Wednesday, April 3, 2013

WonderCon Highlights


WonderCon was this last weekend and it sounds like it was a fantastic time for everyone who was there - creators and fans.

This is the sort of convention that I would eventually like to see the Boston Comic-Con evolve into. It is clearly still comic book based as a convention. But it didn't only have artists in attendance. It had writers. It had company booths. It had major panels with higher-ups from the publishers.

This is the type of convention I wish was local. And yes, I know that technically NYCC is local. But I want something in my backyard that his this type of clout.

And I guess I should say I am not complaining at all about the local cons I look forward to. Boston Comic-Con and Granite State Comic-Con  have been growing massively each year.

WonderCon was held on Easter weekend, so I was busy with family. Still, I was able to peruse the usual sites and find some bits and pieces I thought should be reviewed here.


Newsarama covered the DC All Access panel on Friday. Here is the link:
http://blog.newsarama.com/2013/03/29/wondercon-dc-entertainment-%E2%80%93-all-access-panel-live/

Here were some fun quotes.

As for Superman Unchained, Snyder says that he’s, “Excited to see what you guys think. It’s meant to be a classic Superman story, but done in a new way. 

I am hoping that this title lives up to the hype. With nothing to base it on other than the good word of mouth he has had on Batman, I trust Snyder to do what's right.
Onto Smallville. “When we left Kara in the TV series, she went into the future to get out of Clark’s way,” Miller says. “A Booster Gold mishap lands Clark and Booster in the 31st century,” where they’ll encounter the Legion of Super-Heroes, Supergirl and tell a version of the “World of New Krypton” story. Miller makes it clear that Supergirl will be wearing pants, “Because she flies around.” 

And I loved this quote from Brian Miller. Maybe this version of WONK will make sense and not end ugly. Also, as I have said I love this uniform, I have to chuckle at Miller's response about the trouser-wearing Supergirl.


CBR revealed that Bruce Timm was stepping down from WB animation. Here is the link: http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=44577 and a blurb.

Cartoonist Bruce Timm, who shepherded a majority of the DC animated universe titles over the past two decades, has stepped down as supervising producer at Warner Bros. Animation to develop his own projects. He's been replaced by James Tucker, a veteran of "Batman: The Animated Series," "Justice League" and, more recently, "Batman: The Brave and the Bold."

Can't think of a better replacement than Tucker. I will always appreciate Timm for his approach with Supergirl, treating her just like I would want her to be treated. Later, it was stated that Timm is probably going to come back to WB at some point to work on a new Justice League show. I can only hope that is true.

I love the Timm-verse!


Perhaps the biggest news that came out of WonderCon (at least for me) was the premiere of Superman:Unbound and the quotes and discussion from the cast and crew. Everyone who has seen it has tweeted that it was incredible and I am not surprised. The trailers look fantastic. There is a lot of coverage of the movie out there but here were a couple of things I liked.

First off, watch this great interview with Molly Quinn, the voice of Supergirl:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFGAFqmzBiI&sns=tw

And then, more coverage on Newsarama:
But Lois is not alone. There's a wonderful duality and complexity with Kara-El, a.k.a. Supergirl who is still a teenager. Quinn was able to relate to that easily — being a teenager — but more for Supergirl's "sense of right and wrong, which I really connected with and what I really love about her." When the role for Supergirl came up, Quinn was Romano's absolute first choice, after working with her on Ben 10.
Both actors were asked what superhero was their favorite growing up. Quinn said the she loved Supergirl but she was never the one she pretended to be. "I preferred Poison Ivy, so I like being mad, but I was so unhappy. By the end I enjoyed playing her and I have to say, she gives Ivy a run for her money."

How fantastic that the thing that resonated with Quinn was Supergirl's sense of right and wrong. It is one of the things I love about the character ... she knows what is right and she strives to make sure she helps people get there, help eliminate evil. So I love that Quinn picked up on that. Tweets and comments say she nails the role, another feather in the massive headdress Andrea Romano sports. Romano is fantastic.

Maybe it is time for a Supergirl solo movie?

I am sure there is a lot more out there I could cover but these were the highlights for me.

6 comments:

Martin Gray said...

Molly Quinn seems a great ambassador for Kara.

'And yes, I know that technically NYCC is local.' It's nearly 200 miles away! You Americans think SO big :)

Gene said...

I can't agree with you more Anj about Bruce Timm, his interpretation of Supergirl redefined Kara for a generation. I also agree about Tucker. He gives us an animated movie with Supergirl before giving us a chance to ask for one. :)

Another Supergirl movie? How about an adaption of James Peaty's arc we just talked about? It would awesome to see her lead a Young Justice like team.

Anonymous said...

Supergirl essentially "rose from the dead" thanks to Bruce Timm and his untiring efforts to reintroduce her in the Superman Animated Series and his all out subsequent pitch to spin her off into her own series.
I love the man, we owe him big time, sans his version of Supergirl likely we'd be watching a trainwreck called "Cir El" ...

JF

LJ-90 said...

"Maybe this version of WONK will make sense and not end ugly"

While I agree with you Anj about hoping this version of WONK ends in a better note that the original, I don't think the entire saga didn't made sense. I mean, sure, at the end is very "back to status quo" (Editorial's fault) but I truly loved the entire saga. It doesn't hold up to repeated readings, but I remember reading most of the saga in a couple of days, up until Last Stand, and I remember reading everything, it made the entire universe close and you could see that the events in one book could be felt in another, it made the entire Superman Family "universe" really cohesive.

I don't know, maybe I'm just being a fanboy, but that's how I feel about WONK, even with it's fault and ending. The journey was great, even though the ending was lackluster (I could have accepted the "back to square one" thing if it was a bigger event, like it was originally planned)

Anyway, can't wait to read Clark's and Kara reunion, and can't wait to see your review about that.

Gene said...

BTW, Molly Quinn wearing the "S" to the premire is a complete WIN. :D

Anj said...

Thanks for all the comments.

I do think that Molly Quinn has embraced the Supergirl character. I love that she came wearing the S-shield. Nice!

And Timm does have a special place in the hearts of Supergirl fans. He clearly loves her and made her kick some tail in JLU.

As for WONK, I did like it but it felt like it was rushed at the end with a number of plotlines simply dropped. I wonder just what it would look like if Johns, Robinson, and Gates could write it the way they wanted.