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Monday, July 23, 2007

Chicago is the new San Diego


San Diego, I scoff at thee! In this beyond-instant gratification world, the only thing left is to declare things over before they've even started. Kinda like that Leif Garret kid's career once was. So let's just gloss over SD and assume we all had a great time. Our feet hurt, but a great time.

So. Paul Jenkins will be the Man of the Hour for Mighty Hero at Wizard World Chicago, and The Hero Initiative will have a pool table at our booth.

That's right. A pool table at our booth. Paul will take on all comers in the manly arts of 8-ball and 9-ball, and in addition, special matches are being set up, to wit:

• THE BIG DIRTY! Instead of getting in at $30, a fan can challenge Paul to a single game for $500, and possibly with a $1000+ prize package! We'll do this once a day. If your name is "Minnesota Fats," you might be interested in this.
• THUNDERDOME (Two men enter, Paul Jenkins leaves!) A few other assorted comics pros have already challenged Jenkins to grudge matches for crazy stakes. Mark Millar and Joe Quesada are already in. Paul will shoot BEHIND HIS BACK against Quesada to even things up. Stakes are still being finalized, but may involve the surrender of beloved football jerseys to winners, and the washing of cars in Speedos. It is to cringe.

Get thee to The City of Broad Shoulders! Meat-packer to the Republic! Chicago! Tix info via:
http://wizardworld.com/

Jim McLauchlin

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jim, I must kindly disagree with you. I have attended the last 6 WW Chicago cons, and found nothing much different. OK, when I first started CrossGen had a huge booth and they have been gone for a few years now. Marve's booth has gotten smaller and smaller over the years too. DC was the only booth that remained somewhat the same.
Anyway, I attended my first San Diego Con two years ago, and besides the locale (Rosemont has NOTHING on San Diego, and I am from Iowa), WizWorld will never, ever match the grandeur of SDCC.
I realize you use to work for WIZ, but come on Jim, the show goes for the lowest common denominators. It is not unlike the magazine itself. The humor is dated, as is the fact that the guest of honor was Kevin Smith a couple years in a row there if I am not mistaken. Kevin seems like a nice guy, but his humor gets old after awhile too. Plus how many fat guys do I have to see dressed in backward ballcaps and trenchcoats?
San Diego offers something for everyone. Yes there are "booth babes," but the soft-core porn anime is in another room at least so you can take the kids. Plus who had the ridiculious idea to put a wrestling ring in at Chicago? In closing, in my opinion, San Diego is getting bigger and better, while WW Chicago is getting stagnant and old(despite W's hyperbole and inflated attendance figures). Again much like its namesake publication.
Maybe if it wasn't owned by WIZARD, new ideas could be brought in and it could be new again. Many people say it was much better BEFORE the Shamus decided to become the master of his domain.

cklamer said...

WOW!

On a lighter note.

WE ARE SHOOTING POOL AT THE HERO BOOTH!

CK

Anonymous said...

My apologies on yesterday's rant. Hero Iniative is a fantastic organization, and the post was more about fund raising for HI, and not about the locale. Sometimes we amateur bloggers take ourselves a bit too seriously for our own good. Here's hoping there is a time in the future when Hero will be looked back on for all their good work, as the industry itself will have stepped up and made things such as health care available for all creators, past, present and future.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous-

As a volunteer for the Hero Initiative, I'd like to write two things in response to you:

1) It is part of Jim's job to get members of the public and fans of this charity EXCITED about going to Wizard World- Chicago. I don't believe Jim was pimping for Wizard as a company or as a magazine. If you have complaints, I suggest you make them to Wizard itself, not as an anonymous poster on a blog. Take credit for the words you write.

2) As one who volunteers for this charity, I don't feel that we have to wait until some indefinite point in the future, "look back", and pat ourselves on the back for the good works the charity has done. The Hero Initiative does good things NOW, that should be lauded NOW. We are EXTREMELY proud of the hard work we do in every aspect of the charity.