Not an End but a New Beginning

I know everybody has noticed the serious lack of new posts around here lately. There are some very good reasons why.

Please allow me to explain:

Here’s the 1st PIECE of BIG NEWS:

This will be my last regular post here on the CCW Blog. I have enjoyed my time here immensely and have learned quite a lot from Elliott as to how this whole blogging thing works. I have also made a LOT of new friends here. The fact the you guys continue to comment here even in my absence means a lot to me and I greatly appreciate it.

One of the reasons this will be my last regular post here: I have been wanting to EXPAND THE SCOPE of the topics I write about. I also have a driving urge to create something COMPLETELY NEW from the ground up.

Here’s the 2nd PIECE of BIG NEWS:

As of tonight, you can find me over at my NEW BLOG. It’s a cool place that I will be co-running with someone you will all know. Every single one of my regular posts (Mellow Monday, Who’s Getting What, Capsule Reviews, Just Because, etc., etc.) will be up on the new blog– along with some BRAND NEW ones.

Please come on over to Inveterate Media Junkies at www.inveteratemediajunkies.com

Here’s the 3rd PIECE of BIG NEWS:

Besides starting this New Blog, I will also be recording a NEW WEEKLY PODCAST to complement it! Yes, you read that correctly. A WEEKLY PODCAST. This is something that I know a lot of you have been asking for and it is here, for better or worse!

Here’s the 4th PIECE of BIG NEWS:

On top of the WEEKLY PODCAST, we will also be holding a LIVE, INTERACTIVE BLOGCAST at least once a month!

We will be having all kinds of Contests, Giveaways and Special Guests on both the Inveterate Media Junkies Blog and the PODCAST.

The first contest will be announced on the blog in the next couple of days. Here’s a hint: If you are a fan of American Vampire and/or Scott Snyder you will be very interested in our upcoming prizes.

Here’s the 5th PIECE of BIG NEWS:

We all know what the big question is…”What about the videos?” CCW*TV videos are NOT going anywhere! Elliott and I will continue to record videos when time allows and schedules permit. In fact, we taped an HOURS WORTH of new stuff today.

Of course all of this comes with Elliott’s blessing. The CCW Nation will never know how much his friendship means to me. Elliott is a class act through and through. I truly believe things will only get better from here!

Think about it! The regular columns and posts you like. Lots of NEW STUFF. A HUGE INCREASE in the amount of commentary available and even more chances to interact with me, your other friends on the Blogs and some all new people too!

IT’S THE ORIGINAL CONCEPT TO THE 10TH POWER. So come on over, the water’s fine. After all, I am just one bookmark away, right?

For those wondering what will become of the CCW blog: Elliott is working on a few things and as soon as he/we work out all the details there will be another cool announcement.

I really hope that the regular CCW viewers here will give MY NEW BLOG a chance. I am very excited for the promise the future brings and I hope you will be too.

All are welcome there. I really hope to see you all in the comment boards: www.inveteratemediajunkies.com

We will be calling it IMJ for short. Get it? After all, I am (still) Jose.

All the Best,

J.

Looking for Out of Print Manga? Need/Want Recommendations? Insideman’s Got You Covered

For those of you not in the know, CCW regular commenter Insideman has started up a new blog which I highly recommended checking out for various reasons. Today he wrote a post on what a pain in the ass it is to find complete collections of some of the great manga out there and where you should look in order to make that task easier. He also has a list a recommendations for those you who want a little more manga in your life.

I bring attention to this post because some of you are very into manga and some of you want to know how/where to get started. So, what are you waiting for? Hit the link:

MANGA PUBLISHERS– Why Do You HATE Me? / Swear All You Like

J.

The Blog Post in Which I Talk About C2E2

I really do hate conventions. Ok, maybe “hate” is too strong of a word. Hmmm…how about “don’t really care for”? Ya, that sounds a bit better. I don’t really care for conventions. There was a time where I used to count down the days but not so much anymore. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact the ever since Wizard bought the Chicago Comic-Con it has been shit. For almost a decade now that convention has indeed been shit and has gotten worse and worse every year. Last year was the first time in over 20 years that I didn’t go to the Chicago Comic-Con as a fan or a retailer. Wizard has killed any excitement that I once had for comic conventions. After attending the C2E2 con last weekend I can now change “has killed any excitement” to “had killed any excitement”. Why? Because C2E2 has brought back those feelings of excitement I once had for comic conventions.

I have to stress that this was a COMIC convention. Not one of those multimedia affairs that Wizard cons have turned into. Ya, there were some movie people there (from Carrie Fisher to the cast of Kick Ass) but the amount of industry professionals that were at the show was astounding. I couldn’t walk 10 feet in Artist Alley without seeing an artist whose work I have not enjoyed. Artists like Tony Harris, Michael Golden, Adam Hughes, Eric Canete, Jimmy Cheung, Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Terry and Rachel Dodson, Ron Garney, Jonathan Hickman, Mike Mignola, Art Baltazar, Geof Darrow, Jill Thompson, Gail Simone, Doug Mahnke, Patrick Gleason, Stephane Roux and too many more too name. Serouisly, I don’t remember the last time I saw these many great artists at a Chicago convention.

The convention hall itself was quite nice. The entire floor was covered in nice, plush carpet. There were also windows going all the was a round the top of the room letting in sunlight as well as showing off the great Chicago city skyline. This is is stark contrast to where Wizard holds it’s conventions here. The exhibit hall at Wizorld World has no natural light coming in what so ever and it feels and smells like your in somebody’s basement. One other noticeable difference the C2E2 exhibit hall had was the the aisles were nice and wide. I can not tell you how fucking nice it was not to be literally bumping into people every 2 seconds like at Wizard World.

There were not as many dealers there as previous conventions I’ve been too but I rarely buy anything at cons anymore so that didn’t bother me. I do wish there had been some more import (Japanese toys mainly) dealers there but that’s just me. As for the comic company booths I took some pictures which you can find down below. Most of you who get out to conventions will find the pics a little boring but I did want to give our readers who don’t get to cons often a sense of what they can expect to find there.

On a personal note I would like to thank all the people who came up to me to tell me they enjoy CCW TV. I truly wasn’t expecting to get recognized but it really was nice talking to you guys. The highlight of the convention for me was when I went over to the Image booth to meet Ryan Ottley and found out that he watches our little show and he had some nice things to say about it. If you guys ever get a chance to pick up Ottley’s sketchbook at a con I recommend you do so. It is quite amazing.

So, ya, overall I would have to say that C2E2 was a very, very pleasant experience and really can’t wait for to come back next year.

J.

Be Back Soon

Well, I’m off to C2E2. I am sure I’ll be doing a post or two about it when I get back. Please try not to burn the place down while I’m gone.

J.

F*ck Kick-Ass and Give Me Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Holy shit did this picture put a smile on my face (Thanks Ironmuskrat). Chances are if you like the Scott Pilgrim comic (published by Oni Press) you probably have a smile on your face as well. Talk about capturing the characters perfectly. This is THE comic book movie I am looking forward to the most this year. Ya, I’m kinda sorta looking forward to Iron Man 2 and I could really give two shits about Kick-Ass. But Scott Pilgrim vs. the World? Awesome cast, awesome director (Edgar Wright) and awesome source material. I couldn’t really ask for anything more. Well…except for maybe a trailer. Hope we don’t have to wait till San Diego to see one.

One more pic and the film’s info can be found at the link below.

J.

First Official Photos: Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. The World/Slash Film.com

A Quick Question About Siege #1

So, I am trying to put together a review for Siege #1 but I have a question for the people who bought it. In the script back-up “Ares War Plan Transcript” was there a page of dialog that was printed twice in the copy that you read? Meaning that out of the four pages of the “transcript” two had the same dialog so there is essentially one page of dialog missing because of that. Don’t know if this was misprinted in all the Siege #1 copies and would like to make sure this is the case before I do my review. Your help is much appreciated.

J.

CCW’s 300th Episode of 2009

Well, Elliott finally uploaded our 300th episode of the season (which is also this year’s last Last Rants) over on our you tube channel. 300 segments is a lot of fucking segments. I don’t know how people don’t get sick of seeing our ugly mugs almost every day. We taped the first batch of videos for the new season a couple of days ago and those should start going up on New Year’s Day.

As for the blog, things have been kinda slow around here lately I must admit (though thankfully Ironmuskrat did an awesome Fantastic Four review for us over the weekend) . The holidays took a lot more out of me than I had originally thought so that’s my excuse. I have been working on some mini reviews of last week’s books which will hopefully find their way on here in the next couple of days along with my Blackest Night #6 review. I read the issue today and have to say that if you are indeed a DC fanboy you will have a nerdgasm all over everyone’s face tomorrow after you read it.

J.

Happy Holidays from the CCW

Odds and Ends

-A couple of reminders:

Voting for the First Annual CCW Nation Awards are currently underway. Have you voted yet? Well you only have a few more days to do so before we start tallying up the totals. You can go vote here.

We also have a contest going on where one lucky winner will walk away with all the swag pictured above. You can enter the contest here.

-The CCW Blog has been up and running for a little over five months now. I have been doing most of the heavy lifting around here while Elliott pops his head in every so often but so far it has been a fun experience for the most part. Like our CCW TV counterpart, this blog is a place where we can discuss the comic industry (among other things) with brutal honesty and we have been very pleased with the response we get from all of you each and every week.

One thing that I have felt has been missing from this blog’s posts though is a sense of diversity in the opinions. I’ve recently been working on changing that a bit. You may have caught some reviews in the past couple of weeks by one of the new blogs contributors, Variant Girl. She has had experience running her own blog for a while and I am very glad that she has agreed to do reviews for us on occasion. In the next few days you will be seeing two more guest reviews/reviewers on this blog. You will recognize them as regular commenters on the CCW TV videos and right here on this blog.

To go along with my hopes of diversifying the thoughts and opinions you will read on this blog will also come a diversity of the content we cover. One of our guest reviews which I’ll be posting will be about the gay indie comic Wuvable Oaf. After hearing one of our commenters talk about it I asked him if he would do a review of it for us and I am very happy that he agreed to.

Along with Elliott, myself and Valiant Girl I believe that you will see that our new columnists share the same enthusiasm and passion for comics that we all do. And as always our readers are very much as important to this blog as the contributors. Your comments and feedback are always appreciated and make the CCW blog that much better because of your participation.

J.