Episode 15: Boston Con 2015 and Listener Feedback

Ryan Daly recounts his short time at Boston Comic Con 2015, meeting Anj for the first time, and getting a signed Black Canary band poster.

Also, listener feedback from episodes 13 and 14.

Flowers & Fishnets is available for download on iTunes by clicking here, or you can check out the show's RSS feed right here.

Check out Anj's Supergirl blog, Comic Box Commentary by clicking here.

Below, Black Canary poster by Annie Wu

Music this episode:

"Shipping Up to Boston (live)"

Molly Ramone

Self-published, 2012. 

CLICK HERE TO PLAY EPISODE IN ANOTHER WINDOW.

Top 10 Black Canary Moments of 2013 Part 2

Click here to review 10 - 8.

7. Coming Off the Bench

From Justice League #17, art by Ivan Reis.

Earlier in this countdown I talked about how Black Canary almost joined the ranks of the Justice League in 2013.  The closest she came was fighting on their behalf against the Atlantean invasion in the crossover event Game of Thrones "Throne of Atlantis".

From Aquaman #16, art by Paul Pellatier.

When the League's heavy hitters are taken out of the game, Cyborg calls in the reserves to defend the city of Boston from Ocean Master and the army of Atlantis.  Black Canary, as well as Hawkman, Vixen, Zatanna, Firestorm, Black Lightning, and Atomica, hold off the destruction of the East Coast until Aquaman and the rest of the League ran reinforce them and save the day.

(Apropos I like this team roster a hell of a lot more than the one with Vibe, Stargirl and Catwoman.)

It was great to see Dinah valued enough by the League to fight a war in their absence, even if there is a total lack of discipline and organization to their defense.

Wait, Cyborg's line in the panel to the left doesn't sound very flattering!  Dinah never steps in and takes charge of the battle; she exhibits zero leadership skills.  She can't even prevent a teenager from endangering them all.  Oh God, why does the New 52 hate her so much?!!  Top 10!  I can't even make a Top 10 list that shows her in ten favorable moments!

6. "Where the Hell Did You Come From?"

At this year's San Diego ComicCon, the show runners of CW's surprisingly successful Arrow television series screened a short video that recapped the major beats of the first season finale while teasing the second season's premier.

And the climactic sequence of the video--what drove fans crazy was the first appearance of the Blonde Bombshell played by Caity Lotz.

The Canary would take on a much larger role in the show's second season than fans likely expected.  At the time the video came out, though, it was enough to demonstrate to new and old audiences how bad-ass a character she could be.  Hell, those 40 seconds got me to buy the first season so I could prepare for her screen debut.

5. Change of Clothes

Even though Black Canary didn't really make it into the game Injustice: Gods Among Us as anything other than an NPC who recharges Green Arrow's health (so I've heard; never played it), she did get the full-service concept art treatment.  Below are seven different could've-been interpretations of the Canary by Bernard Beneteau.

Okay, none of these are ideal costumes for Black Canary--not if you want to take her seriously in anything other than a knockoff Street Fighter video game.  Some of them look silly, and some of them make her look more intimidating than she's probably going for.  But, and I cannot stress this enough, I like all of these costumes, every one, more than the Jim Lee-designed costume she wears in the New 52.  I can't explain it rationally, but I would prefer her in even the silliest of the above designs to the one she has been stuck in for the last two years.

Thankfully, these weren't the only options for the digital-first comics that tied-into Injustice.

From Injustice: Gods Among Us Chapter 18.
Art by Jheremy Raapack.

Several artists have depicted Dinah in this bleak, alternate universe, and each one of them does a terrific job rendering her "unjust" costume.  This look is so much better than the conceptual entries above and the New 52 design.  I think the reason it works, even with its faults, is that it honors what I consider the most important elements of Black Canary's costume.

From Injustice: Gods Among Us Chapter 24.
Art by Mike S. Miller.

The three essential things her costume needs to have:

1. Black.  Her costume must have black, preferably black leather or something like it.
2. Blonde.  Whig or dye-job, I don't care, but as long as Black Canary is a caucasian woman, she's a blonde.
3. Fishnets.  Not padding.  Not mesh.  Fishnets.

And three recommended things her costume should have:

1. Cleavage.  It sounds juvenile, but Dinah's bust is part of her aesthetic.  Not as much as Power Girl's, I'll grant you, but it is important to her look.
2. Choker.  She ought to have something around her neck.
3. Jacket.  Not necessary, but she looks better when she has one.

The Injustice costume is still a little more armored and tactical than I'd prefer, but it hits all three "needs" and two out of three "shoulds" on my checklist.

4. You Can't Stalk Someone Who Wants to Be Followed

Early in December I "followed" actress Caity Lotz on Twitter.  Caity plays Black Canary on the television series Arrow.

A few hours later, I received this:

Holy--! A direct message from the woman who plays Black Canary?!! Did she see my Twitter handle and address and know what a fan I am?  Is this the start of something--?

Yeah, for all of five minutes I believed this was really, truly a personalized direct message to me.  Then I figured out that she wasn't following me back.  The DM was probably a bot that automatically shoots the same message back to everyone who follows her.  Nothing more.

... Still, it felt really cool for five minutes.  Everything after that was sad and humiliating, but those five minutes were awesome and deserve to make my Top 10 Black Canary Moments of 2013.

What moments will make the final three?

To Be Continued...

Canary Cosplay from NYCC '13

Another ComicCon has passed without DC announcing the launch of a Black Canary solo series, so really, the only noteworthy thing about this NYCC is the pics of Black Canary cosplay.

These two pics come from Bleeding Cool.  First is a couples shot featuring a blue-jacketed Dinah with her bow-slinging beau:

And the second is the first cosplay I think I've seen of the New 52 look:

This shot of Black Canary and Wonder Woman comes from Nihongogo:

I hope everyone who got to attend NYCC had a great time!

GraniteCon 2013 Wrap-Up

The Boston ComicCon I attended back in July was the first comic book convention I had attended in about fifteen years, so it was, in a lot of ways, a brand new experience, and it shaped how I would view future cons.  Like, for example, the one I went to last Saturday in Manchester, New Hampshire.

I knew Granite State ComicCon would be a different experience, a much smaller and potentially more intimate affair.  There weren't any panels advertised, there weren't any big publisher booths, none of the A-list writers and artists from DC or Marvel.  But the writers and artists who were there were incredibly gracious, cool, and best of all--available!  I didn't get a chance to talk to art legends like Neal Adams, Tim Sale, and George Perez at Boston because I didn't want to stand in line for an hour.  At GSCC, however, I got to annoy the hell out of Ethan Van Sciver as he was setting up his booth.

The first artist I talked to was Aaron Kuder, soon to be the regular artist on Action Comics.  As it happened, I had just read the DC Villians Month spotlight issue Superman #23.4: Parasite #1, written and drawn by Kuder.  No one else was at his booth when I arrived, so I approached him to tell him how much I enjoyed reading his Parasite special.

I asked him how the opportunity to not only illustrate the issue but script it, too, came about.  He said he was talking to his editor about the project and they were throwing out names of possible writers.  Feeling bold, Kuder asked if he could take a stab at writing it himself.  Because they were far enough ahead of schedule, editorial gave him the go-ahead to write the issue.  I asked how much of the story was his and how much came from editorial.  He answered diplomatically, "They gave me guidelines."

After that we talked about his upcoming work on Action Comics starting with November's issue #25.  He sounded very excited about the issues to come, and considering Greg Pak is writing the book for him, I have to agree.  That book should be very, very good, indeed!

I circled around, meeting some of the smaller creators, bought a few indy books, took a picture of the Ghostbusters next to the portrait of Viggo the Carpathian, because my wife would love that; and then I found Billy Tucci, from whom I commissioned the beautiful Black Canary sketch I posted on Monday.

While waiting for my Tucci sketch, I had the opportunity to flip through some of the back issue bins.  I happily found a selection of Action Comics Weekly from the late '80s for only fifty cents!  Black Canary had a backup strip running eight chapters from issues #609 to 616, and twelve more appearances from #624 to 635.  Twenty appearances in all, of which I was able to pick up nine for less than ten dollars.  (Sunday night, I ordered the other issues from MyComicShop.com.)

They didn't have issue #609, the famous Brian Bolland cover depicting Black Canary burning her costume from the Justice League International era, but they did have #624, with this sweet Black Canary cover drawn by the great Alan Davis!

For some inexplicable reason, this image had completely slipped under my radar.  I had never seen this picture of Black Canary until I pulled the comic out of the fifty-cent bin… and it was like the magic of my earliest childhood experiences in a comic store revisited.  "Black Canary Strikes Back!"  There she was, on the cover, kicking ass, just trashing three hoods, looking all at once sexy and classy.  Yeah, it was an Alan Davis cover.

Once I have the other issues collecting her backup strips, I'll post reviews here on the blog.

I picked up my Tucci commission not long after.  I was ready to leave, completely satisfied, but my friend was disappointed that Ethan Van Sciver hadn't arrived after two hours.  Right as we were getting ready to leave, though, EVS appeared--as if from a trapdoor in the floor--and began setting up his booth right behind us.

My friend and I talked to Van Sciver briefly as he set up his table and sketchpad.  I told him how much I enjoyed his work on Batman: The Dark Knight, and he said he was beginning work on an "event comic" for DC that he was starting the next day (which would have been this past Sunday).  He couldn't announce what the project was, but said it will be DC's Free Comic Book Day issue for May.

(I'm crossing my fingers that it'll be a preview for Bronze Tiger: Rebirth #1.)

Van Sciver had two prints from 2011 on his table for ten dollars each.  I bought one for my friend, and one for myself, and got them both signed.

The print I got for my friend features Batman and the Damian Wayne Robin attacking the Penguin.

The one for me was a group shot of just about every big DC hero except Black Canary.

As much as I love Batman, I was happy my friend wanted that print more, because I love this ensemble piece of so many heroes.  The central character of the group is Firestorm, the character Ethan Van Sciver redefined visually and more for the New 52.  I love how EVS has fiery energy coming off of Firestorm's shirt emblem.  Awesome touch!

The upper left corner includes Superman, Supergirl, Plastic-Man, Hawkgirl, Hawkman, and Captain Marvel. 

The upper right corner includes the Spectre and Green Lanterns John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, Guy Gardner, Hal Jordan, and Kilowog.

The middle part of the image includes Metamorpho, Catwoman, the Creeper and Wonder Woman. 

And the bottom features the Bart Allen Kid Flash and the Flashes Barry Allen and Wally West.

It's an exciting, energetic, and action packed image that I'm happy to have in my admittedly limited connection.  But the more I look at it, the more I want Ethan Van Sciver to draw a Metamorpho book.  How cool would that be?

All told, I had a great time at GraniteCon.  I hope it's just as productive next year!

Black Canary by Billy Tucci

This gorgeous sketch of pre-Flashpoint Black Canary was drawn for me by Billy Tucci this past Saturday at Granite State ComicCon in Manchester, New Hampshire.  Tucci, a regular cover artist for DC and Marvel, is the creator of the comics character Shi.

I attended GraniteCon mostly to meet Ethan Van Sciver and track down some back issues of Action Comics Weekly which featured Canary, but I didn't have any custom convention sketches lined up, nor did I foresee getting any from the name artists in attendance.  I assumed Van Sciver's price for anything more than a head shot would be more than I was willing to pay, and the problem with a Black Canary head shot is it looks like any blonde haired woman.

As I made my way to the far end of Artists Alley, I came upon a veritable wall of full-color sketches of beautiful women done by Billy Tucci.  His wall included multiple sketches of his creation, Shi, as well as DC and Marvel women such as Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Spider-Woman, and others.  He also had two books of prints and sketches, one of which had a Birds of Prey print with Black Canary, Huntress, and Lady Blackhawk.

Tucci was charging $100 for full-color/full-body commissions and $40 for simple head shots.  The longer I stared at his wall of female beauties, the more I knew I wanted an original Black Canary sketch  from him.  Again, though, a simple head shot wouldn't be enough.  I offered him an extra $20 to draw a little more of her torso and he was really cool with it.  He knew as soon as I requested Black Canary that he could add more of her body to show off her costume.

He told me to come back in half an hour, and when I did, I was floored by what the artist had produced--and by what I assume my extra twenty bucks merited!

He was just putting the finishing touches on the sketch when I returned, but before he finished, he took out his colored pencils to give her some color highlights: red lips, blue eyes, and yellow outlines around her hair!  I'm not sure how much the colors will pop on this blog, but take my word for it--they're great!

But quite possibly my favorite part of this image is the very bottom.

It would have been so easy for Tucci to draw a simple bust that stopped at Dinah's mid-torso; he could have done that sketch, and I would have been happy to get it.  But he went down to her hips to show her fishnets!  Hell-to-the-yeah, Mister Tucci!  Fishnets are the defining part of Black Canary's costume and that little detail makes this already awesome sketch even greater!

Post Granite Con/The Week Ahead

Whew!  Busy Saturday: I had a great time this morning at Granite State ComicCon in Manchester, New Hampshire!  Obviously, it was a much smaller show than the Boston Con I attended a few months back, but I went to GSCC a much smarter con-goer, and I think this was a lot more productive.

Looking ahead at this week's schedule:

Monday: I'll put up the awesome Black Canary sketch I commissioned from Billy Tucci!

Tuesday: Review Birds of Prey (vol. 3) #11.

Wednesday: General reflections about the Con and meeting Ethan Van Sciver and Aaron Kuder.

Thursday: Maybe a look at the back issues of Action Comics Weekly I picked up with stories featuring Black Canary from the late '80s.  (Just tonight I ordered the remaining issues from her time in this series from MyComicShop.com; when I have them all, I'll start reviewing.)

Friday: Probably going to start posting my fan-cast outline for Justice League: The Brave and the Bold movie.

Black Canary by Amy Reeder

I have never been fond of Black Canary's post-Crisis sweatsuit costume from the Legends and Justice League.  I think she looks like a rejected body double from Flashdance.  And the chest plate thing--what is that supposed to be?

Some artists, though, can make diamonds out of any crappy mineral, and from the looks of this sketch, I'm thinking Amy Reeder is one of them.

I wish I could say this sketch was done for me, but sadly, I just grabbed it from Google images.  Whoever "Jamie" is, he/she is one lucky fan!

Incidentally, I met Amy briefly at the last Boston ComicCon.  While we talked about her work on Batwoman and Supergirl, as well as Halloween Eve and Rocket Girl, it became obvious how super cool she was.

Like a fool, of course, I was so caught up in talking to her that I didn't think to ask for a Black Canary sketch or even how much it would cost.  What makes me feel even dumber is that she was working on a sketch during our conversation!  (I didn't get a good look at it, but for all I know she was sketching Supergirl for Anj over at Comic Box Commentary.)

Fan-Casting DC's JUSTICE LEAGUE: Introduction

Reposted from my other blog, Why I Cry.

Last month, at Comic Con International: San Diego, Warner Bros. announced it was developing a sequel to the Superman film, Man of Steel, that will costar Batman.  A Superman/Batman crossover is coming to theaters.  Millions of moviegoers and fanboys have clamored for such an onscreen team up.

"Feel that burning in your quads? Good, now hold it for ten seconds."

I myself have longed to see Warner Bros. put these legendary icons in a movie together, as I believe it is the perfect springboard for the larger cast of DC Universe heroes that will eventually lead to a Justice League movie.  I should have been ecstatic at the news.

Yeah, well, the announcement bummed the hell out of me.

It appears that the upcoming Superman/Batman film will take place in the same movie-verse as Man of Steel, will be directed by Man of Steel's director Zach Snyder and written by Man of Steel's screenwriter David Goyer.

I hated Man of Steel.

I've seen bad movies, I've seen bad superhero movies, I've seen bad Superman movies, and I've seen a movie called Barn of the Naked Dead, of which the term "snuff film" is too generous a description.  But I haven't hated a movie like Man of Steel since George Lucas put the postscript on his Star Wars butchery with Indiana Jones and the Saucer Men from Mars.

This isn't going to be a review of that bad parody of a Superman movie, though.  If you saw the movie, I trust you had some if not all of the same problems I had with it (everything set on Krypton, Clark's dad being a metaphor for homophobia, all of the "disaster porn" in the last hour).  And if you liked Man of Steel, well, sorry, but now I hate you.

Instead, this will be a flight of fancy.  Because I'm a fanboy, I have my own vision for how the Justice League movies should play out, and who should play the characters.  And in accordance with Fanboy Law, I must share this vision with everyone in a blog or podcast full of righteous entitlement.

Too Big for One Movie

Ensemble films are hard to pull off.  Bringing half a dozen unique characters, each with specialized superpowers, each with personalized origins and backstories, each potentially capable of carrying his or her own film, well, that could be downright terrifying.  It took Marvel Studios five years to lay the foundation for The Avengers.  Five years--five movies to introduce audiences to Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America before Joss Whedon could throw them together and make history.

Also, the cast should include as many people
from TV's Supernatural as possible.

That seems to be the formula most fans expect to see from the DC Cinematic Universe.  The alternative is making one Justice League movie that introduces viewers to Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, then lets the characters play off each other, then introduce a villain worthy of their combined power, then have them defeat the villain, all while showcasing each of their powers in visually dynamic ways.  That movie could only end in epic failure to connect with audiences on an emotional or character level.  The Marvel Studios method seems the smarter way to go.

But that means waiting three or four years to establish the different heroes before pulling them together for the crossover.  Isn't there another, quicker option?

Yep.

Pretty much every major studio franchise film is optioned for multiple sequels before the first one even comes out, and stars are expected to sign multi-film contracts to stay with the series.  With that in mind, to do my Justice League movie, um, justice.  To do it right, to treat the story and the characters faithfully, I would ask Warner Bros. and DC Comics to invest in a three picture series.  Not one movie and two sequels, but one long origin story told over three movies--The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, in essence.

Like this except we give the elves super-speed and the giant eagles are whales!

That way, instead of telling the story of the Justice League's first adventure over two-and-a-half hours, we would have eight or nine hours to do it.  Eight or nine hours: that sounds about right.  That feels worthy of the world's greatest superheroes.

In Order of Appearance

I haven't written these movies, because, y'know, no one has paid me to, and I've got other things to do. But I do have a general outline for the story and an idea of which supporting characters and villains will be needed and where.

So, as I post my cast, I will sprinkle lightly the basic plot points and thematic beats of the Justice League Trilogy.  To keep readers in suspense, I will update a handful of actors at a time, in what I roughly imagine would be chronological order based on when they appear.

I hope you enjoy.

Get ready to hate my selections!

Black Canary by Greg Moutafis

Last weekend, at Boston Comic Con, I commissioned my first sketch from an artist.

Now, the Con had some legendary artists in attendance, including Neal Adams, George Perez, Howard Chaykin, Lee Weeks, Mark Bagley, Michael Golden, James O'Barr, and dozens of others, including Tim Sale, who might be my favorite living artist in the industry right now.

Sadly, the greats like Adams, Perez, and Chaykin were so swamped by fans seeking autographs that they wouldn't have had time to draw a custom sketch for me, and I didn't have the hundreds of dollars it would have cost to commission them.  Also, Howard Chaykin scared the $#@% out of me, but that's a story for another day.

However, tucked away in the periphery of Artists Alley with the smaller venders, I met a man named Greg Moutafis.  Greg had a lot of prints and sketches on display, and I liked his work.  I asked him if I could commission an original sketch of Black Canary and he said sure.

He was very gracious and accommodating.  I paid in advance--I won't say how much I paid, but it didn't my bank--and returned an hour later to find this wonderful piece of art that was all for me!

Greg was incredibly nice.  He said this was the first commissioned piece he was ever asked to draw at a convention.  I even had to remind him to sign it before he handed it over.  Thanks, Greg!

Canary Cosplay at Boston Comic Con '13

Yesterday I attended the Boston Comic Con.  I had a great time and commissioned an original sketch of Black Canary that I'll be posting later this week.

I saw four different women dressed as Black Canary.  They all looked great, but there was only one that I just had to get a picture of for Flowers & Fishnets.

I spoke to the woman briefly, but I never got her name, nor did I ask her permission to post the picture on my blog.  As such, I decided to post the picture with her face "blacked out" in case she wants to maintain some privacy or anonymity.

Anyway, the reason I stopped her for the picture rather than any of the other Canary cosplayers is because she went with the more retro blue jacket rather than the leather.  She even mentioned that she hadn't seen any other attendee wearing a blue jacket.  I agreed; that's why hers was the best!

Thanks for the Boston Comic Con moment, unnamed cosplay woman!

Black Canary to Appear in CW's ARROW Season 2

I assumed there would be no significant Black Canary news to come out of San Diego Comic-Con this past weekend, but I was wrong.  The teaser trailer for the second season of CW's popular Arrow TV series premiered and features the first in-costume appearance of Black Canary.

Check out the full trailer below.  Or jump ahead to 2:27 mark to the Canary kicking ass.

More surprising than the appearance of Black Canary in costume was the identity of the actress who would suit up.  Regular viewers who know the characters have expected Oliver's friend Dinah "Laurel" Lance to eventually become Black Canary, since, y'know, that's who she is in the comics.  Laurel has been a regular part of the show since the beginning, played by actress Katie Cassidy.

This Black Canary, though, will be portrayed by Caity Lotz.  

As fans were rightfully confused by this turn, Zap2It reached out to Arrow's show runners and got the scoop on who this character is and what this might imply for the future of Laurel.

I still have never seen an episode of this show, but I might have to start if Black Canary becomes a regular fixture of the series.  Hell, I'd even check it out just to see Bronze Tiger debut in Season 2!

UPDATE: Canary Cosplay from SDCC 2013

The San Diego Comic-Con is upon us--and by "us" I mean people in the entertainment industry, in and around San Diego, California.  So, not me.

Anyway.  I doubt we'll get any Black Canary-specific news out of SDCC this weekend, but we can always depend on the cosplay community to fill that particular void.  Bleeding Cool already has over a hundred pictures from the first day, and sure enough, Black Canary is represented between Superman and Aquaman!

Click to enlargicize.

And here's another pic of a Black Canary alongside Robin and Huntress!

Click to big.