Wizard World - Major Expansion

Wizard World, already the world’s largest pop culture convention series, is expanding to seven new cities in 2014, for a grand total of 15 events throughout the year.

First up is Sacramento, the capital of California. Taking place March 7-9 at the Sacramento Convention Center, Wizard World Sacramento Comic Con will “celebrate the best in pop-fi, pop culture, movies, graphic novels, comics, toys, video gaming, television, sci-fi, gaming, original art, collectibles, contests, and more.”

This includes a huge vendor’s room, where you’ll find modern and vintage memorabilia for sale, and areas where you can meet, greet, get autographs from, and have your photo taken with celebrities and comic book creators.

“Our mantra has been, ‘Give the fans a great experience, give the celebrities and creators a great experience, take care of our exhibitors, and everyone will want to come back,’” said John Macaluso, Wizard World CEO and Chairman. “We've had such an overwhelmingly positive reaction to all our 2013 events, both first-year and existing shows, that it was obvious what the fans were telling us—‘We want more!’”

As if to tell fandom that the new Wizard World installments aren’t miniature versions of what has gone before, the Sacramento show will be teeming with famous guests, including Norman Reedus  and Jon Berenthal (The Walking Dead), William Shatner (Star Trek), Bruce Campbell (Army of Darkness), Billy Dee Williams (Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back), Julie Benz and James Marsters (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville), and many others.

Even Ralph “The Karate Kid” Macchio will be in attendance. Feel free to call him “Danielson” or to tell him to “Wax on, wax off,” but be forewarned that he’s probably heard these lines more times than he’s heard his own name.

 Stan Lee, co-creator of such iconic super-heroes as Spider-Man and the X-Men, headlines the group of comic book pros set to attend, followed by veteran writer Chris Claremont (Uncanny X-Men) and such accomplished artists as Neal Adams (Batman), Ethan Van Sciver (Green Lantern), Humberto Ramos (The Amazing Spider-Man), Greg Horn (The Avengers), and Michael Golden (The Micronauts).

Here’s a listing of the six other cities scheduled to host Wizard World for the first time: Louisville, KY (March 28-30, Kentucky International Convention Center); Minneapolis, MN (May 2-4, Minneapolis Convention Center); Atlanta, GA (May 30-June 1, Georgia World Congress Center); San Antonio, TX (Aug. 1-3, Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center), Richmond, VA (Sept. 12-14, Greater Richmond Convention Center); and Tulsa, OK (Nov., 7-9, Cox Business Center).

Those attending any of the Wizard World cons throughout the country should keep one thing in mind: to set phasers on “fun.”

The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1977-1987

The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1977-1987, my first book to be published in full cover and have bookstore distribution, will be available this spring. You can pre-order it now through Amazon.

There have been many top 100 books before, but rarely one like this. Here are the best of the early video games, shown in over 400 color photos and described in incredible detail in the entertaining and informative text. Each game's chapter features production history, critical commentary, author anecdotes, quotes from industry professionals, gameplay details, comparisons to other games, and more.

This book celebrates the very best of the interactive entertainment industry's games from this highly crucial, fondly remembered decade. This pivotal period was marked by the introduction of the indispensable Atari 2600, Odyssey2, and Intellivision, the unleashing of the underrated Vectrex, the mind-blowing debut of the next-gen ColecoVision and Atari 5200, plus the rebirth of the industry through Nintendo's legendary juggernaut, the NES. Whether you're young or old, new to the hobby or a hardcore collector, this book will introduce you to or remind you of some of the greatest, most historically important games ever made.

Dallas Comic Con: Sci-Fi & Comic Expo – Eddie McClintock

I recently got the opportunity to interview actor Eddie McClintock. He was funny, engaging, candid, and more than willing to answer my questions. He even asked me several things about myself and promised to stop by my vendor's table at the show. Here's the Dallas Comic Con preview that I wrote, based on the interview:

Eddie McClintock isn’t a Secret Service Agent or an ex-military man—he just plays one on TV.

“I was never a United States Marine, I’ve never carried a ray gun,” he said. “I’ve never saved the world, although I’d like to think that I have a few times.”

As the heroic, but humorous Pete Lattimer, McClintock stars in the SyFy series Warehouse 13, a show about a secretive location in South Dakota that houses supernatural artifacts.

McClintock, along with such celebrities as Richard Dreyfus (Jaws), Peter Weller (RoboCop), Lee Majors (The Six Million Dollar Man) and Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman), will appear at the Dallas Comic Con: Sci-Fi & Comic Expo, taking place at the Irving Convention Center Feb. 8 and 9. For a fee, the celebs will sign autographs and pose for pictures.

Convention participate in a costume contest, attend various panels, meet and greet professional writers and artists and purchase such memorabilia as trading cards, action figures, T-shirts, original art and, of course, comic books. A frequent sight on the convention circuit, McClintock collects comics (Silver Age Marvel in particular) and enjoys talking with fans, so he gets a kick out of attending sci-fi shows. He’s especially excited to attend the Dallas/Irving event, where he’ll get the chance to interact with one of his childhood heroes.

“Richard Dreyfuss for me is like the Holy Grail,” he said. “Jaws is one of my favorite movies of all time, so to meet Richard Dreyfuss will be really cool. I showed Jaws for the first time to my eight-year-old son just the other day—he loved it!”

 Born in North Canton, Ohio on May 27, 1967, McClintock is married and has two kids. His wife is from Corpus Christi, and he lived for a brief time in Austin and Houston. A job as an insurance salesman prompted a move to California.

“Fresh out of college, my uncle gave me a job selling corporate insurance,” he said. “That’s how I got to Los Angeles.”

Fortunately, that job didn’t quite work out.

“My uncle fired me after seven months,” McClintock said, laughing. “It was a little dicey there for a while, but now everything’s cool—my uncle does all my insurance.”

McClintock has appeared on such shows as Bones, Desperate Housewives, Sex and the City, Felicity and Stark Raving Mad (where he starred as a regular alongside Tony Shalhoub and Neil Patrick Harris), but Pete Lattimer was his breakout role.

“Pete has given me a career,” he said. “I have 61,000 followers on Twitter because of Pete Lattimer.”

When auditioning for the role, McClintock, an actor with leading-man looks and a great sense of humor, brought his own personality into play. Instead of portraying a dour, by-the-numbers government employee, he wanted to have some fun.

“I always try to find some humor in a part, so I went in and read with that in mind,” he said. “For me, the easiest way to show up to work is to just be yourself. I don’t want to have to play a character 14 hours a day, five days a week for nine months a year.”

McClintock brought an extra layer of substance to the role as well, suggesting to showrunner Jack Kenny that Lattimer, like himself, should have a past marred by alcohol abuse.

He said, “It was interesting when we talked about Pete being sober, because you go, ‘Here’s this guy, he’s kind of goofy, and then he says I’m an alcoholic, and I’m 13 years sober, and you go, ‘Oh, there’s depth here.’ That’s one of the great things about Warehouse 13 to me is Jack kept putting that kind of pathos into the show.”

The ex-Marine angle was also McClintock’s idea.

“I think it’s important to acknowledge the people who sacrifice their lives and their families for our country,” he said.

Despite favorable reviews and solid ratings, Warehouse 13 was cancelled in 2013, meaning the already-filmed fifth season airing sometime later this year will be the last. Obviously, McClintock was saddened to see the series come to an end, but he assures fans that the show is going out on a high note.

“The fifth season has some of the best episodes we’ve ever done,” he said. “Lots of strong emotion—what we’re playing onscreen we’re actually feeling emotionally because the show is ending.”

Retro Pop Culture A to Z - PRINT EDITION

The print edition of Retro Pop Culture A to Z: From Atari 2600 to Zombie Films  is now available through Amazon.

Retro Pop Culture A to Z: From Atari 2600 to Zombie Films

My wife created a new cover for my latest book, Retro Pop Culture A to Z: From Atari 2600 to Zombie Films. The original cover was great and cleverly designed, but this one has more "pop" and really grabs the reader's attention.

Retro Pop Culture A-Z: From Atari 2600 to ZombieFilms is a window to the past—a time of 8-bit video games, Silver Age super-heroes, Saturday morning cartoons, rock ’n’ roll music, and scary movies at the drive-in.

The book includes 60 fun-filled, feature-length chapters on such icons of popular culture as Alien, the Batman TV show, the Beatles, Dynamite Magazine, Famous Monsters of Filmland, The Flash, Forbidden Planet, Golden Age arcade games, He-Man, the Intellivision, Jaws, MAD magazine, the Nintendo NES, Ray Bradbury, The Wizard of Oz, and the X-Men.

If you’ve ever stayed up all night trying to beat Super Mario Bros., dressed up as a member of KISS on Halloween, watched Thundarr the Barbarian while eating a bowl of sugary cereal, set a VCR to record your favorite show, or listened to Elvis or the Rolling Stones on a turntable or 8-track tape player, Retro Pop Culture A-Z is for you.

If you haven’t done any of these things, no problem—feel free to dive right in and find out why your parents (or grandparents) are always talking about “the good old days.”

Includes:

*60 essays/articles on nostalgic pop culture favorites

*More than 250 full-color photos

*More than 110,000 words

*Quotes from the experts

*Production histories

*Collectibles pricing

*Author anecdotes

*And much more!

Chapters include:

Alien: The Movie and the Maze Game

Atari 2600: Long Live the VCS!

Batman: Holy TV Series!

The Beatles: 50th Anniversary of the Fab Four

The Brady Bunch: Here’s the Story

Computers: Collecting Vintage PCs

Creature from the Black Lagoon: The Universal Standard

DC Comics Action Figures: A Complete History

Dynamite Magazine: A Scholastic Treasure

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial: 30th Anniversary

Elvis Presley and Graceland: Long Live the King

Famous Monsters of Filmland: Forry’s Fantastic Fan Mag

The Flash: Speed Kills

FOOM and Amazing World of DC Comics: Two Great Magazines

Forbidden Planet: 50th Anniversary

Golden Age Arcade Games: Collecting the Classics

Green Lantern: A Hero History

Harry Houdini: The Great Escape (Artist)

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe: 30+ Years of Power

The Hulk: Lou Ferrigno Smash

Intellivision: Doin’ the Slide-‘n’-Shoot

The International Video Game Auction House: Ben Gold’s Bailiwick

Iron Man: The Metal-Clad Marvel

James Bond: Still Cool at 50

Jaws: A Blockbuster with Teeth

Jukeboxes: The Beat Goes On

KISS: The Hottest Band in the Land

Land of the Lost: Marshall, Will, and Holly

Lois Lane: Still Gorgeous at 75

Mad Magazine: The Usual Gang of Idiots

Marilyn Monroe: The Legend Lives On

Metallica’s Kirk Hammett: Famous Monster Collector

Nintendo NES: The Great Gray Box

Ouija Boards: Mystic Oracle or Harmless Toy?

The Outer Limits: Creatures, Cards, and More

Pinball Machines: Collecting the Classics

Prince: Rock Star and Comic Book Hero

Queens in Film: The Evil Ones

Ray Bradbury: A Sci-Fi Legend

Record Albums: LPs Make a Comeback

Return of the Jedi: 30th Anniversary

Robots in the Movies: The 1950s

The Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Satisfaction

Sega Master System: Playable and Collectable

Spidey Super Stories: The Surreal Super-Hero Skit

Stan “The Man” Lee: A True Marvel

Star Trek: The Animated Series: The Canonical Cartoon

Superman vs. Muhammad Ali: A Clash of the Titans

Thundarr the Barbarian: A Cartoon Classic

TV Guide: 60th Anniversary

Universal Monsters Comic Books: A Dark Horse Favorite

VHS Video: Tale of the Tape

Video Game Board Games: A Monopoly on Fun

The Wizard of Oz: We’re Off to See the Wizard

Wonder Woman: A Formidable Feminist

The X-Men: 50th Anniversary

Yars’ Revenge: Clearing a Path to the Qotile

Zombie Films: Watching the Dead Walk

Bonus "Crazy 8" Chapters:

8mm Films: Of Monsters and Movies

8-Track Tapes: Making a Comeback

Dallas Comic Con: Sci-Fi & Comic Expo - Feb. 8-9

IRVING, TX—This year’s Dallas Comic Con: Sci-Fi & Comic Expo, coming to the Irving Convention Center Feb. 8-9, is shaping up to be one doozy of a show. Not only will vendors be on hand selling a variety of pop culture merchandise, such as vintage comic books, collectible action figures, original movie posters, limited edition statues, and an assortment of movie, TV, and super-hero T-shirts, numerous celebrity guests will be signing autographs and posing for pictures with fans.

Arguably the most famous guest star in attendance will be Richard Dreyfuss, who starred in two of the most iconic genre films of all time: Jaws (1975), in which he played oceanographer Matt Hooper; and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), in which he portrayed Roy Neary, an everyman blue collar worker in Indiana whose life is irrevocably changed after an encounter with a UFO.

 Dreyfuss also featured prominently in such classics as American Graffiti (1973) and The Goodbye Girl (1977), the latter earning him the Academy Award for Best Actor. More recently, he appeared in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor, and Poseidon (2006), which was the third movie adaptation of Paul Gallico’s epic disaster novel, The Poseidon Adventure.

Another big gun (so to speak) appearing at the Sci-Fi & Comic Expo will be Peter Weller, who played the title character in the first two RoboCop films. Weller won’t be in the new RoboCop remake, which is scheduled to debut in theaters Feb. 12, but he’s not shy about stating his opinion on the film.

At the 2013 Los Angeles Times Hero Complex Film Festival, Weller said they’ve been trying to make another RoboCop for years and expressed skepticism that the new movie will be any good—certainly not as good as the original RoboCop. He said they can “throw a lot of CGI” at the remake, but that the “morality that was endemic” to the original RoboCop is “hard to replicate. It makes you laugh and cry and moves you…it’s hysterical and horrible and all those unbelievable things at once. Good luck to them. They’ll never do it.”

Other big-name guests appearing at the  Dallas Comic Con: Sci-Fi & Comic Expo include Stephen Amell (Arrow), Karl Urban (Dr. McCoy in Star Trek Into Darkness), Sylvester McCoy (the seventh Doctor in Doctor Who), Karen Gillan (Amy Pond in Doctor Who), Lee Majors (The Six Million Dollar Man), Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman), and Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca in Star Wars).

Most of the media guests will charge between $40 to $60 for autographs and photo ops, but there will be plenty of opportunities for fans to snag some free signatures. The writers and artists who appear at these types of events typically sign comics and pose for pictures without charging a dime. They make their money selling comics, sketches, and the like.

Some of the more noteworthy comics pros appearing at the Sci-Fi & Comic Expo will be Howard Chaykin (American Flagg!), Kevin Maguire (Justice League), Ethan Van Sciver (Green Lantern: Rebirth), Bill Sienkiewicz (The New Mutants), and James O’Barr (The Crow).

A recent addition is Ian Churchill, the British artist known for such titles as Coven, Supergirl, Cable, Teen Titans, Hulk, and Uncanny X-Men.

“This is as rare stateside appearance (for Churchill) and one I couldn’t be more thrilled about,” Sci-Fi & Comic Expo organizer Ben Stevens recently said on his Facebook page. “Let’s all give Ian a warm Texas welcome.”

Wormboy

"Wormboy," a script I wrote for a future issue of Bela Lugosi's Tales from the Grave, is being drawn by Rob Brown, a very talented illustrator. Shown below is page two: click on the image for a closer look.

The story is adapted from Wormboy, a story in my eBook, Filtered Future and Other Dark Tales of Science Fiction and Horror.