Emerald City Comic Con 2011: The Costumes
Everyone knows the best part of a fan convention is the opportunity to cosplay your favorite franchise in the safe company of fellow nerds who will love you for it. Even a crappy costume gets love at a comic con. And for those not crazy enough to dress up, there is always the opportunity to snap a photo with those who are.
As promised, here are some of the best costumes from March 4th-March 6th. Included a few of the costumes from the Masquerade which have already been seen, but these pics are better. My apologies for so much…me…in this slideshow. 😛
SADLY, this is the last ECCC related blog entry until 2012. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be anymore content on this here blog!
NEXT WEEK: Battle: Los Angeles Review, Spartacus: Gods of the Arena Recap and The Hunger Games Link-Bombs + My Attempt at Casting.
LATER THIS MONTH: Sucker Punch Review, Book Club Recap, Bridge City Comics Signing Recap
AND MORE: I’ll also be meeting with a friend here in the PDX area who is interested in collaboration. Excited about mixing things up a bit and seeing what kind of response we get. I’ll post more details soon!
Jayne Hat: The Sequel
A cunning hat for a cunning dude
Guess what I finished last night? Dan’s long-awaited and much-anticipated Jayne Cobb Hat. It’s been at least a year since Dan requested the hat and for some reason, I’ve been avoiding it like the plague. But after checking out these studly pictures of him modeling the finished object, I can only kick my own ass for waiting so long.
Give me some credit – a lot of nerd and beginner knitter fear goes into constructing such a cult favorite craft item. But the SDCC brown-coat booth and con-goers inspired me and I conquered the not-so-scary earflaps.
The ear-flaps weren’t nearly as frightening with the proper weight yarn and this video tutorial on picking-up stitches. It was actually a quick and dirty process which took about the length of one crappy episode of Glee. Seriously, the show is such a train wreck, I’m not even sure why I’m watching it anymore. There is no real cohesive plot-line. The musical numbers aren’t even attempting at attaching themselves to story-lines laid down in the first half of the first series. Between that, and a less than enthusiastic second entry in the new series Boardwalk Empire…I’m feeling pretty down on Television at the moment.
If it weren’t for my recent obsession with Boston based movie fare (thank you, Ben Affleck) I wouldn’t have probably made so much headway on the Jayne hat. As it stands – the hat is completed and Dan and I are conversing in almost nothing but crappy Boston accents. I even leaned out the car today after running an errand for him and shouted “Get Back to Work Ya Fuckin’ Jerk.” My heart may belong to Portland, but I think my dirty mouth hails straight from Bean Town. 😀
Anywho – the Jayne hat pattern I ended up using is available on this blog. And the two different kinds of yarns I knitted up with were Lamb’s Pride Bulky in Ruby Red, and Cascade 128 Superwash Chunky in 822 and 821.
Pretty stoked to have it completed and feeling confident about tackling another Jayne Hat for my buddy Sam in the near future.
The first Jayne hat version is going to Smalls and I do plan on knitting up another for myself – which I’ll no doubt wear to the various comic book shows and conventions around town. Wordstock is coming up next weekend…and I’m slated to volunteer (hoping to hit up the comic book section and report out about something interesting). This hat took me all of three days to complete, so I’m pretty sure I could pump out at least two more before then.
Just for your amusement – the Hero of Canton himself:
The next nerdy knitting project on the docket will be a Harry Potter scarf for my nephew Vincent’s birthday (and if it goes quickly, I might whip up a few more for the Midnight screening). This will be my second requested birthday present knitting project this year and I’m feeling pretty pleased that people are enjoying these crafts. It only took a few years of producing shitty stockinette stitch scarves to get to this point. 🙂
Jayne Cobb Hat: Installment One
My work and non-work life have been rather busy the last few days but I’ve also managed to successfully undertake what, for me, has been a rather complex knitting project.
Adam Baldwin proudly models the original
It should all be so easy. The hat itself isn’t exactly a paragon of difficulty. There are several well made patterns out there on the internets ripe for the picking. I just need the right yarn and tools. One out of two ain’t bad, right?
I went with one of the Jayne Hat recipients – the DH Dan – last weekend to pick out the yarn. And we got the wrong weight. And the colors are a bit off (but actually look quite fantastic together). It’s like a fall in the Pacific Northwest version of the Jayne hat. Which might actually look much sexier than the intention of the original.
Unfortunately in the knitting world, if you don’t follow the pattern exactly, you have to adjust and swatch and do math…all of which I am really quite opposed to. My answer is to eyeball it, knit something up, then find out it’s wrong, rip it all out and start over again. Ugh.
Which leaves me with my present predicament.
Jayne Hat w/o Earflaps
This is my third attempt at the Jayne Hat. It’s supposed to be for my DH, but it’s really only going to make it on my head. Which is fine. I think I’m going to make a stop by our LYS this weekend and snag some really amazing yarn in the right (bulky) weight and follow the advice/practices in this here Youtube video:
And this basic pattern – though I won’t be knitting with two strands held together once I’ve secured the right weight.
At the moment, the plan is to finish off the current Jayne hat incarnation and wear it for myself. It was intended for Dan’s head, but I don’t think my needles are going to support that. Probably gonna have to pick up some new needles as well.
Earflaps are tough for me. After a traumatic attempt at them on a hat for my niece…I haven’t tried them again. Apparently I have some weird emotional and mental block against them. It’s going to take some strong coaxing but once I get the skillz practiced, I think this will make a good starter hat for many more Jayne attempts to come.
Feeling kinda lame that I devoted my whole weekend (when I wasn’t at a baseball game, book-club meeting, house-cleaning or visiting with family) to this creation and still didn’t manage to get anything finished. Hmph.
Hopefully I’ll be able to update with the finished object this weekend.
LINK LOVE
In the interim, check out these articles I scouted about Joss Whedon related crafts, including an interview he did with a crochet website.
– CrochetMe article on Whedon Craft
– CrochetMe interview with Joss Whedon
– Other Joss Whedon related crafts
JAYNE HAT PATTERNS GALORE
Last Minute Bits Before Comic Con 2010
Hey Folks – I’m leaving on a jet plane tomorrow and touching down around noon at the San Diego airport for five days of an intense madness known as Comic Con International.
My apologies for being absent here – I’ve had lots of employment things going on (interviews, job rejections, offers, etc), and then fell ill for a five day stint starting last Thursday.
I’ve emerged on the other end of all this craziness alive and well – but I want to catch you all up to speed on some things that have unfolded the last few days.
1. Comic Book Tattoos!
Yes, I still plan on snapping pics and amassing stories around this. It looks like this project could take a bit longer than I anticipated, and could be on the back-burner as my employment situation settles in the next month. The website itself might be a few months in the making, but it’s my goal. Two great tastes and all.
2. Signings!
For the most part the signing schedules for the big events and peeps I want to see are up, and it’s definitely thrown a wrench into the plans. Boo to that. But the opportunity to have Robert Kirkman and Peter David sign some of my golden crap on Sunday is making me elated and forgetful that I will soon have to choose between panels and signings.
Specifically for True Blood and Captain America (I refuse to tack on “The First Avenger” because that title is both lame and lame), they are nearly conflicting with my ability to get a signature and also see the panel. WHY!?
3. Evening Plans!
Are still for the most part up in the air. I was distracted and did not book the Hammer Improv tickets, so I’ll have to converse with people about that. It’s also on Wednesday night, which might conflict with our Preview Night plans. For some reason I thought it was on Thursday.
Thursday there’s a wicked cool Free Taco Truck for Machete that is not on the Convention site. What else? Oh and a Serenity screening with “special guests” along with a showing of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long blog which could ALSO have special guests. Mysterious special guests, your mystery is giving me an ulcer over here. Thanks for that. 😉
Friday is the Tweethouse party (a big party on a boat with celebrities and regular folk), and Smalls told me recently that some True Blood folks will be lurking about. Yum.
Saturday is a Kevin Smith-a-thon, so I’m not EVEN worrying about the festivities for that evening.
And Sunday will be our day to roam the exhibit hall, purchase thangs and get scribbles on our funny books from famous dudes (squee!).
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU IN THE VIEWING AUDIENCE
-Expect daily recaps on the blog with pics and filmed footage Wed-Sunday.
-Expect tweets on TinyHeroes frequently, along with photos, quotes and breaking news as it filters into my ears or the ears of folks in our party.
-You can follow Smalls here (as erninlow) and Dan here as (DanielZRob). Smalls gained entry in an exclusive Entertainment Weekly party on Thursday night, so she’ll be especially interesting to follow!! 🙂
Tomorrow I’ll be updating from our hotel room in National City, CA after an exhausting but exhilarating Preview Night. *woot woot*
Spreading the Link Love: 4/08/2010
Not enough for a full article, but important enough to avoid a simple one-liner on Twitter.
1. Painted Ladies: On Tats and Trashiness
Having had a large and highly visible tattoo on my arm for the last two years – I’ve had my fair share of compliments, insults and insults disguised as compliments. These have ranged from burly biker dudes, tween girls and middle-aged women. Specifically in that order.
I get that people are full of opinions, and having prominently displayed body art leaves you vulnerable to hearing said opinions of anyone passing on the street. But terms like “trashy” and “low-class” used as descriptors for people (women especially) are exceedingly classist, and are generally lobbed from people with advanced opportunities and education against those who are not so well-situated in life.
While it’s all fine and good to personally eschew tattoos, piercings, hair dye, eating meat, blowjobs, whatever – thinking you have the right to approach strangers and share your unsolicited opinions is pure and utter bullshit. But that’s part of the territory, and as a body art enthusiast, something I’ve come to love/hate about the permanent change I’ve made to myself. And it’s kinda worth it when sexy Battlestar Galactica actors compliment and touch your arm. Mmmm. 😉
2. Chris Claremont Unveils X-Women
While normally I’d reserve my ire until I actually read this 46 page graphic novel…just the few preview pics are enough to make me shake my head in bitter disgust. Whenever I consider how the X-Women might spend their leisure time, or what sort of female bonding they’d do when they have the chance, I automatically think – bikinis and jet skis!
I’m not being sensitive. Truly. Or even over-reacting. This is me completely under-reacting to this news. What else could I possibly say? Pretty sure the art-work by Milo Manara and Claremont’s statements speak for themselves. What they say to me: yeah, we’re totally being sexist dicks and completely disregarding at least 50% of the X-Men fanbase, but WHO CARES? Did you see the Tits and Ass on Rogue? Fuuuuck Yeaaaah!
But in case I misconstrued their statement, here’s the artwork:
And quote:
“We’re speaking primarily to an audience that may not be as religiously familiar with the American canon in terms of characters and the world itself, so you want to create a physical environment that is accessible to the broadest possible collection of readers.”
Speaking for themselves.
3. Joss Whedon on Short List to Direct Avengers
That’s the rumor these days kiddies. That, along with Bryan Singer now ONLY producing X-Men: First Class is some of the biggest comic book movie news to hit in the last few weeks. How do we all feel about Joss Whedon putting his rumpled ass in the Director’s seat for one of Marvel’s biggest franchise movies?
Uncertain – at worst. He has proven that he can wield a deft hand with ensemble casts, but he’s always had the fortune of being the one to assemble them (there’s a nerdy Avengers Assemble joke in there somewhere). This cast has been hand-picked by several directors who’ve come before him.
As the DH, Dan Robertson, also pointed out in one of our incredibly nerdy/fan-freak conversations – Whedon would have the task of directing and managing some Actors (with a capital A) that are notoriously difficult to work with in Hollywood. Specifically Edward Norton and Robert Downey Jr. I worry more about Norton, than RDJ. Whedon knows how to mine the comedic for the tragic quite easily, and I feel like he would have no problem coaxing golden performances out of RDJ and Chris Evans.
Also rumored to be in the running – Louis Leterrier (le terrier? Really?) and I’m putting at least some weight behind Jon Favreau, although his helming Ironman is most certainly a nice bid for Whedon. Favreau sort of came out of left field like – WTF, THAT guy? The SWINGERS GUY?
And pulled off one of the more successful Marvel franchise film series. Christopher Nolan also dicks around with smaller independent fare, and has done well with his Batman flicks. So – why not Whedon? Just cause Dollhouse and Firefly? Come on dudes, Buffy, Serenity and Astonishing X-Men. That’s like, three pieces of awesome versus only two bomb TV Shows (which have spastic cult followings of their own).
It’s hard out there for a pimp. All’s we are saying, is give Whedon a chance. Maybe he’ll force them to include at least ONE FUCKING WOMAN in the Avengers. Spider-Woman? Ms. Marvel? She-Hulk? He’s Joss Whedon, champion of awesome women. He’s like the golden ticket for inclusion of female characters. *fingers crossed on that one*
But he could do Runaways instead. Which would fit his M.O. more solidly – it’s got super-powered teen girls kicking ass. And would make my nerd heart cry, cause I know that dramatically decreases the chances of any “strong” female presence on the Avengers team. But, yay him. Dudes got bigger fish to fry outside of some wobbly television series with Fox.
That’s all she wrote…for now…
COMING UP NEXT: Kick-Ass Movie and Graphic Novel Review
Dan
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