LSCC 2014 report

I went to London Super Comic Con yesterday and had a fine old time.  LSCC is great to attend - it's really well organised and it's got a really nice feel to it.  Unlike MCM, it's completely focused on comics - no games, no anime, no films, just comics.  Both cons are held at the Excel Centre in London yet MCM felt like a massive, soulless warehouse and LSCC feels friendly.

This likely to be my last con for a quite a long while, as a fresh baby is going to put a dampener on our social life for a while.  So I wanted to make this count.  So I dressed up as this Aquaman:

On me, this translates into this:

(I didn't get any full length shots at the con so I took these photos Sunday morning at home).

With this glove:

Why Aquaman? Because I adore the character.
Why this costume?  Because I genuinely love it.  I think it's a really cool version and I thought I could get it comic-accurate.
Why the blue glove? Because the hook I spray painted gold turned out bloody awful so I decided the glove would do for the waterbearer version.
Why no appropriate wig?  Because the wig made me feel stupid....

Hmm, I'm not quite the same as the comic version am I!  Sod it, I love the costume and I'm really pleased I wore it.  I wish I could be less self deprecating but I feel the need to get in jibes at myself before anyone else does.  It's taking me quite a lot of courage to post these photos.

I didn't make the leggings or top - I commissioned it from Too Many Heroes (facebook link) and I think they did a fine job.  Anyway, I'll do a post on the costume and the process for putting it together (including costs) soon.

I arrived at the con venue, changed into the outfit and felt terrified.  It's really quite revealing you know?  Also, I was convinced I looked fat rather than months pregnant.  Looking at photos, I can tell I'm quite clearly pregnant but I didn't have that at the time. I felt so self-conscious.  But perhaps I'll write more about that in another post.  Once I put on the knitted beard I started feeling less stupid, probably because I felt it was more obvious that I was having fun with it and not taking myself too seriously.

The queue went down really quickly (LSCC is super well organised) and I headed to Peter David's table, where I saw another Aquaman, who looked far more in character and faer better turned out than I was.  So we gave each other a smile and later on a friend took this photo of us:

I had earlier seen a Mera who was graceful and elegant and dressed in a lovely flowing green gown.  Clearly I felt far too ungainly, short and inelegant to ask for a photo with her, which I am not regretting. Arrgghhh.

Anyway, at Peter David's table.  He recognised me from when I told him on twitter I would be the 6 months pregnant Aquaman, and his wife took a couple of photos of me. :D  I did apologise for looking a bit foolish, but he brushed that off and seemed to liked the costume.  He said he'd seen lots of Aquamen over the years, but never a pregnant one, so I've got that going for me.  He signed my comics.

These are all the books I got signed that day.  The Green Arrow book is signed by Mike Grell, not Peter David!

I got to tell David these books all mean a lot to me and I was especially pleased with the Supergirl and Young Justice sign language issues he did.  He was really friendly and I'm glad I saw him in-costume.  He had his daughter with him as they were selling copies of a book they'd co written, I really should have bought it.

After this I met some friends, one of whom was dressed as incognito Black Widow, and we saw this really cool pair:

Then I queued to see Gary Frank and he also signed my Supergirl trade.  He liked my beard.  I expressed my disappointment that I couldn't grow a real beard.  Most people seemed to think my fake beard was the best thing I was wearing.  It was pretty cool, but also damn hot.  I hadn't quite realised that all wool is hot.

Then I went to the science of superheros panel but despite being in the third row, had trouble hearing the presentation.  It can get really damn echoey in these places!  So I tweeted this photo of myself and then left.

I'm really not helping my concerns over looking fat as opposed to pregnant am I?!

Then I met my friends again and we went for lunch.  I got a green thai veg curry from the noodle bar in the Excel centre - it looked ranked but tasted fine.

Once back into the hall we went and met Andy Clift, the guy behind Bertie Bear (whom we interviewed on Radio Bamf here).  I got into a discussion with him and another guy about DC's movies - specifically, Man of Steel and Green Lantern and whether they were any good or not.  Opinions varied!  I bought this print from him which will go in the nursery:

The more I looked at it the more I liked it so I bought it.  I'm really pleased with it.

We also visited the Art Heroes table and I caught up with Daniel Clifford again.  I last saw him at Thought Bubble, he's a lovely guy, doing really really good comics work.  I've written reviews of two of his creations over at New readers...start here!.  Halcyon and Tenderfoot is an all ages comic and Sugar Glider is for teens and adults.  Both are excellent and far, far better than most of the crap that comes out of the big 2.

I went into the Jonathan Ross/Ian Churchill panel and it was great fun.  Ross is really hyper - he talked nine to the dozen and barely stopped for breath.  They had good things to say though - talking about their new comic The revenge, comics they like now, comics they've loved in the past and superhero films.  I left halfway through because I experiences a sudden urge to use the toilet (thank you baby).

Last person I visited was Mike Grell.  I asked him to sign my Longbow Hunters trade and we had a little chat, mostly about my beard.  Told you everyone liked the beard.  I told him how much I valued his GA work, as well as saying (again) how sad I am I can't grow  real beard.  He said I carried the beard well.  t was fun, with the beard, I feel like I've made quite a few people smile.

After I left Grell I went to a massage are and paid £10 for a 10 minute back, neck, head massage.  It was well worth it and really loosened me up.  My right side has been a mess lately - it's rock solid. Ugh.  Anyway, the masseuse was great.

Throughout the day I also bought some comics:

The top left one and the Avengers one were in the goody bag you got as you arrived.  I'm certain I own one of the Resurrection Man comics already, but I couldn't remember which, so I bought both.  They were only 50p each.

I nearly bought this Billy Tucci print:

The reason I didn't buy it was partly due to the price (it was only £20 but I was down to my last 20 quid by this point) but also to concern over whether the boyfriend would like it or not.  As I guessed, he doesn't like it (he finds the Japanese wave theme overplayed) so it's a good thing I didn't get it.

I drooled over these Canvas Warriors shoes:

These are all hand painted and the lady on the stall assured me that the paint won't rub off, crack, or otherwise be ruined.  The paint if guarenteed for the lifetime of the shoe.  When they start at £130 for an adult pair and £70 for a baby's pair, you want the design to last.

I bought this Pocky-alike snack:

I met @FacetiousBeard, a twitter friend.  He was fun!

It was a really good day.  I took quite a lot of costume photos and I'll post those shortly.

Digging stuff out from the archives..

A while ago I wrote about J'onn J'onzz getting genderswapped into Joan J'onzz.  I never did post a scan, so here we go:

It's not the most progressive thing in the world is it?   It is however, a fun read.  And in it's defence it tries to be satirical.

Changing tack slightly, I think more people should be made aware of the existence of the Beefeater.  He had a Sybil Fawlty like wife and was created so the JLE could feature a caricatured, inept, posh Englishman.  He looked like a fool:

Lastly, there was a delightful Tremors rip off.  If you liked Tremors may I recommend you track down and purchase Justice League Europe 24 and 25.  Particularly because the man controlling the giant worms also had a giant tuning fork ready to hum with your hatred.  I shit you not:

Coming out in comics: Wonder Woman, Doom Patrol, Grace Choi and Thunder

I’ve thought of a few more:
Justice League Task Force #8: Diana admits to lesbian sex on Paradise Island. Sort of.

This issue, and the preceding one, is quite interesting as it’s women focused. Written by Peter David. it’s got his brand of humour. The story arc is titled Valley of the Daals, in a rip off from the Valley of the Dolls book, which I haven’t read but I gather it doesn’t have a lot in common with this comic plot.
Anyway, a couple of dudes crashland in the jungle. One gets eaten by piranha like fish the other survives the crash and the fish and finds himself in an underground civilisation, populated exclusively with green skinned half naked women warriors. They lock him up and send a message saying that he can be rescued but only by women.

J’onn J’onzz gets together a crack team consisting of Vixen, Maxima, Dolphin (yay! she’s far too underused), Gypsy, Wonder Woman. Under duress, J’onn shapeshifts into a woman, J’oan J’onzz, for the rescue mission. Somehow his boots become thigh high, his pants ride up to become a thong and he does something clever with the red straps to make an impromptu barely there bra. They get to the valley of the Daals and their leader takes a fancy to J’oan and demands that she marries her.

It’s a fun couple of issues and it’s probably meant to be a send up of the general depiction of women in comics, but Herland it ain’t. At any rate I enjoyed it enough to buy a few hardcopies from ebay. I like Peter David’s comics but since Racefail 09 I haven’t been too impressed with his politics.

Doom Patrol #34: Monsieur Mallah and the Brain admit their love for each other. The Brain is currently in Cliff’s metal body and they share a robotic/simian kiss. It’s very sweet. Then they get blown up.

The Outsiders Unknown (to me) #: I’m sure this was the series where Grace Choi and Thunder got together, so I am wondering if this is the book where they both came out? I adore Grace. Not enough to keep buying the Outsiders books, but she’s one of those characters who I love that they exist and I think has a lot going for her. And she just looks so damn cool. With her tattoos, her shortish hair, low slung trousers and general stance, she’s awesome. If she got her own book I’d buy it, but not an Outsiders monthly issue. Maybe it’s the Bat-clan connection. Mind you, now Bruce is dead maybe it would be worth picking up again. Anyone out there reading it? What do you think of it? Are there lots of Grace/Thunder scenes?