Brian Wilkinson
May 13, 2002, 02:45 am
<a href="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/logos/WizardWorldEast_logo.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/images/logos/WizardWorldEast_logot.jpg" align=left alt="WizardWorld East logo"></a>After a sleepless weekend of meeting creators, conducting interviews, and trying to remember where the hotel was, X-Fan successfully wrapped up its coverage of the events at Wizard World East in Philadelphia!
Between myself (X-Fan editor Brian Wilkinson), reviewer Brett Boyko, and features writer Jeromy Lloyd we have a full bag of goodies that we’re going to be sharing with you all over the coming weeks on the site. In an attempt to bring you the latest in the most creative way possible, we took it upon ourselves to film interviews with the likes of Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada, Frank Tieri and Grant Morrison. Once we get it in to the production studio, Brett will working tirelessly to piece it all together (with a few surprises thrown into the mix for ya). We have over three hours of footage so it’s going to take a while to get it down to a reasonable size for you all to download!
Setting out from Toronto around midnight Thursday night, we began the ten hour drive to Philadelphia. Having ‘real’ jobs meant we were already awake all day Thursday and it’s almost impossible to get a decent night’s sleep while driving. Especially since Brett likes to talk a lot. ;) We pulled into Philly around 9:00 am (ahead of schedule!) and rather than getting ready for the con’s opening at noon we did the sensible thing and passed out.
Walking into the con one immediately gets the feeling of being a mouse in a maze. Booths from retailers, exhibitors, autograph areas, and the comic companies themselves ensure that you aren’t going to run out of things to see or people to talk to. Not ten steps in we ran into Wolverine artist Sean Chen and let me tell you there isn’t a nicer guy you could hope to meet. Sean was there to of course sign autographs and answer the burning questions on the minds of Wolverine fans everywhere. He had a bit of help to make it through the day as his mom was right there with him through it all!
Starting immediately off on a high note and getting better with every minute we had the opportunity to visit the WizKids booth to see the official unveiling of the Marvel HeroClix: Infinity Challenge Collectable Miniatures Game! WizKids' Director of Sales, Ray Wehrs, took X-Fan through a brief demonstration of how the game works and we were so impressed that we picked up a starter and a couple of boosters right on the spot! Keep checking back to X-Fan in the next few days as features Jeromy Lloyd will have an in-depth article for you with all the latest of the HeroClix front.
I have to be honest with you, when I decided to make the trip down to Philly to meet many of Marvel’s biggest names, it didn’t seem to be real. But after meeting the likes of Joe Quesada, Frank Tieri, Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Andy Kubert, Adam Kubert, Joe Kubert, Mike Marts, Mike Raicht, Matt Nixon, Ethan Van Sciver, C.B. Cebulski, Axel Alonso, Bill Jemas, Darwyn Cooke, Sean Chen, Devin Grayson, Jim Calafiore, Tom Derenick, Jimmy Palmiotti, Mark Morales, and Andrew Lis I was nothing short of stupefied (though I hope I didn’t show it).
Though these guys were caught up in the storm of fans eager for autographs, advice, and news about the biz, they were always polite and answered every question given to them. Though most of day 1 was tied up in meeting people (and trying to get near Kevin Smith… that guy has more security than the President), we did manage to catch the Marvel basketball game. Though Frank Tieri is a good guard and Joe Quesada can hustle when he needs to, the star of the show was no doubt X-Force editor Axel Alonso. All I can say is that this guy had GAME!
As day 1 of the con wrapped up I was amazed I was still on my feet having not slept the night before. I have never been so ready for bed, but when Frank Tieri comes up to you and tells you that he’s ready to make good on that drink he promised you then you realize it ain’t time for bed yet. Sleep deprived, Brett, Jeromy and I managed exactly one drink before heading back to the hotel for a blissful night of sleep.
Day 2 was full of news, interviews, and the gossip we all love to talk about. I got a chance to sit down with most of the greats mentioned above to jaw about the biz, life, and everything in between. Don’t worry; I took lots of pictures so you’ll all finally be able to see what these guys look like (they aren’t as scary as you might think). We caught the Kevin Smith (Daredevil, Clerks) Q & A, the Marvel signings, Ray Park (X-Men) performing the incredible lightsabre duel from the end of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, the Incredible Hulk himself, Lou Ferrigno, part of the HeroClix tournament, and the X-Men session held by Marvel Comics' Marketing Communications Manager, Bill Rosemann, about what we can hope to see in the near future. A busy day to be sure but you hardly notice the fact that you haven’t eaten anything as you’re so caught up in trying to be a part of it all!
I have to give credit to Wizard for throwing one of the best cons I have ever seen. Providing plenty of grab bags (with promotional HeroClix figures of Batman and Spider-Man thrown in for good measure), contests, prizes, and a schedule full to bursting with signings and info sessions. I should also thank Amie Souza for her help with arranging press passes for our group and making sure that we were taken care of. Though I was forced to snag some HeroClix figures as they were so tempting, I also managed to win a Wizard exclusive Havok figure for correctly naming three members of the Hellfire Club (I went with Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost, and Sunspot to show off how much about X-Men I knew).
As I write this article, Brett, Jeromy, and myself are about halfway home to Ontario and I still haven’t recovered from the party Frank “Big Pappy” Tieri invited me to last night. Whatever else you might say about them, guys like Mike Marts, Matt Nixon, Adam Kubert, and Jimmy Palmiotti know a thing or two about staying up late the right way!
This trip has been an amazing experience. Not only have I met people that I respect and admire, but I’ve made friends out of them as well. It is a bizarre thing to put names and faces together with some looking as I figured they would while others weren’t at all what I expected. Once I have the pictures developed and scanned, I’ll be posting them up here in a new article on X-Fan so you can weigh in with your own verdicts! Don’t be too harsh, though, some of these guys are a little shy. ;)
Though we didn’t get to see as much as I would have liked, I must say that Philadelphia is one beautiful city. The people we met there were all very nice and helpful and one couldn’t help but feel a bit of awe at the wonderful architecture that makes up the downtown area.
So, until we get the video up and running, and the pictures scanned, I hope you’ll be satisfied with the news we were able to provide for you! A big thanks has to go to X-Fan Editor-In-Chief, Eric J. Moreels, for making sure he was available to post the news as soon as we were able to get it to him. Keep check back here at X-Fan over the next week as we bring you the first video segment, pictures from the convention, a closer look into the workings of WizKids and HeroClix, and my own biased opinion of what these creators are really like.
Trust me, you won’t want to miss what’s coming next!
Between myself (X-Fan editor Brian Wilkinson), reviewer Brett Boyko, and features writer Jeromy Lloyd we have a full bag of goodies that we’re going to be sharing with you all over the coming weeks on the site. In an attempt to bring you the latest in the most creative way possible, we took it upon ourselves to film interviews with the likes of Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada, Frank Tieri and Grant Morrison. Once we get it in to the production studio, Brett will working tirelessly to piece it all together (with a few surprises thrown into the mix for ya). We have over three hours of footage so it’s going to take a while to get it down to a reasonable size for you all to download!
Setting out from Toronto around midnight Thursday night, we began the ten hour drive to Philadelphia. Having ‘real’ jobs meant we were already awake all day Thursday and it’s almost impossible to get a decent night’s sleep while driving. Especially since Brett likes to talk a lot. ;) We pulled into Philly around 9:00 am (ahead of schedule!) and rather than getting ready for the con’s opening at noon we did the sensible thing and passed out.
Walking into the con one immediately gets the feeling of being a mouse in a maze. Booths from retailers, exhibitors, autograph areas, and the comic companies themselves ensure that you aren’t going to run out of things to see or people to talk to. Not ten steps in we ran into Wolverine artist Sean Chen and let me tell you there isn’t a nicer guy you could hope to meet. Sean was there to of course sign autographs and answer the burning questions on the minds of Wolverine fans everywhere. He had a bit of help to make it through the day as his mom was right there with him through it all!
Starting immediately off on a high note and getting better with every minute we had the opportunity to visit the WizKids booth to see the official unveiling of the Marvel HeroClix: Infinity Challenge Collectable Miniatures Game! WizKids' Director of Sales, Ray Wehrs, took X-Fan through a brief demonstration of how the game works and we were so impressed that we picked up a starter and a couple of boosters right on the spot! Keep checking back to X-Fan in the next few days as features Jeromy Lloyd will have an in-depth article for you with all the latest of the HeroClix front.
I have to be honest with you, when I decided to make the trip down to Philly to meet many of Marvel’s biggest names, it didn’t seem to be real. But after meeting the likes of Joe Quesada, Frank Tieri, Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Andy Kubert, Adam Kubert, Joe Kubert, Mike Marts, Mike Raicht, Matt Nixon, Ethan Van Sciver, C.B. Cebulski, Axel Alonso, Bill Jemas, Darwyn Cooke, Sean Chen, Devin Grayson, Jim Calafiore, Tom Derenick, Jimmy Palmiotti, Mark Morales, and Andrew Lis I was nothing short of stupefied (though I hope I didn’t show it).
Though these guys were caught up in the storm of fans eager for autographs, advice, and news about the biz, they were always polite and answered every question given to them. Though most of day 1 was tied up in meeting people (and trying to get near Kevin Smith… that guy has more security than the President), we did manage to catch the Marvel basketball game. Though Frank Tieri is a good guard and Joe Quesada can hustle when he needs to, the star of the show was no doubt X-Force editor Axel Alonso. All I can say is that this guy had GAME!
As day 1 of the con wrapped up I was amazed I was still on my feet having not slept the night before. I have never been so ready for bed, but when Frank Tieri comes up to you and tells you that he’s ready to make good on that drink he promised you then you realize it ain’t time for bed yet. Sleep deprived, Brett, Jeromy and I managed exactly one drink before heading back to the hotel for a blissful night of sleep.
Day 2 was full of news, interviews, and the gossip we all love to talk about. I got a chance to sit down with most of the greats mentioned above to jaw about the biz, life, and everything in between. Don’t worry; I took lots of pictures so you’ll all finally be able to see what these guys look like (they aren’t as scary as you might think). We caught the Kevin Smith (Daredevil, Clerks) Q & A, the Marvel signings, Ray Park (X-Men) performing the incredible lightsabre duel from the end of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, the Incredible Hulk himself, Lou Ferrigno, part of the HeroClix tournament, and the X-Men session held by Marvel Comics' Marketing Communications Manager, Bill Rosemann, about what we can hope to see in the near future. A busy day to be sure but you hardly notice the fact that you haven’t eaten anything as you’re so caught up in trying to be a part of it all!
I have to give credit to Wizard for throwing one of the best cons I have ever seen. Providing plenty of grab bags (with promotional HeroClix figures of Batman and Spider-Man thrown in for good measure), contests, prizes, and a schedule full to bursting with signings and info sessions. I should also thank Amie Souza for her help with arranging press passes for our group and making sure that we were taken care of. Though I was forced to snag some HeroClix figures as they were so tempting, I also managed to win a Wizard exclusive Havok figure for correctly naming three members of the Hellfire Club (I went with Sebastian Shaw, Emma Frost, and Sunspot to show off how much about X-Men I knew).
As I write this article, Brett, Jeromy, and myself are about halfway home to Ontario and I still haven’t recovered from the party Frank “Big Pappy” Tieri invited me to last night. Whatever else you might say about them, guys like Mike Marts, Matt Nixon, Adam Kubert, and Jimmy Palmiotti know a thing or two about staying up late the right way!
This trip has been an amazing experience. Not only have I met people that I respect and admire, but I’ve made friends out of them as well. It is a bizarre thing to put names and faces together with some looking as I figured they would while others weren’t at all what I expected. Once I have the pictures developed and scanned, I’ll be posting them up here in a new article on X-Fan so you can weigh in with your own verdicts! Don’t be too harsh, though, some of these guys are a little shy. ;)
Though we didn’t get to see as much as I would have liked, I must say that Philadelphia is one beautiful city. The people we met there were all very nice and helpful and one couldn’t help but feel a bit of awe at the wonderful architecture that makes up the downtown area.
So, until we get the video up and running, and the pictures scanned, I hope you’ll be satisfied with the news we were able to provide for you! A big thanks has to go to X-Fan Editor-In-Chief, Eric J. Moreels, for making sure he was available to post the news as soon as we were able to get it to him. Keep check back here at X-Fan over the next week as we bring you the first video segment, pictures from the convention, a closer look into the workings of WizKids and HeroClix, and my own biased opinion of what these creators are really like.
Trust me, you won’t want to miss what’s coming next!