A Day at Phoenix Comic Con

Karen: Hey kids! Well it's summer in Phoenix and that means the thermometer is rising above 100 degrees every day now, but that didn't stop us from having a great big ole comic con this last weekend. The Phoenix Comic Con has really become quite a show -almost too much of a show! We went on Saturday and the crowds were unbelievable (I had heard that 55,000 attendees were expected for the four day show!), but we still had an enjoyable time.

I went to three panels that took up most of my day. Just navigating from the dealers room downstairs to the meeting rooms upstairs was a challenge. But each panel I went to was fun in its own way.

First up in the ballroom was a reunion of the cast of the 1966 Batman TV show. Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar appeared together and were clearly having a lot of fun. Because the traffic around the convention center was so thick, they were delayed more than half an hour, so their time was limited. Both West and Newmar, while entertaining, seemed to be off in the upper atmosphere, while poor Burt Ward had to ground the panel. But one thing was obvious -they all really loved working on the Batman TV show. My picture is poor because I had to take it from the monitor -I couldn't get close to the stage. The auditorium was filled to the gills to see these childhood idols!

Later I attended the "Wolverine -the Most Dangerous Mutant" panel with Chris Claremont and Len Wein. Boy, was this an interesting panel! It's hard to distill it down into a few sentences. These writers had some great stories and insights to share, about Wolverine and the other X-Men. Claremont felt the Wolverine "Origin" story was unnecessary, saying the character should always remain a mystery. He doesn't need to be explained -it's enough that he is who he is. He spoke about the scene in X-Men #99, where Wolverine's claws are revealed to be part of his body and not part of his gloves. "You never told us," Jean says. "You didn't ask," Wolverine responds. That, Claremont said, was the essence of the character. He doesn't volunteer anything. The reader should get some tantalizing glimpses but no more. He also felt that Wolverine should always have to struggle to restrain his feral side. When asked what was the point when Wolverine became a star, both Wein and Claremont said it was when John Byrne came on board the title, since he favored the character above all others on the team. Wein said he'd intended Colossus to be the star of the team! That didn't quite work out. It was a lively discussion and well worth listening to.

Later I saw author Kevin Hearne, whose Iron Druid Chronicles is a delightfully entertaining urban fantasy series. He and authors Brian McClellan and Zachary Jernigan discussed the dos and don'ts of  fantasy world building. The con had a number of panels focusing on writers which I would have liked to have attended if I'd had more time.

Rounding out my day, I got to briefly meet legendary comics artist Mike Grell, and purchase a signed print from him. Although he was selling many different works, I had to go for a Legion of Super-Heroes one (he had three). The one I chose features star-crossed lovers Wildfire and Dawnstar. I thanked Mr.Grell and told him that when I first began buying Legion, it was during his time on the book, and he's still my favorite Legion artist. He said his Legion fans are always the most loyal. He said DC will be bringing the title back. We discussed how mishandled the book had been, and he said he felt it was really a gateway book for readers. I agreed, saying it was my first DC comic, and it was the combination of teen-age super-heroes and outer space that drew me in. He waved his hand and said, "There you go." He was really friendly and a pleasure to speak with.

All in all, a fun but very busy day. I think next year I'll have to plan to attend two days! This show is really taking off. A far cry from when it was held in a small hotel. I heard a number of people say this was their alternative to going to the San Diego Con. It's not at that level yet -still no big corporate presence -and maybe that's a good thing! Although the show was jam-packed with folks, it was still possible to get in and see most everything. That's a plus in my book. And each year, they seem to be drawing a better level of guests. So I'm looking forward to 2015 and what the show may bring.

Part Eight: Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty...

Doug: Back again with some more haute not-necessarily-couture. Up this week -- Miss Selina Kyle, the Catwoman! To your left is a fine illustration by longtime DC cover artist Brian Bolland. Said illo is also available as a poster, by the way!

Doug: Working clockwise from the lower left corner of the image, we have the purple catsuit popularized in the 1990's by artist Jim Balent -- I'd argue that this version of Selina would certainly give Power Girl a run for the money in the "busty" category! Above is Frank Miller's interpretation from Batman #404-407, the Batman: Year One arc (the first of it's sort, and some would argue still the best in the genre -- although certainly controversial). Selina's first, non-costumed appearance as The Cat from the Golden Age precedes the Batman: The Animated Series version. At the top is one of the first versions I ever saw, primarily because it's the costume in which Mego outfitted Catwoman's The World's Greatest Super-Heroes action figure in the early 1970's. Continuing to the right is the more common Golden Age costume -- one of my favorites. I'm uncertain of the time period for the green costume, but the subsequent purple/green suit hails from the All-Star Comics revival -- this was the Huntress' mother's costume. And lastly, at center stage, is the modern catsuit.

Doug: I've always liked Catwoman. The male/female dichotomy between her character and the Batman, the sexual tension, the more-naughty-than-nice angle of her character -- I've just always thought she was a great foil for the Dark Knight. Throw in the 1970's Earth-2 characterization as told by Gerry Conway and Joe Staton in the pages of the aforementioned All-Star Comics revival, and the revelation that the Huntress was the daughter she shared with the Earth-2 Batman and it's a great story.

Karen: She's one of the best Batman villains, simply because she's one of the few that Batman holds any reasonable hope of redemption for. The mutual attraction between the two has always been fun to watch. I also agree that the concept that her Earth 2 version was wife to Batman and mother to Huntress was especially appealing.

Doug: Let's also not forget a couple of versions of the lady, as appearing on the silver screen. Fans (even detractors) of the 1966 Batman film and television series cannot forget the sultry Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether, and Eartha Kitt in the catsuit. In the 1992 film Batman Returns, it was Michelle Pfeiffer's turn to get into the leather in a dominatrix version of the costume. I hate to even mention Halle Berry's turn, so purge it from your memory and assume I didn't just do that.

Karen: I have to say, even as a child, I knew there was something terribly naughty about Julie Newmar as the Catwoman! My god, she looks like she was poured into that suit!

Doug: So, which of those outfits above are winners, and which are litter box fodder? My "likes" are the aforementioned "dress"-like outfits, as opposed to the infinitely more conventional and practical catsuits. That might seem odd, since much of the character is built around sex appeal. I don't know -- maybe I like the color scheme (works for the Hulk, doesn't it?). I think the best thing is the flow of the skirt and cape -- it jibes with Batman's scalloped cape and adds some real dynamism when they are "on camera" together in a panel or series of panels.

Karen: The Julie Newmar version beats all others in my book! That super-sleek, simple yet elegant outfit just blows everything else away. For the comics though, I like the purple and black, followed by the Batman Year One outfit. I just think a character based on a cat should be very sleek, and these one piece suits achieve that.Doug: My dislikes would be the two very early-1970's get-ups -- the green deal with the cat-o-nine-tails and the formerly-mentioned Mego outfit. I don't think the latter has anything to do with a cat -- you might argue that neither does the purple/green dress w/ cape costumes I mentioned above. But at least those have the cat motif working with the mask. These other two are just silly, and part of DC's redesigns that also saw Wonder Woman in civvies. Not a good change!

Karen: I really don't care for that funky blue and red ensemble. Weird colors, and what's with the buccaneer boots?

Doug: And the mask is just wrong for the character, too.

Karen: All in all, I would give Catwoman a thumbs-up. She's had a couple of whacky looks, but for such a long-running character, she's done pretty good!