Arab Nation to Start Up Their Own Comic Con

Surely they would win the costume contest

United Arab Emirates in the Middle East will now have their own comic convention. In March 2011 Abu Dhabi’s National Exhibition Centre will be the first in the region to host its own version of the San Diego Comic-Con International.

The organizers of the event in the United Arab Emirates are expecting 10,000 to 15,000 visitors.

Arafaat Ali Khan is the managing partner at ExtraCake PR, which is organizing the event.  “What we see now is that there is interest in the infrastructure as far as stores over here stocking anime, [Japanese] manga [cartoons] and comics,” he said. “It’s all coming together at the right time.  The genre is exploding in the Middle East. We have a growth in the sales and bookstores are dedicating entire shelves to comics,” Khan said.

Nitin Mathew, a marketer of video games based in the United Arab Emirates said that he was very excited about the event.

“The United Arab Emirates is host to many international events in the fields of business, technology and sport,” Mathew told The Media Line. “The Middle East Film and Comic Convention will add to that with a bit of culture, not just putting Abu Dhabi on the map of pop culture, but also exposing the residents of the country to some of the most iconic pop culture brands and products in the world.”

One example of the new regional interest in comics is the success of “99”. It has been labeled the world’s first superhero comic based on Islamic culture, featuring 99 characters each with a skill set inspired by the 99 names traditionally assigned to Allah in Islam.

Another success story is “Freej”, an animated series about four grandmothers living in Dubai, trying to adapt to living in a modern city that was just a small village when they were young. When the Cartoon Network announced earlier this year they would open an office in Abu Dhabi, they also announced a distribution deal with the local production house behind Freej, Lammtara.

Comic Con International Just OFFICIALLY "Nuked the Fridge"

Alexandre Aja, the Director of Piranha 3-D, was scheduled to show a preview of his movie at Comic Con International in San Diego.  The clip includes a scene of a wet t-shirt contest.  The people who run Comic Con subsequently crapped their pants, and told him he had to cut the scene or he couldn't show the clip to Comic Con's paid attendees. 

It makes gfest's stomach turn to think that the people that run Comic Con, which the King of Comics Jack Kirby and his friends started, is trying to stifle an artist's creative expression.  It's shameful really. 

Gfest has never had a problem with Hollywood's invasion of Comic Con, even though many Comic Con purists have.  The merger of comic books and Hollywood was the fulfillment of Jack Kirby's vision, not its demise.  But censorship?  Well, that's just really, really not cool Comic Con.

Luckily, Aja told Comic Con to shove it, and walked away from Comic Con.  Instead, he will debut his movie at the UA Horton Plaza nearby on the same day that Comic Con 2010 opens. 

Gfest can't help but think that King Kirby would be proud of you Alexandre.

FIRST CAST PICTURE OF AMC'S WALKING DEAD SERIES

Here is the first full cast pic from the upcoming AMC series The Walking Dead, adapted from a comic-book series of the same name.

If you'll be traveling to San Diego this weekend there will be a panel at Comic-Con and it will feature series stars Andrew Lincoln (Love Actually), Jon Bernthal (The Pacific), Sarah Wayne Callies (Prison Break), Laurie Holden (The Mist), and Emma Bell (Law & Order). The Panel is Friday July 23 at 11:30AM in room 6BCF.

Source: io9

Great #NotAtComicCon Ad from Dark Horse Comics

For those unable to attend Comic-Con, the participating stores (The list of participating stores can be found on the Dark Horse website) will "create a fun and creative atmosphere" with free drinks and more than $200 worth of Dark Horse prizes. Between 3 and 5 p.m. EST -- on July 24, presumably -- Dark Horse will make an announcement to fans at participating stores before releasing information to attendees in San Diego.

Here s the press release released yesterday:

DARK HORSE AND RED BULL’S CHINASHOP MAGAZINE LAUNCH #NOTATCOMICCON CAMPAIGN! OVER 50 COMIC SHOPS ACROSS THE US TO HOST EVENTS FOR FANS UNABLE TO ATTEND COMIC CON INTERNATIONAL

JULY 14TH, MILWAUKIE, OR – On July 24th fifty-five comic book shops across the country will host unique parties in conjunction with ChinaShop Magazine and Dark Horse Comics to celebrate the highly dedicated culture of sequential art during the weekend of San Diego Comic-Con.

Branded #NotAtComicCon, based on the Twitter hash-tag those unable to attend San Diego Comic-Con have been using, fifty-five participating stores will create a fun and creative atmosphere where free drinks and over $200 worth of Dark Horse prizes will be available. In addition, Dark Horse Comics will make an exclusive announcement to fans at participating stores before releasing the special information to crowds in San Diego.

Fans looking to participate in the unprecedented, nation-wide event can find a comic book shop in their area on the following site:  http://www.darkhorse.com/Blog/34/notatcomiccon

Plus, during the week of July 19th, ChinaShopMag.com will feature interviews with well-established comic creators who aren’t attending San Diego Comic-Con to get their insight into the larger community rarely talked about in mainstream news outlets.

Fans are also encouraged to use the hash-tag “#notatcomiccon” when talking about the event to show the world the fun comic fans have even outside the largest pop-culture convention. For more updates, follow @notatcomiccon and @chinashopmag on Twitter

 Source: Robot6

Dan Didio Will Actually Let You Talk to Him... for $100

Gfest is all on board with The Hero Initiative which provides a financial safety net for comic creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work.

Leading up to Comic Con International, The Hero Initiative  has several really cool items up for auction on eBay.  It also has the opportunity to hang out in a hotel room with recently demoted DC Comics co-publisher Dan Didio and likely be treated like crap. 

You and four other "lucky" fans will be escorted up to a San Diego hotel suite where you will be given the honor of meeting the Great Didio himself.  Presumably, since you're laying out some serious cash for the event, Dan won't treat you like a scumbag, which is the way he usually treats fans at Comic Con panels.  Although our money says he still treats you like shit. 

Marvel Comics Joe Quesada has also agreed to meet five fans for The Hero Initiative.  It will be interesting to see who raises more money for The Hero Initiative at the end of the auction.  Stay tuned to Gfest for the final tally. 

And if any of you actually win the Dan Didio auction, we would be happy to submit you a list of questions.

Dan Didio Auction is HERE.  Joe Quesada Auction is HERE. 

Geoff Johns Reveals Live Action Blue Beetle Series?

On his Twitter feed, Geoff Johns just announced there are many plans in store for Jamie Reyes, the current Blue Beetle. First off, Jaime will be appearing in "most of" the episodes of Batman: The Brave and the Bold this coming season.  But the big news is that there is a live action series in development.


Geoff tweeted that they have test footage of a transformation sequence that he describes as "awesome", which he hopes to be able to debut at Comic Con International in San Diego this year.
Jaime's Blue Beetle comic lasted 36 issues and was widely loved by critics, but and was cancelled just as Jaime made his first appearance in Brave and the Bold.  Jaime has already become a very popular character with viewers of the series, but is he ready to carry an entire series by himself?
 

Sexy Darth Vader and Storm Trooper Outfits

California based costume and corset maker Evening Arwen has crafted a fine pair of fancy unlicensed corsets based on the costumes of Darth Vader and the Imperial Storm Troopers.

Gfest likes the product, but we feel Evening Arwen could have shelled a little more money to acquire some decent models. It feels like we are looking at pictures from Iowa Comic Con.

Comic Con Accepts $500k Bribe - Someone Call the Tea Party!

San Diego Union Tribune is reporting that the City of San Diego is so desperate to keep Comic Con International, that they are now willing to throw cold hard cash at the event organizers in order to convince them to stay.  The offer on the table is $500,000. 

If you like the idea, thank yourself, not San Diego.  The half million dollar bribe will come from a tax on hotel beds.  So San Diego is asking visitors to pay an extra tax so that residents may benefit from the increased business the Con brings to town.  This would be on top of the 10.5% hotel tax that San Diego already charges.  That simply sucks.     


At the urging of Mayor Jerry Sanders, San Diego has budgeted $100,000 annually over a five-year period for Comic-Con, which believes that the worldwide publicity the city gets from the pop culture extravaganza pays dividends in marketing San Diego as a tourist destination.

What's worse, is that Comic-Con organizers actually praised the decision to take the $500k in cash raised from its own customers, instead of from the citizens of San Diego who supposedly will see all the benefit from it. 

“We’re obviously very, very grateful for that,” Comic-Con spokesman David Glanzer said Tuesday.
Gfest now officially supports a move of Comic Con International.  And somebody get Sarah Palin on the phone, because Comic Con officials needs a visit from the Tea Party.  Maverick!