MegaCon!

 

Oh con season. Have I mentioned how much I love it? Granted, with my current state of affairs I don't attend that many but I love the hell out of the ones I attend! And there is always a thrill, for me anyway, about attending a convention for the first time.

This past week I attended MegaCon for the first time. It was interesting - I would compare it to Heroes if Heroes were larger. Perhaps what Heroes will be in a few years. I confess that I wasn't able to give it my usual all - staying off-site and a week of Disney leading up to the con while trying to get all the collectable cards at the Magic Kingdom... I was a touch worn out by the time Friday rolled around.

My experience was good overall. Parking was a mess for us all three days but I assume better parking could be had if I was more familiar with the area. Either way, there were an abundance of bicycle petty cabs - I just wish I had realized ahead of time. The petty cabs are great but they only take cash. Unfortunately only one member of our group is in the habit of carrying cash and it wasn't me. So we took the cabs once or twice, at any rate my Oracle wheelchair is great for carrying other props but can't fit easily in the back of a petty cab.

Once we got inside the convention center, I have to admit that I got turned around as it quite large and with several events going on at once, MegaCon signs weren't everywhere. However a convention center employee was able to direct us - and was extremely jovial by the way - and cosplayers and signs soon appeared in our sights. I have to admit that the line to get my pass on Friday turned my stomach at first with it's length. My fears of an epically long wait were soon calmed though - the staff kept the line moving at a very reasonable pace and we were through very quickly. In addition, the line was tucked to the side but still in one of the main areas so I got to spot and chat with con-buddies. As a side note, there is something really funny about hearing someone yell your name while you are in the Batgirl getup, turn and be greeted by "I thought I knew those ears!", referring to the bat ears on the cowl!

So the line was good - I am not a fan of the wristband badge. I don't think it is a cosplayer's friend but oh well. I do wish con staff had told us where to get maps and programs - I don't think I was told until the last day. I just kinda read off my friends', which isn't a big deal for me since I rarely attend panels. I'm mostly there to shop and socialize.

The artist's alley/dealer room was huge by the way. There was a tardis, the astromech builders, the 501st, Gotham City FX... Everywhere I turned there was something new it seemed. It goes without saying that I went by the Love and Capes booth a number of times and I got to talk to Thom about the recent blog post and he approved my Amazonia cosplay. Always a good feeling!

The cosplay was great, and I'm not talking about mine! There was at least one truly awesome Iron Man suit, a lot of amazing DC costumes and the Wonder Twins. One of the great things about cons this size is that MegaCon is large enough to draw out amazing cosplayers but small enough where you can usually get a chance to talk about how it was accomplished. Unless, of course, you are like me and get surprisingly shy. And then you ask about a tenth of the questions you want, if that!

Despite my shyness I did work up the guts to head over to the Hero Initiative booth for a little while, partially because I'd seen it posted on the Superhero Costuming Forums. I am extremely glad I did that - not only did I get pictures with a Nightwing and Batgirl, I got to give George Perez a chaste smooch! *fangirl swoon*

The con staff themselves were nice as well, at least the ones I spoke with, and didn't take me to task for a rule I wasn't aware I was breaking. This seems to have been a bit of a theme for the trip! Luckily for me, genuine apologies and immediate attempts to correct my blunders paired with the graciousness of those in charge seemed to carry me through.

All in all, this was a really fun con. I am not sure if I will be able to attend again next year but I will definitely try. I like adding more cons to circuit and no longer being in commuting distance to Heroes, Steller, and WTH cons makes me sad!

Love and Capes!

All right... Hands up who knew it was only a matter of time before I did a post on my sweetheart comic "Love and Capes"? At least I made it out of my first month without mentioning it!

For those who haven't heard me sing it's praises loudly, let me give you a little background on it. It is published by IDW and both written and drawn by Thom Zahler, who is a very sweet and sincere man. I have had the pleasure of chatting with him at several conventions.

Anyway, I first met Thom at either my first or second Heroes con, down in the Charlotte NC. I honestly can't remember which. What I do remember was that Thom gave me a couple of his comics as they were doing a promo where first 100 or so women who came by the booth got free issues. To my eternal and utter shame... I slid them into my bag and completely forgot about them. In my defense, I was still growing my geekery then.

The next year, I remembered him and the comic as the art is very striking (in a good way) and I felt bad about having forgotten about the comics he gave me. So out of guilt I bought a few issues and settled down at the booth I was working with Dan Johnson (a charming gentleman who does writing for graphic novels and Dennis the Menace, check him out sometime!).

I can honestly say I didn't stay in my chair long. I read the first issue, literally stood up, told Dan I would be right back and scurried over back over to Thom's booth. I needed *all* the Love and Capes and I wasn't going to take the chance, however slight, that they would be bought out before the end of the day. After probably scaring poor Thom a bit, I can be a little intense when I'm going fangirl and I was dressed up so that doesn't help!, I devoured the rest of the comics at my booth between helping our own guests.

Later that night I very literally pushed them at my husband who was tired and didn't want to do any reading. I was insistent - he needed to read these and if he would just read the first issue, I would leave him alone. Like me, he couldn't stop at just one. He had to have the rest.

I now own multiple copies of most of the issues - just in case anything happens to them and so I can lend them out. I even have them in multiple formats, single issues, trades and all the digital issues that IDW will sell me. I really wish that they would put more on there! It's not entirely uncommon to see me whip out my phone or iPad and let someone read the first couple of issues then and there. And lest you think my husband and I are alone in our addictions, it works the same way with everyone else. If I can get someone to read the first issue or two, I have usually turned them into another Cape-head - it happened fairly recently when I was asking people for their opinion on my Amazonia cosplay actually.

The main two characters are Mark, a sweet superhero with a sense of humor who is not above telling a white lie and very bad at buying presents and his love interest Abby. She is a book store owner, a bad liar and a great actress. Her sister Charlotte works for her at Abby's Books and Coffee - ABC get it? - and is in on Mark's secret identity. Remember the bit about Abby being a bad liar? ;-)

So what is it about Love and Capes that is so addicting? I honestly don't know, I wish I could just say that it is because of this or that but I can't point to one *single* thing. What I can do is point out *several* things. The first is that it is just fresh. These are new characters and the heroes play a delightful and loving homage to well-known and well-loved comic archetypes.

Abby also has a practical side...

The second is that the characters are finding themselves in situations that the average, every-day person can relate to. Ok, my date from OkCupid has never turned out to be super-criminal that my sister's caped boyfriend was tracking down . For one thing, I don't have a sister. Although if I did, I'd want a sister like Abigail and a brother-in-law like Mark. I do relate to being all psyched up to finally go out with this guy and then realizing that he is the last person in the world I want to spend time with. I think I would have rather had Charlotte's date than mine honestly - at least her guy made conversation whereas mine drank his dinner. (No offense to my actual brother-in-law or the wonderful man I met and dated for awhile off OkCupid after the loser!)

The third is the quiet, simple way three things are handled in this comics - sex in general, homosexuality and religion. I know, the last two are taboo subjects. The first one: I have to say how much I love the banter between Mark and Abby and a later couple (not gonna spoil it!). It becomes very clear that they are... quite attracted to each other. But it doesn't require Abby to be lounging around all the time in mini-skirts or plunging necklines. Sure she has them and yes she does wear them. But she also bums around in sweats and often dresses rather modestly. Particularly after a solid commitment is made between them, it very clear to any adult that Mark and Abby are enjoying the physical side of their relationship very much indeed. Yet the banter is veiled and everything but kisses happen off-camera so I would feel comfortable letting a kid read this title. While I don't demand this in my comics, or even want it in all of them, it is a major plus in my mind when a title pulls it off.

Their banter does more 'obvious' but I wanted to pull all the images from the first issue exclusively to avoid too many spoilers!

The last two are handled so... matter-of-factly. I wouldn't say discreetly. More that there isn't a big deal made because there doesn't need to be one. I don't know Zahler's personal views on these topics and I won't presume to know. What I do know is that one of Abby's employees is a young gay man and there just isn't much made of it. We find out the young man's sexuality at a wedding when a female character tries to flirt with him and is introduced to his partner. At a later point, while discussing high school, Abby comments that his having to deal with his coming out puts her own high school angst in perspective. So far, as far I can tell, no one in the comic has stated a view for or against - it simply... is, without a lot of questioning or protesting. I like that.

Religion is handled in much the same way. Abby sometimes wears a cross but a lot of times she doesn't. We know she is religious because a mention is made of having to get to her folks in time for Mass. It simply isn't a huge plot point but exists quietly and steadily throughout, peeking out here and there to add flavor to the characters. Again, I have no idea the creator's personal viewpoints or affiliations and will not presume to guess. However I will say that, as a religious geek myself though not Christian, it is wonderful to see characters with a definite religious inclination of some variety where it doesn't take over the story or consume to the character. She is Abby, a character who happens to be religious as opposed to a religious character who happens to be Abby.

This is, by far, not a definitive list of reasons why I love and adore Love and Capes. However, I think it is a pretty good starting post! We all know I'll write about it again so let's call this a to be continued at a later date! ;-)

End of issue one... <3