The Illumi-Nerdi at New York Comic Con!

         2012 marked the first official appearance of the Illumi-Nerdi at New York Comic Con (although we’ve attended the event before, the Illumi-Nerdi was in its infant stages). It was an incredibly exciting event as we met at least forty different creators/writers/artists/editors. We were fortunate enough to have our first ever sit down, face to face interview, with the incomparable Bill Willingham, the creator of Fables, Fairest, and Jack of Fables (which we will be posting in the very near future). We attended several different, enlightening panels including DC Comics- The New 52: Superman, DC Comics- The New 52, and my personal favorite, Saga: Sex, Drugs & Rocketships. Attending Comic Con with a press pass and keeping the blog in mind was an enourmously different experience than just going around and getting autographs as in previous years. That being said, here’s some incredible stuff we learned at this year’s Con:

We asked Grant Morrison (serious nerd-gasm), about his wonderfully weird Happy (from Image Comics), he informed us that Happy #2 was “going to be the game-changer”, so if you haven’t picked up Happy yet, make sure you get onboard with this strangely brilliant series.

When we asked Tony S. Daniel, writer of the New 52 Detective Comics and Savage Hawkman, if he had plans to use the terrifying and underused Dollmaker from his Detective Comics in the future, he told us that if no one else uses him, he definitely plans on getting back to him.

My personal favorite news: Ben Templesmith (artist of 30 Days of Night, Fell and Choker) promised yours truly that more Fell would be coming in the near future. Mr. Templesmith told me that he and Warren Ellis would be getting together soon to work on more of the dark detective series Fell.

Perhaps the most interesting news came from a chance occurrence in the halls of New York’s Javits Center. We ran into none other than Agent Phil Coulson, Mr. Clark Gregg! He informed us before the panel that he will be appearing in the S.H.I.E.L.D TV series! So if you didn’t have a reason to watch before, get excited!!

For us, the breakouts of this year’s Comic Con were two names you had better get used to hearing: 215ink and Ed Brisson’s Comeback. 215ink is in incredible indie publisher that has put out some spectacular titles in the last few years. Of the many that I picked up from their booth there were four that really stuck out. Vic Boone (by Shawn Aldridge and Geoffo) is a noir-thriller a la Elmore Leonard or Dashiell Hammett but with robots and anthropomorphic flies (where do I sign up???). Unfortunately I only purchased issue 1 (one of my few regrets) and need to read more. Cobble Hill (by Jeremy Holt and Selena Goulding) seems to be written for fans of Twin Peaks. I absolutely love a story where I’m not exactly sure what the hell is going on and this one has got me hooked.

It seems like 215ink loves to do noir with a twist, because Footprints (by Joey Esposito and Jonathan Moore) is exactly that. This book is perfect for anyone who loves old school detective stories and who are Cryptozoophiles (did I just make that word up?) like me. It’s a fantastic blend of gumshoe stories from the fifties mixed with all your favorite cryptids, Bigfoot, Jersey Devil, Loch Ness Monster and possibly, the Mothman. If you like John Layman’s work on the new Mars Attacks! then you’ll unquestionably be a fan of Beware… The Frogmen from Neptune! (by brothers MD and Will Perkins). This was an awesome invasion title straight out of an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. This is one of those rare titles where the lettering can really make a difference (as is the case with John Layman’s Mars Attacks and Chew). I truly loved this title. It didn’t take itself too seriously and really kept me laughing (which is rare for me). 

Finally, possibly the most intriguing comic I purchased at Comic Con was Ed Brisson and Michael Walsh’s Comeback, from Image Shadowline. I absolutely loved this book. If you saw “Looper” in theaters recently, and it left you wanting more, look no further than Comeback. It’s a time travel story unlike any you’ve seen before. Mr. Walsh’s art was absolutely perfect for this story and Brisson’s sharp dialogue left me itching for more. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this title on several Must Read lists.