Jacob Batalon (right) aka Ned aka The Man in the Chair from Spider-Man: Homecoming with Olympus Athen’s son Brandon (left) at NYCC 2017.
Photo by Olympus Athens for Geeks Of Doom.
New York Comic-Con was so much fun this past weekend, and one of the highlights of my time was getting to interview “the man in the chair” aka movie-stealer aka Spidey’s best friend aka Ned also known as Jacob Batalon. Spider-Man: Homecoming was one of the best Spider-Man movies in years, and one of the many reasons was Batalon’s utter glee as Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) sidekick.
The Master of Horror John Carpenter and wife Sandy King Carpenter started Storm King Comics back in 2015. At this year’s New York Comic-Con this weekend, Storm King took over booth 2304 on the show floor with full displays of their catalogue. They featured their Halloween anthology series John Carpenter’s Tales For a HalloweeNight, which just released Vol. 3, and their new monthly sci-fi series, John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction. Sandy King Carpenter was there along with several writers and artists from the books, one amongst them was James Ninness. He has stories in each of the three HalloweeNight books as well as being the featured author for the first 3-part tale in the sci-fi anthology, an outer space thriller, Vault. Ninness took some time to talk to me about working with Storm King, his process, and what’s next for him.
New York Comic-Con 2017 is now officially history. On Thursday, October 5th, the Big Apple welcomed back the 4-day geek spectacular emanating from its home base at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. In recent years, NYCC has grown so huge that it’s spread to include the theatre at Madison Square Garden, Hammerstein Ballroom, and even the Stephen A. Schwarzman Library building. Hammerstein opened its NYCC run with a tour de force day which included the cast and creator of IFC’s Stan Against Evil. Creator and writer Dana Gould was joined by stars John C. McGinley and Janet Varney as they prepped fans for the upcoming second season, which debuts on November 1st.
John C. McGinley has been in movies and on TV for over 30 years. He played a small role in Oliver Stone’s 1986 Best Picture-winning Vietnam film Platoon and went on to act in several more Stone films. He is best known for his decade-long stint on the television series Scrubs (2001-10) as the easily irritable, human index of female names, Dr. Perry Cox. Last season on Stan, we met his newest somehow surlier character. Stan Miller is a guy who wants nothing more than to be left alone, but must spend his days dealing with annoyances from Sheriff Evie Barret, his daughter, and the 170+ demons haunting Willard’s Mill. We spoke to McGinley about Stan and his development in Season 2.
Gotham invaded NYC (aka Gotham) at NYCC 2017 at the Javits Center today with a Warner Brothers takeover at the Hammerstein Ballroom. In addition to tidbits about Blindspot and Castle Rock, fans were treated to a Gotham panel complete with sizzle reel and sneak peek.
New York Comic-Con stormed the Javits Center this weekend, and one of my favorite booths was Booth #1946 for publisher Insight Editions. Just browsing the beautifully bound, wonderfully illustrated volumes was enough, but then I spied a holiday gift for my husband – A Die Hard Christmas: The Illustrated Holiday Classic by Doogie Horner.
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press