Tag: WonderWorldComics

Detroit Fanfare was my first con…

…and I loved it.

Part of that was because it was very low-stress for me; Dennis and Larry made sure that my job was limited to relaxing, hanging out, checking out all of the awesome things available, and occasionally interviewing some of the media guests. I also had my very own panel about gender in comics. My first con and I got a panel.

This is what is so amazing about being part of a small, local business and a community that’s as open and accepting as the comics community. I’ve been welcomed with open arms all over, and even during my interviews with comic world veterans, the guests were excited that I was a new reader and had a fresh perspective.

I can easily say that Artist’s Alley was my favorite place to hang out. I got a LOT of things there from a LOT of artists and creators who, I think (in my very limited experience), are talented and promising. I interviewed a few of the artists there, so keep an eye out for those interviews as they go up on the site in the coming days/weeks.

The Bizarre Bazaar was my second-favorite place; it’s great to see people making their own crafts and art and selling it at seriously amazing and reasonable prices. I expected everything to cost a lot more, mostly because my experience with artists is limited to galleries and “professional” shows. But the people who come to Detroit Fanfare, while entirely professional, are obviously not doing this for the money; they’re doing it because they love it, and that shows in all of their work. I spoke with many people in the Bazaar and I’ll be doing a story about them, too. Keep an eye out!

Finally, we get to the main room. The dealer room, where most of the media guests were and where retailers were. I won’t lie: I was so overwhelmed that I avoided that room at all costs. I checked out everything I could and even got a signed Revival print from Tim Seeley and a signed copy of the Hack/Slash Mercy Sparx crossover by Josh Blaylock. But there was just so much going on everywhere around me and I didn’t even know where to start when it came to checking out all of the comics and trades available.

I had a ridiculous amount of fun over the course of the weekend, and I was completely exhausted and pretty sure my feet just wanted to fall off my body by the end of it all. It was entirely worth it. I can’t possibly thank the entire staff and Wonderworld Comics and the amazing con promoters (Gary and Tony and Dennis, you’re the best!) for giving me this experience and welcoming me into their community with open arms.

Also, I did dress up as Red Sonja for the costume party. But it was absolutely freezing and I was wearing chain mail, so I kept my cloak on for most of the time. But pictures were taken! And I’m sure they’ll be up soon enough.

Adding More Correspondents, Writers, and Investigators…Soon

Very soon, WonderWorldComics.com will be announcing new correspondents, writers, and investigators. The response to WonderWorldComics.com has been huge, and it is time for us to go through another expansion. Our traffic rankings have exceeded our expectations, and it is time for us to reach in more directions than before.

The goal of this site is to give a voice to the comic book community, while helping people improve their collections. Those collections are getting stronger and your voice in the industry is getting louder!

Comments Reopening On WWC!

After many requests, much research, and a ton of trail an error – the ability to comment on articles on WonderWorldComics is rolling out once again. Please read this post if you are going to be commenting.

Note, this posting is originally dated 7/19/2013. By the time you are reading this, some of the changes expected to take place should have already happened.

Why We Blocked Comments

We were forced to block the ability to comment on articles because we were inundated with spam comments. I know you don’t want to read through dozens of spam comments to see what people think, so I had to figure out a way to block them.

What You Need To Do

If you are interested in commenting, you are going to have to register with the site. There is no way around that. These are the steps which need to be taken:

  1. Send an email to me at Larry@WonderWorldComics.com entitled “I want to comment” or something along that line.
  2. In the email – I need your name (First and Last), the name you want to go by in the comments (such as a screen name), and a password which is between 7-12 characters. These screen names and passwords will be case sensitive.
  3. At the present time, I am going to have to approve each commentor application manually, so it might take me up to a day to get back to you.
  4. Once you are approved, go to WonderWorldComics.com and post a comment on an article. The comment will not appear right away because I have to manually approve your first comment. After your first comment is approve, you are ready to go.
  5. If you lost your password or screen name, email me and I will send them to you as quickly as I can.

Commenting Rules

This is a PG-13 site. Please don’t swear, harass, make statements against someone’s race, origin, sex, sexual orientation, or religion. It is fine to rip on people such as Dan DiDio.

If I catch you posting spam, harassing, or anything else against the rules, your commenting membership will be revoked.

Right Now

Right now, comments are going to be open for all of the articles I have added in the last few days. The comments sections for older articles will roll out slowly over the next week or so. If there is an older article you really want to comment on, let me know and I will move it up the list.

Future No Comment Articles

You will occasionally see an article which will have a note listed at the end about no comments on the article. There are certain article which will appear which do not require commenting or the comments are closed for some reason. This will be rare, and will be on a case-by-case basis.

Milestone For WWC – Next Contest Coming Soon…

WonderWorldComics.com has passed a major milestone, and I am going to celebrate this victory with you, because this milestone was passed because of you.

Wonderworld Comics

Wonderworld Comics

When We Started WonderWorldComics.com

When we first converted WonderWorldComics.com to a comic book news and information site, the site was rated at over 18.8 million in the world and was unranked in the U.S. which means we had a national rank of over 2.5 million. This site ranking (provided by Alexa, which is a website ranking site), meant that there were 18.8 million websites in the world which had more traffic than we did.

The Challenge

Over the years, I have met many online writers and correspond with many of them. They told me that it would be next to impossible to raise a website’s rank up to 100,000 in the U.S. without spending thousands of dollars on advertising.

Where We Stand Now

After a little less than four month of running WonderWorldComics.com as a comic book news and information site, our rankings came in this morning. We are currently ranked at 711,692 in the world and 99,756 in the United States. This site did what many believed was impossible.

Why We Are Here

The growth and increased popularity of WonderWorldComics.com is because of the customers and fans who check it out every day and look forward (for some odd reason or another) to seeing what we have to say. I thank you for this continued growth and look forward to the growth in the future.

The New WonderWorldComics.com Poll

Over the next few days, you will see a poll on the side of the site. Let me know what type of prize you would like to have. I will officially announce the next contest at the Superman Day events.

Who is Larry Poupard from WonderWorldComics?

When I published Kelly and JD’s bios, a handful of you sent me messages asking if I was going to publish mine. Well, you wanted a bio for Larry Poupard, now you have it.

Larry Poupard

Larry Poupard

Larry Poupard, the Writer

Some of you know my history of writing. Prior to joining WonderWorldComics and turning it into a comic book news and information site, I was a freelance writer. My major clients have included Yahoo!, CNN, Dodge, AOL, and Men’s Magazine. I spent time as a travel writer, an event reviewer, a news commentator, movie reviewer, and analyst. My favorite niche was writing about the history and symbolism of the horror industry and comic book industry. These are two areas of which I hold I high level of passion for.

Larry Poupard, the Geek

Where do I start when talking about my geeky life? I am an avid fan of classic Dungeons & Dragons, World of Darkness, and G.U.R.P.S. I have collected classic gaming books for years. It may have been a long time since I played, but I still enjoy reading those old books.

Of course, you know about my passion for comics and comic book history. I love hearing about older storylines people remember and how they interpreted what they read. I think my passion for comics comes from how ten people can read the same comic and all have ten different interpretations of the same characters or story.

Some of you might have known about my passion for horror, but it is almost as equal to the level of passion I have with comics and classic gaming. I have lectured on the history, significance, and symbolism of horror. My favorite writer is easily H.P. Lovecraft followed by many of the other authors who added to the Cthulhu Mythos over the year.

Larry Poupard’s Favorite Reads Right Now

While I have more comics that I read each month, these are my personal favorites. They are not in any particular order:

Batman

Batman and Robin (or whoever in the hell he is teaming with this month)

Hoax Hunters (surprised?)

Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger

Justice League Dark

Suicide Squad

All New X-Men and Uncanny X-Men (two sides of the same story, both sides awesome)

Dislikes:

Superman (surprised?)

Digital comics (oh, you didn’t know about that? Give me an hour)

The perception that digital comics are the end of print comics (not while I can breathe)

The word “slacks”

Crossovers that force me to ready comics I don’t want to buy to get the full story

Unending lines of crossovers

People who think there is something wrong with adults reading comics

People who stand in line for a superhero movie who think they can tell you the entire damn story of a character even though he/she has never read the comic and would not understand the true significance of a character if it were to slap him or her.

Who is this Kelly Jackson You Speak Of?

[I would like to take this opportunity to introduce you to Kelly Jackson. She will be contributing to WonderWorldComics. She wrote a short piece to introduce herself.]

Kelly Jackson. The latest contributor to WonderWorldComics.com

Kelly Jackson. The latest contributor to WonderWorldComics.com

I’m new to comic books. Or at least a newly-returned comic book reader. Let’s just say, it’s been awhile and I’m completely not up-to-speed on anything other than the current Marvel movies.

Don’t hate me. Academia swallowed me whole.

The upshot of this is that I’m a graduate student in culture studies, which basically means that if something affects American culture in even the most infinitesimal way, I like to study it and write about it. I’ve written academic articles on patriarchy in paranormal romance novels, rape culture in young adult literature, and the portrayal of women in horror movies centering around demonic possession. And now, I want to write on a subset of culture that is becoming so prevalent, it is now impossible to ignore: Geek Culture.

Geek Culture is something to celebrate, as far as I’m concerned. For too long, cosplayers and Comic Con goers have been seen as the lepers of modern society, and that’s finally changing. With shows like The Big Bang Theory raking in the ratings and the revival of the Star Trek enterprise (pun intended), it’s no surprise that Geek Culture is simply becoming American culture. With this comes an important area of study for me: the portrayal of women in Geek Culture.

I have plenty to say about women in movies and TV shows, and I can get to that in another article at some other time. For now, I want to take a quick look at women in comic books. That’s a huge topic, I know, so I want to start simply.

I am in love with Hawkeye. And if you think I mean Clint Barton, you’re wrong; I’m talking about Kate Bishop. Now I won’t claim to be an expert on Kate or Hawkeye; I’ve only read the first volume of Hawkeye’s contemporary storyline. But from a preliminary standpoint, I can say a few things that make Kate Bishop downright badass:

1.)    Kate is intelligent and witty. Her banter with Clint is top-notch and she can obviously hold her own. Also, her reference to Domitian made my Classics-loving heart soar.

2.)    Kate doesn’t really need saving; Kate does the saving. The only instance of Kate being saved is after she ties up Madame Masque, pretends to be her to get a sensitive tape out of the wrong hands and thereby save Clint’s ass, and is discovered at an inopportune moment by one of Madame Masque’s guards. And even then, she’s technically saved by Maria Hill, without whom, Clint would have been mincemeat.

3.)    Kate may be spoiled, but she’s genuinely good-hearted and she obviously cares about Clint, and it’s not because she idolizes him. She respects him and he respects her in return.

4.)    Kate kicks ass.

My only critique of Kate is in the one comic where I’ve seen her Hawkeye costume, and this is a critique on the artists, not the character.

Can we please not put women in completely unrealistic crime-fighting outfits? Why in the hell would a master archer leave her midriff bare? Kate’s obviously a relatively skilled tactician, and she proves to be a pretty awesome leader; it makes literally zero sense for her costume to have the stomach cut out of it. If anything, that part of her would be protected. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but there are some pretty vital organs in that area.

However. Costume aside. Kate is a fantastic character and, I think, a wonderful role model for young girls. She’s fit, she’s intelligent, she’s funny, and she’s strong (both emotionally and physically). I cannot wait to see/read more of her, and I definitely can’t wait to read more comics with some strong, kickass women!

Special Message from WonderWorldComics.com

On February 10, 2013, we relaunched WonderWorldComics.com as a comic book news and information site. The response from not only customers at the store, but from readers all over the world, has been absolutely amazing. I want to take a moment to talk directly to all of you as to what you should expect from WonderWorldComics.com.

Wonderworld Comics

Wonderworld Comics

The First Goal of WonderWorldComics.com

There are two main goals of WonderWorldComics.com. First off, I believe a well-informed reader or collector can have a better connection to the industry at large with information. Articles on the site about the history of comics, symbolism of characters, and tips for collecting, help you understand the world of comics better and can deepen your connection with what you read and what you collect.

The Second Goal of WonderWorldComics.com

The second goal, and arguably the most important goal, is to give you a voice in the industry. While attending C2E2 recently, I was amazed by the number of people in the industry from creators to comic book company executives that were talking about WonderWorldComics.com. Many of them visit the site on a regular basis now to see what I have written about what is going on in the industry. After a little over two months, this site is already becoming a leader in the charge against what comic book companies are doing wrong and is becoming a leader in explaining to those companies how they can improve.  Comic book collectors and readers can have a voice in the industry and it is time for the collective voice to be heard.

WhatWonderWorldComics.com is Not

If you have not realized this already, I will point out that I try to do my best to stay clear of rumors from around the industry. If for some reason I have to discuss a rumor, you will know it is a rumor and will not be reported as fact unless I can confirm it. I apologize for any slips along the way but will do my best to stay on my feet when it comes to this promise. A goal of this site is to give information and information clouded by rumors is disinformation. I believe you deserve better.

What is Coming?

I am slowly opening the gates to new writers on WonderWorldComics.com. Over the next few months, you will see writers other than me making posts but I will hold them to the same goals and promisses which I hold dear. You will also begin to see guest contributions very soon. Oh, and expect a few more interesting contests in the upcoming months as well.

I am now able to devote more time to WonderWorldComics.com. I want this site to become as successful as possible to ensure there are as many informed comic book readers as possible and to ensure a market which is inviting to all types of comic book readers and collectors. At the same time, I want to take a role in ensuring our entertainment medium stays as strong as possible. While it is not possible at this time to run new contest 24 hours a day, there is an influx of new content coming at a higher rate from myself and from other contributors. WonderWorldComics.com is shifting into a higher gear because it needs to.

Thank You

Every single one of you needs to be thanked for making WonderWorldComics.com the success it is becoming. We are marching this site along a different path than most and are proud to know so many of you are marching with us.

If you ever see something going on in the industry you believe should be addressed on this site, make sure you stop me in the store if you are in the area. If you are unable to get to the store, you can always email me at Larry@WonderWorldComics.com. Remember, this site is your voice. I just put your voice into words.

Round 1 Block 4 Results!

With the ending of Block 4 voting, Round 1 of the WonderWorldComics.com March Madness Contest has come to a close. As per usual, voting picked up in the last few hours and leads changed hands. Here is how it played out:

March Madness Round 1 Complete

March Madness Round 1 Complete

Match 26: Indestructible Hulk vs. New Avengers

New Avengers 59% Winner

Indestructible Hulk 41% Loser

Apparently, Indestructible Hulk is destructible when facing the power of the Illuminati. New Avengers took the lead early and held on until the bitter end. This was one of only a few matchups in Block 4 which stayed the same throughout the voting.

Match 27: Justice League vs. Wonder Woman

Justice League 50% Winner

Wonder Woman 50% Loser

When all was said and done, Justice League and Wonder Woman had a tie. The votes for each were an exact match. If you remember, when a tie happens, the winner is determined by overall sales in the previous month. Justice League beat Wonder Woman due to the tiebreaker rule.

Match 28: Action Comics vs. Batman The Dark Knight

Batman The Dark Knight 55% Winner

Action Comics 45% Loser

Action Comics never had a chance in this matchup. Batman The Dark Knight took an early commanding lead, and it was only narrowed slightly in the final minutes of voting. Another Batman title moves on.

Match 29: Star Wars vs. The Massive

Star Wars 59% Winner

The Massive 41% Loser

The Massive was winning this match until the last few hours when the Star Wars fans put down their lightsabers and grabbed their computers. With the force still be with Star Wars in the second round? Only your votes will determine.

Match 30: Chew vs. Invincible

Chew 50% Winner

Invincible 50% Loser

On the surface, Chew and Invincible look like they were tied. In the end, Chew ending up gaining one more vote than Invincible. This matchup ended up coming down to the last second of voting. The cult favorite Chew posts a major upset against one of the top 5%er titles on the market.

Match 31: Grimm Fairy Tales vs. Masks

Masks 59% Winner

Grimm Fairy Tales 41% Loser

Grimm Fairy Tales had the lead through most of the voting until fans of Masks came out in force during the last hour. With this matchup, Zenescope has been sent packing from the competition. Many of you had this company’s titles going deep, but neither title made it past the first round.

Match 32: Crossed: Badlands vs. Harbinger

Harbinger 54% Winner

Crossed: Badlands 46% Loser

I was expecting the Crossed fans to come out in force due to the strong push for the title in recent weeks. Crossed: Badlands set the pace early, but could not hold on in the end. Harbinger pulled off the late victory and moves in to Round 2.

All of the winners from these matchups will receive a 10% discount in our Detroit area comic book store today.

Round 1 Block 3 Matchup Winners!

The third block of voting in Round 1 of the WonderWorldComics.com March Madness Contest has come to a close. Some of the winners in this block won by wide margins. Here are the results:

Updated March Madness 2013 Bracket

Updated March Madness 2013 Bracket

Match 17: Savage Wolverine vs. Uncanny Avengers

Savage Wolverine 51% Winner

Uncanny Avengers 49% Loser

Voting was going on in this matchup up until the last seconds of the poll being open. Fans of both books came out in the final moments with the tally going back and forth between Savage Wolverine and Uncanny Avengers. In the end, the solo book was victorious.

Match 18: All New X-Men vs. Thor

Thor 65% Winner

All New X-Men 35% Loser

All New X-Men kept the lead until the last ten minutes of voting when Thor fans were able to claim victory. One of the hottest titles in the Marvel NOW library has been sent packing. What might have happened if fans of the title had stuck around in the final hour?

Match 19: Batman vs. Earth 2

Batman 88% Winner

Earth 2 12% Loser

This matchup set a new WWC March Madness Contest tournament record. The 76 percentage points separating these two titles set a high bar for another matchup to attempt to beat. Batman took the early lead and defeated Earth 2. No matter what reality you are in, The Big Black Bat took out an entire alternate reality by himself.

Match 20: Batgirl vs. Teen Titans

Batgirl 79% Winner

Teen Titans 21% Loser

Teen Titans never had a chance in this one as Batgirl fans hit early. Teen Titans is out of the competition as another member of the Batman Family moves on to the second round with momentum.

Match 21: Saga vs. Angel and Faith

Saga 78% Winner

Angel and Faith 22% Loser

Angel and Faith fans must not have paid attention to their calendars as to which day their comic was having a matchup. Saga fans came out, voted, and went home knowing their favorite title would be moving out to faceoff again next week.

Match 22: Dr. Who vs. Star Trek

Dr. Who 72% Winner

Star Trek 28% Loser

I really thought this matchup was going to be closer as sci-fi fans battled for their favorite characters. In the end, Star Trek fans must have been floating in space. Maybe, Dr. Who fans just went back in time and made their opponents forget about voting.

Match 23: X-O Manowar vs. Sonic

Sonic 57% Winner

X-O Manowar 43% Loser

Simply put, this was one of the biggest upsets of the competition so far. Maybe voters thought I had pitted the fast food restaurant against X-O Manowar. Maybe there are that many Sonic fans out there. We will know for sure in Round 2.

Match 24: Archie vs. Neonomicon

Neonomicon 65% Winner

Archie 35% Loser

In the oddball matchup of the day, fans of Neonomicon knocked out one of the oldest titles in the competition. Many of us grew up reading Archie, but that does not matter in the WWC March Madness Contest. Only the final result truly matters.

All of the winners of the block will receive a 10% discount on Sunday 3/17/2013 in our Detroit comic book store.

Round 1 Schedule of WWC March Madness Contest

Below is the opening round schedule for the WonderWorldComics.com March Madness Contest. I have a few things to tell you first:

  1. Voting for each of these matchups will begin between 8:00am and 9:00am on the scheduled morning. Voting on each matchup will continue until midnight the following night. You will have around 40 hours to vote on the matchups before a break for the following matchups.
  2. Each correctly chosen matchup will award one (1) point to your total score.
  3. You may vote once per visit in the store and can vote unlimited times on the website. After voting on the website, all you have to do is submit and refresh your browser or visit another page to vote again.
  4. Any comic receiving a win in the first round will be eligible for a 10% discount the following day after the matchup. You get to determine the sales in our Detroit area comic book store!
  5. The winners of the previous day will be listed on the website around the same time as voting begins for the following matchups.
  6. It was originally stated that there would be five matchups each day and that there would be 24 hours to vote on each. The changes here supersedes the original rules
  7. To see the original announcement and rules, please follow this link.
  8. To see tips on making the selections in your bracket, please follow this link.
  9. Completed forms must be into the store or emailed to Larry@WonderWorldComics.com no later than midnight on Sunday, March 10, 2013. They can also be dropped off at the Wonderworld booth at King Kon on March 9, 2013.

 

Round 1 Schedule:

 

Monday, March 11, 2013 – Tuesday, March 12, 2013

 

Superior Spider-Man vs. Cable and X-Force

Iron Man vs. Fantastic Four

Green Lantern vs. Aquaman

Batman Incorporated vs. Nightwing

Walking Dead vs. Buffy

Hack/Slash vs. G.I. Joe

The Legend of Oz: Wicked West* vs. Wonderland

Adventure Time vs. Bloodshot

 

Wednesday, March 13, 2013 – Thursday, March 14, 2013

 

Avengers vs. Captain America

Deadpool vs. Young Avengers

Detective Comics vs. Superman

Batman & Robin vs. Red Hood

Transformers vs. Mind MGMT

Hoax Hunters vs. Hellboy in Hell

Dejah Thores vs. Mega Man

Game of Thrones vs. The Simpsons

 

Friday, March 15, 2013 – Saturday, March 16, 2013

 

Savage Wolverine vs. Uncanny Avengers

All New X-Men vs. Thor

Batman vs. Earth 2

Batgirl vs. Teen Titans

Saga vs. Angel and Faith

Dr. Who vs. Star Trek

X-O Manowar vs. Sonic

Archie vs. Neonomicon

 

Sunday, March 17, 2013 – Monday, March 18, 2013

 

Hawkeye vs. Uncanny X-Force

Indestructible Hulk vs. Ne w Avengers

Justice League vs. Wonder Woman

Action Comics vs. Batman The Dark Knight

Star Wars vs. The Massive

Chew vs. Invincible

Grimm Fairy Tales vs. Masks

Crossed Badlands vs. Harbinger

 

*Accidently entered as OZ Wild Wild West on ballot. Sorry BDI.

Official Bracket. Click to enlarge.

Official Bracket. Click to enlarge.

Variables of WWC March Madness Contest

Many people have been talking about the WonderWorldComics March Madness Contest and have asked for tips on picking a strong bracket. Instead of telling you who you should pick to win, I can open your eyes to some of the factors and variables you might not have considered. In actuality, I don’t have any more clue than you on which comics will win in the end.

Official Bracket. Click to enlarge.

Official Bracket. Click to enlarge.

Style of Selection

Are you going to pick winners based on your favorite comics or are you going to choose winners based on which comics would logically win each matchup in the WonderWorldComics.com March Madness Contest? These factors should influence your decisions.

Voting

Remember, anyone can vote in the WonderWorldComics March Madness Contest. It does not matter if they entered the contest themselves. Many creators and publishers know about this contest and I am expecting that at least some of them will tell their fans to vote for specific titles. A smaller publication could make a major upset.

Number of Votes

Remember that you can vote in either the store or online. Voting online is unlimited whereas voting in the store is on a once-per-day basis. Will one of the creators encourage his or her fans to overwhelm the voting? Only time will tell.

Ties

Remember that if there is a tie during a matchup, the winner will be determined by the most recent sales totals. Should you select your winners by sales just in case there is a tie?

The Winner

Are you going to hold out for your favorite title in the finals to make sure your favorite title gains the 25% discount for a week? Are you going to try to vote for an unpopular title in the matchup to make the sales appear odd?

What other variables in the WonderWorldComics.com March Madness Contest can you think of?

Follow this link for the official announcement and rules