battling the zombie threat in new locations.

Further questioning led Kirkman to hint that Rick or Negan may not survive the coming events, and that if Rick did die Kirkman believed Andrea would be the most likely character to fill his shoes. But what if Kirkman was forced to choose a Walking Dead character to survive the zombie apocalypse with? Kirkman chose either Negan: “if I was on his good side” or “Carol-from the TV show-she’s pretty tough. She’d probably keep me safe the longest.”  When asked: “Could there be a female villain and could she be a Latina?” Kirkman replied, “Absolutely-there’s a very good chance of that, so keep reading! It’s possible that character’s already been introduced. There’s a spoiler for you!” A few murmurs from the crowd indicated that Rosita was the character they believed Kirkman may have been referring to.

Towards the end of the Q&A a young girl approached the microphone and asked: “Is there ever going to be an end to the zombie apocalypse?” Kirkman replied: “You look about my daughter’s age so, not ’till you’re in college! I mean, logically… the zombies aren’t going to last forever, and it’s true that there’s new zombies being created all the time, when people die,” he paused, then mused: “I’m talking about this to a child, which is awkward,” before continuing: “but you know, logically as the population’s getting smaller fewer zombies are being made, so it really is just a game to outlast them. It could end at some point if all the human beings don’t die before that point-which is an upbeat thing to think about-sweet dreams, kiddo!”

Kirkman went on to affirm that he does know how he plans to end the comic series, but that it’s “a very long way away-you know, my daughter getting through college and all.” He added that telling the story over a number of years is what “excites him” the most, and that he wants to fulfill that dream-a dream he’s had since he began the series over ten years ago.

Well NYCC Stupor Week is here, with all the excitement and dread that it brings. A bunch of locals were pre-gaming on Saturday and the consensus was that no one was vaguely ready. As a local show, there’s a big difference between NYCC and SDCC, the other domestic “Super con” in that when its in your own back yard it becomes part of your regular routine and not a thrilling trip to an exotic locale. You tend to put things off a lot more. But let’s look at the big picture.

PRO: No need to panic about packing clean underwear, just hit the dresser.

CON: If you forgot to do the laundry there is no time to do the laundry. Hit Old Navy.

PRO: You get to sleep in your own bed instead of a hotel room.

CON: Your bed may be covered in cat puke. I have never come back to a hotel room and found cat puke on the bed.

PRO: New York is the city of a thousand great places to hang out and you know where they all are.

CON: Can’t find any one because they all scattered to a thousand places.

PRO: Italian food. Pizza.

CON: No octopus tacos.

…and so on.

Overall, The Beat is excited to see so many friends from far away—Croatia, Bushwick—and with the snap of fall in the air, it’s hard not to enjoy life. But the overall feeling among those polled is a sense of numbing dread. Maybe it’s the crowds, maybe it’s Javits, maybe it’s the lack of taxis on 12th avenue. New York is a hard city. Convenience is expensive and a pretzel is not a nutritious lunch. The show itself has morphed into a branding and merchandising show as much as a “comic con” and I hope to escape to the relatively serene confines of the Artist Alley pavilion as much as possible.

I know I’m just grousing. The cats I have now don’t puke, so there is that. Really, that’s the most important thing. Note to self: get kitty litter tomorrow.

Yes, it’s still August.  There are a few days left until Labor Day ends another Summer of Fun!

So that means it’s time for the Fall Season of (unofficial) comic cons!

Hey!  New York Comic Con is in October!  I wonder what’s up at their site?

Lots of guests being announced.

MAJOR guests!

Oh, and they are spreading the lurv out-and-about the greater metropolitan area, with the inaugural “New York Super Week“, held  October 3-12, 2014.

It’s a brilliant marketing move.  Javits can only hold so many people (I’m guessing 150K max during NYCC), and can only sell so many tickets.  This expands the geekery to the general populace, with many free events available!

What’s available, you ask?

Well… there’s Neil Gaiman teaming up with NPR at the Y!  (Buy now, before he announces it on his blog!)

Columbia University displaying comics treasures from their collections!  (Free!)

Thrilling Adventure Hour (already sold out! but there’s a workshop!)

Podcasts!

Cosplay!

Burlesque!

EVEN CAT VIDEOS!

Straight from the offices of Publishers Weekly, it’s More to Come! Your podcast source of comics news and discussion starring The Beat’s own Heidi MacDonald.

In this week’s podcast the More to Come Crew – Heidi “The Beat” MacDonald, Calvin Reid and Kate Fitzsimons – discuss Special Edition, the new New York comics-only show from ReedPop (the creators of NYCC), convention woes in Denver and South Bend, Osamu Tezuka‘s backlist goes digital, Viz coming to India, the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy movie, casting for the Fantastic Four movie and more on PW Comics World’s More To Come.

Now tune in Fridays for our regularly scheduled podcast!

Listen to this episode in streaming here, download it direct here and catch up with our previous podcasts on the PublishersWeekly website, or subscribe to More To Come on iTunes

Perhaps spurred by news of the Chevy Sonic, ticket sales to New York Comic Con are flying off the shelves. According to the show’s official Twitter feed, Saturday tickets are now sold out, although some may be available via retailers. And professional 4-day passes — which cost $10 as a registration fee this year — are almost gone as well.

Three- and four-day passes for the public are still available but going fast.

Inaki Miranda’s amazing work on TRIBES has gotten a lot of attention, and he’ll be at the show. details below.

The creators of the widescreen sci-fi epic TRIBES: The Dog Years, both writer Michael Geszel and all the way from Spain, artist Inaki Miranda, will be signing at the IDW Booth #2115 Saturday 10/9 from 3pm to 4pm.
They will be signing books all weekend and giving out FREE T-Shirts, at the SoulCraft Comics booth
SMALL PRESS SECTION
BOOTH #457

Read the first 30+ pages of TRIBES: The Dog Years free: http://tribesthecomic.com

Podcast favorite Indie Spinner Rack (Booth #425) will have the Awesome Anthologies and more but also  a wide array of indie talent whom will  be signing, selling their books and sketches as well. PLUS the big Rock Comic-Con party on Saturday night.

ISR BOOTH SIGNINGS NYCC 2010

FRIDAY SCHEDULE

1:00 pm – 3pm
Charly La Greca – The Hair Pair(Disney)& The Awesome Anthologies
Hamza Pecenkovic – Murder Machine & The Skeptic
Alex Serra – Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century, Teen Titans Go, Growing Up Enchanted, Toybox Turmoil and Sleeping Dragons.

4:00 – 5pm

Rebekah Isaacs – DV8, Hack/Slash & Magus(Upcoming)
Jon Price  - Magus (Upcoming)

5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Charles Soule – Strong Man  &  – 27(Upcoming)
Nick Runge -  Angel, Farscape, Ghostbusters, & WWII graphic novel called Cockatoo Newsgies (Upcoming)

SATURDAY SCHEDULE

10:00 – 12:00 pm
Miss Lasko Gross – Escape From Special
Henni – Hand Colored Mini(House of Twelve) 
Hamza Pecenkovic

12:00- 2pm
Jamie Tanner – The Aviary & Upcoming -  ‘Blackwell’(Upcoming)
MK Reed – Cross Country & Americus (Upcoming)

2:00- 3:00 pm
Rebekah Isaacs
Jon Price

3:00 – 5 pm
Charly La Greca
Alex Serra
    
5:00 – 7:00 pm
Rich Miller – The Awesome Anthologies &  DC Comics
Charles Soule

SUNDAY SCHEDULE
10:00 – 1:00 pm
MK Reed
Charly La Greca

1:00 –
5:00 pm
Nathan Schrieber – Xeric Winner – ‘Power Out’
Jamie Tanner

5:00
TBD
Rich Miller

It is worth running this press release jut to run this graphic. Events include a signing at the NY Toys ‘r’ Us at 7 pm on Friday.

If you’re one of the lucky fans attending New York Comic-Con (http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com) October 8th – 10th, there are some pretty cool McFarlane-related events and giveaways you do NOT want to miss.  Image Comics (#1647) and 38 Studios (#2257) are giving YOU the chance to meet Todd McFarlane, Curt Schilling and Greg Capullo at the show. 
 
 
TODD McFARLANE – FRIDAY
 
Todd McFarlane and Greg Capullo Autograph Signing
Date/Time: Friday, October 8th, 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Location: Image Comics Booth #1647
Head to the Image Comics’ booth (http://www.imagecomics.com) for a very rare joint autograph signing with McFarlane (Spawn, Haunt) and Capullo (Spawn, Haunt). The Image Booth will be selling both Haunt ($9.99) and Spawn ($14.99) trade paperbacks.  125 FREE tickets for the autograph session will be given away at the Image Comics booth starting at 1pm on Friday.  No purchase required. Limit two signatures per person.
 
Todd McFarlane Autograph Signing
Date/Time: Friday, October 8th 4:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Location: Midtown Comics Booth #2143
When the con doors open at 1pm, Midtown Comics’ booth (http://www.midtowncomics.com/) will give away 100 FREE tickets to fans wanting to attend the special McFarlane signing.  Midtown will have a wide range of McFarlane’s work available for purchase. One ticket per person.  No purchase required.  Limit two signatures, per person.
 
PANEL: Toys Are Us! How Your Favorite Toys Are Made with Special Guest Todd McFarlane (http://nycc_nyaf10.mapyourshow.com/3_0/sessions/sessiondetails.cfm?ScheduledSessionID=1049)
Date/Time: Friday, October 8th  6 PM  – 7 PM
Panel Room 6 (1A21)
 
Panelists:
 
• Todd McFarlane, Founder of McFarlane Toys
• Shawn Smith, Creative Director and CEO of Shawnimals
• Jesse Falcon, VP of Product Development at Marvel Entertainment
• David Scroggy, VP of Product Development at Dark Horse Comics
• Zach Oat, former ToyFare Editor and Co-author of Pop Sculpture: How to Create Action Figures and Collectible Statues
 
Todd McFarlane at Toys “R” Us Times Square Autograph Signing
Date/Time: Friday, October 8th 7:00 PM
Location:  Toys R Us Times Square, Level Three, The Skybox
If you weren’t lucky enough to score a ticket to NYCC, McFarlane and Toy R Us are doing a special autograph signing after the con closes for the night, and EVERYONE is invited.  400 fans will get the chance to meet and get an autograph from the legendary Artist and McFarlane Toys Founder.   Tickets are available in advance and day of the event with a $20 purchase at the Toys “R” Us Times Square store (http://www.toysrusinc.com/about-us/times-square/special-events/). Tickets are limited to one per person. Autographs are limited to one action figure and one additional memorabilia item, time permitting.
 
 
TODD MCFARLANE – SATURDAY
 
Todd McFarlane and Curt Schilling, Autograph Signing, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning FREE Limited Edition Posters
Date/Time: Saturday, October 9th 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Location: 38 Studio’s Booth #2257       
Many of you have been following the news about 38 Studios (http://38studios.com/) Founder and Chairman, and three-time World Series Champion, Curt Schilling, and our very own Todd McFarlane teaming up on an exciting new video game slated to release in 2011. NYCC attendees will definitely want to visit 38 Studi

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