issue 27 // volume 40

arts // 7

Vancouver gears up for fandom conventions

» Get ready for the geekiness

| Cazzy Lewchuk
Staff Writer

 

Same is the time to
celebrate fandoms, from
the legendary Comic Con
in San Diego to Vancouver's
NorthWest Fan Fest on June
27-29 and Anime Revolution
on August 22-24. Dedicated to
all things related to fandoms
and general geekiness (science
fiction, horror, comics, fantasy,
anime, and video games) and
featuring a wide variety of
guests, booths, and activities,
there’s something at these
conventions for everyone.
When I went to Fan Expo
Vancouver in April, I was

greeted by booths lined as far as

the eye could see, featuring an
assortment of nerdy products:
comics, action figures, T-shirts,
costumes, and lots of other

: items. A range of artists had

: exhibits, including creators of

: comics, video games, paintings,
: and novels. Other booths sold

: merchandise, advertised their

: own conventions, promoted

: upcoming content, or offered

: unique services, such as “Draw
: anything you want for $10.”

These kinds of conventions

: are fun for the whole family.

: The attendees are just as

: diverse as the content: people

: of all ages, shapes, and sizes

: can enjoy the event. Costumes

: were abundant at Fan Expo

: Vancouver, ranging from the

: simple and mainstream (a

: Superman shirt and a cape, an

: Ash Ketchum cap and Pikachu

: plushie) to the elaborate and

: less recognizable (a life-size,

: full-body Totoro costume, the
entire cast of Madoka Magicka).
: These costumes were worn by

: all types of attendees and it was
: a delight to see a six-year-old

: Predator alien, a paraplegic

: Spider-Man, and a full family

: dressed as The Incredibles.

: Many lesser-known guests

: (especially the comic artists and
: voice actors) provide free or

: cheap autographs and photos,

: and in many cases these are just
: as exciting and meaningful toa
: fan as the bigger stars.

Vancouver-based comic

artist Pia Guerra, best known

: for illustrating the apocalyptic
: graphic novel series Y: The

: Last Man, summed it up best

: at Fan Expo Vancouver when

: she beautifully explained how

: meaningful the interaction is

: for the fans as well as the guest:

“The best part of attending

: conventions is meeting people.

: Readers of the book, those who
: haven't and are wanting to learn
: what the book is about, young

: artists looking for advice—

: they’re all great people to talk

: to.

“There are so many

: amazing interactions I’ve had

 

 

Joshua Grant
Columnist

As Pottle’s Mantis

reams is written as the
journal of Dr. Dexter Ripley,
an English professor confined
to a wheelchair with Charcot-
Marie-Tooth disease. Since his
diagnosis, Ripley has become
one of the world’s foremost
scholars in disability studies,
and also happens to be a bitter,

self-obsessed jerk. Pottle creates :
: disability as a type of strength.

a character who is disabled but
steadfastly unsympathetic.

The novel’s title comes from
Ripley’s dreams about bounding :
: the character, but he’s nearly

over the city in the form of a

Adam Pottle writer of Mantis Dreams // By Scott Bell

Underwhelming journal of
denant, loathsome man

» ‘Mantis Dreams’ review

: giant praying mantis crushing
: buildings. This is a common

: dream symbol that represents
: something that looks harmless

00000

: attitude). His personality

: isa slave to his philosophy,

: stitched together from a range
of contemporary disability

: scholars. He refuses treatment.
: He tells crude disabled jokes.

: Some of his colleagues say

: that he uses his disability as a

: career prop to transfer from the
: overcrowded field of British
literature to disability studies,

(Ripley’s disabled body) but
is about to attack (Ripley’s

where he hopes to redefine

With the journal structure,
one might hope to get some
sympathetic complexity out of

: as arrogant on the page as he

: is to those who care for him.

: In this short novel, he abuses

: a homeless man, his students,
: his sister, and the staff and

: residents at his assisted living

: facility.

This is a gutsy move on the

: author's part. There’s definitely
: something interesting about

: a wholly awful protagonist,

: like Patrick Bateman in

: Bret Easton Ellis’s American

: Psycho, but it makes Mantis

: Dreams a challenging and
largely unsatisfying read. It’s a
: relentlessly negative, 219-page-
: long sneer, broken up by dark
humour and defiant insights.

Mantis Dreams might

interest those interested in the
: politics of disability, but I doubt
: it will delight.

: with readers, some totally awe-

: inspiring and heartfelt, but one
: that really stands out is meeting
: a veteran from missions in Iraq.
: He brought his copy of the first

: Y trade that he had with him on
: tour and explained how it got

: him through some rough days

: in crazy heat. The pages were

: slightly tinged a rust colour

: from the sand and he asked me

: if ] wanted to smell the book to

: see what the base smelled liked.
: I'll never forget that smell.”

Guerra concluded, “It’s

those interactions that always

: put you in your place, remind

: you that no matter how

: frustrating some days are, you

: still just draw funny books

: and you're very fortunate to be

: doing so, even more so to be

: able to affect people in ways you
: can’t even imagine.”

Get ready, fanboys and

: fangirls, fora summer of
: fandom-filled conventions in
: Vancouver!

Comic Corner:

 

By Cazzy Lewchuk

Fear and loathing 1n space

» ‘Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War’ review

Brittney MacDonald
Senior Columnist

00000

Liston meets
contemporary in Green
Lantern: The Sinestro Corps
War, written by Geoff Johns
and Dave Gibbons. The tried
and true villain-fights-hero
plot is peppered with more
modern notions of character
development and emotional

foes and the fate of the galaxy
is at stake.

Sinestro, the once

exemplary member of the
Green Lantern Corps, was
banished for harnessing the
power of fear and now seeks
to destroy his former brethren
and take over the galaxy.
And he’s amassed an army of
familiar villains to do it. With
nightmare-worthy characters
like Parallax, Karu-Sil, and

Corps (otherwise known as the

the apparently endless supply
of Green Lantern Corps
members, including Guy
Gardner, Kyle Rayner, and of
course Hal Jordan.

  
   

By Ethan Van Sciver
www.comicvine.com

My favourite part of this

graphic novel is the art, which
: : : is detailed and dark without
conflict as former allies become : 1, eing overly traditional
and stiff. Big names such as

: Ivan Reis, Patrick Gleason,

: and Ethan Van Sciver blend

: their new school and old

: school styles to create a

: unique aesthetic that is both
: recognizably “comic book,”

: but also dynamic in its use of
: colour and colour transition.

Good for both hardcore

comic fans and newcomers

: alike, Green Lantern: The

: : Sinestro Corps War is certainly
Cyborg Superman, the Sinestro : a book I'd recommend to
: anyone interested in taking

Yellow Lanterns) certainly seem : up a quick two-volume

up to the challenge of defeating { sories, Though the expansive
Green Lantern universe can

: seem daunting, this graphic

: novel provides enough

: backstory to make sense, and
: compartmentalizes enough to

not be overwhelming.