Fact:

PAX East 2015 was the best convention I've ever attended.

You might recall I made a similar statement last year in the PAX review blog but it's completely justified. This show is amazing and it seems it only gets better as the years go by. Unlike last time when Alex and I only got to attend for part of one day; this year Joe and Colin joined me for two full days of in-your-face PAX incredibleness.

I'm not going to lie: I've been stressing about this episode all week. We experienced so much and talked to so many incredible people...doing it all justice is a daunting task. I had planned out this massive blog post detailing our adventures but with two full episodes of PAX wrap-up coming at you it would just be redundant.

Instead I'm going to use this space to thank everyone at Penny Arcade and at the BCEC for putting on such an incredible show. Being a gamer can be tough sometimes. Labels, stereotypes, and controversy have been all the rage these days. Sometimes finding places where you can just let loose and be amongst friends can be difficult but places like PAX? Man, it just feels like home.

This post contains part one of our PAX wrap-up. Part two can be found here. We hope you all enjoy I'm sure you'll be counting the days until the next PAX along with us in no time.

-Jr.

I only met Norman Lee a handful of times at conventions but he was easily one of my favorite artists to visit and consistently left a lasting impression. He was always willing to talk and chat which made it very easy for fans like myself to connect with him. It can be intimidating meeting people that make the stories you are a fan of. What do I say? Will they like me? Do I know enough about their work? Do I have to buy something? None of these were issues with Norman. Meeting other artists became easier because any sense of shyness or apprehension was set aside because talking with Norman was so easy.

This clip from our podcast combines my favorite things which is having my friends meet some of the coolest people I know. "This is Zack and Kyla and this is their first comicbook convention." And the nice guy Norman is, he gave us postcard sized prints of his work and personalized them. We chatted some more and he asked what it is we do, and then listened and cracked a few jokes with us. It was great. Unfortunately Kyla lost her print, so at the next show I saw Norman again and told him how much fun we had and that the girl with us lost her print. Without delay he pulled out a full sized print to replace the lost one. To which we made a few more jokes.

Like I said, having only met him a handful of times, he felt like an old friend. "Hang on, I need to go visit Norman Lee" I'd say to the group I was with. Which is different than "I need to go buy _____" or "I need to get my picture with ____."

Losing him is tragic. My thoughts go to his family and friends. I wish more people could have met him and witnessed his friendliness. Norman Lee will be missed.

-Alex.

Let's say DC decides to put a new artist on Batman who has their own interpretation of how Batman should look. If the look is a hit it's almost a guarantee that you'll see some sort of toy/action figure based on the design. Just glancing at an ad in this week's Green Lantern shows me upcoming Batman figures based on works from Dave Johnson, Ivan Reis, and Bryan Hitch. Makes sense, right? Not all Batmen are the same.

What about creator owned books? Some of the best stories I've ever read have been creator owned. Sadly, unless we're talking about The Walking Dead it can be pretty tough to find genuine merchandise based on the characters.

Enter Israel Skelton.

Israel is the creator/owner of Skelton Crew Studios. With a background in sculpting and metal work Israel has managed to turn a fun hobby into a full time business. Starting out with just a few replica keys from the Locke & Key books, Israel now produces collectables from books like Chew, Hellboy, and Mouse Guard.

Join us this week where we get to chat with Israel and hear about how awesome it is to literally live the expression "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life".

Check it out, let us know what you think and don't forget to check out the Skelton Crew site to see what's coming out next!

-Jr.

 Wicked Faire 2015:

 *CORRECTION ALERT: In this review episode of OMV, I exhaustively referred to Azkadelia’s associate/compatriot as “Charlie”. This is inaccurate information. His name is Christopher. My sincere apologies for the mix-up!*

 

Princeton, NJ was the travel destination for fans of Renaissance, Steampunk, Gothic and alternative culture this past weekend. Costumes, Vendors, Performances and good company abound as this year’s  Wicked Renaissance Faire fell upon the grounds of its new home at the Hyatt Regency Hotel off Carnegie Center. A staple in the pantheon of Jeff Mach Events, Wicked Faire boasts a plethora of performers, patrons, vendors and activities to satisfy the nerd in all of us.

 I got to give my artistic skills a stretch over the weekend by handing my airbrush ability over to the Fantastic Photographer, Babs Who Takes Pictures! She was taking a con off from work and was out and about doing costuming with the help of Redfield Design. Here's my favorite look from the event: 

 

Once costumes had been donned and readied, we hit the Convention! Babs told me that she got quite a lot of photos taken of her, which was great to hear. Here is my systematic and methodical breakdown of the event in categories. Enjoy!

THE VENUE:

The Venue this year was nothing short of beautiful. The Hyatt Regency in Princeton (which was reserved just for Wicked Faire attendees) boasted a lovely setting for the event. Among the beautiful architecture and design of the hotel, the most impressive space was the wide open, courtyard-style area in the lobby of the building, and was brightly lit and packed with activity. 

 

The central food court area made for a great place to eat and drink without having to leave the venue. The quality of food sold there was outstanding, and the beverage selection (both alcoholic and N.A.) were fairly respectable. 

There was a hallway for vendors, one for panels and adult vending. After just a few rounds it was very easy to navigate to where you needed to go. The only challenges were the inevitable traffic jams due to mini photo shoots and socializing, but it never got to a point of incessant or intolerable. 

PERFORMANCES & PANELS:

The Schedule did not disappoint this year, with more than 100 separate events occurring on Saturday, and well over 50 happening on both Friday and Sunday, there was always something to see or do. Here is a quick rundown of the shows and performances I saw at length: 

 Katie Kat: A gifted singer, Katie took to the main Atrium Stage and captured the attention of the entire courtyard in a few short notes. A powerful voice paired with enchanting music! (KatieKatOpera.com) 

 White Elephant Burlesque: This troupe had a number of memorable and entertaining performances! 

Frenchy & The Punk: A must-see for any convention. They performed new music from their recent album, and they delivered grand performances throughout the weekend. 

This Way to the Egress: A surprise discovery for me, this band was nonstop fun and energy. A six-piece blending sounds of swing, folk and more, this talented group was a great time to see. I look forward to seeing them again. 

Poisonous Apples and Pretty Witches - Lilith Lore: Lilith performed a number of darkly re-imagined tales with grace, poise and intrigue. Among the tales was a sublime rendition of the Beauty and the Beast, which was both engrossing and enchanting. An enjoyable exhibition! 

Azkadelia the Mad Hattress / Mad Hatter Aerials:

Akkadelia and Christopher entertained and engaged this weekend with nearly nonstop performances throughout the weekend. In addition to performing, Azkadelia also held workshops in between shows (all having been booked solid before the weekend began, which speaks volumes). Her final performance of the weekend on Sunday was chock full of DJ takeovers, background dancing from both Chris and Wyck, as well as guest appearances. You know it's a good show when an entire hotel of attendees stop dead in their tracks to watch! 

Karneival Sideshow Circus: Their Saturday performance was very impressive, with great feats of skill and sensation! Whip cracking, Broken Glass walking (and face standing), blowguns and balloons, ending in the classic Human Bulletin board. A solid show with strong character work and audience report! 

VENDORS: 

There are never a shortage of unique and interesting vendors at a Jeff Mach event. This year the Vendors were spread out between two separate areas/floors of the con. Here is a list of the vendors I saw that I really enjoyed and had to note: 

Canes Enable: 

With Accessories and Accouterments that any Victorian Gentleman or Woman could ask for, Mark P. Donnelly's booth will never cease to engage and impress me. I added to my collection with a Gangs of New York-styled Police Club/Truncheon. 

Mad Etcha: Freehand Glass Etching (etsy.com/shop/MadEtcha) 
Fantastic skill and artistry from Mad Etcha. A lovely display and impressive breadth of work! 

Warpath Archery: (WarpathArchery.etsy.com)

A very cool booth that specializes in Bows, Arrows, Strings and other Traditional Archery Equipment. Very cool display and array of wares. 

Masks by Antonette and Creations: (facebook.com/antonette.masks)

Given the Masquerade on Friday Night, this booth was a no-brainer in theming, with a lovely selection of hand-painted masks of various styles! From Carnivale to Dia De Los Muertos and everything in between. 

Dellamorte & Co.: 

I have seen Dellamorte & Co. a few times, and every time I see them, they have something new in their selection, and something that makes me mad that I don't have more expendable income. Their work is in a dark/gothic aesthetic with beautiful detail. If they are at Steampunk World's Fair, I will be making a purchase! 

Corvus Creations: (etsy.com/shop/CorvusCreations)

I was drawn to their wares, especially their Steampunk pieces. Very nice work! 

The Leather Lair: (theleatherlair.com) 

They had an impressive display and selection of wares in the bigger Vendor room at the Hotel. Vests, shirts, wrist buckels, you name it, they have something in the neighborhood of what you are looking for. Very personable and friendly staff! 

ISSUES & CONS

Overall, the Convention was a wonderful time. While there were the few expected "new venue" hang-ups that occur at any public gathering, to anyone attending a convention for the first time would not have noticed anything. It seemingly ran quite smoothly. My notes are quite nit-picky and really played little roles in the overall experience I had with the event. 

The Hotel Staff were incredibly helpful and accommodating, and despite looking confused and befuddled from time to time, they were exceptional and professional whenever I saw them. 

Princeton Police Department was in full force throughout the course of the event, with no less than three officers on site keeping watch (that I saw). In addition to the Convention Volunteers, everything seemed well organized and taken care of. 

On Saturday, there were a few Facebook posts that alerted to some indiscriminate behavior that occurred at the event. I did not bare witness to any such occurrences, which to me would speak that they were handled with grace and discretion. (If there's more of a hassle going on about it online than at the event it occurred at, I think you are handling it right.) 

A blameless issue that occurred was the weather. Many people were forced to disband earlier than expected on Saturday due to a Storm system that rolled in through the mid-afternoon into the evening. With a couple inches of snow which turned into sleet and ice, it was a major impact on the mood and behaviors of the attendees. However, those that stayed were determined to enjoy themselves, and did not let the weather ruin their good time. And that is turning a frown upside down. 

There were spacial issues in some spaces (a vendor or two out in the open, seemingly displaced, traffic jams from people, etc.) but once more, these are VERY minor observations, and if Wicked Faire returns to the Hyatt Regency (which I hope will occur), I am sure it will become bigger, better and a more well-oiled machine. 

My grade for this con is: B+/A- 

I had a blast, and I attended this convention with less than 6 hours of sleep in two days under my belt and fresh out of a Wisdom Tooth extraction the afternoon before. I was smiling, dancing and laughing with people both familiar and unfamiliar. I got to network, be artsy and spend time with members of the Steampunk Community. A weekend well spent! 

One thing I really appreciate about Jeff Mach Events (there's plenty of things I appreciate, but this one in particular) is that there is always the desire for dialogue between the Convention holders and attendees. The Facebook page is always active with threads actively engaging and requesting feedback and thoughts on how things occurred, and how things went, as well as gauging interest on possible future events. It is refreshing to see, especially when that formula is not as well-exercised with other live events in this category. 

A solid Convention, and if you have not been to a Jeff Mach Event, do yourself the favor and take a weekend to enjoy one. You will not be disappointed! 

This concludes my post-mortem of Wicked Faire! I would like to thank Alex and Jayare for enlisting me to help report on this great event, and I look forward to doing it again for Steampunk World's Fair in May! 

Until then.. 

Brett Kelley: Art Mercenary 

Anyone who consistently reads this is probably well aware that writing is not one of my greatest talents. I use way too many adjectives and I tend to cluster short sentences one after the other so it's like a robot talking or something. The defiant side of me wants to say "hey shut up man. That's how you write and you should stick to it" whereas the more reasonable side wants to say "you should probably listen real hard to this week's guest."

Oh man what a perfect segue.

Our pal Joe Sherry joined us this week so we could grill him on a neat contest he's a part of. He was one of 13 contestants picked to compete in David Wellington's Fear Project. Every week he's given a topic and just a couple days later he has to submit an original short story about it. The person with the lowest amount of votes (or comments on their story. Positive/negative doesn't matter) is eliminated. Joe has currently made it to the top 11 and is still going strong.

Fans of horror/comics/writing/laughing/constant puns are going to want to check this one out. We had a blast with Joe this week and we wish him the best of luck in the contest!

-Jr.

You ever look back on past events and really question the decisions you made during that event?

You ever look back and think "Hey. The dude at the table next to us at the Boston Comic Con last summer was really cool and his artwork is currently blowing my face off with awesome. Why didn't we talk to him more?"

Yeah. Us too.

Our guest this week is artist Dave Mahan. If you haven't guessed by now he he was stationed next to us at Boston last year. While we chatted and joked every so often throughout the weekend we never really took the proper time to check out his work and really see what he was about. In other words we were fucking idiots. Lucky for us we got a second chance this week.

Want to see some of his art? Click here. And here. Or even here. And maybe even here if you want to buy some of it.

We hope you learn something from this episode. Don't be like us. Don't make the same mistakes we did. Talk to your table-mates. You never know who might be sitting right next to you.

-Jr.

If someone came up to me today and asked me to name one friend I have that wasn't in to pro wrestling at one point in their life I'd have a very difficult time finding an answer.

Some of my fondest childhood memories were watching Brett Hart, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock destroy each other on a weekly basis. Hell, I even had a Four Square team in 4th grade named The Nation of Domination. I'm not kidding. We were badass.

                    It's like looking in a mirror and seeing my 4th grade self.

Sadly, I'm one of the many who just kind of fell out of it once the Stone Cold/Rock era ended. As a kid you can't help but think all of it is totally real. I mean, he got hit in the head with a steel chair! It's metal! And it hit his head! How could this NOT be real? Then as you grow up you start to see the fabrication and the scripting and the stars you grew up idolizing start to fade out or just plain retire. I'm not necessarily the best when it comes to change and when John Cena showed up that was just about it for me.

                         I think I have a natural hatred for jean shorts.

There was a short time in my late teens when I had somewhat of a resurgence and started watching the pay-per-views again but that was short lived. But...after recording this week's episode our guest has me hankering for some old school "Stone Cold has literally stunned every single person in the arena" action.

His name is Matthew James and he's the emcee of Revival Pro Wrestling out of Chicopee, Massachusetts. He has an encyclopedic knowledge of professional wrestling and completely broke my brain within 5 minutes of recording. Be sure to check out their Facebook page for updates on shows and events possibly coming to an area near you! They're a ton of fun and Alex approved. Honestly you don't need much more than that.

-Jr.

All images are copyright of their respective owners

I just spent the last 4 hours sitting in a Buffalo Wild Wings watching people try to beat each other up for money and stuff. So. There's that.

Anywho.

It seems at least once every year I get an urge to pick up at least one Marvel book. Anyone who knows me is aware that I'm predominantly a DC/Image guy and I've tried the whole "hey maybe I'll give this Marvel book a shot!" many times in the past. Normally I get a maximum of 3 issues in before I get bored/lose interest/miss an issue etc etc. (Except in the case of Moon Knight...I read the shit out of Moon Knight.)

Well it seems history is repeating itself yet again because that old hankering came back and I decided to pick up the new Thor book. We had talked about it a while back because of the whole "Thor is a girl now" thing. Really I was pretty meh on the whole uproar anyway because I had never read a single issue of Thor in my life. I mean honestly - Who gives a shit. Boy Thor. Girl Thor. As long as hammers are flying and people are using words like "ye" and "hath" it's good enough for me.

So we're up to the 4th issue and I gotta say - It's awesome. I love it. It has quickly...very quickly might I add...turned into one of my favorite books. It's not really groundbreaking stuff but it's just a lot of fun. The new Thor is a badass. The old Thor is going through some rough times. And there's hammers just fucking everywhere. It's fantastic. Not to mention the art is exactly what I want it to be. Nothing more, nothing less. It fits the style and the theme of the book perfectly.

                    Thor #4 Cover by Russell Dauterman & Matthew Wilson

If you're not picking this book up I highly recommend taking a look for some back issues or even waiting a few months for the trade. Marvel seems to be pumping out trades almost as fast as the individual issues are coming out anyways so you probably won't even have to wait that long.

You can always thank me later.

-Jr.

Hey you know what's better than an episode of OMV?

Getting an episode of OMV and an episode of Hey. Look at These Comics on the same day.

Can you believe that? I mean...I'm not saying you should be thanking us...but, you know. You're welcome.

 

BREAKING NEWS: I read on supersecretmovieforums.com that Tom Hardy dropped out of Suicide Squad because he's been cast to play Eddie Brock in Avengers 3.

THIS JUST IN: As reported by holyshitcanyoubelievetheserumors.com it seems that despite already playing Captain America in three different movies, Chris Evans has been cast as Tony Stark's long lost brother Reginald Stark for the next Iron Man film due out in 2034.

DEVELOPING: omvpodcast.com is reporting that people tend to take these casting rumors and breaking news stories way too seriously and just need to sit back and enjoy a movie every once in a while without having to know every single detail about it beforehand.

Well that was fun. But seriously.

We are a spoiled generation and there is no denying it. With access to the entire world right at our fingertips we have become addicted to information. With this wealth of information comes heaps of misinformation and sometimes people can have some trouble telling the difference between the two. 

One of the sad results is the "hey I think I know everything about that movie coming up because I read about it on the internet" guy. We all know him. We all...deal with him. Mostly because he's been a part of the group for years we'd feel like real jerks for telling him to piss off despite the fact that it's almost as if he tries to ruin everyone's good time.

But I digress.

Colin is back this week and I have no idea what happened during the last 30 minutes of the episode.

Enjoy!

-Jr.