Mighty Con is coming, and with it comes some great gaming tournaments including HeroClix, Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, Kaijudo, and Living Arcanis. But when and how you ask? Fret not fellow fans, here’s the info you need!
Heroclix: Tournaments for Heroclix will be run all day Saturday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. with a variety of setups including pick up games, deck events, constructed events, and even intro games for those wishing to learn how to play on Sunday. Our Heroclix tournaments are sponsored by Got Comics in Bloomingdale, IL, so be sure to swing by their shop and check out their excellent selection to build up your deck before the big games. Prizes include Amazing Spiderman factory sealed sets and Teen Titans Super Boosters.
To sign up for the Heroclix tournaments, be sure to get there early and check in at either the Got Comics booth on the vendor floor, or in the Heroclix gaming room on the second floor of the convention center.
Magic The Gathering: Sponsored by Mr. D’s gaming out of St. Louis, get ready for a non stop weekend of Magic fun and prizes! Tournaments will start at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and carry through until the Midnight Madness Magic game on Saturday night, with open play going on all day Sunday! The Midnight Madness game will be a Modern Masters Draft, and entry will be based on points from earlier tourneys, so don’t be late! Sign up either at the Mr. D’s Gaming Booth on the vendor floor, or in the gaming rooms on the 2nd floor of the convention center!
Yu-Gi-Oh: Friday night will feature a Win a Box tournament, with extra tournaments Saturday afternoon and open play on Sunday. This will also be sponsored by Mr. D’s, so stop by their booth on the vendor floor or the gaming rooms on the 2nd floor of the convention hall to sign up!
Kaijudo: Ready to learn about the newest CCG craze? Kaijudo open play tournaments will be held on Friday and Saturday to teach you how to play, with a paid entry tournament going on all day Sunday. This will also be sponsored by Mr. D’s, so stop by their booth on the vendor floor or the gaming rooms on the 2nd floor of the convention hall to sign up!
Living Arcanis: Mighty Con is proud to welcome Living Arcanis: Chronicles of the Shattered Empires
With the Premier of “Once Upon a Time in Metra” (Friday at 5 PM, Sat at 8 AM and Sun at 11 AM)
Alos “As Victory At Any Cost!” at 8AM Sat
and the two round battle interactive “Where Is Your God Now?: The Battle of Jappa” at 1 PM Sat
Plus intro games running throughout the convention in the Main Hall!
To register for Arcanis gaming at MightyCON, two steps are needed. First, getyour tickets at ($10 for a day or $15 for the weekend. This is also where you can get the event address, local hotels and info about other attractions.)
Priscilla Barnes (Mallrats, 3′s company, James Bond) will be at Mighty Con this June
Priscilla Barnes Will Be Making A Rare MidWest Appearance At Mighty Con In St. Charles, IL June 21-23
Priscilla Barnes, star of 3’s Company, and featured in movies like Liscense To Kill, Mallrats, Devil’s Rejects, and the upcoming Hatfield’s And McCoy’s: Bad Blood will be appearing at the Mighty Con Comic Convention at the Pheasant Run resort in St. Charles, IL from June 21stthrough 23rd.
Priscilla Barnes demonstrated her depth of talent by acting in every genre from comedy to drama on the big and small screen. Appearing in Rob Zombie’s highly anticipated sequel to House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects. Critics wrote, “People will be shocked by the amazing performance given by Priscilla Barnes’s in The Devil’s Rejects,” a testament to her ability as a talented actress and her performance will resonate in the minds of viewers for years to come. Rumor has it that when Rob Zombie saw Priscilla Barnes’s audition tape; he commented “I want her in this movie – even if I have to fire someone…” Little did she realize that in a few weeks she would be shooting the infamous scene just a few blocks from where she grew up.
Fame courted Barnes in her third series go around when she co-starred with John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt in the enormously popular television seriesThree’s Company. Her first film following Three’s Company was Sunday Lovers with Roger Moore and Lyn Redgrave. She then went on to co-star in the James Bond feature, License to Kill, playing opposite Timothy Dalton and Benecio Del Toro. Barnes’s continued her quest for unique and interesting film roles by starring in Mumford directed by Lawrence Kasdan, opposite Jason Lee and Martin Short. Barnes gave another standout performance when she played “Ivannah The Three Nippled Psychic” in the cult-film Mallrats directed by Kevin Smith. Barnes’s recently finished filming Tom 51 with Michael Rapaport and fellow Devil’s Rejects co-star Geoffrey Lewis. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband Ted Monte.
Be sure to follow the Priscilla Barnes Fan Page on Facebook to keep track of Priscilla’s upcoming appearances, including her stop in Chicago to see all her fans at Mighty Con.
Priscilla Barnes will be appearing all day on Saturday and Sunday, June 22nd and 23rd at Mighty Con Pheasant Run in St. Charles, IL. This is a rare appearance in the Midwest by her, so don’t miss your chance to meet this movie and TV icon. She is always happy to snap a picture with a fan, sign an autograph, and even just talk and share stories about her times on some truly legendary sets.
Priscilla joins a wonderful lineup of talent already appearing at Mighty Con including Ken Kristensen (Todd The Ugliest Kid On Earth), Bob McLeod (Kraven’s Last Hunt, New Mutants, Superman: Man Of Steel, Detective Comics), Jen Broomall (Big Dog Ink), Elizabeth Watasin (Dark Victorian), Richard Rocha (Disney animator), Tony Anselmo (Disney Animator, Voice of Donald Duck), Professional Wrestlers and former WWE tag team champions Brutus The Barber Beefcake and Greg The Hammer Valentine, as well as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle writer (and Megaton Comics founder) Gary Carlson and artist Frank Fosco as part of the Ninja Turtle Fest taking place at Mighty Con.
Tickets for Mighty Con are on sale now, and can be purchased at http://comicconvention.mightycon.com/?page_id=39. The Mighty Con comic book convention is taking place from June 21st through 23rd at the Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, IL.
Mighty Cast Episode 7 presents Where new Comic Readers Should Start
With several new comic based movies and TV shows coming out every year, and dozens more in the works, lots of fans are at a loss as to where to start reading comics. Do they need to read everything from issue #1 and up of Iron Man in order to go enjoy the movies? Or is there a jumping on point where new readers can easily pick up a series, get the gist of a character, and not feel like the only person in the theater who isn’t getting certain jokes or references?
In this episode, Bill and Paul take a look at some upcoming movies and let you know what you need to pick up and read to be able to hang with the fan boys in the theater lobby. So if you’re wondering where to start reading comics that deal with your favorite big screen heroes, sit right back and take a listen!
X-Men are first up, with Days of the Future past filming currently and a slew of X-Men movies already out. The recommended reading list? Bill recommends starting off with God Loves, Man Kills, while Paul tosses out X-Men (vol. 2) 1-3, the Mutant Genesis story line with it’s amazing Jim Lee art. Paul then tosses out the Joss Whedon Astonishing X-Men run (Astonishing X-Men 1 through 24 plus Giant Size #1) and X-Cutioners Song, which was a crossover event that was covered in several different X books.
There’s a new Wolverine movie coming out soon of course, so the next recommendation list comes from Paul and include Wolverine: Origin, Wolverine 1-4 (also called the Frank Miller mini series), Wolverine: Weapon X (from Marvel Comics Presents) and Old Man Logan. Bill also tosses in Spiderman vs. Wolverine, a 1 shot that he praises for it’s look at the Wolverine character.
Avengers is the main focus of the Marvel cinematic universe, so where can new comic readers start reading them? Paul tosses out the Bendis run of New Avengers, World War Hulk which shows more of the explosive danger that exists within this team, and the new Marvel Now Indestructible Hulk.
Captain America 2 is filming right now, so of course they start off recommending the Winter Solider story line which is what the new movie is based on. Bill urges new comic readers to check out Fallen Son, the story of what happens after the death of Captain America and how the Marvel universe reacts. Paul also mentions Operation Rebirth, the classic Mark Waid story line.
Iron Man 3 is out in theaters now, so the first and foremost story is Demon in a Bottle. Extremis is next, with this story giving new comic readers the background on the influence for the new movie.
Fantastic Four has some movies in the work, and Paul recommends Ultimate Fantastic Four 1-6 and the original FF 48-51, while Bill recommends the Mark Waid run starting with issue 500.
Daredevil gets a nod, with recommendations on Born Again and Redemption, two stories that give you a look at Matt Murdock and what his life is like with and without Daredevil.
With Ghost Rider coming back to the Marvel cinematic universe, new comic readers should check out Heaven’s On Fire by Garth Ennis and Last Stand Of The Spirits Of Vengeance.
Punisher is also heading back, so why not grab Welcome Back Frank to see what we hope Marvel does with his next movie.
Guardians of the Galaxy is being filmed right now, and for a look at what this team really means we recommend the popular Thanos Imperative.
Amazing Spiderman 2 is in the works, but where should new comic readers start with such a long standing popular character? Ultimate Spiderman is a convenient solution, and Marvel Tales provides an inexpensive alternative to buying the expensive original Spidey issues.
Thor 2 is coming out this fall, so check out Marvel Now’s Thor: God Of Thunder and the story line Ragnarok.
With Thanos coming to light in the Marvel movieverse, snag Thanos Quest and Infinity Gauntlet to see what this villain is really about.
Batman has been a juggernaut at the box office, so to narrow down the thousands of comics of his to a few, check out Year One, Killing Joke, and Dark Knight Returns, all excellent stories that give you a deep picture of the Dark Knight.
Superman is hitting the big screen this summer in Man of Steel, and much like Captain America you can see a great deal of importance in the characters death with the story Death of Superman.
Green Lantern deserves some justice for his movie, so see why people love him with the comic stories Secret Origin and pick up the introduction to Kyle Rayner as well.
And what about Hellblazer, who Guillermo Del Toro has mentioned as wanting to come back to the big screen? Check our Original Sins and Dangerous Habbits for some great Constantine tales.
Listen in for the full break downs, and if you have any special requests feel free to message us and we’ll give you the tip on where to start!
The new Sin City Movie has just scored a major coupe! Joseph Gordon Levitt, or JGL to those who are either really hip or really lazy, was heavily rumored over the last week to be up for the role of Star Lord in the new Guardians of the Galaxy movie. But, go ahead and file those rumors under “debunked”, as the Weinstein company has officially announced that Gordon Levitt will be playing a new character in the Sin City universe, Johnny.
Deadline first reported this news, and the role of Johnny was apparently first offered to Johnny Depp. JGL sounds enthused about the project, and we certainly look forward to seeing what he can do in the dark Sin City universe with Robert Rodriguez at the helm.
You can also chalk this up as a big win for DC and Warner Brothers, as Joseph Gordon Levitt not playing Star Lord means keeping the super hot young star away from an iron clad Disney contract. The Dark Knight Rises famously ended with JGL’s character being called Robin and being given the keys to the Batcave. While DC hasn’t officially announced anything along the lines of a new Batman movie with JGL or a Nightwing movie or anything of the sort, the huge fan reaction certainly didn’t go un-noticed by them. Disney, however, isn’t exactly known for playing well with others or with letting hot stars get away with just a quick cameo. Take a look at Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who was about to explode as the next big action star but instead got hooked into the Disney universe, becoming a family movie star with films like The Tooth Fairy. We’re certainly not saying that JGL signing on for the Guardians Of The Galaxy movie would have locked him into a long line of family friendly kid films, but if the seven hundred picture deal that Sam Jackson signed is any sort of measurement, it’s a good bet that his entrance into the Marvel Cinematic Universe would have been a strong goodbye to the DC counterpart.
But that’s all conjecture and hearsay, and all we know for now is that Robert Rodriguez is working hard on making a sequel to the outstanding original Sin City movie, and he just landed a huge acting talent to help flesh out the dark dreary world that was given to us by Frank Miller. So stay tuned for more on this movie as it develops!
Death in the Family is over, but what’s going to be the lasting effects? Paul and Bill are back with a quit hits Mighty Cast, talking about Death of the Family, along with comic book movies and comic book news.
They start off with comic book news, running down the latest on the Death of the Family fallout and some more upcoming DC news, including the dropping of the controversial and questionable WTF Certified stamp on DC covers.
Death of the Family was hailed as being the next big, great Batman story arc, something that was supposed to rest along side Killing Joke as one of the greatest Joker stories. It started off promising, with Joker going to new (and somewhat brutal) heights by cutting off his own face. But how did the ending stand up against more classic Batman storylines? Will this be a trade paperback that’s still in high demand 20 years later like Killing Joke? Or is it just another Batman story arc that’ll get lost in the shuffle among countless others?
They then get into the new teasers coming out from Marvel NOW, including the odd looking 52 slash mark teaser released last week. With Marvel NOW rolling out more and more stories, what’s left that hasn’t been told and what are you looking forward to the most?
Comic book movies news and rumors are up next. Chris Cooper has been signed on to the cast of Amazing Spiderman 2 as the villain Norman Osbourne, who may actually appear in this film as Green Goblin. They also tackle whether or not the Rhino will be popping up and who could be playing him, as rumors have been swirling for quite some time now about Paul Giamattis interest in playing the role. With this many villains appearing, could a movie version of the Sinister Six be in the works? Only time will tell!
Well folks, Wizard World St. Louis just went down, find out how the show went, who was there, and what kind of deals were had. Set up began on Friday, March 22nd and the first day was a terrific success for the show. Over 40,000 people ended up attending, and they were treated to amazing guests like Jason Frank, the green ranger, Draco Malfoy, and even The Man, Stan Lee, Friday.
The biggest surprise of the show had to be the low number of comic book dealers. For an initial show, the high cost of setting up seemed to keep many dealers away, and most of the dealers that were there focused mainly on high end items. A few good deals were found though, and the crowd stayed steady through Saturday.
Sunday however brought a freak blizzard, which not only killed the show atmosphere but made getting home for out of towners downright dangerous.
The Mighty Con Freek’n Weekend is just around the corner, with over 80 tables featuring dozens upon dozens of comic and toy vendors, artists, publishers, and more. All for free, free admission, free parking, free everything. Don’t miss this show, April 13th and 14th in Palatine, IL.
A multitude of trailers have premiered recently, including The Wolverine, Kick Ass 2, and World War Z, so get the Mighty Casts take on those.
Finally for media is a quick plug for Best Ink Season 2, Wednesdays on Oxygen, and the good friend of Mighty Con’s Tyler Schwarz. Tune in to root for Tyler every week.
In comic news, we have a few big new releases, including Age of Ultron, which is Marvel’s next big company wide crossover. The big news about this series involves the person who’s drawing the end of it and a new character that will be introduced to the Marvel universe, even though she (yes, she) has been around the comic world for years.
So sit back and listen to the latest Mighty Cast, as Bill and Paul run down the latest and greatest in the world of comic and comic culture.
Hello fans and welcome back to another episode of Mighty Cast! Today, Paul and Bill talk about comic conventions. Big comic conventions, small comic conventions, the shows that draw 50,000 people and the shows that draw 50.
They start of with a quick mention of the Kenosha Comic Show, a smaller show which recently had it’s 6th occurance and is running strong. The view then turns to the big guys in Chicago, Wizard World and C2E2. Two shows of comparable size with some very different setups.
The first point to look at with the big shows is guests. Paul and Bill run down the lists of guests and both C2E2 and Wizard World, looking at who’s going to draw the biggest crowds and who’s going to be the most fun to see.
But what about the overall setup of the shows? The general consensus from last year is that C2E2 simply had a better setup. Add that to the fact that there was a greater selection of comics to buy, lower admission costs, and a very comparable guest lineup and fans just seemed to prefer C2E2.
Costs a big portion of the show too. Bill talks about the costs from a vendors point of view, pointing out that the higher the cost of a booth, the less room dealers have to give good deals and also the less room they have in their booth to bring low cost items, which makes for slimmer pickings. Paul also reflects on this from the guest point of view, having seen at Wizard World what the higher booth costs do to the selection at a show.
The duo then finish off by talking about the importance of having a want list if you’re going to be looking to fill in some holes in your collection. With thousands of comics to dig through at any given booth, you can waste hours looking for certain issues if you don’t know for sure which ones you need.
So check out Mighty Cast Episode 4 for some great insight into the comic convention world, and as always, thanks for listening!
Overstreet Price Guide’s relevance is starting to slide.
At Detroit Fanfare a few weeks ago, I had a sadly typical interaction with a potential customer. They were looking at a copy of Marvel Super Heroes #18, the first Guardians of the Galaxy appearance. Well, after looking it over, he reached into his bag and pulled out his Overstreet Price Guide. I rolled my eyes, knowing what was coming next, but waited it out as there were other customers to help. Sure enough, after a minute, he said that the price was far too high and he’d maybe pay the sticker price if it was a 9.2, but that copy was closer to a 4.5.
Now, I casually pointed out that a 9.2 had just sold on EBay for $1,100 (the issue he was looking at was $100). I tried explaining what had so drastically changed about the market since his price guide came out, but to no avail. The price guide said it should be price X, and so that’s what it should be.
Yesterday, I had someone put in a low ball offer on an Iron Man 55, saying that the guide price was way lower than my price and that he didn’t want to pay more than $40 for a copy. I pointed out that an incomplete copy with a detached cover had sold for more than $40 on EBay, and that the guide had come out before Thanos popped up in the end credit to Avengers, but he wasn’t to be swayed.
I understand. Sometimes, if we’re told by someone with authority something that doesn’t seem quite right, we just want to follow along. If the price guide says something should be a certain price, then that’s what it should be, right? But the problem is that’s not how a market works. The oldest, most rock solid law of a free market is supply and demand. When it comes to comics, supply is a constant. There are, right now, as many issues in the world of any given old collectible issue as there ever will be. And in fact, as issues get damaged in a flood or lost or stepped on or whatnot, that number can even go down. So it’s demand that matters. And when demand can change in a heartbeat, printed price guides tend to lose much of their meaning.
When Did Overstreet Go Under?
Back in the pre-movie, pre-internet days of collecting, a price guide was perfect. Once a year, you could grab a thick volume of every comic you could think of, with prices printed out for every one collected by professionals from a variety of sources. There wasn’t too much to augment demand, so things stayed pretty steady.
But now, things are different. All it takes is a casting rumor, or a corporate buy out, or a bit of leaked test footage and the demand for certain issues sky rockets. I understand that you may have liked Thanos before he was announced as the big Phase 2 villain, and you may have been procrastinating on getting an Iron Man 55 till now, but guess what. You’re too late. Because now everyone is interested in him, and everyone wants that issue, and if you still want to have one then you’ll have to pony up the dough.
The moment Kevin Feige got an IMDB page to show upcoming projects, all bets were off. You may have noticed that I mentioned EBay twice already in this article, and there’s a reason. When it comes to knowing the market, that’s one of the best places you can start. Take a look at completed auctions and see what something’s been selling for. Learn where demand is at. Know before you talk to someone what you can reasonably get a certain issue for, and also know how much you’re really willing to pay. At the end of the day, that’s the best way to get a good deal and show that you know what you’re talking about.
Comic characters have been the main selling point of comics for years. But lately, a new trend of focusing on the creative teams has been taking over. Who’s your favorite comic book artist? How about your favorite comic book writer? Bill and Paul are back with the latest Mighty Cast, the official podcast of Mighty Con! And in this episode they discuss the importance placed on creative teams in comics.
The main advertising focus of many major titles now a days from both Marvel and DC (and yes, even Image too) is on the creative teams behind a character. Story lines are still important, but often take a backseat to the fact that a particular writer and a particular artist are teaming up to bring new life to a fan favorite character.
In fact, many of these creative teams are used as ways to sell completely new characters or books, banking on the idea that if you enjoyed Brian Michael Bendis writing one book, for example, that you’ll enjoy him writing this one as well. This follows a more mainstream media method, such as seeing trailers for movies that start off by telling you “from the producers that brought you…”, but is it really the way things should be? Are we setting ourselves up for a let down by assuming that every creator can make any character they take on shine?
Sure, growing up, you had favorite characters and teams that you followed. And you probably still do. But what about the creative teams behind the comics? Comic companies have been placing greater and greater importance on the creative teams that are making the comics, particularly Marvel with their Marvel NOW series. Each teaser Marvel releases hints lightly at the characters or teams in the series they’re teasing, but always show prominently the artist and writer for the series.
The duo then get into creators that they think are worth following and ones that got them into comics in the first place. So come along and give some thought to the people that give you the comics you love so much!
Mighty Cast Episode 2: The March Mighty Con Comic Show In Review
Paul and Bill are back with the latest installment of Mighty Cast! They begin by covering the big Mighty Con show that was held at the Dupage Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL on Saturday, March 3rd.
This show was the biggest yet, with hundreds of people coming out to browse through thousands of comics, play video games, take part in the costume contest, and most of all, talk about comics! The show ran from 10-5 for a full day of comic based fun. Blackheart Comics ran the official Mighty Con Cosplay contest, with some great entries making for a festive atmosphere. The free video game demos kept guests enthralled, and Artist Alley was a huge hit with some great new talent making itself known.
Deals were to be had left and right, with everything from great 3 for $1 back issues to high end comics for sale like a Stan Lee autographed Amazing Spiderman #1 that was spotted at one booth. Overall the show was a rousing success, and we encourage to make sure you get out to the next show (see our schedule on www.MightyCon.com for information about shows in your area).
They then take a look at some other upcoming comic book shows and comic conventions coming up, and run down some great finds for the day.
Comic book movies are next, with the latest casting rumors and news. The X-Men Days of the Future Past movie has added to it’s returning cast with Halle Berry coming back, but is that necessarily a good thing?
Then rumors are flying still about what DC plans to do with a Justice League movie, with Christopher Nolan coming on board and plans to make this DC’s biggest effort yet.
Next, Bill and Paul get into it over the somewhat questionable casting of WWE wrestler Batista as Drax the Destroyer.
And finally the two run down the list of upcoming releases for the week and discuss a few bigger issues that are coming out.
As always, thank you for listening, and if you have any topics you want covered in an upcoming Mighty Cast please let us know!
