Commentary by Kendall Whitehouse
Wizard Convention Features Celebrities and Entertainment Wizard World Comic Con returned to the Pennsylvania Convention Center this past weekend for the company's 19th annual Philadelphia pop culture convention. Despite the show's comic con moniker, the focus of the event is largely on celebrity autographs and panel sessions, along with general entertainment and nerd culture activities. … Continue reading Wizard World Philadelphia: Recap and Photo Highlights
Wizard seeks to balance fan experience against costs, and looks to expand Wizard World Comic Con returned to Philadelphia this past weekend, one of over a dozen pop culture fan fests the company plans to host around the U.S. this year. During the event, I spoke with Wizard Entertainment president and CEO John D. Maatta … Continue reading Wizard Entertainment CEO John Maatta: Balancing Act
From its modest origins as a small, single-day show in Asbury Park in 2012, East Coast Comic Con (normally spelled as Comicon) has expanded to a three-day festival held at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ. While the historical strength of show has been comic book artists and writers, in recent years the fan … Continue reading East Coast Comic Con: Comics Creators and More
What I Most Recall from a Classic Rock Concert Derek and the Dominos -- guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, keyboardist/vocalist Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle, and drummer Jim Gordon -- toured the U.S. only once. On December 6, 1971, the band played the final show of that tour at Suffolk Community College in Selden, NY. Although I … Continue reading Half of Jim Gordon’s Drumstick
At a gallery show of a noted street artist a few years ago, an attendee explained to me how he would acquire pieces he'd find on the street. He was clearly proud of his clever technique for stripping away the works with minimal visible damage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-u3SpZ3jy4&w=360&h=510&r=0 The changing seasons alter a work of public art. … Continue reading The Living World of Art on the Street
Shortly following the badge sale for next year's Comic-Con International: San Diego, the festival's organizers announced on Twitter the passing of John Rogers, Comic-Con International's president since 1986. I didn't know Rogers well, but each year Comic-Con would conclude for me with him leading the closing Talk Back session. I was impressed by Rogers' composure … Continue reading Remembering Comic-Con President John Rogers
New York Comic Con 2018 Recap and Photo Highlights This past weekend the RELX Group's ReedPop division hosted the 13th annual New York Comic Con. It was big (and crowded), although the exact scale of the event is difficult to determine. ReedPop projected an expected attendance of 250,000, spurring another round of reports claiming the … Continue reading New York Comic Con Spotlights Television and Comics
