comic-con 2011 report - part 1 & 2 - futurxtv, funk gumbo radio & www.thedarkroome

7/30/2019 Comic-Con 2011 Report - Part 1 & 2 - FuTurXTV, Funk Gumbo Radio & Www.thedarkroome

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FUTURXTV - FUNK GUMBO RADIO &

THEDARKROOME.COM

COMIC-CON 2011 REPORTPART 1:By: David L. $Money Train$ Watts (journalistFuTurXTV & Funk Gumbo Radio), Auggie

Cavanagh (cameraman - FuTurXTV) & Brandon Bowlin (editorwww.theadrkroome.com)

By David L. Watts, FuTurXTV, www.funkgumbo.com & www.thedarkroome.com

August 15, 2011

Before I got really excited about going to Comic-Con 2011, I and many other comic book fans

around the world had to deal with the sudden passing of groundbreaking cartoonist, writer and

Black comic book icon Dwayne McDuffie. So it was a no brainer that the annual Comic-Con

Black Panel would be dedicated to honoring the life, artwork and many career accomplishments

of Dwayne McDuffie. And it is kinda ironic or maybe sad that The Black Panel might be the only

ones at Comic-Con 2011 formally paying tribute to Dwayne because Dwayne to me always

strived to be considered a great comic book artist/writer and not just a great Black one. I actually

met Dwayne for the first time at Comic-Con 2008 which ironically was my first Comic-Con. I

actually filmed and posted on YouTube The Black Panel SDCC 2008 that featured Dwayne as

well as Reginald Hudlin, Method Man, Faith Cheltenham, Rusty Cundieff, John Dokes and

Denys Cowan. Dwayne McDuffie defied stereotypes about being an influential minority in the

mainly all-White Comic Book Industry. He will forever be cherished by millions of his DCU and

Marvel fans worldwide, but he will forever have a place in redefining the total landscape of

diversity in comics by being one of the founding African-American members of Milestone Media,

Denys Cowan, Michael Davis and Derek T. Dingle, whos Miles tone Comics which created such

memorable multiracial and multicultural comic book characters like Static, Hardware, Icon etc.,:

In the early 1990s,[1]wanting to express a multicultural sensibility that he felt was missing incomic books, McDuffie and three partners[1]foundedMilestone Media, which The Plain

DealerofCleveland, Ohio, described in 2000 as "the industry's most successful minority-

owned-and operated comic company."[8]

McDuffie explained:

www.funkgumbo.com FuTurXTV Funk Gumbo Radio Hollywood, CA 90019 [email protected] www.thedarkroome.com
http://www.funkgumbo.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie#cite_note-nytobit-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie#cite_note-nytobit-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie#cite_note-nytobit-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie#cite_note-nytobit-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie#cite_note-nytobit-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie#cite_note-nytobit-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milestone_Mediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milestone_Mediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plain_Dealerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plain_Dealerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland,_Ohiohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohiohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie#cite_note-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie#cite_note-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie#cite_note-7http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohiohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleveland,_Ohiohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plain_Dealerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plain_Dealerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milestone_Mediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie#cite_note-nytobit-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie#cite_note-nytobit-0http://www.funkgumbo.com/


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Milestone, whose characters include the African-American Static, Icon, andHardware; theAsian-American Xombi, and the multi-ethnic superhero group the Blood Syndicate, which

include black, Asian andLatinomen and women, debuted its titles in 1993 through a

distribution deal with DC Comics.[1]Serving as editor-in-chief, McDuffie created or co-created

many characters, including

StaticWikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie

I wanted to go into a greater tribute for Dwayne McDuffie be reprinting below the entire Comic-

Con 2011 In Memoriam section dedicated to his passing by his friend/colleague Alan Burnett:

DWAYNE McDUFFIE (1962-2011)

PILLAR OF THE INDUSTRY by Alan Burnett

Are you sitting there

Ive never been asked that question at start of a phone call, but knew the news had to be

something terrible, and it was. Dwayne McDuffie had passed away. Complications

following heart surgery. One day after his birthday. He was 49.

I didnt sit down just then, but I did after the call. I sat for a long time. Dwayne was not

just a friend and colleague, but a pillar in our industry. He not only helmed several of DC

and Marvels top titles, he left a legacy of wonderfully conceived original characters in

Milestone-certainly the most ambitious and involving comic book endeavors since Stan Lee

and the gang hung around the bullpen.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milestone_Mediahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-Americanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_(DC_Comics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_(DC_Comics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icon_(comics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardware_(comics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian-Americanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xombihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Syndicatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Comicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie#cite_note-nytobit-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie#cite_note-nytobit-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie#cite_note-nytobit-0http://www.bestgeekblogever.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/DwayneMcDuffieAutograph.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwayne_McDuffie#cite_note-nytobit-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Comicshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latinohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Syndicatehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xombihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian-Americanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardware_(comics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icon_(comics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Static_(DC_Comics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-Americanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milestone_Media


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His animation work was no less astonishing. His scripts were immensely readable. They

had the enviable quality of seeming effortless. His dialogue in particular was natural and

conversational. (He hated minority sitcom-speak.) He could find humor in the most stress-

filled scenes, and it always came out of character. I think he found the superhero world a

highly amusing place sometimes, and I imagine him smiling a whole lot while writing about

it.

Much could be said about how smart Dwayne wasa 12 year-old college freshman, a

physics grad, a speed reader of up to three books a day-but what really separated him from

the pack was his sense of empathy.

Dwayne was a true humanist, which meant he was strong feminist, too. He had the widest

embrace for people no matter what race, creed, gender, or sexual orientation. He saw the

universal in everyone.

I learned a lot from Dwayne McDuffie. In his work and his life, he was a liberating

experience. How many people can you say that about?

Alan Barnett has produced and written numerous television series, including Batman:

The Animated Series and Static Shock, for Warner Bros. Animation over the past 20

years.Comic-Con International San Diego 2011 Souvenir Book.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/8c/JLH_game_covers.jpghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/39/Beyond1.jpg


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Upon co-founding Milestone Media, Dwayne McDuffie stated:

"If you do a black character or a female character or an Asian character, then they aren't just that character.

They represent that race or that sex, and they can't be interesting because everything they do has to represent

an entire block of people. You know, Superman isn't all white people and neither is Lex Luthor. We knew we

had to present a range of characters within each ethnic group, which means that we couldn't do just one

book. We had to do a series of books and we had to present a view of the world that's wider than the world

we've seen before."

When I was a kid, I used to have this parakeet. And sometimes, when Id open up his cage toclean ithed escape. The little bird would see the backyard and make his move. Invariably,

hed head straight for the window, fast as he could. And inevitably, crack his head on the

windowpanea barrier of glass, unseen and incomprehensible to him. So hed try again, overand over until, spent and defeated, he couldnt try any longer. My bird made a common error.

He mistook being out of his cagefor being free. The parakeet died a long time ago, withoutever enjoying the freedom of the yard. The boy grew into a man, who spent many years

bumping his head against a similar barrier: a ceiling of glass, unseen and incomprehensibleto him. The lesson is clear: escape is impossible until one perceives all of the barriers. Myname is Curtis Metcalf. But you can call me Hardware.Dwayne McDuffieHardware #1

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/4/34005-5213-37964-1-hardware_super.jpghttp://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/4/33873-5213-37817-1-hardware_super.jpghttp://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/4/33747-5213-37678-1-hardware_super.jpghttp://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/4/33616-5213-37535-1-hardware_super.jpghttp://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/4/33482-5213-37385-1-hardware_super.jpghttp://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/4/33384-5213-37276-1-hardware_super.jpghttp://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/4/33361-5213-37246-1-hardware_super.jpghttp://jeffwinbush.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/hardware1.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Worldscollidemm0.jpg


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Im ending on a personal note that Dwayne McDuffie being a talented African-American

artist/writer/story editor/producer is not a coincidence when it comes to his influence and

work on the Justice League and Justice League United. Dwayne either wrote, produced

or story-edited 69 out of 91 episodes of the very popular WB animated series. He was

influential to the historic Cartoon Network show because there was the most genuine

and honest interracial romance between the Green Lantern and Hawkgirl. I have to say

that it is not even a given to have serious and well-written interracial relationships in

action driven cartoons and films. But anyone who is a fan of JL or JLU will know clearlythat GL and Hawkgirl were a couple. Then Hawkgirls planet invaded Earth and their

relationship cooled off and GL stared dating the Black heroine Vixen. But another crisis

later on revealed that a future Justice League included Warhawk that was descended

from the parents of John Stewart and Shayera Hol. So without a doubt Dwayne not only

pushed a current storyline of interracial superhero love, but also said that this couple

would eventually have a child together that also grows up to be a bi-racial superhero. I

cannot say 100% that without Dwyane McDuffie at the helm of the Justice League and

Justice League Unlimited that we would have ever seen such a highly evolved minority

character as John Stewart. And having a love life for Black characters in cartoons is still

routine or high on Hollywoods priorities. There have been many X-Men cartoons andStorm was no closer dating Wolverine than I am at being elected president soon. You

cant just show diversity and equality in comic books you have to fully demonstrate and

implement those ideas like Dwayne did with John and Shayera. So really to me Dwayne

McDuffies massive comic book legacy will inspire a new generation of kids, tweeners,

teens and even old Gen-Xers like myself to be more excited and accepting of minority

characters in animated series like Cartoon Networks new Young Justice. Dwayne

McDuffie maybe gone, but his inspirational imagination, art and words will live forever.

http://weheartit.com/entry/7208378http://forums.superherohype.com/showthread.php?t=325485&page=3


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FUTURXTV - FUNK GUMBO RADIO &

THEDARKROOME.COM

COMIC-CON 2011 REPORTPART 2:By: David L. $Money Train$ Watts (journalist - FuTurXTV), Auggie Cavanagh (cameraman -

FuTurXTV),) & Brandon Bowlin (editorwww.theadrkroome.com)

By David L. Watts, FuTurXTV, www.funkgumbo.com & www.thedarkroome.com

August 25, 2011

After I got over the shock ofDwayne McDuffies death and fully immersed myself in

Comic-Con 2011 I was pleasantly surprised at again how packed and stacked the

Convention Center was with many Con attendees, I met and got great interviews with

some new exhibitors and even witnessed a rare and special event at any Comic-Con

a surprise wedding proposal by two costumed attendees wearing detailed Halo gear

and weapons. What I liked about the dudes proposal was that his fiance was

convinced that she was just going to Comic-Con to support his Halo fan fantasy. Soafter the couple performed a mock battle in their Halo gear for attendees passing by, the

woman was beyond shocked when her boyfriend got down on one knee in the middle of

their performance and suddenly asked for her hand in marriage. And it was truly a

happy Comic-Con ending because the very stunned and elated woman removed her

halo helmet and loudly shouted yes. I even got to interview the couple and will be

posting that footage of the proposal soon. All I can say is that if you plan to successfully

propose at Comic-Con than you better go all out big and make it memorable. And you

also cleverly have a great and highly unique story to tell all your family and friends.

http://www.funkgumbo.com/http://www.funkgumbo.com/


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And it cannot be stated enough that Comic-Con 2011 was leading up to one of the biggest Hollywood

blockbuster Comic Book/Sci Fi/Fantasy themed years with the upcoming release in 2012 of long awaited

and much hyped The Avengers, Amazing Spider-man reboot and The Dark Knight Rises which will be the

last installment in Chris Nolans and masterful Batman trilogy. Not to mention Hasbro s Battleship and

their revamped and more serious looking G.I. Joe: This new G.I. Joe is very ambitious and has added the

star power of The Rock and Bruce Willis. Another blockbuster coming out next summer is Ridley Scotts

Alien prequel Prometheus. But before the mega-Comic Book Summer 2012 hits there still were many

major new films being promoted heavily at Comic-Con 2011 that will be released in 2011 and early 2012

like Foxs Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Lionsgates Conan the Barbarian in 3D, Universals The Thing

remake, Paramounts Paranormal Activity 3, Summit Entertainments The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn

Part 1, Walt Disneys The Muppets, Paramounts The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn,

Sonys Underworld 4: Awakening, Lucasfilms Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace 3-D, Disneys

very expensive John Carter, Sonys Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and Lionsgatess The Hunger Games.

Comic-Con 2011 was filled to brim with promotions hyping up a wide variety of major Hollywood films.



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Some of my favorite Comic-Con 2011 Exhibitors were eigoMANGA & Music Saves

Lives Booth. I would have to say that I had no idea that there was a Danity Kane

Graphic Novel when there is not even an active Danity Kane group. P-Diddys reality

show R&B group Danity Kane seems to be disbanded after their short rise of Pop

stardom. But at least they live on as Manga characters. I got to interview, Natashia

McCough, the writer behind the Danity Kane Graphic Novel. And Natashia told me that

Dawn Richards from Danity Kane is the brainchild or creator on the whole project. It

seems Dawn is a big Anime and Manga fan and wanted a new or alternative way to

reach out to the large Danity Kane fan base. And from what I could tell from looking

over the Danity Kane Graphic Novel is that it looks highly impressive. But if you are

following Dawns career than you will know she is no longer with Danity Kane and is

now in P-Diddys new group Dirty Money. Maybe later on Dawn will launch another

Manga inspired book about Dirty Money. I also got a candid interview with eigoMangas

CEO about the direction of his San Fran based independent comic book publishing

company. And I got to get the Comic-Con scoop on the non-profit Music Saves Lives.

Danity Kane Creator Dawn Richards Danity Kane writer Natashia McCough

San Francisco-based comic book publisher eigoMANGA released an official press release statementregarding their official release of Japanese manga-inspiredDanity Kane: Keeper of Life. The comic isavailable on the iPhone, iPad and at retailers nationwide.

(San Francisco, CA)May 11, 2011San Francisco based comic book publisher, eigoMANGA announces the

release of the comic book graphic novel Danity Kane: Keeper of Life. The graphic novel contains the complete

Danity Kane mini-series that was first released on February 2010. Danity Kane: Keeper of Life is currently

available at retail bookstores everywhere.

The graphic novel focuses on a nave yet powerful young girl who was sent from a distant planet to liberate herpeople. She must combat a secret war between her people and their oppressorsa war that is now being fought

on planet Earth.

Danity Kane: Keeper of Life was co-written by Natasha McGough and Austin Osueke with contributions from

recording artist, Dawn Richard. The graphic novel was illustrated by Korean comic book artist, Kim Ji-Min.



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In the Small Press Section on the very crowded convention floor I would have to say

FST Pulp booth was a lot of fun as well as Keith Knights booth. We filmed interviews

with FSTs Daniel G. Ringquist, Keith Knight, Lonnie Millsap and Ken Tanaka. Keithshould be noted for having his own very witty and introspective comic strip and blog

called the K-Chronicles, The Knight Life. I think this is the future of comic strip is to be

a hybrid of the cartoon and social media. So not only is a San Francisco based

cartoonist like Keith commenting on society in his artwork, but he can also directly

promote his life and new projects like his book called The Knight Life: Chivarly Aint

Dead, which is a collection of his weekly syndicated comic strip. Keith also said was in

an indie rock band in the mid to late 90s. I had to let Keith know as soon as he sends

those tracks from his defunct band we will be playing them on Funk Gumbo Radio.

Thats a definite promise.

"The Knight Life is undeniably the best new laugh- and thoughtprovoker on the comics page.

Not since Calvin and Hobbes has there been so novel an entertainment in the funnies." -

R.C.Harvey, The Comics Journal



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I also got to meet Keiths booth partner Ken Tanaka who is the author of the dark humor

and twisted inspired Everybody Dies: A Childrens Book for Grown Ups.

And I also met and interviewed Lonnie Millsap (Rollyhead Publishing) was also sharing

space with Keiths booth to sell his humorous book collection of single panel cartoons

called I Hate My Job and My Washcloth Stinks. You can easily buy them on Amazon.

I Hate My Job! is a book of cartoons meant to appeal to the teenage through adult

demographic. It fills an unusual niche in that the human characters in are predominantly

African American and all of the cartoons are single panel. Some people have stated that it is

reminiscent of the humor in Gary Larson's The Far Side. The cartoons are twisted,

nonsensical, silly, outrageous, and funny, funny, funny. Lonnie Millsap III was born in

Hollywood, California. His dad was a carpenter who now sculpts and builds houses. His

mother, Ruby, is a jazz dance instructor and choreographer. His first memory of drawing was

getting caught after drawing a huge crayon Batman on his living room carpet, but his number

one love has always been to draw cartoons that could make people laugh. His earliest

influences were Charles Schulz and Sergio Aragones. Later, his influences grew to include

Gary Panter, Matt Groening (Life in Hell), Charlie Callahan, and Gahan Wilson. In 2009 his

first book of cartoons called My Washcloth Stinks! was published to positive reviews, which

led to his current release. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California, and draws every day

... or so he says.Bio of Lonnie Millsap from www.lonniemillsap.com



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If one is a regular Comic-Con attendee like myself than you stop freaking out every time

you read the Comic-Con 2011 events guide and realize that many of the panels you

want to attend are pitted against each other as if the Comic-Con organizers studied your

Facebook page or blog and deliberately choose to mess up you up. So when I saw that

the Black Panel honoring Dwayne McDuffie was going up against my favorite Saturday

morning idols Sid and Marty Kaufman, than I have to have enough faith that this wont

happen at Comic-Con 2012. Thus I can catch the Sid and Marty panel next year. But if

one just hung out at Hall H on Sunday than they could see the panel for my favorite

Sci-Fi TV show BBC Americas Doctor Who. There were 6,000 Comic-Con attendees

packed into Hall H, which is usually saved for the biggest and most popular Comic-Con

panels. The panel showed a trailer of the upcoming Fall season of Doctor Who on BBC

America. What I love about Matt Smiths 11th

take or turn as Doctor Who is that he is far

more light-hearted, fun-spirited than David Tennant. Matt loves the role and to me is the

closest Doctor Who performance to rival my all time favorite Doctor Who Tom Baker.

(L-R) Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), Matt Smith (Doctor Who) and (middle photo) writer Toby Whithouse

(L-R) Karen Gillan (Amy Pond), Matt Smith (Doctor Who) and Artuhr Darvill (Rory Williams)

I will start another report for my preview of Comic-Con 2012 soon. But until them youcan check out all our Comic-Con 2011 photos on our Funk Gumbo Radio Pinterest.com

Board that we are going to launch soon. Until then I really hope Comic-Con 2012 is as

exciting as this years and I still get to cover the worlds greatest multi-day media event.


comic-con 2011 report - part 1 & 2 - futurxtv, funk gumbo radio & www.thedarkroome

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